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Day 2 Part 1

Sunlight streamed through windows, brightening the dim room until it would have been impossible for the guest who occupied it to sleep. But the guest was already awake and had been for a while, staring at the clock on the wall. The hand inched towards the time the guest was waiting for. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. 

The guest’s own hands, which were clad in gloves they had found, held up their head. The guest had barely slept the night before, so they were naturally slightly sluggish. However, that wouldn’t stop them.

Finally, it was time. The guest slipped silently out of their room and headed towards the one that they had found the previous day. They had confirmed it was what they thought it was later. Luckily, it was nowhere near any of the guests’ rooms. When they saw the door, they grinned. This was turning out to be even easier than they had thought. 

Their victim stood with their back to them, studying the door next to it. The first guest stopped and reached for the knife they had brought. Bending back their arm at the elbow, they swung the knife forward and released it. It found its target.

The murderer stepped to the wall and retrieved the second object they had taken along, a red pen. They scribbled a message on the wall in handwriting that was far from their usual.

But, unbeknownst to the murderer as they scuttled away, they had made a mistake.

                              ***

For breakfast, the guests were given fluffy pumpkin, blueberry, or regular pancakes with drizzles of maple syrup. They were delicious, yet no one ended up eating more than a few bites. The pancakes, which Briar had worked hard to make, were sadly thrown away. But it wasn’t nearly as sad as the other thing that happened that day. 

The guests had entered the dining room with smiles on their faces, eager for breakfast and an exciting day. But they didn’t get it, because one of the guests was missing. No one noticed until they sat down and saw the empty seat. 

“Where’s Moon Wolf?” asked Sam.

Jasmine furrowed her brow. “Did any of you see her?” 

Each guest shook their heads. 

“Maybe she overslept,” Hawkstar suggested. 

“That’s probably it,” Jasmine agreed, pushing her chair back. “I’ll go to her room.”

A few minutes after the door closed behind Jasmine, Briar brought out the pancakes. The guests began to dig in, until Jasmine returned. 

The look on her face made everyone drop their forks and knives. Her eyes were wide, and there was something in them–something wild–that told the guests and Briar that something was wrong.

Briar spoke first. “What is it? Where is she?”

“She’s…” Jasmine shook her head. “Dead.”

“Dead?!” multiple voices cried simultaneously.

“Murdered.” Jasmine closed her eyes, then opened them again. “There was a knife…and a note on the wall. By the body.”

“What did it say?” Azrael whispered, feeling as if her body was turning to ice.

“It said, ‘Where is it?’” said Jasmine, letting out a long, shuddering breath.

“Where is it,” Briar repeated. Their hands clenched, their knuckles turning white. “You don’t think…”

Jasmine sprang across the room and gripped their shoulder. “Don’t,” she hissed. “We’ll talk about it later.”

“But–”

“Shut up, Briar.” Jasmine turned to the guests. “We’ll have a funeral for Moon Wolf outside.”

***

Moon Wolf was placed in a long, brass trunk. Jasmine and Briar carried it out the door, the guests following. Tears streamed down many of their faces as it was set down in a hole Briar dug under a weeping willow. 

Jasmine said a few words about Moon Wolf, blinking every few seconds. Next to her, Briar stood rigid, their eyes wet and hands clasped over their chest. They tried to catch Jasmine’s eye a few times, but she either didn’t notice or pretended not to.

It was a slightly warm, crisp morning. A breeze sent everyone’s hair flying as they sat on the dewy grass for a moment of silence for Moon Wolf. The moment of silence ended up lasting for way longer than a usual one. About five minutes passed, the only sound the rustling of the leaves. Each guest thought about Moon Wolf’s murder. Poor Moon Wolf. Who would kill her?

Finally, Jasmine cleared her throat and looked apologetically at them all as she stood up. “I’m sorry, but I think we should return to the mansion. Goodbye, Moon Wolf.”

“Goodbye, Moon Wolf,” echoed the guests and Briar, and the group made their way back to the mansion. A few paused and glanced back at Moon Wolf’s resting place. The weeping willow bent over it as if watching over her.

