image [https://i.imgur.com/skmez53.jpeg]
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The four teenagers were presented with a truly horrifying sight. Just one corpse with a hole in it would be horrifying enough, but there are a dozen or so in the whole room. The corpulence varies, with some clearly the bodies of children or young teenagers, others more adult. What's undeniable is that there are no old people in the room. The sight is too gruesome for them to check any further, but from what little Deshya has been able to observe, each corpse has holes in several parts of their bodies, with the one in front of them having one in his torso and missing eyes. Even though she's used to seeing dead people, all she can do now is turn her gaze with wide-open eyes, a gaping mouth and rapid breathing — hyperventilation, more like. In fact, Tessa's the only one in the group who's 'calm' — and even then, the word isn't precise. Rather, she's 'the calmest' of the group, but is clearly shocked, her body trembling. The smell of the room, the fact that it was beneath the surface of the earth and in an abandoned building, dark and very much not reassuring ; Tessa even wonders if she'd rather be back on the train that had bombs on it than here. However, seeing the horrified expressions of her three friends, she swallows loudly and catches her breath, closing her eyes and therefore not observing the corpse for the moment. Her flashlight trembles in her hand as she continues to illuminate the corpse in front of them all. The reason why Raiji screamed like that is no secret to them now... The fact that he didn't scream louder is even surprising, since it's quite possible that Tessa herself couldn't hold it in her ribcage. The boy gradually calms down, Maruno making sure he's all right, while Deshya discreetly observes Tessa. The latter clutches the flashlight tightly in her hand and calms down in turn, slowly opening her eyes.
They land on the corpse in front of her, but she also sees the others.
- …
The smell seems to increase in intensity with each passing second. Is it an impression or reality? Impossible to confirm. Tessa takes a deep breath, horrible as it is, and exhales before taking a step forward. The sound echoes around the dark room, alerting the other three teenagers to her act of courage. Deshya is the one who dares to turn towards her, the corner of her eyes taking in the corpses.
- Tessa, you don't have to—
- I know, but I'm probably the only one who can stand to be near it. Gross…
She plugs her nose as she approaches, her hand trembling again, so the light from her lamp shivers, as if she herself is afraid of what she's seeing. However, Tessa refuses to look away: they've come here to verify the authenticity of this famous couple's 'live' on TikTok, so now that they understand that this wasn't just an attention-grabbing charade, Tessa wants to know what's going on. This isn't just a corpse that's fallen to the unfortunate fate of a blade that's slit her throat or stabbed her in the back or heart: this is literally a body full of holes, with missing eyes and a mouth wide open, as if the soul that was there before is still trying to scream out its pain that no one else could understand. Although Tessa is the kind of person who doesn't let what she sees affect her, what she sees before her isn't the work of a model or special effects. It's a horrible sight, made worse not only by the stench of the corpses, but also by the other bodies in the room. She turns her gaze to observe the others, noticing that each corpse is 'different': the holes are not in the same places. Some still have their eyes, but half their skulls are missing — Tessa doesn't even want to check if their brains are still where they should be. What's even worse than you might think is the fact that...
Some of the dead are clearly children, something far too horrible for Tessa to think about any longer. She currently has no idea what has happened here, whether it's the work of a criminal with an inhuman mind or whether it's something else even more horrific that they've stumbled upon, but one thing is certain: whatever happens, whatever the reason for it all... Tessa doesn't think they should have stumbled upon it. Whether today or tomorrow—
Or ever.
CHAPTER 55
⎾The Corpses In The Dark Corners of the Building⏌
- … It's horrible.
Tessa finally turns around, having had enough of watching such a gory and inhuman spectacle, and returns to the side of her two friends and her new 'acquaintance'. Raiji has since calmed down and Maruno no longer needs to hold him. Except for Deshya, they all have their hands holding their nostrils, the smell absolutely unbearable. The reason why the girl in the fox sweater doesn't do it isn't a sign of strength: she's just so shocked by what they've found here that she doesn't even think about the smell of death, rot and probably the pain the victims must have felt manifesting itself in physical form.
- T-Then...?" asks Maruno, looking at Tessa, his voice trembling.
- ... They all have holes in different places. They've all been dead for a few months, although I can't say exactly how long. In any case, it's clear that when we were in the summer holidays, the bodies were already here. I'm sure they were.
- So that's what they saw...?" questions Raiji, thinking again of Clément and Maurine.
