Whispers in the Dark

Murder Mystery

"I'm gonna kill him," was the first thing Luke said after being informed about Kol's plan.

Nikita blinked in confusion. "What? Why?"

"Everything's riskier when he's disembodied! Helping people move on isn't as easy as you think!"

"Oh, well, he's gonna be at like, the Ferris Wheel or something, if you wanna help him out."

Luke grunted. "No, he's not. He'll have changed locations once you left, so I can't find him. I'm really gonna kill him this time."

Nikita was unsure how to proceed. "So, like, what do we do?"

"You play the game," said the little boy who had been with Luke when Nikita found him. "I know where one of the keys is."

Nikita leaned closer towards Luke. "Like, who's that?"

"Patrick," the big guy answered. "Kol knew him when they were little. I think he's what made him become a ghost hunter in the first place."

"A tragic origin story," Nikita whispered. "The plot's gonna get deep."

Luke sighed, running his hands through his hair. "Alright. Take us to the key."

Patrick looked doubtful.

"What is it?"

"Well, it's just that... You're not really gonna enjoy this one."

"I doubt I'll like any of them."

"Yeah, but you'll like this one the least."

"And why's that?"

"Because I'm the Game Master."

Without explaining anything, Patrick turned around and started running. Luke managed to catch up with him pretty easily, given his long legs, but NIkita had trouble. High heels were a bitch even on the astral plain. She finally took them off after a minute, then ran barefoot.

"Can't believe our souls have clothes."

"They don't," said a young woman she passed by. Nikita stopped and went back to her.

"What do you mean? I'm, like, totally wearing my outfit."

"You think you're wearing your outfit, because that's what you were wearing when you came here. Reality is what you think it is in this place." To prove her point, the stranger changed her everyday outfit into a white tux. "See?"

"Oh, totally." Nikita followed suit, and her clothes were replaced by a pink track suit. "Thanks so much."

Realizing the other two were getting away, she ran faster than ever. The track shoes made it easier. Still, Luke's steps were enormous, and the boy - Patrick - seemed to be getting faster every second. She only caught up with them once they had stopped. It was in front of a school.

"Is it here?" Luke asked.

Patrick nodded. "You're gonna have to beat me to get it. You're not gonna like that, though."

"Can't you, like, just go easy on us?"

The boy stared at Nikita like she was the biggest idiot who'd ever set foot in the park. "Los will know if I do, and then you'll never get the key."

"Don't they have a whole plan of distracting him going?" asked Luke.

"Doesn't work for the games. He always knows what happens in the games. Los likes his games." Without another word, Patrick ran inside.

Luke and Nikita briefly looked at one another. "I guess we go in."

"I guess we do."

And so they did. Neither knew what they were supposed to do. It was as wide as one would expect a school corridor would be, but a lot darker than regular ones.

"We should check the classrooms," Luke said as they came upon two doors, on the opposite sides of the corridor to each other. "I'll take one; You take one."

"Nuh uh," replied Nikita. "I'm so not going in there alone. You know how many good things happen when someone suggest people split up in horror movies? Zero good things. Exactly zero."

Luke thought about it for a moment. "This would be more of a novel, though."

"Whatever! We're going together!"

"Fine, fine."

They checked out the door on the left first. It seemed to be an ordinary classroom. There were books on the shelves in the back, and students' projects pinned to the boards on the walls.

"There," Nikita said, pointing to the teacher's desk. A note was lying on top of it.

Luke went over to it, grumbling, "I hate riddles. Better not be a riddle."

He opened it and started reading.

"The first clue; The first test.

You will have to do your best.

Solve it right, you get another.

Be wrong and you're mummy fodder.

Get them all, you get the key.

Get one wrong, you're stuck with he.

Certain pathways you should take;

Taking the others would be a mistake.

He likes routine and never strays.

Don't snap him out of his daze.

The first answer is a shovel.

Find it or be forced to grovel."

Luke was just about ready to throw himself through one of the windows, which, for some reason, showed it was dark outside. "I suck at riddles!"

"I got it!" Nikita exclaimed, surprising him. "What? I'm real good with these."

Luke mock-bowed. "Lead the way, captain."

"So, the school's, like, guarded by a mummy or something. It always goes through the same hallways, so we gotta figure out what those are and avoid them. If we run into him, we're dead. So, each answer will be a riddle to the next one, til' we reach the key. The first one is a shovel, and there's only one place those are used in school."

Luke did not know what that place was.

"The gardening club, duh!"

Luke did not know schools had gardening clubs. "How do we figure out what routes to take?"

Nikita did not have the answer for that one.

"I guess we'll just listen for it. We need to be quiet."

It was as bad a plan as any, and they weren't getting better ones. Silent as possible, they went out into the corridor.

"Where would a gardening club be?" Luke said.

"No clue."

"So we don't know where to go or which route to take there?"

"Pretty much."

"Bring it on."