Briar suggested that they all go to the rec room. The guests agreed. No one was in the mood for games, so each person made their own smoothie with the blender. The smoothies were excellent, but their wonderful taste couldn’t erase the horrible one in everyone’s mouths after Moon Wolf’s death.

Dead: 1(Moon Wolf)

Alive: 8(Zealatom, Hawkstar, Darkvine, Sam, Azrael, Miyetka, Indigo, Sempreverde)

First death! I just want to let you know that I'll be on vacation from tomorrow to Sunday. I promise I'll post the next part once I get back.

yayy!!! love the writing (insert sparkles here) >:3 

Thanks, everyone who's commented so far :) 

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Day 2 Part 2

The shock and sadness seemed to wear off by lunch. The guests enjoyed ravioli and a fruit salad. Only the hosts still seemed shaken. Azrael guessed it was because of the message. 

Where is it? Briar clearly knew the answer. And Jasmine probably did, too. But she didn’t want to talk about it in front of the guests. 

Azrael tried her best to join a conversation Sam and Zealatom were having, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something seemed weird.

Neither could Jasmine and Briar. They soon disappeared again. A few of the guests caught Briar’s whisper as they walked out the door: “If they want to know where it is, then doesn’t that mean they…” Their voice trailed off once they saw Jasmine’s furious glare. 

The guests started a ping pong tournament. The hosts could hear cheering and arguing all the way from where they were having a quiet discussion. Eventually, Darkvine won, raising her arms in victory. Everyone applauded, stopping when the hosts returned and gave them strange looks.

“Does anyone want to go outside?” asked Briar. “There’s a nice creek pretty close.”

“Can we have a water fight?” Hawkstar’s brown eyes twinkled. 

“I don’t see why not, as long as you don’t use the actual creek water,” Jasmine answered. The guests gleefully raced off to get buckets to fill with water.

Briar was right; they didn’t have to walk far to find the creek. Clear, glossy water streamed away from the mansion, softly rippling. Next to the creek was a long, wide stretch of grass, perfect for a water fight. 

An intense battle ensued. The guests made sweeping motions with their arms, launching water out of their buckets to splatter opponents. The hosts had brought along extra buckets, so the fight lasted a while, a blur of laughter and screeching. In the end, there was no one winner. Everyone was drenched, except those who didn’t participate.

As the group made their way back to the mansion, Azrael hesitated before asking Jasmine, “What does it mean? The message?”

Jasmine’s face instantly darkened. “Don’t worry about it. Briar and I will take care of it.”

Azrael nodded, letting it go.

               ***

The murderer had realized their mistake. But was it really a mistake…or would it actually be better?

Yes, the murderer decided. For the rest of the day, the other guests’ only concerns were getting big scoops of the ice cream that was their dessert. The murderer, however, was wondering how best to execute their plan. 

Hours later, they crept through the dark mansion, counting doors. Closer…closer…ah, yes. That one. 

They pulled the door open. A few slivers of moonlight from the window spilled across the room, illuminating the figure lying in bed.

Hawkstar heard the creak. Her eyes opened and found the murderer.

“What are you doing?” Hawkstar whispered.

The murderer held up the knife. Smiled. Turned the weapon so it flashed in the light. 

“Oh, I think you know what I’m doing.”

Dead: 2 (Moon Wolf, Hawkstar)

Alive: 7 (Indigo, Darkvine, Miyetka, Azrael, Sempreverde, Sam, Zealatom)

New part :)

@Sempreverde, I hope you're okay with what your character does in this part. I thought it would be funny if someone did it, and since your character has a fiery temper, it was you. I'm sorry if you didn't like it.

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Day 3 Part 1

The next morning, Sam and Zealatom ran into each other outside.

“Hi,” Sam said with a smile.

“Hi. Do you want to wake up everyone else so we can all go down to breakfast together?” asked Zealatom.

Sam nodded. 

That meant there was a crowd of half-asleep guests by the time Sam and Zealatom got to the room of the person who would never go down to breakfast. The opening of the door was followed by so much screaming that the hosts would have come running even if Indigo hadn’t rung both of their bells with shaking hands.

Jasmine and Briar walked into the room. A hush fell over the guests when the hosts came out shaking their heads.

