WEEK 9 - Retirement

[al2955]

the pygmalion. . . ONLINE CAPTAIN'S LOG: WEEK (9)

sunday EXECUTION (19) survivors As voting comes to an end, a song filters in played so loud that it becomes distored and fragmented. If a participant checks their datapad, they will see the the victim and suspect chosen by majority's pictures displayed. If they attempt to scroll, they will see a list of characters and their votes in alphabetical order.

victim



culprit



Character Statuses
Setting
Rulebook
Votes

Comments

EXECUTION

[al2955]

[ Adelina's body goes slack, collapsing. Her eyes are glassy, unseeing.

The holographic screen flickers, and the image that comes to life blooms across the screen in rich, deep colors. The kingdom is beautiful, and Adelina is seen traversing the grassfields with a light step. She steps past a patch of dandylions, smiling earnestly. Her sister is by her side, and they seem to be speaking happily about something or other.

For all the bright yellows and baby blues, however, there is a mass of grey smoke in the distance.

"Fire!"

It sounds distant and desperate. The disembodied voice repeats itself, again and again, the chant turning more and more desperate with each scream. "Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!" Adelina and her sister continue on their walk, and they step unto the path leading into the forest. Adelina turns away from her sister, peering past the thick of the trees with a curious gaze. The luscious greens seem to go on forever, and the sun shines warmly through open gaps. Adelina continues to walk.

It is only then that she turns to look back at her sister, her mouth open to say something, and Meryl is nowhere to be seen. As she turns, there leaves from the trees begin to rot, green giving way to brown. They rot and fall, and there's a thunderous noise from all sides, like war drums. Constant. Thrumming. Unforgiving.

Adelina runs deeper in the forest, and the leaves fall. The skirt of her dress slips between branches and twigs and bushes, never once catching upon any of them. Suddenly, she's holding a spyglass in her hand. Where did it come from? She looks just as perplexed, but holds it up, regardless.

She does not see her beloved sister. Instead, she sees a crowd, angry and haggard, reflecting back at her. Her breath catches and Adelina's heel catches in the root of a decaying tree. It snaps, and she lays upon the dirt, horrified. The spyglass slides across the fround, flying into a bundle of dead leaves. She crawls upon her knees to it, but try as she might, it's gone.

But for all her searching of her spyglass, Adelina is caught unaware; the crowd that had shown themselves to her through the glass' magic approaches, their steps revealed to be the thunderous noise. As they approach, shambling forward, it's clear something is wrong with them. Each member of the mob looks horrifyingly ill, their skin greying and eyes unseeing.

The grey smoke has grown closer. "Fire! Fire! Fire!"

And fire it is. The red flames lick the trunks of trees, crawling across dirt and grass and leaves. It is not slow and merciful, but a quick, terrifying explosion of fire that wraps around the perimeter, burning all in its path. The forest is on fire, Adelina is alone and in the dirt, and the crowd approaches. The chant breaks, silence settling in, and then the drumming of shouts begins again. "Help me! Princess Adelina!" They each cry out for her, reaching out, slowly.

Adelina's skirt is caught by the flames.

She is surrounded.

The feed cuts. ]