The Ultimate Gamer's Slob Cell (WIP Preview)

   The warm weather and bright sunshine of Jabberwock Island did little to offset the grim situation Chiaki and the other students of Hope’s Peak Academy had been thrown into. Pushing her way through the underbrush, her dark green cardigan continuously snagged on low hanging twigs. Keeping her hood up kept the foliage from doing too much damage to her neck-length, light purple hair, although a few stray branches caught on the strands that curled near her shoulders. Thankful her short and slender form let her maneuver through a small opening between the trees, she finally found an escape from the collection of trees.

   Chiaki stepped out onto the beach and locked her pink eyes on the building hoisted atop the shore. For being so remote from the rest of the island, the beach house looked recently built and well-maintained. Climbing up the steps to the house, the first thing that stood out were the wooden planks boarded up across all of the windows that looked recently added. A thick, metal door stood out from the rest of the structure that would have looked more at home on a futuristic spaceship. Seeing it as the only way to get in or out of the building, Chiaki turned the handle and carefully pushed it open.

   Stepping into the dark room, Chiaki slid her hand along the wall in hopes of finding a light switch. Hitting a button didn’t turn on the light, but rather whirred to life a number of devices located on the opposite end of the room. Her mouth hung open and her eyes glittered in awe at the various game consoles and devices that were illuminated by the light of a widescreen TV. She found herself drawn to the massive bean bag chair seated in front of the screen, its plush, purple fabric acting like a siren’s call. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted an open bathroom nestled between an impressive stash of snacks and a refrigerator. It was a perfect place for the Ultimate Gamer to make herself at home.

   As soon as Chiaki’s fingers pressed against the bean bag chair, she heard a loud THUNK as the door slammed behind her. Running up to the door, she tried to pull it open, but to no avail. Wondering if there was something in the room that could help her pry the bars off the windows, she heard a crackle of static come from the television. Turning around, she was met with the unsettling visage of Monokuma on the screen.

   “Puhuhu, I can’t believe you really fell for it,” the monochromatic bear said. “I’m going to be honest, I didn’t think anyone would just waltz in here by themselves, but I guess I overestimated you. Ah well, guess I have to scrap the backup plans. Shame, I really wanted to use that bulldozer.”

   “What are you going to do?” Chiaki asked. “I thought you wanted to play a killing game. Not outright kill us.”

   “True, I have no plans of killing you here,” he replied. “This is just a means of getting you out of the picture. Something about you just hasn’t been sitting right with me. Rather than wait for you to foil my plans, taking you out of the game completely is the next best thing.”

   “I’m going to get out of here, you’ll see.”

   Monokuma shook his head. “Now you say that, but there’s a reason this place is so hard to get to. Even if you do find a way out, I doubt you’ll want to leave this house anytime soon.”

   “What do you mean by that?”

   “Puhuhu, I’ll leave that as a surprise. Have a nice stay.”