Everyone reacted very slowly, as if time had been delayed in that moment. And yet, it was no longer fear or shock that pinned everyone to their place. It was as if this was expected, and this was just a delay in processing what had really happened. People moved sluggishly, if they moved at all.

“Bwahahahahaha!” Brian cackled. “What’s with all the sad faces? Feels like someone died in here! Bwahahaha!” His laughter echoed in the dining room, painfully digging into Jason’s brain, which was still processing that Michael had just died. Brian continued laughing for a while before he was out of breath. “Phew! It feels good to laugh once in a while! Not that any of you clowns would know that! Anyways, I have some work to do here. But, since I’m such a generous person, I’ve decided to give you a reward for surviving this long! You can all head to the armory – there’s something special waiting for you there! Bwahahaha!” Brian laughed for a moment and fizzled out, leaving the surviving houseguest in their bewildered state.

“Why… was it him?” Cole was the first to break the silence. “He seemed so, uh, strong and brave… How could he die?”

“Y…yeah…” Lelina mumbled, seeming like she could faint at any moment.

“I don’t know how Brian can laugh right now,” Bobby sighed. “And normally, I’d be the first one to crack a joke.”

“He had it coming,” Selena smiled, her voice syrupy but deadly. “He knew it would be him. Hopefully he didn’t leave another heartfelt will for us, or I might puke.”

“Shut up, would you?” A asked. Selena looked like she was about to say something, but her eyes fell on A’s rifle, and she thought better of it. Everyone stayed in the dining room for a long time, just staring at Michael’s body. Cole was right – Michael had seemed like the strongest amongst them, and here he was, dead. It was a shock to the system, and it reminded everyone that no one was safe.

“So, um… Where’s the armory?” Anne-Marie asked. She seemed like the only person that didn’t feel anything seeing Michael’s dead body. “My brother did say there was something there for us… Besides, he does have to take care of Michael’s body, you know.”

“You shut up, too,” Axel told her. Anne-Marie didn’t seem offended. No one was ready to abandon Michael yet. Jason worried that Lavender would once again deprive herself of sleep to guard Michael’s body. His worries were quickly put to rest.

“Anne-Marie’s right. Unless we want to join Michael, we should head to the armory,” Lavender suggested, her composure having returned.

“Yawn… Okay, then, I guess,” Jessica agreed, sounding bored. “But, uh, where’s the armory?”

“I’ve never seen a room titled Armory. Have any of you?” Alexandra asked. No one replied.

“Then, what do we do?” Navini asked. Her entire body was shaking. “Where do we go?” Jason felt that she was lucky to be alive. Considering how close she had been to Mikad, Brian must have been very tempted to punish her instead of Michael. Maybe that had been what he had been debating with himself about right before Michael was shot in the head. “I don’t want to… end up like Michael…”

“You won’t,” Rose reassured her. “I promise ya.”

“I will protect you, Navini,” Arthur volunteered. “I have already let you down one too many times. I will ensure that none of you will die.”

“Brave words. But I must wonder,” Selena chimed, “how much are they worth? Do you have any way to stop the killer from killing any of us? Well? Your shield hasn’t been doing much for any of them, has it?”

“Speak no more,” Dexter growled, “or I will be forced to silence you.”

“Go on, then,” Selena taunted him. “If you do kill me, everyone here will see it. You’ll immediately be branded as a traitor and a killer. Is it a risk worth taking, just to see me stop telling the truth? In any case, this does raise the stakes somewhat. It proves that physical strength means nothing in this game. Was this calculated, I have to wonder? But enough about that. We need to find the armory. I will admit, I am rather curious as to what is concealed in there. Weapons, probably, but that can’t be the surprise Brian has in store for us.”

“Actually, I just had a thought,” Timothy interrupted. “Why does this place even have an armory? I can’t be the only one who thought about that.”

“That is a good point,” Jason acknowledged. “What would someone like Francis Helmsburg need an armory for?”

“He needed to defend his heart from those who tried to conquer it,” Vivian hypothesized. Everyone simultaneously rolled their eyes at her comment.

“If he needed defense, nothing beats fire!” Audrey cackled.

