I rest against the wall, scrolling through the information in my notes. How can there be so many holes? I sigh, about ready to bang my head into the wall when Kody bursts through the door.

"R-R-Raiden... I..." He trails off, looking back over his shoulder as if he's being chased. "I found something... I-It's really bad..."

"What did you find?" I shut the door behind him so he would at least feel somewhat safe.

"I-I-I can't say it here...! You trust me... r-right?"

"Yeah. I trust you. What's going on?"

"I-I know who the killer is."

My eyes widen as he fiddles with his phone. "You what...?"

It's very slight, but Kody flinches at my words. He doesn't reply, choosing instead to stare at the floor.

"...This could be a very serious accusation." I try to make eye contact, but it's no use. "Are you sure about this? Please tell me that you're completely positive before you say anything else."

He nods. "I'm sure... Th-there's no other w-way... I-I-I s-saw it..." He finally looks up at me, still avoiding eye contact but at least no longer staring at the floor.

"And you have proof?"

Kody's eyes fall back down to the concrete lining the room.

"No, you don't..." I murmur, "Don't tell me. I don't want to know."

"Wh-what...?"

I smile a little to reassure the shivering teen, but it's completely forced. Not genuine. "Kody, I trust you, you're my friend, we've both been through a lot here. I just can't convict someone on your suspicion alone. I need proof."

"I..." He trails off, still refusing to meet my gaze. "I'll... I can g-get it... I'll get proof..."

"It doesn't have to be definite proof. Anything that might raise concern around the individual. I can help you if you want. I just..."

"I-It's okay... I get it..." He turns away from me, reaching for the door.

"Kody?" I ask without really thinking it through. He looks back, finally meeting my gaze. "I'll go with you. I don't want anything bad happening to you. You're a valuable friend here."

"A-Am I...?" He almost smiles, but the hint of a smile quickly disappears under his worried expression. "D-Don't worry about me... I'll be okay." The shift between his words is hard to notice but there. I can't help but pick out the confirmation in his tone.

"If you're sure..."

He reaches for the door again.

"Wait! One more thing." I say, unable to stop myself from prolonging the conversation. "Where's Caspian? Does he know?" Two more things.

"C-Caspian...?? O-Oh, he's with um... h-he's with the group..." Kody ignores my second question, reaching for the door handle and exiting the room.

"Kody?" I call after him, but it's no use. I could follow him, but that would be dangerous for both of us. Nobody could know we work together. Nobody except Ashlynn and Caspian.

I sigh, jotting down some notes on my phone before leaving the room myself. If Kody can't answer me, Caspian will have to.

Locating the group isn't difficult. They remain outside the food room, near the entry point, the center of attention.

"Raiden..." Asher says, his tone as dead as he looks. His eyes are void of all hope he had last I saw him.

"Asher." I nod to him respectfully. He doesn't nod back.

"Hey, Raiden!" Daniel calls, waving from across the room. He's the opposite of the group's supposed leader. He says something quietly to the girl beside him before getting up to greet me.

"You look well." I murmur.

"I'm doing well! How are you?"

I search his expression for any sign of a facade, but this guy seems genuinely happy. I wish he was overdoing it. "I'm fine. Anyway, business. Where's Caspian? I need to talk to him."

"Oh, Caspian just left. I'm not sure where he went, but he might come back. You're free to stay with us and wait."

I shake my head, no. "I don't have time to wait."

"Why don't you make a friend down here? It's an abstract idea, but besides all the death, this is actually a pretty great place to bond." He looks back at the brown-haired girl he had just left. "Think about it, how close would you become after going through all this together? You could be friends with anyone here. Nobody would turn you away. You're way nicer than–"

"What happens when that best friend I've just made dies? What if he or she dies right in front of me? Thanks for the offer, Daniel, but I prefer to be alone." I can't help but think of Ashlynn. She's way closer to me than I'd like. My friendships with Kody and Caspian are even too close for comfort. I'm not even close to them. If they die–when they die, I don't know what I'll do.

