Night Three

The Mafia:

The Mafia exited their tent. There was a small frown on their face as they debated who to kill. Then they sighed. There was really only one option. Anyone else, and it would reveal their true identity. It was a shame. They were the only one who would have voted with the Mafia.

The Mafia entered their target’s tent, quickly stabbed them in the stomach with a poisoned blade, and left, all in the span of less than a minute.

The Medic:

The Medic awoke with a gasp. Blood was pouring out of their stomach. It would have had the Medic screaming with pain, except their whole body felt strangely numb. The spot where the Mafia had stabbed them felt like an icy wind. It tingled like the brush of a long feather.

The medic stared in shock for a moment before jolting into action. They tried to jump up but doubled back over. They sat crouched for a moment. Shivers began racking their body, and they crawled over to where their medical bag was hidden. They pulled out what they needed, and began treating and bandaging the wound.

An hour later, they fell back onto their sleeping mat, hand over their bandaged stomach. It had been difficult to get the poison out, but eventually they had done it. Their last thought before falling into an exhausted slumber was what motivation the Mafia might have had for murdering them.

The Detective:

The Detective left their tent with a determined expression. There was only one person left alive that they hadn’t investigated, and though they already knew who the Mafia was due to the process of elimination, it was good to be certain.

They entered their target’s tent in silence. Now used to investigating people, the Detective went straight to work searching for evidence. In the end, they found two things proving this person to be the Mafia. A small piece of paper with orders to sabotage the expedition…

And a bloody knife.

Morning:

The next morning, the four scientists exited their tents, walking straight to the center of camp. They all seemed surprised to see all four of them still alive, though some hid- or faked- their surprise better than others. Without a word, each took a seat on the ground, forming a small circle.

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“I know Terry is the Mafia,” AJ said vehemently. “I just know it.” Larry nodded.

“I am certain as well,” he said. AJ looked relieved to have someone backing him.

“I’m not!” Terry insisted. AJ crossed his arms and Larry raised an eyebrow. Terry saw that he wouldn’t be able to convince either one, so he turned to Alma. “Please,” he said. “You have to vote with me against AJ.”

“No,” Larry said. “Look, it was pure luck that the Medic saved whoever was targeted by Terry last night, but we might not be that lucky tonight. If we’re going to defeat the Mafia, it has to be right here, right now.”

“Come on, Alma,” AJ said. “The Mafia killed my best friend, and then my sister! You have to vote with us.”

“Please,” Terry said. “Don’t vote with them. Larry is wrong, AJ is the Mafia.” Larry opened his mouth to protest, but Alma interrupted.

“I don’t know,” she said. “Wouldn’t Terry have tried to target AJ if he was the Mafia?”

“No,” Larry said. “That wouldn’t be strategically sound. He wouldn’t reveal his role like that.” Alma tilted her head, conceding the point to him. Terry frowned.

“Well!” he said, “How do we know Larry’s not the Mafia!” Alma looked up.

“You guys are right, Terry’s the Mafia,” she said quickly. AJ was taken aback, but quickly pointed to Terry.

“Yes,” he said. “I vote for Terry too.” Larry nodded and pointed to Terry as well. Terry was frozen.

“How did you know?” Larry asked.

“Because you’re the detective,” she said. “Look, there were three possibilities for each of you. Innocent, Detective, and Mafia.” She glanced at AJ. “I was pretty sure that AJ wasn’t the Detective. He’s not very…subtle. That left you or Terry. When Terry accused you of being Mafia, I knew you had to be Detective, because the Detective wouldn’t change his vote. That meant AJ was the innocent, because as the Detective you would know whether AJ was the Mafia or not before voting with him. That left Mafia, and the only person left for it is Terry.”

“But wait,” AJ said. “What about the Medic?” Alma gave him a flat look. He stared at her.

“I’m the Medic,” she finally said.

“Ohhhh,” said AJ. “That makes sense.” Terry stood up and started backing away.

“Oh, no you don’t,” said Larry. “Where’s that river again?”

And so Larry, Alma, and AJ tied Terry up and dragged him to the river. They tied him to the log, and watched as he floated down the river and fell down the waterfall. Silently, they returned to camp, the sweet taste of victory marred only by the memories of the lives lost.

Epilogue

“Wow,” said Larry, our youth camp counselor. “You guys were right. That was fun.”

“I know,” said Terry. “Man, I was so close to winning.”

“Oh please,” scoffed AJ. The rest of us laughed.

“Alma is the best Medic,” Lucy said. Alma smiled and blushed. I grinned as I collected the game cards from each person.

“You make the best story-teller,” Alma said to me.

“Thanks,” I said. “I like seeing who everyone is from the very beginning. And coming up with a good story.”

“Can we play again?” Pat asked.

I don’t know…” said Larry. “We’ve got devotions pretty early tomorrow.” He looked at his watch.

“Pleaseeee?” said Diane. He bit his lip.

“Fine,” he said. “One more game.”

“Yay!” cheered Lucy. She turned to me. “Will you be story-teller again?”

“Yeah!” I said, and shuffled the cards. “Everyone get into a circle.” I thought of a story as I passed out the cards. “Alright,” I said once everyone had their role. “It was a dark and stormy night. You and six other sailors were navigating the atlantic…”