“Can someone sane please say something? I can feel my IQ going down by the second,” Selena sighed. “Regardless, we should start looking. Unless one of you feels like being death fodder?”

“Why do you have to be so rude about things?” Navini asked. “It’s not like any of us actually care about your opinion.” Selena was briefly taken aback.

“Because I must be the voice of reason amongst you buffoons,” Selena retorted. “If I didn’t say what I was thinking, none of you would even comprehend the situation.”

“You’re playing to win, aren’t you?” Lavender asked.

“Finally, someone who gets it,” Selena approved. “I fully intend to win this game. I’m sure the killer has already realized that there’s no way for them to win completely. No matter what, someone other than them will be left, and that person will be the winner. I intend for that person to be me. For all I care, you are all background players, and I am the intended winner.” Everyone was silent for a few seconds, processing what she had just said. “You asked, Lavender. Have I satisfactorily answered your question?”

“Yes, you have,” Lavender sighed.

“In any case, I have better things to do than to look for some room or other. I bid you adieu,” Selena curtsied and elegantly strode out of the dining room.

“She seriously has a death wish, huh?” Rose snickered.

“No, she doesn’t,” Lavender said. “Something tells me that Selena isn’t someone who’s used to losing at anything. To her, everything is a game, and the winners are the only ones worth her time. She was right about one thing, though – no matter what, at least one person will be left alive with the killer. Which means the killer has the luxury of picking the winner unless we find them.”

“Th…That’s if they e…even let the winner l…live,” Lelina mumbled. “They’ll pr…probably just stab them a…as soon as they r…realize who the k…killer is.”

“Good point, and on that note, maybe we should try and find the armory?” Alexandra suggested. Everyone nodded and headed out of the dining room. Michael’s body was left in a pool of its own blood.

It took a while for anyone to realize where this so called ‘Armory’ even was. At first, several people tried to open the doors leading to the third floor, but to no avail. Nowhere else seemed to have a possible entry point to an armory of any kind. Jason was busy looking around the center hall with Cole, A, Lavender and Alexandra when Alexandra had an idea.

“Hmm… The only other door is the one opposite the library,” she stated matter-of-factly. “What’s written on the sign?”

“Something to do with, uh, harmry, or something like that, ha,” Cole stammered.

“Harmry? What even is that?” A grunted. “Sounds like something Brian would make up…”

“Harmry? Maybe it’s misspelt… I mean, we all know his spelling is atrocious,” Lavender suggested.

“Wait…” Jason had a thought. Immediately, he rushed to the hallway with three doors, sure of his idea. Sure enough, the door labelled HARMRY was there. “What if harmry is meant to be armory?” Jason guessed. The others nodded. As Jason put his hand over the door, a sudden dread washed over him. What would he find beyond that door? There hadn’t been any trumpets, right? Then why was he so worried about what he would find? Reluctantly, Jason pushed open the door.

The armory was exactly what one would expect from a room labelled as such. Swords, lances, spears, axes, hammers and all kinds of weapons of that manner hung on the wall like a collection. Jason even recognized the spear that had been jutted into Henry’s body. He also noticed that an exact replica of Arthur’s sword-and-shield, as well as one of Dexter’s katana, also hung on the wall, with a label beneath them explaining who they belonged to. On the other side, firearms of all kinds hung on the wall, although there didn’t seem to be any ammunition. An exact replica of A’s rifle and Mikad’s silver pistol hung with the rest, also having a label. Jason noticed a hunting rifle labeled: A replica of Trevor Hunter’s rifle, although he had no idea who this was. At the back of the room, several shelves lined with books and banners lined the wall.

Even with all of this, it was hard to ignore the reason Brian had summoned them here.

At the very center of room lay a mahogany bureau with an expensive-looking leather chair, seated as to be close to the fireplace that jutted out between two bookshelves. Pictures lay on the desk along with paper, ink, quills and wax.

Seated in the chair was a dead body.

