━━━━༻ ♣ ༺━━━━ backdoor 00100000 ━━━━༻ ♣ ༺━━━━

The deaths steadily rose each day. The Seeker was on the move and hunting down Numbers with brutal efficiency. It's been two days since the game started, (Y/n) vaguely remembered, and already the Seeker has killed three more students, making his kill count a grand total of four. Fortunately, those three people weren't people she recognized.

But unfortunately, it just meant her friends would be next if they didn't somehow take the Seeker out. But taking whoever that may be meant killing him. She wasn't sure any of them was capable of doing so.

(Y/n) was both a lucky and unlucky person. Lucky for finding things and people when she didn't mean to look for them but unlucky when finding things she's purposefully trying to find. She and Jaehyun only wanted to seek shelter in an empty physics classroom, but Fortuna struck again as they pushed open the door, only to see two very familiar faces, both in a highly suspicious position.

They stared at her. She stared back.

"Jas?! Campboy?!"

"W-wait, it's not what it looks like!"

Jasper was sitting on the teacher's table with his legs hanging off the edge. Keller was in front his him and they both stared wide-eyed at the two newcomers. Even Jaehyun didn't know what to say. But what was really suggestive about their position was their hands, tightly intertwined with each other.

They seemed to finally notice what the (h/c)-haired girl was staring at and they sprang away with a shout. Keller coughed awkwardly into his fist and turned around, his back to them, but the tips of his ears were red.

"T-this is—um, not what you think it is!" Jasper tried again, but his blush betrayed him. "Nothing happened, honest!"

"I didn't even ask yet," (Y/n) snorted. Then her gaze turned teasing. "So...you and Kels, huh?"

"I-I said nothing happened!"

"But I heard that unsaid 'yet.'"

"(Y/n)!"

"Okay, okay, I'll stop."

It was a wonder, but their little action of holding hands was enough to bring her mood up. It was just holding hands—nothing big, nothing special, but it was the piece (Y/n) needed to feel normal again. A small white spot in the patchwork of blood that was slowly becoming their school.

She noticed how despite the navy blue-haired boy's insisting that their relationship was platonic, they stayed close to each other. There was something new in Jasper's violet eyes that was missing before as he gazed up at the brown-haired boy, and it brought her more warmth than any number of pillows could. And Keller smiled back, a shy blush on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Okay this is sweet and all, but we kinda gotta start...you know, talking."

Pro moment ruiner is back in action, folks.

The two separated with a cough and sat down in the chairs. (Y/n) had almost forgotten Jaehyun was there—she had been too caught up in the moment—and glanced at him. But he wasn't there. He was hiding outside the room, she saw. Oh yeah, he's not supposed to be here in the first place.

She still caught a glimpse of his face before he ducked away. Much to her relief, he didn't look disgusted or anything. Many students at Fortuna would've criticized homosexuals, she knew. In fact, the blond looked thoughtful at most. And...relieved?

"We should go over what we know," Keller began their discussion. (Y/n) sat down in a chair in front of the two. "(Y/n)."

"Yeah?" She looked up.

"How many participants have you confirmed? It's would be even better if you knew their roles."

"Ah, let's confirm now we're all Numbers," Jasper said. "You still have your card, (Y/n)?"

She nodded and retrieved her card from where it was stored safely in her pocket along with Nicholas'. A pang of sadness hit her at the touch, and she looked up at Keller. How must he be feeling with the news of the death?

The brown-haired male noticed her looking and gave her a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I heard," he said quietly. "I-I'm fine now, though. Sitting around grieving won't bring Nicholas back. But thankfully, I managed to meet up with Jasper here." Jasper tightened his grip on the other male's hand affectionately.

(Y/n) was genuinely curious about how it happened. Heck, she didn't even know what it was. "So...are you two...?"

"U-uh well, no," Keller coughed awkwardly. "N-not yet, at least."

"We j-just had a lot in common," Jasper mumbled as he bowed his head, hiding his face behind his bangs. "Don't take things the wrong way, (Y/n)!"

"Woi, I didn't even say anything and you're already scolding me, mom? Wait, does this make Kels my dad then?" She looked at the taller male in horror.

"No thanks, I rather not have a kid like you as my daughter."

"Wowww, okay. I really feel the love here, pops."

"You're welcome, honey."

They made a list of the players, dead or alive, and their roles. "The Tracer and Fixer are dead," Keller said. "They're Liu Wei Wei and Mackenzie Taylor respectively, the first killed by the Tuner and the latter killed by the Tracer." He typed the information into his phone. "I'll send this to you guys later."

