Whodunnit? Murder On Mystery Mountain

21 Venomous

Sage, Jericho, and Summer followed Lana into the place they had not expected to be. They were inside Big House, the dining hall at camp. Lana had been just as confused when the killer had sent her a letter saying the last known whereabouts would be in the Big House. "He must have come here for breakfast."  Jericho stated as they walked. "That, or some other mysterious reason, and maybe early."

It couldn't have been that early, Jericho himself had been awake, watching everything around him. He'd been terrified that it would be him, dead in the water, or mutilated in cold blood. It had surprised him to realize he wouldn't be the one dead after all. However, this didn't mean he could relax about the clues. Jericho stepped towards the dining table and put in all of his effort to find anything of value.

Summer wiped a hand over Sherman's seat, searching for a lever or button, something that could mean, something. She leaned down to peer under the seat and even sat down in it herself. "What are we not seeing?" She asked anyone close by. Unfortunately for her, no one was nearby. Sage had wandered into the kitchen. Jericho was inspecting the other end of the table. Sighing, Summer continued her investigation.

The kitchen was bigger than Sage had guessed. There were two large islands in the center of the room. The cabinets stretched from floor to ceiling and there were dozens of them. Sage turned around to catch a glimpse of some sort of clue. "If I were a clue, where would I be?" She whispered to herself.

A voice behind her answered. "Look everywhere you can." It was Lana. The woman was being her usual mysterious self, all quiet and reserved. "I only say this because I've watched people like you, miss one little detail and never recover." Lana continued to speak as she entered the room. Sage didn't have to ask to know what the maid was talking about. She stepped toward Lana and offered a small smile.

"You've been here before, it must be hard to see the same thing happen again." She looked down at the floor. "All that death and blood, it must have traumatized you." Lana nodded weakly and sat down on the island. Then she began to pour out her heart to a stranger. "It is hard, it's.....sad and lonely and depressing and just terrifying! I want nothing more than this nightmare to be over." When she finished she realized she was crying.

Surprised, Sage walked over and comforted her. "We will get out of here, you must have some sort of plan." In that moment, Lana caught herself before she revealed her secrets to a stranger. After all, how could she know if Sage was the killer or not. Lana muttered an apology and quickly exited the room. Sage stood there, stunned. What had just happened?

Someone gasped behind her. "Sage! Beside you!"
She jumped up and turned as quickly as she could to see Jericho with fear in his eyes. That's when she saw the carcass of a dead venomous snake, sitting on the counter not even a foot away. "Oh my god!" She pulled herself off the counter and ran to Jericho. Summer walked in and also gasped. "Why would there be a snake in the kitchen?" Summer asked, her brows knitted together.

The group of three exchanged looks as they took in the scene. "Well. We know this is important for something. Maybe poison." Jericho was saying as he moved closer to the snake. Summer snapped her fingers. "Wait! He was drinking something, that could've been poison!" She looked way too excited and Sage became uneasy. Jericho nodded. "We have this clue. How many others can there be?"

The search continued until Lana walked back in, avoiding Sage and ringing a bell. "The time is up. You must now retire to your cabins." She spoke softly and it felt almost monotone. However, the staff got the hint and left the building. Lana crept into the kitchen and gathered as much info as she could. Tonight would not go according to the killers plans. It was going to be her rules and if the killer didn't like it, she was going to blow their fucking brains out."