If that's the case, then none of them would dare criticize them for their leaks and even the removal of the video from social networks — or the slightest publication of that same video by anyone else. Just thinking about it must make them nauseous. Nevertheless, if this is what they really saw — which is more than likely — then…
- They should have called the police or something..." Tessa thinks aloud.
Deshya agrees with her, but they must have been so frightened that such a thought didn't enter their minds. However, they should have done so a little later, when they could have calmed down... If the corpses are still here, they can easily guess that the couple didn't actually contact the authorities to take care of them…
- But with so much media on the net, wouldn't the police be looking for more?" asks Raiji.
Maruno shakes his head, but before answering, he asks if they can at least get away from this disgusting room. Unsurprisingly, there's general agreement, and the four of them move off in chorus, with a brisk walk that approaches a run.
- Even if it's the subject of internet intrigue, a video like this can easily be faked. Sure, it's a live one, but if the police start worrying about such things, I think they'd not only have too much work to do, they'd have leads that lead nowhere and could just sigh that people on the internet like to lie too much for attention, likes and all that," replies Maruno, removing his hand from his nostrils.
Deshya agrees: her father would never take a live feed from two TikTok 'amateurs' seriously, even with a visible so-called 'corpse' — if the blur Raiji was talking about could correspond to such a word — on it. If the couple had reported what they had seen by giving the address or location of where they went, then that's another story: however, it's clear that they didn't, so except for people who are naive or want to check that the live feed isn't a 'scam', nobody would be looking to find out the truth beyond the few discussions that can be found on the net. Now that they know the truth…
- We should contact the police right away..." says Deshya.
Once again, unsurprisingly, it's an agreement between all the teenagers. Deshya squints softly, still walking alongside her three friends: why so many corpses in one place? Given that the building is not only abandoned, but also complicated to find and far too 'scary' and nonreassuring for anyone to want to go inside, it's understandable that someone who's killed someone would come and hide the corpse here, if they think burying it isn't a good solution... However, there are a good dozen of them, which is worrying. What's more, she wonders why the corpses are only to be found in this room, but she remembers that there used to be a door that was difficult to open, but that fell down when Clément and Maurine came here during their live show on TikTok — at least, that's what Raiji told them. Given that no corpses were found in any of the other rooms — not on this floor, at least — it's therefore possible that—
- !!
Deshya opens her eyes wide, stops her step and turns around sharply, breathless. Raiji is the first to notice and stops in his turn, noticing that his friend has just turned around her flashlight down the corridor, barely illuminating the wall opposite them. Since he can only watch her back, Raiji can't see the look of fright on Deshya's face. The other two members of the Incorporated Foxes stop in their turn.
- What's going on, Deshya?" asks Maruno.
- Have you seen a ghost?" teases Tessa.
- ... I don't know.
Deshya's answer took her friends by surprise. They all look down the corridor, aiming their flashlights, but see absolutely nothing. They can see the stairs leading to the floor above and the one below, but only dimly... Nothing else. There's nothing special about the wall, the few cobwebs are still in place, and it's still an unpleasant darkness before them.
Nevertheless, Deshya is certain about something.
- Are you shivering, Deshya...?" asked Maruno.
It's a rhetorical question: the girl in the fox sweater doesn't hide her shivers. This is not caused by the cold of the place, this building having, obviously, no particular insulation. It's so dark and unwelcoming that the ambience itself cools the place down. The reason why Deshya has turned this way is as follows:
- I thought... I was being watched. Maybe it was WE who were being watched.
A more than unpleasant feeling, especially in such a… disconcerting place. Deshya now feels a sense of discomfort, perhaps stemming from a feeling itself that comes from the ambience of the place, perhaps from a simple paranoia that doesn't mean anything. Even though it's possible to get upstairs from the stairs at the end of the corridor, and so it's not impossible that someone has actually been watching them, she simply prefers to tell herself that she's been dreaming for her own mental state.
- If I want to call, we'll have to do it upstairs," admits Raiji, looking at his phone.” Here, it's like there are waves that prevent me from even calling anyone.
- It's strange... It's an abandoned place, but would there be such a mechanism around?" wonders Maruno.” We're not six feet underground either, so I doubt the fact that we're below the surface would prevent you from calling…
- …
Deshya says nothing, still shivering, dropping one or other keen glance behind her. The girl no longer has the impression that they're being watched, but she doesn't know what's going on and can't stay still. Noticing Deshya's discomfort, Tessa slowed her pace to stand beside her.
- !
Deshya was startled, as she hadn't seen Tessa move to her side, but she was surprised by the gesture of the girl she 'secretly' loved.
