Chapter 466: Elmo’s Twilight Zone
Elmo wasn't sure if it was just a weird dream or if he'd gotten hit in the head without being aware of it, but he saw Frank having a friendly conversation with Jonas when he came down after getting up.
It felt like he'd entered the twilight zone, where something or everything around him had changed and wasn't the way it should be. Even as Kim came downstairs for some breakfast, she walked over to where Frank and Jonas were sitting, said something, then went and got a bowl of the stew.
It wasn't that she said something to them that was strange to Elmo, but rather the fact that she didn't seem hostile towards him. That she was pleasant towards Frank, if not friendly. Where Elmo recalled that Kim had pretty much merely tolerated Frank before, with his arrogant attitude and overblown ego that sometimes seemed like it should suffocate him when he slept at night.
Yet, now it seemed like Frank was a part of their group, even though Elmo recalled that Frank was completely loyal to Stanley. That he would do anything Stanley said, which was why Staley made sure to keep him around.
However, Stanley wasn't anywhere to be seen, so Elmo couldn't be sure that something hadn't happened to him. Not that he would be willing to put much on a bet like that. Not when it felt like Stanley was a roach that could even talk death out of having him die.
So, by the time Elmo reached the bottom of the stairs, he had already decided on what he needed to do.
If this was the twilight zone, then he was screwed and there wasn't anything he could really do about it. Though, he still planned on resisting, no matter what else happened. Such as getting his breakfast and then finding a corner to sit in so he could keep an eye on what was happening around him. He wasn't going to let himself get taken unawares, no matter what else happened.
After doing just that, Elmo ate slowly, not willing to take his eyes off the scene before him. He didn't trust what was going on around him, as that could easily be part of the deception to trap him somewhere forever. As this entire situation could be a hidden challenge or something that those running this competition set up.
Kind of similar to those stone or whatever it was in the canyon that would have gone after any sounds and killed them before they'd know what was attacking them if they'd made a sound when they'd passed by them.