James' declaration is hard to miss.  He comes right out and says that Millie is now dead. I step out of the other room to look at the group. James's girlfriend hugs his arm tight. They look terrified. Pretty much everyone looks terrified. Once everyone has fully assembled, James leads the way to Millie's body. 

"She was strangled," Ashlynn mutters under her breath. 

I notice some strange looking burn marks on her neck. My eyes move to scan the crowd instead of the body. Ashlynn has that covered. Nobody seems particularly emotionless except James's girlfriend's sister, Jaqueline. Jaqueline doesn't seem like the murderer type, but it's impossible to know at this point. 

"Where's Kody?" 

"I think he's with Caspian."

"I actually haven't seen either of them since the first murder." 

I pause for a moment, listening to the quiet conversation. I look up, scanning everyone and doing a quick headcount. There were 20; now there are 18. There are only 16 of us in the room. 

"Kody and Caspian," I whisper to myself repeatedly, trying to remember their names. I slip out of the room, and I begin my search for the two missing people.

I start by checking the rooms closest to the last murder. It's not until I reach the farthest rooms that I finally run into someone. He's sitting in the corner of the room. His face is hidden by a pulled up hood, and he's doing something on his phone.  

I clear my throat, and he looks up at me. His eyes are wide with fear. 

"Hello," I say. 

"H-Hi..." He shoves his phone into his pocket. 

"Did you hear the news?" 

"What?"

"The news." 

"No."

"Millie's dead."

He looks genuinely shocked. He tries to say something, but he doesn't make a sound. 

"Are you okay?" I ask. 

"Wh-What happened...?" He got up, looking at me in shock. 

"Millie just died. I don't know the details." I replied. 

"Take me to her," He says.

"Of course," I lead the way out the door. He follows me cautiously. His eyes never stop scanning the area. He jumps when an adjacent door opens. 

"What is this I hear about another murder?" A guy steps out from behind the door. I realize that I recognize him. Caspian, that's why the name sounded familiar. 

"Millie died," I repeat. "We're headed that way if you want to investigate." 

"Thanks." He moves over towards the other guy who I can now assume is Kody. 

"Uh, yeah." I take a few steps down the hall. My hand falls into my pocket, landing on the back of a small handgun.  I glance back at the two of them and make my choice. I turn around, my hand grasping the gun. 

"What are you--" Caspian starts to say. 

I pull the gun on them and try to look as threatening as possible. They both back up and hold their hands up. Kody starts to cry. I wonder if maybe I'm taking it too far, but I don't stop. Caspian looks shocked. He tries to get in front of Kody. 

"Ready to die?" I ask. 

Caspian tries to grab the gun from me, but I pull it away and push him back. He's too sloppy to be the killer. Kody just keeps crying, and I decide the two are safe for now. 

I throw the gun to the ground. "Chill, I'm not the killer. I just had to sure you weren't either." Caspian stops trying to defend himself and gives me a suspecting look. "Seriously, I was just testing you, and you both pass." Caspian still doesn't look convinced. "Look, I want to form an alliance, and I had to make sure you guys weren't involved. That's all this was."

"So... I can trust you then?" Caspian asks. 

"Take the gun if it makes you feel any better. It's not loaded." I motion towards the gun lying on the floor about equidistant from the both of us. Caspian nods, picking it up. He inspects it carefully before turning back to me. 

"You scared me half to death, literally." He laughed a little awkwardly, handing the gun back to me. 

"Yeah, sorry about that. But hey, since it's neither of you, do you accept my offer? want to work together? Let's catch this bastard." 

"Yeah!" Caspian says. 

Kody nods, wiping his eyes. 

"Don't tell anyone. This is top secret." They both nod simultaneously. 

"It's kinda cool to be top secret like this," Caspian says. "If murder wasn't involved..." 

"That's true..." Kody says with a shrug. 

"Are you okay? I really didn't mean to scare you that much. I just had to be sure..."

"No, I'm o-okay..." He smiles a little. 

"Okay," I smile a little back. 

Caspian smiles a little, too. "Are we still going to the site?" 

"Right, it's this way." I start walking down the hall towards the murder site. 

We reach it, and the two of them go straight to the body. Ashlynn catches my eye. We look at each other for a quick moment before she leaves the room. Other people start to leave, too. I stay in the room for another five minutes before following everyone out. 

I look into a few rooms until I see Ashlynn sitting in the corner of one. I enter quietly, shutting the door behind me. She looks up at me and sighs with relief. 

"It's just you," she says. She runs her hand through her dark hair. 

"Are you okay?" I ask. She looks stressed. It makes sense why. 

"Yeah, I'm good. Are Caspian and Kody clear?" 

"I'm not sure. I don't think either one is the killer, but I can't be positive. I'm going to work with them to keep an eye on them." 

She gives me a look, "oh?" 

"They don't know about our partnership. Don't worry, I won't tell them." I try to look as serious as I can be. 

"Okay." she still doesn't look convinced. 

"What about the body? Was there anything weird?" 

"The burn marks on her neck were unnatural. Did you hear about the girl arrested in China?" 

"Yeah, the one that blew up a building." 

"She didn't just 'blow up a building'. She burnt a bunch of people in a similar way to the way Millie was burnt. When she was apprehended, she started talking about some power and not letting it take over."

"Yeah, she was crazy."

"I think it might have been more than that. What if this is a power? What if it's supernatural?" 

"If it is, we have to prepare for it. It might not be, but I guess you could be right." 

"I know it sounds ridiculous, but I want to think about all the options, you know?" 

We stay silent for a moment. We both just kinda look at each other. Eventually, I nod. 

"Yeah, I get your point. It's farfetched, but we should be ready for anything." I shrug.

She smiles a little. "Thanks."

"Yeah, was there anything else?" I ask

"Not really."

"Got it, I'll head out then."

"Wait, Raiden?"

"What is it?"

"Don't tell them."

"I'm trusting you, you can trust me. I won't tell them." 

"Okay..." 

Our eyes meet one more time before I leave the room.