"Isla, Lucinda, Carmen, and Reese are also playing," Jasper added. "And they're all Numbers like the three of us. But, well, I already told you that. That leaves seven unknown Numbers and four unknown Faces."

(Y/n) slowly raised her hand. "Actually...I think I know who the Tuner is."

They looked up in surprise. "You do? Who is it?"

"Mr. Brooks," she answered. "I saw him carrying Mackenzie's body. But I could be wrong. He could be the Cleaner, whatever that does. But the timing of the text message and when I saw him...is it too much of a coincidence or...?"

"Nah, I think you may be on something." Keller turned his phone around to show them the list. "Here's what I have."

~ ❀ ~

Remaining Players: 18

Confirmed Numbers (in any order):

1. Jasper Reynolds - the Fool

2. Keller Campbell - the Lion

3. (Y/n) White - the Hermit

4. Reese Grayson - the Devil

5. Isla Myers - ?

6. Lucinda Summers - ?

7. Carmen Parker - ?

8. Nicholas Briar - the Tower

9. Jason Winston - ?

Remaining Numbers: 6

Confirmed Faces (in any order):

1. The Tracer - Liu Wei Wei, deceased // Kill Count - 1

2. The Fixer - Mackenzie Taylor, deceased // Kill Count - 3

3. The Tuner/the Cleaner: Edward Brooks // Kill Count - 1

Remaining Faces: 3

~ ❀ ~

"Jason is here too?" She said in surprise. Keller nodded gravely.

"Yeah, but I never got the chance to meet up with the dude, so I have no idea what his card is. But I'm 100% sure he's not a Face. I'm willing to stake my life on it." Jasper smiled encouragingly in agreement.

This is the kind of guy I'd trust to become chairman. "I have Nick's card," she said slowly. "Do you...want it, by any chance?"

"Naw, you can keep it," he said. "You found it; it's yours. Besides, if Nicholas would rather have it buried in Japan rather than stuck in my pockets, you know?"

Jasper made a face. "Who'd want to put anything in your crummy pockets?"

"Bro, that was lint. Everyone has lint. What's wrong with lint?"

"Your face is a piece of lint."

"Jas, wha—I thought we had something here, you know, something good! Why'd you have to do me like tha—"

The door flew open and in came a new figure. (Y/n) half-expected it to be Jaehyun but she didn't see him anywhere. The three stood up in alarm.

"I don't get paid enough to do this!" A very familiar voice screeched as he ran into the room and began pulling open the cabinets. "Cleaning? Cleaning?! Nowhere in my job description did it say cleaning up dead bodies! Oh my God, I am a P.E. teacher, not a f*cking mortician—"

He cut off as he noticed the presence of the other three in the room. They blinked at him. He blinked back.

"Eli?!" (Y/n) was surprisingly the first to speak up the same time Mr. Johnson said, "Holy smoking cow, is that what I think it is?!"

"Mr. Johnson?" Jasper found his voice again and recovered from his shock. "You're...the Cleaner?"

The man shuddered at the word. "If I wanted a title I'd settle for 'the Most Handsome Man Alive.' I'm a f*cking rugby coach, for f*ck's sake. If they wanted a cleaner than hire a janitor! I mean"—he thrust his hands towards the large bag near the doorway—"They made me pick up bodies. What kind of job is this?! I want to hand in my resignation letter, please, if you can hear me, sir headmaster!"

He paused for dramatic effect. "No? Well, I guess that's that. I ain't getting a pay raise or a paid leave. Wow. Totally not an abuse of power or anything. It's not like workers' rights is a thing or anything."

"You could start by learning how to use a microwave," (Y/n) piped up. "Or start actually being able to turn on your T.V. without frying it."

"Ah, T.V.s," he stroked his imaginary beard. "Truly a useful thing—but I'm not finished! What the f*ck am I supposed to do with this...body?! It's a f*cking corpse! Not even one of those fake ones for Halloween! Do all P.E. teachers do this regularly, clean up bodies?! Or is it just me? I don't want to see another corpse ever again!"

"Maybe we could take a step back and talk things out," Jasper said slowly. "Mr. John—"

"Call me Elijah," the man said with crocodile tears flowing down his face. "I'm only in my twenties. Don't make me feel old already!"

How (Y/n) and Reese managed to survive with Elijah Johnson as their childhood friend, they did not know. None of the three were responsible people, so...

You could only imagine how well that turned out for their parents.

After a long hour's talk with Elijah explaining to him what was happening and that those bodies were very much real, and touching blood did not give you AIDS if that person didn't have HIV, they've all gotten a better grasp on the situation. (Y/n) began to worry for the blond she assumed was still out in the hallway.

