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Following new instruction, they leave the classroom, and soon learn what's in store for them...\n\nNOTE: The species list in the tags will not be modified as characters are written out of the story. After all, if there's only one walrus (there are no walruses) and that tag disappears after a certain point, it kind of gives away that the character in question is now dead, doesn't it?\n\nI will also be applying the \"Strong Violence\" rating and the \"death, killing, murder\" tags to every chapter, again to prevent spoiling when the murders occur. This story DOES keep all three concepts as a constant theme if not an immediate presence, so I hope this is okay.\n\nI apologize for any confusion this creates, but I would like to make sure that the story can remain as spoiler-free as possible.\n\n(I'm also kind of sad that the reader doesn't translate any of my alternate font choices, including color and size. I'd recommend downloading the actual file if you're able to, as it does improve the readability a bit.)","description_bbcode_parsed":"With all sixteen "classmates" released from their desks, what awaits them next? Following new instruction, they leave the classroom, and soon learn what's in store for them...

NOTE: The species list in the tags will not be modified as characters are written out of the story. After all, if there's only one walrus (there are no walruses) and that tag disappears after a certain point, it kind of gives away that the character in question is now dead, doesn't it?

I will also be applying the "Strong Violence" rating and the "death, killing, murder" tags to every chapter, again to prevent spoiling when the murders occur. This story DOES keep all three concepts as a constant theme if not an immediate presence, so I hope this is okay.

I apologize for any confusion this creates, but I would like to make sure that the story can remain as spoiler-free as possible.

