Zenith : In Character → Threads, Logs, Events

Who: Edwin & Oliver
When: Some time in the afternoon
Where: Their room

( Hug time! )

Who: Nature Center team
When: Somewhere between 10-11am
Where: The nature center, onward

( Movin' Right Along )

Who: Kiley, Marco, Scotty and Oliver
Where: The barn
When: 10am

( I don't think I fell asleep here... )

Day 64.

Weather: Now that the sun's out, it's in the high 70's. That breeze has stuck around, too.

Events: With how long and stressful the previous night was, no one could be blamed for thinking that day wouldn't come. And yet, to everyone's relief, the sun rises after 7am, and day arrives.

Once the sun is up however, no one is actually starting their day. Between 7 and 8am, anyone who isn't already sleeping is going to feel compelled to sleep, thankfully not just falling asleep wherever they are. Anyone who's up a tree or in the river or something, don't worry, you won't just doze off and fall out of that tree or slip under the waves. Everyone will get a chance to get to a place that's comfortable, or at the very least safe, and fall asleep.

Everyone wakes up again after 10am, right where they'd fallen asleep. Anyone who's at the houses or any other structure are going to notice what the sleep break was for first: All the doors and windows across the property have returned in one piece. Did TPTB do that all in two hours, or has everyone been asleep longer than they were led to believe? You'll never know. Either way, no one's going to wake up as well rested as they would have liked, and it's up to them if they'd like to return to their bed to remedy that, or just crash at whatever safe place they've found for themselves.

No matter what they decide, it does at least appear that the monsters have disappeared until darkness falls again. Everyone has the rest of the day to get back to the house or do whatever it is they'd like.

The only people who don't wake up where they were last are, of course, those who were abducted by creatures last night. Oliver, Scotty, Kiley, and Marco all wake up in the barn starting at 10am, and unlike Chase and Ivy before them, they all are in one horse stall together, basically piled on top of each other. Everything else that they experience is about the same: For the first few minutes they're awake, there's a ringing in their ears, and their limbs feel heavy and stiff. The ringing fades, but the body soreness remains for the rest of the day, as does the wearyness and just general lousy feelings.

Each of them also wake up with a bright red mark somewhere on their skin, about eight inches long, and an inch wide. Oliver's is around his ankle, Scotty's is across his right shoulder, Kiley's is across and around her left knee, and Marco's goes across his right forearm. Any other injuries they may have aquired the night before seem to have been treated enough to not be worrying or dangerous, but they all have no memory of that. They may have memories of being trapped within the grasp of the monster and running through the dark, but the memory of what happened after is absent.

Little else is going on today. Along with the windows and doors being returned, the power is back on, as are all lanterns and path lights. Anyone who wasn't able to grab their phone will still be able to find it on the table in the kitchen, and thankfully, anyone who lost their (or anyone else's) phone will find that it has also been returned to the table. None of them have been charged, so most people will still be working with a limited power supply. Anyone who did have their phone will still have it today, including anyone who had a phone on them when they were abducted.

There's no message from TPTB on the network, except for those in ExB, and that won't show up until they're back at one of the three home buildings:

Is there anything we can do to improve your experience with last night's scenario if we choose to do this again in the future?

Felix will also find something in his room when he gets back there: It's a voucher for $100, with a note that says "For babysitting - Just this once."

Edit: Oh, and the GPS on the phones is working again! Everyone's little markers are showing up just fine. Which is good, because those people who got lost and never found the house? They're still lost. Hopefully they can find their way back to the house now that it's daylight, but someone should probably be keeping an eye on that.

Who: Edwin, Felix, and Pam OPEN MULTIPLES WELCOME
When: A little after 1am
Where: Near the waterfall on the way to the Nature Center

( By the light of the silvery moon )

Who: Marco & Harper & Open! Multiples welcome!
When: Close to 1am
Where: Marker 4, the old car port

( What's another waking nightmare among friends? )

Who: Tobias, Owen and Chase
Where: Outside the mill
When: After sundown

( Are you afraid of the dark? )

Who:: Oliver and no one good [Narrative]
Where: Northwest of his starting position
When: Soon after the sun goes down

( Man down )

Who: Kiley and Scotty
When: Sunset
Where: Out there!

