School (G7), Okishima Island, 6:56 PM
((Izumi Kanai continued from Dance of ghosts, Satomi Noda continued from A Sky Full Of Stars))
"You really think it's that simple? That everyone can come together and get along?"
The voice of Izumi Kanai (Female Student No. 5) crackled through the room, the audio quality low but the words clear enough to easily distinguish. Behind a table stacked high with papers and folders and a worn coffee mug, Kinpatsu Sakamochi (Supervisor) leaned backwards, fingers entwined with each other, hands knitted behind his head. His face was turned towards the ceiling, but his eyes were closed.
"Of course it's not simple," replied Satomi Noda (Female Student No. 17). "But we have to try something, don't we? I met Tanizawa and Nakagawa—Noriko, I mean—and they're searching too."
Sakamochi had spent a little time listening in on the three girls since they parted ways, in case they might in some fashion be related to certain recent tidings regarding the Program's security, but he had quickly come to the conclusion that they were not, or at least that they posed no threat to the operation. Attempted resistance was not particularly novel, and it tended to sort itself out fairly quickly, though a small percentage of the time a class would manage to run down the timer and get detonated en masse.
Perhaps more usefully to the regime, now and then somebody would slip up and spill something that pointed towards otherwise-undetected sedition in wider society. In those cases, there would be visits from the proper authorities. The Program had cost far more lives than its official death toll in this way. It could also win bonuses for those who helped the process along, though of course that was beside the point to loyal patriots. It was this that had brought Sakamochi back to the girls now and then.
"I saw Oki, and he thought everything could be normal too. But it can't."
"It's... I don't mean that it'll be normal. But we have to try, don't we? Please, at least can we move?"
Now, an encounter was playing out on the edge of the harbor (H9), an area that would become Forbidden in just a few minutes. One of the pair had been there since almost the very beginning, while another had only arrived recently after wanderings, perhaps looking to make sure that everyone cleared out safely.
"Why? Do you think we're too close?"
As it so happened, they were. Sakamochi was not overly concerned with the precise details, but cracking his eye he could see a display to the side of the room which marked the locations of all the students, and these two were still at least twenty meters inside the boundaries. Some of the soldiers in the next room over were probably making side bets about it right now.
"I'm not sure, but I just want to be safe. I want to—are you okay?"
The interjection was preceded by the sound of thumping and feedback, like someone had fallen over or bumped into something. Sakamochi's eyebrows pulled closer together.
"I, I think I'm fine. If you could just help me..."
There were images of what was happening available, too, but they were satellite images from very far away, and they didn't move in real time. The details were poor. Trees or roofs or other cover made them of quite limited use. If Sakamochi tried to pull up what he was listening to, it would take several minutes and he probably still wouldn't learn anything special.
"Kanai, I... what are those?"
Suddenly, there was the sound of rapid movement, a flurry of cloth and heavy breathing and what sounded like the impact of a solid object against something hard but padded. Metal on bone? Foot on ground? Impossible to say. One of the girls was armed with a number of grenades, while the other wielded only a fork. If a fight had broken out, it would be lopsided, but at the same time grenades were hard weapons to use in close quarters. And who could say if that was even what was going on? From his experience with other classes, Sakamochi gave it perhaps a two-thirds chance of being an ambush turned fight, and a one-third chance of one girl actually trying to help the other overcome some obstacle.
Of course, before Sakamochi could think further about getting any answers, the clock ticked over to 7:00 PM, and the microphone feed abruptly cut. Both collars simultaneously stopped reporting signs of life. The room fell into silence.
With a sigh Sakamochi shook his head, then stood up and rolled his shoulders.
"That's the problem with computers," he said. "No sense of drama."
School (G7), Okishima Island, 6:00 AM
"Good morning, everyone. This is Sakamochi again. It is 6 AM. A full day has passed since the first time I listed the dead. There are just over half of you remaining. It's slower than some I've seen, but don't be disheartened."
Sakamochi sounded rested and chipper, his upbeat demeanor in full force.
"Well then, let me tell you who died to get us here.
"First, No. 5, Izumi Kanai, and No. 17, Satomi Noda, almost at exactly the same time.
"No. 16, Yuka Nakagawa.
"No. 9, Yuko Sakaki.
"No. 12, Haruka Tanizawa. Quite a few girls in a row, isn't it?
"Oh, but then we have No. 8, Yoji Kuramoto.
"No. 11, Mitsuko Souma.
"And, last of all, No. 14, Sho Tsukioka.
"There are 22 of you left. The areas open to you will now also be reduced accordingly.
"At 7 AM, which is only an hour from now, H-3 will become Forbidden. If you're there now, you have a hike ahead of you, so don't dally.
"At 9 AM, in three hours, F-6.
"At 11 AM, J-3.
"At 1 PM, just after noon, I-6.
"At 3 PM, which is in nine hours, B-9.
"At 5 PM, an hour before I next check in, C-7.
"I hope you've been writing these down, because there are some tricky paths you'll have to follow to get around. Remember, if you step out of line, you will die. And more areas will become forbidden as this continues."
There was a click, and Sakamochi's voice cut out.
Weather: 6:00 AM, Day Two
Today is chillier than yesterday, with a brisk, salty breeze from the sea. There's a little early-morning fog in the coastal areas, but it burns off as the sun rises, and the day is very livable, if not quite as comfortable as yesterday.
And, the rolls. We're back to four this time:
1. Hiroshi Kuronaga (Ohm) - Kazuhiko Yamamoto (Polybius, Hero Card used)
2. Mayumi Tendo (Laurels)
3. Yoshitoki Kuninobu (Salic) - Shogo Kawada (Jilly, Hero Card used)
4. Kazuo Kiriyama (Deamon)
Three days for cards, and a further seven for deaths.
Forbidden Zones are staggered again, but now there are more of them. The Southern Peak (H3) and Walled House (F6) are forbidden immediately, with three days for normal activity and an additional seven to exit.
Come mid-month rolls, the Sandy Beach (I6) and Northern Peak (C7) will become forbidden, and will start their own timers (and you'll be notified/reminded then too). Until then, these areas remain open.
The remaining Forbidden Zones do not directly correspond to specific locations. Unlike in other games, Forbidden Zones are not lifted as the game progresses, and no warning is given to students who linger in or enter one.
