《Whodunnit ?》Chapter 33 - The Final Game
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Once the final three stepped back into Rue Manor. Giles alerted them to stay put in the great room.
It didn't take long for Giles, Sophie & May to come out of the hallway from the direction of the kitchen, each pushing some sort of heavy looking pinball machine. At the front of each of them, they had nine empty puzzle pieces which were laid out in the shape of a question mark. Each piece had a different word under it e.g skill. There was also a TV positioned at the back of the machine. Reynold noticed how his 'memory' place was already covered. It was quickly revealed by Giles that because he had the best case statement last time, he was awarded an advantage.
Suddenly, over a speaker which was placed on one of the desks in the great room, a voice was heard. The voice obviously had an electronic effect to it, to make it sound deeper and more distorted than it actually was in real life.
"I have set before you nine tests of wills.
An ultimate quiz for all your skills.
This is your final challenge, at every phase.
I even raised the dead from the deadly haze..."
Suddenly the audio went blank. The final three were initially confused on what to do next, but once they saw it, they knew what the clue meant.
Mechanical noises were the only thing which could be heard from the first floor. The guests couldn't believe it as nine miniature robots stepped out, and started climbing down the staircase of the great room. Justin, Hannah, Courtney, Alec, Talia, Greg, Natalie, Jamie & Dan all each passed the three alive guests and separated into different directions. Justin's robot stayed in the great room. The robots were unsettling, to say the least, the eyes on the metallic creatures looked too real to be fake.
"Don't wave to them, or say hello.
They are just as stinky as the next fellow.
So, here is the lay of the land.
They possess two puzzle pieces, one in each hand.
You must first run to their location, then read the riddle from their station.
Perform the task to get a piece for your board.
When the puzzle is completed, flick the cord on the light.
A white piece means you got that task right.
A black piece means go back with a fright.
Nine white pieces will unlock your key to victory
Then, inside a mystery room. You will find only me."
Suddenly, each of the guest's TV screens flickered. Each of them alerted them to different areas.
Reynold's read "Justin, Great room - Skill."
Michelle's read "Greg, garage - Excavation."
Nelson's read "Hannah, barbecue - Memory."
The final three all immediately scattered into the areas they needed to go to. But for Reynold, he only needed to run about four or five steps before he arrived at Justin's area.
Reynold quickly skim read Justin's riddle. It instructed the doctor to run outside (near the back of the pool) and hit the model leg with the mace used from Justin's murder until a trigger was set off. It didn't take long for Reynold to reach the outdoors, and once he did he got to work. He didn't expect for the mace to be as heavy as it was, but with ease, he hashed the model leg with the mace several times. After a few big hits, a green light lit above the model leg. Reynold ran back inside and grabbed the puzzle piece from the robot's arm which was extended. Reynold placed the puzzle piece down before is next location was given. The next clue on his TV read "Courtney, Dining Room - Tactile."