(I'm also kind of sad that the reader doesn't translate any of my alternate font choices, including color and size. I'd recommend downloading the actual file if you're able to, as it does improve the readability a bit.)","writing":"As soon as the straps on Dustin's arms loosened, he was among the first to slide out of them. Giving his sore muscles a quick rub, he grimaced a little as he reached down to uncuff his feet from the desk legs - it felt like his body hadn't moved in years.\n\nStanding slowly, he stretched out a bit. Everything felt stiff from head to toe as a result of the bondage he was in. Shrugging it off as something a good night's sleep would fix, he took a look at himself, checking to make sure everything that should be there was there, and that nothing else had been done to him prior to waking up.\n\nAmong the largest people in the room, the tiger's size was equalled only by Elena the elephant and Barad the dragon, and Dustin had felt especially cramped in his desk. Part of him wished that he had been given a custom-size one like the mouse, Jamie, had. He was still dressed in the outfit he wore when performing at last night's show; a leather vest worn over a shirt with the Union Jack sublimated on it, both sleeveless to show off his arms, and the studded cuffs around his wrists and the end of his tail, finished with a pair of dark blue jeans and heavy boots. Reaching up to his horns, he could feel that even the stickers he had on were still there.\n\n``Huh. Guess we didn't finish the set, then.'' He mused to himself. If they had finished the show, he would have peeled the stickers off to hand out to fans as mementos. For them to still be in place meant that he, his bandmates, and presumably everybody in the room had been abducted in the middle of their performance.\n\nHe glanced over at Kick and Rex to confirm his theory. Just like him, they too were in the same clothes as last night. Kick still had on his purple shirt, skin-tight black leggings, and favorite pair of red Converse, and even had the plaid jacket still tied around his waist. And Rex was still sporting a black T-shirt advertising the band, with the arms visibly ripped off to match his jeans, ripped at the knee just above his own black boots. Rex was still wearing the dog collar and nametag around his neck as well - one of Kick's ideas for his on-stage outfit.\n\nIt occurred to Dustin that with everybody standing up, this was his first actual chance to get a good look at them. He already had a slight read on their personalities thanks to the introductions, but didn't actually have any faces to put to the names yet. But before that, he had one more person to check on: his sister, Ginger.\n\nThe sheep was wearing a pink-and-purple top he'd seen her in many times, the sleeves pulling all the way down to her wrists to hide her wool and the stripes on it. She was also in a pair of light blue jeans and pink sneakers, and on the floor next to her desk was a tiger-striped backpack, which he had given her as a gift many years ago. He couldn't help but smile at the fact that she was still using it.\n\nHis smile faded quickly, however, when he realized that she wasn't. In fact, she looked more than a little frightened.\n\n``You're the stalker!'' she cried out, staring directly at the moth, Gregory, in front of her. Dustin immediately tried to rush to her defense, but his stiff legs were uncooperative, and he stumbled. Thankfully, the shark Zoe at the front of the class beat him to it. She obviously wasn't struggling with the same body soreness. She was also dressed only in a pair of shorts and a button-down shirt that she had tied at the bottom, leaving most of her athletic body on display - she wasn't even wearing shoes.\n\nDustin joined her only a moment later as the situation continued to intensify. While Zoe chose to stand next to Ginger, he instead placed himself directly between her and Gregory. He was far smaller than Dustin was, with thin limbs covered by an admittedly nice three-piece suit, but with too much fluff around the neck that obscured most of his face. His wings hanging down behind him like a cape did contribute a bit to the fashion of the outfit, but also served to make him a bit creepier... after all, who wears capes?\n\n``No! It's not like - not like that! I didn't even know she ever saw me! I'm just - '' Gregory began to explain, but Zoe wasn't hearing it, shouting him down once again.\n\nDustin was about to say something himself when Edison, still standing at the front of the class, interrupted. ``Before you kick anybody's ass, look at the blackboard. Everybody look.'' Turning to see for himself, Dustin took the opportunity to get a glimpse at the ferret. Edison truly didn't look like he was about to go to a prestigious college such as Stagsworth; his short hair was a mess, his glasses were askew, and he was wearing ill-fitting and cheap-looking clothing.\n\nBut he didn't look for long before he looked up at the blackboard as instructed, his eyes widening in surprise at what he saw. The old message, instructing them to introduce themselves, was gone without a trace, and a new message had taken its place.\n\nCONGRATULATIONS!\n\nNOW THAT YOU ALL KNOW EACH OTHER, IT'S TIME FOR STEP TWO. PLEASE, ALL OF YOU LEAVE THE ROOM, AND PROCEED LEFT DOWN THE HALLWAY. YOU'LL KNOW WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT YOUR DESTINATION.\n\nNOBODY GET LOST, NOW!\n\n``What the hell? Who wrote that?'' Dustin wondered aloud.\n\n``Good question. Did anybody go near the blackboard?'' he heard the raccoon, Jo, ask. She was wearing a dirty-looking hoodie and a pair of sweatpants, and her shoes didn't even match; as if he needed any more confirmation that she was homeless as she claimed, her hair and tail were both an unwashed mess.\n\nBao, the panda still seated nearby, shook his head. ``No, not that I saw. Well, except for, uh... Lorena? The bat?'' he said. Bao was dressed simply, in a plain T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers. Even his haircut looked standard-issue, giving Dustin the impression that he blended in with a lot of crowds, whether he wanted to or not. ``I don't think she was near it anywhere close to long enough to erase one message and write another, though.''\n\nThe mouse, Jamie, stepped up to the blackboard. The first thing Dustin noticed about him was that his glasses were huge, taking up a considerable amount of his face. A laptop case was also hanging from his shoulder, and just like he said, he was dwarfed by everybody else in the room, standing at most three feet tall. Standing in front of the blackboard, he looked it up and down, then gave it a tap. ``Nobody erased or wrote anything. This isn't a blackboard, it's a giant screen.''\n\n``So... it's actually a computer, then?'' Summer asked. Her yellow feathers ruffled a bit as she glanced around the room. She was wearing a floral headband just below her crest, which was raised high in alarm. Dustin could now see that she was dressed like a stereotypical ``hippie''; she wore a long floral-print vest that extended below her waist, over a shirt with long, loose sleeves and a dress that ended above her ankles.\n\nJamie shook his head. ``No, not necessarily. If this is just a monitor, the computer itself could be located somewhere else. Maybe not even in the same building.''\n\nStill in the back of the room, the cow girl Mae took a seat on top of her desk. ``So does that mean someone's watchin' us through a camera? How'd they know to change that message?'' In her hands was her cowboy hat, which she was dusting off before returning to her head, completing her look along with her flannel shirt, jeans, and matching boots.\n\n``It could just be because we all introduced ourselves.'' Charlene offered as an explanation. ``If the straps undid themselves automatically when we finished, that monitor might have been part of the same system.'' She was dressed similarly to many others in the room, with a T-shirt, jeans, and boots on, but finished her outfit with a black leather biker's jacket. Out of the pocket she retrieved a pair of sunglasses, examining them for damage before returning them.\n\nBarad crossed his arms in front of him. ``Which still means somebody's monitoring us somehow.'' He said, a faint tremble barely perceptible in his voice. Dustin raised an eyebrow at that; with how imposing the black-scaled dragon looked, with his horns and claws and long tail, he didn't expect that something like this would make him nervous at all. True to what would be expected from the heir to a draconic dynasty, Barad was dressed smartly, in a well-pressed polo shirt, dress pants, and a pair of spats on his clawed feet that could easily be confused for shoes at a passing glance.\n\n``How do you figure?'' Rex asked.