Tessa just took her hand.
- There's nobody around, don't worry. We'll get rid of him anyway," Tessa reassures her.
The purple-haired girl keeps Deshya's hand firmly in hers, suggesting she move upstairs without delay. Deshya doesn't move, but it's no longer because of fear: she's just frozen by her emotions — yet they're clearly burning through her body. Holding Tessa's hand in hers like this gives her butterflies in the stomach: so it's not just a 'honeyed' expression, but a real feeling. She blushes and doesn't care about what's going on around them: Deshya almost forgets about the corpses she saw a few minutes earlier. Tessa tells her again that they'd better get upstairs quickly, so Deshya approves with an awkward nod, enjoying the feel of Tessa's warm hand in hers. It's when she can be this close to the one she loves that Deshya regrets not having the courage to confess her love... because if Tessa was to accept, then she could go further than just touching her hand. Sure, she'd already kissed him on the lips — and it was probably one of the best things she'd ever experienced — but in the end, it wasn't a kiss of love, but a simple pledge. For Deshya, it was more than that, but since it wasn't 'passionate' on either side, the girl mostly wanted... more. To kiss Tessa not just longer, but lovingly — on both sides. It sounds like a big ask like the world, but if Deshya manages to date Tessa, then it will be as common as asking for water or salt at the table. It will remain as special as meeting and admiring a golden bee or seeing a total penumbral eclipse, but yet, something that can happen almost whenever you want it to. Deshya has never been able to experience this, since she's never had a boyfriend or girlfriend, but she hopes she'll be able to experience it with Tessa... Tessa's hand is so comfortable…
- AAAAH!!!
But unfortunately, reality catches up with them.
All four teenagers open their eyes wide at the same time, but quickly, understanding that this scream is not of fear, but of pain, they frown. Tessa withdraws her hand and runs to Deshya's side, the latter snapping out of her 'thoughts of love'. Maruno is the first to run up the stairs: the scream comes from the floor just above, it's a certainty. They didn't know who had screamed, but one thing was certain: it wasn't 'Lea Lotus', since the scream was far too low for it to have come from her female voice. Raiji is right behind Maruno, followed by the two girls in the group. The four of them arrive upstairs, but unfortunately they don't really know where to go: they don't know exactly where the source of the scream is coming from. Tessa suggests they split up to find the place where the man screamed, but this isn't necessary: they see Lea running down the corridor to their left. Without asking any questions, without a word, the teenagers run after her and join her, but she stops in front of a room, where two other men are, before she screams in terror. The teenagers quickly arrive and look inside the room—
- !!
- H-Hey, are you kidding me?!
Before them, a new corpse. But this one doesn't have a hole in it, or died a few months ago…
It's the body of 'Rayan Silvagre' that presents itself to them this time.
With a knife in his belly, a hand holding the weapon as if he'd been trying to pull it out and a look of horror on his face, a sign that he was indeed conscious before he died, the scene is horrifying. His blood, still warm, flows from the wound, creating a tiny puddle beneath him. Even without hearing the scream, and even without being smarter than the average person, anyone could tell that the crime had been committed not long ago... This is anything but hard to guess. The scream they all heard... came from this man.
- We heard the scream... like, 50 seconds ago?" thinks Deshya, one fist clenched.
Once again, a murder presented itself to her. October had begun with two crimes committed by 'XIII', but she already suspected that saving them would have been complex, if not impossible. This time, however, she's only here for 'fun', to spend time with three of her friends, as 'special' as this activity is. It should simply have been a search for the truth, but the scene was worse than expected…
And now a crime has been committed. Right over their heads.
Rayan's wide-open eyes show no life, and even if by some miracle he's still alive, by the time an ambulance can get to this forest, he'll have succumbed to his injuries. The three adults standing next to the teenagers are also shocked, terrified expressions on their faces, but Balthazar is the first to react.
- H-Hey, man...?
He took a step forward, but a hand got in the way. The girl who raised her arm like that grits her teeth.
- Don't go any further…
- H-Huh?
- Don't go any further!" shouts Deshya.
