text;

[andeatit]

[Once his exploring was done, he needed to get down to business.]

Somehow, it seems we've all ended up in a very strange place. I would like to figure out how as well as a way out, but as one of us is dangerous, it's best if we all meet first. If you see this, please reply. Once we have enough people to make it safe to meet, we'll agree on a room. Until then, pleasre be careful not to venture out too far alone.

[It obviously wasn't safe for just two people to meet, so it would take at least three.]

Comments

[andeatit]

There seems to be a lot of land around the house. Inside environments are more easily controlled and a controlled environment is important for safety so for now I don't recommend going to search for any potential people. It is worth noting that they may be out there.

[eraser_rain]

Assuming there's a killer at all. Corpus delicti.

[andeatit]

I would prefer it stay in question or be entirely disproved.

[eraser_rain]

It's quite a distraction.

[andeatit]

Murder would be. I would prefer to prevent a crime than solve one.

[eraser_rain]

Crime is a deed committed by evil people. If a crime is committed and the evil perpetrator eliminated, ultimately more crimes will be prevented. This hypothetical murder shouldn't distract us from finding the kidnapper, behind a demonstrable crime, and bringing them to justice.

[andeatit]

I am not willing to allow even a single murder just for the sake of catching a future murderer. I'm in agreement with finding the kidnapper, but the rest I cannot agree on.

[eraser_rain]

We cannot allow an established criminal to be pursued with less than the full extent of our already limited resources because they've claimed there's a murderer. If we focus on the established evil, we'll find the one most likely to commit any further crime, including any potential murder to come.

[andeatit]

I agree that we should chase after the criminal, but we can't risk innocent lives. There is a reason that the police don't use citizen as bait.

[eraser_rain]

Yes, it's very important to avoid the risks inherent in presuming everyone not guilty of uncommitted crimes.

[andeatit]

This includes making sure we'll all safe while investigating.

[eraser_rain]

Justice sometimes requires courage.

[andeatit]

It's not the lack of courage that makes me unwilling to sacrifice the lives of others. I will investigate what's happening, but I don't have to sacrifice anyone to do so.

[eraser_rain]

Do you have a plan besides wait inside and see who shows themselves?

[andeatit]

This post was the first of my plan. If there are no other replies I'll be putting up notes in the rooms to check the board rather than any meeting place, since that could leave someone alone with a potential murderer.

[eraser_rain]

Standby positions.

[andeatit]

I assure you, Mikami-san, that I have no intention of letting the person behind this freely walk. There is also a limit to what I can advertise in the open. Once we have enough people, perhaps we can be on the same team and work on a more open plan from there.

[eraser_rain]

If there is a murderer, staying in the location that someone's taken pains to pen us in at would be as convenient for them as for the kidnapper, if they're separate people at all. It's not that I don't appreciate your intent but either the murderer knows who all of us are and likely where we are, or our best chance to gather information is now before they have their bearings.

If the murderer both exists and is fully informed, that they can pull off a kidnapping of this scale suggests that overcoming groups much larger than five isn't a problem.

[andeatit]

We were taken individually and, in my own case, while sleeping. Mikami-san, while I too appreciate your intent and your desire to bring a criminal to justice, I want to do so while making sure you and the others make it out alive.

It's true that the kidnapper can use the house to their advantage, but we can do the same. Protecting the others would be considerably easier if they're inside of the house.

[eraser_rain]

How clearly do you remember the circumstances before or during your kidnapping?

[andeatit]

The events before were typical enough. There were no strange occurrences, nothing that I can link back to as being suspicious, even in hindsight.

And then I woke up here. Somehow, I didn't wake during transport which seems to suggest drugs.

[eraser_rain]

Does anything else suggest drugs, such as a mental fog or unclear memories?

[andeatit]

No. Even when I try to focus on being moved, there's nothing there, which is lack of memory rather than unclear memories. I do live in the midst of a large city rather than a smaller island as this seems to be, so transport would have had taken a bit of time.

Yourself?

[eraser_rain]

Moving you from the middle of a large populated area without so much as a bruise and without waking you would take a massive conspiracy or near supernatural powers. If you're certain there was nothing strange when you'd fallen asleep, not even an unusual fatigue, even more so. What about the security in the place where you were to access you to administer the drugs in the first place?

[andeatit]

Impressive, but I'm very cautious to label it as supernatural. Intelligent, yes, but not supernatural.

As we discuss this, the laundry room comes to mind. I don't want to devote too much attention to it as it could just be something to distract us from the real threat, but have you found any clues to the combination?