A loud thud. Richard drops Sol to the floor. Again. Sol lets out a gasp. Everyone's heads are still turned toward the direction the man just appeared from.
Behind him, no entrance, no door, no way in, so how did he appear? He walks a few steps toward the boy on the floor. Before anyone else can move, Kai, the tall stranger, stops just beside Sol. No one dared to utter a word in front of the intimidating-looking man. Even Richard is speechless.
Kai crouched lazily and plucked the lollipop from his mouth. He began to chuckle, ever so lightly. "What a scene, am I right?" He said, voice smooth and even, amused. Sol looked up at him, unsure what to make of the situation.
Kai's eyes, icy blue, then locked onto Richard. He stood up and slipped the lollipop back between his lips. He didn't offer Sol a hand, like the rest of the group that were watching expected him to do. Instead, he offered him a smirk. Just a smirk. "Well, then. Don't let me stop you. Carry on." He said, turning his back on the group and strolling toward the supply room as if he owned the place.
Who knows, he might actually own it. Richard finally snaps out of his momentary trance and yells back at Kai. "H, hold up!" Richard's wife immediately walks up to him to stop him. "Richard, honey, consider your words wisely, you don't know what that man is capable of." Richard pushes her away. The boy, shocked and left for words, finally gets up to look at the man as well. "Are you here to help us?" Sol asks the man walking away. Kai is already in the supply room, rummaging through the items. "Depends on your goodies." His voice echoes through the room.
Sol frowns in confusion and tries desperately to understand the new arrival's intention. Suddenly, Kai's head peeks out of the room. "You guys just arrived here, huh?" "H, how did you know?" Mary asked. The man finally walks out of the room and takes a few taunting steps. "Your resources are untouched."
The group looks at each other. "Do you know what this place is?" The old woman asks. "Of course. A building." The stranger flashes them a smile and continues to lazily search the floor. "That much is evident to us." The woman mutters under her breath, but Kai didn't seem to hear, or didn't care. He came out of the room with a can of peaches. He crouched down near a crate and then opened the tin with a pocketknife that seemed to appear from nowhere. "Where did you get that fr-" Before Richard could finish his sentence, Kai already interrupted the old geezer. "So," he said casually, "how long have you all been playing house, hm?" "Just a few hours, I assume," Mary replied, still holding Ivy close. "We... woke up here. No phones. No exits. Just... us and this. Wait, how did you arrive here?"
Kai nods slowly, ignoring the question while chewing on a slice of peach. "Same premise, I see." "Have you... been through something like this?" Sol asked, stepping forward slightly. Kai's eyes flicked to him, amused. "Well, not here-here. But a room like this. With the same setup. Same lovely lack of explanation. Except... no people." Richard can't help but butt in as well. "So, who are you? You seem like a real jerk." Kai raised an eyebrow. Chastity even scoffed. "Richard, don't insult him so casually." "You look like trouble..." Ivy muttered, still holding onto her mother.
Mary looked down at her daughter and shook her head. "Ivy, you can't say that." She crouched to her daughter's level. Kai let out a loud chuckle and threw his head back. "You're not wrong, little girl." Sol tilted his head and took a step forward again. "What happened the last time you were in a room like this? Did someone come for you?"
Kai finally stood up and stretched. "Nope. One minute, I was counting my cigarette packs; the next minute, poof! New room. Odd people. Same mystery." "So, you don't perhaps know a way out?" Chastity asked. Kai shrugged. "If I did, I wouldn't be here." Sol looked down at the floor. Kai provoked so many thoughts in his head.
The group fell quiet again as well. Sol then glanced at Kai and then back at the others. "I guess we're supposed to work together and figure this out." Richard snorted. He didn't like the idea of that at all, but even he knew he had no right to protest. Kai looked at Sol, squinting his eyes slightly. "You're quite the optimist. You truly believe we can work together and find a way out?" Sol panics. "I'm just... trying to make sense of this and not... panic." "Right... Panic's boring, anyway."
Kai turned to the rest of the group. "Anyway, I'm Kai. Since we're all stuck here, might as well know who you're glaring at."
Chastity folded her arms. "We already introduced ourselves. But I'm Chastity." She proceeded to introduce the others to Kai. Sol looked at Kai again. "So, what now?"