@everyone who responded, thank you! and interesting theories...

~~~

Day 1, Part 1

Tsuki woke up moments after the first sun rays burst over the treetops, bathing the Osorthe forest and her bedroom in dazzling golden light. She yawned and stretched her arms over her head, an admittedly cliche sort of way to wake up, but that’s what she did nonetheless. She untangled herself from the patchwork quilt patterned with starbursts, quickly brushed her hair, and pulled on her clothes before heading down the stairs. 

She wasn’t the first one to the entrance hall, nor was she the last. Guests were scattered around the room, waiting around or talking quietly in groups of two or three. They were all well-rested and full of energy, excited for the day’s activities. Slowly, the rest of the guests started to trickle in, and at about eight o’clock, Socie banged open the dining room doors to grace them all with her presence. 

“Good morning! Do we have everybody?” Socie’s brow bunched up, and a look that Kyanite couldn’t quite decipher flickered across her face. “Fourteen...who’s not here?”

The guests murmured amongst themselves as they tried to figure out who was missing.

“Wait, it’s pangolin,” Artemis said. “They’re the one missing.” 

Tsuki, Artemis, Daisy, and Firelily all decided to search for the missing CBer. 

Firelily decided to check pangolin’s room, while Artemis looked in the library, and Tsuki and Daisy patrolled the halls. 

It was Tsuki who found pangolin. Her discovery triggered an ear splitting scream that reverberated around the house and sent the guests and Socie flocking to her.

Tsuki was kneeling on the bathroom floor when Socie located her, her face drained of color and her hands grasping opposite arms with white knuckles. In front of her, pangolin lay face-up on the floor, unmoving and unbreathing, her rusty hair splayed out around her head like a reddish halo. Beside her sat a crowbar, the obvious offender. 

“Is she...?” Firelily’s voice wavered as she gazed upon the CBer. She was unable to finish her question, but the other guests knew what she meant anyway.

Gingerly, Tsuki picked up pangolin’s wrist and felt for a pulse. Tsuki was no expert, but she knew something felt wrong. A slight shake of her head confirmed everything the guests needed to know. 

“Oh my stars...,” Sterling pinched a spot between their eyes, clearly holding back tears. Not even a full day ago, hadn’t they and pangolin laughed as they raced each other up the stairs to the third floor? Hadn’t they all enjoyed themselves in Lockaria House’s large library, not worrying about anything and with no reason to?

“I don’t know what to make of all this,” Eclipse murmured, her mind trying to disentangle pangolin’s death. She surveyed the guests. They all looked pretty shaken up. Everybody seemed numb, staring at pangolin’s body with wide eyes, morbidly captivated by the corpse. Avara and Silver Crystal both looked badly shaken up. Tsuki still had her arms hugged close to her body, looking like she wanted to aid pangolin, although the CBer was obviously beyond help. In the end, Tsuki just grabbed a few sheets of toilet paper, wet them, and dabbed the blood off of pangolin’s temple. It was the most she could do. 

“It looks like she could be sleeping, if it weren’t for the bruises,” Tsuki whispered to Writing_in_the_Dark who was standing beside her. “Do you think it was intentional?”

Writing’s face was unreadable. “I’d like to think it wasn’t. But I don’t see how pangolin getting hit over the head with a crowbar was an accident.”

Eventually, Socie told the guests they would get nothing done just standing around, and they ought to head down into the dining hall and get breakfast.

“I’ll deal with the body,” she assured them.

Daisy felt sick. She didn’t like pangolin being referred to as “the body.”

“C’mon.” Firelily guided Daisy down the flight of stairs and onto the first floor. Slowly, the guests started to clear out, until it was just Socie, standing there with pangolin’s limp body at her feet. She stared at the spot where Reuby had just vanished down the stairs, her face blank. Then she clapped her hands, and set to work.

Breakfast that day was homemade blueberry pancakes that should have been a treat to all the guests. But they might as well have been cardboard for how much the guests enjoyed them. pangolin’s death loomed above them like a heavy black cloud, making it increasingly harder to breathe. Although none of them spoke, many questions hung between all of them:

Why would somebody kill pangolin? And, if it was intentional, would they be next?

~~~

Alive: 14

Dead: 1 (pangolin) 

*insert dumbfounded shock here--wait, you don't need to insert it--it's already here*

Wonderful descriptions! :O 

@Reuby Moonnight & ~Echo Hallowswift~: thank you so much! :) 

Day 1, Part 2

The murderer kept to themselves. They did not speak anymore than necessary, they did not call attention to themselves. To anyone else, their behavior may have been mistaken for grieving. Nobody could suspect what they’d done, nobody could accuse them of killing pangolin.

If they were caught, everything would crumble. They could not be caught. 

