[centre][color=6ecff6][h1]Arthur Ragnarson[/h1][/color]
[h3]Location: Cafeteria[/h3][/centre]


[color=00aeef]“’We wanted to reassure you!’”[/color] Uriel repeated in a high-pitched mocking voice, [color=00aeef]“Pure intentions, my ass!”[/color]

Arthur couldn't help but smile at the other boy's reaction. Even in their dire situation he somehow found the nerve, or the strength, to satirise their captors.  Arthur was not great with jokes, of any kind, so he appreciated having someone like Uriel about who could break the tense atmosphere even if it wasn't for himself; it helped Arthur to concentrate on the problems that faced them without fear clouding his mind.

The tone of the announcement might have reassured him if it were not for the violence with which he had been abducted and the fact that the announcement came a while after they had all woken up.  Maybe an explanation in their room might have helped clarify things earlier rather than inflict needless anxiety and panic upon them all.  Still, part of him was keen to go and find out what was going on, even if it was to find out what their 'story' was.  Maybe finding out how they presented their motives would help clue the boys and the girls in the facility into a way to escape, assuming the worst and that these people were not just benevolent.

[color=00aeef]“Guess that’s our only option right now. We should go, yeah?”[/color]

Arthur nodded and stood up, easing himself off the bench and glancing down the hallway where all the bedrooms were.  The hallway branched off and he assumed it was at the end of that one the lady speaking over the intercom had said the auditorium could be found.

[color=6ecff6]"Yeah, I think so.  For now we've got no choice but to be obedient to them.  If they're speaking the truth then it's in our best interest to work with them.  If they're lying and we're here for something... more sinister, there's no point resisting so early on when we don't know anything about our surroundings."[/color]

He left unspoken the futility of their trying to resist; it was clear from the size of the facility they had seen so far that these people had significant resources and were not afraid of snatching people in the middle of the day.  Clearly they had the manpower, influence and wealth to sustain this whole operation and had used knockout drugs as well, Arthur suspected there were some defence mechanisms built into the facility that would prevent the group of adolescents from going on a rampage without them ever encountering a person running the programme.

He walked out of the cafeteria, assuming the other two were following, and made his way past the hallway now much emptier of people than the chaos when he had first woken up.  Around the corner the hallway continued with doors placed along its length on both sides but at longer intervals to the bedroom doors, suggesting that the rooms themselves were bigger here.  Arthur made a note to investigate these rooms, if they had the time.

Beyond the door at the end of the hallway was another door.  Upon opening it he saw a double door immediately opposite them with a sign to the right of them declaring that this was the entrance to the auditorium.  The hallway here had much fewer doors and the lighting at the far ends was much dimmer, suggesting to him that those doors were probably locked and sealed off to them for now.  Arthur pushed into the auditorium and noticed immediately that, like the rest of the facility thus far, it was well furnished and remarkably like a lecture hall from a university.

Tiered seating descended down in three sections, the two side sections consisting of four seats per row while the middle section had ten seats per row, to a small platform at the front with a desk upon which a computer monitor sat.  Small platforms in front of each tier provided a writing surface, assuming anyone here wished to take notes on whatever was about to happen (if they had the stationary for that).  There was a projector on the sealing pointed to a SmartBoard behind the desk, obviously connected to the computer, but other than that the room was empty.

[color=6ecff6]"I guess we just sit wherever and wait for the others?"[/color] He asked his companions, choosing a seat on the right hand side section about halfway down.  He took the wall seat, preferring to be in a corner as it always provided him with a feeling of safety. Not that anywhere in this facility was safe.

And then he waited, whether it was for answers or the next step in this potential horror show he knew not which.

[@banjoanjo][@sakurasan]