I lean against the wall in an abandoned room. I take a deep breath before pulling out my phone. It's come to a point where I no longer know what to do. Nobody has died recently. There are no leads. I open a random app and just play the game casually. I'm about to beat my high score when I hear a scream down the hall. A lead.

I shove my phone in my pocket and run towards the sound hoping this time it's not a false alarm. The overwhelming scent of blood proves that this time it's not a fluke.

Entering the room, I see James sobbing, his clothes covered in blood as he holds his dead girlfriend in his arms. The girlfriend's sister is impaled in the chest, lying dead on the floor behind them. There's a gaping wound where Cecelia was obviously also impaled. It appears James removed the rod that impaled her so he could hug her one last time.

"I-I only stepped out for a moment...!" James cried. "I was t-too late..." he doesn't even notice my presence.

It takes longer than it should for everyone else to show up. It's lucky I got there early. It gives me plenty of time to examine everything without being suspicious.

When everyone else shows up, it's obvious they're shocked. Mia and Sebastian leave immediately. They barely even glance at the horrific scene. Ashlynn even looks a little shocked. She tries not to give it away, but I can tell. We make eye contact for a moment. It doesn't last, and she moves to the back of the growing crowd.

"James...!" Daniel goes up to James, a soft but sad smile on his face. "I'm so sorry..."

There's an awkward silence. James doesn't even look at the ginger kid. 

"I'll give you some space... but if you ever need to talk, you know how to find me." 

"Daniel." James' tone doesn't seem friendly at first, but it changes almost instantly, "Thank you..." I almost feel bad for him. Still, I'll have to talk to him.

I go stand near the door, leaning on the wall. James barely even seems to notice me. I give him maybe ten minutes alone before interrupting. 

I clear my throat, "James, can we talk?" 

He flinches, turning to face me. "Who are you?" he asks. 

"Raiden." 

"What do you have to say?" 

"I was thinking I'd be the one asking the questions, but if you insist I'll play along with your little interview." 

He pauses. His hazel eyes are still cloudy with his previously shed tears. He does look genuinely sad. That doesn't mean anything. 

"Look, I'm sorry about... Claire...? or whatever her name was... I really am, but things happen. People die all the time. It sucks, but it's life." 

"Cecelia. Her name is Cecelia." 

"That's what I said. Anyway, you got here before I did. I got here pretty quick, but you got here way sooner--" 

"Are you accusing me of this!? You think I could do this?! I loved her! I still love her!" 

I take a deep breath. "Yeah, I know. I don't think you did it. If you did, it would be great to admit it right now though." 

He hesitates. "What are you doing?"

"Just playing some mind games with you because you won't let me finish. will you let me--"

"Get out." 

"what?"

"Get the f*** out!" 

"Dude chill. I'm on your side here. Your girlfriend wouldn't want this. She would want you to help me." 

James hesitates. It almost seems like he's listening to his girlfriend's ghost or something. The expression on his face is complete anguish but his brown eyes hold a slight glimmer of hope. "Fine. We can talk." 

"Finally. Thank you." I run my hand through my hair again before starting my interview. "What were you doing when you heard her scream?" 

"I went to grab some food. Why does it matter?" 

"Did you encounter anyone on your way to get food?" 

"Yeah. Two of 'em are always by the food room. You know that. What is this for?" 

"But you didn't see anyone else?" 

"I already said that I didn't! What else is there! Why won't you leave me alone?!"

"I'm headed out now. When you're done, move her body to the others. I'll take care of Jaqueline." 

"No... I don't want them with the others..." 

"They have to go with the others. You know that. We can't have bodies littered around the place. It's a serious environmental problem." I take off my sweatshirt so that it won't get stained with blood, and I pick up Jaqueline's body. 

"Don't take her! You can't!" James exclaims, but he doesn't want to put down Cecelia to stop me. 

"I have to, James. I'm sorry." I leave the room. He calls after me, but I ignore it. I wonder if he'll be this upset after I clean their blood off the floor. I waste no time bringing Jaqueline to the others. It's easiest if you just don't think about it. 

"Raiden, what are you doing...?" I recognize the voice as Ashlynn's. 

"Clean up duty. Someone has to do it, and most people wouldn't be willing to." 

"So you're just doing the dirty work so nobody else has to?" 

I turn to face her. "Don't start suspecting me, Ashlynn. It won't get us anywhere."

"I don't suspect you, actually. You could very well be the killer, but I don't want to consider that at this point." 

"Good to know. Just in case you're curious, I don't suspect you either." 

"Thanks, but actually, this isn't what I wanted to do."

"You want a report?" 

"No, I actually just want to talk. I'd just like to pretend for a minute that we're just normal teens." She looks down at the ground as if her idea is stupid. 

"Sounds good to me, but what happened to the Ashlynn I know? It's not like you to get chatty." I smile a little to show that I'm just kidding. 

Ashlynn rolls her eyes, but she smiles a little, too. "We're friends now, Raiden. We should 'get chatty' more often." 

"Friends? I like the sound of that..." 

"Well, what did you think we were?" 

"Business partners... But 'friends' is great! That's fine by me!" 

"Why not just say that we're both. Last I heard, nobody made a rule saying business partners couldn't be friends." 

"Yeah, that makes sense. Sorry, I'm being weird. I just..."

"You don't have many friends? It's okay, I don't either."

"Guess being weird isn't weird to you then." 

"No, you're still weird, but I don't mind. Thank you, for being somewhat trustworthy."