"I'm going to go to the restroom real quick, okay?"

"Be careful!" Jasper called as she left the classroom. (Y/n) ducked outside and scanned the hallways for traces of the blond boy. But he wasn't there.

Did he leave? She frowned. That's weird. I can't even call him or anything...

Then she saw it, a little red notification bubble she hadn't noticed from before. A new message? It was from LINE, a messaging app she had downloaded to communicate with June. How she managed to receive messages from the girl without wifi, she didn't know.

The interface looked different from the first time she saw it. This time, there were only two options on the screen: to chat with or call June.

She read her newest message.

~ ❀ ~

tracer404: Hey! Are you okay? You haven't logged on for a while.

me: it's complicated

tracer404: Yeah? Try me.

me: would you believe me if i said the students and teachers at my school are killing each other?

tracer404: Believe it or not, I would.

me: wait why though

tracer404: I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I used to be in Fortuna.

tracer404: Five years ago, I was there for the 25th game. I wasn't a player, but many of my friends died in it.

tracer404: That was too much for me to handle, so I transferred out.

me: oh im sorry...

me: then can i ask why you name yourself tracer?

tracer404: My boyfriend was the Tracer at the time.

me: i see

tracer404: So this time, I'm not going to just sit back and watch you die. I know a bit of hacking myself; I changed the settings of this app so it's completely secured.

tracer404: You probably can't do much on your phone anyway, can you?

me: if i can download the applets i have on my computer it'll be a different story

tracer404: Lol I'm not keen on being arrested for breaking and entering.

me: haha don't worry, those applets are easy to design

me: a few viruses to get through security and infect the existing file

me: then i should be able to see everything that goes on. like with the security cams

tracer404: Isn't only the Tracer allowed to use those?

me: the maker made a rule where only they could use the cameras

me: both the fixer and tracer are...out of commission

tracer404: Ah, I see.

tracer404: Then okay, I can manage that. Then I'll send it to you. But how would you link it?

me: i'll find a usb wire to connect my phone to the cameras

me: it's not breaking the rules when no one can punish me, amirite?

tracer404: Good luck to both of us!

~ ❀ ~

Where is Reese? (Y/n) thought as she continued walking around and pocketed her phone. Did he leave Autumn? It was weird for the redhead who used to be scared of thunderstorms and the dark to be wandering around when "lost." A small part of her mind was nagging at her, and it was the darkest part she's shoved down again and again.

What if the Seeker or Tuner's keeping him hostage?

The first wasn't reasonable, she told herself. The Seeker would've just killed him, and the Tuner has no need for Numbers. Then again, it's Mr. Brooks. He could have a bone to pick with us since we're such...uh, "good" students.

She felt confused. Did that make Mr. Brooks a good or bad person? The tall man didn't look at all fazed as he dragged Mackenzie's corpse behind him, almost as if he was used to it. (Y/n) wasn't surprised by the faculty at Fortuna Institute having powerful connections to their name, but did that really mean they were all capable of murder? Elijah wasn't, that's for one.

(Y/n) hated to admit it, but she didn't know much about Mr. Brooks. She tried going through her network multiple times in search of information on the guy, but they were all complaints about his classes and some—the stranger, masochistic side of the school—gushed about how they wanted him to step on them.

Wha—why—who—

But that was beyond the point. If she couldn't get information on a teacher, that meant he or she was one of the few in the school system that had something not so innocent to his name.

Maybe Mr. Brooks wasn't the Tuner. What if he was the Seeker? Both options made her shudder. Even though the Tuner doesn't gain points from killing Numbers, that didn't mean they wouldn't do so.

She could only hope at this point Reese was alright, especially after meticulously combing through Autumn Hall many times.

Maybe he's in Winter now, she thought. It would make sense to go there, the last place we haven't gone to. Should I wait for Jas and Kels?

The two looked like they were very enjoying their alone time together, however. She returned to the classroom and peeked inside. "Guys," she said. "I'm going to go to Winter to find Reese."

They started to rise. "We'll come too—"

"It's fine if you want to stay here," she said hurriedly. "I don't want to force you to come or anything."

"It's safer to stick together now," Jasper explained, waving it off. "Keller and I are both fine with it. Right?"

The brown-haired male nodded. "Yeah, let's go." Then to the silver-haired teacher, "How about you, Mr. J—uh, Elijah?"

Elijah stared pitifully at the body bag like a beaten puppy. "I left my last slice of cake in the fridge on Monday...I still need to eat it..."

"I think Eli just broke," the (h/c)-haired girl whispered. Keller nodded gravely.

"I think so too."

