The Murder

I attempted to parse what I had gone through.

My first hour – or so, it was tough to keep track of time without a watch or…anything – had been one alarming encounter after the next. Many things stuck out to me as strange in each, but it was a different story trying to figure out if there was anything to be learned from them.

"Obviously, there was going to be something strange at play here," I mused aloud. Gozaborou was back on my shoulder, listening halfheartedly. "But I hadn't expected so many others to have figured it out by now. Or were they just like that?"

Gozaborou had said "all sapient species" had a chance to partake in the Crowning. I had assumed based on appearance alone that every Participant I encountered was human – perhaps they weren't, and just looked the part? Maybe that level of ability was the standard for their species or something.

Then again, I hadn't gotten any sort of a look at that last one. The way she came and went made her seem more like a phantom than anything close to human.

My Observer companion and I had since moved off from the stream, back into the harsh thickness of the jungle. Something about its oppressive density was comforting at this point – every time it began to thin, I experienced something crazy, after all.

"Oh yeah," I said suddenly, interrupting my own thought process. "That last one, she said something about a shortcut. Care to explain?"

"It's exactly what you think it is," Gozaborou explained. I was expecting something a little less on the nose. "The route to the Joining's center – that is, progression to the next layer – is generally up to the Participants' discretion, but there are established shortcuts to hasten the process."

"And I can only assume there is some gimmick to them."

"They are limited in ways, yes. Regardless, one of the biggest challenges of using them comes not from those limits, but from how in-demand they are with Participants."

The pangolin's lack of specifics did not surprise me at this point, but, to his credit, he was being more forthcoming with the information than I was used to.

"So, people tend to fight over them so they can be the first ones out. Gotcha." This particular tidbit did not surprise me. "Is there any advantage to getting out of the Joining first?"

Gozaborou shook his head.

"Not directly, but there are some ways to make it beneficial. If you are very fast at getting there, you might avoid most of your competition, for instance."

That made sense, but I had to wonder how many Participants were thinking like that. If they were willing to fight because the word "eliminated" was used, I'd imagine a lot of them thought it was more a race than a marathon because only the "first" one to the goal would score the prize.

But, then again, maybe I was giving myself too much credit and everyone else too little.

"Come to think of it," I began, "Mr. Gelt and his friend said they were after the kid because it was a competition, but they were buddied up themselves. Is it possible to enter in as a group?"

"No," came the curt reply from my shoulder, "but it is theoretically possible, I suppose, that two Participants that knew each other could have died at the same time and ended up here. But those odds would be astronomically low, for a variety of reasons."

"Not likely, then," I concluded to myself. "Though, with my luck, who knows?"

Turning my attention back to the situation at hand, I realized with some dismay that we had more or less been traveling this entire time in a straight line – probably. I wasn't sure which idea was more depressing: that, or we got turned around somewhere along the way and it was anyone's guess where we were or even which direction we were headed.

"It'd probably be a good idea to get our bearings somehow, and the best way to do that was to get someplace high," I decided inwardly.

The only noticeable increase in elevation I had encountered thus far, however, had been the cliff at the site of the earlier conflict. Thinking back, the cliff – probably the edge of a plateau of some sort – did continue beyond the clearing, but for how much I couldn't say.

If the mental map I hastily constructed was accurate, we could, in theory, swing widely back in that direction in hopes of finding some other side of the plateau, without the risk of running into the characters we'd already encountered.

On the other hand, if my mental map was wrong, we'd be walking into the jungle in some random direction. In other words, more or less what we were already doing.

Progress through the jungle was steady, but tense. Occasionally, the distant sound of conflict or some indistinct chatter would reach my ears, but I was not about to repeat my earlier mistake. Such areas of commotion seemed to attract other Participants like moths to a flame.

Although possessing no extraordinary means of stealth, I figured my best bet was to lay low for the time being. My experiences thus far told me to expect the unexpected, so I doubted I would remain undiscovered forever. Hell, there was nothing to say I wasn't still being shadowed by the phantom from earlier.

