OPERATION: NEXUS

The cycle repeats so much that over time, eventually everyone gets used to it. Twenty four hours have passed and Doctor Mclain’s voice is heard over the intercom. She sounds the same, cold and business-like. Not a hint of emotion or stress to her voice. 

“Since our staff involving cleanup is still dead, Mr. Jenkins is going to go ahead and enter the facility to clean the corpse. He may not do a good job, but we don’t have very many options. This, of course, will only happen if all of you enter the ‘classroom’ to hold a friendly discussion with all of your lovely friends.” There’s no hint of sarcasm in her voice. 

“I will be present to assist you this time, and Mr. Jenkins will not be able to interfere. We believed it was.. too troublesome to have you be in pain while you do this again, so the growing pains will pause. But, if you fail to find the murderer, let’s assume there’s something worse than your growing pains that’s inside of you. Go on, now.”

Beneath everyone’s feet, arrows light up on the ground. They point towards the hallway between the Game Room and R10, where the slot the size of a door remains.The same room as always appears, with white walls and several rows of desks and chairs. The desk and chairs are quickly moved to a circle with the effort of those who want to do it to save time and trouble. However, there’s desks missing where deceased once were. It’s just an empty spot in the row.

The door and exit of the room slides shut as soon as everyone scans their bar codes and traps them in the classroom.

* The summer prep room is a mess. The rope is found missing.

* A blank journal lays open on a table. There seem to have been two pages ripped out if it. The pages are the same size and shape as the note found in Ikura's room.

* A few dry reference books from the library are lying stacked in front of a cabinet filled with painting supplies.

* Many supplies, including turpentine, glue, and mod podge, have been left out on a counter.

* A note found slipped under the door of Squids and Ikura's room. The note reads, “Ikura - We both know we have a score to settle. Come to the arcade and let's finish this - It will be our clash of the monsters! - Sousuke”. The note is written in English.

* On the towel rack in Sousuke and Kerry's room, there are some towels missing.

* A good half of one of the shelves in the library is burnt and blackened, and the one behind it is toppled, sending books everywhere.

* A length of rope tied into a noose, it remains where Riley left it in the library.

* A kitchen knife found wrapped up in the towels under the air hockey table. It seems to be perfectly clean.

* A messy towel with different colored stains on it. It's damp and has a strong chemical smell. It's tossed to the side near the doorway.

* A stack of towels found under the air hockey table. They appear to be the same ones you'd find in the dorm’s private bathrooms.

* Ikura's body has some defensive wounds alongside the ones that would have obviously been made by the glass or the electrical parts of the machine.

Upon entering the Movie Theater, the movies have stopped playing, leaving a complete silence in the room. These words are listed on the screen instead of the regular cycle of movies.

Two hours have passed since Riley emerged from the library, hurt and confused as to what happened. Two hours is so much time, yet so little people have noticed one thing.

Not everyone is here.

It’s not that late, it appears. It’s only slowly becoming night, and it’s not common for everyone to be around during this time. But everyone should have heard the crackling, loud enough to echo throughout the entire facility. Not one person could ignore such a sound.

Xue comes running down the halls, out of breath while yelling out in her own foreign language. She grabs the closest person- Ayumu as she drags him to what she’s yelling about.

While Xue vanishes with Ayumu, the intercom comes on. The same laughter is heard, and he wheezes for a while before speaking.

“You know, it’s so funny! You kids always seem to do things all at once, huh?!” The laughter is interrupted suddenly, it sounds much more distant. Ellen is heard, now. “Afraid I have to stop that fool from rambling on. There’s been another murder reported, and without even something to motive them?” She flips through some papers. “Subject 196, Ikura Sunadori has been murdered. Exactly at 7:31 PM. The rest of the information lies at the movie theater if needed, and the same participation rules follow.” A pause.

Days have passed since the puzzle Leroy set up. Days, counting down from when they found a growing corpse, files of deceased biological family and a jar in a brain. Silence only greets the facility, there’s no note of congratulations from him or Ellen. There’s only more growing pains, turning them into monsters as time passes. The rooms they found turn back to being locked, and keys vanished as if they weren’t there in the first place. There’s confusion in the air, if the puzzle actually happened or not. Another day passes, and not even the intercom, if asked directly, answers them.

Then, noises. Not from the intercom.

A brief flash of light, a loud crackling noise echos throughout the area. The closest ones to the commotion are Calico and Squids, joined by Mayumi. The three go to the library, and are interrupted by someone leaving.