Everyone turns to her. The girl in the fox sweater has an annoyed expression on her face, staring at the corpse a few steps away from her, in the back of this room. Unlike the floor just below, where they were, the first floor of the abandoned laboratory is much brighter, so lamps are not necessary. This is due to the many windows in the place, the majority of which are missing their panes. Thanks to this, they can get a good look inside the room where the man with the first name 'Rayan' was killed: rather empty, though with the remains of some furniture, including a desk, and tools lying on the floor. What's more, although for the moment only the teenagers have been able to see it, two corpses like those found downstairs are to be found in the left-hand corner of the place, hidden rather ineffectively behind some sort of rubbish bags. Despite the fact that this disguise is borderline ridiculous, it's actually a relief: they can only see the corpses' heads and upper torsos, preventing them from seeing much more than that. Unfortunately, the woman's body — given that the other must be that of a young man — is missing much of its skull, which is... vomit-inducing. Deshya is certain that if Amora, Frie or even Abdoul had come here, they'd never have been able to restrain themselves from vomiting all over the floor, though understandably so. Deshya's glad she didn't invite anyone else on this expedition to this abandoned building... What's got her so worked up is not just the fact that a murder has just been committed, but that it's STILL one…
AGAIN one where she is.
- Wherever I go, I'm going to run into stuff or something...?
She knows this isn't true and that there are days when nothing happens, but that's usually when she's staying at school or at home. Deshya has been to Amora's, to a bar terrace with her friends or even to a fast-food restaurant without anything happening, so she can hope not to run into business at every place she meets, but the fact that a murder has just been committed... She doesn't know what to think. Should she think again that she's cursed, or accept that she's just an extremely unlucky girl?
- If I play the lottery, will I win the jackpot...?
After all, bad luck is just luck, which offers more malus than benefit. However, this is no time for jokes: Deshya moves towards the body in turning on her heels, staring at the adults with her piercing eyes.
- No one at the scene.
In an authoritative tone, she utters these words. Tessa steps forward in turn, Raiji turning around to make sure the adults aren't doing anything suspicious. All three are confused, looking at each other, with Lea drying her eyes and trying to calm herself in her man's arms. Meanwhile, Maruno frowns after another glance at the corpses on the left.
- What if…
Thinking of all he's seen, he wonders if the reality of these corpses might not be…
- But if that's the case, then…
It's dangerous. Very dangerous. Maruno hopes he's wrong, but there's a good chance it is what he thinks. He turns to the three adults and frowns.
- In any case, it's unlikely that Rayan committed suicide or that someone came in from the outside to kill him. Anyway…
One of the three remaining people must be the culprit. There's also the possibility that two of them are the murderers... even all three together. However, Maruno prefers to think that this is not the case, because otherwise, they're all in a situation where survival is unlikely. Even with Deshya's abilities, Tessa's aggressiveness and Raiji's 'sporty' side, they can dream of doing anything against several adults, even if it's two. Is calling the police in the face of one or more potential culprits a good idea? Deshya can probably flee from here and, without worry, lose track of the adults, but Maruno doesn't totally believe in his own abilities. He doesn't know about Raiji and Tessa isn't necessarily the fastest girl he knows, so if one of them has a gun…
- The murder weapon is a knife, and it's still inside the victim's stomach, but there's nothing to say that the culprit doesn't have something else on him. Using a pistol would have been far too risky and noisy, especially as it would have been easy to find. On the other hand…
Why was Rayan killed? Deshya, Tessa and Raiji are also wondering, especially as the four of them don't know each other — except for Léa and Marc, who are both married. So there would have been no reason for one of them to kill the other... unless the fact that they don't know each other is a lie. Anyway, Rayan lied about that, but so did at least one other person. Raiji thinks again of his theory about the corpses and starts to think of something else, but can he afford to go into such theories? For now, he'd rather see what Deshya and Tessa conclude, both close to the body. Deshya wears Mariah's gloves, while Tessa keeps hers in her pockets, so as not to touch anything with her bare hands, observing the surroundings from a standing position, unlike her friend who was kneeling. They have already confirmed the death of 'Rayan Silvagre', inevitably from a knife in the stomach. He couldn't have died on the spot, so when he was stabbed, he screamed, and then the culprit had to either knock him out to silence him, or keep his hand over his mouth to muffle his scream. However, as Deshya is not a doctor and cannot observe the whole body properly, she cannot confirm anything further. While looking at the corpse, Tessa scans the surroundings and quickly notices something just in front of the victim's hand resting on the floor.
- Hey, Deshya.
- Hm?
The redhead turns her face towards Tessa and then follows her gaze to stumble upon... something. She blinks and reaches out for it, but refrains from grabbing it, not wanting to touch the crime scene: she needs to pollute it as little as possible for when the police arrive.
- A black knight...?