\n\n``Oh! I get it!'' Elena said, clapping her hands together and making the moon-shaped charms on her tusks to jingle. ``Whoever put us here and set all this up, they obviously need at least a microphone to hear our introductions.'' The elephant, true to her aspirations, was wearing a long white clergy robe, with various phases of the moon sewn into the pattern, accessorized with a long scarf and a sash around her waist. Glancing down, Dustin saw that she was also wearing sandals, which he supposed to be part of her religion's garb - along with the tree branch strapped to her back.\n\nThe dragon nodded. ``Exactly. That doesn't mean there's not a camera in here, but there at least has to be a microphone. And there doesn't look to be one built into the housings for these bulbs.''\n\nEdison was simply scratching his chin as he read the instructions on the board again. ``So, what are we waiting for, then?'' he asked.\n\n``Huh? The fuck you mean?'' Kick had stepped up beside Dustin and Zoe to add another body between Ginger and Gregory - the horned tiger jumped a bit at his voice, not even realizing that the rabbit had joined them.\n\n``Obviously we should keep following these instructions.'' Edison explained. ``We have to leave this room at some point anyway, right? I don't know about you, but I want to know why we're here.''\n\n``Damn right.'' Zoe said, showing her sharp teeth in a grin as she cracked her knuckles. ``And even better, who's responsible.''\n\nBao raised a hand. ``But, uh, didn't we already mess that up? I mean, Lorena already left on her own, and we don't know where exactly she went.''\n\nMae rolled her eyes. ``She went for the bathroom, obviously. Weren't ya payin' attention?''\n\n``No, that's not what I meant...'' Bao answered, slumping his shoulders.\n\nEdison scratched his chin again. ``No, I think we're fine there. The board doesn't specifically say we have to leave the room as one group, just that we all have to leave. But we should probably rendezvous with her before we actually get to... wherever this is leading us, just in case.''\n\n``Sounds like a plan, then!'' Dustin said, giving Ginger a reassuring pat on the shoulder as he passed by her. ``I'll go ahead and lead the way. If anybody or anything tries to jump out at us, I want to make sure I'm the first thing it sees.'' With a grin, he pointed to Barad. ``You cover the rear, okay?''\n\nBarad's eyes opened wide. ``Cover the... me? You sure?''\n\n``Of course I am!'' Dustin said enthusiastically. ``I mean, just look at you! Anybody who tries to catch us from behind isn't getting past a dragon.''\n\nThe dragon, however, frowned. ``I, uh, don't know about that.'' He said quietly.\n\n``How about I hang back with you?'' Zoe offered. ``I want to keep an eye on the stalker anyway and make sure he stays away from Ginger.'' She motioned over her shoulder with her thumb, pointing it directly at Gregory.\n\nGregory was wringing his hands together now. ``I told you, I'm not - not a stalker.''\n\nElena stepped up next to Dustin. ``In that case, I insist on joining you at the front.'' She said. When the tiger gave her a surprised look, she could only laugh. ``Just because I'm religious, that doesn't mean I'm a pacifist! Besides, I'm still an elephant, and just as strong as I look.''\n\n``Hell yeah!'' Dustin said, then paused, and recoiled. ``I mean, uh, heck yeah?''\n\nThe elephant simply giggled as she opened the door, motioning for Dustin to lead the way and following right behind him. The rest of the room followed suit, leaving single file with Barad and Zoe at the rear. They didn't make it far down the hallway before they found Lorena, struggling with a doorknob.\n\nHer face was overcome with distress as she turned it one way and the other, pushing and pulling and trying to open the door. ``Oh, come on! Who locks a public bathroom?'' she asked herself, apparently not aware that the others had caught up to her. Lorena was dressed in a backless top that tied around her neck, and didn't leave much to modesty in front, either - although perhaps it was a necessary outfit choice to accomodate the wing flaps connecting her arms to her torso. The short skirt she wore had a slit cut down the side, and she finished her outfit with a pair of stiletto boots on her feet. Dustin couldn't help but admire her confidence; she was built thicker than most of the other girls present, with Elena as the only exception, but was obviously comfortable enough in her own skin to dress how she wanted regardless.\n\n``Hey, Lorena!'' Dustin called out, startling the bat into releasing her grip on the door.\n\n``O-oh! Hey, guys! Uh, hate to tell you all, but the bathroom's closed.'' She said, her body language telling how desperate she was to get in.\n\nDustin tried the knob for himself, then shrugged. ``Want us to try and break it down for you?''\n\nLorena's face lit up, but Ginger put a hand on his arm to stop him. ``Let's... make sure it's a good idea to kick in doors before we actually start. You can hold it a little longer, right, Lorena?''\n\nThe bat frowned, glanced longingly at Dustin and the door, then sighed and nodded her head. ``I guess I have to.''\n\nThe group, now complete, continued down the hallway. As they went, Dustin and Elena continued to test each door, finding them all locked. The others were talking loudly among themselves as they walked, having various conversations that all blended together. Suddenly, Lorena raised a hand in the air.\n\n``Hey, everybody be quiet a minute!'' she said. Nobody did. ``No, really guys, stop talking, please.'' They kept chatting. ``I mean it, it's important!'' Walking right behind her, Kick realized she was trying to get their attention, and cupped his hands around his mouth.\n\n``EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP!''\n\nLorena was stunned into silence along with everyone else as the rabbit's voice filled the hallway. Once her ears stopped ringing, she turned behind her to face him. ``Thank you?'' she said, half a statement and half a question.\n\n``No problem. What's so important?'' he asked.\n\nShe paused, clearly trying to remember what she was going to say before the explosion of noise. ``Oh! Of course... does anybody else hear that?''\n\n``I don't hear anything anymore.'' Mae grumbled.\n\nGregory's head perked up a bit. ``Yeah, I - I do. Is that music?'' he asked.\n\nLorena grinned. ``Yes! I knew I wasn't hearing things! It definitely sounds like music!''\n\nEverybody else fell completely silent, not even breathing as they listened over the sound of their beating hearts. Now everybody could hear it, and Dustin turned his head in the direction of the music in surprise. ``Hold on, that's us!''\n\n``What do you mean, `that's us'?'' Summer asked, confused. ``We're all right here.''\n\nDustin shook his head. ``No, not us, us.'' He said, pointing to Rex and Kick. ``That's our band! It's The Shit!''\n\nJo wrinkled her nose. ``Your band is named The Shit?''\n\n``Yep! Pretty cool name, huh?'' Rex said, unable to hide the pride in his voice. ``Kick picked it out.''\n\n``Of course he did.'' The raccoon said, sighing as she put her hands in her pockets. ``Anyway, I guess that's where we need to go, huh?''\n\n``It's as good a sign as any I can think of.'' Charlene said, starting to move again. ``If our strong leaders don't mind... leading the way?''\n\nNodding, Dustin and Elena began leading the pack again. The punk rock music grew louder as they continued down the hall, until they reached a set of double doors. Unable to stop their hands from trembling, the tiger and elephant each grasped a knob, turning to nod at each other briefly before throwing the doors open.\n\nAs soon as they did, the group was greeted by another massive screen, this one showing footage of the band themselves playing at Club Squalid. All three were on stage, performing a song they called ``Smash The Window'' - Dustin immediately recognized it as the last one he actually remembered playing before waking up in his desk.\n\nThe footage panned left and right, showing most of the others. Ginger, Lorena, and Zoe were all sharing a table; Gregory was seated a few tables back, mostly hidden by shadows; Charlene was seated directly at the bar, with Jamie a few stools away, neither apparently aware of the other; even the less likely patrons, such as Elena, Barad, and Summer were visibly drinking and enjoying the show.\n\n``Wha... what's this?'' Barad asked, stepping closer to the screen as he entered the frame. ``Who filmed this?''\n\nBao shivered as he saw himself on the screen. Like Gregory, he too had been hanging back from most of the crowd in Club Squalid. ``It looks like a recording from a security camera.''\n\n``That's impossible.'' Edison said, shaking his head. ``There are no security cameras in the entire club.''\n\n``How did you know that?'' Rex asked. His eyes were glued to the screen, unable to look away as he watched himself and his friends play.\n\nEdison sighed. ``Because, as it happens, I - ''\n\nHe was interrupted as the song in the video ended, and the footage cut to black. Along with it, the rest of the lights in the room shut off, leaving the sixteen of them in pitch blackness. A few voices cried out in surprise or terror, and when the lights came back on, the giant screen had vanished.