Darkness. There are overlapping voices surrounding me. I can't seem to hear them too well. The buzzing and whirring of something nearby overwhelms my senses. It stops. My eyes flutter open, though there really isn't much to see. I sit up. It's still rather dark, but I can put faces to the voices I heard just now. A white woman with long legs is curled up against the wall, speaking in a language I do not understand. A larger white man with a mess of a suit and messier hair is standing, rubbing the back of his head. A dark, tan man is wiping his forehead with his arm, looking around at everyone else. His eyes land on mine, and he glances away. The large man brings an end to the collective silence.
"What the hell is going on here? Who are you people?"
I get up from the floor, and in attempting to respond, I realize I am not exactly sure who I am either. I am aware of my name, at the very least.
"I am Peri." I say.
The large man's face curls into an awkward smile as he rubs his palms together in a polite gesture.
"I'm Daniel. Do you know these people here? Can you tell me what's going on?"
"I do not. I can not. I'm afraid I'm just as lost as you are." I look at the other two people. The tan man lets out a nervous laugh.
"I'm Ricardo, but you guys can call me Carlos." His eyes glance around, and he chuckles once more.
"Uh, yeah, I'm in the same boat as you guys."
The three of us turn to the tall blonde in the corner, and she sighs, bringing herself to her feet. She is a lot taller than I first thought.
"I am Lærke. I'm not sure where this place is, but I think I might know why we're here. Or at least, why I'm here." Each of our faces brighten as we finally have a chance to get our first clue as to what in the world we're doing here.
Before she can speak, a loud machine whirrs to life again. I startle, and spin to see a screen being lowered. It turns on. A masked man is posted in front of the screen, like a news reporter.
"Welcome, players. You might be wondering why you're all here right now." The man's voice is deep and calm, like he is unaware- or perhaps apathetic- in regards to the distress we feel.
"What the hell? Hey!" Daniel steps up to the screen, pointing a finger at the man. "Don't you know who I am?"
"Oh hell no, this is straight up Saw, man." Carlos' voice wavers as he stares at the screen.
"Saw? What is Saw?" I tilt my head.
"Enough. Listen to what he has to say." Lærke crosses her arms, staring derisively at the masked man. He chuckles, then continues with his monotone voice.
"Thank you, Lærke. As for why you are here... no, this place is nothing like Saw. You are all being broadcasted to our #1 bestselling stream on the dark web: Malevolent." The masked man continues, all the while an infographic is displayed on the screen as he talks, "Malevolent has garnered over a hundred thousand regular viewers, and we've decided to ramp up the productions. The place you four are in is our specially-made underground complex. There is someone in there with you. They will kill you if you are caught by them."
The threat seems to be real, though his unusual tone certainly doesn't make it seem that way. I turn to see everyone else's reactions. Daniel has an incredulous expression, gawking at the screen. Carlos is still freaking out about the "Saw" thing from earlier, and the masked man's words don't appear to make things any better. Lærke is listening intently, her expression serious. I wonder which expression I ought to be making.
"That's not all. There are a series of rooms beyond this one, some of which will bring you tests with perilous stakes. Throughout the experience, you will be able to find 'Rest Areas.' They are rooms with time limits that have daily necessities. However, some can only accept a certain amount of people at once. Use them wisely~..." The masked man's voice trails off at the end, as if he were trying to get a rise out of us. It worked, clearly, as Daniel punches the screen, his face now beet-red.
"What the hell... what the hell, what the hell‽ You're kidding me! Me? I can't be here!" He continues punching the screen, and it breaks, causing the lights to shut off, then turn a dim red.
"Negative behavior detected. Penalty issued: oxygen deducted." The automated voice cuts out from a speaker somewhere, and there is a hissing noise all around us. It's become very clear that destroying objects related to Malevolent's experience results in very real penalties.
"You... you must be kidding me, man..." Carlos clutches his chest, trying his hardest to not hyperventilate.
Lærke sighs, running her hands through her long hair. "Way to go, dipshit. Who knows how much time we lost because of you?"
Daniel tenses up. "T-time? Right, this is a Safe Room, so..." His face flushes from its red state. He has wasted the time we are allowed in this room.
"Let us look around for now. Since there is less time than before, each second could be more valuable than the last." I say, immediately turning my head to search one of the corners. I should be wary of Daniel.