Lucia’s clock had rung around a minute ago, officially ending any search that might’ve been going on at the time. Most had already sat at the table, but I needed to get a cup of water from the kitchen since I hadn’t drunk anything the entire day. My body was shaking, I knew that someone wasn’t going to leave the dining room and I couldn’t accept that fact. After I had finished drinking, I noticed that I was so shaky that I spilled some of the water on the countertop, so I wiped it with a cloth and went inside the dining room.

Everyone except Evelyn was already there, even Lucia, so I quickly sat down so as to not waste anyone’s time.

Where do we even start with this? Not a single detail in this whole case makes sense.

Nothing about the case felt like a regular murder, the circumstances were way different than in other situations that had happened inside the mansion. Perhaps there was one thing that kept me somewhat sane, the fact that I didn’t feel like I saw a friend of mine get killed, the death being someone I had already accepted losing. That reminded me of something, something that I could use to begin the conversation.

“The first thing I’d like to mention is the body,” I said.

“The particular detail?” Naomi asked curiously since she was the one who investigated the body.

“His face was still attached to him even after what Lucia did to him.”

“I wasn’t present at that moment, elaborate.”

Leon menacingly chuckled while listening to our conversation. He was probably spying on us at that time and saw what had happened.

“On our second day in this mansion, Adam murdered Rose out of paranoia, so Lucia ‘killed’ him after a discussion. It was really grotesque, I don’t want to go into details, but the point is that his face got ripped off and then was practically eaten.”

Naomi didn’t respond, she instead put her hand on her chin and started thinking. I was surprised that she would even dare attempt to figure everything out, but then I remembered that Lucia would definitely do something to us if we failed this.

“Shame on you, boss bitch!” Leon started acting like himself. “You’re the leader here, lead us to victory against this witch! Come on, not just her, everyone, speak! You want to leave this room as soon as possible, don’t you? Uncover the answer! Find the retard who killed someone days after the traitor’s death!”

“Are you trying to be a motivational speaker?” Amy stared at him, disappointed yet not surprised.

“I don’t try, I succeed!” he answered.

“Oh God. Well, if you want to motivate us, help us figure out who the killer is.”

“Oh, but that’s not my job.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You got resurrected, you’re a detective, come to the conclusion!”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“Aw, don’t be like that Amy, you’re not cute when you’re angry, you just think you are. I mean, I know you’re not a real detective, I deeply looked through the gallery of your phone after I stole it from Naomi’s room. Either way, you actually helped in the one discussion you participated in, so maybe you can actually be useful.”

Amy started trying to piece everything together as well, but I didn’t expect anything from her either. I didn’t believe that the case was solvable, I entered the dining room merely because I didn’t want to be the only one who chickens out. I’m screwed, I’m fucking screwed! Why did I do this? I need to do something!

“Let’s talk about Rose!” I said.

“Yes, genius,” Amy replied.

“What’s so special about that dead bitch?” Leon looked at me like I was an idiot.

“On the bottom floor of the rooms we discovered today, there were coffins for the first group.” I continued talking, trying to figure something out by looking through my own words. “I read the texts for everyone and I saw something unbelievable. There’s no date of death for Rose and it also said that she was born in nineteen seventy four.”

“Damn, what kind of skin care routine does she have?”

“Who cares? What’s important is figuring out her role in all of this!”

“So there’s an actual chance that Rose killed Adam? How ironic!” Leon started laughing.

But how do I get more information on Rose? If she’s alive, where is she? If she’s not, how can I use the fake information?

“Wait, have any of you ever been in the ‘coffin’ room before I came back?” Amy asked.

Everyone looked at each other and it was visible that no one had even seen the door to the room until today.

“This isn’t the first time that something like this happened,” I started thinking out loud, “something very similar occurred on the day we came here. When I came downstairs with the rest of my group, we found ourselves in that room between the bedrooms and the main hall, the one that looks like a waiting room. Lucia introduced herself there and until she was done, I didn’t see the door to the main hall, it was as if it came into existence when Lucia decided it was time.”

“Indeed,” Naomi added, “Lucia brought my group from our rooms to the lounge, so it was different, but it took hours before the staircase to the second floor was discovered. It wasn’t present from the beginning.”