In time, the trees began to thin in places, and, with some effort, I noticed the ground was going up in a slight grade. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but a decent sign, nonetheless.

Gozaborou was still perched on my shoulder but had been completely silent for the past…however long we had been traveling. I wasn't exactly opening lines of communication myself, but he was betraying my expectations of a talking animal companion once again.

Resisting the urge to suggest Gozaborou come up with a marketable catchphrase, I struggled my way through a patch of particularly dense ferns and almost fell to my death on the spot.

Just beyond the brush was a sheer cliff edge even taller than the one I had encountered earlier. Somehow, despite the gentle, almost unnoticeable climb, we had ended up at the top of this geographical monster, overlooking a massive swath of the jungle – and I was a step away from walking off it.

"Mission accomplished, I guess," I croaked, grabbing onto a nearby fern to steady myself. The jungle beyond seemed to stretch for miles in all directions, but my eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the strange sight directly in front of me, looming ominously in the distance. At first glance, it looked like some bizarre skyscraper – some artificial structure that climbed endlessly upward. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that it was composed of discs of varying sizes; I could count six from where I stood, but it seemed there were more, disappearing into the clouds that hung strangely low above our heads.

Although I had my suspicions about the clearly important structure, as I turned my head to ask Gozaborou to provide his insight, I noticed that we were not alone. Some ten or so feet to my right was another person, leaning heavily on a tree not far from the edge of the cliff. They wore casual clothes similar to mine – some slacks and a zip-up jacket – and had striking, shoulder length purple hair.

"Another protagonist…?" I thought initially, shifting backward toward the tree line. Their slouched posture made me think they were injured at first, but upon taking notice of me, they suddenly shot upright.

"No, it's not what you think!" they shouted suddenly, gesturing wildly with their hands. Their appearance was androgynous enough, but even their voice didn't give me much indication either. "I just found them like this, I swear!"

"What the hell are they – " the thought entered my mind, only to be cut off as my gaze followed theirs. Crumpled in the weeds, almost completely obscured from sight, was yet another person – covered from head to toe in blood and vicious wounds.

Eyes wide, I took another step back. The other person shook their head furiously, taking a step toward me. "I don't even know who they are! I don't know who did this!" they cried, becoming more hysterical by the second. It did occur to me on some level that this probably was some misunderstanding, but the thought was completely overshadowed.

This was a first for me, both here in this other world as well as in life. I felt sick, both at the grisly sight as well as the implications it created. I understood what it meant – killing was something at least some here felt was an acceptable outcome. It seemed obvious, now; 'elimination' coincided more with death than it did with just conflict. But for some reason, it just hadn't occurred to me yet.

Judging from what remained of the victim – mutilated to the point of being unrecognizable – there were clearly some Participants that took this for more than just an unfortunate but unavoidable outcome.

As the other person continued to shout their incoherent pleas, I turned and bolted back into the jungle. They were unlikely to be the culprit, but I couldn't know that for sure, and that was enough. Besides, even if they were innocent, there was no way to know if the real killer was still nearby – or any other undesirables that were attracted to the scene by the rising commotion.

Just as I took note of Gozaborou's absence, the little creature reappeared on the opposite shoulder. Naturally, he had taken his leave again before the confrontation.

"That was it, wasn't it?" I asked my Observer as we ran – unsteady in such an environment as it was – back down the slope.

I chanced a glance at the pangolin to gauge the likelihood of an answer. The little creature opened his mouth in reply, only to disappear before my eyes in a soft puff of air.

"Wha-?!" I cried, though some part of me already understood: there was another Participant nearby, so Gozaborou had taken his leave again. Apparently, the process was automatic.

"If by 'it,' you mean the transfer point to the next layer, then yes," came the reply after all. It sounded as if Gozaborou was still perched on my shoulder, and, perhaps, he still was – I just couldn't perceive him.

The confirmation was appreciated, but I was already moving in a direction that assumed as much. Before my next thought had time to form, however, as I threw myself haphazardly through another patch of brush, I nearly ran head-first into another person. Dodging in a frenzy to the side, I rushed past them without as much as a word. Nothing about their appearance had time to sink in, other than their height – one not far off from my own.

