The students spun to see the new face, standing on stage with a mic in hand.

"Testing 1-2 1-2?" The teddy bear spoke out as the crowd stared with wide eyes. "Welcome everybody!" He began with a fiendish smile. Nobody dared to answer, as the bear’s attitude was spoiled by his appearance.

Braelyn was the first to break the silence that had blanketed them all. "Is that a teddy bear?!" Her voice went hoarse before her sentence ended, but it was clear what she asked. Her hand had been brought up to point it out, as if nobody else was witnessing what was standing on stage.

The new bear seemed to frown. "I'm not a teddy bear! I'm a Monobear-er, I am Monobear!" He retaliated as he began to waddle down to the edge of the stage. His coat was evenly divided vertically down the center. One half, white with soft, cute eyes and a friendly smile. The other was pure black, his eye looking like an angry, red, jagged scar and a smile filled with sharp fangs. "I'm also going to be your Camp councillor for the Summer! Won't that be fun?" He asked as his smile popped back up. Slip cleared his throat and placed his paw on Barelyn's shoulder.

"It's just a toy, somebody's controlling it somewhere as a prank, obviously." He mumbled, even though his eyes betrayed him as he continued to stare at the abomination.

The bear's smile turned into a hard line as he glared at the opposing lynx. "I'm not a toy, you shouldn't say such hurtful things."

Rexi cursed. "Now wait just a minute here!" He shouted as he jumped on one of the cafeteria's tables and balled his fist in the air. "Where's the staff? Are we supposed to believe that we are being taken care of by a toy bear?!" His over dramatic actions earned every eye in the room and it only egged him on as he turned back to the rest of the students.

Before he could continue on his rampage Rulu began his own statement. "This camp has been a ghost town since we got here, not exactly the warm welcome we were expecting!" The red fox couldn't believe he was agreeing with the rabbit, but it was right.

The bear stayed quiet as question after question rose from his audience. It didn't take long for them to notice he wasn't going to answer them. Apple crossed her arms and leaned against the back of the table as she waited with her two friends beside her. She was nervous, downright scared, but she was going to keep a handle on things as best she could. She didn't really mind when Tasha shifted closer to her, taking comfort in the contact as she watched the bear on stage.

Razzle had quickly put away his cards and Henry was furiously writing the entire event down in his notebook. The shouting was cooling down to random whispers until Monobear finally spoke again. "Well then, you are all aware that you were invited to this camp because you are the best, simply overflowing with talent." It sounded as if he was a record replaying this idea for the thousandth time. "I invited you because I want to preserve this hope that you will bring to this world. From now on, you will be living here!"


The cafeteria erupted again;

"I wouldn't say best."

"Does he mean forever?"

"What!?"

"Are we supposed to believe this bull shit?"

"You have GOT to be kidding me..."



"And by the way!" Monobear shouted over them. "You don't have to worry about being taken care of, we have all the food you need and the facilities to keep your mind and body sharp." He smiled as he raised his arm in the air and presented his idea.

"That's not the problem here you stupid toy!-Bear! Whatever you are!" Tibby shouted as he quickly stuck his nose back in his art book, regretting that he shouted.

Monobear's posture sagged, "You bastards are so ungrateful..."

The shouting continued as the bear tried to answer the questions until Myckal's voice came over the entire crowd. "So is that what the fence is for?" The room was shocked into silence. "To keep us contained?"

If a student wasn't panicked by now, this new revelation was the final straw.

Tasha wrapped her arm around Apples and hugged it tightly as she felt sick to her stomach. Genevieve felt herself absent mindedly playing with her lighter again as her eyes seemed to go ghostly. Moss shuffled uncomfortably as he sat near the back, trying to understand what was going on as he stayed perfectly quiet.


Nekoto had enough. "This joke is stupid, Drop the damn act! Is this some kind of initiating thing or something?!" He barked out as his tail swished irritably behind him.

"It's not a joke, I have not yet given you a reason to mistrust me." Monobear whined as his posture slumped and his arms dangled in front of him.


"This is insanity..." Issac huffed as his paw pulled back his floppy ears and tossed them back out of force of habit.

Monobear regained his smile and began his campaign again. "I mean if you really want to give up this luxurious paradise there is always... graduation." He had the students attention.

"If you were to break the school code, normally you shall be punished but to graduate you are able to break one rule... Upupupupu."

Apple was the first to pin her ears in anger. "What rule is it?"

