Some said for prisoners on death roll, the waiting was worse than the shooting.

Caitlin agreed with that statement. And what was worse than the waiting? Waiting for five days while not knowing when the shooting would happen or who would be shot.

After the surprisingly delicious meal at the dining hall, the students walked out into the main hall, where the clerks started giving them room cards. All the rooms the students selected were on the top floor, with two elevators and a pair of staircases connecting the floors together.

The students had a long discussion about how to organize everyone. One thing for sure was that there was no way they would spread out into groups of one or two and reside in different rooms. They have watched enough horror movies to know that was the most stupid thing to do in their position. Almost everyone wanted to stick together.

It was almost everyone and not actually everyone because Katie didn't really like that idea. Everyone sticking together in the same room? How am I supposed to snuggle with my girlfriend then? That’s outrageous!

In the end, the students decided to divide into two groups based on gender. 16 girls and 18 boys. The boys would reside in several rooms across a single section of the floor. The doors would be opened and lookouts would be posted in case something would try to sneak up on them at night.

The girls occupied the Presidential Suite, which was more like an apartment than a hotel room. It had a giant living room, two gigantic bedrooms, and two bathrooms. It didn't quite have enough beds for all 16 girls, but they were more than happy with sleeping on the ground to stay alive.

The only reason not everyone was crammed into the suite was simply because the girls didn't trust the boys. In fact, they barely trusted their own. Who knew what people without hope would do? They had no intention of surviving the wraith only to get killed by a fellow human being. And if something could still perform the kill in a room of 16 people, then adding 18 people to that room might not help too much.

As all the room assignments were finished and the students settled down on the fifth floor of the hotel, it suddenly occurred to them that they had nothing to do.

Inside the Presidential Suite, some of the girls were on their phones, but even the addictive screens couldn't distract many of them from the dangerous situation they were in. Facebook didn't do shit when any one of them could die horribly at any moment. Others joined their friends, but none of them dared to leave the larger group of students. In horror movies, those that left the rest of the group had a tendency of dying first. All they could do was stick to the two-men rooms or the Presidential Suite and hope for the best.

With so many people in the suite, Katie couldn’t just pull Caitlin under the sheet either. It was something that annoyed the hell out of Katie.

She got more annoyed since, as of now, the students just started talking! Talking! They were in a haunted house and they decided that talking was the best course of operation? And where is that god damn wraith or something! In the name of god, do your job! Yeah, the anticipation of knowing a ghost could jump out from anywhere anytime was rather pleasant, but...

Thankfully, something did happen just in time to distract Katie. As the students settled down, Eric gathered a few fellow classmates to discuss their current situation. These classmates included Katie and Caitlin, as well as people like Vivian and Terry and even Kyle.

The interesting thing was that out of the 34 students, Eric only assembled a handful of them. These were the students who he recognized as having more potential than the others. The man knew very well that democracy has always been no more than a facade. In a situation like this, much like everywhere else in the real world, the opinions of a few decided the fate of the many.

Even if he added other classmates to the discussion, the only contributions they would provide would be a few “hmmm”s and “ah”s and “I agree with him/her”. As a leader, he had to recognize the difference between partners and assets. That was a lesson from his father that he took to heart.

The handful of students found their way into one of the smaller hotel rooms and closed the door. Eric made sure to take up position right behind the door. If he had to run, he could. As the students sat down, he started talking.

“I’m gonna get straight to the point. The key to surviving this week is identifying the wraith. Once that happens, taking it out should be a matter of saying a few words. Once it’s gone, we live.”

“No shit, Sherlock!” Kyle mocked on the side. His legs were crossed as he sat down on a bed. Katie glanced at her. She thought she was the Sherlock, and also...who invited him?

Eric glanced at Kyle. He knew a little about what was up with Kyle. Kyle was the most corrupted student in the entire class. He literally raped, looted, and even killed at wish. Eric himself has heard of multiple horrific tales of the crimes he had committed. At the same time, he recognized more value in Kyle than most of the other students.

Kyle was a beast, but beasts could be tamed.

The man scanned the field. “Any ideas?”

Most of the students started thinking in silence until Caitlin raised her voice.