“I’m so sorry, everyone.” Briar put a finger under their eye, and when they took it away, Sempreverde could see it glistening with tears. 

“We’ll have another funeral,” Jasmine said grimly. 

    ***

Hawkstar was buried under a tree as the guests quietly cried, and the hosts gave a short speech, making Hawkstar’s funeral very similar to Moon Wolf’s. There was also another moment of silence. 

But that was something that differed from Moon Wolf’s funeral. This time, the guest’s heads swam with questions. Not just who could possibly murder one of them.

Two guests had been killed in two days. It looked an awful lot like the beginning of a pattern. Was it going to continue? They would see the next day. If the answer to the question was yes, were they next? 

That message on the wall by the first murder…what could it mean? Jasmine had been very evasive.

The guests that thought she must have a good reason were correct. One more thing that made this funeral different from the last? Jasmine wanted to talk to Briar. She had dismissed their worry before, telling herself that it would all be fine. But now she couldn’t ignore their theory.

Briar led everyone back into the mansion, seemingly calm. They presented a key lime pie to the guests. A key lime pie did not in any way make up for murder, but a few guests took tiny slices anyway.

The deaths had resulted in irritable guests. Sempreverde and Sam ended up in a shouting match. At any rate, the hosts told them to calm down. 

Sempreverde paid no attention. “How is that my fault?! You’re just–”

“I’m just what?!” demanded Sam. “I was trying to be polite!”

“Well, that’s not how it sounded!”

“Fine! I don’t–”

“Sempreverde, Sam,” Jasmine interrupted angrily. “Please stop.”

The other guests stood awkwardly off to the side, eyes going from Sempreverde to Sam like a tennis match.

This wasn’t even about Sempreverde’s annoyance at Sam anymore. All of Sempreverde’s emotions relating to the murders had built up inside her–horror, sadness, worry–layer after layer like a volcano. There wasn’t any space left for them to climb, and now scorching lava was spilling over her top. Barely knowing what she was doing, Sempreverde reached for the almost whole key lime pie, taking it off the plate.

“Sempreverde, don’t!” Briar yelled.

But Sempreverde was already hurling the pie at Sam. It sailed through the air and nailed them right in the face with a splat. 

Sam shrieked, hands flying to their face. They brushed graham cracker crust, a little key lime juice, and the pie’s filling away, getting it all over their fingers, and took a step towards Sempreverde.

But Jasmine was between them, scowling fiercely.

Sam and Sempreverde thought almost simultaneously, Oh, no.

Dead: 2(Moon Wolf, Hawkstar)

Alive: 7(Sempreverde, Sam, Miyetka, Indigo, Zealatom, Darkvine, Azrael)

New part :D

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Day 3 Part 2

“I told you we shouldn’t have invited people here,” Briar said to Jasmine. “Two murders and a pie to the face? It’s not going well.”

“Be serious,” Jasmine snapped. 

After sending both Sempreverde and Sam up to their rooms, the hosts had been a bit unsure about leaving the rest of the guests alone. But they needed to have this conversation, so here they were in Jasmine’s room. 

Pretty much everything in it was in pretty shades of purple–the walls, the floors, the ceiling, the bed. It sounded like the riddle about the purple one-story house when you thought about it. All of the purple was hurting Briar’s eyes. They had called the room an abomination a few times a couple years back, and had immediately regretted it.

“Sorry,” they said. “But Jas, we really shouldn’t have.”

“I’m beginning to think you’re right. You know how much I hate to admit it.” Jasmine sighed. “Briar, you came dangerously close to blowing it. Several times.”

“Sorry,” Briar repeated with exasperation. “I’m not good at keeping secrets!”

“Really? I had no idea.” Jasmine rolled her eyes, then stopped. “Do you think tomorrow…”

“To be honest…probably.” Briar shook their head. “What do you think we should do?”

“Well, if they want them, they can’t have them,” Jasmine said firmly. “Who knows what they would do with them if they’re willing to kill to get them.”

Briar set their jaw. “Yes. We’ll stop this somehow.”

            ***

Darkvine, Miyetka, Zealatom, Indigo, and Azrael had stayed in the dining room. 

“Uh…what should we do now?” asked Indigo after a long pause.

