Chapter Text
I. The Judge [Chanel]
I woke up sitting against the wall with a splitting headache; I didn’t know anything about where I was or how I got there. The first thing I could make out as I came to was abackpack on my lap and a blonde girl in a long gold dress against the wall across from me who seemed to be in the same situation as me. It came to my attention that I was wearing a rather comfy fluffy headband with a matching pair of gloves. There was a feather boa around my neck and I was wearing a white cropped top alongside a stylish brown plaid skirt. I wasn’t familiar with my accessories, though I recognized the skirt and top as an outfit I had recently bought at the mall with my sorority girls.
I moved the bag off of my lap and opened it to find a sealed envelope and a… gavel? I grabbed the gavel and turned it over in my hands in confusion before putting it back in my bag and grabbing the envelope. As I opened the envelope, a small card fell out of it which read “Chanel,”
Um.. creepy. I don’t like that it knows my name
I continued reading “You are the judge. Your job is to break all potential ties during the voting phase to eliminate those who you suspect are the Mafia.”
Oh is this like that theater game, Mafia? I was in Hey Dolly last year and we played this at the cast party… but I don’t remember there being a judge.
I was suddenly broken out of thought by a small yell and a clatter. I looked up to see the girl in the golden dress with a pistol on the ground in front of her. Her envelope was opened but the card wasn’t anywhere to be seen; she must have put it back in her bag. She seemed scared of the pistol by the way she was staring at it wide-eyed with her hands over her mouth.
She just sat there, frozen, so I decided to break the silence with a question, “Is that yours?” Hoping to clear the air and maybe confirm whether or not she may be on the bad team.
Wait… is that real…? Oh my god…
I stared at the gun, realizing that it was, in fact, a real pistol. I couldn’t tell you what type of gun it was but it was most definitely a real one. I felt my chest tightening and panic setting in as I realised the stakes of this situation.
“I swear…” The girl spoke up with a melodic yet unsteady voice, “I’m not on the- on the bad team..!” she shakily moved her hands away from her face and dug through her bag for her card. Once she found it, she showed it to me. The girl’s card read ‘Melissa, You are the vigilante’, apparently her job was to take justice into her own hands.
Oh man… This poor girl…
I was about to say something, but suddenly the lights went down and a voice called from an earpiece that I hadn’t noticed, “This is the first of hopefully many nights to come in this game of Mafia.” The voice sounded like a recording of some sort but the vocals were distorted and weird, “You are all equipped with a flashlight and a card that describes an extra ability called a perk that was given to each of you. There are four mafia members among you, and in your bag is a guide to understanding all other roles in the game. Make it through the night, and you will participate in the mandatory voting phase tomorrow. Further instructions will be given in the morning. Good luck participants, you’ll need it.”
“They say ‘Participants’ like we chose to be here.” Melissa huffed as she put her gun back in her bag in exchange for a black flashlight. She gave it a few clicks to make sure it worked before reluctantly using it to look around. The two of us seemed to be surrounded by audio equipment, portable chain fences, brief cases, and the occasional silver locker.
“So you’re Melissa, right?” I grabbed my own flashlight and zipped up my bag, “I’m Chanel.” I stood up and put my bag around one shoulder.
“Nice name..” As Melissa stood up, she brushed off her dress and sighed. “Let’s explore.. I uh.. I don't want to go alone.” She looked at me, trying to smile but she couldn’t hide how nervous she was. Of course I followed her, she was the only person I could trust.
We walked past couches and lockers until we found a room with three elevators. There were already two other people there, a man with white hair and green eyes and another man with hazelnut brown hair and greyish-blue eyes. Both of the men seemed surprisingly put-together and unfazed, but they’re men of course they’d be like that.
“Hello, ladies.” The man with green eyes called out. He was wearing a white suit with black dress pants and a black-and-white-striped tie. He was leaning against the far wall to the left of the room, close to the corner. His tone was difficult to read, typical, but he didn’t seem to have poor intentions.
“Uh.. hi? Who’re you guys?” I asked, keeping a fair distance from them.
“I’m Callum, this is Hudson.” Hudson had an unamused look on his face, clearly uninterested in the situation. “And you?”
“Im Chanel, this is uh…” Shit, I forgot her name…
“Melissa” she corrected me.
“Yeah.” I chuckled slightly, almost forgetting about the deadly situation I’m in until the flashlights went out and I heard a gunshot coming from the floor above me. We stumbled into the elevators to see what was happening on the second floor.
As our flashlights flickered back on, The elevator dinged and the doors opened to reveal an entryway to a mezzanine. I slowly walked down to the railing of the mezzanine. I had felt a pounding in my head and my ears were ringing ever since the gunshot went off. The platform looked down over a circular bar in the middle of the room with a few booths of couches and tables on the sides.
There were two staircases leading down from either side of the mezzanine, and directly below me was a bloody visage of a girl with dark hair and black clothing bleeding out on the floor with a gory fracture where her left eye would’ve been, likely from a bullet. She was surrounded by a crowd of people, all talking among themselves about what could have happened.