Jason didn’t immediately recognize who the body had belonged to. Initially, all he saw was someone with a camo combat knife jutting out of their chest. One detail did immediately jump out at Jason, however – the person in the chair seemed to be happy. Their eyes were widened, but they were grinning, as if the best thing in the world had just happened to them. The person was dressed in a bathrobe, a stain of coffee on one sleeve where they had dropped the liquid in surprise. They had balding gray hair, and they had dark circles on their eyes. Eventually, the identity of the person in the chair dawned on Jason. However, acknowledging that he was correct in his guess brought up so many more questions than answers. Eventually, Lavender spoke up.

“Is that… who I think it is?” Lavender asked. Alexandra, A and Jason nodded at the same time. They had all realized who the person in the chair was. Cole was the only one who seemed somewhat confused.

“Uh, who, um, is it?” Cole asked. Before anyone gave him the answer, it dawned on him as well. “Oh,” he added simply.

Seated in front of them was none other than Sir Francis Helmsburg, dead.

The implications of that slowly dawned upon Jason. For a while, he had thought that there could be no other mastermind behind this than Francis Helmsburg, the owner of the mansion and known talent fanatic. It was the only answer that made any logical sense. Yet there was no doubt in Jason’s mind that it was that very person that was seated in front of him right now. What did this mean? Who was the mastermind behind this game? Surely a toddler couldn’t actually be the mastermind, right? How had Francis died? When had he died? Why did he seem… happy? So many questions rushed through Jason’s mind all at once that he began to have a headache. Begrudgingly, he approached Francis’ dead body to investigate further. Before he could, a whimsical yet chilling voice spoke up behind him.

“Whoops! That’s not supposed to be there, right? Bwahahahaha!” Brian had materialized behind them, clutching his stomach in a deranged fit of laughter. “You should see the looks on your faces right about now! You all look like your entire reality just crashed down in front of you! Ah, but no investigating just yet! The others are going to want to see this too, you know! So, I’ll see you later!” With that, he fizzled out. Cole, Lavender, A and Alexandra stood in shock, simply watching. Cole looked just about ready to pass out. Jason took a step back from the body, waiting for the others to show up.

“How…?” A mumbled. “How can he be…?”

“I… I don’t know,” Alexandra sighed. “But here he is. He’s definitely…” It was almost as if they were afraid to say it. As if by confirming his death, they would confirm that all assumptions they had had about this game were false.

“He’s dead,” Lavender said bluntly. “He is dead, and that means I- no, I think all of us were wrong. The world’s best killer got to him before the party. I think we can establish that much,” she stated. Her cold-bloodedness in such a situation was impressive. Jason was still processing this new information he had just received.

“How can you say that at a glance?” Alexandra asked. She, too, was proving to be cold-blooded. “Without a proper autopsy, it’s difficult to tell whether he was killed a month ago or a minute ago. We cannot tell how long the body has been there.”

“On the contrary,” Lavender rebutted, “there are several things that can indicate the time he’s been there for. For instance, the blood around the wound has completely dried, and any stain on the floor is dry as well. There’s also the smell – it does smell slightly of decay, doesn’t it?” It was true. Perhaps it was simply the shock of having all his theories thrown out the window, but Jason hadn’t noticed the smell lingering in the room – it smelled slightly of rotten flesh and blood. “There’s more,” Lavender continued. “The coffee stain is also dry, and there isn’t a trace of a coffee mug in sight. Unless you’re saying he likes to walk around in stained clothes?” Lavender concluded. She had been very analytical about it, no emotion showing.

“Very well, I’ll concede that those are valid points,” Alexandra sighed in defeat, “but I’d still like for Navini or whoever to conduct an autopsy. It might shed some lights on a few details I’ve yet to figure out. For instance, the source behind the smiling death face?”

“Somehow, this is the creepiest face I’ve yet to see on a corpse,” A stated. He wasn’t entirely wrong – Francis’ creepy smile plastered onto his face was unbelievably unnerving, perhaps even more so than the tortured faces of victims Jason had been accustomed to.

“How long until, uh, the others get here, um, ha, ha… I’d like to, uh, leave this room, you know, ha…” Cole mumbled softly, as if he had lost the ability to speak clearly.

“I doubt it’ll be long now,” Lavender reassured him. “Brian will dance around the question, like he usually does, and we’ll be able to properly investigate the room.”