“Ooh, boss bitch is actually talking to people instead of being an asshole!”

“Silence.”

“What about the second group?” I asked.

“Pretty similar,” Blake replied, “Lucia told us all to come to the storage room for her introduction and she explained what the door looked like so that we could find it. On my way there, I passed the corner where the door to the main hall is, but it wasn’t there until I left the storage room.”

“So, we can be sure that the same thing happened today?”

Everyone hesitantly nodded. Nobody was quite sure, but nobody had another answer either. However, that still didn’t push us any further to solving the bizarre puzzle that was forced upon us.

“Naomi, what’s the situation with the body?” I tried pushing the case further.

“There are four wounds in the chest area, there was most likely a lot of blood, but it was cleaned.”

“Stab wounds?”

“Yes.”

“Did anyone find the weapon?” I asked.

Everyone shook their heads, the murder weapon wasn’t in sight. There are only two options. A kitchen knife and a combat knife. Were all the kitchen knives in their place when I went to drink water? God, why am I such an idiot? It could also be Dante’s dagger, but that wouldn’t point to him either, since we took it away from Dante when he tried to stab me after Eden’s murder.

“Amy?”

“Yeah?”

“What did you do with the knife you found during the investigation for Eden’s murder?”

“I kept it under my bed. I didn’t get a chance to check if it’s still there though.”

“It’s not,” Leon interrupted us, but since it was at the end of Amy’s sentence, Lucia didn’t bother stopping the discussion.

“You took it, didn’t you?” Amy glared at him.

“Amy, he took your gun as well, so don’t expect much else.”

“Boo, buff bitch is a snitch! Hey, that rhymes! It must be true then, snitches are bitches.”

“Leon, defend yourself,” Naomi said, “You’re the prime suspect.”

“Eh, I don’t want to do that.”

“So, you’re admitting to murder?”

“Jeez boss bitch, you really are dumber than you look. Isn’t it obvious that I’m not here to do anything I’m not interested in?”

“Irrelevant.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Is it though? If you just say that I’m the killer and get it wrong, you’ll probably lose your head, won’t ya?”

Naomi didn’t respond, but I could see the pure rage in her just by looking at her face. There were a million words she wanted to say, but she couldn’t find a single one. I couldn’t help though, I couldn’t push the case further, I couldn’t take a single step forwards. What should I do? What can I do?

“Leon?” I said and turned my head towards him. I didn’t have a plan, but I felt the need to do something.

“Buff bitch?” Leon replied with curiosity in his voice.

“Why are you doing this? Even though I disagree with practically all of your views, I could see why you were acting the way you were. That’s a lie. Now though, what do you get from your laziness? You’re deprived of freedom until you leave this room!” I’m just blabbering, there’s no way this’ll convince him to do anything productive!

Leon chuckled, “I see how you’re thinking! Genius, you’re finally using your head! In fact, you’re actually correct about something for once. Let’s catch this killer!”

Why is he acting so enthusiastic now? No, it’s my fault for assuming that there was any consistency with this bastard, he’s numb to his surroundings and just using luck to go through life.

I saw him as a weapon. Leon was capable of most things, he helped us out on numerous occasions, but the suffering he caused couldn’t be ignored. He had refused to save Maya, he had made me kill someone, he was a necrophiliac. In short, he was a threat to everyone and everything.

“Do you have any idea who killed Adam?” I asked Leon. I knew that it was a terrible idea before I even said it, but it was the only thing I could do.

Everyone was looking at me. Some with confusion, some with worry, some with pity and Leon with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“I’m glad that you asked, buff bitch!” he laughed, “I don’t.”

Well, that wasn’t helpful. What now?

“Are you really sure that you don’t know anything helpful?”

“I never said that, I just said that I don’t know who the killer is,” he was picking his nose while talking to me, not showing any interest in solving the case. Where the hell did all that energy go?

“Then tell us what you know!”

“Ugh, fine. You sure are boring, buff bitch, I’ll tell you that. But fine, I’ll give you all the dirty little information. I know one simple thing!”

“Spit it out,” Amy was becoming impatient.