"Nobody prefers to be alone!" He steps forward and attempts to put his hand on my shoulder, but that isn't happening. I dodge quickly and almost glare at him.

"I do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go find Caspian." I turn away from him completely, almost feeling bad for being rude, but not quite.

"Raiden, wait. I'm sorry."

I pause, looking back over my shoulder, "You're fine. I'm just having a really bad day."

"Want to talk about it? I'll listen if–"

"No. Thank you." I can see genuine concern in his expression. I don't understand it. He doesn't even know me.

"Well, you know where to find me if you do want to talk." His smile grows as he gestures to the surrounding room. I start my reply, but it doesn't even take a second before I'm cut off by a yelp from another room.

"Mia!" Daniel says. The girl from the floor joins him, standing close as if the redhead can protect her. Daniel takes her hand and pushes past me to talk with Asher. The other two people stand up, too. They hold hands, but I don't have time to focus on them.

I get over my initial shock. Not waiting for Daniel and his group, I make my way to the yelp. I can't remember exactly where it came from, but the scent of smoke carries me to the scene. I almost wish it hadn't.

The girl with the mask holds on to the guy with the golden eyes. He glares at me when I arrive, but quickly relaxes when he notices my shocked expression. I try to recall their names, so I can ask what happened. Then I see it. Smoke stains cover the wall, painting it black. There's no blood, but Kody's body lays, badly burned on the floor. The room stinks of burning flesh and melted plastics.

"Sebastian, Mia, are you alright?!" I don't have to look over to know that it's Daniel.

The guy with the golden eyes whispers something to the masked girl and turns away from me. "We're fine." He murmurs.

"Sebastian," I call to him, "did you see anything...?" I keep my voice as steady as I can, but it's hard to ignore the burnt corpse of someone I had started to trust.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't see who did it." His voice is quiet. He's upset.

"Thanks Anyway." I'm not upset. I'm angry.

"Raiden? Are you okay?" Caspian walks up behind me, and I can tell when he sees the body without looking at him. His gasp is hard to miss.

"I'm fine," I reply, still not turning around. "Are you?"

Caspian doesn't reply, going to Kody's side with a horrified expression. "He's dead..."

"Yeah."

He turns to me, somewhat horrified by my bluntness. "You don't care?"

"Of course I care." I crouch beside him and look at the body, doing everything I can to stop myself from gagging at the stench.

Caspian doesn't reply.

"Did you know?" I ask in a low voice.

"Know what?"

"What Kody knows."

He looks confused. He's either a really good actor or just as ignorant as I am. "What does Kody know?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you." I carefully pull back his scorched hoodie and find the source of the plastic scent. His phone case is half melted, but it seems to have done its job. The phone appears to be unharmed. I stash it away in my own pocket. Kody took notes the same way I do. "What's his phone password?" 

Caspian is still visibly horrified. "Does it have to do with his phone...?" 

"I don't know." 

Caspian sighs, about to reply when someone taps on his shoulder. I recognize Ashlynn immediately without looking up at her face. 

"That Jasmine girl wants to talk to you." She says in a soft voice. 

"Thank you..." He gets up and leaves, approaching the brown-haired girl beside Daniel. 

"Are you alright?" Ashlynn says quietly, pretending to inspect the body, or perhaps she is inspecting it. I can't tell. 

"He knew," I reply, just as quietly.

"Knew what?"

"Kody knew who the killer is." 

"Did he tell you...?!"

"We can talk later." I can feel people staring at us, so I get up. 

"Where's his phone?"

"I have it." 

She nods to me slightly and I get up. "Bye Alisha." 

"That's not my name."

"Of course it is." I leave the room, looking forward to a time that we could talk officially. 

While walking away, I bump into James. He turns really quickly, glaring at me, but I can see the sadness in his eyes. He appears to be making his way to the scene. 

"I wouldn't go in there if I was you," I say to him. "It's really bad this time."  

"Mhm..." He doesn't reply officially, but he does turn around and disappears down a nearby hallway. 

At least one of us won't have to witness the worst murder yet.