( it was time to go old school with some good old-fashioned yelling. )

Who: Felix, Pam, Edwin and OPEN TO MULTIPLES
Where: Outside the main house
When: Just after sundown

( Not so funny now. )

Day 63.

Weather: Mid-60s and breezy.

Events: Everyone wakes up, oddly, where they woke up on that first day that they arrived here in the woods, with the exception of Harper, Owen, and Lila. (Everyone's locations are marked on the map ( right here. ) Everyone wakes up in their own clothes (though not what they went to bed in), without their phones, and laying flat under the orange sunrise sky.

Or... wait. What direction does the sun rise in?

Oh, that's sunset. Oh. Oh no.

While no one wakes up with their phone, everyone does wake up to find an arrow scratched into the dirt or a tree or something that'll point them back to the house so they can try to get there before darkness falls, if they run.

There are a few problems with the house, though. For one, the power's off. It's not a problem with the mill, either, since the waterwheel is still working with no problems. The power is just off, which means no protected paths, no monster-repelling lanterns, and no hiding in the comfort of your bed to avoid things.

Especially since, for tonight, every door and window in the various structures across the map have been removed, except for the doors to the rooms that have been locked to the subjects since their arrival.

Still, when everyone does eventually make their way to the house, assuming they make it, they'll all find their phones on the table in the kitchen of the lodge, all together in a circle, and all at half power. They'll all find a note on their phones waiting for them.

At this point, the majority of you have seen the creatures that roam the forests at night. There are only two of our creatures present in Mount Zenith tonight.

While it's somewhat worrying knowing that there are more than two creatures out there on any given day, it's probably easier to outrun two when there are so many people around to provide distractions. And there's nothing that says that there aren't places to hide. After all, Scotty managed to hide after that first encounter. Maybe there are some blind spots out there. Or maybe the things just need some time between abductions...

Hiding in the house doesn't seem like an option, though. For anyone who does think they can hide in the house all night, bad news. One of those creatures, at least for the start of the night, seems to be hanging around between the barn and the mill, hiding in the woods but close enough that it can crawl inside the three open buildings to corner and grab people. While everyone should get ten to fifteen minutes to collect whatever supplies they might think they need, it would be wise to keep moving.

But of course TPTB need one more way to screw with people, and that's through that GPS function on people's phones, which seems to be acting up more often than it works properly. Tonight, no one can see where they are on the map, nor can they see any other subjects. At least, not at first. If a person is taken by one of the creatures, that person's GPS marker will show up on the map in the spot that they encountered the creature and will remain in that spot for the night.

There are probably ways to avoid the creatures completely all night, but you'll have to be smart, resourceful, and probably quick. Not to mention that this is really the first time people have just been out in the woods at night, and it's dark out there, and the terrain is rough and still hasn't fully been explored. There are hazards out there that are not monster related, but may end up being even more dangerous.

Here's hoping everyone has flashlights.

Oh, and for their safety, all pets have been removed for the evening, and anyone who goes to check if their pet is in their room will find a note saying as much. Chase will also find that all the things that he requested on his first voucher have been delivered to his room.

Who: Oliver, Harper, Ivy, Edwin, & anyone else who might want to be outside with the losers group
When: around 9pm
Where: Between the lodge and the barn

( A nice campfire is always nicer with marshmallows. )

Who: Pam and Chase (and Minion)
Where: Pam's room
When: Mid-morning

( I've never been a gambling man... )

Day 62.

Weather: High 70s and slightly windy for most of the morning, followed by heavy rain until about 3:30pm, at which point the temperature drops to the low 70s.

Events: Everyone, thankfully, wakes up exactly where they went to sleep. Though everyone will get an announcement on the network at 8am, it will only wake up 3 people, if they're not awake already: Oliver, Harper, and Ivy. And bad news for them, they're going to be notified of the message by shocks from their implant. They're not strong, at least not at first, but the shocks go off every minute until they're outside, at which point the repeated shocks will stop, but they will receive strong shocks for trying to reenter the buildings other than the outhouses at the old outpost.

The message that is posted goes as follows:

The losers of yesterday's game are Oliver, Harper, and Ivy. We recommend that you make your way outside immediately. You will be allowed reentry at 8am tomorrow.

Congratulations to yesterday's winners, Kiley, Edwin, and Chase! As promised, each of you have received $500 in vouchers, to be redeemed when and however you choose! Remember that vouchers must be redeemed all at once, but this time we will not be limiting your purchases to one item or set.

