“I’d be noticed, but no one would try to contact the cops,” Erik explained softly, still staring at the tv in preference to making eye contact. He hoped Winter would be smart enough to find a safe place to bunk until… until she found a better place. Because the chances of Erik getting back to her… probably not good.
“Is it the connection then? That no one would notice, or at least not quickly,” Maggie suggested.
“Maybe they wouldn’t notice as quickly as I’d think,” Sebastian thought aloud, “Perhaps that is the thread. Maybe there isn’t one at all…”
"I dunno, but it's a good um, working hypothesis," Daso said.Working hypothesis. God, his sister would be able to figure this out so fast.
“We need to figure out why though. How would we benefit the kidnappers?” Erik pondered aloud, “They wouldn’t go through all this trouble for nothing. Getting people from all over the place, getting a building without an escape…”
“I don’t know? I’m not a genius or a prodigy or anything,” Maggie said. “I don’t see how they’d benefit from me.”
“Me neither. I’m just kind of a guy,” Sebastian agreed, “Nothing special.”
"Same here," Daso said. "I'm all looks and no brains." He grinned.
Maggie blushed a bit when he said that, noticing for the first time how attractive he was. “So, then why go to all this trouble?” she asked, focusing on the subject at hand again.
Daso noticed the girl's (what was her name? Maggie?) blush, smirking at her and winking slyly. He could almost hear his sister's voice in his head, chiding him for being such a flirt. Maggie was cute, what else was there to to?
Maggie looked away, a bit embarrassed. She hoped her cheeks hadn’t gotten any redder.
(Is the tv going to start with the message soon? I don’t really know what to do in the time being)
(yep i'll do that in a couple hours! todays my last day of work so i should be more active this week)
(thenimgoingbacktocollegeoops)
(Cool! and oof about college)
The TV suddenly switched on. The screen lit up. A black background with plain, large white text appeared. Daso leaned forward and read aloud:
"Hello. Welcome to the Vote. You will all vote privately for one person in the building with you. Everyone must vote. Once the votes are counted, the person with the most votes will die. If you choose not to vote, the vote will be cancelled and everyone who did not vote will die. You have one hour to vote."
Finn stared at the screen mouth open. "What the hell? This has to be a joke or something!" Finn blurted out waving at the tv. "We aren't going to kill each other."
"It's obviously a prank," Daso said with a nervous laugh. "I mean, what kind of sicko would force a bunch of people, including kids, to kill each other? Nahhh. This is probably a YouTube thing."
“…But what if it isn’t a joke?” Maggie asked, nervously. She glanced at the others. She could feel tears burning at the edge of her eyes but refused to let them fall. She swallowed. “We were all somehow kidnapped, remember?”
Erik stared at the tv. He may be gullible, but… “Why would they put this much effort, taking us all from across the country and sealing us in this building, only to make a youtube video?”
"Rich people do weird stuff," Daso mumbled. "Like, the Jake Paul's of the world."
“Guys, I don’t think this is just a Youtube video,” Maggie said. “I think they’re serious.” She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t kill anyone! Just the thought made her want to curl up and hide.
Erik bit his lip. He was familiar with death, but he never wanted to kill someone. “Some sick mind games,” He muttered, glancing at the tattoo on his inner elbow.
"I can't kill anyone in here. You guys are like literal children!" He said looking around the room. He knew that if it wasn't for his sister he would just vote for himself.
“What if none of us vote? They won’t just kill us all, right?” Maggie suggested, but one could tell that she wasn’t sure that it would even work. If someone was crazy enough to kidnap a bunch of teenagers, who’s to say they wouldn’t just kill them all for refusing to vote?