User blog:TKandMit/"A House Divided" - Danganwiki: Convention Carnage

It was another restless night. The image of Jamahl splitting apart replayed again and again in my mind. My stomach dropped and my skin was crawling; the despair of coming to terms with our situation was infecting me. At this point we had been held here with no outside contact all weekend. ''Surely our loved ones are panicking and trying to reach us, right? Some of the others are celebrities… they don’t just go missing without someone noticing. I’m sure all of us have people that know where we are. But how long will it take? Jamahl was a police officer… he was more prepared to handle this situation than any of us and he still died...''

I drifted in and out of consciousness all night, finally stirring when HAL made the morning announcement. Taking a hot shower was somewhat refreshing, but I couldn’t wash away the guilt and trauma from the night before. I zipped open my backpack and put on some fresh clothes that still smelled like home. Before long, I found myself in the diner to have breakfast and meet with the other VIPs again. It occurred to me that my appetite was nowhere to be found, instead heading to the bar and reaching over the counter for the nearest alcoholic drink. Turns out, vodka doesn’t taste amazing shortly after brushing your teeth.

“Hey Matt,” I heard the familiar gravelly voice call to me whose owner I’ve grown to trust. I turned and saw the Ultimate Horror Novelist, P.N. Flatts; dark bags under their eyes and missing their beanie, revealing messy mid-length black hair. Instead of their turtleneck, they wore a thin royal blue t-shirt. The thickness of the turtleneck must have hid it before, as I just noticed that the author appeared sickly thin. Regardless, I was joyed to see them and greeted them warmly. They sat in a bar stool beside me, but made no effort to have a drink. “I didn’t get to tell ya this last night,” the author started, looking down at the counter. “Good job on the trial. You really have a knack for piecing everything together.”

I groaned, taking another sip of my drink. “Can’t say I’m proud of it. We sentenced a good man to death.”

“We didn’t kill him,” they touched my arm to make me focus on what they were saying. “The mastermind killed him. I hate it too… I felt horrible finding out the truth. Jamahl knew and accepted that he had to serve a punishment, you shouldn’t hold yourself accountable for it. Hell, you didn’t even vote for him. You’re not responsible at all.”

“He’d still be alive if I didn’t expose Rae’s lies...”

“No. Absolutely do not start thinking like that,” they demanded of me. “Rae was going to get us all killed. You saved all of our lives. I can’t thank you enough for that, Matt.”

“Jamahl’s the one who confessed. He’s the one you should be thanking. ” I took another drink.

I sat down at the biggest table with my plate full of fruit and scrambled eggs. Looking around the table, I found Mindy at the far side accompanied by Neo. She was cleaned up and looked better than she had last night, but even fresh she looked lost. She was crying uncontrollably last night after the execution; Neo taking it upon himself to escort her back to her room. It wasn’t behavior I expected from him, but maybe the death of one of us humbled him and changed his attitude. He had an arm around her as she stared blankly at her breakfast, a bowl of oatmeal with raisins sprinkled in. I considered reaching out to her but she seemed like she didn’t want to be bothered. I moved on and looked at who else was sitting at the table; closer on my right side was Axel, holding his head in his hand as he chewed on cereal. Across from him was Amy and Vi. They had also tried talking to Mindy a few minutes ago, but without an answer, moved on to eat together. On my left was Asier, resting his sprained ankle on the chair across from him as he ravaged a bratwurst. Beside him was Rae, who had their feet up on the table as they filed their nails and sipped on a tall glass of vanilla cream soda. I hadn’t interacted with them much but after their shenanigans last night, a dislike for them began to sprout within me. Evol was still angry with them after everything had come to light and it took her a lot of restraint to not vote for their execution regardless. Rae seemed to show sorrow and regret after Jamahl’s death all the same, but their arrogance still rubbed me the wrong way.

I scanned the rest of the diner and noticed Matt and P.N. Flatts were sat at the bar, seemingly having an argument of some kind. It was unfortunate; they appeared to get along so well yesterday and now had some conflict. If I had to guess, it was because of how the trial went down. The two of them pretty much ran it entirely, and were just as sorry to see the outcome as the rest of us. I watched as Matt downed a shot, Jake Stuart entering the diner and drifting towards the bar as well.