“Good, cause his face is starting to give he goosebumps,” A mumbled. If A was getting goosebumps, Jason could only imagine what the others in the room felt like – even the collected Alexandra had shown signs of shock when seeing his body. For a while, they simply stood in front of his body, staring at anywhere they could but his face. Jason’s eyes were drawn to the murder weapon – there was no doubt that it was the world’s finest serial killer’s signature weapon. More than likely, this meant that the killer and Sir Francis Helmsburg had not been working together, and that the mastermind was someone completely different. But who? Jason highly doubted that Brian could have orchestrated this by himself – sadistic as he was, he was only a child. Someone else had to be behind this – but who? That was the question that kept repeating itself in Jason’s mind as he stared at Francis’ body – but who?

“Aaaaaaaaaah!”

“What the hell?!”

“Who is that?”

“Well, this is a rather unexpected surprise.”

“I suppose this was worth me leaving my studio.”

“Is this some kind of trick?”

The others began filing into the room, each exclaiming something or other about Francis’ body. A look of shock was plainly written on all their faces’ (except Selena, who remained as calm as ever).

“Well then,” Selena sighed. “There goes my theories. I mean, that is who I think it is, right?

“Who else could it be, darling?” Gary replied snidely. “This must be Sir Francis Helmsburg, the owner of this very mansion. However, this raises far more questions than it answers. What on Earth is his body doing here?”

“Gary has a point,” Navini scratched her head and sighed. “What the heck? I thought he was behind all of this?”

“I was wondering when my brother would show you the body,” Anne-Marie mumbled.

“Wait- you knew about this?” Timothy glared at her.

“Well, yes, I did,” Anne-Marie answered. “Is that really so strange?”

“Why didn’t you think we’d like to know about this, exactly?” Gary sighed.

“Well, none of you asked,” Anne-Marie replied, dead serious, “so I didn’t say anything. Besides, I think my brother would have gotten very mad if I had said anything.”

“Who cares about him?” Navini blurted out. “This is one massive clue, you know?”

“A clue, you say?” Selena snickered. “Personally, I don’t think anything will come from this. The only things we’ve confirmed here are that Francis isn’t the mastermind and, evidently, he and the killer were not working together. Although come to think of it, this is a rather peculiar room,” she pointed out. “Even a billionaire has no need for these weapons.”

“I don’t think they’re for defense purposes,” Dexter growled. “Rather, these seem to be collectors’ items. For instance, an exact replica of my katana sits on the wall. From what I can decipher, it is a real sword, not a fake.”

“I confirm that my replica sword is an actual sword as well,” Arthur stated.

“It is still rather odd,” Selena mumbled to herself.

“Is that all, then? If that’s the case, I’ll be returning to my studio, darlings. Bother me if you need anything. In other words, don’t need anything,” Gary stated and waltzed out of the room, deep in thoughts about something or other. Everyone watched him leave.

“So, he’s next, then?” Selena asked. “Good. To be honest, a player who isn’t playing at all should be eliminated as soon as possible. At least Mikad and Michael were entertaining to watch…”

“How sick can you be?” Audrey asked. “How can you even see this as a game?” Audrey’s feelings seemed to be shared by everyone else – a profound look of disgust had installed itself onto everyone’s face.

“Because it is a game. Don’t you see it yet?” Selena replied, her voice syrupy and venomous. “Those of us who aren’t brain dead figure out what happened and continue onwards. To those of you who are even a fraction as intelligent as I’d like my competition to be, I say this – I look forward to when this game really begins. Think of this as the prologue, if you will. When the weak are gone is when this game truly begins, and I am anticipating that moment,” she paused, savoring every word. “Well on that note, I believe I shall begin investigating his body. Surely there must be something I can use…” Selena finished her speech and immediately directed her attention to Francis’ body, ignoring the appalled looks on everyone’s faces. Lavender and Alexandra, apparently completely unfazed by Selena’s chilling speech, followed her. Jason decided it would be best to start investigating the armory itself before looking at Francis’ body. After all, the others were starting to swarm around the corpse, and it would have been hard to get any investigating done.