“As far as we know from Mr. Isaac’s MOs, he always has some sort of trap laid in his instructions. In the token games, it was the location of the tokens. In the survival game against that monster of his, it was his advice to not move. In the Telephone game...I don’t know, but in the Musical Chairs, it was the difference between victory and survival. As long as we figure out those traps, we have a much higher chance of living. If we don’t, our survival will rely on sheer luck.”

“Our questions to Mr. Isaac on the bus should’ve cleared some possibilities up,” Vivian added, calling back to the conversation on the school bus. “There is only a single wraith in the hotel and it’s the only supernatural being in this hotel. He did dodge the question about human threats, though.”

“We have sentries and look-outs set up. As long as we maintain these measures and only move in groups, whatever killer in this hotel shouldn’t be able to sneak up on us.” Terry reassured before tapping the shotgun on his side. “Plus, we are all armed. They don’t do crap against the wraith, but if it’s some human being who wants us dead...let’s just say we will be more than ready for them.”

“Our main issue is the wraith. We need to identify it and accuse it.”

On the side, Kyle suddenly scoffed, and he made sure the entire room heard him. None of the students was satisfied. They were here working hard to deduce a way out and this guy was mocking them? Vivian and Caitlin remained quiet, but someone else didn't. Surprisingly, it wasn’t Katie.

Terry stood up abruptly. His hand grabbed tightly onto the shotgun.

“What’s your problem? If we can’t find the wraith, you die as well idiot!”

The smile on Kyle’s face didn't disappear. If anything, it widened. He was fearless, not because he had that much courage, but because he had nothing to lose. He has been so lost and broken that death was a mercy to him.

Finally, he started.

“Look at all of you idiots! You, Eric, the leader wannabe. And all of you,” He scanned the room, barely faltering as he saw the cold grin on Katie’s face. “you think you’re so smart, don’t you? But guess what? There is a way out that is guaranteed to work and none of you can see it. And guess what? Even if I tell you what it is, you will still be too snowflake to use it!”

Honestly, if Caitlin didn't grab onto her hand and keep her down, Katie would be on top of Kyle right now and her Knife would be in his throat. Oh the arrogance...Katie still had trouble believing how far Kyle has fallen in such a short period of time. Then again, she suspected the darkness has always been there. The presence of Mr. Isaac merely brought it into the open.

Eric was clearly displeased as well, but he controlled himself. “What is it, Kyle? If it can really save us, why won’t we use it?”

Kyle smirked before suddenly turning to Terry, who was still towering over him.

“Sure, but I have a requirement.”

Caitlin suddenly had a bad feeling about this. That feeling came true as Kyle continued.

“This asshole...I want him to get on his knees and apologize to me. And guess what? To show how sorry he is, I want him to wire me a thousand bucks right now.”

In front of him, Terry grinned before suddenly stepping forward and whacking the butt of his shotgun across Kyle’s cheek. Kyle took the full brunt of the force, but even as he fell back in his seat, he was still smiling.

“That’ll be two thousand bucks. Right now, or else...” Kyle scanned the room with confidence in his eyes. “we all die here.”

Kyle knew how desperate everyone was. Terry was certainly innocent here, but that didn't matter. He knew people like Eric and Vivian would gladly take his side just to get his solution to the issue. As for what Terry wanted...did it matter?

Also, he didn't really want Terry’s life, did he now? He just wanted the man’s apology and some free money!

But unknown to him, that was the last straw. The man watched in surprise as Katie stood up and started walking up to him. “Wow wow wow! Careful, buddy! I…”

Before he could say another word, Katie punched him in the face harder than Terry ever did. The man tried to stand back up, but Katie’s punches never stopped, and before long, Kyle found his face covered in blood.

What Kyle didn't realize was that Katie has already been pissed off enough. She enjoyed a good game of suspense as much as anyone, but she didn't exactly feel the fear that others did. Instead, she felt boredom, which was a million times worse than fear. And the ghost everyone has been talking about...where was it? Did it decide to go on a vacation? Did it fall asleep on the job? They have been here for hours and it didn't even drop a single body! What a slacker!

Now she was dragged into this meeting, a meeting that was so dull it was painful for her. And now this kid wanted to blackmail everyone else? Come on!

