There was a numbing pain enveloping every part of me and for a moment, nothing was all that I could see. Details of my situation finally sunk in after lying there on the ground in a daze, and I got up with a start.

“You’re alive!” Tao and D.O, who had been standing over me, both exclaimed in relief, outstretching hands to help pull me up. I dusted the dust off my tattered clothing and looked around. From what I remember, I was last in the broadcasting room, so how on earth did I get outside? Did I even make the announcement yet?

I turned to the others for an explanation, and they shook their heads in plain-to-see disappointment and sorrow.

“You were already like this when we came over. It would seem that one of the masked kids had knocked you out before you had a chance to speak on the microphone, and dumped you outside.” D.O told me, turning his head to look over at said room, still unlocked and open for some reason.

Having my curiosity piqued and my thirst for more information growing, I asked, “Do you know what happened to him then?”

“Uh… He sort of ran off after the attack, without seeming to have made an announcement or anything like that. He did leave the room open though, but I don’t think he did anything to the stuff inside.” Tao explained, shrugging his shoulders and briefly glancing down the hallway in which the person had ran down. “Going to do your job now then?”

I nodded in response, knowing they were talking about the mission we had originally come here to fulfill. The three of us stepped inside the room, feeling excited by what we were about to do in a moment.

Despite the fact that nothing had happened in here, I noticed something small and white near the area in which I had dropped my phone. Speaking of that… Just how did it end up on the table near the microphone? I was pretty sure those two objects had fallen out of my hands onto the ground when I fell. What sort of kid wouldn’t steal a phone from an unconscious person? Was it because mines was almost out of battery?

It turned out to be a scrap of paper, oddly similar to the one I had found in the hands of the first masked student encountered; except this one had a letter A written on it. Was it some sort of clue to something?

I settled into a comfortable position on the chair, sitting myself directly in front of the now switched-on microphone. My phone’s battery was indeed running low, but I had made a few notes on it on what to say, something I did while we were having a quick lunch-break.

Clearing my throat, I cleared my throat and was prepared to start speaking when a deep, robotic voice began talking inside instead.

From the phone straight into the microphone in front.

“Testing, testing. Oh, hello there, dear Exo members! Having a lovely time so far, hm? No? Haha, that’s to be expected though of course! I will be making this a little speech though. The one speaking right now is no other than a member of the very band you’re part of! That’s right! There is a traitor amongst you all – the one who planned all this, me! It’s up to you all figure out who it is by the end of 5 days, otherwise… BOOM! The whole school explodes! Ah, isn’t it exciting? Now without further ado, Exo Traitor out!”

The recording abruptly stopped after the last few words, and silence filled the room. “…What?” Was all I could say after processing everything the mysterious person had just said. At that moment, my phone finally died and the screen turned black. I slumped down into the chair, dazed and confused at the same time, starting to ask a bunch of questions I’d probably never gain answers to.

“…How? How did this even get onto it? Was the masked guy one actually one of us? Disguised?” Tao responded to me by letting out a tiny shriek, seeming to be horrified by the fact that there was a traitor hiding amongst us. We all were.

“Well… The only thing we can do now is just head back to the others.” D.O said, trying to be helpful. I nodded, despite the fact that my insides were feeling like cold jelly, and my limbs were refusing to allow me to gain control over them. Slowly, we began filing out the door, one by one.

A moment later, all eleven of us were back at the canteen, just barely fitting the whole band inside due to the small space inside. Kris seemed to be feeling better now, and no-one else was injured – save for a few bruises and scratches. 

The leader was looking even more nervous than he was before, obviously shaken by the previous announcement. “Guys...Uh….As you all have already heard, there is a traitor sitting right here with us.”

At this we began looking at one another, whispering and panicking, until Suho called for our attention.

“We have no choice but to seek out this person and possibly kill him.” Silence.

“I’m sorry, but it’s our only choice. It’s a matter of life or death. Now that has been said…” He paused for a moment, before looking at us all eye-to-eye. “Does anyone have any suggestions as to who the traitor may be?”

More than half of us gasped in disbelief, hardly being able to apprehend what had just been said.

“Are you serious?! You’re expecting us to guess who it is and kill him?!” Tao blurted out, slamming a fist down onto the hard ground in anger. “We’re supposed to be united as one!”

Suho bit his lip, knowing full well that this was indeed difficult. It wasn’t like he wanted this to happen either, but he cared for all the members. Which was why he couldn’t afford having all but one dying, and preferred having just the traitor die.

“Again, I am sorry. No arguments will be made, and we will assemble here tomorrow night to vote. Until then, feel free to discuss and do whatever you want.” And with that having been said, the Exo leader slowly stood up and headed into a separate room.