toxic fate

18

Why was it Atalanta's body?

It was a picture of her body laying lifeless in the puddle of her own blood. Her head has been sliced off, and was placed near the body.

Disgusting. The only word I could describe it.

I flipped the photograph, and took a glance at the back of it.

"Next room."

Next room? What's there anyways?

I headed out, and approach the next door. I opened it, and it was almost empty; except for the particles of dust. There were less furniture here, and few drawers. But there were blood smears on the wall. As I turned my head swiftly, I found another smudged paper taped to the wall.

I approached it, and peeled it off. This time, the ink was much more visible.

"Students always sit in rows, don't they? Quite boring."

What does this have to do with the freaking mystery? I tried processing it into my mind. It is obvious that the second killer is watching our every move. But why would he/she play a useless riddle like this?

I re-read the letter again.

'Students always sit in rows, don't they? Quite boring.'

It's true that students sit in rows, but is this suggesting I should search in the classroom? But on second thought, why was 'rows' underlined apart from other words?

Then it hit me. It's a homophone. Rows. Rows is a homophone with something. But with what?
I thought for a while, and the word 'rose' only came to mind. I suppose there's a slight chance I'm correct.

I opened all the drawers, and soon enough, I found a rose. I picked it up, and it dripped with blood. What the hell? There was something taped in the same drawer. I peeled it off, and it was another photograph.

A photograph of the killer's weapon.

A pair of large scissors?

I groaned, and flipped the photograph too see the back of it.

"Don't enter the third room, you'll die instantly."

This is somehow like a child's play. What's harmful about the third room?

"Paul, you got a zip bag or something?" I asked, turning to the ghost.
He pulled out from his pocket two zip bags.
"Thanks." I said, putting the blood dipped rose in one bag, and the photographs in the other.

I headed out and approached the third door. I took one deep breath before opening it. As I did, the view was not what I expected.

Dead bodies. Corpses. They're all everywhere. On the ground, or hung by the neck. Blood smears over the wooden walls, and the cold floor. The view is so horrifying that I could instantly puke. The strong odour is not helping either.

I walked in, and avoided stepping on the puddles of red liquid. I then saw corpses of those who were executed.
Misa and the receptionist.
Misa was literally charred in ashes. The receptionist was burnt in acid, her eye sockets were empty and her mouth was left ajar.

I cringed. Anyways, I'm actually a bit surprised that I'm still alive, for the letter mentioned--

I felt a rope tightening around my neck. Is this what the letter meant? I instantly dropped the zip bags. I kicked my legs in the air, clutching the rope around my neck; trying to breathe.

I stared at down at Paul. He parted his lips to say something, but shut it quickly. He just stared at me innocently, before looking at someone who was standing at the doorstep.

I took a glance at who it was. There was a person wearing a mask. The mask was painted in white, along with a peephole for his/her left eye. The mask had two dots painted on the cheeks to resemble a blush. It had a large grin on it too. The person's clothes were all tattered in blood, and held a pair of large scissors.

Is this the killer we were looking for?

"I've mentioned that you'll die instantly. Seems to me that you didn't believe that." The person chuckled. It was a feminine chuckle.

"You see all these bodies that are hung? These are the bodies of those who entered this room last year. Yes, students." She chuckled again, emphasising the word, students.

"Enjoy your death~" She let out a hollow laugh, before turning away. I looked at Paul, who stared at me. His lips curved into a smile, and then grinned.

I need to be quick. My breathing is slowing down. I then formed a knife by my black magic. I suppose this black magic could come in handy.

I saw Paul watched in horror.

I sliced it through the rope that held me hostage. I fell to the ground, and panted. My breathing was slowly turning back to normal. I quickly glanced at the doorstep, and found that the killer was gone.

I then turned to Paul, who was clutching his fists.

I smirked in response.

"I was happy for a moment that you were dying." He spat, slipping out a knife from his pocket.
"And that happiness vanished, too bad." I laughed.
"Just to let you know, I don't love you at all. Those love stuff were all an act. If you loved me, I could have easily killed you, but you fouled my plan. Therefore, I'll kill you here." He smiled, thinking I would have died from shock.

"You think I'm stupid?" I laughed.
"What? You're not shocked?" He questioned, as he tilted his head.

"I read through your actions. It was too easy--just like a jigsaw puzzle. So, I acted along with your child's play, and you actually thought I was dumb. You fell into my trap instead."

[Time remaining: 3 hours, 5 minutes, and 30 seconds.]

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(A/N) Woo! Two chapters published in a day!
Be proud, lol.