A chess piece lies there, in front of the victim's hand. It's highly likely that he himself placed it there... but for what reason? In reality, Deshya can think of only two: either he had it in his hand and it fell there when he dropped dead, either—
- ... A 'dying message'.
Deshya whispers it and Tessa nods in agreement: a message before death, describing the victim. The girl with the long purple hair looks back at the adults, who seem to be getting agitated by the unpleasant atmosphere of the place. Tessa even gets the impression that they're going to run away at any moment, and unfortunately, there's nothing they can do about it. Balthazar doesn't seem to be incredibly muscular, so Tessa could probably beat him in a fight, but he's still an adult and she's only just entered the 'mature' age. Lea must be a pretty fragile woman and Marc... she doesn't really know. However, that's not the point: if they start running when they want to escape, chasing them won't do any good. Besides, they already know who they are, so all they have to do is tell the police. Even if the police don't trust them and think they're just teenagers playing detective, Deshya will just have to tell Gatito — or even Minos, if the situation calls for it. For the time being, however, she needs to concentrate on this black knight: what does he mean? She knows he's a chess player who could easily beat her, given his rank, but this isn't the piece he had on his keyring... Besides, his bag is still behind his back and unopened, so it's impossible for the piece to have fallen there by chance. Perhaps he kept the coin in his hands to play with, as a stress reliever, which would mean there's no reason to worry about it, but Tessa doesn't believe it: it's again her instinct that tells her it's important. As always, the same instinct she always follows and which is almost never wrong, one which has helped her to believe more in her own abilities... The last time it 'woke up' in this way was precisely during the affair of the unstoppable train. Deshya, too, seems interested in this chess piece, especially as there are no other clues around. However, something else catches her eye. She looks closer at the victim…
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
- !
She opens her eyes wide and Deshya notices 'that thing' at the same time. Maruno can see that his two friends have found something interesting, but he can't tell from here. Impatience rising in his brain, Balthazar lets out a cry of boredom before taking out his phone, not hiding his irritation.
- Raaah, at worst, who cares? We call the police and—
- SURELY NOT!
The scream echoes around the room, forcing Deshya to hold her ears and tense up, a gesture no one notices: everyone turns to the other girl who has just screamed. Tessa approaches Raiji, Maruno and the adults with violent steps.
- Don't call the police.
- W-Wait, are you kidding me—
Before he could finish his sentence, Tessa lifted the thing she'd retrieved from the body to show everyone, having no need to let Deshya see it : the latter has already seen it.
- W-What is…
Raiji frowns.
It's a piece of paper with writing on it:
"Call the police and I'll kill you all".
It's handwritten and quick, but legible enough to understand each letter. A shiver runs through everyone and Tessa lowers the letter, her eyes staring at everyone at once.
- If the person dared to kill the victim while we were all here, I'd rather take this letter seriously," she admits.
- Tsk, so what?
Balthazar takes his phone in hand and turns it on.
- If we all stay together, he won't be able to do anything, that's criminal," he says, preparing to write down the police number.
However, before he could do so, Raiji caught his phone with one swift hand, preventing him from calling anyone using his mobile. Balthazar clenches his fists and yells at him, but the couple ask him to calm down by restraining him, before Raiji squints at the man.
- I don't know what you're thinking, but at any moment, the criminal has a gun or something in his hands!" the teenager shouts.” If you want to die like an idiot, then be my guest, but don't involve us in your stupidity!!!
The other three teenagers blink, surprised by Raiji's words, but in total agreement with him. The boy returns the phone to Balthazar with a sigh, turning to Tessa.
- You didn't find any clues on the body...?" he asks.
Deshya returns to their side and shakes her head. Tessa says nothing: it's best they don't talk about the black rider, which could be a 'secret', coded message from the victim before his death. Since they're both certain that the culprit is one of the three adults in front of them, it's best not to talk about it in front of the adults. They can do it with the teenagers, but certainly not with Marc, Léa and Balthazar.
- So what do we do?" asks Marc, holding his wife's hand firmly in his own.
- Do we just run off and leave the body here?" suggests Léa.
- Even if we try to act selfishly and out of fear, I don't know if the culprit will let us escape as we wish. He'll probably take one of us hostage and ask everyone to come back, since we can easily call the police from home," replies Maruno.” I think the best we can do... I've no idea, really.
- All sticking together, I suppose...?
Marc's proposal seemed perfect, but Deshya shook her head.
- There's something else written on the back of the paper," she says.
- A-Ah?
