graveyard part five

[gamehead]

hunter's game the graveyard You wake up in an unfamiliar cabin. At first, it almost seems like you're in an entirely different place and that everything had been just a dream. The interior of the cabin looks nothing like the run-down, old-timey shacks that you had been living in before. Everything in here is sleek and modern, from the enormous flat-screen TV mounted on the wall to the fridge and mini-bars stocked with all your favorite foods. There aren't any individual rooms in here, just a common area large enough to house everyone comfortably, no matter how many more people join you...and there will be plenty more people joining you before the week is over. Because if you look outside the window, it quickly becomes clear that not only are you still in Prayer's Pass, but that you are no longer among the realm of the living. Judging from the tombstones directly outside, you're now in what had been the abandoned broken-down cabin in the graveyard. The cabin's not all that changed; the world outside has gone completely grey and everything you see appears to be faded and blurry. The only things that remain sharp and in color are what's inside the cabin, including your fellow ghosts. Occasionally, people who are still alive may enter, but it's clear that what they're seeing is completely different from what you're seeing. The door's unlocked; however, a mysterious force prevents you from stepping beyond the threshold, no matter how hard you may try. After all, this cabin is a cage for the dead - a gilded one, perhaps, but a cage nonetheless. On the flat-screen TV plays everything that is currently happening in the town. It will shut off once night starts...and something else will appear instead. (The graveyard so far)

Comments

[condescent]

It was no trouble at all! I simply couldn't stand the thought of such a warm and caring mother not being appreciated by her child. Ah, but if you truly want to repay the favor, some quality cuisine would be splendid. Shibuya has everything I want when it comes to fashion, but the food isn't quite as up to par, you know? Especially the stuff Sanae makes.

I suppose we're meant to watch and reflect on our actions of not trusting our killers more. Though it seems like a waste of a lesson to me - some of us may have been targeted due to actively trying to hunt down the wolves, but others simply had bad luck when it came to roles or whatever else led them to make their decision. Still, it's strange...by all accounts, it seems like the hunters winning would have been the ideal ending, so why the last clue?

[expiatrice]

Charles is a picky child, but words can't express how delighted I am you two get along so well. It's rare for him to get such a good friend, you know? [piling terrible compliments onto each other take 3587698 here...] And certainly! I wouldn't claim expertise, but I've spent a year or two in Japan to have gotten a decent grasp for the local cuisine. I'd cook for you for the rest of our lives too if I could, but I probably shouldn't say that too seriously or it'll really jinx us to the next morbid town together, aha. But still, I definitely would do my best to comply, if you've any specific requests in mind!

Do you really think that might be the moral? I'm still having a little bit of trouble accepting that if the prey collective stayed passive, wolf victory would've brought everyone back to life - that is, after they've killed enough preys in gruesome ways to outnumber. Critter did say this is a game 'good for humans to play', but in the end, what's it trying to prove? That phonecall about the 'choice' is still an enigma, but Critter did just announce that the living prey may choose to simply walk away and leave this place in its entirety behind for good. A quiet and anticlimactic exit, while selfish, wouldn't warrant what we've heard on that line the other day - unless leaving here doesn't guarantee anyone's safety and something terrible is simply camping outside, I suppose, but that's really gloomy, isn't it?

[cups her chin...]

We're definitely at the cusp of this 'bonus level' you mentioned, but there has to be more to it still. That message on the blackboard spelled out 'the hunters must be stopped', correct? I'm reminded of Charles' question when it asked Critter just who the hunters are. They may be wolf, but at this point, they can't be JUST wolves, not if wolf victory would've assured everyone's survival.

[a beat.]

It's unlikely that message was cautioning against bringing the wolves back, is it? How feasible do you think it is, that the true 'hunters' are akin to a final boss we've yet to encounter?

[it's that or they're all hunters, in her opinion, but how do you stop 'everyone'? ...something definitely isn't adding up.]