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After a few minutes of running, Michelle finally reached the garage. She was out of breath by the time she reached Greg's robot. The riddle instructed her to climb into the same identical car that was used in Greg's murder, and pre-plan the route like the killer would have the night of the murder. This left Michelle a bit confused, she only remembered that the car left the garage. With the pressure of the game, she forgot a lot of key things that had happened. Michelle turned on the A.R.K.O.N system, made the starting point at the garage and made the final destination a few meters away from the pool. After stepping out of the car, Michelle had to wait a few moments for one of the robot's arms to extend, and Michelle snatched the puzzle piece from it. Once she made it back inside Rue Manor, the clue on the TV read... "Alec & Talia, Spa - Perception"
Nelson reached the barbecue after a little difficulty locating the area. Upon arriving, he noticed Hannah's robot standing to the left of the barbecue, holding a riddle. After reading the riddle Nelson realised that he had to put the cards (which were displayed on top of the grill) in order of what happened the night Hannah died. The cards were the following 1) Drugged by chloroform. 2) Killed by inhalation of carbon monoxide. 3) put in the wheelbarrow. 4) adjourned to room. 5) wounded on the lower back. 6) wheeled out of the room and placed in the lift into the kitchen. Nelson felt confident and placed the cards in the following order, 4,1,3,6,5,2. After displaying his order to the robot, 'Hannah' presented him with a puzzle piece. Nelson snatched the piece and ran back inside the Manor. Once he placed his piece down his next location was revealed "Dan, Orange Trees- Evidence"
Reynold opened the two doors of the dining room to see Courtney's robot sitting in the same exact seat she normally sat in for every meal she had at Rue Manor. The riddle instructed Reynold to find the clue in the kitchen which lured Courtney to her demise in her murder. Reynold instantly felt nervous, he went to the last known whereabouts on Courtney's murder. But didn't actually find the 'clue' which was at the area. (He assumed Jamie must have found it.) It then instructed to bring that clue back to the robot after you had found it. Reynold went next door to the kitchen and started looking hard. He raided most of the cupboards and couldn't find the note. He felt stupid, however, as he found it on one of the kitchen counter tops. Reynold grabbed the note and ran back to the robot, the robot extended her arm and Reynold grabbed the puzzle piece. He placed it down and the TV alerted him to the next area. "Jamie, Kitchen - Sensory Deprivation"
Michelle climbed the stairs back up to the familiar Rue Manor spa. Upon arrival, she saw Talia's robot sitting on the spa, with Alec's robot standing by a second, makeshift spa. Michelle read the riddle which was held by Talia. It instructed her to recreate what happened to Talia when she was in the spa, on the second hot tub. Michelle knew that she had to first grab the champagne corks, and block them in the jets of the hot tub. After that, she knew she had to search for the capsule of liquid nitrogen. It took Michelle a very long time for her to find it, but when she did, she didn't waste any time tipping the substance into the hot top. Once she did, a chemical reaction occurred and Alec's robot handed her a puzzle piece. Once Michelle made her way back to the great room, she placed her puzzle piece down and her next location was presented. "Natalie, Pool - Logic."
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Once Nelson reached the orange trees, he was definitely out of breath. He quickly read Dan's riddle and realised that he needed to pick something which was not a part of the crime. There was a stack of objects including a bucket, honey, a string. a bear trap, an A.R.K.O.N logo, gym shorts, a hat and the clementine orange. Nelson grabbed the string and put it in the selection podium, Dan's robot handed him a puzzle piece. Once back inside Rue Manor, Nelson received his next location. His next location was "Courtney, Dining Room - Tactile."
Reynold got to the kitchen was ease. He noticed how the areas of Courtney & Jamie's kitchen were split in two to avoid any confusion. Reynold read Jamie's clue and realised how he had to grab the deployed harpoon and carry it all the way to the roof, just like the killer did when he killed Jamie. It took a while for the doctor to carry the heavy weight and lift it on top of the fridge to the secret compartment of the ceiling. Trying to overcome his fear of heights, Reynold placed the harpoon down on the podium labelled 'Reynold'. Once arriving back to the ground, Jamie's robot handed the doctor a puzzle piece. Once Reynold got back to his puzzle board, he placed his piece down. The TV then soon alerted him to his next location. "Dan, Orange Trees - Evidence."
Upon going out to the outside pool of Rue Manor, Michelle noticed the massive catapult that was used in Natalie's murder. Upon reading the riddle from Natalie's robots hands, she noticed how the sleeping pills used in Natalie's murder had to be picked out in a 'needle in a haystack' situation. There was hundreds of pill bottles in the catapult, each of them only had little labels. One factor which confused Michelle was that she couldn't exactly remember the name of the sleeping pill, Michelle wanted to search through each bottle individually but she knew that she was against the clock. She assumed the first person to finish would win so she picked out one that sounded familiar, Melatonin. Natalie's robot handed Michelle a puzzle piece and she eventually rested it down. The TV alerted her to the next area. "Hannah, Barbeque - Memory."