Tessa agrees with what Deshya has just said and reads the very sentence she can:
- "Say nothing to anyone, tell absolutely no one about this place and put all your phones in the victim's bag". That's what it says.
The words are a little more complicated to read, given that the culprit had to write in a hurry, but it's certain that he did it before killing the victim: he'd never have had the time otherwise. This proves that he must have been thinking about the plan today, which means…
- …
Tessa silently observes again the three adults standing just behind Maruno and Raiji. The latter sighs.
- He wants us to put our phones in the bag so we can't call anyone, I guess...?" he says.
- Probably to erase our data too, since we took photos," says Tessa.” I've got a few videos on my phone, anyway.
In fact, only Tessa took a few videos and photos in case the scene had changed by the time the police arrived. The chances of this happening are all too slim, but Tessa is one to take precautions. What's more, even without it, it's always better to have evidence of the sort, even if in reality it's easy to retouch photos and create horrific scenes like the ones they saw there. Of course, not everyone can do this.
- What do we do...?" asks Léa, looking at her husband.
- Should we really be afraid of this paper and tell ourselves that if we don't listen to it, we'll be in deep shit?” Balthazar asks them, looking at his phone.
- Would you rather not trust it and just get us killed or something...?" sighs Tessa, not being able to believe what she's hearing from this man.
They all turn to the victim's unopened bag, which is still behind his back. Maruno scratches his hair.
- Do we really have to put our cell phones in them?" he wonders.” Wouldn't we rather put them on the floor?
- But if we don't respect what he said…
- Yes, but if we touch the bag and all that... We'll pollute the crime scene. Plus, it's going to be tricky to get them in there.
They ask each other, but eventually agree: Maruno starts by putting his phone in front of the victim, sighing.
- My poor phone…
They put them down one by one: nobody wants to risk their lives in this place. They came here to find a 'so called' body that two people from TikTok had observed, but now they're in a complex situation with one of them having been killed by... someone. It's certain to be one of the three adults, but who? As Marc puts on his phone, they notice that Raiji hasn't moved from his spot.
- What are you doing?" asks Marc.
- What do you mean?
- Go put your phone on and let's get out of here..." sighs Balthazar.
- I don't have my phone with me.
Raiji's confession — if you can call it that — shocks everyone, even the three teenagers. Léa stares at him without moving for a few moments before shaking her head.
- He-Hey, are you kidding? Don't be a sissy!" he said.
- As she says, don't be a coward!
The three adults all agree with each other. Raiji scratches his cheek and turns to Maruno.
- B-Bro, I don't think they believe me..." says Maruno.
- …
The other dark-haired, green-eyed boy, the one dating 'Aya Deroom’, answers nothing. The adults turn to Maruno and he bows gently.
- Please believe him, he really doesn't have his phone," he finally says.
- Whaaaat?" says Marc.” Like, really?
Tessa finally nods.
- He's not the type to take his phone with him because his parents don't give a damn about him, he doesn't have any girlfriend and his friends never talk to him first, so he doesn't take his phone with him," she says.
Raiji turns his face towards her, an expression as pained as it is annoyed crossing his face, but he only sighs.
- Yeah, yeah... Anyway, I don't have my phone, sorry. I can go buy one to put in the pile, but—
- Whatever! What do we do now...?
The pile of phones in the room smells rotten, dead and all mixed with mold. It's also highly likely that some thugs have come to do their little errands not far from here, given the smell of piss emanating from a little further away. Raiji chats quickly with Tessa…
While one of the three adults stares intently at him, eyebrows furrowed.
Tessa suddenly turns back to the older group, but none of them is acting strangely. She squints her eyes, but Maruno calls her name, so she turns her attention to him.
- So what do we do?" he asks.
- Do you have any ideas, Deshya? Cause I don't know," replies Tessa.
She turns to the girl in the fox sweater, who taps her chin.
- Hmmm, as much as splitting up is a very bad idea in general, I don't think staying all together is actually what we want to do," she replies.” If we're all together, it's going to annoy the criminal, since he's bound to want the phones back and probably to get rid of them…
- Can't we all just leave?" asks Léa, rubbing her arms.” I'm beginning to hate this place more and more, and staying right next to a corpse... It's dark, unpleasantly cold and I hate the smell!
- Besides, if we don't have our phones anymore, there's no reason for the criminal to bother us, is there?" asks Balthazar.
Marc agrees with them both, but Deshya shakes her head.