Vouchers may also be made void if Pam uses her reward from the superlative survey to attempt to receive her own prize.

Additionally, in accordance with Jack's prize from the superlative survey, he will receive a $500 voucher for predicting one of the winners of the paintball game.

Chase, Kiley, Edwin, and Jack do find paper vouchers waiting for them, near identical to those first seen at Easter. The vouchers are left on each of their bedside tables.

While all the paintball guns remain, as well as everyone's camo jumpsuits, all of the paintball refill stations are now gone, as is Oliver's ATV. Chase does get to keep his beanie babies, though. If there's anything he wants to do with those.

The day continues on without incident, but as night rolls in, and the moon grows higher in the sky, there are strange sounds coming from the woods. Somewhere out there, it almost sounds like something's screaming...

Who: Harper and Kiley
When: morning
Where: where else? the woods

( trees know that you can be still and grow at the same time )

Who: Lucy and Chase
When: Morning
Where: Between their points on the map


( Team-Building Exercises, FTW )

Who: Edwin & Oliver
When: Shortly after waking up
Where: Out in the woods

( Beep beep, beep beep, yeah! )

Who: Lennon and Felix
Where: In their general area
When: Morning

( It's all fun and games, even if someone loses an eye. )

Who: Tobias and Scotty
When: Morning
Where: In the woods, of course

( wth )

Day 61.

Weather: It's a beautiful day, in the high 70s and slightly windy.

Events: At some point, regardless of any intention, everyone fell asleep before 2 AM. They'll all wake up at 7 am, and find themselves dressed in a camo jumpsuit over whatever they had fallen asleep wearing, as well as their sneakers, or a new pair of sneakers if they don't already have a pair. Everyone is alone, outdoors, with a large duffel bag and their phones. The phone wakes everyone up with a loud chime, and while GPS access is being weird, the network is still working correctly. Oh, and of course, there's a message waiting from TPTB:

Welcome to Paintball 2.

All of your companions have awoken in similar conditions in a different location. Each of you has been assigned a color, and can find a paintball gun already loaded and waiting for you in the duffel bag provided, as well as additional safety gear and your meals for this morning and afternoon.

This game of paintball starts now, and will end at exactly 3pm. Throughout the landscape we have assembled several reloading stations, and you will only have to scan your subject bracelets to receive more paintballs in your designated color. The paintball gun that you have been provided with is the only one that will work for you.

For every hit landed on an opponent, you will be given five points. Every time you take a hit, you will lose four points. At 3pm, the game will end, and we will announce the winners and losers tomorrow.

Each hit also incurs a punishment depending on where it lands on the body. Hits to arms and legs are graded superficial, and sustain no penalty. Hits to the torso and back will incur a five minute penalty to the victim. Headshots will incur a twenty minute penalty. On these penalties, the implant in the back of your neck will paralyze you, and you will be incapable of moving until your penalty has expired.

With that said, we must ask that you please keep your safety goggles on at all times, and do at least try and avoid shooting each other in the face. All equipment has been tested on our interns, and they can attest to the fact that they can in fact be quite painful.

Also of note is that any hits that incur a penalty that are made in the river or any body of water will still result in paralysis, but it will be delayed until that subject is out of the water. This is not a way to avoid penalties, however, and penalties will be accumulative and will continue being fulfilled after the game ends if necessary.

Please keep in mind that finding a cozy, secluded corner to wait it out will not be an option. We are sending a number of drones into the area, and they are equipped to shoot the paintballs as well. They will be actively seeking out anyone who remains in a small area for more than 30 minutes, excluding those who are paralyzed, and one other exception.

For the duration of this game, no one will be allowed back into the lodge, barn, or mill. All three structures will remain cut off in the same manner that the edges of the map are, and will be reopened after 3pm.

How you choose to play the game is up to you. You are more than welcome to find your friends and team up. That said, this game will have clear winners and losers, and while the last time this game was played there were no consequences, this time there will be rewards and punishments. Points can not be shared within teams.

The top three scores will receive vouchers that can be redeemed for items of your choosing, with a value of $500 each.

The bottom three scores will find that the barriers on all buildings will be reinstated at 8am tomorrow, remaining until 8am the following day. Attempts to enter these structures will result in shocks identical to those one might experience at the borders of our experiment.

