Exposure

Chapter 16

It seemed that the Host was more sinister than they thought. Why would a few dozen people agree to an unknown game at an unknown location simply because of a tailored irresistible offer from a complete stranger in the first place? The Host had an influence and a personal insight on every soul at the manor. Their control was simply too precise and strong to be just labelled as persuasive. Even mentioning them was enough to cause shudders. It became apparent that the Host must be otherworldly, omnipotent, or not completely human.

Aesop has never thought of this. His memory of after getting his invitation was blurry and muffled like he was held underwater and looking up through the water until he woke up in the mansion. In fact, any time the survivors or he had brought up the Host, he seemed to experience a strange sensation of confusion, as if he couldn't quite remember what he was talking about or what he was about to say. Aesop had written down the conversation the two had had that day in a journal, in fear that the same strange occurrence would happen again and his recollection would be smudged like fresh ink on a page.

Weeks had passed since the incident and the games were still 'suspended until further notice', that was the note and was neatly written in a cursive slant. Something that both sides of the manor could remember was the handwriting of their invitations; this was the first time since their arrival that they had seen it again. All steered clear of the note once the had gotten its message. It gave off an ominous aura that made them feel uneasy. Aesop and Joesph had come out of their room to finally eat something. Despite the fact the general calamity of the past weeks had somewhat died down, the survivors still didn't tolerate Joseph's presence around them and Aesop felt more comfortable when he was not around them too. And so, they kept up the routine of eating together later at night and Aesop collecting breakfast for them in the mornings. However, the downside of his was they went hungry during the day. Aesop often worried that Joseph was losing weight rapidly.

That particular night the pair were gently treading down the stairs, avoiding the creaky sections of wood they had learned over time. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Joseph ran his fingers gently over the banister where he had swung his sword and tore a chunk out of. It had been miraculously fixed overnight. No one had seen or heard anything that night and yet there it was as if it had never met the bite of Joseph's blade. Joseph quickly moved ahead and placed his hands on Aesop's shoulders to lean down and gently place a kiss on Aesop's cheek. As isolated as the two were, Aesop enjoyed the time they finally were able to spend together, particularly the quiet nights. They felt close and intimate despite the lack of words between them. Aesop smiled to himself and turned to wrap his arms around Joseph. He felt Joseph's cool touch against his hair and he looked up to his moonlit face,

"Let's eat, I'm hungry and I know you are too," Aesop said stilly.

The night was quiet as they cooked, they meaning Aesop. Joseph had a habit of cooking noisily and overall was not the best when it came to the taste department, despite their meals being very much simple. And so, whilst Aesop cooked, Joseph wandered and Aesop liked this arrangement. Every now and again he would glance over and see Joseph investigating scriptures on the walls or planning angles he could take photographs in. Joseph had tried bringing his camera down for said shots a handful of times. All of these attempts resulted in frantic shushing, however, Joseph was able to capture a rather pleasant photo of Aesop standing in front of the large arched window at the end of the wing, with the ivory moon peeking over him like a luminescent guardian. Aesop looked solemn but Joseph thought it was a wonderful photograph of him anyway, complimenting his symmetry along with other things Joseph believed to be complements. He never was the sort to be direct about how he thought Aesop was beautiful.

However, when Aesop looked tonight, Joseph was waiting in the doorway of the kitchen looking somewhat nauseated and overtly distressed,

"What is it, what's wrong?" Aesop furrowed his brows, pausing in his cooking and waiting for a response. Joseph shook his head grimly and nodded over to the rota board where a note lay pinned.

Of course, Aesop couldn't tell from a simple shake of the head and he tilted his head to joseph as he followed his direction. The shadows masked the board Joseph was alluding to, all Aesop could see were the stars through the window. He then felt Joseph grip his arms and begin to drive him towards it,

"I believe, my love, that our 'news' has stirred more than just the others" Joseph grunted pessimistically.

The cursive hand on the note said, 'Updates to the schedule shall be made soon.'

Aesop felt uneasy at the note's presence before he even read it. Dread crawled up his spine and down the rest of his body as he realised who had left the note. Its contents weren't particularly foreboding but Aesop was sure this meant the worst was to come. He thought he recalled that he and Joseph had spoken about something to do with the Host a while ago but he couldn't remember what they had discussed or what conclusion they had come to. It was as if he was watching his memory playback on an old misted television that persistently glitched or cut out in all the important scenes. Aesop took a sharp inhale,

"We were talking about the Host the other night, weren't we?" He asked.

In return, Joseph scowled as if racking his brains for an answer he didn't have,

"I...don't know. That's odd. I'm usually quite good at remembering conversations. It was probably about how we've been missing a lot of matches. I haven't even noticed up until now that the matches weren't on altogether." He said, thinking aloud.

"I'm sure there was more than that. Why would the Host call off all the games just because we haven't been going?" Aesop glanced to the note "How can paper give off such an ominous feeling?"

"Everything has felt off recently, even more so than before." Joseph shook his head, "Let's eat quickly tonight. I feel itchy, like the dark is watching us"

Joseph took Aesop's hand and tugged him gently away from the note. When they got back to their room, Aesop could've sworn he felt a lift of pressure. His breaths felt deeper and fulfilling than before.

They locked the door that night.

Joseph said he suddenly felt drowsy and was asleep as soon as he hit the pillows. Aesop was fighting off the same feeling. Strange, considering he usually had to beg his body to let him sleep. He knew something wasn't quite right but his mind became cloudy each time he tried to think as to why and his mind lulled him to go to sleep.

He paced his room and open his drawer, producing a journal that he seldom used due to him already having all the notes he needed on embalming. He was sure that he wrote something in it but, flicking through, there was only a few reminders and scribbles where Aesop had tested his pens. The journal was hand-bound and only had a few pages due to the paper itself being made of some sort of high-quality water paper, it was most likely better suited for the more creative and artistic of his peers hence why he had never made use of it. Although, Aesop thought he remembered it to have a few more pages last time he saw it. Finally, the feeling of sleep dragged him away from the journal and it seemed to become all but irrelevant as he crawled into bed next to Joseph.