Futuristic Mass Deception

[Yakov011001]

"Christ alive!" Klaüs jumped at the sudden arrival of Penelope before sighing deeply.

She came out of no where, he supposed it only made sense though. He hadn't quite made all that big of an effort to be aware of his surroundings. Penelope though, quickly dismissed herself.

"Wait, wait!" He called out to her, though he couldn't quite grasp why he did. "You don't--you don't have to leave. You can stay," He paused for only a moment. "I-I mean, if you want to."

What was before Penelope now was a far cry from anything she'd ever seen from him, even if she had only known him for a day. All the brimming confidence, the charisma, the energy: it was gone. Where did it go? Klaüs continued to eat chocolates, albeit a tad slower than before. Some kind of stress eating almost, but more intense and involved than other cases. He shoulders were still tense, and Penelope's showing up has drawn his attention to the door; with an almost unwavering gaze. His posture was less relaxed than it was, more in a forward position. It was evident he was fully capable of darting out of the room without a word should anyone else enter. Someone he was less comfortable with? Was he comfortable with Penelope around? No, something about her gave him anxiety, but in a different way than the others. Why that was, he couldn't say.

thelovelyloser

 

[thelovelyloser]

Klaus jumping only startled Penelope more, standing rigid in the doorway with her eyes focused on him. Though he had offered for her to say she was still ready to spin and rush out the door at any minute. It was clear that something was on his mind and she had never been good at comforting others, meaning that she could offer little help to the stranger.

When other members of their team started to spill in she decided to make her way back toward the center of the room, relaxing slightly at the thought of not being alone with just one other person. She made a stop at his bed though, fishing an object out of her pocket and placing it a few feet away from him on the plush surface. It was the candy bar that he had given her during the obstacle course when she was delusional and crying from the tear gas. It was crushed slightly from the events but she knew that in the moment he needed it more than she did. With a faint smile she mumbled, "Thank you... again."

With that she rushed to her own bed that was across from his, crawling on top and pulling one of the sheets up to cover her body. Once she was settled her attention shifted toward Filomena, not holding eye contact long. Subconsciously she mimicked the girl, swirling a strand of her own hair around her finger. "No, I um, didn't stay long." From her comment though it was clear that she knew something the others didn't, "But what did we miss out on?" Normally she wouldn't be so forward in asking, but Mena had been so kind during their previous interaction and continued to give off the same welcoming aura. It didn't hurt to just ask right?

Yakov011001 PinkChiffon

 

[PinkChiffon]

Mena clasped her hands together. "Penelope, I'm so glad you asked!" Mena pulled her legs in closer to her body and leaned forward just a bit, addressing the room. "While you guys decided the party wasn't worth sticking around for, I figured mingle a bit. Get to know the teams we're up against, see if anyone knew anything about what happened earlier, and as fate would have it, someone was able to tell me a thing or two. I ended up chatting with a faculty member and guess what he had to say?" Mena paused for dramatic effect, but not long enough to wait for an answer. "He said that the rest of the faculty was arguing about the last phase. I guess the guy who is calling the shots, Rider, sprung it on everyone last minute. Which full circles to what I said earlier, that's weird. They've been doing this for how long now with a tried and true formula for testing? Why change the formula last minute, and why would he keep it to himself? I was also told that Rider is royally pissed off, which from what I gather, is the norm. We have him for training first thing in the morning, no idea what he has in store for us though. Seems like the only one who would have a clue about the lesson plan is the guy who tried to fake kill us earlier."

 

[thelovelyloser]

The excitement in Filomena's voice caused Penelope to shrink under the covers, not expecting the sudden boom from her clasping her hands together. Maybe she shouldn't have asked... However, as the girl continued it was worth the sudden surprise. It didn't make sense how a single person had the ability to spring the last phase on them like that. Who exactly was Rider? The one in charge of it all? What was worse was the fact that apparently he was the one training them in the morning. How in the world had they been paired to train with a man who had practically tried to kill them off during their first test? It didn't make sense at all.

