The Death Game

Chapter 22

Partners Of The Mastermind (Chapter 22)

Awakening...

When I woke up I saw Treyvon looking at me. "Erthur! Yer finally awake!" he exclaimed. "Yes, Treyvon. I am awake." I suddenly remembered everything that happened last night. "Francine! Where is she?!" I yelled. "Fran's in the cafeteria," Treyvon said. "We have to go there now!" I said. Treyvon looked at me with a curious expression. "Why?" "No time for that. We have to go now!" I said. I ran to the door leading to the cafeteria. I bursted through the doors. "FRANCINE!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Francine looked at me, surprised. Fracnine was sitting at a table with Kristoff and the other 3 survivors left. "Arthur, hi," Kristoff greeted me. "Francine, you've been working with the mastermind behind our backs! YOU BACKSTABBER!" I yelled. Francine's eyes widened. "I have? What proof do you have?" she asked. "You were in the mastermind's contacts on his phone. You were acting suspicious when Lady Daphne died. You knew that Lady Daphne was going to die! Just like how the mastermind knew everything!" I exclaimed. "Arthur, please! You have to understand. It's all a misunder-" "Understand?! It seems like you have a deal with the mastermind! He's going to kill you if you don't kill me and Treyvon! Is that right, Francine?" I asked. Francine looked like she'd been slapped. "Well?" I asked. Francine said nothing. I glowered at her. "I thought so," I said. I walked away. Treyvon caught up with me. "What was dat for?! You know Fran would never do anything like dat!" Treyvon said. I looked at him. "We think we know Francine, but we don't. She's the one who murdered Lady Daphne. She's trying to kill us all so that she can't be killed by the mastermind," I said. Treyvon looked bewildered. I did the right thing, didn't I? I'm certain that Fracnine is the mastermind's partner. Yes. Yes, she is his helper. She has to be. I mean, who else could it be? It can't be Treyvon because he talks in an accent. He must text with his accent, right? Then again, he can fake the accent...I looked back at Treyvon who was sitting with Francine. They were talking to each other. He can be the helper as well. The mastermind could just name the person he was talking to "Francine" to frame her. But what motive does he have? Does he have a deal with the mastermind as well? What if...both of them are the mastermind's partners? I gasped and took a step away from them. They both looked at me. "Erthur, come here," Treyvon said. I hesitated. I was about to say no when I realized this was the best way to gather more information. I came over to their table. "I found out something, Erthur," Treyvon said. "What is it?" I asked. "Fran isn't the mastermind's partner! She's just a survivor who isn't working for anyone! Well, no one is evil like the mastermind," Treyvon said. I looked at both of them suspiciously. Treyvon's saying that Francine isn't working for anyone. Francine is guilty...they're both the mastermind's partener, aren't they? I can't trust them. But this feels so wrong. They're partners of the mastermind. I have to remember that. They aren't the Treyvon and Francine you know anymore. Don't you dare trust them. "Is that so? How is Francine not a spy?" I asked, trying not to look at Francine. I could sense her looking at me. "Well, for starters, Fran told me dat she ain't 'ave for a phone or a cell phone. The guards took our devices away, remember?" Treyvon said. "She also told me dat there's no way she can be working for the mastermind since she's been with us the whole time. We would've seen her texting on her phone if she did decide to text him." That doesn't prove anything. "What if she secretly goes away and we didn't even notice her leaving? What if she's the only one who didn't get her phone confiscated by the guards?" I asked. Treyvon and Francine both just stared at me. Then, they exchanged worried looks with each other. "W-well, maybe there's a way I c-can explain-" "No, there's no need, Francine. I already know that you are working with the mastermind. And Treyvon probably is working for him as well. You both look guilty," I said. I got up and left after that. I needed some time alone. I decided that I should head to my room to spend some time there. As I was walking to my room, I heard someone whistling behind me. I spun around and saw that it was just Kristoff. "Kristoff, what are you doing here?" I asked. "Hm? Oh, Arthur, hi! I was just about to head to the bathroom and go to sleep in my room," Kristoff said. His cheerful face suddenly faded a little as he took in the expression portrayed on my face. "Hey, is everything okay?" he gently asked. "No, not really. I just...have you ever had any friends who you think are loyal to you but you also think they're loyal to your worst enemy?" I asked. "You think Treyvon and Francine are working with the mastermind? Well, I guess that explains your outburst back there in the cafeteria. I was just about to ask you about that actually." I looked at him. "Well, I'm here. What do you want to ask me?" I asked. Kristoff hesitated for a second. He bit his lip. "I'm kind of embarrassed to ask because of the whole fake friend thing-" "It's fine. Go on." Kristoff didn't look comfortable. "Well, I was just wondering. How and what did you find out about Treyvon and Francine?" he blurted out loud. I blinked at him. He's being quite nosy. I suppose there's no harm in telling him, though. "It all started when I was in the mastermind's room. I found his phone and found text messages from Francine. They were both texting each other the whole time. Treyvon's probably doing the same, but it feels so wrong judging them like this. They were acting strange when...when-" "When Lady Daphne Parks died?" Kristoff finished. "Yes, how did you know?" I asked. "When someone dies, the mastermind makes an announcement to all of the other survivors who missed the death. He tells them about the person who died. That's how everyone knows about Lady Daphne's death," Kristoff explains. I guess that makes sense. "Do you really think Francine and Treyvon are actually the mastermind's partners?" I asked. "I can't say, but I think they are. I think the reason why they must be acting like that is because they're guilty. You did mention something about a deal that Francine made with the mastermind, right? I didn't think much of it because I left before you told me, but after you're telling me everything, I have a feeling Francine and Treyvon killed Lady Daphne because they know that if they don't, the mastermind will kill them. Now they're trying to kill you," Kristoff said. That's...exactly what I suspected. How did Kristoff know all of this? He must be pretty observant to know. "You're right. That's exactly what happened. Thanks for telling me everything about what you think of...Treyvon and Francine," I said. Kristoff smiled. "Happy to help," he said. Then he walked away. I frowned. Something isn't right here. I need to get to the bottom of this investigation. I sprinted back to the cafeteria. "Treyvon! Franci-" I stopped mid sentence. Treyovn was looking at me with a surprised expression on his face. Francine was doing the same thing he's doing, but I noticed there was something...different. It was an object in her hand. A phone. It was a phone.