Why pangolin, the murderer asked themselves whenever they had a quiet moment alone. They never reached a satisfactory conclusion. 

Yes, they had known pangolin. They ached when they thought about what they’d done. They had seen Circe be torn apart by her CBer’s death. Worse, they knew pangolin would not be the only life they’d take. 

Everything had a place in the Osorthe Forest. They knew their place, they knew their task. They might not know what all of this was leading to, they might not know the “why”s or the “how”s, but they knew it was bigger than themselves. And it was not their place to question. 

If they closed their eyes, they could still picture the silent hallway, how they tensed up every time their foot found a creaky floorboard. The cool metal feel of the crowbar in their sweating hands. 

pangolin had crept from her room, sock feet padding on the soft carpet, and opened the bathroom door. When pangolin’s back was turned to flick on the lightswitch, the murderer stepped from the shadows and swung the crowbar. pangolin never even got a chance to scream. 

Perhaps pangolin had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe it was fate, or the work of some higher power. But in the end, it didn’t really matter. 

One down, thirteen to go, the murderer told themselves. Shouldn’t be too hard.

~~~

Hex stumbled along the dirt path, while Socie barrelled ahead, talking rapidly about whatever they’d be doing next. Something about a beach? Hex’s shoe caught on a gnarled root, and she stumbled, scraping her palms on the dusty forest floor. 

“You good?” asked Silver Crystal, offering her hand to help Hex up. She brushed her dirt-covered palms on her pants, and smiled. 

“Thanks.” They walked in silence, but although they didn’t speak, they could sense pangolin’s death in each other’s thoughts. pangolin’s death had affected them both, and they were afraid of what might happen next.

“Hex! Silver Crystal!” yelled Oliver from somewhere ahead in the trail. Silver and Hex realized then that they were way behind the rest of the group. “You won’t want to miss this!” The duo ran to catch up, taking care not to trip over any more roots. They rounded a large oak tree onto a sandy crescent-shaped beach. Cool morning mist rolled off the glassy water, obscuring most of a small island out the lake behind a veil of soft gray haze, muting the red and gold and dark green colors of its trees.

Socie was standing at the edge of the beach, the water lapping at her shoes in an almost affectionate manner, her arms spread wide as if welcoming the lake in for a hug. “Welcome, friends and companions, to Alaway Lake.”

Kei surveyed the beach. The sand had a color somewhere between beige and light brown, and a slightly rough texture. An old post and rail fence constructed from light wood marked the border between the beach and the beginning of the forest, and large gray rocks were clustered around the bottom of it. A fine selection of canoes, kayaks, and rowboats were propped up on the side of a boat rack in the sand. A tetherball pole with a faded yellow ball was secured into the sand, and a metal basket full of volleyballs and beach balls rested next to a volleyball net. The lake itself, Socie explained as Silver Crystal fished out a once-white-but-now-yellowish volleyball, spanned sixty-four acres and was twenty-six feet at its deepest point. 

“Who wants to be on my team?” called Silver, standing up on one of the gray rocks and looking at her fellow guests.

Echo, Artemis, Sterling, and Oliver all teamed up with Silver, while Kyanite, Ronin, Daisy, Reuby, and Hex formed their own team. 

Writing_in_the_Dark sat down on a piece of driftwood and pulled out xyr sketchbook and drawing utensils, inspired by the lake’s sparkling water and mist. Who knew what secrets lurked behind that fog? 

Firelily, Tsuki, and Eclipse played tetherball, winner of each two person game playing whoever had sat out that round. 

The day flew by, and laughter and chatter rose above Alaway Lake. The guests were having so much fun, they almost forgot about pangolin’s death that morning.

Almost.

~~~

Alive: 14

Dead: 1 (pangolin) 

@~Echo Hallowswift~: no promises >:)