Jason first inspected the replica weapons hung on the wall. It was just as Dexter and Arthur had confirmed – the weapons were indeed real weapons, meant to be used in combat. The swords’ edges had been recently sharpened, and all the firearms had bullets loaded in them. With one exception – the replica of Mikad’s gun was missing two bullets in it. Wait, what? Jason was confused. If this gun was missing two bullets, then it was safe to assume that they had been shot at something. But if that was the case, what was it doing here? Wasn’t Mikad’s gun still in his hideout? Jason made a mental note to investigate it later. He also noted that the replica gun was covered in dents and marks. Aside from that, nothing stood out about the weapons hung on the walls. The bookshelves yielded a similar result – nothing in particular stood out about them. As he was investigating the books, Jason noticed that a scrap of paper had been inconspicuously slipped in with the pages of a book. The book being titled The Life of Sir Francis Helmsburg seemed overly ironic to Jason. Jason slipped the paper out. The paper was the contents of a letter. It read:

Dearest Shirley,

I know it may seem odd that I am sending you this invitation. However, if you promise to behave, I would very much enjoy your company. This party will include others like you – the talented, the gifted, the outcasts of society. Despite your relatively unique talent, I’ve become quite fascinated with you, to the point of purchasing the records of the orphanage you mentioned growing up in. I’m sure everyone else here will understand. You have nothing to fear – who knows, maybe you’ll even make a friend.

My deepest and warmest salutations,

Sir Francis Helmsburg

P.S. The project I mentioned is almost complete. It should be ready to show off at the party. Please look forward to it!

Jason reread the letter to make sure he hadn’t imagined it. This letter was far more personal than any Francis had sent prior to this. According to the wording, it seemed that there had been an invitation attached to this. Despite searching the nearby books, Jason couldn’t find a trace of the envelope that contained the invitation to the party. It seems that this letter had never found its destination, and that this Shirley person was yet another missing party guest. Still, this letter seemed to have been placed here on purpose. Deciding it must hold some value, Jason slipped it into his tuxedo jacket to try and find out more about this Shirley individual. Nothing else stood out in the armory, so he headed to the cadaver to investigate it.

The first thing to stand out to Jason was the eerie smile plastered onto Francis’ face. He seemed happy to have it end. It made investigating his body even more unnerving. As had become customary, a camo combat knife jutted out of his chest. There were no other noticeable injuries on his body, aside from a dark stain on his bathrobe, but Jason figured that was a stain of coffee that had fallen on his robe in shock. The shattered remains of a coffee mug on the floor seemed to confirm that. Aside from that, nothing stood out about his body. Surprisingly underwhelmed, Jason had a look at the desk Francis had been using until his death. Blank sheets of paper were spread across the desk. Various writing utensils, from pens and pencils to quills and ink, were strewn and spilt all over the desk and floor. The desk had been left in a state that could only be described as a complete mess. Francis’ appearance mimicked this – his hair was scruffy and messy, and his bathrobe was wrinkled and messed up in every regard. Francis himself seemed unclean, as if he hadn’t washed in weeks, although considering that he was a corpse now, it seemed justified. With that, Jason had finished his investigation of Sir Francis Helmsburg, but it didn’t answer any of his questions. Taking one last look around the armory to ensure he hadn’t missed anything, Jason stepped out of the room and headed to the dining room.

“This just doesn’t make sense,” Lavender muttered. She, Cole, Alexandra and Audrey had gathered in the dining room to try and decipher the puzzling mystery of Sir Francis Helmsburg and why his body was in the armory. “How is it possible that he isn’t the mastermind behind this whole thing?”

“Nothing makes sense anymore,” Audrey complained, looking distraught. “I thought for sure that he was the crazy psycho behind this! You mean to actually tell me that the baby is the mastermind?”

“That, uh, isn’t necessarily, um, true…” Cole muttered almost inaudibly.

“What do you mean by that, Cole?” Alexandra asked. Cole seemed shocked that anyone had actually heard him. His cheeks flushed to a bright red color as the three women looked at him inquisitively.