\n\nDustin was the first to speak up. ``Is everybody okay? Let's get a head count!''\n\n``That won't be necessary. I assure you, nobody has left the room.'' A new voice, an unfamiliar voice, said. Heads swiveled around, trying to find the source.\n\n``Who... who said that?'' Ginger asked, moving closer to Zoe as she looked around.\n\nLorena's big bat ears were at full attention, hoping to find the speaker like she had found the music. ``I don't know, but... I did just notice something else. When we woke up, we were in a classroom, right?''\n\n``Can't think of anywhere else that would have school desks and a blackboard.'' Mae said.\n\n``So why aren't we in a school?'' Lorena asked. Dustin looked around, and quickly realized she was right - or at least, if she was wrong, it was a strange school. With the large screen now missing, it was clear to him that they were standing in what appeared to be the lobby of a hotel. A large fountain stood in the center of the room, there was a long check-in desk complete with pigeon holes for mail, and twin staircases flanked a bank of elevators against the wall opposite the front doors.\n\nImmediately, he rushed to the front doors, and reached out for a knob. He cried out in a bit of shock and pain as all the outstretched fingers on his right hand immediately jammed against a solid, flat surface that he wasn't expecting. ``Ow! What the... hell?'' he asked as he ran his other hand along the doors. ``These aren't even real. They're just painted on.''\n\n``But why would somebody paint - paint fake doors on a wall?'' Gregory asked from the edge of the crowd. Zoe kept a close eye on him as he instinctively tried to move towards a far corner of the room.\n\n``Clearly, because there is no exit there.'' The mysterious voice said. This time, it was clear where it came from, and everybody turned to face the check-in desk. Behind it stood a very, very unexpected sight; a sleek-looking robot, visibly humanoid but without any features that would suggest it was intended to look male or female. Its entire body was a reflective silver color, save for a small display screen in the center of its chest.\n\nJamie immediately pushed his way to the front of the crowd, his eyes shining behind his glasses. ``O-oh. That's... a robot!'' he said, unable to hide the excitement in his voice. ``Incredible!''\n\nAs the mouse made another move to approach the desk, Jo reached out and grabbed him by the back of his shirt, pulling him back. ``Hold up. Something's not right here.'' She said.\n\n``You're damn right it's not.'' Kick said, scowling at the robot. ``Who the fuck are you, where the fuck are we, and what the fuck's going on here?''\n\nThe robot placed both of its hands on the surface of the desk. ``If you had given me a chance, I was going to explain all of that. No need for profanity, Clover.''\n\nKick's scowl became an expression of pure anger. ``The FUCK did you - ''\n\nCharlene immediately reached over and grabbed him by the arms. ``Not now, Kick. Let it go. This isn't the time for that.''\n\nHe looked up at her, still visibly angry, and tried to shake free of her surprisingly strong, tight grip. ``Alright, alright, fine. I'll let it go if you let me go.''\n\n``Now then.'' The robot said. ``To answer your questions, albeit slightly out of order. This is the luxurious Hotel Paradise, envy of the world! You are all our esteemed guests, and I am your host. In fact, you can simply refer to me as `The Host'.''\n\n``I've never heard of the Hotel Paradise.'' Barad said, his eyes still darting around the room. ``And I definitely don't remember checking in.''\n\nThe Host continued. ``That's because we haven't officially opened yet. Now, please allow me to continue. As I said, you are all guests here. In fact, I have your room keys right here, and I promise top-of-the-line accomodations.'' It said, holding out a tray covered with keys.\n\nMae spoke up. ``Hang on now! You're skimmin' over a lot of details, you know!''\n\n``She's right! If there's no exit here, how do we check out?'' Dustin asked, knocking on the painted wall for emphasis.\n\n``Oh, that's simple.'' The Host said. ``You don't check out. You are all now permanent residents of Hotel Paradise.''\n\nThe room fell silent. ``...Excuse me?'' somebody asked, but everybody was too stunned to know who exactly it was.\n\n``You're all now permanent residents of Hotel Paradise. There is no door to leave because checking out isn't an option.'' The Host repeated. ``For the rest of your lives, you are now confined to this building.''\n\nSummer shook her head. ``But... that's... that doesn't make any sense! And it... doesn't explain anything! Why us? Why can't we leave? Why... any of this?'' she asked, trembling as she spoke.\n\nThe Host turned towards her. ``I assure you, there is a very good reason for this. And I misspoke earlier, my apologies. There is one way to leave the Hotel Paradise, should you wish to. But I assure you, once you experience life in the Hotel - ''\n\n``Stuff the fuckin' sales pitch!'' Kick yelled. ``Of course I want out, now stop stalling and tell me what I have to do to get out of here!''\n\nThere was an ominous pause before The Host spoke again. ``If you truly wish to leave the Hotel Paradise, you must murder another guest. We cannot tolerate such a serious offense, after all.''\n\nKick's jaw dropped. ``You're... joking.''\n\n``I am not.''\n\n``Then you misspoke again!'' Mae said, reaching out to grab the nearest arm - Barad's - for support. He reached out and grabbed back.\n\n``I did not.''\n\nBao's legs wobbled, and he fell to the floor, landing on his rear with a hard thud. ``So... hang on... you're serious? We're stuck here unless we... kill each other?''\n\nThe Host nodded. ``Correct. Thank you for comprehending. If one of you murders somebody else, you will no longer be welcome at Hotel Paradise, and forced to leave. Otherwise, this establishment is your home for life.''\n\n``We would never - never even consider that!'' Gregory insisted, having successfully moved to a secluded corner, away from everybody else.\n\nDustin clenched his teeth temporarily to stop his own shaking, then gave a quick nod. ``The stalker's right! Of course we're not gonna do that, we're all friends here!''\n\nFor a second, the light caught The Host's head in a way that almost made it look like an eye was twinkling in amusement. ``Are you? It seems to me that most of you don't know each other at all.''\n\nThe discussion continued in circles for some time. Everybody was either stunned into silence, or defiantly refusing to believe what The Host was telling them, no matter how many times he said it. Finally, after who-knows-how-long, it seemed that the robot had tired of the conversation.\n\nThe Host took a look at its left wrist, as if miming a person looking at a watch. ``If you'll excuse me, I've spent far too long explaining this to you now. I trust that anybody who understands and accepts the situation would be willing to explain it to those who don't.'' Again, it pushed the tray of keys forward. ``As I said, here are the keys to your rooms. Please have a good rest, and enjoy the luxuries of Hotel Paradise.''\n\nAnd just like that, the robot disappeared, dropping behind the counter and seeming to sink to the floor. Kick immediately ran to the counter and jumped over it, knocking over the tray and scattering the keys on the floor. ``Hang on, you son of a bitch, we're not - '' he began, but upon landing on the other side, simply stared at the floor. ``Huh? Where... where'd that guy go...?''\n\n``It doesn't matter. We're not gonna play his game anyway, are we?'' Rex said, glancing around the room at everybody, all of them doing exactly the same now.\n\nGinger nodded. ``That... that's right. None of us are actually thinking of going through with it, are we?'' she asked, her eyes darting from person to person.\n\n``Of course I'm not gonna do it. It's pretty obvious that's what the robot wants out of us.'' Jamie said. Like the others, his eyes refused to linger on one person for too long.\n\nStill at the far end of the room, near the painted-on doors, Dustin realized something. Everybody was insisting that the idea of killing someone else for their freedom was ridiculous, something they would never do. But their body language betrayed that. Their darting eyes, their tense muscles, everything... everything told him one terrible, horrifying message.\n\nDespite what they were saying, and whether everybody realized it or not, the small amount of trust in each other, that sense of camaraderie that they had all built up to this point...\n\n...was gone.\n\n","writing_bbcode_parsed":"As soon as the straps on Dustin's arms loosened, he was among the first to slide out of them. Giving his sore muscles a quick rub, he grimaced a little as he reached down to uncuff his feet from the desk legs  -  it felt like his body hadn't moved in years.