As the note said, everyone can find their paintball gun in their duffel bags, plus a pair of safety goggles, a canteen full of water, a breakfast burrito, and a sandwich and bag of chips, with the food items being suited to everyone's individual tastes. For some people, this might be the best part of their day. There is also no way to access any of the buildings, as they all have their own barriers at the doors and windows. True to TPTB's word, the barriers drop at 3pm, but until then there's no hiding in the museum or the old shed. There is one structure that's available, and it's the outhouse at the abandoned outpost. So... yay?

The GPS on everyone's phones are working, but selectively. Everyone is able to see where they alone are on the map. They can also see the markers for the living spaces, and have access to a compass. That's it.

Everyone wakes up in the below locations and have the marked colored paintballs.
( It's right here. )

For most people, this is where the game starts, but for others, there are a few more instructions in another note on their phone. That survey from yesterday still needs a pay-off! For some, they'll know even without the note that something's different for them, but for others, they'll find out that they've earned themselves an interesting perk... or problem.

Yesterday we asked everyone to choose who best fit a series of superlatives, and you received the majority of votes in at least one category. Here's what your counterparts think of you, and what that means for your game today.

Jack then gets this note:

1. You have been voted to be the most likely to have been popular in high school! This has earned you an opportunity. We ask that you choose 3 of your fellow subjects. If any of those three people is one of the three winners, you will receive half the value of their winnings. If you manage to choose all 3 winners, then we will reward you with a $1,000 voucher. Choices must be made immediately.

Sure enough, at the bottom of this message is a text box where names can be typed out. ((You may reply to this post with your choices.))

Chase then gets this note:

2. You have been voted to be the most likely to secretly have a strange collection at home! As you surely have noticed, we have gifted you with a large collection of TY Beanie Babies, which have been sewn together and around your torso. We ask that you do not attempt to remove these until our game has completed at 3pm. Removal will result in an automatic loss.

Chase obviously noticed this frightening piece of apparel before reading this message. It is, like the message said, a bunch of beanie babies stitched together, and then sewn onto him, making up a sort of plush vest and fake pregnancy belly. There's even one of those Princess Diana bears that was supposed to be so rare, sewn right across Chase's chest. It's tight against him, making it impossible to wiggle out of, but more than that, it's heavy. The bulky suit seems to be made up of at least 100 Beanie Babies, making the suit around 40 pounds. The camo jumpsuit is large enough to go over the Beanie suit, and at least the layer of toys will soften any body shots. But those body shots will still count, and who knows how much the extra weight and heat will slow him down.


Oliver then gets this note:

3. You have been voted to be the most likely to have been to a monster truck show at some point in their life! In your duffel bag, you will find a keychain with the key to an ATV that can be found about 20 feet to the North. You may use this for today only, as it will be removed after today's game. Only you may use the ATV.

There's a Yamaha ATV waiting nearby, ready to be ridden. This reward really is only an option for Oliver, as when anyone else tries to drive it, the thing doesn't even start up. Someone might be able to ride on the back rack, but that doesn't sound like the safest option.


Scotty then gets this note:

4. You have been voted to be the most likely to lose their temper over an insignificant issue! Your reward will be revealed shortly!

No message revealing Scotty's reward ever comes. In fact, it doesn't seem like there is a reward. What he gets is... a series of insignificant issues. His camo jumpsuit is just a little too tight. His shoelaces end up untied constantly. There are no bugs in Mount Zenith, and yet he somehow ends up with several bug bites over the course of the day. His aim with his paintball gun is always just a little off. No matter what, things are always just a little wrong. It's almost like it was planned that way.


Pam then gets this note:

5. You have been voted to be the most likely to become a successful game show host! Today, you have been rewarded with an opportunity that we call "The Bonus Round."

Once the winners are revealed, you will have the opportunity to challenge any one of the three winners to a Double-or-Nothing Challenge. The winner may be offered a coin toss to earn double their winnings. If they win, we will honor that gamble and double their earnings. If you win, you will receive their prize, and they will receive nothing.

It is not required that you use your reward, but should you use it, the person that you challenge can not refuse your challenge.

A quarter can be found in Pam's duffel bag, though if she misplaces it, one will still strangely appear somewhere in the house.