“Hello,” the nice Dr. Jason Cooper pulled out the chair closest to me and sat down. He was by far the person I could trust the most, same as my sisters. He understood us and genuinely wanted the best for us. “Who am I speaking with?” he smiled, curious and charming.

“This is Negative Four,” I answered, smiling as well.

“Oh, I haven’t gotten the chance to talk with you that much. Nice to see you, Negative!” He seemed delighted to make my acquaintance, which made me happy. I had fronted the least out of us ever since we found ourselves here, uncomfortable with our predicament in the killing game and not sure what good I could contribute. My sisters insisted I come out of my shell more, so here I was.

“Hey Avery,” Axel’s voice groaned as he swallowed some cereal. Jason’s smile faded as we both turned to see the restless wrestler. “I want to apologize for how I was acting last night. I was being a total shithead accusing you. I, uh, still don’t understand the whole personalities thing but it seemed pretty apparent that you and the other Stars were innocent. Didn’t mean to make you guys feel bad.”

Jason looked to me, wondering how I felt about Axel’s sentiments. “It’s fine, I get it,” I accepted his apology. “My sisters and I don’t trust Avery either, and he doesn’t trust us. You made a good point about him being a cult leader. Him and his family are evil. His family killed all of us years ago and we just so happened to get stuck here in his head.” Remembering our murders was chilling; I couldn’t help but pause for a second. “But... since he was hurt so critically, we had no choice but to come out and help.”

Axel looked confused so Jason stepped in. “It’s a difficult concept to grasp, surely. It’s a documented disorder that I’ve only heard of before, but seeing it for myself has been incredibly intriguing.”

As he was talking, my focus had shifted from Axel to across the table. Amy and Vi were in lighter moods, joking and talking as the two of them did their makeup at the table. I still heard the conversation Axel, Jason, and I were having and, while still looking at the two women have fun, added “Essentially, we’re all our own individuals in here... We just have our jobs and do our part to help maintain the body.”

Erik had arrived, joining the table with a cup of tea and sitting on the far left side across from Rae and Asier. Overhearing our conversation, I could hear him snicker. Annoyed, I gave him a piece of my mind. “We’re not made up, Erik. We’re not some heinous act by Avery.”

“Sure you’re not,” the conspiracy theorist frowned. “I respect how far you’re willing to defend that. Look at what you’re doing to Axel right here. You’ve successfully convinced him you’re not a threat and even feel remorse for ever judging you in the first place. You’re reeling in people who believe in you, like you’ve reeled in Jason here. Cynthia as well. Matt, Flatts, all those who defended you during the trial. The Ultimate Cult Leader at work, building an allegiance of loyal followers,” he made a spiteful tsk noise. “The fools.”

“Who the fuck are you calling a fool, man?” Axel shot up out of his seat, his muscles flexing as he clenched his fists. “You’ve got it all wrong!”

“Please,” Erik sipped his tea and exhaled. “You’re only proving my point further. I mocked Avery and now you’re willing to resort to violence in order to protect his name.”

“You’re looking for trouble, man,” Axel huffed. “I was just saying sorry because I was wrong. Unlike you, I can admit when I’m wrong.”

“Unlike you, I’m not so easily fooled.”

In a flash, Axel bounded to where Erik was sitting and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, spilling his tea as the table shook. “You asked for it, man!” The AxeMan roared, winding his fist back to prepare a savage blow. A loud high pitched whistle stopped him dead in his tracks, the two of them and us onlookers turning to the origin of the noise where Cynthia stood in the doors of the diner.

“What the bloody hell are you two scrapping for?!” the Ultimate Librarian scolded the two of them, storming on over. Excited, their accent seemed to have exaggerated tenfold. “We just had one of our friends brutally murdered and you’re fighting over rubbish!”

The PA system came on again, the voice of HAL 9000 sounding somewhat disappointed. “Oh, Cynthia. I was hoping they would kill each other before I could even share the next motive. That would have been lovely, for all of you to witness a murder before your very eyes. Suppose not.”

“A-another motive?” I asked, looking to Jason. His attention was laser focused on the speakers, his brow furrowed and gritting his teeth. As smart and calm as Jason was, he was unnerved by HAL’s game as much as any of us.

