Zodiac Murder Mystery

01:30

Scorpio p.o.v

Scorpio took a sip from his can and made a face, his shudder accidently knocking the door behind him. He hated the taste of alcohol, but his nerves needed settling. Taurus had sat next to him again, and had already drowned half of her drink. Unlike him, she was unfazed by the taste. Her dark eyes glistened in the candlelight. Scorpio could tell she was trying not to cry. An unexplainable urge to put him arm around her overtook him, and she leaned her head onto his shoulder. Scorpio couldn't help but feel slightly more relaxed in her presence.

He looked back up around the attic. Aries and Virgo were urgently talking quietly, occasionally glancing at the small bottle, perhaps trying to figure out what the unknown substance was. Libra was kneeling next to Cancer, checking his temperature. Her worried expression suggested he was not doing well and that their homemade medicine hadn't worked. Cancer was half asleep now, his eyes kept on closing but snapped open immediately, as if he was forcing himself to stay awake. Scorpio never liked the guy, but seeing someone in so much pain made his heart ache. 

"We have to figure something out." Taurus murmured.

Scorpio nodded, "I agree. We've lost too many people, this has to stop."

"How do we not know who the killer is yet?" Virgo put in.

"We did say Ophiuchus." Taurus reminded him.

"Hang on, you can't be serious?" Libra said, looking over at them.

Aries frowned, "She was dead."

Scorpio rubbed his temple, "She might have faked it."

"As could anyone else!" Virgo sighed.

Scorpio put his hands together, "Let's go through each death in order."

"First there was Ophiuchus, who died around 6:30 pm." Taurus started, "And I found her in the kitchen with her throat sliced open."

"Then it was Aquarius, I found her outside a living room. She was killed with a broken glass." Virgo added.

"Then Pisces." Libra glanced at Cancer, who was mumbling quietly with his eyes closed, "He was stabbed in the chest while Cancer was stabbed in the shoulder."

"I think after that was Leo." Aries said, "She was strangled and Gemini was with her, holding her hand."

"Then Capricorn." Scorpio said in a hoarse voice, "I remember someone saying he had been suffocated."

"Uhh I think it was Gemini after that." Taurus said quietly, "She was pushed down the stairs."

"And last was Sagittarius." Libra said, "She was hit by a dart."

The group looked at each other, not knowing what to do with this information. It didn't tell them anything, it just made their situation even more real. Scorpio scratched his head and tried to think, but every death was impossible.

"Guys...I think we're going to have to add Cancer to the list." Aries said in a small voice.

Aries p.o.v

Aries stared at his immobile friend, not knowing what to do. Cancer's muttering had stopped and he now lay completely still. Aries couldn't see if his chest was moving or not. Libra was the first to react. She spun round and put two fingers to his throat. Aries looked at her, frozen. Libra's eyes were squeezed shut in concentration. Aries could feel his heart hammer in his chest as he feared yet another one of is loved ones were dead. 

"He's still alive." Libra said. A sigh of relief echoed in the room. "But he's not going to make it." Libra added sadly.

Aries shook his head in disbelief, "No, he will make it!" He said loudly, almost shouting.

Virgo placed a hand on his shoulder, "Aries." He said quietly, "Look at him. He needs to rest."

Aries couldn't believe what he was hearing, "How can you let him go? He's out friend!"

Aries looked at Virgo in the eyes, and noticed they were glassy with tears, "Trust me, I don't want to. But he can't carry on like this."

Taking a deep breath, he nodded, knowing Virgo was right. He crouched down next to Libra, who was stroking Cancer's sweaty hair out of his eyes. His eyelids fluttered slightly, as if he was dreaming. "Pi..." He murmured quietly in his uneasy sleep. He and Libra exchanged sorrowful expressions.

"We should leave him be." Aries finally said, her voice shaking.

Libra shook her head, "We can't let him die alone."

"At least make him more comfortable." Virgo said from behind them. He gabbed some sheets from some boxed and fashioned a makeshift mattress. The shifted Cancer onto it, surprisingly easily, and made him as comfortable as possible. All this time, he didn't wake up. Or maybe he just didn't have the energy to open his eyes anymore. 

Libra sat to one side of him, with Virgo and Aries on the other. Taurus and Scorpio didn't join them, presumably because they didn't know Cancer all that well. Aries looked back at Cancer. He was as white as paper, his skin sticky with sweat and his breathing was so shallow it was barely noticeable. Aries' vision blurred as he waited for the inevitable to happen.

Virgo p.o.v

Cancer was gone within ten minutes. Virgo watched, unable to do anything for his friend, as each breath became smaller and smaller. When his chest finally stopped moving, Virgo did nothing, he just stared at his friend's corpse, his whole body numb. His friends felt the same. Virgo let out the air he had unconsciously been holding in. Some part of him was glad that Cancer was no longer suffering.

Virgo got up and found a clean sheet at the bottom of a box. He slowly draped it over is deceased friend. Libra gave Cancer a small kiss on the forehead before Virgo covered his head. This was not a nice way to go, Virgo thought. Without looking back, in fear of breaking down, he made his way to Scorpio and Taurus, and sat down with them. Aries and Libra joined him.  

"What do we do now?" Virgo finally asked. Truth was, he had never felt to utterly lost in his life.

No one answered. "We need to stick together." Taurus finally stated, "We can't give the murderer another opportunity to kill anyone else." 

"But what if it's one of us?" Libra said quietly, voicing Virgo's suspicions.

"It could be." Scorpio relied, "But I don't know how one of us could have physically killed everyone." 

Virgo let out a frustrated grunt. He hated not knowing. He grabbed the vodka bottle and drank one, two, three gulps. He winced as the strong alcohol burned his mouth and throat. His grief cleared a little as the alcohol took effect, and was able to think more straight. "As long as everyone is in everyone's sight, we should be safe."

"Emphasis on the word 'should'" Taurus muttered.

Libra wacked her arm, "Virgo's right. It would be too risky for someone to attack."

"If you say so," Taurus replied, clearly not convinced.

"What if we need to pee?" Aries piped up.

"We don't." Virgo said pointedly.

"Speak for yourself." Aries replied, shifting uncomfortably.

Virgo felt something tug at his sleeve. Scorpio was looked at him, alarmed. "Uhhh, the liquid in the bottle's gone."

Virgo looked at the vile. It was right where they had left it, only the cap was off and not a drop of the strange substance remained. Virgo's stomach dropped as the small group looked at each other in fear. They were all thinking the same thing: one person had ingested the liquid unknowingly. But the question was, who?