"Oh, it's simple, only a student who can kill somebody can leave!"

Henry's pencil lead snapped as his notepad began to visibly shake. Genevieve's lighter fell to the ground and bounced against the tile, the noise almost deafening in the silent room. Aki had grabbed her tail, hugging it tightly to take comfort in the fluffy mass as she shook her head in disbelief.


"We really have to kill somebody to leave?!" Tasha asked as she grabbed her necklace with her other paw, holding the charm so tightly it began to hurt.

"You can choose any method you like, but don't you find the deafening noise of panic... interesting?" He added with a laugh. "My heart is pounding just thinking about it! Gwahaha."

Nekoto slammed his fists on the table. "This is really stupid! Give it up already."

Monobear growled, his jagged teeth becoming more menacing with his snarl. "How many times do I have to tell you bastards? Don't you get it?" You can't leave till you graduate!"

Braelyn began to sob as she clung to Slip. The students were breaking down at the very thought, except for Eric.

Though he was distressed, his interest in Monobear began to grow. Perhaps it was clocking out the trauma of the situation, but he couldn't stop himself from walking towards the toy.

Tasha twisted and turned her necklace while she was watching Eric with wide eyes. "Don't go near that thing!" She cried out once she realized what he was doing. Eric paused in front of the short bear, obviously hesitant.

"It's just a toy right? It's gotta have a receiver or something..." He mumbled as he reached towards it.

"No touching the camp councillor! It's one of the rules!" He growled as he stared at Eric. The Neko ignored his statement and picked up the toy as he looked it over. Everybody was silent when a soft beep began to gently ripple through the large room.

Apple was the first to react. "Drop that thing!" She screamed as Razzle ran to Eric's side. He pulled Eric back away from the Monobear as it flew into the air. Everybody backed away as the beeping grew louder.

Eric was about to protest but his mouth dried when Monobear exploded where he had been standing. The remains of the toy were burning as the smoke filled to the roof of the cafeteria.

Instantaneously, a new Monobear was around with a bright smile, as if nothing had happened. He sprayed the old Monobear with a fire extinguisher before holding his stomach with a hearty laugh. "Gwahaha, I warned you bastards." Tossing the extinguisher to the side, he quickly turned back to the students and held up cards beside his face with a wicked grin.

"If every student could please remember to keep these with you, they are very important! It's an electronic student ID card cool, right?" He shouted happily as he began to wave them in the air.

"You have to keep these with you, or else you won't be able to access any building or your own rooms! Do make sure it has your correct name on it." He added quickly as he began to pass the cards out. Most students refused to accept them and he simply dropped them at their feet, their image and name appearing on the digital front.

"You will find a full list of the camp rules inside so you have no excuses to breaking one. After all, rules are what make our society so advanced, right? Upupupupu..."

The bear couldn’t stop laughing as all the students began to review the fresh trauma. They were unable to move while only one idea hung over all their heads.

Murder

---

Genevieve's voice was shaken and lost her fire. "S-so what do we do now?" She asked with a hard swallow.

Her question hung heavily in the air. Nobody wanted to step up to answer. Myckal had snapped his game system shut and slid it in the pocket of his pants when the event started, but now he found himself itching to pull it back out. His eyes swept over the room and with a sigh he cracked his neck and stood.

"Let's go get settled in our rooms for the night. We have had a long day and a very shitty welcoming party. In the morning we can all meet back here for breakfast and come up with a real plan."

Nobody argued as they slowly rose and gathered their luggage. They dripped out of the cafeteria and sluggishly made their ways to the main camp ground. They all held their ID cards in their hands. Their heads slowly raised to attention as Nekoto yelled, giving away the location to the cabins.

Each cabin had two doors, each door leading to a single room with a door in the very middle connecting them. Beside the doors was a scanner for the ID cards, only opening the lock when the correct card was slid through.

Rexi has lost his energy as he opened his door, glancing over to see his new neighbor. He rolled his eyes as Moss fumbled with his card and stumbled into his room.

The rabbit heaved his luggage over the door frame and curiously scanned over his room. Before he really took a look around, he noticed a soft bed and quickly made his way towards it. He flung himself onto the soft mattress and tossed an arm over his eyes in a fit of despair. The room was large, to his surprise but alas, this was no time to think about interior design.

