Could he be?

The readers say that it can't be him, that it's too obvious, but what if the author wants that reaction?  What if the author is throwing the readers for a loop?

...and why does the author never tell us to not break the fourth wall?

It just made no sense.

Now that there were only 8 people left, we made it a mandatory thing that we get to know each other better.  That was in hopes of no more killing.

I just hoped it would work.

Anyways, I got to learn a ton more about my now-friends.

Sky actually had...'budder'-colored eyes under his glasses.  He said it was because he tried to eat budder as a child and nearly died.  They got it out of his system to save him, but some of the budder got infused into his irises.

Not sure how that works.

Quentin was a defect mudkip that could not evolve.  He spent so much time searching for clues to his problem that he found he could see some strange details to things that others didn't get.  That's where he got his super from.

Cool!

Ian and Crainer both, after a while, realized that they had known each other very well outside this castle.  Something about the weird movie things we saw a while ago.  Skyfactory and...Crundee Craft, I think.

Fitting.

Sub was not too much of a surprise.  He animated videos and also edited them a lot.  He loved drawing and wasn't much of a talker...writer.

I'd hate being a mute.

Barney was actually half-Turkish, which is where he got his weird accent from.  He said some weird things like Shickular and Opar.

When I could understand him, he was a very funny person to talk to.

Mitch....

Something was wrong with him.

He'd spend so many hours of each day just staying locked in his room.

I've tried many times to get him to come out, but he'd always crack the door (since the rooms are soundproof), say that he needed to be alone, and then shut the door again.

I'm worried.

The others were worried, too, but not as much as I was.

Quentin trusted me a little more, but he was still skeptical.

Someone placed a hand on my shoulder, making me jump.

I turned around to see Sky.

"Oh, geez.  Hi, Sky."

He looked a little scared, which was strange.  "C-Can I talk with you for a bit?  ...A...Alone...?"

I froze and stared at him for a second before sighing and nodding.

I won't die if it isn't my time to die.

We left the Grand Hall and went in Sky's room.

Sky closed the door and sat on his bed.

Then his whole strong, confident demeanor fell.

He just started crying.

"J-Jerome, I...I can't take this anymore!"  He wailed.

I felt my heart break for him as I ran over to the bed and hugged him.

He tried to speak, but he couldn't.

We just sat there for a few minutes, him crying and me hugging.

Afterwards, he pulled away from the hug and sniffled.  "I...I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to break down like that."

I shook my head.  "Don't worry 'bout it, dood.  We all need to cry sometimes."

He took a deep breath.  "I keep having these...dreams of J-J-Jin...."  He shuddered when he said Jin's name.

"Hey, you don't have to tell me anything...."  I said quietly.

He shook his head.  "No, I need to tell someone, and I trust you the most, despite what MonoKirby said that first day."

He raked his hands through his hair and continued.  "Jin comes to me in these dreams a lot lately, but...it doesn't feel like a dream.  It feels too real to be a dream.  He keeps saying these strange phrases like 'The true mastermind is not who you think' and 'He's not the real one.'"

"Who's He?"  I asked.

Sky shrugged.  "I don't know.  I keep asking Jin what he means, but he just repeats those phrases until I wake up.  They're ingrained in my head."

I looked down at my paws and thought.

He's not the real one?  ...could that mean Mitch?  Could Mitch be an imposter?  ...too many questions....

Sky sighed.  "I'm sorry if I scared you when asking you to come here alone.  I just needed someone to talk to, and...well...."

I placed a paw on his shoulder, smiling warmly at him.  "Hey, it's ok.  I understand."

He hugged me and stood up.  "Thanks for listening, Jerome."

I nodded and stood up, following him out the door.  "Anytime."

Sky walked back to the Grand Hall, but Ian and Crainer passed him in the hall.

"Oh, Jerome!"  Crainer called.

I waved.  "Hi, Crainer.  Hi, Ian."

"Hey, we were gonna go play in the game room, wanna come?"  Ian asked.

I nodded.  "Don't have much else to do...."  I trailed off, looking at Mitch's door forlornly.

"He's just trying to work through his emotions."  Ian said as we walked to the game room.

"Yeah, I know I would need to if I didn't have Ian."  Said Crainer happily.

As we entered the game room, I thought, Then why isn't he coming to me?

*3 HOURS OF MARIO KART LATER*

1st: Baccaman
2nd: Peach (CPU)
3rd: SSundeeCakes

I smirked as I looked at the scores.

"Dang it!  I didn't even make it into the top three!"  Crainer exclaimed.

Ian laughed.  "Better luck next time, dood."

Crainer frowned at Ian, but Ian just replied with a kiss.

Crainer tensed up before kissing back.

I chuckled.  "*cough*  Get a room.  *cough*"

Ian pulled back and smirked at me.

He then stood up and scooped up Crainer in his arms.

Crainer yelped and threw his arms around Ian's neck.

"Maybe we will."  Ian said weirdly.

I widened my eyes.  "Oh, God, no!  Don't, Ian!  Please don't turn this into a Mature book!  The children!"

Ian laughed and walked out of the room, Crainer still in his arms.

I sighed and put up the game, turning it all off and leaving the room.

Weird how I was able to see a clock whenever I wanted to know the time.  I looked up at the clock in the hall that I had never noticed before.

7:45 PM.

About 2 and a quarter hours 'til lights out.

...

I was getting a bad feeling again.

I REALLY need to stop mentioning that.

As I walked past Mitch's room, I froze.

I stared at the door for a little bit in sadness before sighing and going into my room, locking the door behind me.

I just needed to sleep.

I laid down on the bed and closed my eyes, praying nothing would happen tonight.

*...*

My eyes shot open and I bolted upright, looking around frantically.

I caught a glimpse of the clock.

5:50 AM.

I didn't have time to wait 10 minutes for the others.

SOMETHING WAS WRONG.

I don't feel right.

I don't feel right AT ALL.

I jumped off the bed and quickly opened my door, looking about.

My eyes were already adjusting to the darkness, but the feeling that something was wrong wouldn't go away.

It got stronger as I entered the hallway.

I tip-toed down the hall and paused, turning to read the nameplate.

MrCrainer

I blinked, and without a second thought, twisted the doorknob.

I pushed open the door to be greeted with...nothing.

The room was empty.

Where's Crainer?

I left the room without bothering to close the door.

I didn't have time.

It was 5:57 AM.

I started walking again and paused in front of another door.

I read the nameplate.

SSundee

Here.

Something was wrong here.

I tried twisting the doorknob, and it opened easily.

My gut felt twisted as I entered the room.

5:59 AM.

I looked at the bed to see two figures, one on top of the other, with some kind of line sticking out from the top.

*BZZZRT*

I shielded my eyes before blinking the light away.

I looked at the scene again...and immediately knew what was wrong.

Another murder.

And another.