Unnamed

Raiden

James' declaration is hard to miss.  He comes right out and says that Millie is now dead. I step out of the other room to look at the group. James's girlfriend hugs his arm tight. They look terrified. Pretty much everyone looks terrified. Once everyone has fully assembled, James leads the way to Millie's body. 

"She was strangled," Ashlynn mutters under her breath. 

I notice some strange looking burn marks on her neck. My eyes move to scan the crowd instead of the body. Ashlynn has that covered. Nobody seems particularly emotionless except James's girlfriend's sister, Jaqueline. Jaqueline doesn't seem like the murderer type, but it's impossible to know at this point. 

"Where's Kody?" 

"I think he's with Caspian."

"I actually haven't seen either of them since the first murder." 

I pause for a moment, listening to the quiet conversation. I look up, scanning everyone and doing a quick headcount. There were 20; now there are 18. There are only 16 of us in the room. 

"Kody and Caspian," I whisper to myself repeatedly, trying to remember their names. I slip out of the room, and I begin my search for the two missing people.

I start by checking the rooms closest to the last murder. It's not until I reach the farthest rooms that I finally run into someone. He's sitting in the corner of the room. His face is hidden by a pulled up hood, and he's doing something on his phone.  

I clear my throat, and he looks up at me. His eyes are wide with fear. 

"Hello," I say. 

"H-Hi..." He shoves his phone into his pocket. 

"Did you hear the news?" 

"What?"

"The news." 

"No."

"Millie's dead."

He looks genuinely shocked. He tries to say something, but he doesn't make a sound. 

"Are you okay?" I ask. 

"Wh-What happened...?" He got up, looking at me in shock. 

"Millie just died. I don't know the details." I replied. 

"Take me to her," He says.

"Of course," I lead the way out the door. He follows me cautiously. His eyes never stop scanning the area. He jumps when an adjacent door opens. 

"What is this I hear about another murder?" A guy steps out from behind the door. I realize that I recognize him. Caspian, that's why the name sounded familiar. 

"Millie died," I repeat. "We're headed that way if you want to investigate." 

"Thanks." He moves over towards the other guy who I can now assume is Kody. 

"Uh, yeah." I take a few steps down the hall. My hand falls into my pocket, landing on the back of a small handgun.  I glance back at the two of them and make my choice. I turn around, my hand grasping the gun. 

"What are you--" Caspian starts to say. 

I pull the gun on them and try to look as threatening as possible. They both back up and hold their hands up. Kody starts to cry. I wonder if maybe I'm taking it too far, but I don't stop. Caspian looks shocked. He tries to get in front of Kody. 

"Ready to die?" I ask. 

Caspian tries to grab the gun from me, but I pull it away and push him back. He's too sloppy to be the killer. Kody just keeps crying, and I decide the two are safe for now.