Zenith : In Character → Threads, Logs, Events

Day 36.

Weather: It's in the mid-50s until nightfall, with rain on and off until around 3pm, and clear skies after that.

Events:
At exactly 8am, everybody's phones will go off, waking them up about three minutes before it starts to rain. Or maybe five minutes. Or maybe ten. The storm is moving in from the west, so it's really going to depend on where you wake up. Because, yes, of course everybody has been moved. And separated.

Everybody wakes up on the ground, outdoors, and alone. As promised, everybody will wake up wearing everything that they wore to bed, though the stuff that they had requested on their lists doesn't seem to be nearby. What they do have, other than their phones, is a backpack sitting next to them. Inside is a plastic water bottle full of water, a single granola bar, and any necessary medications. And that's it.

On their phones, everyone will find a map program already open, with a big red arrow pointing in the direction that they should be heading. It also features a compass off to the side. You can ignore it, if you want, but the map doesn't offer much information on the surrounding area, and walking too far in the direction opposite of where the arrow is pointing will lead you right into one of those invisible pain barriers. It's probably best to follow that arrow, because it already looks pretty easy to get lost around here.

But where is here?

Well, the safe answer is not Mount Zenith, or at least not any part of it that anyone has been to. Most of this new area is woods, though some people will be waking up in denser woods than others, and some people won't be in the forest at all. This new area has that same eerie silence that Mount Zenith did, without so much as a chirp from a cricket. While that may not be so strange to our residents, there's something else missing that they may have become a bit more acclimated to.

Mainly, there is a peculiar lack of cameras.

That's not to say that people aren't being watched, but... are they? If there are cameras out in the woods, then they are incredibly well hidden, because you will not find one. It might be nice to have a bit of privacy, but what does it mean if TPTB are no longer watching you?

With how few supplies everyone was given upon arrival, it would be wise to follow that big red arrow on the GPS app. It's a little over a mile for everyone to walk to the suggested destination, and unfortunately, some people are going to have more obstacles than others. Just as unfortunate, those obstacles do not show up on the map. In fact, the map seems to only show what direction you should be going, and a series of other moving dots, which one can safely assume are other subjects making their way to the same location. They're not labeled, though, and the map doesn't fill in where they have been walking. Not right away, anyway.

The GPS brings up the following map, each dot showing where a fellow housemate is. Upon waking at 8am, the map shows where each individual can be found, but ( the coordinates can be found here... )

For those individuals who have to cross the river, it's luckily only around waist height today, though the rains are giving it a bit of pull. A few people might be able to ride the river in the right direction, but the water is flowing from the west, so most people would be pushed in the opposite direction.

The map does finally show what ground has been covered upon arrival at the suggested location, which is, of course, a house. And it's a far cry from the mansions that TPTB had favored in the past.

Right in the middle of a section of land where moderate and thick forest meet the plains is an old lodge. It isn't quite dilapidated, but it definitely appears that it's been a while since it's been used. More information on the house can be found on the lodging page, but there are a few things that should be known about the house today.

First, the power is not on. The same goes for the barn next door. The two buildings are connected to a very conspicuous power line which disappears into the woods. Were anyone to follow it, they'd find the only other structure in the area that's currently available to them. It's a watermill. A watermill that's all gunked up with dead leaves. Figure it out.

Second, the main room is currently a little crowded, as it's where everyone's stuff is waiting. Everything is in a pile on the floor, mixed in with everyone else's stuff. Everything is labeled with either a tag or a sticker stating who it belongs to. Even the animals, who thankfully have tags and not stickers. As things are moved from the room, or just moved from that spot, a message will be revealed on the floor, painted in deep red:

DON'T GO OUTSIDE AT NIGHT

That's kind of unsettling.

Third, there's a new friend waiting for everyone in the house. It's an orange cat, and he's hanging out on the house's cat tower with Minion. He doesn't have any tags, but the presence of cat doors suggest that he lives here.

( Here's that cat! )

Fourth, the bedrooms here don't appear to be assigned. Each bedroom door does have two squares, designating where names should go, as well as a sharpie in every room to write it down. Everyone will have to pick their own rooms. There are also not enough beds for everybody in the main house, so there's another thing to figure out.

The items that everyone has requested, that are taking up the majority of the main room, ( are as follows... )

Looks like you better get walking.