Hide and Seek

Chapter 18: Fourteen

This time I ran upstairs, that is, after bumping into several other things. It was so dark that I could barely see. When I walked towards the stairs, I worried about being ambushed by someone. I would hate to die during the second level of the game. That would have been a real tragic way to go. Each stair I ascended gave me away. My shoes kept clicking against the hard stairs, so I removed them before I made it to the top. Once up the stairs, I headed for my room.

As soon as my hand turned my doorknob, I heard footsteps coming from behind me. There was somebody on the same floor as me, and that wasn't good. I almost stopped to check who it was, thinking it could have been one of my friends. That was a risky step to take, so I opened my room door and closed it.

When I entered the room, the moonlight welcomed me. I could see everything in the room. No one was hiding inside from what I saw. I didn't check the closet. There was no time. Someone was close by.

I jumped on my bed and quickly hid underneath the covers. I know it was a lame place to hide, but I was too scared. Someone was outside of the door, and I heard the doorknob turning. Again, my heart was pounding, I was sweating, and my legs felt like cooked noodles. I mouthed prayers, hoping they would be answered and I wouldn't have to die in this stupid mansion.

My breathing froze when someone entered the room. I tried my best to calm my breathing down: to keep it normal. For a moment it worked until I felt someone else under the covers with me. I lost it at that point. There was someone behind me spooned against my back.

The person inside of the room rummaged through stuff in my room. I even heard them open my closest door. Whoever was behind me began breathing heavily enough for me to feel their warm breath on my neck. The footsteps left the room. That's when I sat up and looked to see who was next to me.

I reached my hand for the blanket to reveal the stranger. I stopped when I saw the pale arm clenching my blanket.

I honestly didn't want to find out who it was but I looked at their face anyway. At first, I didn't know who it was when I saw their blue face, but I recognized the hair. It was the girl who wore the mask. The ones that were outside of the abandoned house. At that moment, I wish she had worn her mask.

I quickly got out of the bed and backed away, heading for the door which was a bad idea. When I started to open the door, the moonlight coming from the window welcomed someone crawling down the hallway, coming this way. It was the other masked kid, and they were coming towards the room.

I quickly shut the door and hid in the closet, only to realize that someone was inside with me. I closed my eyes out of fear of what I could have seen. The person behind me started rubbing my hair.

I cringed, feeling uncomfortable. Whoever was behind me then tapped me on the shoulder. I slowly turned around, still afraid. The person grabbed my hand and raised it into the air. Soon after, I felt hair that fell over the eyes of the person. There was only one person with hair length like that. Jasper. I forced a smile through the tears falling down my cheek. I felt so safe for a moment and so happy that he was alive.

The door to the room opened. My breathing seized. Jasper grabbed my waist and pulled me back. He walked in front of me. Scared, I gripped the back of his shirt and looked over his shoulder.

Suddenly the closet door opened, and someone quickly crawled inside.

 Jasper struggled to keep the masked child away from me. They seemed to be focused more on me than Jasper. Scared for my life, I began kicking the masked kid instead of drawing my weapon. Jasper was about to draw his weapon, but someone yelled out.

"I found a dead body!"

I was quickly released. I nearly started to cry, but Jasper held onto me and walked us both back into the entry room. He rubbed my arm on our way downstairs. Even though he couldn't speak, I knew he'd tell me everything was going to be okay. I could just hear it in mind.

***

Once in the entry room, I saw Mrs. Harmon dragging in another dead body. It was one of the masked children.

"So," Mr. Harmon said, "who's the murderer?"

I was going to point out the one who attacked me, but the girl who hid with me pointed to him first.

Mr. Harmon smiled, "Kill your own? I'm impressed. This game is getting interesting."

Everyone got new cards. Eyes fluttered around, looking for the murderer. I looked at my paper in disbelief. I didn't think it would happen so soon. I felt a sickening feeling come up my throat, making me feel like I'd throw up.

"Lights off!" Mr. Harmon exclaimed. "Begin!"

I was the murderer.