Day 3.Weather: The clouds have lifted and given way to a bright and sunny day! At the warmest point in the day temperatures reach 77° Fahrenheit. In the night, it drops to the mid 50s.
Events: Two blanket statements can be made of every captive this morning: nobody wakes up where they fell asleep last, and nobody wakes up happily. We can guarantee that. At exactly 5:30 in the morning, each captive will be woken by a loud noise.
Oh, whoops. Did we say ‘noise’? What we meant was ‘an earth-shattering pants-shitting airhorn that seems to be coming at you from every angle and couldn't be ignored if you encased your head in a two-foot block of solid concrete.’ Yeah, that. It sounds for five agonizing and heart-racing seconds. At which point each captive may eventually come to realize that they’re on a wooden bench in a small, windowless room. The floors are bare concrete, the walls white brick. The ceiling is dominated by harsh fluorescent lights. Best yet, whatever each captive was wearing when they fell asleep is what they’re wearing now. So, those of you who took off your clothes to sleep? Yeah. Yeah, man. You’re totally still naked. Sorry about that.
The only other thing in the room is a closed door, so you might as well go through it. The captives will immediately find themselves in a locker room, and yes, male and female captives each have their own. Both the male and female locker rooms have two long wooden benches, and a wall of lockers. Neatly placed on the benches are black gym bags, marked with each captive’s subject #. And herein lies the only good news anyone is likely to have today: new clothes. Not great clothes, but at least it’s something different.
In each bag, each subject will find the items awaiting them are perfectly fitted to their sizes. The men will find running shoes, gym socks, white boxers, black sweatpants, and a white tank top. The women will find running shoes, gym socks, black cotton panties, a black sports bra, black running capris, and a white tank top. It’s worth mentioning that each subject’s pair of shoes are tailored to their tastes, including colors and even brand (if any captive would have such a preference). All items are fitted to them perfectly, and brand new.
Both locker rooms of course have an entrance to each waking cell, and access to one short hall leading into… an arena. Yes,
the arena, the one in town. However, exit doors are locked, and there's no getting out. There is an Olympic-size running track, and
a massive obstacle course set up. Near the hall are two tables, each loaded down with water bottles, gatorade, and apples. Not far away from the hallway is a door to a small, plain public bathroom with three toilet stalls and sinks.
Once the captives start filtering into the arena, a screen behind the water-tables will light up and show how the obstacle course is supposed to be run. In the video, two figures run the course, one appearing to be male and one appearing to be female. However, features cannot be seen on either figure, as they’re both wearing lycra suits and face masks. The video will run on repeat. From a speaker in the ceiling, a pre-recorded message plays. The female, slightly robotic voice says:
"Before you lies an obstacle course. We require that you each attempt it. You may perform whatever physical warm-ups you deem necessary, or run laps around the track first if you so desire. Over the next 90 minutes, anyone who sits or stands idle for more than five minutes will receive a shock. If you fail to complete an obstacle, we require you to start over from the beginning of the course. If you try and cheat and resume from where you left off, you will be shocked. If you complete the obstacle course, you will be allowed a 15-minute break. Thank you. Those who perform well may be rewarded for their efforts."
Yup. It’s as she says, and they’re not fucking around. Sit or stand in one place for five minutes at a time, ZAP. So, what is "ZAP," you may ask? How does all this work? What if a character flat-out refuses to fall in line? What if they sit down and pout, perhaps?
We are
so glad you asked.
Everyone still has that tender spot on the back of their neck. At any point in the day, if a subject refuses to cooperate... ZAP. A little electric shock that seems to travel down to the base of their spine and out to every last nerve ending they have. The first time anyone experiences it, it's going to lay them flat on the floor in unbelievable agony. There may be subjects within the institute willing to deal with that pain and keep fighting, but they'll just keep getting zapped again and again, at intervals, until they do as they were told.
But wait, it gets better. Many of the characters present are going to obviously have a difficult time with the course; it's difficult. Still, some individuals might be of a mind to try their hardest and make the best of the situation. Stay moving, try not to get zapped, and do what you can. An hour and a half of at least trying, and it’ll all be over. Right?
We wish we could tell you it's that easy.
At the end of the 90-minute period, another buzzer rings (this one not quite as terrifying as their rude awakening), and the recorded voice plays again.
"We require that every subject completes the course at least once. Access to the doors will not be granted until every subject completes the course.”
Well, shit.
At this point, the rules are still in play - stay idle for five minutes, get zapped. Finish the course, get a 15-minute break. It’s up to the captives to decide how to deal with the situation from then out, but the exit doors absolutely will not open until every single person has gotten through the course once. For extra nuts on that shit-sundae, if anyone attempts to cheat, or pass obstacles by any means other than how the video shows they're supposed to be done, they'll be zapped. Once everyone has completed the course once, the exit doors will unlock. And it's such a lovely day outside! That's nice. However, when the sun sets, anyone paying attention to the moon (weres, and perhaps witches, in particular) are going to realize the moon is in a very different phase than it was when they were abducted.
Indeed, all the characters were abducted in a two-week period leading up to a full moon on September 9th. The moon is now somewhere between the first quarter and waxing gibbous of it's cycle. The next full moon is much closer than anyone anticipated. Less than two weeks away, in fact. Interesting.
Finally, a note for players: at this point new characters will still have been in the tower the entire time. We invite you to create any reason you like as to why your character hasn't had much interaction yet, and give a blanket pass for characters of all species (even vampires) to say they had a very bad reaction to the sedative they were given and have been resting in their rooms. Day 4 is the
last gameday we will operate this way. Characters that come in on Day 5 or beyond will be
new additions to the house. If you want a character (or another character) that has been here from the beginning, we're in the final two weeks to do so.
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