- Then again, if we leave, one of us is bound to be taken hostage all of a sudden. Even though I'm pretty fast and Tessa's pretty strong, if the culprit has a gun, I can only imagine the worst... Until we get instructions, I think it's best not to leave too far away to avoid incurring their wrath. As long as we don't get smart, we shouldn't have any worries.
Deshya's words are convincing and no one dares to reply — rather, no one has any reason to. Maruno takes two steps closer to her red-haired friend.
- Given that we know in any case that one of the three adults is the culprit, shouldn't we quickly ask them for their alibis? I mean, I'm surprised Rayan died when we said we'd do two teams of four..." suggests Maruno, giving the adults an intense look.
Deshya agrees, especially as she also wonders why Rayan was separated from the group. Besides, even if they don't know who the culprit is, it's wise to figure that either the three adults are the criminals, or one of them… but then, nobody was with anybody. After all, if Marc stayed with his girlfriend, then Balthazar must be the culprit. If this man stayed with the other man or woman, then either Lea or Marc must be the culprit. If they can identify the culprit now, they can attack at once, without warning, and with Deshya's speed or Tessa's strength, the chances of stopping him in time, before he can draw a weapon, be it blade or pistol, will be pretty high. However, Deshya doesn't think it's that simple…
- Wait, I was keeping this to myself, but...
Marc waves his hand in front of him, an expression of confusion presenting itself to the teenagers.
- What are you actually doing? You prevent us from going to the crime scene, but you go without hesitation. You order us this and that, but you're the little ones around here! Just who do you think you are...?
A natural question, one also asked by his wife and the other blond-haired man. The teenagers remain silent at first, but soon Maruno chuckles before putting a hand on Deshya's hooded head.
- I guess you don't know who this small girl here is, then!" he blurts out.
- Small...?
Raiji in turn puts a hand on Deshya's head, a happy look on his face.
- This lassie is not just anyone!
- La-Lassie...?
Tessa nudges the two boys with a sigh and asks them to be a little more serious, removing their hands from Deshya's head. Tessa takes the girl's wrist, raising it and frowning as she stares at the adults.
- This chick is the 'Fox-Eared Detective', capiche? The one who helped Minos Kiyon with a case, the one who continue to surpass da police itself, the one who drove a motorcycle into the "FEDER" hotel and the one who understood the tricks of 'XIII' this week-end! Don't you dare underestimate her.
- A-Ahah, h-hiii…
Deshya gently waves her free hand with an embarrassed smile, blushing from the same embarrassment she's currently feeling. Raiji sulks weakly at Tessa, telling her that she's the one acting like an idiot this time, but the girl ignores him completely. The adults all stare at the girl in the fox sweater.
- Ah, was that her on the bike? I heard about it quickly, but I must admit I haven't watched the news much..." says Marc.” I'm more from the north, and since there's always horrible news on the internet and TV…
- We don't really watch television, the two of us," says Léa.” But I've heard of her! I really don't like 'XIII', so I didn't pay much attention to her exploits... On the other hand, is she famous enough to be called by a criminal like him? You're like fourteen or fifteen, right?
- Six. teen.
- A-Ah, sorry…
Léa scratches her cheek apologetically, a pouting Deshya in front of her: when she introduced herself, she said her age, though!!! Nevertheless, she doesn't grumble about it and prefers to keep her complaint inside her, this being no time for whining over so little.
- Okay, okay..." says Balthazar. Alibi or not, we're all in deep shit…
- Anyway, tell us. These three geniuses are the type to notice the smallest detail that no one would miss, so maybe they'll figure out who the culprit is just by talking about it?
Raiji brings the three members of the Renards Associés to his side and smiles broadly. Balthazar sighs and shrugs.
- We were looking at the different rooms when Rayan told us he wanted to film a bit on his own. We tried to hold him back, but he wouldn't listen. A little later, personally, I went off to take a piss, but when I got back to where we all were, there was nobody there," he explains.
The woman is the next to speak.
- It's because while we were visiting the rooms, we found a corpse very... well... w-with holes and I got scared, so I wanted to run away…
She speaks with shame and stutters, ducking her eyes as she speaks. If what she's saying is true, then it means there are already two — if not more — in the room where 'Rayan Silvagre' was killed... Deshya wonders if there are even more bodies on the lower floors of the laboratory? She doesn't even want to go and check.
- And I froze on the spot when I saw the body, and when I managed to move my muscles, I looked for my wife," explains Marc.” I didn't find her until a little after we'd all heard Rayan's scream, though... I should have filmed it, then I'd have had proof!
