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1 AM

It's a little past 12 and I can't keep my eyes open. Every now and then I fall asleep. But then, something woke me up. My face was wet.

"Huh?" When I looked up, I could see Rita squirting a lemon onto a dish. It didn't look good but smelled amazing. "What are you making?" I asked. Doesn't look like anything I've had but it did smell like it. 

"Uh... It's a traditional dish my family used to make" Rita said, continuing to squeeze the lemon. "Oh, that's nice" I complimented "It smells really good". "Thanks".

I wanted to go back to sleep. I'm not used to staying up.

"Hey!" I looked up to see a boy with a yellow jacket. He wrapped his arm around my neck as if I'm his best friend who he knew all his life. "You're Carlos, right?" he asked. "Yeah, who are you?" For some reason, I haven't seen him, even though his bright yellow stands out. 

"My name's Jackson" He unwrapped his arm off my neck and looked at Rita and Chlorine. He had a disgusted face on. I wonder if it's from the food or how they look. Which, either way, is rude. "Who are they?" he looked over his shoulder. "That's Rita and that's Chlorine" I replied, pointing at who's who. "OK" he sighed. Jackson grabbed a stool and pulled it close. "Hey, if Mason wasn't the murderer, then who do you think it is?" he stared deep into my eyes.

"Well... I don't know" I shrugged my shoulders. He looked disappointed. Hey, it's not my fault! There's about 15 people under this roof. It could be anyone. When I looked up to meet Jackson's eyes, he was staring off to his right. Then, he suddenly looked at me.

"Carlos, come with me" he whispered. Jackson got up and started walking towards the office. He probably didn't want anyone  to know. I made sure Rita and Chlorine weren't looking. They seemed to enjoy their meal. I got up and followed Jackson.

Vinny fell asleep on JoJo's laps. He seemed to have calmed down. JoJo stayed awake but looked extremely tired. "Hey, JoJo, you can sleep if you want" I suggested. He really needed it. He tried to keep his brother from being scared all night.

"It's ok" he smiled "I want to keep Vinny safe". "Whatever you say" I turned around and saw other people asleep. But, something caught my eye.  I saw a boy going into the office with, who seemed to be, Carlos. I didn't like the way it looked. It seemed... suspicious.

I followed them but stayed outside the door. I could hear what they're saying clearly.

"So, Carlos, wanna work together?"

                                                                                                    ***

I was surprised by Jackson's question. What do I say? I'm already working with Rita and Chlorine. But I can't say no. "Uh... Can you let me think about it?" I asked. I obviously sounded like I didn't wanna work with him. "Oh, sure! Take your time. I know it's not easy to trust someone". He gave me half a smile. He was upset that I didn't trust him. " I need to tell you something" Jackson suddenly announced. Before I could reply, the door swung open.

"Oh, hello! Sorry, I think I dropped something" The girl quickly went up to the desk and looked around. Moments later, she left.

                                                                                                   ***

Prasiddhi gave me an uneasy feeling. What was she doing outside the door? Was she trying to listen to what I was saying to Carlos? That's rude.

I looked at Carlos and he looked at me. Was he thinking the same thing I was?

"What were you saying?" Carlos looked at me in confusion. I just stared. "What?" I made myself as if I didn't hear him. "You wanted to tell me something". He tried to find the expression on my face, but there wasn't any. "Oh nothing" I lied "Never mind". I shrugged my shoulders and left the office. I really wanted to tell him.

                                                                                                   *** 

The TV was on but it was quiet, since most people are sleeping. Austin fell asleep. Amani was close to asleep but watched the somewhat channel. The was no remote, only a power button. So whatever came on, we watched.

"Hey, Elizabeth, do you think we'll survive?" Amani continued to stare at the small screen. "Of course" I said. I wasn't confident, though. Adanna had been removed and so had Mason. I wonder where Mason went.

"It's cold" Amani shivered. She put her hands in her pocket. She seemed confused. She wiggled her hand and pulled something out. "A muffin?" Amani and I were surprised. Where did that muffin come from? She took a sniff then a small bite. "Yum!" she cheered. Amani started to eat more of the muffin until there was nothing left.

Austin woke up and looked at Amani. There was crumbs all over her face. He started to smile. "Did you get a muffin?" he asked. It sounded like he already knew the answer. "Yes! How did you know?" her excitement turned into curiosity. "Well," he leaned in close and whispered " I'm the muffin man".

Something happened. The lights started to flicker, everyone woke up in fright, then it became dark.

"-It's 1 AM the lights flicker out-"

"-It's time for the murderer to play-"

It's so dark. I can hear whimpering from Vinny and screaming from everyone else. I grab my medical kit and press JoJo's name. I really wanted to save Carlos because something felt off with the boy in yellow. Then, the lights turned on slowly.

"-The lights have turned on-"

"-Wait... something seems off-"

"-Oh my! It appears one had died-"

"-The house guest, Albert, has been murdered-"

"-He has died in his sleep-"

Albert wasn't sleeping in the living room with everyone else. Carlos turned around and went to the bedroom. There he was. He looked like he was sleeping. Carlos checked for a heartbeat. He turned around to face everyone and shook his head. Zahrah started to cry. Annie looked at her with suspicion. "Zahrah, every time someone dies, you always cry" She put her hands on her hips. "I'm crying because it's sad to lose people" Zahrah continued to cry.

"-I have news from our Investigator  of who the murderer might be-"

"-The Investigator thinks Zahrah is the murderer-"

"What!?" Zahrah screeched "How could it be me?" "You always cry and it seems fake" Annie pointed out. Everyone thought about this and started to whisper to each other. Zahrah looked at everyone.

"-It's time for the house guests to vote-"

It was quiet. Everyone picked their vote.

"-Let's see who the house guests accused as murderer-"

"-The guests believe Zahrah is the murderer-"

"-This conclusion is... Incorrect-"

Zahrah put her hands over her eyes and disappeared. Everyone stood still.