Try Not to Die

Chapter Five

Edited 6/5/17

Keira West

The next thing I hear is Evan's laughter.  His chest vibrates and his deep tone laughs. I roll my eyes, that was definitely not a funny joke. He shouldn't have done that in this situation.  Especially with people at risk for dying, we all thought that someone was seriously in danger.

"You should've seen your faces! You thought I died!" He says, clutching his stomach from laughing. Now that I think about it, it was a little funny. Just a little.   I throw him a smile, in attempt to lighten up the mood.  Maybe I am being a little bit too serious.  I just really need to figure out the killer before it's too late.

"Evan, we thought the killer got you!" I say, stifling a laugh.  I couldn't deny that his practical joke was a little humorous.  I end up giving into myself and laughing.  Obviously what I thought was a little funny was actually hilarious.  I quickly cover up my laughs with coughs as everyone stares at me suspiciously.  Evan sends me a smile, having seen the expressions of everyone else.

Evan scoffs.  "The killer's only gone after girls so far." He says and my stomach drops.  Emily and Lizzy. The only two that's dead. "You don't know that. It could be a boy next!" I say. But I don't want anyone to die. Two people gone are more than enough.  I just wish this trip would end already.

"But it has been a girl twice, Keira." Ashton says. "It could be a boy next, though. There haven't been enough killings for us to detect a pattern."  I give a grateful smile to him. 

Thank you, Ashton.

"Why don't we play a game?" Cameron asks. What is he talking about?  We don't have time for a game, we're in the middle of a murder scene. If we separate for the game, that opens up for the killer to kill.  A game is stupid, pointless and endangering. 

"A game?" Summer asks skeptically, beating me to it. What in the world is he talking about?
Summer sends me a confused look. At least I'm not the only person who is puzzled about Cameron's idea.  A game isn't right at this time.

"Just to take our mind off things. It's not like they'll kill anyone else tonight if we're all together." He says, blushing. At least his intentions are good.  I don't think Cameron could be the killer, he's too sweet.  He can be obnoxious at times, but he would never purposely hurt others.

"Sure." Carter agrees, sitting down and joining Cameron. Everyone else shrugs and sits in a circle also.  The only people who didn't want to play are me, Alex and Dylan. I still don't understand the purpose of a game.

"What did you mean when you said you killed your mom?" I ask Dylan curiously. "I'll answer that if you tell me how you killed yours." He replies smoothly.  I narrow my eyes, but can't help feeling impressed.  He's good.

"Fine. You first." I say, challenging him.

"My mom was diagnosed with cancer when I was 10. She needed surgery when I was 12 to survive. We didn't have enough money. If I had managed to get just a little more money she would've survived." He says sadly.  I feel a bit guilty for asking him now.  Curiosity definitely had gotten the better of me.

My heart pangs for him. "I'm sorry." And I really do feel sorry. I understand how it feels to lose someone you love. I know that empty feeling inside of you.  The feeling you have when all hope is lost, when you just feel like an emotionless human being with no purpose at all.

"Your turn."

I take a deep breath. "When I was 12 I went to my friend's house. My parents went to go pick me up and they got into an accident and died instantly.  If I hadn't gone to my friends house, they might've still been here today." His mouth is open in shock. He doesn't say anything. He opens his arm and envelopes me in a hug.

"It wasn't your fault." He says.  Yes it was.

"Let's just talk about something not depressing." I suggest.  He nods and we join Alex, since he's the only one not playing the game. "What game are they playing?" I ask curiously.  I glance over to the game where everyone is playing.

"Truth or Truth.  Every question so far has involved murder.  Everyone's paranoid."  He says. Summer walks over to us.  "Every single question is about death.  Can't we talk about something else?" She asks, but says it more to herself.  I shrug, everyone wants to know the killer at this point.

"There is a crazy murderer who is most likely in that circle." I say, laughing.  Summer shrugs and giggles softly.  Alex purses his lips and nods.  "Remember Sadie?" He asks, looking at Sarah.

Sadie Rowan was Sarah's identical twin.  She went missing last year and was never found.  They were inseparable.  I know Sarah misses her, but she remains strong.  Although she's most likely dead, everyone in the neighborhood is hopeful she'll return.

"What about her?"

"I was just thinking about what she would do."  He says.   Sadie was like me, curious and logical.  The only difference is that Sadie was a genius.  She was a year ahead in her classes and wanted to be a detective.

"I'm not sure." I reply honestly.  She disappeared right before she was supposed to graduate. Alex nods slowly and Summer pats his shoulder. Dylan walks over to us.

"I'm scared one of them will strike." He confesses. How does he know it's not us though? "Just be cautious of everyone." I say. "It's not me, but you probably won't believe me. Everyone is a possibility."

"I know it's not you, Keira." Dylan says.

"How do you know?" I ask, knitting my eyebrows together in confusion. This is really making me sound suspicious, but I want to know why he eliminated me as a suspect.

"You've already experienced much worse, you would never put someone else through this." He says. "I guess that's a thanks for not suspecting me. And I most likely don't suspect you." I say jokingly.

He mock pouts but laughs shortly after.

I can see that we'll have a good friendship.

OOH FRIENDZONED

QotC: Can you see a relationship forming? Do you want them to end up together?

Thanks for 7 reads!