With the questions flying through her head she realized that she had remained silent and finally straightened out her posture once more. "W-Well did you talk to that guy at the party? The one who may know?" The question was followed by a gulp because the last thing she wanted was the go to training with all of these haunting questions lingering above her head.

 

[PinkChiffon]

Mena's nose scrunched a bit. "No, I didn't. I didn't see him around at the party, and quite frankly, I'm glad he wasn't there. I'm not exactly ready to play nice with the man who hurled knives at us just a few hours ago. And I didn't really want to go looking for him at this hour anyway." Mena huffed as she laid back on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Even after everything that had happened to them today, she didn't feel as tired as she expected. It must have been whatever was in the syringe they were injected with after the test. "I wonder how many of us are left any." She mused allowed. "Julian, the knife guy, told me earlier that just under half had failed assessment last year. I mean, really, it's incredible that we all made it." Mena stressed her words. She was wholeheartedly astonished that everyone on her team had made it, she originally had a few of them pegged to be the earliest casualties.

 

[Shadow Cat]

The night is a particular breed of silence, the absence of even the sound of wildlife sending a shiver up your spine. There are no crickets here, no stray birds cawing in the distance, and certainly no trees rustling in the gentle breeze. No, the only sounds you could hear were the gentle breathing of your teammates as they rested in their beds. Part of you wonders if they are having as much trouble sleeping as you are. The day was filled with excitement and adrenaline, after all. The aftermath of that should have left you so tired you wouldn't be able to move. And yet, here you were, lying awake, staring at the ceiling, wondering when the mercy of dawn would finally break.

Your thoughts are broken without warning by a distant clap of thunder, and you startle slightly before realizing it's just the weather. Merciful, really. Perhaps if a gentle rain were pattering on the roof, you might actually be able to get some shuteye.

Rather strange, actually. The time difference between the thunder and the brief flash of lightning afterword had indicated the storm was still several miles out, and yet the air was charged with undeniable electricity. Though, as the rain began to patter down on the grass outside, you begin to think you might be wrong about the storm's location.

You sit bolt upright in your bed. You feel the familiar release of adrenaline flood your veins as you realize there is no rain. You're hearing the sound of several sets of quiet, stealthy footsteps. The electricity in the air is only building, and you aren't sure how, but you know it has nothing to do with the storm.

Looking around at your roommates, you realize quickly that they must have had as much trouble sleeping as you because they're all sitting up as well. The pair of seniors bunking with you are completely out of bed, and they're getting dressed rather quickly. You aren't sure why, but the look of subtle fear on their faces strikes a cold spike of terror through your stomach.

Without a word, you climb to your feet and begin to dress as well, unsure of what the night will bring, or even if you'll live to see the sunrise.

​

 

[Shadow Cat]

Aster was awake well before the thunder rolled in the far the distance. A year in this camp trained one to sleep lightly, honed the senses the pick up on the slightest change in surroundings. It seemed to her, however, that there was nothing slight about this change.

The air even within the dorm had picked up an alarming electrical charge, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up at the feeling. It was much too eerily similar to having the displeasure of standing near and energy weapon at the time of discharge.

She was out of bed before even she knew was she was doing, tugging on her combat outfit as she listened for any hint of what might be happening. Some kind of training exercise perhaps?

A sound broke through her thoughts as she stood up straight, casting a gaze over at Lukas who was doing the same. The senior had an odd arch to his left eyebrow, something she had recognized a while back as his tell. The boy was terrified. And she was too. It didn't take a genius to recognize the sound that had jolted her out of her thoughts as that of stealthy footsteps, many more than what would be used for just a simple training exercise.

The sound of a siren wailing confirmed her thoughts.

