Chapter 13: Bullseye

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Not all of the dots have been connected yet, Tyler thought. Can we really determine the culprit here?
"Now that I think about it..." Tyler thought out loud. "I guess there was someone who could have been hiding something during the investigation!"
Adam raised his eyebrows. "Who?"
"Well, most of you were in the Study room when I came up..." Tyler explained. "But of course, some people weren't, and I saw who and what they were doing at the time."
Jason blinked. "Was anyone suspicious?"
Tyler recalled the four people who hadn't been in the study room at the time.
He turned to look into the Dining Hall and was surprised at what he saw.
It was empty, except for one single person looking around.
"Ryan? What are you doing down here?" Tyler asked, walking up to him.
"Ah! Don't scare me like that..." Ryan complained, turning around to face Tyler.
"Wait...Tyler?! You're awake?" Ryan asked, his eyes widening.
Ryan had been investigating the Dining Room, eager to get away from the body. He hadn't really been searching in any place specific...but had anyone else been in the Dining Room?
But then again, the Dining Room was everyone's meeting place, so Ryan hadn't exactly been alone there for long.
Tyler recalled to when he had gone to the second floor. Three others had been there.
On the second floor, in the Living Room, was Bash, Matt and Mitch.
"Tyler! You're awake?" Matt exclaimed, looking over at him from where he and Bash were investigating the fireplace.
"Yeah..." Tyler said.
"I'm glad you're alive," Mitch remarked from where he was leaning against the large wall painting, arms crossed.
"Did...um...did Ryan tell you about...?" Bash asked hesitantly.
"Yeah..." Tyler replied, and passed them hurriedly to go down the hallway.
After that, he had ran off into the Study Room, where everyone else was. Was there anyone out of those four who could have hid a weapon somewhere...?
Tyler blinked. Yes, there was.
"I think I have some more evidence on who the culprit could be," Tyler explained.
Brice looked over at him. "Great; we need some new information now."
"Okay, so I'm pretty sure the culprit was one of four people-the four people who weren't in the Study Room when I got there. Ryan, Bash, Matt and Mitch."
"Ryan was in the Dining Hall, investigating alone. He was alone, but I'm assuming that others had been there recently, since it's our meeting place. I don't think he could have hid a weapon there."
"Upstairs were Bash, Matt and Mitch. Bash and Matt were investigating the fireplace, since vital information had been there last time, I guess. First off, it would be hard to hide a sword in there, especially if someone else was looking with you. And then Mitch..." Tyler trailed off, turning his gaze to Mitch.
"Mitch was leaning against the large painting in the Living Room. A large painting...just the place to hide a sword behind. No one would think to look there, especially with Mitch casually leaning against it!"
Everyone's eyes widened, as they realized Tyler's words were true.
"You've got a point," Ryan agreed. "Swords are pretty flat, hiding one behind a painting frame couldn't have been too hard."
Brice nodded in agreement. "And then there could have actually been a sword in the chest Mitch checked!"
Jerome glared at everyone. "You're still forgetting something!" Jerome pointed out. "Seto's knife was bloody, and the bloody rag in the bathroom! How do you explain those?"
"Well, the knife was obviously used to draw blood if it had blood on it," Ty explained. "But there wasn't too much blood-it would have been messier, had it been used to slit Seto's throat. I'd like to guess that Seto fought back, and possibly inflicted a minor wound on his attacker?"
Quentin's eyes widened in realization. "Then could the rag have been used to clean the culprit's wounds?"
"Everything makes sense!" Adam exclaimed. "Seto fought back against his attacker. His attacker should have some kind of cut or something on him right now!"
Ty nodded slowly. "There was no blood on the desk or book, which could only mean that Seto had gotten up out of his chair before finally being killed against the wall."
Matt glanced at Mitch. "Mitch...do you have some kind of...injury you could show us?"
Mitch shook his head. "Nope."
Ty smiled calmly. "You can prove to us that you're innocent by showing us you're free of wounds."
"Unless you're GUILTY!" Suiko chimed in.