“It’s someone from the first floor. I always keep track of my neighbors, be it inside a dangerous mansion or in a safe suburban neighborhood. I know when someone leaves and when someone comes back.”

Dante and Blake seemed uncomfortable from Leon’s statement, but that just meant that there was a pretty high chance that Leon wasn’t lying.

“I see…” I said.

“Pretty helpful, ain’t it?”

If that’s true, that would mean that Leon, Dante and Blake are innocent. I also know that I didn’t do it, so that leaves Evie, Naomi, Amy and somehow Rose. Rose isn’t even here though. If she’s alive, she’s definitely hiding inside a hidden room or something of that sort, and that’s still only under the absurd assumption that she’s also alive. I mean, it’s not bizarre considering everything, but still!

“I think we should count Rose out of this,” I stated.

“Why?” Naomi quickly turned to me.

“Well firstly, she’s most likely not alive-”

“What did I tell you Petra?” Amy interrupted me. “Don’t do that.”

“No interrupting,” Lucia said sternly with her sharp eyes fixated on Amy.

Amy immediately stopped talking.

“Continue.” Naomi said.

“Firstly, she’s most likely not alive. Then, even if she is, I still don’t think she would’ve done it. There are two possibilities the way I see it. Either she is in the same boat as us and Lucia just trapped her somewhere to create confusion. Or, hear me out, she could be against us. In that case, she’s probably hiding right now. If she really is our opponent, and genuinely malicious unlike Alex, then we have something way worse being prepared for us! She wouldn’t risk being found out just to kill Adam.”

Most of the words I uttered were gotten through brainstorming, but I believed everything I said. It all simply sounded too true.

“Wrong,” Naomi replied after only a moment of thinking.

“How?” I asked.

“Your statement is baseless. We cannot avoid accusing Rose because of blind faith. Also, Adam could have found out that Rose is against us, she would need to shut him up somehow.”

“I am of the same mind as lady Petra! In cases of such troubles coming our way, we may not rely on facts. Here, they ceased to exist long ago, so do not cling on to them.” Dante looked at Naomi condescendingly.

“Are you that fucking dumb?” Naomi yelled out in an uncharacteristic manner, creating silence between everyone.

Why did she shout like that? Dante has had his unusual beliefs ever since I met him. Did she expect something different this time?

“Please refrain from raising your voice,” Dante said calmly.

“Do you even have any idea who did it?” Naomi asked in a passive aggressive tone.

“I do not, although I do believe that Leon is the most likely to commit such an atrocious sin without a ‘good’ reason.”

“Why me?” Leon was upset by Dante’s comment, “I’m the nicest guy here. It’s always little ol’ me that gets the blame!”

“Ponder this. Someone must’ve come across the rooms where our past comrades now lie, and that individual has not informed us on the room’s whereabouts, probably not expecting Amy to arrive. Who is the only mortal here who has gathered a reputation for untruth?”

“I agree.” Naomi nodded just as Dante finished speaking.

“Oh, I see what’s happening,” Leon said quietly, then proceeded to not do anything.

Leon’s face lost emotion and he stopped talking. He realized something that I didn’t. How weird…

This sudden change of behavior felt like a clue, so I didn’t stop paying attention to Leon. Is it something with what Dante said? Is it Naomi? Am I being tricked by him in a really discreet way? I noticed that Amy also diverted her attention to Leon. I could see concern in her eyes and it was strong enough that I was starting to shake a little bit.

“Naomi!” Blake loudly called for her.

“Huh?” Naomi quickly turned to him.

“Why did you agree with Dante without even thinking it through? You didn’t ask for proof.”

“I know I didn’t. It is obvious that Leon is the culprit.”

“And how did you come to that conclusion?”

“His past behavior.”

“That is not enough proof!”

“It is. You’ve seen what he’s done.”

“Don’t push this case back! You know damn well that you’re making a shot in the dark!” Blake was more agitated than usual.

“Calm down. I will hear your claim too.”

“It’s not that, Naomi! There’s something with you, you’re trying to put the blame on a single person without any proof. I would believe it if someone else tried to do that, but I don’t think you would, it’s too uncharacteristic.”

“Leave me alone!” Naomi shouted before covering her mouth with her hand.

