Andy looked up and around her, the role flashing above her head for just one second.
Jailor.
She hung her head down and tried not to curse. Dammit.
She looked around at the town, where multiple hay-roofed houses lay in a circle. She counted up fourteen and a castle, meaning somebody had a paid membership. In the very centre of the town was not a fountain, but a gallows. It sent her stomach twisting, even if she didn't know why.
Besides it was an unassuming old clock, telling her that it was about 7:30 in game time.
"Well, I guess it's going to be a good day today, don't you think?" She twisted her head, her VR set automatically creating the environment. Beside her was Martin, with his name hanging over his head and pointing down at him in bright white text. His avatar had shoulder-length black hair and pale skin. Like everyone else, he was wearing the typical pilgrim outfit.
"Yeah," she murmured. "We should look around. See who's suspicious. Ya know?"
He nodded, keeping his eyes trained about. Andy even had to give a second glance to Martin, even if he looked perfecly normal and innocent. She herself could be looking suspicious.
She gave a look to her left, where another person was standing. She took a look above her head and read her name quickly. Briona Knight. She took no notice of Andy, looking around the town like she was at the top of it. Sheriff? Godfather? Heck, even the serial killer?
Behind Briona was a guy named Macleod Tillery. He had brown curly hair and rather tanned skin. His house was upgraded into a small castle, a sign that he was the one with the paid membership. It probably made him feel lofty. Not to mention that it could make him a target in less than a spoken word.
"Hiya," somebody said. Before Andy could read the text of the girl behind Macleod, she turned around to meet the voice.
"Hi," Andy replied as she faced a brown haired girl with copper skin. "Who're you?"
The question was redundant as she looked above the girl's head. Faith Potter. On Martin's side, she was after a Casie Barron and a Vance Smith. "Well, I guess you know that already." She sheepishly ran her hands over her arms, looking at Andy. "But… yeah. I guess you do."
Andy gave an awkward laugh and looked up at the sky. It was sunset already, meaning that the grandfather clock would ring at any time. She took a second glance at it. It was already 9:45. It reminded her how quickly time went by in-game.
"Well, the clock's about to go, Faith," she said.
"Yep. G'night, then." She took an unsteady glance around her.
She tried walking over for a handshake, but her virtual legs didn't allow her to move. Of course. It was the first day and people were glued to their spots in the circle. Maybe tomorrow they'd all be able to walk around.
Oh crud. She quickly looked around the circle to see who to jail. She had a role to uphold after all. Um…, she thought. How about… She read the names of the townspeople as quickly as she could. Faith! At this point in the game, everyone and everyone was suspicious. It didn't help that Faith deliberately walked up to her. She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and ran her fingers over it. It was the list of all the players still alive in the game. She circled Faith's name with her finger and waited for the clock to ring.
It rang five seconds later. She hoped she got the right person.
Andy slipped on the cape, the boots, and the mask that a Jailor always wore. The game forced her virtual body to, and she kept turning her head towards the empty room in her house and then back at her outfit. She quickly grabbed a random piece of paper and scrawled a note onto it in case the interrogation went wrong.
Pixels started to appear in the chair, the only furniture in the room. Andy stood up taller and prepared to start the interrogation. Faith started to show up completely, and all that was left to work with were the pixels working out the kinks with Faith's face.
Andy made herself look taller and tightened her mask over her face. She narrowed her eyes so Faith couldn't see her through the eyeholes.
"Where am I?" was the first thing she said. She glanced around the empty room and threw her head back in resignation. "Jail again! How many games have I been jailed on the first night!"
Andy, if she was talking to her during the day, would have said 'easy there, Tiger,' but it wasn't exactly daytime. She took long authoritative strides towards Faith and growled in her most menacing voice, "Give me your role!" The voice modulator added with every nightime Jailor voice kicked in, making her seem even more growly than before.
"Paige?" she asked. "Is that you? I know your mic is crappy, but I never thought that it was that bad."
"No! Give me your role!" Andy said again. She was preparing to bring out the slip of paper again and circle her name. She wasn't giving a role, and she was just being stupid. It'd be cruel to kick her out of the game so quickly, but she could easily talk to the medium at night. But wait. She couldn't.
"Alright, alright!" she said. "You want to know the truth?" she asked. "I'm the doctor. I'm 99% sure that the mafs and the serial killer are going to go after Macleod so I was going to heal him. If he's dead in the morning…" Faith struggled in her chair. "I don't know what I'll do."
Andy looked at the sun. "Alright. I'll let you go now. See you in the morn."