Jerome looked over at Mitch desperately. "Just show them! Just somehow prove that you're not the culprit!"
Mitch tensed, frowning and closing his eyes.
"M-Mitch...don't..." Jerome trailed, eyes wide.
"OKAY, FINE!" Mitch exclaimed, his voice surprisingly loud. He whipped off his jacket in a red and black blur, tossing it to the ground, leaving him in his pale brownish-white long sleeved shirt. He grabbed the sleeve on his right arm and pulled it up, revealing a thin, shallow cut going up the side of his arm.
"IT WAS ME! I DID IT! ARE YOU HAPPY?" Mitch snarled, looking around at everyone's terrified faces.
"Mitch...?" Matt muttered fearfully.
Jerome's face changed from fear to anger. "If that cut's from Seto, how come your shirt isn't ripped or bleeding?!"
Jerome had a point. The cut wasn't bleeding now of course, but at the time it should have bled over Mitch's shirt.
Mitch smirked. "I just took my shirt off. I knew Seto had a knife! I knew he'd be a challenge! I was prepared; I even brought that rag to clean up any cuts!"
Adam stared at Mitch fearfully. "Why did you attack SETO, with the KNIFE, of all people?!"
Mitch's smirk grew to a full smile.
"I wanted the challenge. Seeing those videos...Herobrine's motives...watching myself win games...I remembered how much I enjoyed killing. I wanted it again!"
Jerome still glared at Mitch. "No...b-but, you're the Super Minecraft Level ARCHER! How could you use a sword?!"
Mitch cast a sideways glance at Jerome. "You saw the videos. I'm exceptional with a bow, but I'm great with swords and PVP too. The title of Super Minecraft Level PVP was taken, though."
Jerome's eyes widened. "But...no. I won't believe it. You didn't do it, Mitch!!" Jerome exclaimed desperately.
Mitch gave Jerome a sad smile. "I couldn't resist it, Jerome. Especially after I found that sword. I had to kill..." Mitch explained, moving his gaze down to his hands, which he clenched into fists and smirked.
"Jerome...All signs point to Mitch. He even admitted it," Brice told Jerome quietly.
"You're wrong! Mitch wouldn't do that. Mitch didn't do that. You're gonna vote for him, and w-we're all gonna die..." Jerome rambled, the normally easygoing bacca baring his pointed teeth, his thick brown fur rising.
Mitch folded his arms, frowning and closing his eyes. "Jerome...give it up. You all have to execute me now. That kill sure was worth it...I felt alive again. Now, I'm about to be the opposite."
Jerome gritted his teeth and stared at Mitch with a look of bewilderment, anger and realization, but didn't say any more.
Watching this scene between two best friends go down hurt Tyler's heart. Herobrine sighed. "Gonna make a climax inference or what?" he muttered.
Ty brightened. "I'll do it! Of course, if nobody minds."
Jerome glared at Ty dangerously. "GO AHEAD! DO YOUR STUPID INFERENCE! CLARIFY TO EVERYONE THAT MITCH NEEDS TO DIE!"
Tyler had never seen the bacca so upset, and he looked dangerous. But Ty didn't seem fazed, and started the inference.
"Our culprit first found the sword when checking the closet with everyone else. He was lucky enough to find the chest with the sword in it. Naturally, he casually lied, saying nothing useful was in the chest. Soon motivated by Herobrine's videos, the culprit knew how he would now kill."
"When Seto said he would be carrying a knife, the culprit saw his opportunity. He must have later on retrieved the sword from the closet, and went to the Enchanting Room, where Seto said he'd be."
"However, I believe Seto was just being smart. Seto never went to the Enchanting Room, like the culprit thought. He had gone to the Study Room- and that's where the culprit soon found him."
"The culprit knew things could get messy, so he took off his shirt before going in, to not ruin his clothes and make them evidence. Seto was definitely surprised to see our culprit come in with a sword, but of course he got up from his desk and fought back.
During the fight, Seto was able to leave a cut on the culprit's right arm at some point. It wasn't deep, but it drew blood.