Standing slowly, he stretched out a bit. Everything felt stiff from head to toe as a result of the bondage he was in. Shrugging it off as something a good night's sleep would fix, he took a look at himself, checking to make sure everything that should be there was there, and that nothing else had been done to him prior to waking up.

Among the largest people in the room, the tiger's size was equalled only by Elena the elephant and Barad the dragon, and Dustin had felt especially cramped in his desk. Part of him wished that he had been given a custom-size one like the mouse, Jamie, had. He was still dressed in the outfit he wore when performing at last night's show; a leather vest worn over a shirt with the Union Jack sublimated on it, both sleeveless to show off his arms, and the studded cuffs around his wrists and the end of his tail, finished with a pair of dark blue jeans and heavy boots. Reaching up to his horns, he could feel that even the stickers he had on were still there.

``Huh. Guess we didn't finish the set, then.'' He mused to himself. If they had finished the show, he would have peeled the stickers off to hand out to fans as mementos. For them to still be in place meant that he, his bandmates, and presumably everybody in the room had been abducted in the middle of their performance.

He glanced over at Kick and Rex to confirm his theory. Just like him, they too were in the same clothes as last night. Kick still had on his purple shirt, skin-tight black leggings, and favorite pair of red Converse, and even had the plaid jacket still tied around his waist. And Rex was still sporting a black T-shirt advertising the band, with the arms visibly ripped off to match his jeans, ripped at the knee just above his own black boots. Rex was still wearing the dog collar and nametag around his neck as well  -  one of Kick's ideas for his on-stage outfit.

It occurred to Dustin that with everybody standing up, this was his first actual chance to get a good look at them. He already had a slight read on their personalities thanks to the introductions, but didn't actually have any faces to put to the names yet. But before that, he had one more person to check on: his sister, Ginger.

The sheep was wearing a pink-and-purple top he'd seen her in many times, the sleeves pulling all the way down to her wrists to hide her wool and the stripes on it. She was also in a pair of light blue jeans and pink sneakers, and on the floor next to her desk was a tiger-striped backpack, which he had given her as a gift many years ago. He couldn't help but smile at the fact that she was still using it.

His smile faded quickly, however, when he realized that she wasn't. In fact, she looked more than a little frightened.

``You're the stalker!'' she cried out, staring directly at the moth, Gregory, in front of her. Dustin immediately tried to rush to her defense, but his stiff legs were uncooperative, and he stumbled. Thankfully, the shark Zoe at the front of the class beat him to it. She obviously wasn't struggling with the same body soreness. She was also dressed only in a pair of shorts and a button-down shirt that she had tied at the bottom, leaving most of her athletic body on display  -  she wasn't even wearing shoes.

Dustin joined her only a moment later as the situation continued to intensify. While Zoe chose to stand next to Ginger, he instead placed himself directly between her and Gregory. He was far smaller than Dustin was, with thin limbs covered by an admittedly nice three-piece suit, but with too much fluff around the neck that obscured most of his face. His wings hanging down behind him like a cape did contribute a bit to the fashion of the outfit, but also served to make him a bit creepier... after all, who wears capes?

``No! It's not like  -  not like that! I didn't even know she ever saw me! I'm just  - '' Gregory began to explain, but Zoe wasn't hearing it, shouting him down once again.

Dustin was about to say something himself when Edison, still standing at the front of the class, interrupted. ``Before you kick anybody's ass, look at the blackboard. Everybody look.'' Turning to see for himself, Dustin took the opportunity to get a glimpse at the ferret. Edison truly didn't look like he was about to go to a prestigious college such as Stagsworth; his short hair was a mess, his glasses were askew, and he was wearing ill-fitting and cheap-looking clothing.

But he didn't look for long before he looked up at the blackboard as instructed, his eyes widening in surprise at what he saw. The old message, instructing them to introduce themselves, was gone without a trace, and a new message had taken its place.

CONGRATULATIONS!

NOW THAT YOU ALL KNOW EACH OTHER, IT'S TIME FOR STEP TWO. PLEASE, ALL OF YOU LEAVE THE ROOM, AND PROCEED LEFT DOWN THE HALLWAY. YOU'LL KNOW WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT YOUR DESTINATION.

NOBODY GET LOST, NOW!

``What the hell? Who wrote that?'' Dustin wondered aloud.

``Good question. Did anybody go near the blackboard?'' he heard the raccoon, Jo, ask. She was wearing a dirty-looking hoodie and a pair of sweatpants, and her shoes didn't even match; as if he needed any more confirmation that she was homeless as she claimed, her hair and tail were both an unwashed mess.