“You!” Suffering several blows, Kyle was barely able to stay councious, and even that was because Katie controlled herself. Otherwise, she could’ve removed his head altogether. As always, Kyle showed no appreciation. “Guess what? Now you have to apologize to me too! Get on your knees!”

He was answered with another bang. This time, Katie grabbed onto Kyle’s clothes and slammed his head against the wall.

In the room, the other classmates had a variety of reactions. Caitlin sat back, now more and more comfortable with Katie’s frequent acts of cruelty. Vivian was minorly disturbed but remained silent. Terry was outright thrilled. Eric was concerned, but he knew better than to interrupt Katie when she was excited.

Once again, things have gone out of his control.

On the other side, Kyle’s face turned red. Only a part of that was from all the blood.

“You maniac!” He cried out. “Don’t you want to know my solution?”

Katie smiled sweetly at him and then slammed his head against the wall once again. Blam!

“You’re crazy! Eric! Terry! Do something!”

Blam!

“Fuck you!”

Blam!

Finally, as Katie was finished, Kyle collapsed on the ground. He still wasn’t dead. Katie has been oddly merciful. Why? Well, she had a feeling the stay at the hotel would be rather boring. Keeping Kyle alive could be somewhat entertaining. Was it the wisest call? Nope. Kyle was a threat. The wisest call would be to kill Kyle and burn his body to get it over with. But the dead are so boring…

“Oh, I’ve gone soft.” Katie whispered before looking down at the man. “So, what was your idea?”

Kyle growled in pain. He would’ve persisted, but he realized one clear thing. This girl in front of him was ten times crazier than he ever could be. More importantly, she didn't care about his solution. She didn't even really care about getting out of here alive. If Kyle was only pretending to not care for his own safety in front of the other students, then Katie really didn't give a damn about saving herself or anyone else.

With no response from Kyle, the brunette took another step forward, and the man on the ground quickly started talking.

“We know the wraith is one of the employees in the hotel and the others are all human, right? They’re the only suspects. All we have to do is round them up and put a bullet in the head of every single one of them! The one still alive is the wraith, and we can just point it out! We’re fully armed and have the full element of surprise. It will be completely safe for us…of course, none of you will have the guts to do it…”

Katie glanced at him, and he returned to silence.

That...that’s actually a really good idea! The other students in the room realized darkly.

They didn't exactly know how many employees were in the hotel, but there were 34 students here, most of them armed and ready to spill innocent blood. They could easily catch the employees by surprise. Yes, this could force the wraith to attack the students, but that was the point! Once exposed, the wraith would be nothing!

Katie quietly sat down beside Caitlin. She honestly didn't care about this. If Caitlin wanted her to do the killing, then she would do just that. If Caitlin didn't want to spill innocent blood, then she would do the protecting instead.

Terry looked down on his shotgun, his hands shaking slightly at the prospect of using them to mow down innocent people en masse. Eric bit his lips as he sank deep in thoughts. Caitlin looked conflicted, as expected. A few other students were speechless. Vivian finally broke the silence.

“As much as I would like to believe that’s the way out...what if the wraith isn’t among the employees? What if it's some sort of haunted painting or chandelier or… or maybe even the hotel itself? That’s a common trope we see in horror movies.”

“Then we can at least root the employees out. Narrows the range.” Eric noted quietly.

The discussion continued for a while, but Caitlin remained suspicious. This was like a detective game. The students were the detectives who had to find the real killer in a group of suspects. That was how Mr. Isaac designed the game. Kyle’s proposal was to round up all the suspects and shoot every single one of them in the head. That would certainly take care of the culprit, but...but that really wasn’t how the game was designed!

Caitlin knew something very well. If you don’t have the attributes of Katie Lockwood, don’t mess with Mr. Isaac’s games. Just...just don’t.

In the end, Kyle’s proposal remained as a possible option. Nothing more. Despite what they claimed, some of the students were still hesitant about killing innocent people themselves. Even Eric, despite what he was telling himself inside, had trouble making up his mind.

And just like that, the first meeting was over. Without more information on the wraith, the students really couldn’t do much. The painful truth was that they had to wait for the wraith to strike first before they could react.

As Caitlin and the others retreated into the rooms, Katie said something to Caitlin before turning and walking to the elevator.

She has had enough of sitting back and waiting. If this lazy wraith wouldn’t do its job and come to her, then she would go find it...