“I mean, uh, um, it just means that, um, someone else is, uh, behind this, right?” Cole stammered. “It’s something that, uh, that we, um, didn’t consider, ha, ha…” Cole chuckled nervously, despite him clearly not finding humour in the current predicament.

“Mind if I join you?” Jason asked. Lavender nodded, and Jason took a seat to partake in the discussion. “Cole, what do you mean by “a possibility we didn’t consider”?”

“Exactly, um, what it is,” Cole replied. “There’s something, uh, we didn’t, um, consider… I’ve been, um, thinking about this for a while… But it’s probably, uh, nothing, ha, ha…” Cole stared at his legs, completely avoiding the glances from the other four people present at the table.

“It might not be nothing,” Jason pressed.

“Ok, I’ll, um, tell you… What if one of us… was the, uh, mastermind?” Cole proposed.

“Nope. Next!” Audrey cackled. “Well what? It’s true. Why would one of us be the mastermind? I mean, one of us is already the killer, right? What’s the point in having both the mastermind and the killer as separate players?”

“It would account for the amount of people at the party,” Lavender mentioned. “27 people instead of 25, and two participants that shouldn’t be here would be logical.”

“No, it wouldn’t,” Alexandra replied matter-of-factly. “That would make Jason and Henry the odd ones out, and Henry has been dead for a while now. I highly doubt he could be either at this point.”

“See, I knew it, uh, was pretty, um, stupid…” Cole said. “I’m sorry for, um, wasting your time…” Cole apologized.

“And yet, it isn’t a waste of time,” someone said behind them. They turned around to see none other than Selena walking into the room. “I’ve also been thinking about that theory for a while now, and this latest discovery only cements this theory.”

“Oh, and if you think it, it must be right!” Audrey rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. Take a hike.”

“I’m glad we think similarly, then,” Selena replied, staring daggers at Audrey. “I believe that this theory is sound, but you’ve all been thinking about it incorrectly. Allow me to educate you all!” Selena proclaimed. Everyone rolled their eyes simultaneously, even the normally polite-to-a-fault Cole. “What if the killer and the mastermind are one and the same? Not only would it account for Henry’s death and the number of players, but it would also account for Helmsburg’s death, wouldn’t it?”

“That theory has flaws, too,” Lavender rebutted. “It’s too great a risk. If the mastermind is the killer and they’re found out, they lose everything, right? Whereas if the killer isn’t the mastermind and they’re found out, the mastermind can simply play stupid and escape with everyone else to try again.”

“My, Lavender, I had no idea you were capable of thinking so critically!” Selena exclaimed. “It would seem that you are also a player in this game who’s worth playing against. Make that two, now!” Selena seemed thrilled, and Jason could only imagine the twisted thoughts going through her head at that moment. “But I must admit, you are correct. The risk is very great. It would seem our mastermind isn’t very keen on showing himself at the moment.” Selena stood there in thought for a while before anyone dared to speak.

“In any case, I found another potential clue,” Jason told everyone. Selena’s head turned so abruptly to face Jason he was surprised it didn’t break and fall off. “I found a letter in one of the books in the armory. Have a look,” Jason explained. He pulled the letter out of his jacket and showed everyone. Their eyes clung to the paper and read every word of it.

“What on Earth...?” Selena seemed taken aback. For once, something seemed to have surprised her. “This letter… It just revealed the identity of our mystery assailant!” she exclaimed. “Whoever this ‘Shirley’ is, she is our killer! Of this, I am certain.”

“I never thought I would have seen you, of all people, jump to conclusions,” Alexandra stated coldly. “Shirley, whoever she is, could just be another person who was meant to show up to the party but was prevented from doing so. Have you ever considered this letter as being a prank, in a way? Brian could have easily planted it there.”

“You could be correct,” Selena reluctantly agreed, “but I choose to believe that it has a purpose. And if this is what I think it is, it confirms one thing about our attacker – their gender. Unless this is another Arthur case, I think we can safely assume that no man is named Shirley.”

“On that point, I can agree,” Alexandra admitted, her expression devoid of any emotion. “Shirley, whoever she is, is definitely a girl.”

