This isn't the last chapter. Next chapter would include Ryder's recording and his reasons why he did all of this. It may or may not be the last chapter depending on how long I'm going to write it. For now, enjoy this chapter. Review responses at the bottom.

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Day Six

Chase must have fallen asleep because when he opened his eyes, he was alone in his room. Marshall's body was gone, so the mastermind must have grabbed it while he was asleep. He shuddered to think about the fate of Marshall's body. Murderer or not, he was still his brother.

Then there are the bombshells that he dropped the night before. He didn't think Marshall was a liar, but those were hard to believe. Him not murdering anyone, Ryder being alive and is the mastermind, and the fact that he loved Chase.

The police cadet buried his face in his hands as he tried to take in the events of last night. Everything's so messed up. He should've been dead. He was ready to sacrifice himself, goddamnit! But no, Marshall had to kill himself.

The first tear escaped his eyes and he refused to wipe it away. Marshall's blood was still on him, the last thing that he had of his best friend. He knew he should come out and wash the stains away, but he couldn't bear to face the music.

He could hear Everest in a distance and he knew she deserved to know. He shakily stood up, stumbling a bit, and opened the door of his bedroom to the sight of the purple-haired girl looking at him with tears in her eyes.

"Ch-chase..." she sobbed, flinging herself to him and crying on to his shoulder.

Chase gently wrapped his arms around her. "I-I'm sorry, Everest. I-I..."

"We know," Everest sobbed. "The mastermind showed us. He w-was..."

"His limbs were cut and reattached in different places by messy stitches and the cuts were burned shut," Tuck said monotonously as he walked towards Chase's view. "He's currently on display at the living room as a messed up mannequin."

Chase fought the urge to vomit. He stopped himself from imagining the fate of his best friend and instead glared at the blond-haired boy.

"Are you happy now?" Chase whispered harshly. "Marshall killed himself. Isn't that what you wanted?"

Tuck sighed as he looked towards the direction where Marshall's corpse stood, his eyes unseeing. "No, I acted out of anger. I know that isn't an excuse, but that's all I have."

"Besides, Ella made me realize something," the blonde boy said. "No matter what his actions for the past days are, he's still the Marshall we knew. And the Marshall that we knew wouldn't hurt anyone unless he has a reason to."

Tuck looked at Chase, blue eyes meeting brown ones. "And Marshall has a reason to do it, doesn't he?"

Chase didn't want to answer. Dead or not, it's still Marshall's secret. Fortunately for him, he was saved by Ella running over to them, holding a piece of paper and a flash disk. While she tried to hide it, her eyes were stained with red, showing that she had been crying previously.

"Guys! I found a note on the table, and it's from the mastermind! He says that we have to play the video here," she waved the flash disk before continuing. "On the television. Apparently, it's his last message to us."

"B-but that's where Marshall's body is..." Everest croaked out, sniffling.

"I know," Ella said sympathetically. "But we have to play this video or else. Who knows what the mastermind might do if we didn't follow his instructions. Maybe we can even get a clue on who he is."

Or maybe we can finally have some answers, Chase thought. If what Marshall said was true, then you have a lot to pay for, Ryder.