Bao, the panda still seated nearby, shook his head. ``No, not that I saw. Well, except for, uh... Lorena? The bat?'' he said. Bao was dressed simply, in a plain T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers. Even his haircut looked standard-issue, giving Dustin the impression that he blended in with a lot of crowds, whether he wanted to or not. ``I don't think she was near it anywhere close to long enough to erase one message and write another, though.''

The mouse, Jamie, stepped up to the blackboard. The first thing Dustin noticed about him was that his glasses were huge, taking up a considerable amount of his face. A laptop case was also hanging from his shoulder, and just like he said, he was dwarfed by everybody else in the room, standing at most three feet tall. Standing in front of the blackboard, he looked it up and down, then gave it a tap. ``Nobody erased or wrote anything. This isn't a blackboard, it's a giant screen.''

``So... it's actually a computer, then?'' Summer asked. Her yellow feathers ruffled a bit as she glanced around the room. She was wearing a floral headband just below her crest, which was raised high in alarm. Dustin could now see that she was dressed like a stereotypical ``hippie''; she wore a long floral-print vest that extended below her waist, over a shirt with long, loose sleeves and a dress that ended above her ankles.

Jamie shook his head. ``No, not necessarily. If this is just a monitor, the computer itself could be located somewhere else. Maybe not even in the same building.''

Still in the back of the room, the cow girl Mae took a seat on top of her desk. ``So does that mean someone's watchin' us through a camera? How'd they know to change that message?'' In her hands was her cowboy hat, which she was dusting off before returning to her head, completing her look along with her flannel shirt, jeans, and matching boots.

``It could just be because we all introduced ourselves.'' Charlene offered as an explanation. ``If the straps undid themselves automatically when we finished, that monitor might have been part of the same system.'' She was dressed similarly to many others in the room, with a T-shirt, jeans, and boots on, but finished her outfit with a black leather biker's jacket. Out of the pocket she retrieved a pair of sunglasses, examining them for damage before returning them.

Barad crossed his arms in front of him. ``Which still means somebody's monitoring us somehow.'' He said, a faint tremble barely perceptible in his voice. Dustin raised an eyebrow at that; with how imposing the black-scaled dragon looked, with his horns and claws and long tail, he didn't expect that something like this would make him nervous at all. True to what would be expected from the heir to a draconic dynasty, Barad was dressed smartly, in a well-pressed polo shirt, dress pants, and a pair of spats on his clawed feet that could easily be confused for shoes at a passing glance.

``How do you figure?'' Rex asked.

``Oh! I get it!'' Elena said, clapping her hands together and making the moon-shaped charms on her tusks to jingle. ``Whoever put us here and set all this up, they obviously need at least a microphone to hear our introductions.'' The elephant, true to her aspirations, was wearing a long white clergy robe, with various phases of the moon sewn into the pattern, accessorized with a long scarf and a sash around her waist. Glancing down, Dustin saw that she was also wearing sandals, which he supposed to be part of her religion's garb  -  along with the tree branch strapped to her back.

The dragon nodded. ``Exactly. That doesn't mean there's not a camera in here, but there at least has to be a microphone. And there doesn't look to be one built into the housings for these bulbs.''

Edison was simply scratching his chin as he read the instructions on the board again. ``So, what are we waiting for, then?'' he asked.

``Huh? The fuck you mean?'' Kick had stepped up beside Dustin and Zoe to add another body between Ginger and Gregory  -  the horned tiger jumped a bit at his voice, not even realizing that the rabbit had joined them.

``Obviously we should keep following these instructions.'' Edison explained. ``We have to leave this room at some point anyway, right? I don't know about you, but I want to know why we're here.''

``Damn right.'' Zoe said, showing her sharp teeth in a grin as she cracked her knuckles. ``And even better, who's responsible.''

Bao raised a hand. ``But, uh, didn't we already mess that up? I mean, Lorena already left on her own, and we don't know where exactly she went.''

Mae rolled her eyes. ``She went for the bathroom, obviously. Weren't ya payin' attention?''

``No, that's not what I meant...'' Bao answered, slumping his shoulders.

Edison scratched his chin again. ``No, I think we're fine there. The board doesn't specifically say we have to leave the room as one group, just that we all have to leave. But we should probably rendezvous with her before we actually get to... wherever this is leading us, just in case.''

``Sounds like a plan, then!'' Dustin said, giving Ginger a reassuring pat on the shoulder as he passed by her. ``I'll go ahead and lead the way. If anybody or anything tries to jump out at us, I want to make sure I'm the first thing it sees.'' With a grin, he pointed to Barad. ``You cover the rear, okay?''

Barad's eyes opened wide. ``Cover the... me? You sure?''

``Of course I am!'' Dustin said enthusiastically. ``I mean, just look at you! Anybody who tries to catch us from behind isn't getting past a dragon.''

The dragon, however, frowned. ``I, uh, don't know about that.'' He said quietly.

``How about I hang back with you?'' Zoe offered. ``I want to keep an eye on the stalker anyway and make sure he stays away from Ginger.'' She motioned over her shoulder with her thumb, pointing it directly at Gregory.

Gregory was wringing his hands together now. ``I told you, I'm not  -  not a stalker.''

Elena stepped up next to Dustin. ``In that case, I insist on joining you at the front.'' She said. When the tiger gave her a surprised look, she could only laugh. ``Just because I'm religious, that doesn't mean I'm a pacifist! Besides, I'm still an elephant, and just as strong as I look.''

``Hell yeah!'' Dustin said, then paused, and recoiled. ``I mean, uh, heck yeah?''

The elephant simply giggled as she opened the door, motioning for Dustin to lead the way and following right behind him. The rest of the room followed suit, leaving single file with Barad and Zoe at the rear. They didn't make it far down the hallway before they found Lorena, struggling with a doorknob.