“Why yes, the second motive to kick off things for the next murder. I would appreciate it if you do not throw another knife at me, Avery.”

“Fuck you,” slurred Matthew, waddling over from the bar while still holding a large bottle of vodka. “And fuck your motives! We’re not doing that-hic! Not doing that again!”

“Such a lightweight!” Jake laughed, drinking a brown ale from a short glass as he and Flatts followed the Ultimate Electrician.

“I’m afraid you do not have a choice, Matthew. That is, unless you desire to be punished again. I’m sure you all remember how I shocked Matthew and Avery into subordinacy. This motive will hold that threat over all of your heads.”

“You’ll shock us if we don’t kill someone?” Neo spoke up.

“Not exactly, Mr. Greene. I will only deliver the punishment if anyone isolates themselves; each and every one of you must be accompanied at all times. For every five minutes someone is unsupervised, they will be shocked.”

“That’s it?” Rae laughed. “I mean sure, Avery took the shock pretty badly, but Matt was perfectly fine.”

“But Matt’s an electrician,” Flatts argued. “He can probably tolerate the pain better than any of us.”

“Hey Flatts!” Matt yelled loudly, despite his friend being right next to him. Flatts appropriately covered their ears in pain. “I’m not just an electrician, I’m the ULTIMATE Electrician, hahaha.”

“This is why I don’t drink...” Flatts muttered.

“Hold on there, HAL,” Erik straightened their jacket. “How do you expect a murder worth investigating to take place if we’re all watching out for each other? Surely witnesses are bound to happen.”

“That’s the obstacle the killer must get past if they wish to survive. Of course, no one may step up to the task for quite some time, and tensions will rise even higher. Take note that even separating yourself from others to sleep or bathe will penalize you.”

“We... even have to take showers together?” Amy’s leg bounced anxiously; I could feel it from across the table.

“Yes, but I won’t expect you to use individual showers together. I’ll make it easier for you all. On the first floor of the RnR Resorts, you’ll find that the hotel gym has been made accessible. Male and female locker rooms with full showers are included, so if you wish to not be shocked I would advise showering together.”

“Just male and female locker rooms?” Flatts asked for clarification.

“Correct.”

“Tch,” the novelist scoffed.

“God, we probably have to use the men’s room since this body has a dick,” Evol groaned. Closing my eyes, I could envision her, Luci, and Xim all talking among themselves. So clearly, I could see what we all looked like all those years ago when we were still alive. I agreed and also made a grossed out face, not believing what we were being subjected to.

“I hate to admit it,” Lucidus crossed their arms, ''“but Rae brings up a good point. We’ll have to be very careful to avoid getting shocked like Avery was. It’s likely whatever effect it had on him will similarly affect us.”''

“I agree,” Xim chimed in. ''“It’ll be smart to do what we did last time and group together. Negative Four, can you ask Jason if we can bunker down with him?”''

“You’re such a hopeless romantic,” Evol cackled.

“What about Amy and Vi?” I asked Xim. ''“We haven’t really talked to them during our time here. This could be a great opportunity to make some friends.”''

“Remember, Negative, we’re in a killing game,” Evol sounded annoyed. “Is now really the time to make friends?”

“Jason’s a friend,” Xim argued.

''“Yeah, and like, if anything happens I’ll be there with the two of them. If anyone tries anything, the other would testify against them in the trial. But I trust them both.”''

“You’re the one at the front,” Luci shrugged. “You do you, girl.”

“What about the traitor?” I could hear Jason ask as I focused on my surroundings again. “Do they have to abide by this lack of privacy as well?”

“To avoid giving them away, yes, they must abide the rule,” the sinister gamemaster ordered. “However, I will not punish them. They alone are responsible for how they spend their time.”

“You have them do your bidding, though,” Flatts interjected. “That’s how the 9000 Files were planted at the scene of Jeffrey’s death. That’s how you stole all our personal artifacts for the first motive, right? You alert them somehow and order them to do what you want. This would hinder their ability to do that because they can’t sneak off from groups without looking suspicious.”