“Maybe we should wait until Briar and Jasmine come back,” said Darkvine. “It’s really weird how they keep leaving.”

“Yeah. They’re hiding something, that’s for sure,” Azrael agreed. “If it’s something important, shouldn’t they tell us?”

“Maybe we should go outside,” Zealatom suggested.

“Shouldn’t we ask Jasmine and Briar first?” Hawkstar wondered.

“They’re probably talking about whatever they’re hiding.” Darkvine tossed her black hair. “Maybe we should find them and listen.”

“I don’t know about that,” Miyetka replied, slightly adjusting her glasses. Awkwardly, she continued as all eyes turned to her. “They might be keeping it from us because they don’t want whoever killed Moon Wolf and Hawkstar to find out.”

Across the table, each person tensed at the mention of the murders.

“Let’s go outside,” said Zealatom. 

The guests agreed, and soon they roamed a sea of soft green, careful not to stray too far. Sunlight warmed their heads, necks, and shoulders. They mainly rolled down hills, around and around and around until they were too dizzy to continue and dragged their feet until they slowed to a stop. The others, waiting at the bottom or the top, laughed and cheered them on. 

“Go! Go! Indigo, roll to the left or you might hit that tree! No, the other left! Oh, no…that’s gotta hurt. Are you okay?”

“Yep!” called Indigo, getting to her feet and clambering down the rest of the hill. A cozy, happy feeling washed over her as she listened to them, cheering and seeming concered about her, and she barely noticed the pain from hitting the tree. Was this what having friends was like? Did she have friends now? 

The other guests were also having fun. Sempreverde, back in the mansion, had left her room to apologize profusely to Sam, who accepted and added their own apology. The two of them headed down to the library. It turned out Sempreverde and Sam had similar taste in books, and they chatted about their favorites.

“Yes! It’s so good!” 

“I know! I love the writing style.”

Meanwhile, the five others had decided to have a race.

“Hmm.” Zealatom studied the group's surroundings, looking for the perfect finish line. “How about that tree?”

The one he was pointing at was tall and skinny, branches curving and extending far away from the smooth trunk. From where they were standing, the race wouldn’t be too long or too short–a reasonable distance.

“Three, two, one, go!” And each guest broke into a sprint, arms pumping, making their legs go faster and faster–

“Stop!”

The guests obeyed, turning to see Jasmine and Briar running towards them.

“Come inside,” Briar panted.

“Why?” asked Darkvine.

“Because,” said Jasmine, “we don’t want you to be outside on your own.”

“But we didn’t go too far, did we?” Zealatom squinted and saw something glinting in Jasmine’s dark eyes. Was that…fear? What was she afraid of? Had he been wrong to suggest going outside?

“I know. We just want to make sure you’re safe,” Jasmine told the guests. She tried to smile, although it looked more like a grimace.

The guests followed their hosts inside, each one puzzled by their strange behavior. 

Dead: 2(Moon Wolf, Hawkstar)

Alive: 7(Miyetka, Indigo, Azrael, Zealatom, Darkvine, Sam, Sempreverde)

Does anyone have any suspects or theories so far? 

Oh my GOODNESS! I'm so sorry I haven't filled out my form. I've been on a bit of a hiatus lately, and haven't had much time for anything (...mental health issues and drama with some fake friends haven't helped me get back on the CB, either ;-;). If it's too late to fill it out, I completely understand! If it's fine, here's my form:

Name: Endless_Parodies or Parody.

Pronouns: They/she/he/it/xe/neos (any/all)!

Appearance(including clothes): I have short light blonde hair cut into a wolfcut (with star-shaped neon hairclips), a heart-shaped face, long black eyelashes with dark eyeliner, and grey eyes. I'll be wearing a black skeleton t-shirt, fishnet arm warmers, tons of rainbow and black kandi bracelets, a pink studded belt, a black and neon pinstriped skirt, and doc martens with fluffy black and green striped leg warmers. nails painted black.

Personality: calm and quiet until you get to know me, i get anxious in social situations or busy spaces. i don't like talking to people unless they come up to me first. i find it hard to express what i'm trying to say--i'm better expressing myself while writing. 