The culprit soon finished Seto off, pinning him against the wall and slitting his throat with the sword, leaving Seto to collapse and bleed out on the floor."
"The culprit brought out the trusty rag they had brought with them to clean their cut. The blood soon stopped flowing, and the culprit hid the rag in the bathroom trash can, fearing someone would hear if he flushed it down the toilet.
The culprit put back on his shirt, and rushed to the Living room to hide his sword behind the large wall painting. At the investigation, he would lean against it casually, not seeming suspicious to anyone but ensuring that no one would find the weapon."
"And our culprit...is you, Mitch," Ty finished calmly, looking at Mitch, who was only frowning slightly.
Herobrine chuckled. "So we're done? Good! Then it's time to vote!"
"...Hm, the vote's almost unanimous. Someone voted for Suiko. Wonder who that could have been," Herobrine said in annoyance, glaring at Jerome, who gave a wild, angry glare back. "I'm not voting for Mitch..." he growled.
The giant slot machine slid out from the wall, and one by one each slot rested on Mitch's face. The word GUILTY flashed, and confetti popped out.
"Correct! Mitch is your culprit!" Herobrine announced.
Jerome stared at Mitch with furious and terrified eyes. "They're lying! They're lying..." Jerome told Mitch defiantly. Mitch stared at Jerome. "Jerome, stop. I've been proved guilty already."
Jerome's face fell and his eyes widened, as Mitch began to walk, chin high, down the hallway that had once dragged Ian by a cuff around the neck.
≪≫
Bullseye
The metal room that had been home to two deaths already now contained a large archery target on the far side of the wall.
The yellow center ring slid open, revealing Mitch inside. All four limbs were cuffed to chains linked to the walls of the opening.
Mitch stared straight ahead, his eyes sharp, his mouth in a slight frown.
A large bow rose up from the floor, with a quiver if arrows beside it.
An arrow flew up from the quiver into the bow, and nocked itself.
The bow drew back, and fired.
Mitch flinched, but the giant arrow impaled itself on the very outer ring of the target, vibrating from impact.
Another arrow nocked itself, quicker this time, and shot again, landing on the second outer ring, the black ring.
Beads of sweat formed on Mitch's face as another arrow shot itself into the middle blue ring of the target.
He kept his eyes straight ahead, his face as straight as possible as another arrow quickly launched into the red ring around the bullseye.
The last arrow in the quiver nocked itself and drew back.
There was a terrible moment where time seemed to freeze......
Then, the arrow whizzed off the bow, directly into the bullseye of the target.
The head of the arrow was so big it covered the hole completely, with blood splattered on the arrowhead and in a ring around it on the target.
Everyone stared at the impaled target in shocked silence.
Tyler nervously looked over at Jerome. Jerome was shaking all over, his eyes wide with terrible fear and shock, and tears forming at his eyes.
"There you have it, another execution well done!" Herobrine exclaimed in a mellow tone.
"W-WAIT!" Jerome exclaimed.
Herobrine narrowed his eyes. "What? Your buddy's already dead. Behind that giant arrow in the bullseye, you don't even wanna see what's left."
Jerome glared at Herobrine with full hatred. "You said that if we killed, we'd find out the meaning behind those videos," he growled.
Herobrine laughed. "Yeah, about that..."
Jerome's face became contorted with rage. "MITCH GAVE HIS LIFE FOR THIS INFORMATION! YOU'D BETTER TELL ALL OF US NOW!"
Herobrine smiled. "I never said that you'd learn this information if you killed. I just said that if you wanted to know, kill. I didn't promise anything! Surprise!"
Herobrine laughed maniacally, and Ryan and Matt rushed forward to hold Jerome back before he tried to attack the laughing man. "LET ME GET TO HIM!" Jerome roared furiously. "HE KILLED MITCH! HE LIED TO US ALL! HE LIED TO US ALL!"
The despairing sound of Herobrine's laughter and Jerome's raging cries echoed across the seemingly empty metal room.

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