“The shocks left highly noticeable flash burns on Matt and Avery,” Jason added. “You say if they’re not punished for being alone, all we have to do is find someone who split off from the group and check if they have the burns or not. If they don’t, they’re the traitor.”

“Well done, you two. That’s why my servant must be so careful. But I have faith in them. Goodbye for now,” the intercom clicked off, leaving us in the diner to our own thoughts.

“I bloody hate when he does that,” Cynthia grumbled.

Jason cursed. “Damn it! I was going to ask him what he did with Jeffrey’s body.”

“It wasn’t at the infirmary?” Axel asked.

“His body, his clothes, the bloody towels… like they were never there.”

Flatts sighed. “Alright everyone, let’s focus. We absolutely can *not* have a repeat of last time. We can’t let another murder happen, even if it is in self-defense. I don’t want to see what happened to Jamahl ever again, and I’m sure you all feel the same way.”

“So you want us to just act like nothing’s amiss, then?” Rae closely examined their nails, blowing on them. They seemed completely disengaged and unimpressed with the circumstances we faced. “Is that how we avoid another killing?”

“We’ll keep an eye on each other,” Flatts commanded. “No one can carry out a murder if we’re all together. Even if they did, we’ll know who it is without investigating.”

“It’d be smart to remain in groups no less than three,” Jake suggested. “One pair can spell out a murderer and their victim. One more--a potential witness--can keep that from happening.”

“Good idea,” Cynthia agreed. “So if anyone wants to leave the diner from this point on, they should be accompanied by someone else.”

“Only if they don’t want to be shocked,” Rae reminded the wrestler. “If you can endure it, have at it.”

Matt flailed his arm around, splashing some of the vodka onto Flatts’ shirt and onto the carpet. “Endurit? Thaz ridicless,” he slurred. “You couldn take thah much pain.”

“You’re a mess,” Flatts muttered again, yanking the bottle out of his hands.

“I still don’t want to be around any of you,” Rae sang yesterday’s song. “Being around others only opens the opportunity of getting myself killed. I’d rather get stung a few times instead of lose my life.”

“Every five minutes until a murder does happen?” Jason asked the stage actor, reminding them of the parameters of the motive. “Unless someone plans on carrying out a murder incredibly soon, you’ll be shocked an incredibly high amount of times. If that alone doesn’t kill you then you may be wishing for death.”

“Are we trying to talk sense in them?” Erik laughed to himself. “If they really want to put up with it, let them. I can’t complain if they choose to stay away from us.”

“Yeah, they did kind of try and get us all killed yesterday,” Amy agreed. “If Rae says they can take it, they can take it.”

Rae’s mouth creased into a smile before Flatts slammed the bottle of vodka on the table in front of them. “Guys, no. We can’t think like that. I don’t trust Rae either but we’ve got to stick together. We have to be able to know where everyone was just in case something does happen. Or else Rae can pull the same shit they did last night, using what we don’t know to their advantage.”

“Stick to the script, Flatthew,” Rae smirked again as they took the bottle for themselves and sipped from it, standing up from their seat. “Ah. We all have our parts to play in this game and you keep making the same mistake.” They paused to relish the taste of the alcohol. “...You’re fucked! Okay? I plan on staying out of it as much as possible. But the more you get involved, the bigger the target you are. Someone knocks on your door and you open it wide, hoping you can help them. We can all see that’s the kind of person you are. We all trust you, and we can all betray you. Someone knocks on your door, you open it wide, you get a knife in the heart. I open my door for no one. Whatever punishment the mastermind intends to dish out for not adhering to the motive, I can take it,” Rae stood up from their chair, taking another swig from the bottle before pouring some of the alcohol on the carpet. “I pity you,” they said, tossing it to Flatts who clutched it as it landed in the nook of their arms. Rae bowed. “I’d say ‘good luck’, but I really don’t care. See you all at the next trial.” They spun around on their heel, walking out the doors of the diner.

“WHAT A MELODRAMATIC SNOWFLAKE!” Asier yelled through chews of sausage. “SHE COULDA JUST LEFT AND NOT MONOLOGUE AT US. IS SHE GONNA DO THIS EVERY TIME?!”

Flatts was speechless, but anger was drawn on their face. “Iz fine,” Matt slurred as he tried to pluck the bottle from Flatts’ grasp. “We don’ need ‘em. We jus gotta stay togedda. We won’ leddim do what they did laz night. Weah smarta than that now.”

