To Be Despairing: Lights of Hope
I do not own Danganronpa. I only own the words written and the characters.
Credits to Ezleurno for inspiration.
- Chapter One: To Be Unlucky -
?'s Point of View
Everything was dark... The air felt cold. I rolled my head and groaned, and I felt a hard, rough floor on my back. Twitching my fingers, I felt wood, and I presumed that was what I was lying on. I tried blinking my eyes. Both those and the rest of my body were incredibly sore, as if I had been asleep for only two hours after a long day- on a hard, wooden floor, nonetheless.
I managed to orient myself to the waking world. I thought. I knew my eyes were open, but there were no lights on in the place I was in, wherever I was. The first thing I assumed had happened was that I woke up on the floor of my bedroom in the middle of the night, and I must have fallen off my bed for some reason. The only problem was that my bedroom had carpeted flooring, not wood. After I pushed myself up into a sitting position, I rubbed my eyes and stretched my stiff limbs. I shivered, reaching around my surroundings for a bed to grab a blanket. The first thing my hand came in contact with was more wood. It was vertical, like a wall, situated on my right. I felt along this wall, noticing it's slanted planks stacked on top of each other like you would find in a camp cabin.
A camp cabin? I hated camp. At least, I felt like I did. I couldn't remember why.
I leaned against the wall and pushed myself up to stand, still feeling groggy. After stabilizing myself, I reached my left hand out, still searching for a bed. I was able to find another wooden object that had a flat surface on top, which stabbed into my stomach. Surprised momentarily from suddenly walking into this object, I jumped backwards, hitting my toe against a thin wooden structure directly underneath the object.
"Ow! Dangit!" I said in a hushed voice, thinking that someone might be asleep in the room. Trying to tough out the dull pain in my left foot, I leaned the right side of my body on the edge of the object that had just been my passive and not-very-mobile assailant as my support, which I knew was a table. Clutching my sock-covered foot, I noticed a dim light coming from a slit near the floor, which I had just noticed after my eyes fully adjusted to the darkness. After the throbbing had resided, I made my way cautiously towards the light, knowing full well that this could be the door leading outside the room. And it was a door. Good. I felt around the door frame, hoping to find a light switch. I couldn't find one anywhere.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
The scream came out of nowhere, and it was clearly distressed. It was definitely a girl's voice, and it was coming from behind the door! Thinking a lady might be in trouble, I scrambled for the door knob. Anywhere! Anywhere! My hands moved frantically along the door. I cursed silently about the lack of light but managed to locate the doorknob. I turned it, flung the door open violently, and charged out the door.
"HWAAG!" I exclaimed.
Forgetting that I was in an unfamiliar place for a moment, I found myself suddenly losing the floor under my feet, watching it fly up to my face. I never liked the taste of dirt. Or stairs. Especially when stairs stabbed me in the stomach, knees, and shins. And just my luck: I was able to meet both of those things I disliked at the same time!
"Ooorgh..." I groaned, my mouth full of damp soil. I quickly spit it out and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. I stood up, trying to endure the pain in my shins and knees. I quickly brushed off some of the dirt on my arms and clothes and looked around for the source of the scream, not finding anything but two rows of cabins with dim lamps near each of the doors. Calmed by this humbling experience, I listened for anymore voices. Then, I heard some loud and erratic pounding, followed by a desperate male voice, overlapped by female crying, all from the cabin directly across from the one I... *ahem* well, tumbled from. It was as if the guy was freaked out and trying to silence the girl.
Assuming the worst, I sprinted up the cabin steps and pulled open the door, revealing a teary-eyed girl sitting in a messy heap, right at the entrance, and a short Hispanic dude standing behind her with shock, panic, and nervousness all affecting his erratic and awkward body movements in attempt to calm the maiden down. I stood there, dumbfounded by the way the scene was unfolding.
"Miss, I- Can you- Miss, I didn't- Please, sshh! I'm sorry I- No, no, no, stop crying! I didn't know you were- I mean, well, I did, but I- Miss, please-"
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah..." Suddenly, the girl flung her arms out and wrapped them around my legs. She continued to weep and soak my pants and socks. Deciding to end the duo's misery, I spoke up.