No one who appeared before me right now could be anything but trouble.

My blood began to run cold as several intrusive thoughts took hold. Was that the killer? Were they after me now? Even if they weren't responsible, were they going to follow me now that we crossed paths? What would – or could – I do then?

I ran with reckless abandon for as long as I could, until fatigue began to take its toll. I had lasted significantly longer than expected, I noticed, as my run gradually devolved into a heaving plod.

Staggering onward a few more feet, I threw myself behind a tall plant that was not quite a tree and waited. Trying to wheeze as quietly as possible, a hand over my mouth, I pressed myself as close to the base of the plant as I could.

Several tense moments passed, with only the usual ambiance of the jungle reaching me. Finally, I let myself relax a little.

"Well done."

The voice nearly caused me to jump out of my skin, before I realized Gozaborou had reappeared, emerging from the brush near my legs.

"Thanks a lot," I replied between gasps. Once again, my wonderful Observer had been little use in such dangerous circumstances, though I had come to realize that his abandonment made for a very useful indica-

And just as that thought neared its completion, the pangolin disappeared in another puff of air.

"Oh shit."

The undergrowth shifted. I could see only about an arm's length away from my face, sheltered as I was beneath the plant's leaves, but I could hear the subtle signs of movement. It was soft, almost completely drowned out by the ambient noise – had I not been made alert already, I probably wouldn't have noticed.

"They don't know I'm here," I assured myself mentally, making myself as small as possible. "If I just lay low and keep quiet, they'll be on their way."

I paused.

"Gozaborou didn't disappear when we were watching-"

A head popped out from between the leaves in front of me. A moment later, the hair belonging to said head – silver in color – made its way through the foliage and flopped to the ground. The owner was peering in upside down, for some reason. Two large, emerald orbs stared directly into my own, and the person in question held a neutral expression.

"You aren't very good at moving through this place are you?"

My fatigue vanished. Leaning hard against the base of the plant, I readied myself for an attack, or for an opportunity to flee.

"Not very talkative either?" the newcomer continued, dropping into the space beneath the leaves completely. With its voice high and its frame slight, I was inclined to believe I was dealing with a female, but given its increasingly obvious inhuman nature, it was difficult to be certain.

She was dressed in clothes made of what appeared to be vegetation. Green like her eyes but far less luminous, said vegetation clung neatly to her lithe body, leaving little to the imagination, while still maintaining some shape of its own.

"Listen, I'm not sure who you are or what you want," I began, lifting myself up a little higher up the base of the plant, "but you wouldn't gain anything by killing me."

She looked confused.

"Does that mean you got something from killing that one?"

"I- huh?" I replied, my mind briefly drawing a blank. "Y-You mean the one up there? I didn't kill them."

"Then why are you running?"

Growing increasingly annoyed and exasperated, I stood up completely, pushing away the leaves with my head in the process. "Because I didn't want to run into who did!"

The newcomer stood up too in response, though she barely disturbed the foliage. What she lacked in height, however, she made up for in hair – it was almost as long as she was tall.

"Then who did?"

"Maybe you, for all I know!"

"Me?" she cried, putting a hand to her chest. "I just got here!"

This was going nowhere, but I still had no idea if this one was dangerous or not. She seemed...eccentric, and not human, and that was cause enough for caution.

"Look," I started, holding the bridge of my nose between two fingers, "I walked up there, saw someone there with the dead body, and ran for the hills…or, down them, in this case. That's all I know."

Sorry, other person up there who probably wasn't guilty either. 'Rather you than me' never fit quite so neatly.

The girl hummed thoughtfully at this, absently batting a nearby leaf that seemed unwilling to leave her alone.

"Okay."

With that, the green-eyed girl turned on her heel and strode out from underneath my hiding spot. The foliage seemed to move unnaturally around her as she went, as if moving aside out of courtesy. The sounds of her departure disappeared the moment the curtain of leaves shifted back into place behind her, as if she had vanished.

