Cadenza: Veritas
Chapter 17: Open Your Eyes > Keep Your Eyes Closed
It's fine, you can wait, no matter how long it takes.
Ten minutes that feel like forever pass, and you hear Bella say, "You can open your eyes now."
Ten minutes that feel like forever pass, and you hear Bella say, "You can open your eyes now."
You look around you, finding yourself inside Club PLURality. Tension fills the air. Instead of music blaring over the sound system, you hear indistinct chatter. An arm's reach away from you, a portion of the dance floor is marked with crime scene tape. There are a few blood splatters on the adjacent wall. A motionless body lies on the center of the enclosed space, surrounded by officers of the Ziaran Police Department. One of the officers is taking photographs of the scene. Another person, who you also assume to be a policeman wearing full protective gear, is examining the perimetre. Yet another officer is interviewing some of the shocked bystanders. Two officers are preventing onlookers from entering the crime scene, despite their clamouring to take a better look at the victim.
"Are we too late?" Bella laments. Just then, you feel something tug at your arm, pulling you away from the crime scene.
"Just let them do their job. We'll take care of Lisa later." The voice unmistakably belongs to Grace. You look behind you.
"Are we too late?" Bella laments. Just then, you feel something tug at your arm, pulling you away from the crime scene.
"Just let them do their job. We'll take care of Lisa later." The voice unmistakably belongs to Grace. You look behind you.
Right next to Grace is a stranger who seems to be rather frazzled. They seem vaguely familiar to you, but you can't recall where you've seen them before.
"Who are these?" asks the stranger.
Grace gestures at your direction and introduces you to them. He then points his hand towards Bella. "The beautiful lady with pink hair is Bella, my fiancée."
You exchange pleasantries with the now-acquaintance, who seems to be too rattled to give out their name to you. It might be best to let it slide, lest you add to their stress. They tell you that they helped Grace and Bella escape from ChouChou -- no wonder they were vaguely familiar.
You hear hurried footsteps coming from the side. E and three unfamiliar ladies try to catch their breath.
"Who are these?" asks the stranger.
Grace gestures at your direction and introduces you to them. He then points his hand towards Bella. "The beautiful lady with pink hair is Bella, my fiancée."
You exchange pleasantries with the now-acquaintance, who seems to be too rattled to give out their name to you. It might be best to let it slide, lest you add to their stress. They tell you that they helped Grace and Bella escape from ChouChou -- no wonder they were vaguely familiar.
You hear hurried footsteps coming from the side. E and three unfamiliar ladies try to catch their breath.
"Really? The one time I nap longer than usual and the club is suddenly a crime scene?" E shakes his head.
The stranger close to E clears their throat. "You might have forgotten some other incidents."
"But nobody died the last few times."
"If this is why you wanted us to leave the room, you could have told us that the police were downstairs, Grace," says the lady who is clinging onto E's arm.
Grace looks at the woman with short, black hair. "Big Al, do you still have the remote?"
She digs for something in her coat pocket, pulling out a remote control. "Yeah."
"Put the club on lockdown."
With the push of a button, you hear multiple doors close around you.
"Okay, everyone gather around me for a while," Grace says, as he motions everyone to come closer to him. "Wayne wants all of you who know that he is the 'Master', dead. I had no other way to evacuate you all from the room, so I had to be… creative. His henchmen should be inside the room you previously occupied, right now. They won't be able to escape, with all routes blocked."
"What about the trapdoor?" the woman named Big Al asks.
"It should be shut unless the automated mechanism is malfunctioning. At worst, they can get inside but remain stuck inside the vents. At best, they're trapped inside that room until you release all locks."
The stranger close to E clears their throat. "You might have forgotten some other incidents."
"But nobody died the last few times."
"If this is why you wanted us to leave the room, you could have told us that the police were downstairs, Grace," says the lady who is clinging onto E's arm.
Grace looks at the woman with short, black hair. "Big Al, do you still have the remote?"
She digs for something in her coat pocket, pulling out a remote control. "Yeah."
"Put the club on lockdown."
With the push of a button, you hear multiple doors close around you.
"Okay, everyone gather around me for a while," Grace says, as he motions everyone to come closer to him. "Wayne wants all of you who know that he is the 'Master', dead. I had no other way to evacuate you all from the room, so I had to be… creative. His henchmen should be inside the room you previously occupied, right now. They won't be able to escape, with all routes blocked."
"What about the trapdoor?" the woman named Big Al asks.
"It should be shut unless the automated mechanism is malfunctioning. At worst, they can get inside but remain stuck inside the vents. At best, they're trapped inside that room until you release all locks."