Kaleidoscope Killer

Chapter 8

My first thought when I find myself waking up is, “Why didn’t I leave?” But my fingers find the small necklace Razor gave me making a smile creep onto my drowsy morning face. Someone cares about me. I roll over in my new sense of tired euphoria pulling the sleeping bag closer to my face. The sun is blazing through the dust on the tiny attic window. With the house being peacefully silent I try to close my eyes and try to drift off back to dreamland.

            Something trickles into the back of my mind, and my eyes shoot open realizing that the house is too quiet. Swiftly, but reluctantly, I slip out of my warm sleeping bag, and walk to the door. I turn the handle and descend downstairs to the quiet hallway. Is it possible everyone is sleeping? It should be the middle of the day by now at least. I walk to my right towards Scorch’s room because that’s the only room I really know the location of.

            I come across a bedroom with a lump under a grey sleeping bag. A ball of brown floppy hair is sticking out from the top; Scorch. He is snoring quietly, so I leave him alone and peak into the room next to his. Ice is sprawled out on a sleeping bag snoring quite loudly. He was obviously too tired to get in the sleeping bag itself. I laugh under my breath, not wanting to wake him up.

            My eyes find feet sticking out from under a sheet on the floor. Blue hair is sticking out from under it as well. Blade seems like he was knocked out last night too. I walk closer to take the sheet off his face and something behind me moves. I spin around and pull out my gun pointing it at the doorway. To my surprise, nothing is there at all. Did I ever mention that I was horrible in the morning?

            My hand gently pulls the sheet from Blade’s face, and I stifle a scream. Blade’s eyes are wide open staring at the doorway. His mouth is tight in a hateful scowl. If his breathing was any softer, I would think he was dead. I can clearly see that he fell asleep that way, but how? What happened while I was napping? As I go to check on Ice, something crashes in the kitchen, like pots and pans falling.

            I hear Razor’s voice, “Kaleidoscope, can you come help me?”

            Rolling my eyes, I walk into the hallway. I’m about to round the corner and walk into the kitchen when someone grabs my shoulder and pulls me into a closet in the hall. A hand goes around my mouth, and I can tell that it’s Razor. I look up at him in the dim light. His eyes are wide and worried.

            I push Razor’s hand from my mouth and say, “Didn’t you just call me from the kitchen?” I could have sworn that’s where he was.

            He shakes his head slowly. “That wasn’t me, but I heard it too.”

            My heart drops in fear. “Who else could it have been? I mean, it was your voice.”

            “I know,” he pauses as if listening for the imposter again, “I just don’t know how he did it.”

            I look into the gold specks in his eyes and I can tell he knows who is in the kitchen. “Razor, tell me who’s out there.”

            Razor goes to open his mouth, but the closet door opens instead making us tumble out on the floor. I hit my head on a thick black boot that is all too familiar. I look up and my jaw drops in astonishment. The man that just opened the door looks exactly like Razor! The Razor that was just in the closet with me, jumps to his feet and pulls me up into a protective embrace. Suddenly, I am confused and I cannot tell if the Razor that was in the closet with me is the real Razor, or the one from the kitchen.

            “Kaleidoscope, get away from him!” yells the Kitchen Razor.

            I whip my head up as the Closet Razor says, “Are you kidding me? Sevals, you are a nasty conniving freak! She would never believe you! Kaleidoscope knows the truth now! She isn’t your innocent baby anymore!”