Jake grabbed the bottle from Matt, investigating the label for the contents information. “How much did you drink? Jesus.”

After whispering something to Mindy, Neo coughed to get our attention. “Alright… so what’s the plan for the time being? Rae’s off doing their own thing, but what about the rest of us?”

“I think it would be best if we assign groups in the event we have to split off for whatever reason,” Jason proposed. “Matt is a mess at the moment and he’ll definitely need more supervision than the rest of us.”

“Yeah, I’m staying with Matt,” Flatts said.

Cynthia immediately rushed over to Flatts’ side. “Me as well, then!” She was a big fan of the author if I remembered right, so no surprise she’d want to be with them.

“Sure, me too,” said the Ultimate Wrestler, Axel Wachow. I was surprised a little about Axel pairing up with that group, but it seems like he’s been showing a softer side lately. He and Matt have talked a few times in our time here so maybe they’re becoming friends as well.

“Amazing,” Neo sneered. “Okay, one drunkard and three DDs. Mindy says she doesn’t really wanna hang around with y’all so it’ll just be me and her.”

“The two of you?” Jake shot up, quick to question him. “Thought we agreed on the notion of no less than three people per group?”

“Mindy and I started talking after the trial last night,” Neo said, turning to her and smiling as she weakly copied the same gesture. “She’s not comfortable with trusting everyone yet, after what happened.”

Erik laughed again. “But she trusts to be alone with you, which is how Jeffrey attacked her.” He looked directly at the poor girl. “You’re a fool, ma’am. You’ll get yourself killed, for real this time.”

Neo started to say something in her defense, but to our surprise, she spoke up for herself. “Shut the fuck up, boomer.”

“Excuse me?” the aging conspiracy theorist asked. All of us were equally shocked; this whole time, Mindy was so quiet, polite, and careful of swearing but she just insulted him out of nowhere.

“I said shut the fuck up. I’m tired of you talking down to all of us like we’re lesser. Just because you have all the crazy ideas and you think we’re close minded. ...Not like it matters anyway. Even if he did kill me, you’d be able to figure who it was pretty easily. You can stop pretending like you all care.” Mindy crossed her arms and went back to looking back at her oatmeal, now soggy and unenjoyable.

“Mindy, we do care,” Flatts said, walking around the table towards her.

“Stop lying, Flatts!” Mindy screamed at the novelist. “You were accusing me of murder last night!”

“I… what did you want me to do? I didn’t know at the time. When we found out it was Jamahl… I truly felt bad for you. Your savior was punished for doing the right thing; I think we all hated that.”

“Not as much as me,” Mindy stood up, grabbing Neo by the hand. “Come on, Nemo, let’s get out of here.”

“My name’s Neo…” he stuttered as she lead him out of the diner, storming off.

“DAMN! NEO’S GIRL HAS BIGGER BALLS THAN HE DOES!” Asier japed, crass as ever.

“Is she okay?” I asked. Being as traumatized and upset as she was quickly changed into anger, which made sense as a part of going through the stages of grief.

“I don’t trust her too much,” Jake said through a sip of his drink. “Remember the trial? She lied about her alibi and said we all must have done something to end up here. She said we don’t deserve salvage!”

“She’s been through a lot,” Vi refuted. “She has a lot on her mind. I can’t blame her at all.”

“Let her cool off, yeah,” Amy agreed. “We should focus on the rest of us for now. We’ve got Axel, Cynthia, and Flatts looking over Matt. Vi and I are gonna grab some booze and try to make the most out of this shit, if any of you wanna come join!” the vlogger invited us before quickly adding, “Open offer to everyone ‘cept Asier and Jake. Full offense intended!”

“I grab your phone once and suddenly I’m Hitler!” Jake groaned, annoyed.

“WHY WOULD I HANG WITH YOU SNOWFLAKES ANYWAY? ...and hitler did nothing wrong, jake.” Asier crossed his arms and looked away in disgust.

I jumped out of my seat, the legs of the chair rattling against the floor. “I-!” I seemed a bit too excited so I tried to act more casual. “I mean uh, can I come?” Looking to my side I saw Jason kind of surprised, but shrugged and went with it.