Fortunately, they didn't encounter anything out of the ordinary as they made their way towards the hallway and arch that connected Autumn and Winter Halls. They passed through stained glass windows and walls of pale gold that flowed seamlessly into furnishings of pale, icy blue. Winter Hall truly did live up to its name; white, pale blue, with traces of pale purples and grays.

(Y/n) half-expected it to feel chillier. It didn't. The hallways were the same temperature as those back in Autumn Hall. Only Summer Hall had a real difference, but that was only because on school days, the jocks and athletes all had high body temperatures.

Elijah and Keller were looking around in idle curiosity while Jasper didn't bat a lash at the display. After all, being Autumn Hall students, it wasn't unusual for them to have to go into Winter for a few classes. Summer Hall, however, was largely separated from the other Halls due to the difference in their talents.

Jasper rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. "You're going to walk into a wall."

"Huh? Wha—woah!" Keller stopped quickly before he could really walk straight into said wall. He grinned sheepishly and sped up to catch up with the navy blue-haired male who had turned into another hallway. "Sorry..."

"It's so quiet," (Y/n) whispered, nudging Elijah who was at her side. "Have you been here before?"

"Only to collect another corpse," he sobbed. "What kind of job even is this?! I want a refund!"

"No one's paying you to do shiz in the first place, smart one. At least, I wouldn't."

"Excuse me, but have you seen my résumé? I'm a highly specified individual, thank you very much."

(Y/n) wanted to smack him and then herself. "The word is certified if you were wondering."

"Yeah, that's what I said. I said that, didn't I?" He turned to address absolutely no one. No one at all. "Yeah, exactly. See? I said that."

"Very 'specified.' I see."

"I am very specified."

Mind you, but this dude has a Ph.D. in sports science, she sighed internally. A freaking P. Hecking. Donkey. And he still can't use a microwave.

"Why do you have that look on your face?" Elijah frowned. "You're judging me. Stop judging me. It's weird. You're weird. Why are you judging me? Don't be a bully, kid. Bullying is a no-no."

"Your genius makes me cry," she muttered sarcastically.

"Aww, thanks. I don't have a Papa Heckert Donovan for nothin'."

God, if you exist, please cure this poor man. But it's okay, (Y/n), she told herself. He's your teacher now, so you can afford to be a little more chivalrous—

"Ha, you sound like an overgrown pig on its death throes."

Screw this donkey, chivalry is dead.

She scowled. "Your face looks like a plate of rotten bangers and mash."

Elijah caressed his jaw and winked. "I know. Delicious like me."

What the freak bunnies. "I don't even like bangers and mash."

"But I like me."

"There's an 'u' in stupid," (Y/n) sighed.

"Well, there's an 'i' in stu—" He paused.

(Y/n) almost fell over laughing. "HAHAHA YOU DUMBA**! HOW DID YOU FALL FOR THAT?!"

"Okay, screw you too," Elijah fake sobbed. "I don't need you anyway, brat!"

"If anyone's a brat, that would be you."

"Hey! I'm still your teacher, you know?!"

"I don't respect my elders."

"I ain't even that old y—HOLY MACARONI!"

A person collided with the silver-haired man. If it was (Y/n), she would've fallen over. She had to give him credit for barely even flinching. "Woah!" Elijah spun around and caught the person in his arms. "Are you alright?"

Jasper and Keller slowed down and turned around. "What's wrong?" Jasper asked in concern.

"Not sure," Elijah grunted. The person's face was still hidden in his chest, her shoulders shaking as her breaths came out in unsteady gasps.

But her hazel hair was awfully familiar.

(Y/n) blinked in surprise. "Ms. Florence?"

Alicia Florence looked up at the voice of her student and she nearly burst into tears with relief. Then her face paled and she gripped both the (h/c)-haired girl and Elijah's arms. "You two—you have to get out of here!" She said in a hushed tone "H—he's coming."

Jasper walked up to the teacher. "Who's coming?" Elijah and (Y/n) shared a mutual look of confusion.

The hazel-haired woman let out a shuddering breath and reached up to push her bangs away from her face, her sleeve sliding down in the process. "He—"

Elijah grabbed her arm, his cheerful face turning grave. "Alice," he began in a low voice. "What are these?"

Around her wrist were a series of red lines, crisscrossing over each other like snakes. The woman's eyes widened and she tried to pull away, but Elijah's grip was too tight.

"Tell me," the man said again. "Who did this to you?" (Y/n) has never seen him so mad before; annoyed yes, hurt, yes. But angry? She didn't even know this man was even capable of anger.

