MURDER IN THE DARK

five

"Okay," Danny began as he returned from the cabin. The group were still sat by the lake. It was around 9pm and it was beginning to get dark.

"Can we get started? I'm freezing." Kelly said through chattering teeth.
Lucas took off his jacket and leant it to Kelly. "I'm not that cold."
Kelly smiled up at him as Heather grinned. "Thanks, Luke."

"I've got seven cards. One's the ace and one's the king. The rest are numbers. Now, remember, whoever gets the ace is the murderer, and whoever gets the king is the cop." Danny reminded his friends. "You can also team up - 2 people maximum, but you've gotta be careful with who you trust."

"We get it, we get it." Heather said. "Let's play, already!"
Danny sighed and handed everyone a card. They all looked at their card but kept a straight face.

Danny looked up from his card with a grin. "You guys ready?"
Everyone nodded.
"So, do we, like, all go off in different directions or-?" Nathan began.
Lisa nodded. "I guess so."

Lucas threw his arms up in the air and laughed. "May the best man win!"

***

Nathan waited for everyone else to leave before he ran behind the cabin. The back of the cabin was facing a dark and creepy looking wood, which Nathan wasn't planning on going in any time soon.

He tried to take his mind off the (what seemed) endless darkness behind him, and pressed his ear against the wood to see if he could hear anything.

He couldn't hear much, which was what he expected. But he could hear faint footsteps and voices, but he couldn't make out who.
"I bet Heather and Cameron are teaming." He chuckled to himself.

He fumbled around in the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his card that had the picture of a king on it.

He peered through the window which revealed Danny's room. All of the lights were off in the house so it was pretty dark already, but it was just about light enough to make out the figure hiding in the corner of the room.

"Perhaps if I turn chicken and spend the whole game out here - peering through windows - I might be able to find the person with the ace." He whispered to himself. "Yeah... I'll do that."

Nathan's head snapped to the left when he heard voices. He couldn't run around the corner because someone would be able to see him if they were stood at the lake. He groaned and stared at the nearest thick tree in the woods. "Great..."

Nathan made his way into the woods, being careful when avoiding twigs that could snap if he stood on them.

The voices became more recognisable as they came closer. Nathan knew it was Kelly and Lisa.
Lisa giggled. "Did you see that? We almost ran into Luke!"

Kelly shook her head. "I don't think it's him." She whispered.
"Who do you think it is?" Lisa questioned as she peered into Danny's room.
"Well-"
Lisa hit Kelly, cutting her off.
"Ow-!" She hissed.
"Shh!" Lisa said. "There's someone in Danny's room."

"Can you see who it is?" Kelly questioned.
Lisa hummed to herself. "It looks like Nathan, but I'm not sure."

Nathan scoffed. "Definitely not me." He whispered to himself, so quietly that he could hardly hear himself.

Just then, the three heard a twig snap.
Was that me? Nathan thought with wide eyes. No, it wasn't me.

Although it was just a game, standing in the dark woods at night was pretty scary.

"Did you hear that?" Kelly asked, whipping her head around to face the woods.
"I did. But there's no way I'm going in there." Lisa replied.
"Neither. Let's sneak back inside."
Lisa nodded and grabbed Kelly's arm. "Lets go."

Nathan breathed out a sigh of relief. He looked behind him to check if there was anyone there, but he couldn't see anything or anyone.

Nathan carefully took his hands off the trees and stepped back. He began to walk over to where Lisa and Kelly were, but felt someone tightly grab his shoulders.

Nathan immediately tried to fight free so he could turn around and fake arrest the murderer. But this person was too quick for him.

Before Nathan could even process what was happening, a knife was at his throat, and within a millisecond, the knife cut through his fragile skin.

Nathan fell to his knees and clasped his heavily bleeding neck, choking for air.

His knees quickly lost their strength and he fell onto his back. Nathan looked up at the dark sky, surrounded by trees.

His vision was incredibly blurred, but he could make out the silhouette of someone stood over him.
He tried to speak, but he couldn't. His arms flopped to his sides as the rest of his body went numb. Within a few moments, Nathan was dead.