Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Sunny's POV
The manor's dim, and I'm feeling my way down the hallway by instinct alone.
There are paintings on the walls, I think, but to me they're just smudges of color.
"Stingy production team, could've at least turned on more lights," I mutter, picking my way forward.
I run straight into a heavy door.
It's unlocked. One push and it swings open.
Inside is a room that feels huge and expensive, even through the blur. The bed in the middle, some massive European thing, looks like a beacon in all the dark.
"No way, the presidential suite!" I rush over and flop right onto the soft mattress, rolling across it twice, grinning.
A cold snort comes from the corner of the room.
"Who said you could come in here?"
I jump, scramble upright, and squint toward the voice.
Sebastian's sitting on a couch, a glass of something red in his hand, watching me with a flat, cold stare.
"Oh hey, small world!" I switch straight into my best surprised-and-delighted face.
His eyebrows pull together hard.
"Get out. This is my room."
[oh my god she broke into the boss's bedroom??]
[this is a death sentence, Sebastian's territorial as hell, last trial someone just got near his door and got skinned alive]
[Sunny run!!]
The chat is spiraling.
I just pat the wide mattress beside me. "Don't be stingy. This bed's huge, way too much for one guy. There's not a single decent room in this whole place. How about we just split it?"
There's a crack as the glass in his hand shatters.
"You... what did you just say?"
"Splitting the bed!" I sigh, like I'm explaining something obvious. "Look, it's dark, it's creepy, I'm a fragile little woman here. You're clearly not scared of anything. What's half a bed to you? Tell you what, I'll even knock it off your appearance fee."
He's on his feet and in front of me before I can blink.
Cold fingers close around my throat, pinning me to the bed, those red eyes locked on mine.
"You're really not afraid to die?" he says through his teeth.
With my eyesight, all I get is a blurry version of his face, way too close.
"Hey, why are you so close all of a sudden..." I feel my face heat up, but I poke his cold chest anyway. "I mean, we're filming and all, but isn't this moving kind of fast? Not that I mind."
His whole body locks up.
He lets go like he's been shocked, stumbles back two steps, and a strange flush creeps across that pale, icy face of his.
"You... you have absolutely no shame!" he snaps, furious.
"I'm an adult, nothing wrong with being direct." I roll over, pull the blanket up. "I'm tired, going to sleep now. If you're planning on joining me, go shower first. You reek."
He stands there at the edge of the bed, chest heaving, like he's fighting down something he can't name.
In the end he just lets out a cold huff, turns into black mist, and disappears.
[?????]
[am I losing it or did the boss really just get chased off?]
[she tried to share a bed with a god and called him out for stinking, what IS this show]
I smack my lips, satisfied, and close my eyes.
This dating show thing? Actually kind of fun.
The next morning I wake up to a sharp system alarm blaring in my head.
I rub my eyes, climb out of the ridiculously comfortable bed, and stretch.
"Morning," I call out to the empty room. No answer.
Guess Sebastian's an early riser.
I feel my way out and into the main hall.
The other two are already there, both looking rough, eyes bloodshot, clearly didn't sleep.
"Morning, you two," I say cheerfully. "Sleep okay?"
Travis looks at me like I've grown a second head. "Where did you even sleep last night? The whole first floor was screaming all night. How are you fine?"
"Slept great, actually," I say honestly. "Best bed I've had in ages."
Brooke's eyes go wide, like she just heard something impossible, then she slides right back into her sweet, helpless act. "Sunny, you're so lucky. Anyway, the system just dropped a side quest. We need to move."
The system chimes in on cue.
[Side quest: find Annabelle's toy.]
[There's a little girl named Annabelle living in this manor. She's lost her favorite doll. Players have two hours to find it and return it to her.]
[Failure penalty: elimination.]
[Hint: Annabelle is currently crying in the second-floor playroom.]
"Let's go, second floor," Travis says, face dark. "We have to finish this, or we're all dead."
The three of us head up together.
We push open the playroom door and a wave of cold, heavy air hits us.
Broken toys are scattered everywhere, some of them crusted with dried blood.
There's a small shape huddled in the corner. A little girl in a frilly dress, her back to us, making a sound that crawls right up your spine.
"My doll... where's my doll..."
