Game On (An oc x DRV2 au)

Chapter Four

Word about the blood message Furfur and I found at the barn spreads quickly.  And just like that, everyone is terrified again.  Because now we know that this whole "killing game" might very well be real. 

"It must've been Ace," Evangeline thinks aloud, pacing in the hotel lobby. "They gave us a warning, perhaps?"

"Nope!" In the blink of an eye, Ace is standing on the foosball table, hands on their tiny hips. "I can assure you that none of that was me!  In fact... it was one of your classmates!" Not even a second later, they're gone, leaving everyone stunned at the revelation.

"What?" Caim yelps, alarmed. "There's no way anyone would do such a thing!  And why?  No... I refuse to believe that!"

"That's f*cked up, man," Tristan grunts.

Deep down, I have a sneaking suspicion that whoever had done it was intending to get us all suspicious of each other like this.  Unfortunately, it seems to be working, too.  Everyone keeps casting each other suspicious glances. 

"Why are you all back here already?" Stolas demands as the throws the front door to the hotel open. "Are you all that careless when analyzing a crime scene?"

"Hate to break it to ya, but there was just a dead cow and a freaky message," Furfur retorts, twirling her braid with a finger.  She's sitting sideways on the couch with her legs propped up on the side.  I wish I could pull off a pose like that.

"Quite on the contrary," Stolas argues, making his way to the center of the room to address all of us. "The chess board that once resided on this table-" he paused to slam his hand on said table, startling everyone- "happened to show up at the barn near the deceased cow and the blood message.   A rather peculiar thing, but the pieces were set up rather methodically.  If I recall correctly, it was the Inverted Hungarian Opening that was displayed.  A more simple and therefore easier to recognize setup."

"And how is that relevant?" Marzy challenges, crossing his arms.

Stolas holds his gaze firmly as he says, "I don't quite understand exactly why the chess board was set up there, perhaps just a simple coincidence.  Someone might have just wanted to play chess at the corral.  But something about it just seems off to me."

"How about we put off this discussion and stop worrying for a while?" Dana suggests. "After all, tonight's the dinner party, so we should just focus on cooking and enjoying ourselves.  We all know that nobody here would actually do anything, and Ace is probably lying about not being behind the message.  Let's all just relax and take it easy."

I, of course, am more than happy to go along with this, especially because it's Dana who suggested it.  If she isn't worried, then why should I be? 

"Hang on, where's Ryn?" Stolas realizes, his gaze sweeping over the room.

"She stayed behind at the barn to look after the other animals," Rori recalls. "She wanted to make sure that nothing else was harmed."

"I can go look for her," I offer.

"I'll come with you," Caim tells me, and I nod.  With that, the two of us head out.

"Do you think someone would actually... y'know...?" I trail off, unable to finish my sentence as we walk past the cottages.

Caim sighs. "Honestly?  I dunno.  I doubt it, honestly.  It was just a blood message.  And Dana's probably right- Ace most likely wrote it.  We should just enjoy the day.  I'm going to be making my mom's brownies for the party after we go find Ryn, before everyone else is crowded in the kitchen."

"Your mom's brownies must be special then," I say, attempting to steer the conversation in a different durection.

"Yeah." He smiles sadly. "I mean, I'm gonna miss her if we're stuck on this island for the rest of our lives.  Maybe I can keep a part of her with me if I..."