He clicks his tongue against his teeth, but his expression isn't really one of anger, more of boredom. Whether it's because he has no way of proving his innocence or because he didn't take video of what he saw in the room, they don't know — it doesn't really matter either way. What the teenagers take away is that they can't conclude anything from their 'alibis', even if they now understand why they weren't together. But neither does it answer their inner question: why was Rayan killed? If he had come here with someone he knew, he would have had no reason to lie about their affair.
- … unless…
Tessa squints, thinking again of the corpses and their condition, but wonders if she can afford to think of such a theory. In any case, this isn't going to get them out of this mess by wondering WHY Rayan was killed, so Tessa prefers to focus on what they're going to do now, not on that famous 'reason'.
- Since one of you has to be the culprit... I suggest the four of us stay together," says Maruno, making it clear that he's talking about his friends.
- The four of you stay together, but, what about us?" asks Balthazar.
- Stay together if you prefer, but it's more risky. Otherwise, split up and we'll wait until we can all go home without risking death... Otherwise, even if it's risky to say that here and now, we'll just run away from here and never mind our phones: our lives count more," Raiji replied.
- After that, I don't know if the criminal will let us... I think we'll take a look inside the laboratory until we know what we're going to do," says Deshya.
Marc scratches his hair.
- So we split into two groups, wait for the culprit who's one of the three of us to take our phones and authorize us to leave one way or another, and that's... it?" he asks.
- I don't know what else you want to do," admits the redhead with a shrug.” If we run away at once and on all sides, I'm sure the criminal will take one of us hostage, probably one of the four of us teens, and we'll have no choice but to come back having pissed him off or abandon our friend who's probably going to get killed. I don't know about you, but I'm not looking for anyone's life to be taken. Even without knowing Rayan, the fact that he's dead is already too much.
Everyone agrees on this, and soon they all approve this 'plan': Deshya, Tessa, Maruno and Raiji go their own way, staying together, and Marc, Léa and Balthazar do the same on their own. They all stay on the first floor, although Tessa admits she'd like to see what's upstairs, and they all promise not to flee — not while the situation is so uncertain. Walking in opposite directions, Maruno turns her face to the two girls.
- Are we sure this is the best solution?" he asks.” I wonder if we're really doing the right thing…
- Honestly, since the criminal is coming from the three adults, I'd rather not really stay with them. We wouldn't be able to stop all three of them on our own, and if we tried, there's a good chance we'd just get killed or knocked out before we succeeded. I know it's a bit selfish, but I'd rather that if one of us dies, it's one of the other three, not one of you.
She tucks her hands into the pockets of her sweater and chews the air for a brief second before continuing.
- Anyway, there's not much we can do but wait and hope…
No one dares say anything. The sight of the bodies with the holes in them and the corpse of 'Rayan Silvagre' are ingrained in their minds... How could they forget, especially so quickly? In reality, Deshya hasn't forgotten a single corpse she's seen, and that doesn't just apply to September this year, but for much longer. Even if some of the police investigations she's been able to follow a little more closely with her father are a little fuzzier in her head, she remembers every corpse well. Admittedly, this isn't actually much, given that her father doesn't want his daughter to see such a sight, but it happened whether he wanted it to or not... Taking into account Deshya's very good memory, it's normal that she remembers it so well, especially as it's shocking and even terrifying. It's almost amusing for her to think that the most 'important' part of her life has been completely removed from her memory... or at least, her brain can't seem to remember it. It's ironic... but so strange that it actually frightens Deshya.
- I think the criminal will soon take back the phones and make us understand that we can leave afterwards," says Maruno.
Deshya and Tessa nod in agreement, but Raiji, who has been silent all this time, clenches his fists and says, "I can't believe it”, keeping his head down.
- …
He finally stops, to the astonishment of his friends, who are also putting a stop to their walk.
- ... It's too naive.
Raiji lets out these words with clenched fists, not hiding the emotions he's currently feeling.
- What are you talking about?" asks Tessa.
- That's so naive!
Raiji suddenly turns and starts running down the corridor, leaving the three teenagers behind.
- R-Raiji?!
However, he doesn't stop and runs. He takes a quick turn to the left and continues, this before arriving in an empty room where Raiji pulls out his phone and turns it on, teeth gritted.
- …
Without further ado, he dials his code and then goes to 'Phone' so he can call the police. He's managed to keep his phone, so he needs to get to it quickly, as the 'culprit' must still be with the other two adults.
However, a figure approaches Raiji silently from behind, and in one swift movement raises the knife in their hand, aiming at the teenager's back.