Lucy then gets this note:

6. You have been voted to be the most likely to have an intimate relationship with one of their teachers! Just as someone may enter a relationship with their teacher to assure themselves good grades, we have assured that you will have the answers to this test. Whenever another subject comes within 30 feet of you, your paintball gun will pulse slightly to alert you to your approaching opponent. You will also be able to use the GPS on your phone to easily locate all paintball refilling stations.

That one's pretty straightforward. The gun will pulse twice to let Lucy know when someone's coming. It won't be a continuous pulse, and it's not strong enough to alter her aim. Unless she's feeling particularly jumpy.


Lennon then gets this note:

7. You have been voted to be the most likely to watch porn as soon as they wake up As you surely have noticed, your vision has been impaired by our modified safety goggles. You will be unable to remove these goggles until the end of our game, at which point they will unlock and can be disposed of.

Because masturbation supposedly made you go blind. Get it that's the joke Lennon wakes up with a pair of goggles fastened snugly around his head. The goggles fasten in the back, but that function doesn't seem to be available until 3pm. There's no wiggle room, and the goggles can't be slipped off, but they're at least padded and not too uncomfortable. What they are is hard to see through. They offer no peripheral vision, and the lenses themselves seem to be partially frosted and shaded, leaving only a small portion of the lenses to see through clearly, and that's only if he's looking directly forward. He can see much more clearly if things are close to his face, but that's unfortunately only going to be helpful when it comes to reading the network.


Tobias then gets this note:

8. You have been voted to be the most likely to have the highest body count! We have provided you with a more high-powered paintball gun to allow you to continue to live up to this title. This paintball gun can shoot paintballs more rapidly, as well as from a further distance. It also holds more ammo than the standard paintball gun. Additionally, one in every 100 shots, should it hit another subject, will take that subject out of the game by paralyzing them until the game is over.

Tobias does not find the same rifle in his bag. Instead, he finds a slightly more threatening looking weapon. If he goes looking for the special paint ball that knocks other players out of the game, he'll find that there is nothing that distinguishes the special round from any of the others.

Kiley then gets this note:

9. You have been voted to be the most likely to fake their death! While no one will get extra points for shooting you, any time you are hit with a paintball, you will incur double the penalty. Additionally, shots to your arms or legs will incur a two minute penalty.

Well, that sucks. Kiley will be paralyzed for ten minutes for hits to the torso and back, and 40 minutes for headshots.

And finally, Tobias then gets this note as well:

10. You have been voted to be the most likely to spend time in jail! You will remained locked in place until someone else chooses to release you. Should no one release you, the handcuffs will automatically unlock at 3pm. While confined to your current location, you will be excluded from drone attacks.

Tobias wakes up with one hand handcuffed to a thankfully low, but thick tree branch. The branch has too many other branches to be able to slide the other end of the handcuffs off the tree, but the key is within sight! It's just ten feet away, on a satin pillow, surrounded by four Mylar balloons with the words "THE" "KEY" "IS" and "HERE" printed across them. There's no way Tobias can reach the key on his own, but he can at least reach his duffel bag, and his phone, so at least maybe he can call for help. Again, his paintball gun comes loaded, but until he is released, he will be unable to go get refills.

Finally, ExB will find that while they don't have most of their feed access until 3pm, they get exactly one feed, and it's a clear shot of Tobias, attached to a tree. The shot remains on that tree even after Tobias is released (if he's released), but they at least get to see that they got what they wanted to make happen. They also can read all the network messages still, including the ones from TPTB to the subjects who had won superlatives.

At 3pm, the GPS on everyone's phones functions once again, and the barriers around each of the buildings go down. Going home, everyone will find that all the pets have been fed and are as happy as they ever seem, id a little lonely. There's no information from TPTB for the rest of the day. Today's another one of those days where people are really going to miss having their own shower after running around for hours.


((Mod notes: The refill stations aren't on the map because it just seems more fun to let you guys be able to get ammo whenever? So there's an abundance of them around the area. Also, I believe we decided last time that paralysis doesn't effect people's ability to speak, so we'll stick with that rule.

Finally, obviously we can't really take score, so near the end of this game day if everyone can just sort of guess how they do? I trust you guys to be fair about it, but I'll put up something on the OOC closer to the end to figure things out in. I expect we'll need and extension but I'll wait))