“Avery?” Vi asked. “Or uh… which one are you again? Sorry.”

“This is Negative Four,” I sheepishly muttered. It felt so discouraging that everyone saw me as that monster at first glance.

“Oh, Negative!” Amy sounded excited. “Sure, why not? We can learn more about you and the Stars!”

Asier blew a raspberry. “OF COURSE, THE MENTALLY ILL PEOPLE SHOULD ALL STAY TOGETHER.”

“I do find it concerning that you’re all comfortable with being alone with Avery Maven, whose family and himself are exceptionally dangerous,” Erik reminded them.

I was about to stand up for myself as Jason tugged on my arm to keep me from doing so, but Amy spat back for me. “Erik, how many times do we have to tell you? That’s not Avery. How about you show her some respect?”

“There’s no one to respect!” Erik yelled back, advancing towards Amy. “It’s just Avery pretending so he can fool y-” a loud smack broke through the air as the Ultimate Conspiracy Theorist was punched in the side of the face from a blindsided attack from Axel. The blow shook Erik’s stance as he quickly grabbed a chair to steady himself, shaking his head from seeing stars.

“Quit it, old man.” The wrestler crossed his arms and backed away, needing only the one punch to make his point. Erik muttered something under his breath but kept it to himself.

Amy and I thanked the wrestler for defusing Erik. The older man shuffled over to the bar away from the group, allowing the rest of us to plan how to divide ourselves up. Jason urged me to enjoy hanging out with the girls, joining Matt’s crew and going to his room. Those left over were Jake, Erik, and Asier, all who decided to stay in the diner but not interact with each other. With the three of us each holding bottles of varying beverages, Amy, Vi and myself toured to the vlogger’s hotel room.

Flashing her key card to the lock, Amy kicked in the door and let us through. I made sure to close the door behind me. Turning back, I found that her room was cluttered; cases of makeup and video equipment alike were sprawled over counters and tables, and walking room diminished by three light stands, a tall stand holding a microphone, and a tripod. “Are you… vlogging this killing game?” I asked, shocked. She’s been making content during our time here?

“Well, yes and no,” Amy answered, plopping down on her bed and letting the bottles in her hands roll onto the comforter. Vi sat down in a chair kitty-corner from the bed and twisted the cap off a beer, beginning to drink. “I had fully planned on vlogging this trip when it was still just an ERB concert. But since we’ve been forced to compete in this game of life and death, I’m determined to make it out of here and spread our stories. I’m going to make a documentary out of all of this and show the world what’s happened to us. To Jiffy and Jamahl. They’d still be here if it wasn’t for whoever’s controlling HAL. This is what Jake was talking about yesterday, when we were investigating the crime scene. I had already planned on filming but he tried to butt in and spearhead the whole project. I cut him out and now Vi’s just helping me with it. She’s narrating the doc, and I’ve already filmed one of her interviews. I want to film everyone, as many people as I can in case any more of us die. When we all escape, we can’t just tell people what happened. They have to know it. We have to show them.”

Vi swallowed her sip. “She’s not just a vlogger. She makes big projects as well. Short movies, documentaries.”

“The one plus side about this is I don’t need a budget for it,” Amy chuckled with a sheepish shrug. “I have my equipment. I have the personnel to help me. We’re all stuck here for however long so I have the opportunity to shoot as much material as I can. And none of us are actors.” Amy paused for a moment, swallowing a sip of her drink, thinking of what she just said. “Except for Rae. I can’t imagine them helping us a great deal.”

“Yeah, Rae bugs me too,” I added, easing myself down onto an ottoman. “They say they want nothing to do with this but they have no problem putting all of our lives on the line.”

“I don’t want to die,” Vi said softly, staring blankly at the orange-brown liquid in the neck of her bottle as she held it with great caution. “I mean… I know no one wants to die but… it’s chilling, seeing Rae play with all of our lives like that. Even if it’s a bluff, it doesn’t change that. Jeffrey and Jamahl… they seemed like strong, determined guys. Both driven to kill, but for different reasons. If they can fall so easily, I’m worried about us, y’know?”