"So... what happened over here?" As if not noticing my presence until now, the guy recoiled and tried to explain with the same panicky speech.
"I- well, we were just- no, I was trying- no, I was looki- touching- no, no, no, feeling- uuum, uuum- We were- I was just, y'know- I was-" I reached out and grabbed the boy's face with my hand, squeezing it to shut him up.
"Okay, okay. Just calm down. Just listening to you is making my head hurt. I just woke up a couple minutes ago, and I don't exactly want to deal with a kid that speaks like a rabid chicken."
"Sh-Showwy..."
"Weeeeeeeeeh..." I looked down at the girl.
"How about you? You alright?" She sniffed and wiped her face, finally releasing her grip.
"Y-yes," she replied meekly. "I was just freaked out..."
"Oh, really?" I said. She nodded.
"I-It was so dark in there, and- *sniff* I was trying to find some light. I saw some light coming from the floor and went to it to see what it was, but then- *sniff* I felt this creepy, warm hand on my back, as if I was being abducted!"
"I-I wasn't trying to abduct you! L-Like you said, it was dark, and I heard you talking to yourself a-and walking towards the door. I didn't know what to say, so I wanted to... well, Iet you know I w-was there! S-somehow..." the boy retorted. I rolled my eyes.
"So you decided that creeping up behind someone in the dark and touching them without warning them was the best way to let them know that you were there, not to very quietly and calmly call out and grab their attention without scaring them."
"I'm not exactly the best at... talking to other people..."
"I see that."
"A-anyway," the girl spoke up, "it was all just an accident. Hahaha... I've never been good with spooky stuff." I helped her to her feet.
That's when I got a full view of the girl that had soaked my pants. She was surprisingly tall and slim, easily towering over the boy. Her wavy hair was a dirty blond, reaching all the way down to her waist. Her hair looked as though she had just gotten out of bed, and her clothing matched. She was wearing a pastel green onesie, spotted with several pink rabbits. She was like a child, only taller. Very tall.
"It's not a problem. It is normal for humans to fear." She smiled at me.
"Glad you understand. Um, I'm Shannon. For what it's worth, I'm glad it was you that I ran into," she said, holding her hand out to me. I shook it gladly.
"Taz Dundas. Pleasure meeting you, too. Also, I'm sure no one would try abducting you... I think."
"U-uh, I'm not so sure about that," the boy suddenly spoke up. I had somehow forgotten he was there. Shannon looked back at him, shocked.
"What do you mean?" she asked him.
"I-I d-don't kn-now how to p-put it... uh, correctly... I just... I kn- I feel like we- well, I think- I- Don't you wonder why- how we got here? I-I don't know where we are." Shannon and I looked at each other, realization hitting me once more. I rubbed the back of my head.
"Hmmm... I agree. I think this may be a campsite. I hate camp. There's no good reason why I would be here in the first place."
"Camp? I've never been to a camp," Shannon replied. She turned towards the boy. "So, you think we were... a-abducted?"
"I-I, u-u-uh..." he stuttered, "Maybe? I-I mean, I don't remember at all how I got here, and I don't know either of you, either. Waking up in th-that dark cabin, ending up in a campsite, nothing looking familiar, no interest or reason to be here- It's all as if we were put here against our wills, doesn't it?" I was mildly surprised at his reasoning.
"Not to mention that... well, none of us remember anything. At least, I don't. Sounds like you... uh, what's your name?" I asked the boy. He flinched.
"O-oh, I'm Grei."
"Grei?" He nodded nervously. "It sounds like you, Grei and Shannon, don't remember anything either."
"Y-you're right. How could you tell?" Grei asked.
"... Neither of you sound certain about what happened."
"H-ha ha! Right..." Grei rubbed his head, agitated by something. "I-I should've realized that. U-uh, this is kind of embarrassing, but I'm f-feeling a little nauseous..." Shannon wrapped an arm around him. I patted his left shoulder.
"Why don't you sit down on the steps for a moment? You two stay here, and I'll go see if there's anyone else. Don't go anywhere. I want to make sure we stay together," I said, walking down the stairs towards the neighboring cabin.
"Alright. U-uh, Grei, come sit on the steps." She guided him to the stairs to sit down.
