Let the Games Begin DreamNotFound

Chapter 16

George POV

Violet hues marred tanned skin, spreading around an unnatural lump jutting from Sapnap's neck. George couldn't tear his eyes away from the gruesome twist of flesh and bone. Goosebumps erupted over his snowy skin, time slowing to a crawl.

"Georgie?" Dream appeared behind him, his steps halting abruptly.

He saw it too. Sapnap was dead. 

No, he'd been murdered.

"What's with you guys?" Skeppy pushed himself up, approaching with a roll of his eyes. "Just wake him—" The player choked, lips flailing in silent shock. 

"He's dead." George's whisper sent waves of alarm through their group.

"C'mere, don't look." Dream's arm slid around the brunette's waist, tugging him gently.

A cold wind slid straight through George, allowing himself to be coaxed further from the body. His head leaned against the dirty blond's shoulder, studying the branch walls in a daze. His stomach dropped in aghast. Not one branch was out of place. Nothing came in or went out.

Narrowed gazes flashed in suspicion, shouts of surprise quickly dying into tense silence. Sykunno needn't check for pulse, the truth glaringly obvious. They all shared one sickening thought, a single sentence that tossed a stone into the delicate glass of trust they'd formed.

Corpse was first to break the hushed atmosphere. "Who did it?"

Crack.

"Who?!" Skeppy wrinkled his nose, hostility suddenly radiating from his stiff muscles. "You think one of us did this?!"

"No one else could have done this," Corpse reasoned. 

"Ho-how do we know someone didn't break in..." Sykunno trailed off, tears rimming his chocolate eyes when he saw no tracks on the ground or damage to the walls. 

Whoever murdered Sapnap was still here. One of them had to be the killer.

"We would've noticed if someone broke in," Dream studied each player with emerald chips of ice, sparing only the brunette held tight against him. "But our guard was down around each other, sneaking up on Sap would have been easy for any of you."

Shatter.

"You sound like you're speaking from experience," Wilbur accused. "Were you the one who killed him?""

"No, I was with George all night," Dream flashed back. "I was only stating the obvious."

"It's true." George glared at Wilbur. "I would've felt him move."

He knew the killer wasn't Dream, his initial shock devoured with a surge of defensiveness. The dirty blond's warmth had been his comfort throughout the night, he'd have woken immediately if Dream had left him.

"You both could've been in on it." Skeppy took a step away. "George has been solving these games a little too easily, I bet he's one of them."

"You shut your fucking mouth." Dream startled the player with the raw rage slicing in his tone. "He would've let us die if that was the case, you know damn well he was the only one smart enough to figure out those puzzles."

George leaned his weight against the dirty blond, half worried he would punch Skeppy and really set the suspicion on them. 

"If he's so smart then why doesn't he tell us who did it?" Skeppy pushed his luck a little further.

"I— I was sleeping... I don't..." George stuttered truthfully. His face burned under the pressure, but he truly didn't know. Any player here, excluding Dream and injured Tommy, could've done it. The murderer left no clues, covering any trace and using the cleanest method to end Sapnap's life.