What do you do when you’re nervous?: i fidget with my fingers and tap my collarbone. i shake and laugh a little.

Skills?(No magic, please): i'm good at writing, drawing, and observing (if that's even a skill). i'm great at swimming (i'm on the swim team).

Hobbies?: reading, writing, drawing, playing videogames.

Favorite color?: rainbow!! neon, pastel, everything!

Favorite things?: books, art, scenecore, cats, rabbits, BATS!! i love bats so much.

@Moon Wolf, interesting theory :) I keep wanting to give you all hints, but I won't.

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Day 4 Part 1

The next morning, Darkvine opened her eyes and slowly rubbed the bleariness from them. She kicked herself free from her green blankets after a few moments and hopped out of bed. 

Really, it was quite early, but Darkvine figured she might as well do some exploring. It was pretty much the main thing Jasmine had talked about when describing the mansion, after all.

Darkvine changed out of her pajamas and was reaching for her doorknob when the door opened from the outside to reveal a fellow guest.

“Oh, hi,” said Darkvine. “Do you want to explore together?”

The guest smiled at her. “I was also thinking about exploring.”

Darkvine stepped through the doorway and smiled back. She glanced at the hallway and noticed that her room had moved a few doors to the left. “Great. Maybe we should go up a few floors.”
“Oh,” the guest said slowly, taking a step back towards Darkvine’s door. “I didn’t mean exploring the mansion.”

Darkvine stared at them. “Uh…what did you mean, then?”

The guest looked at her for a moment, lips slightly parted. And then, so quickly it might have been planned, they struck Darkvine’s back with both hands, slamming her into the opposite wall. 

The impact knocked the wind out of her. As Darkvine gasped for air, trying to recover, the guest advanced until they stood right in front of her.

The guest’s mouth twisted into a smirk. They reached into their pocket and brandished a pair of scissors. 

“I meant,” said the guest, “exploring different weapons. You can’t always use a knife, right?”

And Darkvine figured it out. She was looking at the murderer, and…this was the end. Chill swept over her. “Why are you doing this?” she whispered.

“I’m sorry,” the murderer told her. “This wasn’t the original plan. But there’s a secret in this mansion that I need.”

A feeling gripped Darkvine, a feeling of such disgust that she pulled her eyes away from the murderer. She wouldn’t look at them, wouldn’t show any weakness.

In a few seconds, her eyes searched the hallway. Golden walls, dark carpets. Door after door after door. A chandelier close to where she lay, helpless.

The chandelier. She stared at the small lights twinkling all over each blue crystal tendril. Lights, lights, lights. 

And, as Darkvine kept her eyes on the little glimmers of hope, she died.

          ***

Miyetka had laid in bed for hours the previous night, trying to figure out what was going on. 

She hadn’t arrived at an answer yet, but she was determined to find one. Miyetka strode purposefully down one hallway, looking for the dining room for breakfast. Up ahead was a pretty blue chandelier, someone slumped against the wall, and–

Wait, what? As Miyetka approached, she recognized the person as Darkvine. 

“Darkvine?” Miyetka called. 

There was no reply. Darkvine didn’t move.

Miyetka stopped and stared at Darkvine. In an instant, the awful truth hit her. This was the continuation of the pattern.

Miyetka sank to her knees beside Darkvine. No tears formed in her eyes. Instead, a dull ache filled her heart. Whenever it pulsed, a voice seemed to murmur, Moon Wolf, Hawkstar, Darkvine.

Miyetka remained crouched on the floor. She pushed the carpet away, preferring the cold wood, which numbed her body. Her eyes closed.

She wasn’t sure how much time passed before they opened again. Miyetka realized she had to tell everyone else. Her hand rummaged in her pocket and closed around a bell. It was purple.

Miyetka shook the bell, and a loud chime was heard throughout the mansion, a signal of yet another death.

Dead: 3(Moon Wolf, Hawkstar, Darkvine)

Alive: 6(Zealatom, Indigo, Azrael, Sam, Miyetka, Sempreverde)

I already posted something about going on hiatus(I'm Amity). I have to be gone for a little more than three weeks, starting tomorrow. The next part is already written and I promise it'll be posted the day I get back.