@Silver Crystal: tysm! :)

~~~ 

Day 1, Part 3

By the time Socie announced it was time to head back to Lockaria House for dinner, the sun had sunken low in the sky, staining the lake with brilliant hues of red, orange, and pink, swirling together like a watercolor painting in the water’s ripples. Many of the guests remarked on the beautiful sunset, before they turned and trudged along the pine-needle covered trail behind Socie. 

Dinner was (much to the guests’ excitement) tacos, and after finishing up, they all headed outside, where the sky had already become an endless dark ink splot. A bonfire had been constructed out on the lawn, and its spitting orange flames were surrounded by an army of Adirondack chairs. Silver Crystal noticed one stick was propped up against every chair, and a small table held a wide selection of graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate, as well as other unconventional s’mores ingredients such as candy, bacon (!?), and caramel. 

“I’m gonna try a bacon s’more,” announced Daisy. Writing_in_the_Dark selected a pair of chocolate chip cookies to use on xyr s’more, as opposed to graham crackers. Reuby added some rainbow sprinkles atop her s’more, while Kyanite, on a dare from Hex, decided to see how many marshmallows they could fit into their mouth at once. 

Firelily lit their marshmallow on fire and paraded around the lawn, holding their stick aloft like it was some sort of torch, despite Socie’s remarks that it was extremely dangerous behavior. Sterling kept their marshmallow at a reasonable distance from the flames, evenly turning their stick until the marshmallow was a gooey, golden brown. A miscommunication between Reuby and Tsuki resulted in the blending of “marshmallow” and “graham cracker” into the newly-created portmanteau “marshmacker” which all the guests decided to refer to marshmallows as for the rest of the night. 

Once they had eaten all of the chocolate and the last bag of marshmallows - pardon me, marshmackers - had been devoured, Echo Hallowswift spoke to Socie. “When we were down at Alaway Lake, I noticed an island out on the water.” 

“Oh, yes, that would be Starr’s Island,” responded the hostess, nodding. 

“Why’s it called that?” Artemis asked. 

“Well,” Socie cleared her throat, and the guests all leaned in. They had a feeling Socie was about to tell them a story. “It is said that in the days of yore, a star fell out of the night sky and landed in Alaway Lake. The Night Goddex formed the island with their dark magickal energy as a resting place for the fallen star. Even now, although the Goddex and star are long gone, Starr’s Island is full of memories and ghosts of the past. On moonless nights like this, when the stars above shine the brightest, you can supposedly still hear the Night Goddex softly singing their incantations.” 

Goosebumps raced down Hex’s arms, and she hugged herself tightly. The tale was probably made up. No, scratch that, it was definitely made up. But there was something about it that drew her in. Something she couldn’t quite put a finger on, not yet. Something about Socie’s voice, or the words “ghost” and “resting place” that hit way too close to home, or perhaps the allure of the flickering fire before her. Whatever it was, when an unseen owl’s forlorn cry sent shivers down her spine, she knew she wasn’t the only one feeling the way she was about Socie’s story.

Sterling gazed into the fire, watching the fire dance and the burnt, darkened logs pop. They kept thinking they saw things in the fire. A few times they thought they saw pangolin’s face, grinning at them. But then the mirage disappeared as quickly as it had come. 

Socie cleared her throat and said, “I think it’s time to head back inside and get some shut-eye, yeah? These mosquitoes are starting to get me.”

~~~

Alive: 14

Dead: 1 (pangolin) 

I absolutely love your writing style! It's so mysterious and yet...so calming and peaceful.

I love the fact that the word "marshmallow" has now been turned into "marshmacker." Yes, I shall be using that in daily conversation, thanks very much. 

This is sooooo cool!!! Can't wait for more!!!

@Sterling, Hex, ~Ech Hallowswift~, and Hawkstar: tysm!

@Avara, unfortunately, all the spots are filled and I can't accept your form. You're more than welcome to read along, though! :)

~~~ 

Day 2, Part 1

Gray clouds had collected above the Osorthe Forest sometime in the night, and sunlight was making an attempt to peek through the edges; a literal silver lining, as Socie pointed out to the guests. “And a more figurative silver lining is that we have an entire day of activities planned!” 

The guests made a half-hearted attempt at enthusiasm, smiling and weakly cheering. Another day of activities might be the silver lining, but they also knew what the black cloud over their vacation was.

pangolin.

Her death had not disappeared from anyone’s thoughts, and although last night’s sleep had provided some escape from the harsh reality, many of them had been haunted by images of faceless, formless figures obscured in shadow, or flashes of knives and other weapons, and some had been visited by pangolin’s ghost, a twisted version of her appearing in their dreams. Tsuki had even screamed in her sleep, waking herself up with the noise. 

The murderer had awoken in the middle of the night, hyperventilating, tangled in their sheets, and drenched in a cold sweat. They had doubled over in their bed, choking out sobs that racked their body, as fragments of themselves before arriving at Lockaria House shone through their new identity, weakening them. But soon, whatever they’d become took over once more, and they flicked the tears off their cheeks with sharp, deliberate moves, their face hardened into an expressionless mask.

As they stood in the brightly lit entrance hall, the murderer’s eyes narrowed into knife cuts. They surveyed the guests around them, wondering who was going to be their unlucky victim. 

The rest of the guests walked into the dining room for breakfast, which was scones, or something, the murderer wasn’t listening; they couldn’t be bothered with cute little pasteries. Plastering a smile on their face, the murderer turned to their host. “Hi, Socie! What activity are we gonna do today?”

“I was planning on us doing some archery with the targets outside,” Socie said. “Why?” 

“Oh, no reason. Just...very excited,” the murderer responded cheerfully, before turning away and letting their grin fall off their face. Archery? This was gonna be fun.

~~~

Alive: 14

Dead: 1 (pangolin)