He groaned, his dramatic actions were limited by his tight fitting suit. He sat up and slowly undid the buttons. He shrugged off the jacket as he stood, laying it on the chair that resided at the foot of the bed. He stretched after he did so, relieving pops sounding from his spine after sitting for so long.

His fit of acting was over as he felt himself begin to slouch from exhaustion. Loosening his tie he examined the room around him. The bench beside the door didn't match the rest of the old furniture as it seemed to be a black, lacquered wood, while the dresser to its left was masterly crafted oak.

He pulled his tie over his head and tossed it to the bed side table before grabbing his previously discarded luggage. Rexi smirked, here he was at Camp Crazy and he was admiring the rooms. Deep down he knew the situation was too real, but he kept telling himself this was just an amazing show. After all he was an actor.

He balanced his luggage over the arms of a chair that faced a desk, only a few paces away from the door. The desk had a few pencils and slips of paper, along with a brochure of the camp standing up in the center. He knocked it over with an angry flick and went back to digging in his neatly folded suitcase.

His purple bangs fell in front of his eyes as he pulled his satin pajamas out. His thumb glided over the embroidery that ran down the front on both sides of the breast panel. The vine reached from his mulberry shoulders down to a curl just above his hips. He changed rather quickly as he slid into bed. It was silent as he could see the sun was just beginning to set outside his window.

It was still early to be going to sleep, but everything was quiet save for Moss's movements next door. It was a while before the muffled movements stopped and the light was flicked off. Rexi shuffled uncomfortably as the entire day really settled on his mind for the first time. He was at a loss when his mind wandered into... dangerous territory.

If it came to it...

Could he kill somebody?

---

Chimes rang through the air as the sun rose. "Good Morning, you Bastards! It's 8 AM, please report to the cafeteria for a healthy breakfast!"

Henry was surprised he wasn't the first one at the new meeting spot as he noticed two other girls with a few breakfast items. He joined them without saying much as he sat across the table. He scribbled into his notepad as they poked at their food. "You really should eat." Apple mumbled as she popped a cut strawberry into her mouth.

Tasha poked her food with a plastic fork before tossing it down and pushing the tray of food forward, resting her arms on the table and laying her chin on them. She still felt sick.

She tried to let go of her built up nervous energy, but the sighs didn't help. She rifled through her satchel until she produced a small, white pill, taking it with a chug of water and a shudder. Henry's eyebrow rose in question but, before he could ask Apple began to ask something.


"Did you get a look at the rules yet?" She swallowed a raspberry from her plate of fruit as she waited for an answer. He took a moment but nodded. "I did." He wanted to add more to his statement but wasn't sure what to think.

Tasha had polished off a bagel to settle her stomach and adjusted her satchel's strap as she looked at Henry.

"I don't personally care that much, but perhaps it'd be better to go over them once everybody arrives, so I don't have to repeat myself." He told them as he dug in his own satchel and produced a tape recorder.

"Ah, morning!" A familiar voice called out as Aki sped over to them from the doorway. "That looks good, I'm starving." She replied as she eyed Apple's own fruit salad.

"I made it myself from things in the kitchen." She replied as she quickened her pace to finish her food as people started to arrive.

It didn't take too much longer for the rest of the students to arrive. Most of them looked like they were dragged, while others were bouncing in place. They filed into the kitchen to grab their food before sitting together at the benches and alighting the room with chatter.

As the last person sat down, Henry stood up. Lifting his feet over the bench, he made his way to the front of the crowd. "Has anybody else even bothered with the rules?" He asked in a booming voice that surprised some. A heavy cloud seemed to appear over the room causing the students to slouch and look solemn.

"Just get them over with quickly." Myckal called out as he closed his game to listen.

Henry nodded and pulled out his own ID card to label them off.

1. 10PM to 8AM is considered "Night Time" The main buildings will be locked at this time.
2. Students can explore the camp grounds as they please.
3. Violence against Monobear will result in immediate punishment. The act of destroying surveillance cameras is forbidden.

He paused as he confirmed people were still listening. Nobody seemed opposed to these rules for now.

4. Anybody who kills a fellow student will be allowed to leave unless they are caught.
5. Any one that is caught for murder will be punished.
6. Please keep our camp grounds clean, Do not leave garbage where it doesn't belong!

The journalist wasn't even sure if the last rule was heard after the topic of murder graced them all. He studied each reaction as they tried to shake it off.

Did these people forget that they were supposed to become murderers?

Monobear wasn't just a bad dream.