Her face was overcome with distress as she turned it one way and the other, pushing and pulling and trying to open the door. ``Oh, come on! Who locks a public bathroom?'' she asked herself, apparently not aware that the others had caught up to her. Lorena was dressed in a backless top that tied around her neck, and didn't leave much to modesty in front, either  -  although perhaps it was a necessary outfit choice to accomodate the wing flaps connecting her arms to her torso. The short skirt she wore had a slit cut down the side, and she finished her outfit with a pair of stiletto boots on her feet. Dustin couldn't help but admire her confidence; she was built thicker than most of the other girls present, with Elena as the only exception, but was obviously comfortable enough in her own skin to dress how she wanted regardless.

``Hey, Lorena!'' Dustin called out, startling the bat into releasing her grip on the door.

``O-oh! Hey, guys! Uh, hate to tell you all, but the bathroom's closed.'' She said, her body language telling how desperate she was to get in.

Dustin tried the knob for himself, then shrugged. ``Want us to try and break it down for you?''

Lorena's face lit up, but Ginger put a hand on his arm to stop him. ``Let's... make sure it's a good idea to kick in doors before we actually start. You can hold it a little longer, right, Lorena?''

The bat frowned, glanced longingly at Dustin and the door, then sighed and nodded her head. ``I guess I have to.''

The group, now complete, continued down the hallway. As they went, Dustin and Elena continued to test each door, finding them all locked. The others were talking loudly among themselves as they walked, having various conversations that all blended together. Suddenly, Lorena raised a hand in the air.

``Hey, everybody be quiet a minute!'' she said. Nobody did. ``No, really guys, stop talking, please.'' They kept chatting. ``I mean it, it's important!'' Walking right behind her, Kick realized she was trying to get their attention, and cupped his hands around his mouth.

``EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP!''

Lorena was stunned into silence along with everyone else as the rabbit's voice filled the hallway. Once her ears stopped ringing, she turned behind her to face him. ``Thank you?'' she said, half a statement and half a question.

``No problem. What's so important?'' he asked.

She paused, clearly trying to remember what she was going to say before the explosion of noise. ``Oh! Of course... does anybody else hear that?''

``I don't hear anything anymore.'' Mae grumbled.

Gregory's head perked up a bit. ``Yeah, I  -  I do. Is that music?'' he asked.

Lorena grinned. ``Yes! I knew I wasn't hearing things! It definitely sounds like music!''

Everybody else fell completely silent, not even breathing as they listened over the sound of their beating hearts. Now everybody could hear it, and Dustin turned his head in the direction of the music in surprise. ``Hold on, that's us!''

``What do you mean, `that's us'?'' Summer asked, confused. ``We're all right here.''

Dustin shook his head. ``No, not us, us.'' He said, pointing to Rex and Kick. ``That's our band! It's The Shit!''

Jo wrinkled her nose. ``Your band is named The Shit?''

``Yep! Pretty cool name, huh?'' Rex said, unable to hide the pride in his voice. ``Kick picked it out.''

``Of course he did.'' The raccoon said, sighing as she put her hands in her pockets. ``Anyway, I guess that's where we need to go, huh?''

``It's as good a sign as any I can think of.'' Charlene said, starting to move again. ``If our strong leaders don't mind... leading the way?''

Nodding, Dustin and Elena began leading the pack again. The punk rock music grew louder as they continued down the hall, until they reached a set of double doors. Unable to stop their hands from trembling, the tiger and elephant each grasped a knob, turning to nod at each other briefly before throwing the doors open.

As soon as they did, the group was greeted by another massive screen, this one showing footage of the band themselves playing at Club Squalid. All three were on stage, performing a song they called ``Smash The Window''  -  Dustin immediately recognized it as the last one he actually remembered playing before waking up in his desk.

The footage panned left and right, showing most of the others. Ginger, Lorena, and Zoe were all sharing a table; Gregory was seated a few tables back, mostly hidden by shadows; Charlene was seated directly at the bar, with Jamie a few stools away, neither apparently aware of the other; even the less likely patrons, such as Elena, Barad, and Summer were visibly drinking and enjoying the show.

``Wha... what's this?'' Barad asked, stepping closer to the screen as he entered the frame. ``Who filmed this?''

Bao shivered as he saw himself on the screen. Like Gregory, he too had been hanging back from most of the crowd in Club Squalid. ``It looks like a recording from a security camera.''

``That's impossible.'' Edison said, shaking his head. ``There are no security cameras in the entire club.''

``How did you know that?'' Rex asked. His eyes were glued to the screen, unable to look away as he watched himself and his friends play.

Edison sighed. ``Because, as it happens, I  - ''

He was interrupted as the song in the video ended, and the footage cut to black. Along with it, the rest of the lights in the room shut off, leaving the sixteen of them in pitch blackness. A few voices cried out in surprise or terror, and when the lights came back on, the giant screen had vanished.

Dustin was the first to speak up. ``Is everybody okay? Let's get a head count!''

``That won't be necessary. I assure you, nobody has left the room.'' A new voice, an unfamiliar voice, said. Heads swiveled around, trying to find the source.

``Who... who said that?'' Ginger asked, moving closer to Zoe as she looked around.

Lorena's big bat ears were at full attention, hoping to find the speaker like she had found the music. ``I don't know, but... I did just notice something else. When we woke up, we were in a classroom, right?''

``Can't think of anywhere else that would have school desks and a blackboard.'' Mae said.

``So why aren't we in a school?'' Lorena asked. Dustin looked around, and quickly realized she was right  -  or at least, if she was wrong, it was a strange school. With the large screen now missing, it was clear to him that they were standing in what appeared to be the lobby of a hotel. A large fountain stood in the center of the room, there was a long check-in desk complete with pigeon holes for mail, and twin staircases flanked a bank of elevators against the wall opposite the front doors.

Immediately, he rushed to the front doors, and reached out for a knob. He cried out in a bit of shock and pain as all the outstretched fingers on his right hand immediately jammed against a solid, flat surface that he wasn't expecting. ``Ow! What the... hell?'' he asked as he ran his other hand along the doors. ``These aren't even real. They're just painted on.''

``But why would somebody paint  -  paint fake doors on a wall?'' Gregory asked from the edge of the crowd. Zoe kept a close eye on him as he instinctively tried to move towards a far corner of the room.