“Something else about the letter struck me as odd,” Lavender mentioned, having until now been lost in thought. “The letter mentions a “unique talent” and “behaving herself”. I’m fairy certain that whatever her talent was, it was dangerous.”

“That doesn’t, um, mean that, uh, it’s a murderer, uh, kind of talent, right?” Cole asked timidly. “I mean, we have, er, had, a boxer, and we, uh, have a, um, ninja, and a bounty hunter, and a knight, and a pyromaniac, and, uh, yeah, so it doesn’t mean, um, that it has to be, uh, a murder-y, um, talent.”

“Add two more players that are worth playing against!” Selena exclaimed with glee. “Do you have anything to add that might surprise me, Audrey? No? Thought so,” Selena asked without giving Audrey any time to answer. “Well, I shall be taking my leave. Oh, and Jason? I would be careful with that letter, if I were you. Who knows? You might show it to the killer, and it wouldn’t be any fun to lose such a worthy player before some of these idiots,” she warned, giving one glance at Audrey when she said the word “idiots”, and walked out gracefully.

“Can I light her on fire?” Audrey asked. Lavender chuckled a little. “No, I’m serious. I want her to burn. Painfully. With like, super slow-burning fire, if possible.” Flames had appeared in Audrey’s eyes. She ran out of the room, as if an idea had struck her.

“We’ll have to keep an eye on her,” Alexandra stated. Everyone nodded, clearly sick of Selena’s mentality. Jason took the letter and slipped it back into his jacket.

“An obsession with, uh, something like fire, um, is usually caused, uh, intense gratification by things burning,” Cole remarked. Everyone looked at him. Immediately, his face reddened. “I mean, uh, it’s something, um, I read, ha, ha,” Cole chuckled nervously, looking like he could be toppled over by a light breeze.

“Gratification, you say?” Alexandra asked. “But why isn’t she terrified of it?”

“It, uh, depends on a lot of, um, factors, ha, ha,” Cole explained nervously. “It could be from anything like, uh, past crimes, or, um, sexual abuse, or even, uh…” Cole seemed to fear saying his last point. “from, uh, from, um, from… From parental neglect.”

“Poor girl…” Alexandra said coldly. “Still, we should make sure she doesn’t burn us all down. I’m fine with Selena going, but everyone else doesn’t deserve such a fate.”

“That was surprisingly morose of you,” Lavender noted. “On that note, if no one has anything else to add, I wouldn’t mind getting some sleep. It’s been a long and eventful day, and I wouldn’t mind getting some rest.” Everyone agreed to that, a sudden fatigue washing over them, and they all headed to their respective rooms. Jason stayed awake for a while, staring at the ceiling and thinking about everything that had happened today. The biggest mystery was, of course, the death of Sir Francis Helmsburg - that fact provided many more questions than answers. His thoughts still swirling in his head at top speed, he fell asleep.

Jason awoke the next morning feeling just as confused as before. Feeling he couldn’t reach any answers on his own, he headed down to the dining room in the hopes that he could find someone to discuss with him. When he arrived, he felt an immediate wave of worry wash over him. Brian himself was seated on the table, smiling eerily at everyone passing by. Only Selena seemed to be unbothered by his presence, walking around with her usual high-and-mighty appearance. Everyone else stared at him uncomfortably, almost as if afraid that one of them would drop dead any second. Jason noticed, however, that some people were missing from the dining room. Before he could say anything about that, Lavender spoke up.

“Alright, out with it. What do you want?” she asked, clearly annoyed.

“Hmm? What do I want? Oh, nothing, really,” Brian answered, a smile still plastered onto his face, looking faker by the second. “I’m just happy that things are moving along, that’s all.”

“What does that mean?” A asked.

“Are you all imbeciles or is it just me noticing things?” Selena sighed, exasperated. “The game is moving along. Come on, use your brains for a second.”

“That wouldn’t, uh, mean, that, uh, someone…” Cole stuttered, afraid to finish his sentence.