Looking past the two rows of cabins, which I think were four or five on each side, I spotted the usual pines and oaks that populated a generic camp. When I looked in the opposite direction, what I saw past the cabins was a cloudy sky. The ground seemed to disappear. Of course, I wasn't quite certain what I saw, especially since it was nighttime. Reaching the neighboring cabin, I walked up the steps and approached the door. Now that the situation wasn't as chaotic, I was able to notice a small black box attached to the center of the door. I looked around at the other cabin doors and saw the same thing. I ran my fingers over it, curious on what it was. It felt like plastic with a tiny smooth circle near the bottom of the box. I tried pulling it, but it didn't move. Losing interest, I turned the knob and pulled.
Once again, it was dark inside. With the limited light I had, I tried to find a person occupying the building. The first place I looked was the area where I had woken up. To the right of the entrance was a table, and it reminded me to be careful where I was walking, since I wasn't wearing shoes and all. Looking to the wall, I did find someone's limp body lying flat on his back. A thin v-neck shirt covered his moderately well-built body, and his face and hair were well-groomed. He certainly looked like a woman's eye-candy. Heck, if I were into men, he'd be able to swoon me on looks alone. As handsome as he was, I needed to check to see if he was actually alive. I placed my palm on his chest, relieved as I felt the slow rising and falling of a human's breathing. Doing what any normal person in a situation like this would do, I shook his arm. He didn't stir, so I tried speaking to him.
"Hey, dude, wake up." I shook him again, to no avail. I lightly pounded at his chest. "C'mon, man. Don't stay asleep." I rolled my eyes when he only replied with a short snore. Deciding that the usual methods of quietly waking a person up wasn't working, I decided to do something that I was pretty certain would wake up a man. I poked his crotch. I didn't do it very lightly, either.
"HRUH!" he gasped, body twitching. His eyes flew open wide then slowly closed again. He groaned and rubbed his face. "Dude, what the h*** is wrong with you?" he mumbled, drowsiness evident in his voice.
"Sorry, you wouldn't wake up. I know it's surprising that a guy you don't know just woke you up from sleeping on the floor, but there's an urgent matter you need to see."
"Who the h*** are you?" I scrunched my eyebrows at his coarse language. I sighed before replying.
"I'm Taz. We don't have time to converse right now, so you need to get up."
"Where are we?"
"That's just it. I don't know, and neither do the others."
"Well, you're f****** useless." He rolled onto his right side, immediately regretting it. "S***! Am I on the floor?!" I rolled my eyes.
"Yes. Now get up. You won't be able to fall asleep again."
"Shut up, you b******. Give me time to actually wake up."
Wake-up grumps, I'm guessing. Deciding that it would be best to leave him alone for now, I looked around some more for a second person. On the opposite side of the room, I saw another person; a girl this time. I think. She looked a bit like a boy with her short, messy hair and somewhat narrower-than-average hips and thighs. However, she still had a petite frame. She was actually already rolled on her side, making me guess that she had already regained some of her consciousness. Next to her head was a dark gray beanie hat, which I assumed had fallen off. However, with her face turned to the wall, I couldn't actually tell what she looked like or if she was asleep. I nudged her lightly.
"Hey. Sorry to wake you, but you need to get up." Unlike the unfriendly man, the girl stirred much faster. She turned her head towards me and yawned. She stretched out and sat up. "Hm. I'm glad the first thing you did wasn't swearing after I woke you up." She didn't say anything but simply raised an eyebrow. I placed a hand on her shoulder and chuckled. "Come, let's get going. There's something incredibly wrong going on, and I'm trying to find as many people as I can." She glanced at where I was touching her, still with a straight face.
"... Who are you?" she asked me quietly.
Straight to the point, huh? "I'm Taz. I assure you that I won't bite. I'm a stranger, but everyone here's a stranger. You're not the only one." She continued to look confused. She surveyed the dark room without saying anything. I stood up, and she followed without hesitation, not forgetting to put her beanie back on. Now she was standing up, I quickly glanced at her appearance. She was wearing a zipped-up, thin, forest green hoodie over a dark-gray turtle-neck sweater while wearing jeans as bottoms. She could probably be described as "flat-chested," which complemented the rest of her small body. In terms of height, she was pretty tiny. I think she barely, if not actually, reached my shoulder. I walked back to the man at the other side of the cabin. Apparently he had tried falling back asleep. I kicked him with my foot lightly.