Sliding back down to the base of the plant, I made no attempt to follow her. My Observer was still missing, a fact that was becoming increasingly important as these encounters piled on, and I knew that meant I was not as alone as I appeared to be.

Several more moments passed as I sat on the damp jungle floor, straining my ears for some indication of danger. Even as I got used to filtering out the ambiance, nothing stood out to me.

As if to reinforce this fact, Gozaborou emerged once more from the brush beside my legs, looking as unconcerned as ever. I let myself relax again.

"I thought you said I wasn't going to meet the entire cast," I growled to the little creature as he trundled out in front of me, occupying the space the other Participant had just vacated.

"Oh, stop exaggerating," Gozaborou shot back nonchalantly. "You've encountered barely a handful."

I realized with no small degree of irritation that my dynamic with my Observer had changed – it was no longer a stable back-and-forth of one getting on the other's nerves. Ever since the more serious aspects of this game had been thrust under my nose, it felt as though I was always on the back-step with him, given little opportunity to counterattack.

Brainstorming ideas to get back at him in the background, I decided my focus should return to the task at hand: getting closer to that weird structure – apparently, the goal of this layer – which I had seen earlier. Although the glimpse I had of it was not as fresh in my mind now, I still knew, at least, the general direction to travel.

"All we have is a direction," I thought aloud as I got back to my feet, "which is better than aimlessly wandering the jungle, but not by much. You'd think all these run-ins would have resulted in something other than scaring me shitless."

Gozaborou, predictably, did not reply. He did, however, pop up out of nowhere on the usual shoulder as I prepared to head out. That seemed to be his favorite position apparently.

I pushed my way through the leaves that had served as the barrier of my shelter, emerging back out into the jungle proper. My mad flight had taken me some distance from the crest of the hill, or so my mental map told me, but not any further toward my intended goal.

"Were you talking to your Observer in there?"

My head snapped to the source of the sound. Standing next to me, hands behind her back as if waiting patiently, was the green-eyed girl. She was a full head shorter than me, I now realized – the difference in height underneath the leaves hadn't been so clearly established.

"What kind do you have? Mine is a monkey!" she continued, turning to face me with a wide smile. I wasn't sure if the expression was genuine or meant to mock me.

In response, my head snapped in the opposite direction, towards my now-unoccupied shoulder.

"Are you kidding me?!" I fumed. So much for using him as a proximity alarm.

"No, really," the girl replied, looking slightly confused. "He really is a monkey. Kind've weird looking, though." She paused, putting a finger to her chin. "An 'aye-aye,' he says."

"That's not what I…" I began to correct her, but, realizing the futility of it all, quickly gave up. Only then did it strike me as odd, the information she was willing to divulge about her Observer, even to the point of communicating their words to another Participant. "Should you really be telling me all this?"

"Does it matter?" she retorted with another quizzical expression.

To be honest, I wasn't sure how to respond. Was there any downside to talking about your Observer? The way they disappeared before anyone else showed up implied there was, but I had no proof one way or another.

"Whatever. Mine is a weird looking lizard," I replied after a few moments, defeated.

"I thought I already said…" Gozaborou began his correction, but I swiftly tuned him out. The girl in front of me didn't react to it, however – she must not be able to hear him, just as I was not able to hear hers.

"Aren't aye-ayes nocturnal?" I asked, the thought striking me as I thought about it a bit more. "Doesn't it hurt being out in the day like this? What is with these things and their weird choice of animal?"

"If you've been assigned to as many Participants…" Gozaborou began his justification, but was quickly ignored.

The other Participant, meanwhile, laughed.

"He really didn't like that!"

So I wasn't the only one getting a lecture.

I was feeling more at ease with this girl, now, after the mutual ribbing of our Observers. You could even say we bonded, just a little. She was as strange and alien as she was four minutes ago underneath that plant, but I felt I knew her a bit more now.

"My name is Simon," I introduced myself with a tired smile, feeling slightly strange at the utterance of my own name – despite talking to Gozaborou a lot since I got here, I was getting used to the 'hey, you' way of address, apparently.

The girl tilted her head and returned the smile.

"I'm Cecil!"