Part 24: Hitch a Ride

[BGM: Mousetrap]


I was on the 9th space. Ox was on the 9th space. Tiger was on the 8th space. Bunny was on the 9th space. Dragon was on the 7th space. Snake was on the 9th space. Horse was on the 11th space. Sheep was on the 5th space. Monkey was on the 10th space. Rooster was on the 12th space. Dog was on the 6th space. And Pig was on the 15th space.

What the hell is going on?!

It's become complete chaos.

Indeed. It seems the group's patience has been pushed to its limits, and many have begun to rush out for their own safety. We are rather disorganized now.



How on earth did we even get this configuration? It appears that us three and Bunny did what we said we would, and of course the dead did not move.

Horse moved three spaces, meaning he must have used his ability.

Pig getting to the 15th space also adds up if she used her ability. The spaces match up.

What I'm struggling to comprehend is how Monkey and Rooster got in the 12th and 10th space. That would mean Monkey moved 2 and Rooster 4. But neither of their abilities should've allowed for that.

Did they lie about what they had?

Perhaps, but that would be a rather odd lie. Anyways, that isn't exactly the main issue here, is it?

Of course it isn't, our entire plan's up in smoke!

Why did it come to this...

[BGM: Silence]


Actually, I wouldn't say the entire plan is ruined. There's a way to turn this around and have all 8 of us survive.

Er, 6 of us, considering that two of us are likely traitors.

There is? What?

Do you recall how I hid my ability in case things got out of hand?

Of course. I had been wondering about that.

Well, now is the time for it to shine. It's incredibly situational, I must admit, but we can get it to work.

[BGM: Bullfighter]


If every other person, myself excluded, is on a different space when my ability triggers, they will all be brought to the space I am at. I am then brought forwards 5 spaces, but that's a minor enough difference that it won't affect us if we use the Trinkets as one.

Woah! Then, if we find a token this round, we'd be able to pull together again and finish as a team.

Precisely.

But would we even be able to fulfill that condition of yours? Getting everyone on a different space is pretty tough.

I will admit it is a bit tricky, but remember, the spaces are checked during my turn, that is, 6th in the order.

Luckily for us, everyone after me is already in a different space. We just need to arrange you, Ox, and Bunny to be at different places. Since it doesn't check me, if you don't move Mouse, thing'sll be fine.

But I have to take an action!



Then use your SNEAKY RIDE on me, in which case you'll stay on your space until my ability triggers.

If I use STAMPEDE I'll move to the 14th space, which should also work. However, you run into a problem with Bunny. Where can he go?

Funny you ask that.

I was suspicious of Bunny's ability from the start, so I later interrogated him about it. It turns out that he was still suspicious of us at that time, and lied about his real ability.

That sneaky bastard!

You have the right to be upset, but at least it will do some good now. Apparently, his real ability will move him one space forwards, and if there's someone occupying that space, it repeats.



Basically, it's the perfect move to bring him to an unoccupied space.

Then we can really pull this off!

Yes, but we still must find another Trinket if everyone is to get out safely. Are you in agreement with this plan?

It seems to be the only option.

This is going to work. It has to!

Then get to finding that last Trinket. Preferably this round. I'll go find Bunny and convince him to act accordingly.

Very well, then.



Remember: the only thing that matters now is finding a Minor Trinket.

You got it!

And just like that, we had regrouped from despair with a plan to save the day. So long as we found a Trinket, everyone would be saved!

Thank God for Snake's ability, huh?

Indeed.

I must say, as much good as it's doing us, that's a pretty useless ability.

What? It's saving our asses right now!



Perhaps, but the fact that we're in a spot where we can arrange such a thing is a miracle. It may not look it, but everybodey being on a different spot is an incredibly difficult condition to pull off.

Considering that, bringing everyone to one place and moving 5 spaces isn't even that big of a payoff.

I feel like 'balance' wasn't the biggest concern in Brian's mind when he made this game.

Probably not. Anyways, I think we should focus on finding a Trinket. It'd be best if we split up.

Isn't that dangerous?

Perhaps, but not finding a Trinket is even more so.

I guess you're right. But be careful.

[BGM: That Pesky Rodent]


Be careful yourself. And find a Trinket.

I will!

When we split up, I was filled with determination. I went through classrooms at an even greater speed. Part of me was afraid that by rushing through them, I was ruining the possibility that I would miss something. But I didn't have time to worry about that!

As much as I tried to focus on looking for Minor Trinkets, I wasn't completely able to dismiss the annoyance in my stomach. Why didn't everyone stick to the plan? Yeah, things might've been scary, but to turn their backs on the group without telling anyone like that... It made me livid.

No, I shouldn't blame them. They were just scared. They had every right to be. All I needed to do was fix it. I could fix it, right?



As I thought this, I ran into Pig.

Ah! Mouse!

Pig! There you are.

You're looking really mad right now. Are you mad?

Hell yeah I'm mad, you completely didn't stick to the plan!

I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry.

I promise, I'll just run this turn.

Well that's all fine and good, but that doesn't make up for the fact that you're way ahead!



I know! I'm sorry!

Look, there's a plan at the moment to fix things, but we'll need that final Minor Trinket. Have you found it?

…

I should've guessed as much.

I can get back to looking though!

Yeah, do that. I still don't know why you'd do something like that though...

I was scared!

So?



Look, I was just talking with Snake, and he was saying all these big things about how bad things were, and about how someone could betray us.

So what, you're saying Snake made you do it?

No, no, I'm not trying to blame someone else. I'm just explaining myself. See, after that conversation, I started worrying about how the ambitious player might be able to start rushing ahead of us.

And I thought that if I got closest to the finish line, you know, maybe that would help?

What?!

I don't know, like maybe by giving them competition or something-

Spare me the nonsense. You wanted the option to abandon us and get to the finish line by yourself if everything went wrong, didn't you?



Well when our plans have been this bad, can you blame me?

Yeah, I can. I am!

I'm sorry!

Just... Just make sure you only run this turn.

I will, I swear. And I'll find a Trinket for you, too!

And with that, Pig ran away from me. She clearly didn't mean to upset me. But I got the feeling she wasn't truly that sorry about what she did. She was so worried about her own safety that she thought what she did was necessary, not something to be ashamed of. I was only angrier after that conversation. But I couldn't let that distract me. I needed to focus on what was important. Minor Trinkets.

[BGM: Silence]


In my search, the only thing I found was another empty safe. Again, I was walking over previously trodden path. This was what happened when our teamwork fell apart. What shattered it? Was it the announcement after Round 3? Well, that definitely didn't help. But no, that wasn't it. It was how we handled the aftermath of Sheep's death. We weren't enough of a group. And everything spiraled out of control from there.

I checked the time. The round was almost over. I should make my move and hope someone else found a Trinket. If that didn't happen... We'd figure something out. I had to use my ability. I should use it on Snake, right? But... If I used it on Ox, I could get far ahead. Was it really right to just bring everyone together and stick to the plan? Wasn't that a sucker's game? Could I really trust that things would work out?

If I rushed forward, then maybe on my own...

I had a really bad feeling about just blindly sticking to the plan. Everything that had happened, all the conversation I had heard replayed in the back of my mind. And doing so, I came to a realization about how to survive.

So then... this is right, right?

Who to hitch a ride on?