The Waltz of Crows and Magpies (Revamp)

Part .18.

"God..." I spoke as I walked deeper into the kitchen, Krow being right next to me. "She didn't see it coming." He remarked, kneeling down next to her corpse. It still shocked me how calm he was, going as far as getting close to it and all.

"Can you sniff anything out?" He asked, looking up at me as he repositioned his eyepatch. I got closer to him, kneeling down in the same position. "I'll try..." I said in a low voice, taking in a deep breath before sniffing in every scent around me.

Everything smelt of decay and blood, as well as the very odd stench of iron from the knives and forks thrown around in the kitchen. All of the blood was dried though, as if she had been in that state for hours on end.

There was one odd smell though, coming from Lindsey herself and her surroundings, it was a very thick stench, almost breathy and suffocating.

My eyes frantically glanced around the body, scanning it carefully before they fixated on a glistening substance sticking to her flesh, as well as on the floor in small drops. I already knew what it was, and the thought of it made me want to throw up.

"It's saliva." I stated as I watched Krow's eye widening from the shock. "Are you serious!?" He exclaimed, standing up frantically.

There was no other explanation to the cause of death, or the intentions of the attacker, but Lindsey was... "She was eaten alive." I remarked as I stood up after him, avoiding eye contact since I didn't want to observe how his reaction changed.

"...What?" He said fearfully, his voice indicating true concern and fatigue. "Is that even possible?" His knees felt as if they were getting weaker by the second.

"It has to be, there isn't another explanation." I tried my best to keep my voice calm in order to prevent anyone else from freaking out, it was no time to have another mass panic. "Fuck..." He muttered as he placed his hand on his head, getting frustrated.

"Krow, what's wrong?" I questioned as my palm rested against his shoulder, though he took some time to respond, "Then... the suspect can only be an Animal-type, specifically carnivorous." He remarked, his hand slumping down to his side.

He was right, the only type of monster that could've done that was a carnivore, but then again, there were a lot of us, and any of us could easily snap back to their instincts and urges... the more I looked at the people around us, the more I spotted carnivore species. A Hyena-Type, an Owl-Type, and a lot more, but I was unable to analyze each of them since I was too stressed out and panicked.

Anything could happen, and it could be any of us, that thought alone was dreadful to me. "Also, Krow, what happened to the costume you wore at the party?" I asked him, recalling the piece of information that Charles told me.

"Uh...It's probably in the storage room, along with everyone else's, why?" He tilted his head in confusion, before I jumped back with another question, "Can we go check it out?".

He looked at me intently, not knowing exactly what to make of my intentions, "Sure." He spoke, walking out of the kitchen. I followed after him eagerly, hoping to find something helpful.

The walk felt extremely long, since both of us were dead silent, lost on what to talk about or what to do to entertain us. Eventually, we reached a large staircase behind the one on the left wing, leading down to a dark and empty hallway, some small pieces of rubble and dust floating around the atmosphere as we walked down.

It reeked of old furniture and thick dust, blocking my sense of smell completely. "We haven't cleaned this in years..." He remarked, pushing away random empty boxes to clear the way to where the costumes were, and after a few minutes of rummaging around, he found them tucked away under a crate.