Bloodshed

Chapter 8

Back upstairs in Carrie's room, Lukas and M. Jesse were inspecting the room. They were hoping F. Jesse was right about the killer sneaking in to murder Carrie. The door hadn't been broken down and was locked beforehand, but it was opened a crack when the lights turned on.

"Let's hope your sister is right about there being a hidden tunnel in here," said Lukas.

He began looked in some spots where it could've been hiding, such as behind a chest or underneath the bed. Neither of those spots had any hidden tunnels, and Lukas was also keeping his eyes open for any hidden buttons or levers.

M. Jesse helped him inspect the room. But as he moved back to where the portrait was, he couldn't help but stare at the eerie message.

"I've read this three times already, and it's just getting creepier and creepier..." he muttered.

He walked up to the portrait and touched the letters of the message a bit. To his surprise, the paint was still a bit wet.

"Still a bit wet, so it's somewhat fresh... the killer must've written it before he attacked Carrie..." said M. Jesse.

He eyed the portrait suspiciously.

"Hm... I wonder..." he said.

He walked up and picked up the portrait. He pulled it off of the wall, and he got what he was expecting to see behind it.

"Lukas, my sister was right," he called out.

The blonde turned around, and when he saw what M. Jesse found, he walked over with wide eyes. Even if he expected it, he was still surprised.

"You found the killer's way in here, Jesse," said Lukas.

"Yeah, and we're going to see where it leads to..." said M. Jesse.

"I've got your back," said Lukas. "Let's hope it leads to another bedroom, so we can figure out who the hell is the killer..."

"I hope the same thing, but we still have to be prepared," said M. Jesse.

He drew out his sword as he spoke. Lukas did the same, and the two boys walked down the tunnel and began to follow it. It was dimly lit, but the boys could still see a few feet ahead of them.

"I can't believe this is in the lodge. If the manger doesn't know it, he'd flip out for sure..." said Lukas.

"Yeah. And it looks like someone may have dug this out..." said M. Jesse.

The two boys continued down the tunnel, even going downstairs a bit. That meant they were back on the first floor, or possibly in the basement now. They spotted a dead end, but judging by how it was wooden, they could tell it was another portrait.

"Okay, be ready Lukas," said M. Jesse.

The blonde nodded his head and had his sword ready.

M. Jesse pushed down the portrait. It fell down on the floor with a thud. The boys could hear some people shriek in panic.

They jumped down, finding themselves back in the restaurant, and they weren't alone. Along with them were Nathan, Amanda, Peri, and Lawrence.

"What is going on here?!" cried Amanda.

"What are you two doing?!" said Nathan.

M. Jesse and Lukas were quiet for a minute. They looked at each other, and then nodded.

"Carrie is dead. The lights went out, and when they were turned back on, we could her brutally beaten. She's gone," said M. Jesse.

"You have your weapons out! You could've been the ones who murdered her!" said Amanda.