Act 1: Groundskeeper: Chapter 14

“Den! Wait!” Lucifer had dismissed us for the day, telling us to relax in preparation for an assignment tomorrow, and while Wren headed back to the bunks, I had a couple of things to do, starting with talking to Den.

Den stopped for a second, seemingly considering what I said before continuing walking.

“What do you want, Twin?”

“I didn’t kill you: Lale did. He tried the same trick on me by pretending to be you.”

Den turned back to face me with a perplexed look on his face. “Of course. I figured that out pretty soon after he killed me.”

“But you- I- mad- huh!?!” I stuttered over my words, extremely confused about why he was mad at me then.

“I’m not mad at you, Twin. I’m mad at myself for being tricked by freaking Lale of all people. I mean, he has an extremely recognizable and weird speech pattern!”

I must admit that that made me giggle a bit. “Oh… I feel stupid now.”

“Don’t worry, it’s all good. Sorry, but I do have to go now. I’m meeting up with some old friends to go bowling. Message me over tablet later?”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Oh yeah, totally! I’ve got to go take care of some stuff as well.”

“Well then, see you later! Be safe, not stupid!” I chuckled as he walked over to the elevator and the doors closed behind him.

“We need to talk.” I jumped in surprise. Lale had managed to sneak up behind me.

“What do you want?” I asked, clenching my fists in anger.

“Relax.” What do you mean, relax?! You had no idea any of that was just a simulation, but you treated it just like a game!”

“First thing, I knew that it was all just a game and that the victor would be put in the leadership position for this team. Second thing, the simulation wasn’t supposed to emulate the feeling of pain. Gardener Lucy is currently barely keeping herself together.” He cocked his head and looked at me, deep in thought. “... And you have an idea of why.”

But then I felt… something in my brain that wasn’t supposed to be there. It felt… alien. I didn’t know what to do about it, so I focused every bit of my brain power on it, and somehow it went away.

“Ow!” Exclaimed Lale.

I looked at him quizzically with a raised eyebrow.

“I-I stubbed my toe.”

Liar. He hadn’t taken a single step. “I’m done with you.” I said, turning around and walking away.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it, realizing that it would be better for him to just shut up.

Now to go get a status update on the dress from Lucifer.