The 7 Nights of Halloween

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

       I was itching to complain about these stupid masquerade costumes, but Ray said I could take off his clothes when we got home so... Yeah, I would much rather do that than not do that. 

       Now that it was Halloween, we received the final task. Not too many details were given about it. We were just given an address we had to go to at a specific time. They assured us there wouldn't be any jump scares at all, so that meant Kotaro could come.

       Though, I wasn't sure if I could trust those scums when they said there wouldn't be any jump scares.

       We all got to the address, staring at the mansion in front of us. Whoever was behind this must have been rich. So why were they wasting their time messing with a new baseball team?

       "This... Whoa," Mason said.

       "Whoever is behind this can blackmail me any day," Maddox said. 

       Daisuke sighed. "That's not what we should be thinking about right now, Maddox."

       "That's all I'm going to be thinking about," Maddox said. "I mean, look at the driveway! It's enough to fit all six of our cars plus their two cars that are already here. You're telling me you don't want them to blackmail me."

       "I want them to blackmail me!" Ray said. 

       "You already think that you're friends with them," I said. "And that's still not happening."

       Ray huffed. "My boyfriend is so mean to me."

       "Sorry for not wanting you to associate with people who are forcing us to do things against our will."

       "But... But they told me to have a good day. And that I'm their favourite. And they were nice enough to let me sleep during the movie because I'm blind. They're not that bad."

       I snorted. "Sure."

       "We should head inside now," Mason said. "The sooner we go in, the faster we can finish whatever they have planned, and the sooner we can head home and hopefully be done with these tasks."

       The twelve of us, plus Kotaro, headed into the mansion, which was decorated with many Halloween decorations. As soon as we walked in, a voice coming from the intercom, with a voice modulator, said, "Welcome. To the murder mystery party."

       "Wait," Sterling said. "Murder mystery party?"

       "You've got to be kidding me," I said. "I couldn't just wear regular-- I mean, wow, how fun."

       "Nice save, Archie," Ray said.

       "Since I caught myself, is the promise still in tact?"

       "Yep!"

       "Since this a murder mystery party, who's dead?" Maddox asked. "Who died? Is it Nico?"

       "I'm right here," Nico said.

       The lights suddenly went out, as well as any lit Halloween decorations. The room was pitch black, and I couldn't make out a single thing in front of me. Not Ray, not Kotaro, not anyone on the team. I couldn't even see my hands if I held them up to my face.

       "Uh, why did the lights go out?" Nico asked. "I can't see anything."

      Ray laughed. "Now you guys know how I live. Everyday. Of my life."

       "Wanna find you there, wanna hold on tight," Maddox said.

       "Now isn't the time to quote Disney," Mason said.

       "It's always the time to quote Disney," Maddox said. "And the fact that you don't think so... It hurts, Mason. I thought you were a better Mom than this."

       "Are we just going to stand here?" Sterling asked.

       "The lights will probably turn on soon," Daisuke said.

       He was right. They did.

       The only issue was one of us was now missing.

       "Where's Ray?" I asked. "And Kotaro? Don't... Don't tell me those fucking pricks took him."

       "Maybe he just started walking somewhere on his own," Mason said. "You know he likes doing that."

       That was true. Ray probably thought Kotaro could find his way around somewhere since he had a lot better vision in the dark than us humans.

       "Hello again, everyone," the voice said. "Would you please head to the room on the right? That's the dining room and where the murder mystery will be taking place. Oh, and by the way, it was Ray who was murdered."

       "Excuse me?" I asked. "You fucking chose the blind one? At least choose Nico. No one wants him here."

       "You know what?" Nico began, but he wasn't even able to finish his sentence.

       "Oh, don't worry," the voice said. "We're taking good care of Ray here."

       Daisuke's phone dinged with an email, so he pulled his phone out of his pocket to check it. Surely enough, it was from the masterminds. Daisuke showed it to me; it was a picture of Ray sitting on a bed, eating a burrito bowl. That was one of his favourite meals.

       Kotaro was sitting at the foot of the bed, enjoying a doggy bone.

       "We love Ray," the voice said. "He's the nicest out of all of you."

       "You still could have taken Nico," Mo said. "We want Ray here."

       "We'll get Ray back," Mason said. "As much as I want to kill whoever touched him, I think we should just do the murder mystery. It won't be too bad, and I've always wanted to try one."

       I scowled. "I would much rather have my boyfriend."

       Daisuke patted my back. "Like Mason said, we'll get Ray back. He was only taken because he's the 'victim' in the game. They're treating him well. Let's just go to the dining room. Who knows? There might be food there."

       "Food!" Maddox said, rushing to the dining room.

       Daisuke, once again, was right. There was food in the dining room, all laid out on the table. Chicken wings, pigs in a blanket, chips and dip, charcuterie board, sandwiches, and a lot more. 

       As delicious as all this food looked, I would much rather have my boyfriend. 

       "Alright, this is where we're going to begin," the voice said. "Our sweet, sweet Ray--"

       "My Ray," I corrected.

       "Was murdered. In the dining room, and the kitchen beside it, are various clues. You must work together to solve the mystery. However, one of Ray's friends is the murderer. We may have contacted one of you beforehand to let you know. And whoever did it, let's just say they're amazing at keeping secrets."

       "Well, it's definitely not Maddox," Giovanni said.

       "You don't know that," Maddox said. "I could have gone to the dark side. Maybe I was jealous that Ray has an amazingly cute dog and a hunk of a boyfriend. Maybe I wanted Kotaro and Archer for myself. I can do crazy things."

       "So... It was you?" Stetson asked.

       "Oh, no," Maddox said. "It wasn't. I'm just saying, it's not fair to say I couldn't have done it. I want you all to suspect me."

       Mason sighed. "This is going to be a long night."

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i might try extending the murder mystery a few chapters so i don't finish this too early hehehe. 

so who do you think is the murderer????? is it maddox? is it mason? is it everyone all together? who knows?