Virtual Reality : Dystopian Tales Online

013.5 | Hide and Seek

One player down, nine players left.

The second round ended with one casualty. The five-minutes probation started. Alexander and Xavier went out from their hiding places as usual. The other players on the fourth floor also went down as ordered by Alexander. Xavier surveyed the second floor where the two seekers are staying.

"We need to shift locations," Xavier suggested. He and Alexander went to the figure of the caught player that is also got frozen by time. "Damian knows our positions."

Alexander nodded wearily. "With this, we can use our turns in every round."

There are three chances for them to hide. With three rounds of hide and seek left, they can use it once in every round. Alexander examined the state of Damian while clicking his tongue. He wasn't against the sacrificial act, but he thinks that his cousin is too much of a hero.

Xavier ordered the players to seek the other people. He tasked them to give the access of the cameras and tell them to change locations. The players followed the command without question then speedily left the scene. Xavier walked beside Alexander and examined Damian's state.

"He got his eyes plucked," Xavier said with a frown. He gave Alexander a look. "Do you think that he will be blind?"

"What? Do you think he would still be able to see in this state?" Alexander answered, as a matter of fact.

Xavier frowned. "Then, what is the use of using him as a seeker if he couldn't see?"

Alexander shrugged. How would he know?

There is not much to do. The players had changed positions. All of them could not access the cameras, so things become more simple. As usual. Xavier chosen a more convenient hiding place after some though process. Alexander didn't think much as he hid to the first floor. The new arrangement is still good, and the players are hidden very carefully.

That's what they have thought.

It has not been five minutes but one player has been converted to a seeker. It came to a shock since the person is almost hidden amongst piles of objects that without the marking on the map nobody will know that they have hidden there. The way the creature hacked the player out from their hiding place looked quite confident as if it knows that the player is there.

Suspicions grew in their hearts. Xavier prompted Alexander again.

Xavier: Something is amiss. Do you think the creature is getting stronger?

Alexander: That is a possibility.

It is a possibility. But Xavier wasn't conformed to this idea. He kept watching the camera monitors and saw the two seekers walking to the fourth floor. The converted seeker will only just start working on the next round. Seems safe from danger, he chatted more comfortably.

Xavier: I think that's not valid.

Alexander: What is not valid?

Xavier: What I said is wrong. There is no way for the seekers to become stronger.

Alexander analyzed Xavier's thoughts and agreed that he is right. The game stipulated that in every round where no player is converted to become a seeker, the seeker will gain an ability. That addition of ability is already a cheat so in such cases the game won't allow the seeker to become stronger. It will leave the players no chance to survive.

Alexander: So that seeker is nothing but playing us from the start? Pretending weakly and all?

Xavier: ... What part of it do you conceive is weak?

Alexander: ...

They could not reach a conclusion and implicitly assumed that it is all part of the game world. They are not the creature, so why bother? They should think of themselves. The third round ended without any scruples. There are presently three seekers available to launch. The two players checked the caught comrade and found out that it also have its eyes dug out.

"This seeker has no eyes too," Alexander muttered. "That's odd."

"Is the creature deliberately making them blind? But it will not give any sense at all," Xavier asked.

They have watched the feed during the game and found out that, despite Damian losing his sight, he could still pretty much walk around. If not from his eyes dripping blood to his cheeks and clothes, nobody will think that he is blind.

"Have we overlooked something?" Alexander paced around.

The feeling of being unable to solve a puzzle irked him. Xavier remained composed as he studied the new seeker. The eyes are shut and somehow flattened due to the missing eyeballs. Traces of blood fell on their cheeks as if crying. Questions swarmed up in his head.

"Why did they need to pluck their eyes out?" He asked verbally with the hopes of understanding it better.

Xavier glanced at the area where the player was previously hidden. It is a castle of boxes covered with thick curtains and cushions. He detected a little hole on one of the boxes. He supposed that the player used this little peephole to scout the creature when it was nearby.

After all, despite the dear, nobody could resist observing their enemy under their safe eye.

"Where is Damian hiding before he was caught?" Xavier suddenly asked.

"The one on the second floor, underneath the stairs," Alexander replied familiarly. "I'm guessing he's hiding inside the janitor's cabinet since that's the only place there suitable for hiding."

They weren't able to see the events happening inside the room. The camera around this area is also facing on the stairs so only half of the door's room could be seen. Xavier remembered that the creature is just passing by then suddenly halted. It looked like as though it discovered someone looking at them.

Is Damian, perhaps, looking at the creature during that time?

Did he discover something?

The probation period is about to end. Before the two parted away to hide, Xavier suddenly raised a question, "Is the room you are hiding before dark?"

Alexander nodded. "Isn't it much difficult for the seekers to see when it is dark?"

And by that, he left. Xavier hastened his pace and found a suitable corner to hide. There's a speculation in his heart, so he wanted to prove it. He chooses an open classroom from the third floor. He went to the lockers where cleaning supplies are hidden and went straight in without hesitation.

The fourth round started.

There are now three seekers present. Damian and the mob character are just roaming around looking inside rooms and bathroom stalls. They don't have eyes, so all they did is just to stand on the doors for a while then leave. It is the creature that is carefully inspecting every room.

The creature scourged the forth floor. Since it was station there, most of the players are hiding on the second floor and below. Only Xavier, the courageous soul, remained on the third floor.

It didn't take long for the creature to discover the room Xavier is hiding. The sounds of crying and laughing became louder as it entered the room. Xavier could hear the creature pacing around even brushing to the locker where he was hiding. He didn't look out and barely closed his eyes waiting for the creature to pass by.

Astonishingly, he was spared. The creature huffed in disappointment and proceeded on going to the adjacent rooms. Xavier waited for the sounds to faint until the source of sound changed places before he unclosed his eyes back and contacted the people in the cameras.

Xavier: I now understand it.

Alexander is quite idle in hiding place and was intrigued with Xavier's words.

Alexander: What did you understand?

Xavier: The creature could not see.

Alexander: He obviously can see.

Xavier: Then why do you think he needed to pluck the eyes of the other players?

The creature is blind but has the access of sight of all the player. Which means that it uses the eyes of the players to see its surroundings. Nobody got hurt the first round since the creature only covered the areas where there are no players. It did enter the studio where Xavier is hiding but since Xavier is locked in a dim area so the creature could not pinpoint his position.

The second round, Damian was caught since he is looking directly at the creature. And the third player, through the peephole, is also examining the creature as it passed by. It all pointed out their positions and thus got targeted.

After stealing the eyes of the players, the creature must have a momentary sight since it becomes more confident walking around after harvesting the eyes. The game restarts in every round so the creature has to steal eyes in order to see once more.

So, it wasn't that the creature was getting strong - it is just getting a better sight.

While they are expressing their thoughts about the creature, loud shrieking voices was suddenly heard. It came from the second floor where most of the players are crowded. They watched the camera stationed on this area and found the two professors caught by the creature. They got their eyes plucked.

"Wait, wouldn't that make them five seekers?" Alexander counted.

There are ten players and one seeker. The game says that the team with the greatest number of members will win the game. The two teams are almost in par now!

SEEKERS : 5

HIDERS : 6