Blake noticed it too! Something’s wrong with Naomi. Could she be the killer? The way she’s acting, it’s possible, but what are the chances? People like her usually just act tough on the outside and don’t have the bravery to do something of the sort. Also, what reason could she have? The traitor is gone and we managed to continue without going completely insane. Why would any of us want to kill?

I saw a small teardrop falling down Naomi’s face, and with that, I felt a sudden rise in tension. I was sure how the case would end and I knew that I would live through it, but I was more afraid than when my life was at risk.

“You did it, didn’t you?” Amy spoke quietly enough that it was noticeable, but loud enough that everyone could hear her.

“No, why would you even think that?” Naomi was defensive.

“If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be crying.”

“Silence!”

“Listen, do you really think that Lucia will let you live if you did it?” Amy started trying to persuade her, “Naomi, collect yourself. If you admit it, you’ll die. If you don’t, we’ll all die, including you. What else do you think Lucia would do?”

“I didn’t do it! I had no reason!”

“I don’t care about your reason. It’s clear from the way you’re acting right now, you’re a shitty liar.”

I looked around the table. Most were silent, but it was clear in their expressions, Naomi’s life was near its end. I didn’t understand what had led to this situation, but that didn’t matter, it was going to end the same way even if I managed to figure out every detail.

“So, boss bitch is the killer bitch now?” Leon started talking again, “You really thought you could get away with falsely accusing me? I’m so far ahead of you, I didn’t even have to speak to shut down your dumb argument!”

“Is this it?” I asked.

“It seems so,” Blake answered calmly and sadly.

Naomi wanted to argue, her mouth was open and she was trying to speak, but she couldn’t. With that, she unwillingly admitted defeat. We still didn’t have any clue leading us anywhere, but we ended the discussion. It was useless to continue. If we kept going, we would end up going in circles forever.

“I’m assuming everyone has finished,” Lucia walked to the table.

“Yes, we’re done.” I replied to her before slowly standing up along with everybody else.

“Then, you’re correct. Naomi killed Adam.” Lucia said with a huge smile on her face.

“Why the hell did you do it? What even happened?” Blake was agitated again and started questioning Naomi.

“You idiots! I was helping! It was my duty!” she was drowning in her own tears. “I noticed that the wall looked weird when I left my room once and I went to check, found the rooms and saw Adam. It was my duty to end him, who knows why Lucia fucking resurrected him? Is this how you’re supposed to repay me, the person who has kept you alive for so long, the person who sacrificed themselves to be your leader?”

“She is muttering nonsense at this point,” Dante added, “saying that she sacrificed herself. What a fool, making us guests to yet another horrid scene, merely for the sake of feeding her own complexes.”

“You’re an idiot,” Leon said in a more serious tone than usual, “thinking you could get away with this. ‘Oh, he’s a madman, they’ll fall for this’, you thought, but you failed to think that these people that you see in front of you could be ‘human’, people who can think beyond simple conclusions that they are told they should come to! Unlike you, they are not puppets just following the rules and manners of others, behaving the ‘correct’ way. Did you really think you could just stick to your outdated logic and survive? That’s not how the world works, bitch! If you want to live, be free, be human!”

Before I could say anything, Lucia was ready to claim yet another kill. She didn’t move towards Naomi, instead, she pointed her finger at her and a chain came through the sleeve of her suit, beneath Lucia’s arm. The chain wrapped itself around Naomi’s body like a snake, it was long enough to cover its entirety. Eventually, I couldn’t see any part of her and I could barely hear her screams.

Then suddenly, the chains stopped moving. The end of the chain came out of Lucia’s sleeve, she grabbed it before it could fall on to the ground. Lucia chuckled and pulled the chain with all her strength.

Blood, blood everywhere.

I was paralyzed by my fear. The room was painted red, some of the blood fell on all of us, but nobody moved. Nobody could. It all happened too quickly for any of us to react. Only when everything was done did we manage to move a muscle. By then, Lucia was gone.

“Let’s go shower,” Amy loudly whispered.

“Yeah, let’s do that,” Blake replied with a shaky voice. All I wanted was to take a shower and then cry myself to death.