The first thing Lucas did after he finished his homework was do some research about the game. Ever since Ash had told everyone his theory about the game being the cause of death, Lucas had done nothing but look through the entire web on anything about the game
So far however all he could find were different versions of the game stay alive. One was 'survival action is set in a post-apocalypse' and the other was 'Idle survival RPG on a monster-infested island' none of which was what he wanted
Decided that this was going nowhere, Lucas instead decided to search on the Countess and see if there was any information on her "Now what was the name again… let's see E something… Elina? Edith? Eliza? No... wait… umm Elizabeth! And the last name if I'm not mistaken was Bathory!"
He typed in the name to the search bar, while loading up the game on a separate window and immediately got an answer. Just as he was going to read through the different options, his phone starts ringing
Without checking who was calling he answered "Hello?"
'Lucas!' said a familiar female voice
"Dawn? What's wrong… are you alright?! Did someone else die or something?!" he asked somewhat scared to know why the blunette was calling him at this hour
'What? Um no, no one died… that I know of at least. I called because of what happened during lunch… do you agree with Ash's theory?'
At this the teen ran a hand through his dark hair "You don't really believe him do you?" was his counter response
'Look, Lucas, I'm not much of a gamer, but there are only so many ways you could die. To die exactly the same way as you did in a game just seems like something that would happen in a movie. It's all just really bad timing'
"Well if you actually stop and think about it, the coincidence of finding Drew's game body and his real body in the exact same pose was 1 in 100. Add to the fact that the cause of death seems to be the same thing as that of the game, makes it all the weirder. That's why we're freaked out"
'You're planning on going back there aren't you?' she asked and when she didn't get a response, Dawn already knew the answer 'I know you are Lucas. You not answering is enough for me to know… do you… maybe want some help or something?'
"It's better if I do this alone… plus I don't want you to be involved, just in case… well you know"
Dawn was silent for awhile 'Just be careful, please' was her quiet response, as Lucas smiled sadly even though she couldn't see it
"I will. No need to worry right?" he playfully said, trying to ease the blunette
'That's when I worry the most… Just don't do anything stupid or get yourself killed mister. If you do I'll make sure to bring you back to life and kill you myself' she said in a serious tone, causing Lucas to chuckle
"I'll make sure not to do that" he said as they both said their goodbyes and Lucas than turned his attention back to the game, which had finished loading "All right, Countess, let's go" Lucas said as he started up the game and found himself right where he left off
However it seems someone else had the same idea as him, since it seemed that Ash was also currently on. Deciding that only one of them should endanger themselves, Lucas started calling Ash through the game
'Lucas?! What are you doing on! I thought I said I was going to go searching for Drew's body' was the first time Ash said as soon as he responded the call
"Hello to you to Ash" Lucas said in a dry tone, but focused back to the task at hand "Also yes, I heard you say something along those lines, but this is something I need to do"
Ash was silent for a moment, as if digesting what he had just said. Not wanting to let the silence go to waste, Lucas decided to say something to help ease the other teenage into allowing him this one request
"Look if it will make you feel better, I promise to save the game before I enter any creepy looking places I can die and leave it at that" Lucas said in a tone that he hoped was enough for Ash to believe and agree on
'Fine… but I have your word right?'
"You have my word… I swear it as I did with Dawn before you"
'Alright Lucas, you win. Just don't die. I better not see or hear any news about you being killed. I have enough as it is on my conscious with Drew, no need to add you into it'
With that, Lucas made his way through the game. He took note of various places of interest that could maybe lead to some clues as he jotted them done on a notepad
Suddenly he heard the downstairs clock. Looking down, Lucas saw he had been playing for 2 hours straight and almost completely forgot about his plans with Barry!
Saving the game, Lucas turned off his screen and made his downstairs and out the door. He was literally 10 minutes late to his meet up with Barry and knowing his friend, he was not gonna be happy
While the boy was walking, a galloping noise was suddenly heard. This caused Lucas to stop in his tracks as he looked around the area. However there was nothing out of the ordinary and as such he began walking again
Still walking, Lucas couldn't help but notice the whole place was empty. Normally the streets were filled with people or cars… yet there were none to be seen. Getting somewhat nervous, the teen began speeding up
"Alright Lucas, nothing to worry about… after all you didn't die in the game so there no nothing to be scared about" he said to himself… only to once again hear the galloping, but this time it was louder than before
Turning to look behind him very slowly, Lucas saw a black carriage a few feet away from, and looking as if it were coming straight towards him
Wanting nothing more than to run, Lucas found himself glued to the spot. Try as he might, his feet would not listen to him. He tried to scream, but found that he couldn't do that either
Time seemed to slow down for the teen as the carriage got closer and closer until it drew near and was all but just an inch away…
Leaf found herself going back home at a late hour due to her and May going to the mall with Hilda, trying to cheer the girl up after seeing her still not over the news of her friends death
Suddenly Leaf saw a bunch of police officers and what looked like a crime scene. Curiosity getting the better of her, Leaf slowly made her way towards the scene, hearing a few cops talking along the way
"Looks really young to have died"
"Wonder what the cause of death was?"
"Looks like the kid was walked over by a house or a carriage"
After what seemed like an eternity, Leaf finally was able to see who the body was… it was Lucas
She didn't mean to, but a scream escaped from her as a detective came up towards her as she had tears falling down her face "He-he was right!" was all she was able to say
Looker slowly took a hold of the girl to the side, making sure to shield her view from the sight of her dead friend "Was he a friend of yours?"
Leaf slightly nodded at this "I mean we weren't close like Dawn is with him, but yes he was a friend of mine… I don't understand though, how-how could he be dead!
The detective sighed "We believe it happened recently, yet no eye witness have been able to give us an exact time frame"
Leaf rubbed her eyes, trying to stop from crying "I saw him today at school and he was fine, no reason to die… unless! OMG Ash might in fact be right!"
At this Looker took out a notebook from his jacket and was seen flipping pages until he found what he was looking for "Hmm Ash Ketchum? He's one of the few I talked with, same with the other... You know him?"
"Yes, he's a childhood friend of mine… you see umm oh never mind. You might think of him as if he was going insane"
"Try me; at this rate anything that will get us a lead as to this killing is good enough"
Leaf seemed to be having an inner battle, until she sighed and nodded "It was during lunch time, after we found out about Drew's death… Ash, h-he had this idea of this game we played is the reason why Drew died… he died the same way as he did in the game"
Looker was quiet for a moment. What she said made no sense what's so ever. A game that kills you in real life, seemed more like something out of a book
"As much as I would like to believe you kid, what you said makes no sense. A video game can't kill you, it's all fantasy. However if it makes you and your friends feel better, I'll investigate on the game and its origins. Now here's my card should you find anything to help us out" he told her, passing a small white paper with a number on it
Leaf nodded as she took the card and bid the detective farewell. As she walked towards Pallet Town, she took out her phone and called the most recent contact "Hey Gary… we got a problem... its well Lucas… h-he's d-d-dead!"
So Lucas is now dead! I don't know if any of you saw this coming or not, but now we got 2 out of the 7 players dead. However the difference with Drew and Lucas is that unlike Drew, Lucas didn't actually die in the game... what does this mean for our surviving players? Find out next time on Stay Alive Pokemon style!