"Hey, get up already." He lashed his arm out and tripped me. I managed to save myself with my left arm, but now I had a bruise on my elbow, along with a sore shoulder. "What the heck was that for?"
"Leave me alone." He rolled back. I sighed. I felt a small arm wrap itself underneath my right arm. I looked back and saw the Asian girl waiting for me to get up. I accepted it.
"Fine. I'll come back for you later. Don't go anywhere, though."
"Don't tell me what to do. I just want you to leave me alone." I rolled my eyes and groaned.
"Come on, let's go. The other two are waiting," I told the girl. She nodded.
"Wait!" The man suddenly exclaimed. "Where the f*** did you come from?! F****** Taz never told me he had a friend with him. Don't you two dare talk s*** about me. I already don't trust this b******."
"... What did you say? I don't speak your language," she replied in perfect English. I had stopped myself from laughing at her reply, putting a hand up to my mouth.
"Quit laughing," he grumbled at me.
"A-anyway, Let's go." I motioned for her to follow me out the door. Once we reached the top of the steps, I decided to speak up again. "So, what's your name?"
"Me?" she asked without looking at me.
"Yeah. As I said, I'm Taz. Taz Dundas. What about you?"
"Oh... Um... I won't say."
"Huh? Why not?" She appeared uncomfortable with this question for whatever reason and seemed to dig her hands deeper into her hoodie pockets.
"I can't. That's all."
"Can't?"
"Yes, I can't tell you my name." I turned back towards the other cabin, where Grei and Shannon were still sitting.
Maybe it's a sensitive topic. It might be an Asian thing, too. I mean, her American accent is perfect, so I don't really know. Not really thinking about my implications with those thoughts, I met up with the other two. I looked to the girl and introduced them to her. "This is Shannon and Grei."
"Hello," Shannon said. She nodded to her once.
"For now, this is where we're meeting until I find everyone. You can stay here or help me check all the cabins." She nodded at my suggestion and headed off to the cabin on the other side.
With her checking the last two cabins in this row, I decided to head back to the cabin I had woken up from. If two people were in each cabin, then someone must have been in my room. From the two cabins I had seen so far, there was a boy and a girl in each, so there's probably a girl inside. I approached the cabin door and opened the door quickly.
Expecting the person the be fast asleep, I was not prepared to get a third bruise on my forehead or a broken nose, nor was I braced to be slammed by any large projectiles as soon as I entered. It was a cabin.
Alas, I was still unlucky. Again.
And so, I was smashed face-first by a not-so-soft body. I think it was a skull.
"Ow! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to nearly knock you out like that! Who are you? I'm Marcel!"
Introducing: the girl that was in my cabin.
CURRENT PROFILES:
Males:
Taz Dundas (?), Ultimate ? - Status: Alive
Grei ? (?), Ultimate ? - Status: Alive
Unknown (?), Ultimate ? - Status: Alive
Females:
Marcel ? (?), Ultimate ? - Status: Alive
Shannon ? (?), Ultimate ? - Status: Alive
Unknown (?), Ultimate ? - Status: Alive
CHAPTER 1 PICTURES
Please check the links labeled with the names below under the To Be Despairing: Lights of Hope section at the bottom of my profile to view pictures of this chapter. Available pictures are labeled "AVAILABLE!"
Chapter 1 Map (Current known locations) AVAILABLE!
Chapter Scene - The Weeping Woman (Shannon meets Taz)
Character 1 Pre-Game (Taz)
Character 2 Pre-Game (Shannon) AVAILABLE!
Character 3 Pre-Game (Grei) AVAILABLE!
Character 4 Nameless, Pre-Game (Unknown Female) AVAILABLE!
Character 5 Nameless, Pre-Game (Unknown Male)
Character 6 Pre-Game (Marcel)
Character Statuses (All currently known character statuses)
(A/N: I can't insert links into the stories themselves, so this will have to be how pictures work, as tedious as it is.)
Chapter Uploaded 2/11/17
Picture Update 3/4/17
Picture Update 3/18/17
Picture Update 3/20/17