Nelson didn't waste any time after reading Courtney's riddle. He found the note quick in the kitchen had returned it to Courtney. Once he got his puzzle piece, he placed it down and the TV told him his next area. "Jamie, Kitchen - Sensory Deprivation."
The doctor read over Dan's riddle. He was pretty sure he knew what wasn't in the murder, he didn't remember a piece of string in Dan's murder, so he picked it and handed it to Dan's robot. Starting to get out of breath, Reynold ran back to his board and placed his puzzle piece down. The TV flashed again and told him the next area to go to. "Natalie, Pool - Logic"
: Michelle placed the cards in the order of 4,1,3,6,5,2 and grabbed the puzzle piece from Hannah's robot.Her next area was "Justin, Great Room - Skill".
Nelson lifted the harpoon with ease and got to the roof in quick time. His next area was Greg, in the garage.
Reynold pulled out the bliponal bottle pill and got the puzzle piece. The TV told him the next area which was "Greg, Garage - Excavation."
Michelle's quickest station was the Justin station. She let out her anger in the mace during the first victim's station. She returned her puzzle piece and saw that the TV was alerting her to Courtney's station.
-
By the time that the final three had got their puzzle pieces, they were all wrong. Reynold had one piece wrong, Michelle had two pieces wrong and Nelson had one piece wrong. Reynold was sent to Dan's area, Michelle was sent to Natalie's area and Nelson was sent to Dan's area. Because Reynold got there first, Nelson had to wait for Reynold. Little did Nelson know, with the time Reynold took to identify the objects, Michelle had passed her two areas. In fact, she was the first person to have all her puzzle pieces correct. The TV flickered with a riddle.
"Your puzzle pieces are confirmed.
Your affirmation almost affirmed
Find where I am hiding now.
It's time for the "Who"
And not the "How"
Go upstairs, door on the left, no parlor tricks.
From this balcony I watched them die.
Enter softly my,oh,my..."
Michelle raced upstairs, knowing that this was the final step. She was going to finally find out who the killer was. Reynold wasn't far behind her as after a minute he joined her in the room. After one more attempt, Nelson got his pieces all correct and a riddle appeared on his TV screen.
"Congratulations you've almost won!
Go back to room where we first began today.
Flip the curtains to see my face.
Once your there, you'll know its true.
The arrow of victory points to you!"
Nelson had a massive smile on his face as he ran to the parlor. He knew that he was now the winner, he was going to live.
-
Michelle & Reynold looked in awe as they stepped into the mystery room. There was no doubt that it was the killer's lair, where he or she had been watching all the guests from their stay at Rue Manor.
"Is there another riddle?" Michelle said in a confused voice.
"How am I supposed to know?" Reynold said back.
The two alliance members continued looking until Reynold accidentally triggered a trip wire, a TV in the lair suddenly flickered on. The footage was from the CCTV camera in the parlor. They saw Nelson aimlessley looking around the parlor, looking very confused.
"What's he doing?" Reynold said out loud as he squinted his eyes to adjust to the blurry footage.
Suddenly, a slim object flew across the room, even though Michelle & Reynold didn't see exactly what the object was, they knew it was fatal. As the object pierced Nelson's throat, slitting it on impact and making Nelson topple over in pain. From the black and white footage, both guests could see a black puddle forming around his body before he finally stopped moving. The TV then shut down.
Michelle stared at the TV in horror, tears were even brimming in her eyes. Reynold had the same expression as he met glances with Michelle.
"You...You're the killer?" Reynold's voice became shaky as she looked at the wannabee actress.
Michelle backed away from the doctor, fear was evidently plastered on her face. "Get away from me! I can't believe you're the killer. After everything we've been throu.."
Michelle was cut off as the sound of the killers lair door creaked open. Both guests whipped themselevs around in the doors direction.
Little did they know what would happen...
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