SECOND EVENT: THE MILGRAM EXPERIMENT

[birdkeepers]

At exactly 2:00 in the afternoon, an announcement goes off: the intercom clicks on, and the warden reads a list of names. "... If your name has been called, please come to the cafeteria. You're to participate in the next event! If you do not go on your own, a guard will find and escort you

Comments

GROUP 1

[birdkeepers]

Madoka Kaname is led into the teachers' half of the room, and Homura Akemi is led into the students' half.

[hopespells]

Madoka sits down and looks across from herself, at the girl sat there. Homura... she's both glad and sad that she's been paired with her. Sad, and scared-- because she doesn't know what's going to happen. But glad because they're together.

"Um, we start now, right?"

[heartovertime]

Homura sits, looking a little down with her hands in her lap. "I guess..."

That statement about this being a more deadly experience was a joke right? They would step in if something actually was dangerous, wouldn't they? It's just a show, isn't it?

She has no clue what the button will do if she gets an answer wrong, but...maybe it would be okay.

[hopespells]

She shuffles the cards on the table and pulls one out, reading before she really recognizes the words.

"Um... Okay. I'll ask... What do you sit on, sleep on, and brush your teeth with?" The answer is tricky, the kind of thing specifically made to fool, and she doesn't like it much. She's scared something bad will happen to Homura when she presses that button.

[heartovertime]

Homura is quiet for a moment, but there's nothing she can think of that would be all of those things, is there? "I sit on a chair, sleep on a bed, and brush my teeth with a toothbrush?" she responds quietly, worrying that if she delayed too long there might be a punishment.

[hopespells]

She smiles brightly. "Yeah! That's the answer. It's that kind of game... next question, I guess? Here... um. 'What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, and has a bed but never sleeps?'"

[heartovertime]

She's heard this riddle before, hasn't she? It's a shorter moment before she recalls the answer. "It's a river, isn't it?"

[hopespells]

"Another right one, Homura! Next one..." she flips the card and looks uncertain for a moment before reading the next one. "Um. 'When are you leaving Deadman Wonderland'?"

[heartovertime]

"A little under six months now, right?" Homura replies, hoping that was a close enough answer.

[hopespells]

"The card says never..." And she laughs a little nervously, as though she can't believe it. She looks to the button, then back to her friend. "It's a silly joke question, there are a lot of those... Um, should I press the button?" She hesitates, unsure of what it would mean for Homura once she did press it...

[heartovertime]

Homura lets out a soft noise in confusion, but then accepts Madoka's explanation tentatively.

"You're supposed to, aren't you?" she replies in uncertainty. "You might get in trouble if you don't..."

[hopespells]

"Okay, I'll press it... I'm scared, but it shouldn't be anything too bad, right?" After last time, she's not so sure. But slowly her hand goes to touch that button on the table.

And hesitantly-- she does press it.

[heartovertime]

Electricity circuits through Homura's body as the button presses down and she lets out a cry. The current continues and she clenches her eyes shut and shakes for a few seconds after Madoka releases it.

When it stops, feeling like an eternity later to the girl, her hand goes to her chest in worry that her heart may become arrhythmic. Yet, it still beats normally, albeit faster than before. Although painful, it wasn't intense enough to damage her health again, she hopes.