𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐀 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝

VII

October first, the first week of the carnival;
Through the eyes that are not my own, I'm in a haunted house; one of the many ones we've set up in this carnival.  I see hands that are not my own slit the throat of one of my classmates.
I think, had I not had this vision, I might've been among the many that mistook this dead body as a prompt.

October eighth, the second week of the carnival.
I don't even know what I was expecting. Of course the murderer would pick the carnival as the perfect location, it's so easy to mistake a real murder for a fake one.
So I watch as gloved hands cut off the air supply to another classmate, and I make sure some staff accidentally comes across it.

October fifteenth, the third week of the carnival.
I was ready for it this time, I was waiting for it to happen all night. This time, I tried to focus more on the vision itself than the constant panic of feeling insane. I try so hard to look for clues, in the hands, the body that I'm inhabiting, the eyes of the victim, a reflection–anything. I try to look for any guests that would have gloves, any staff, but nothing. It's always a dead end.

October twenty second, the fourth week of the carnival.
I'm so tired. So very tired of the feeling of going insane, of having my rival find and wipe blood off of me every time. I'm sick of the out of body experience, of feeling like all the signs lead to me. I told Henry about my plan, about trying to figure out my clues. Only this time, he killed under the tracks of a roller coaster and I could hardly make out anything in the dark.

October twenty ninth, the fifth week of the carnival.
The house of mirrors. I grew dizzy from all the mirrors, under the body, over them, all around. I didn't know which reflection to try and focus on, but each time the knife stabbed my science classmate, the blood would cover any reflection I could catch. It happened after the carnival was closed for the night meaning they had access to the keys. A new lead, only that, Henry hacked into the surveillance cameras and everyone was where they were supposed to be. Another dead end.

October thirty-first, the last day of the carnival.
It also happened to be halloween. Which also happened to be my birthday, but with all the killings going on, I wasn't really excited. The new, more strict, curfew and security—thanks to the frequency of murders—it was a miracle they haven't cancelled. I was sure I'd get another vision, I just hoped I wasn't around any of my friends when it did. My birthday present this year? I got to pick out their costumes.

"You two are nerds." Xander tells Alyssa and I, and though his voice makes it sound like a deadpan, amusement shows in his amber eyes.

I put my hands on my hips and Alyssa clutches her Star Wars wampa hat defensively and we mock gasp.

Jayden kisses her forehead, the red paint on his face leaving a little mark.

I'm wearing a Spider-Gwen costume, Alyssa wears a wanda costume, and Jayden wears a vision costume. Xander usually throws on a Batman shirt and calls it a day but this time I made sure to give him the best Anakin costume I could find.

For the last day of the carnival, the school extended the grounds to the opera house for their big halloween charity party. The opera house is beautiful, with details coating  the walls and pathways adorned with the deepest crimson curtains. The middle of the opera house was hollowed out, as if to create a ballroom feel. It was gorgeous, yet something in my gut told me it wouldn't last.

We see Jaydens little sister, Fatme, and Xander immediately leaves us for her. I predict by the end of the night they'll be kissing, the same way I predicted Jayden and Aly.  Internally I'm holding up a sign that says #Fander. I make my way to the open bar and tab the bartender down for a wine.