Ms. Florence didn't know what to say. She closed her eyes and mutely shook her head, tiny whimpers escaping her lips. Low key if this was a shoujo manga she'd be the protagonist, (Y/n) mused.

"Did something happen?" She asked in concern. "Who's the person you're talking about."

Keller was looking around in suspicion. "I think we should really move," he said, ushering them into an empty classroom. "From the looks of it, Ms. Florence was being chased. Which means her pursuer is still here somewhere. We gotta hide. Now."

Elijah looked down at the shivering woman. His face was a mixture of "holy macaroni, a lady is clinging to me, what do I do?" and "women's rights are a thing, a**hat." He made sure his usually loud voice was soft as he spoke to her. "Let's get you to safety, aight?" Ms. Florence could do nothing but nod.

"What a gentleman," (Y/n) teased as the man picked the hazel-haired woman up bridal-style and began walking towards a classroom. Elijah flushed and scowled at her.

"Hey, I'm always a gentleman!"

"Tell that to all the microwaves you've blown up."

Jasper locked the door behind them as they entered a drama room. Elijah carefully set Ms. Florence down into an empty chair and stayed by her side, while the three students spoke in hushed whispers.

"Am I stupid or did we just enter the Seeker's territory?" Keller hissed. "At this rate, we're going to be screwed."

"Calm down, we don't know that for sure," Jasper argued. "It could be just another Number. Numbers are still capable of killing Numbers, you know. Especially with...her." His voice trailed off as the two males shared a knowing look.

(Y/n) felt confused. "What are we talking about?"

"You don't have to worry about it," the violet-eyed male assured her. "At least, I hope not. Anyway, I hate to do this, but we need Ms. Florence to tell us who's chasing her and why. I'm pretty sure the Tuner doesn't chase Numbers so..."

"Is there a chance she's the Seeker?" Keller whispered. At the two's incredulous look he held his hands up in surrender. "No, hear me out. In this situation, it's clearly kill or be killed. I don't have her as my teacher, so is it wrong of me to assume she could be the one behind all those deaths?"

"I highly doubt it," (Y/n) replied. "Nick was killed by the Seeker, and to...slit his throat...like...that"—it took her all to not choke up—"You'd need considerable arm strength. I don't think Ms. Florence has that kind of arm strength; the kids in class always had to help her lift things."

"Maybe..." But he didn't sound so sure. "Well, we have another three names down, Mr. Brooks, M—uh, Elijah, and Ms. Florence. At least Mr. Fitzgerald isn't here. He'd be more than happy to fail my a** and throw me out the window. In a literal sense."

"Bungee jumping without the rope is a new trend," Jasper rolled his eyes. "You should try it."

Keller looked astounded. "...Are you asking for me to jump off an airplane without a harness?"

"Airplane?" He scoffed. "Weak."

"Wha—that's weak?!"

(Y/n) left the two lovebirds to it. She approached the two adults. They weren't speaking; it was mostly Elijah's one-sided conversation to her as he did his best to cheer her up.

"So uh, rugby's great," the male was saying awkwardly as he scratched the back of his neck. "It's really great, 'cause, uh, y'know...all that school spirit and good stuff. Youth, y'know? You could blow off some steam and take it out on people without getting arrested—hold up, that makes me sound bad—uh, I mean to say, uh, well, rugby's just great."

(Y/n) has never heard a sadder conversation than that before. Her (e/c) eyes met his scarlet ones and she shook her head pitifully. He flushed and opened his mouth to retort.

But Ms. Florence was giggling. She seemed to calm down as she placed her hand on her other arm, which was covered by Elijah's jacket. (Y/n) narrowed her eyes at the male. Suspicious...

Elijah narrowed his eyes back. "You look like a squash."

"You look like a marinated radish that was left out in the sun for three weeks and got burnt by a toaster."

"Squash tastes better than radishes so sucks for you!"

"Naw, radishes are better. They're the shiz, man. Even though I'm a bad kid and don't eat my vegetables."

"Psh, I could do that. I get these guns from eating meat and only meat." Elijah patted his arms. "Well, uh, some granola bars and pizza but we don't talk about that."

(Y/n) shifted her attention to the hazel-haired woman. It was a little strange seeing her teacher in such a state and talking to her outside of their classroom setting. "If it's okay with you, Ms. Florence—"

"Call me Alice," Ms. Florence interrupted with a soft smile. "We're not exactly student teacher right now, are we?"

"I guess not...then Alice, can you tell me what's happening?" She had a pretty good idea of what was going on, but she needed to hear it from Alicia's lips directly.

Especially if she was to believe her teachers were the ones out killing them.

"Edward...he's coming after me."