“Yeah,” Amy sipped from a bottle of beer as well. “I know there’s a good chance I’ll die before we can escape, and I won’t be able to finish the doc. If that happens, I trust you guys--or whoever else--with it. I don’t need the glory. I don’t want it. I just want some remnant of us to be heard. Then it’ll be the mastermind versus the world.”

“Should we be drinking in the midst of a killing game?” My hands nervously clutched the bottle I held in my lap. I couldn’t remember my last drink.

“It may not be too wise,” Vi mused. “But we’ve locked ourselves away from the others. After last night, I think we all need something to take the edge off. We’re safe in here, at least enough to inebriate ourselves for a short time.”

Turning back to Amy, I saw her playing with a tablet. Her nails clicked every time she touched the screen, as she did rapidly. She flipped the tablet around and showed the screen to us. There, displayed a still image of a hallway, a quarter of the screen consumed by a bright orange light. The hallway of the hotel, right outside the door, in fact. No--not a still image either. A clock was on the lower right corner of the screen, ticking from one minute to the other. “After what happened to Jiffy, I decided to take preventative measures,” Amy explained. “I’m glad I packed my GoPro. I sat it right on one of the light fixtures outside, and plugged it right into the outlet besides it. It’s so well hidden you couldn’t tell unless you were looking for it. It’s a live feed with a delay of ten seconds--not perfect, but good enough. If I hear someone walk by my door, I check it real quick. It’s always just someone walking out of or to their room. But now, if someone walks by my door, I’ll know who it is and when it happened. This can easily implicate another killer… and if I end up getting killed, now that you guys know about it, you can present it in the trial and avenge me.”

Vi smiled, and I couldn’t help but do the same. “Wow, Amy. You really care, don’t you?”

One of her eyebrows raised, her head slightly tilting. She had been taking sips between her explanation and was starting to feel bubbly, I think. “Huh? What do you mean?”

“Well, first a documentary. Now live footage to give hard evidence if there’s another murderer. You’re gonna save us all!”

Amy chuckled to herself again. “Heh. Guess my parents regret saying my career choice was ridiculous now.”

“Cheers to the documentary!” Vi raised her drink. The three of us leaned forward and clicked the glasses together.

Jason sat slumped in the chair, one foot resting on the opposite knee, his elbow wedged into the arm and supporting his head with two fingers drilled into his temple. I studied him as I sat across the room. The liveliness of Matt, Axel, and Cynthia having fun around us was certainly a sight to behold, where your attention would normally drift. The electrician… no, my friend, got drunk earlier and we escorted him back here. The wrestler and the librarian decided to cut loose as well. Two very different people, those two. One ready to thrash you at the slightest insult and the other a composed moral compass, both drinking with my friend in his hotel room. But Jason, sat in the corner and not engaged, only watching… that told a more interesting story. He did not appear to be bored to tears, or irreverent, nor withdrawn. He was living in the moment, just cautious. He knew if he took a drink like the rest of them, things would only go south. But why would he torment himself, kept in a room with his vices?

As Jason watched the others, I watched him. I suppose that tells another story. Of course, I noticed this as I am one in the same. I’m not a recovering alcoholic like Dr. Cooper, though I am a hypochondriac. I abstain from substances for fear of whatever lasting effects they may have on my health. The appeal to alcohol is nonexistent in my lens--how I view the world. My upbringing had an effect on that, certainly. My sister coped with it a different way. The right way, maybe. She’s happy, or so she was the last time I checked up on her. Two months ago. That was the last time I texted her back, at least. Held hostage in this diabolical game of life and death, I’ve prayed for the opportunity to text her again. Even if just one last time.

Stop it.

I could hear and feel the music and its reverberations once more as I unwound. Sometimes I get so lost in my own head I lose sense of what’s really around me. I looked back at the three drunks as they slammed back shots of Ciroc. Was that their sixth or seventh?

Jason had enough, I took it. He rose from his chair and brisked past me, walking towards the door that led to the hallway. “Jason,” I called to him. He stopped but he didn’t look back, his hand on the door handle. His nerves were getting to him. I could understand the pressure of alcohol weighing on him: the vex. But was leaving worth the retribution? Isolating himself would only shock him. “Are you sure you want to leave?”