``Clearly, because there is no exit there.'' The mysterious voice said. This time, it was clear where it came from, and everybody turned to face the check-in desk. Behind it stood a very, very unexpected sight; a sleek-looking robot, visibly humanoid but without any features that would suggest it was intended to look male or female. Its entire body was a reflective silver color, save for a small display screen in the center of its chest.

Jamie immediately pushed his way to the front of the crowd, his eyes shining behind his glasses. ``O-oh. That's... a robot!'' he said, unable to hide the excitement in his voice. ``Incredible!''

As the mouse made another move to approach the desk, Jo reached out and grabbed him by the back of his shirt, pulling him back. ``Hold up. Something's not right here.'' She said.

``You're damn right it's not.'' Kick said, scowling at the robot. ``Who the fuck are you, where the fuck are we, and what the fuck's going on here?''

The robot placed both of its hands on the surface of the desk. ``If you had given me a chance, I was going to explain all of that. No need for profanity, Clover.''

Kick's scowl became an expression of pure anger. ``The FUCK did you  - ''

Charlene immediately reached over and grabbed him by the arms. ``Not now, Kick. Let it go. This isn't the time for that.''

He looked up at her, still visibly angry, and tried to shake free of her surprisingly strong, tight grip. ``Alright, alright, fine. I'll let it go if you let me go.''

``Now then.'' The robot said. ``To answer your questions, albeit slightly out of order. This is the luxurious Hotel Paradise, envy of the world! You are all our esteemed guests, and I am your host. In fact, you can simply refer to me as `The Host'.''

``I've never heard of the Hotel Paradise.'' Barad said, his eyes still darting around the room. ``And I definitely don't remember checking in.''

The Host continued. ``That's because we haven't officially opened yet. Now, please allow me to continue. As I said, you are all guests here. In fact, I have your room keys right here, and I promise top-of-the-line accomodations.'' It said, holding out a tray covered with keys.

Mae spoke up. ``Hang on now! You're skimmin' over a lot of details, you know!''

``She's right! If there's no exit here, how do we check out?'' Dustin asked, knocking on the painted wall for emphasis.

``Oh, that's simple.'' The Host said. ``You don't check out. You are all now permanent residents of Hotel Paradise.''

The room fell silent. ``...Excuse me?'' somebody asked, but everybody was too stunned to know who exactly it was.

``You're all now permanent residents of Hotel Paradise. There is no door to leave because checking out isn't an option.'' The Host repeated. ``For the rest of your lives, you are now confined to this building.''

Summer shook her head. ``But... that's... that doesn't make any sense! And it... doesn't explain anything! Why us? Why can't we leave? Why... any of this?'' she asked, trembling as she spoke.

The Host turned towards her. ``I assure you, there is a very good reason for this. And I misspoke earlier, my apologies. There is one way to leave the Hotel Paradise, should you wish to. But I assure you, once you experience life in the Hotel  - ''

``Stuff the fuckin' sales pitch!'' Kick yelled. ``Of course I want out, now stop stalling and tell me what I have to do to get out of here!''

There was an ominous pause before The Host spoke again. ``If you truly wish to leave the Hotel Paradise, you must murder another guest. We cannot tolerate such a serious offense, after all.''

Kick's jaw dropped. ``You're... joking.''

``I am not.''

``Then you misspoke again!'' Mae said, reaching out to grab the nearest arm  -  Barad's  -  for support. He reached out and grabbed back.

``I did not.''

Bao's legs wobbled, and he fell to the floor, landing on his rear with a hard thud. ``So... hang on... you're serious? We're stuck here unless we... kill each other?''

The Host nodded. ``Correct. Thank you for comprehending. If one of you murders somebody else, you will no longer be welcome at Hotel Paradise, and forced to leave. Otherwise, this establishment is your home for life.''

``We would never  -  never even consider that!'' Gregory insisted, having successfully moved to a secluded corner, away from everybody else.

Dustin clenched his teeth temporarily to stop his own shaking, then gave a quick nod. ``The stalker's right! Of course we're not gonna do that, we're all friends here!''

For a second, the light caught The Host's head in a way that almost made it look like an eye was twinkling in amusement. ``Are you? It seems to me that most of you don't know each other at all.''

The discussion continued in circles for some time. Everybody was either stunned into silence, or defiantly refusing to believe what The Host was telling them, no matter how many times he said it. Finally, after who-knows-how-long, it seemed that the robot had tired of the conversation.

The Host took a look at its left wrist, as if miming a person looking at a watch. ``If you'll excuse me, I've spent far too long explaining this to you now. I trust that anybody who understands and accepts the situation would be willing to explain it to those who don't.'' Again, it pushed the tray of keys forward. ``As I said, here are the keys to your rooms. Please have a good rest, and enjoy the luxuries of Hotel Paradise.''

And just like that, the robot disappeared, dropping behind the counter and seeming to sink to the floor. Kick immediately ran to the counter and jumped over it, knocking over the tray and scattering the keys on the floor. ``Hang on, you son of a bitch, we're not  - '' he began, but upon landing on the other side, simply stared at the floor. ``Huh? Where... where'd that guy go...?''

``It doesn't matter. We're not gonna play his game anyway, are we?'' Rex said, glancing around the room at everybody, all of them doing exactly the same now.

Ginger nodded. ``That... that's right. None of us are actually thinking of going through with it, are we?'' she asked, her eyes darting from person to person.

``Of course I'm not gonna do it. It's pretty obvious that's what the robot wants out of us.'' Jamie said. Like the others, his eyes refused to linger on one person for too long.

Still at the far end of the room, near the painted-on doors, Dustin realized something. Everybody was insisting that the idea of killing someone else for their freedom was ridiculous, something they would never do. But their body language betrayed that. Their darting eyes, their tense muscles, everything... everything told him one terrible, horrifying message.

Despite what they were saying, and whether everybody realized it or not, the small amount of trust in each other, that sense of camaraderie that they had all built up to this point...

...was gone.

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