“Come on, finish your sentence,” Selena pressured Cole. “Ugh, fine, I’ll do it. Someone died. There, happy, Brian?” Selena smiled, clearly content herself. Everyone stopped. It was as if Selena had uttered a spell that froze time itself. The only person who didn’t seem frozen was Brian, who began giggling uncontrolledly. Jason looked around, now understanding why some people were missing. Gary, Audrey, Vivian, Dahinko, Lelina, Dexter and Axel hadn’t shown up for breakfast yet. Jason felt a pang of worry, and despite his best effort, his brain began imaging scenarios in which one of the seven had died.

“Wait, then, what about the trumpets?” Alexandra asked, looking unfazed. “Don’t they play whenever someone dies?”

“Do I look like I’m going to give you the answer? Figure it out yourself!” Brian said in between hysteric fits of laughter. “I will give you a super secret mega-ultra-hyper special hint! The trumpets only play once someone’s pulse has stopped. That’s all I’m going to say! Now, let the game resume!” With that, Brian fizzled out.

“What did that mean…?” Arthur asked, puzzled. ““Once someone’s pulse has stopped”? Does that mean that no one’s pulse has stopped?”

“Then there’s still time!” Rose exclaimed. “Come on, y’all! We need to find the killer before it’s too late!”

No other words needed to be said. The fourteen people who had been in the dining room left at full speed, frantically searching rooms to find a possible body. Jason sprinted to the library, only to find it empty. Before Jason left, he found his eyes drawn to the spot where Vicki had met her final moments. Not a trace of the world’s best author remained, save for a small part of the room where the dust cut off in a body-like shape. Jason exited the library and stopped for a moment to observe everyone else. He noticed that Axel and Dahinko had joined up with Bobby and Skyler, the latter of which looked particularly relieved to see Dahinko. Jason mentally crossed them off the list of potential victims he had conjured in his head, despite his best efforts. His detective instincts were in full drive now, and the list was just a part of it. While there was still a chance that another murder could be averted, Jason’s senses were in overdrive. He lay his hand on the doorknob to the armory and froze. Something was off. He looked over at Selena, who had remained calm and emotionless, despite the frenzy that was currently gripping the manor. However, when Jason lay his hand on the armory, he noticed the faintest smile escape her lips, and her full attention was on Jason. He could feel the sweat crawling on his neck as he turned the knob the enter the armory.

The first thing Jason noticed was the lack of lights in the room. The room, save for a sliver of light penetrating the room from the hallway, was pitch-black. He could just about make out Sir Francis’ form on the chair. That, however, wasn’t Jason’s biggest concern. It was the sound of metal penetrating flesh that he heard the moment he opened the door. It wasn’t immediately clear where it was coming from, but then Jason heard a loud sound of something scraping against the floor, and that was enough. Jason’s hand fumbled along the wall until he found a light switch and he flicked on the light. The first thing he noticed was the bookshelf at the back of the room spinning back into place, just concealing a flash of white that had exited the room through the bookshelf.

The second thing he noticed was the sound of trumpets blaring almost immediately after he heard the lights switch on.

It took Jason a second to place the body. The trumpets, the bookshelf and the unnerving sight of Sir Francis’ body, left exactly where it had been placed, distracted him for – hang on. That’s not Sir Francis.

The body most certainly did not belong to the late Sir Francis Helmsburg. The hair was a different color, the outfit was different, and the body was a lot more damaged. But the most staggering was the expression on the victim’s face. It was not one of odd joy and exactment.

It was one of fear and despair.

The signature knife had just been sunk into the flesh, identifying the sound that Jason had heard earlier. To think – had he rushed to the body, he could have stopped it. He could have apprehended the culprit. None of that mattered at the moment, however. The others began pouring into the room, Selena leading the charge. They all had a mix of reactions – gasping, pointing, exclamations and even tears began coming from all sides. The only one not partaking in this despair was Selena, who was instead laughing.

“Excellent choice!” she exclaimed. “If he wasn’t going to play, then no need to keep him around!” she laughed boisterously, almost maniacally.

It was true. The victim in question was one that had vehemently refused to “play the game”. Not out of morals or pity, no – out of boredom and unimportance.

The person that everyone was pointing at and gasping was none other that the world’s best fashion designer, Gary Shields.

SURVIVORS: 20