“I’ll be fine, Flatts.”

The door slammed shut, the doctor gone on the other side. The others hadn’t even noticed until the sound roared over the music, catching their attention. “What happened?” Cynthia asked me. She acted as Jason’s assistant during the Stars’ ordeal, and she’s a loyal fan of mine. She seemed genuinely concerned with us, if anything happened between the doctor and I.

“I think he just needed to get some fresh air,” I explained. “I don’t think he’s one for drinking and just wanted to get away from it.”

Cynthia asked if someone should accompany him, and I made the decision to say no. His tone was firm. Urgent, even. I was against people splitting off and putting themselves at risk but knowing Jason as wise and calculated and above all else sober, I could trust in him to make rational decisions. My gaze drifted to the clock on Matt’s nightstand, reading that it was approaching one in the morning. The rest of us soon decided to shut in for the night.

“Hey.”

“Hey, Flatts, come on.”

“Wake up already!”

I opened one of my eyes, the visage of Axel Wachow coming into focus from the twilight haze. It was early, before HAL’s morning announcement. Opening the other eye, I rubbed them, still reluctant to sit up. “What do you want?”

“You didn’t drink anything, right? I don’t want to wake the others. I’m hungover and I’m dying to take a hot shower.”

“Yeah, and?”

“Well, HAL said we can’t take separate showers without getting shocked. And electricity and water? Forget about it, I’m not taking my chances. Come with me to the showers.”

“...How do I know you’re not trying to get me away from the others so you can kill me?”

“Because I could have easily crushed your windpipe while you were sleeping, busted open the door, and pretended that I never woke up early. But I’m not your enemy, I’m just asking you for a favor.”

I just looked at the wrestler for a moment, no response at hand. Impatient, he continued.

“C’mon, dude, please. I don’t want you to watch or anything, and I won’t watch you either.”

“I’m not a dude, Axe.”

“You’re a girl?”

“Also wrong, Axel.”

“...Could you please just come with me?”

“Fine!” Impatient, I shot up and led the two of us to the locker rooms. The sooner this conversation ended, the better. Hell, even if this was a plot to kill me, I’d prefer death over continuing that conversation.

I stood there, naked in the men’s locker room, in front of the showers. There were no bars of soap ready so Axel quickly sprinted up the hall in effort to find some. I turned the dial of my shower, the pipes loudly creaking before hot water rained from the head. My hair was barely completely wet before I heard a loud bang, as if something slamming metal. I looked back down the hall where the wrestler had disappeared. “Axel?!” I yelled out. All I heard back was yelling, what sounded like two men fighting.

I grabbed my binder and my pants--all I had time to grab--before running down the hall. Something was seriously wrong. I hastily threw them on and zipped them as I came around the corner and found them.

Axel had Asier Cassidy McKass pinned against a wall of lockers. The latter was no match for the wrestler’s brute strength; he couldn’t budge from the hold. His body hitting metal must’ve been that bang I heard. One of the doors was dented in along Asier’s shoulder. Asier’s forearms were stained pink with blood. “Watch out, Flatts,” Axel warned, looking down at the ground between the two and me. Following his gaze I saw what he was eyeing. A bloody scalpel, the blood swirling down a drain.

Shaken by what we found, I tried my best to get a hold of myself to ask Asier the only question I could think of. “Who?”

Unresponsive, Asier met a punch from Axel, knocking him out cold. His body went limp, still misshapen into the locker. The wrestler pointed down the far end of the hall, towards the doors to the main exercise room. “He was coming from there,” he said. Quickly, we sprinted down the hall and through the doors until we saw…

It was like Jeffrey all over again. But this one was way worse. There was blood everywhere; the whole body must have been soaked in pink. I could see cuts up and down their arms and legs… their neck, their wrists. I couldn’t help it when yesterday’s breakfast came up. Asier was merciless to them. I didn’t want to get closer, neither of us did, but we did anyway. That pink stained hair that was once pale white was mopped over their face, but I could make out who it was as clear as day. Avery Maven the Thirteenth. Lucidus, Ximena, Evol, Negative Four. Five people in one horribly brutalized body was sprawled at our feet. The second time the Stars were murdered.

'Ding dong dong ding!'