Power Outage [REWRITTEN]

Symposium

Kiryomi and Quinn immediately stepped backwards as they witnessed the decapitated corpse before them. The cervical spine was poking out of the red, spongy flesh that was barely being contained in the skin. Blood festered down her body and drizzled onto the flooring, giving the white carpet a repulsive coat of red paint. The head itself was still rolling across the room, and eventually, it ceased its movement once it came it contact with Austin's foot. His face went pale and he completely froze. His wide eyes made contact with the head's dull, lifeless ones. The body slumped and hit the ground, creating a blaring thud that haunted the guests' ears. Prasiddhi looked down and saw that blood had stained her own clothing. Her eyes shifted to the ones around the poker table. They had been sprayed with red fluids like her. Although, the one with carmel braids appeared to be entirely clean.

Kiryomi crouched down and embraced Melodie. In a raspy voice, she stammered. "Why would anyone do this to you? You're the s-sweetest girl I've ever met."

"Shit. I'm gonna hurl." Alex swiftly turned to the opposite direction and bent down to regurgitate.

"You motherfucker!" Quinn whacked the poker table with their knuckles. Their face was seething with hatred as they faced Jean-Claude. "You invited us all just so you can kill us!"

"W-What?" He mumbled, genuinely addled.

"Awh, has the discussion already begun? I haven't even set the timer."

Austin flinched at the sudden comment. "What the fuck was that?! Was that any of you?!"

No one replied to Austin's question. Everyone frantically glanced around, wondering where the sound came from. The crowd jumped once the voice spoke again. "I may not be present, but I can assure you that I am watching you all. And I can also tell you that you may not make it out of here alive."

"Are you the one who murdered Melodie and trapped us in here?! I swear, when I find you, I'm gonna take off my shoe and shove it up your ass before taking it out and clogging your throat with the same shoe. Then, I'll use my two, bloody, unwashed fingers to thrust them into your nostrils until you die from suffocation!" Quinn curled their fingers into fists. Their hands trembled as they threatened the person speaking to them.

"Yes, I am the one who is holding you captive, but I am not the one who murdered your precious friend." The host explained. "If I am not present in the room, how would I have killed her, hm? A gunshot doesn't make a cut like that. So, who do you think it could be?"

"N-No, it can't be right. Are-Are you saying it's one of us?" A girl with a bandana squeaked.

They reply with a malicious snicker. "The culprit is one of you. I think it's time to explain the rules."

"This is a game I like to call Flicker. There are two teams known as good and evil. Each side must endeavor to eliminate each other. You cannot simply begin randomly stabbing, though. Few of you will receive a special role, including the murderer. The journals that I will bestow you will show you which role you have. The murderer already knows their role from the start, but if I didn't hand it out, you'd already know who it is. Any player who attempts to leave this manor will die from 'mysterious circumstances', which is my putting a bullet through your head." As the rules were elucidated, Prasiddhi grimaced. Discomfort slithered down her spine, causing her to shiver. Unconsciously, she gave skeptical glances to each person in the same room.

"Enough! I'm calling the police!" A person with carmel ponytails bared her teeth. She hastily clasped the phone from her pocket and was about to dial, however, her fingers paused.

"What's wrong, Odette?" The man with freckles hovered over her shoulder.

She tousled her hair with her hand. Her face was flushed. "Damn it, there's no connection!"