ᗪᵉᵃᵈ ᑭᵘᶰˢ

ONE

"Heellp... Help... Me..." Anita Bath gasps as she is placed onto her sofa. She sees a female figure walking out her back door, but that's all she notices of her assailant.

- - -

Sue Doku had been waiting a long time for Anita's other mates to show up for her surprise birthday party. But most of them had arrived. They were now all waiting for Marie Juana to show up. Typical.

The wind whipped her shoulder-length, white-blond hair into her face. Wind chills cooled her, as if she was already cold enough standing out on a cold night.

As she was thinking about this, she heard a groan from within the house. Surely not. Maybe so.

She continued to wait anyway, and when Marie finally arrived she whisper-yelled at her for not showing at the specified time. 6:30 pm, not 7.

Marsha Mellow opened the front door, everyone else following through the foyer. In such a small party of six, it wasn't too hard to tread softly.

Tom Ato counted down using his fingers to the door opening and everyone yelling "surprise!" But as Sue opened the door, nobody got further than saying the P.

They didn't surprise her. Quite the contrary. Anita Bath gave them an awful surprise.

- - -

Anita Bath's bright orange hair hung over the side of her sofa. One arm over the back, the other drooping down the front. An expressionless face looked to the ceiling, eyes closed, mouth slightly open.

Marsha Mellow yelled out in horror "Anita! No, no. Anita Bath! ...No really, I need a bath. I hope she doesn't mind me using her bathroom!

"Oh crap! What do we do now? Is she... dead?" Marie's voice wavered as she asked the question.

"What we do is figure out what happened. Detective Sue Doku is on the case!" She walks to Anita and places two fingers on the casualty's wrist.

"No pulse... Oh wait, there is one there, but it's very weak, and slowing quite rapidly. So she is still alive, but she seems to be on her way."

Tom doesn't take it as good news. "No! No! No! This can't be happening! Anita, please don't leave us! We can't live without you!"

There was an awkward silence that makes him want to eat his words.

Adeline fills in the gap. "What if we don't?"

That only made things worse.

- - -

After a whole lot of silent panic, Anita gasped. Everyone else quickly turned towards her as she spoke at a volume that everyone had to strain to hear.

"Find them... the murderer... put out clues... one is in this very room... find the clues... before..." Anita coughs, then lolls onto the floor. With such a low heart rate, Sue was expecting this to happen.

A long pause, before Marie speaks up. "Did she say... the murderer? So she was killed by someone?"

"Why do you think this knife would be here?" Tom asks as he jumps up from behind the couch, holding a knife covered in blood.

"Ooooh. A murder mystery! This just got interesting!" Typical Detective.