"We'll need to get them to the emergency rendezvous." She spoke in a hushed whisper to Lukas, casting her gaze over the group. "I'll take lead, you take rear?​

 

[Hugh Flynn]

​

"Roger that. Lead the way, I'll check the status servers," Lukas droned back, tugging on his jacket as he activated his bracer.
As a siren wailed overhead, Lukas brought the bracer close and typed in a few lines of code. A few seconds later, more lines of code were brought to Lukas' attention.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Status-Server #0003
CampDefenses <BREACHED>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Shit. Camp defenses have been breached," Lukas notified Aster, "I'll try to get a situation update from HQ."
"HQ, 0003 on the line. Requesting a situation update and plan of action."
Lukas paused for a reply, cursing when all that came back was static.
"Someone must've sabotaged our comm tower. This is a raid. We need to get everyone out of here."

Lukas rushed to the door, slamming the light switch and kicking the door open. The blaring alarm blasted into the room louder than before, accompanied by painful red flashing lights. The brunet stepped outside, unfurling his whip as he leaned against the doorframe and motion to the others to leave the room.

Welcome to the world of Infiltration, trainees. Let's see how you function in a real life-or-death raid.

 

[PinkChiffon]

Maybe it was thinking about the events of the day, maybe it was just the lack of her creature comforts from home, but for whatever reason, Mena was not getting a wink of sleep. She had spent the past few hours tossing and turning, unable to find enough comfort to fall asleep. Mena noted the sounds of the distant storm but didn't think much of it at first. She could practically feel the lightening in the air, the storm must have been moving faster then she thought. Still, it made her uncomfortable. There was a sense of dread in the pit of her stomach. Perhaps it's like when her grandmother says she can predict the rain based on her knee. Still, it felt wrong. As her discomfort was summiting, she could hear the sound of the rain started just outside. 'Funny... it sort of sounds like when the boys would be running down the hallway, trying to sneak out.' Why could she hear the rain outside, but not on the roof? It wasn't raining.

Mena bolted upright, it was clear to her that she was not alone in her suspicion. She flew out of bed gettings dressed as quickly as she could. Maybe it was part of their training, but the seniors seemed fairly shook up by the matter. Mena tugged on the laces of her shoes, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the siren, she squeezed her eyes shut in reaction to the introduction of the red light. Her vision adjusted and she grabbed her rapier, her pack, and moved to join Aster.

 

[-ferret-]

Weasel slept light. He often found himself waking at the slightest sound. And when he did wake, it was alert and ready to go. But that wasn't this night. This night, Weasel was tucked under his cot with his mass of blankets surrounding him like a nest. Nestled in the corner, as safe as could be, Weasel still felt stiff and awake. The thunder wasn't helping. He watched the ground and morosely huffed. He was bored and tired and wanted to sleep. But it seemed like all he'd get tonight was the breathing of his teammates.

That was until he heard shuffling and then saw Eagle's feet on the floor, hurriedly putting on her clothes. He immediately felt the urgency as Aster and Lukas started talking in hushed tones. Weasel slid out of his nest and from under his cot to slide into his clothes. He was tying his boots at the same time as Eagle when the sirens started. He was already awake, but the sirens jolted him into true wakefulness and urgency.

He strapped his quiver to his waist and his knives. Sheathing his dagger, he grabbed his bow, hefting the weight in his hand. While Eagle went to Aster, Weasel sidled up to Lukas to see what he was doing.

 

[Chawieeee]

Layla didn't close her eyes for one second during the night, just staring at ceiling, thinking about the last part of the test still. But that thought quickly got replaced by sounds from the outside world. She could clearly hear the sounds of the outside world, but contrary to her assumptions, the sounds were way closer than they actually seemed. She held her head steady whilst moving her eyes to see if anyone else reacted to the weird situation as well, and it seemed like everyone did.

Following the sounds of thunder, the white haired girl immediately made moves and it seemed like everyone was supposed to follow her. Layla jumped out her bed without any hesitation, tying her blond hair and readied up for whatever caused this. She dropped onto her knees and took both of her swords which she had placed underneath her bed and strapped them onto her side, ready for action.

Yet, Layla wasn't ready to kill someone, but because she had pretended to be ruthless in the test, she better lived up to it. With that in the back of her mind, she walked towards the door, following Aster's and Mena's footsteps. "Is this supposed to be another test? Or are we in trouble?" The small blonde asked with no particular recipient.