Category : Books-Fiction

Sub Category : Suspense/Mystery

"I hope Lele comes back from the ungodly machine," GloZell announces to no one in particular. "I really do."

I don't, thinks Matt, a shiver running up his spine at the thought. He doesn't know Andrea too well, so he doesn't have much of a stake in her fate one way or the other, but...Lele. Ugh. Lele.

He hates everything about her, and he hopes to God she's dead...because if she comes back alive, it'll be his head on the next platter.

Joey straightens up in his seat. "They're coming."

Arthur is the first to arrive, his face an unreadable mask. Three pairs of heels echo on the pavement behind him. Matt sits there, hands clenched together, praying for the best-case scenario. Kill her, please, she's an awful person, she doesn't deserve to be here, she's the problem, she'll ruin everything, please, God, please...

Justine walks in. Her pretty mouth is turned downwards into a frown, as if she's a six-year-old who was denied a chocolate bar. Eva's right behind her, a satisfied smirk on her otherwise stoic face. And leaning on her arm, grinning like there's no tomorrow, is...oh, no.

Lele.

"I survived!" she shrieks, her shrill voice stabbing Matt's ears like a knife in the gut. "I know you're all happy about it." Giggle. Wink.

GloZell slams her cane on the ground. "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!"

Great. Just great. Matt's practically-foolproof plan has gone and exploded in his face. Against all odds, Lele Pons is still freakin' alive.

And now...everyone knows that he was the one who voted for Lele. Suppose somebody tells on him? Suppose they go up to Lele and be like, "yeah, Matt had it out for you, let's vote him in next!" and then he ends up a corpse in the basement?

No. That won't happen. It won't. He won't let it. He is not, repeat not, going to die.

But Lele is. Sure, it didn't work this time, but there are still three more artifacts left to retrieve. All he has to do is keep voting for her, over and over, until she finally bites it.

Then, and only then, will all be right with the world.

 

It doesn't take Tim long to put two and two together. Lele's here, still alive and kicking, and if she made it, that means—that means—

Andrea Andrea no please Andrea don't God please no no Andrea not Andrea anyone but Andrea no no no no no

"Andrea's dead!"

"I seriously tried," says Justine, as if a stupid non-apology will make everything better. "Like, I honestly did everything. I think I was sabotaged."

Bullshit.

"What did you have to do?" Sierra asks.

"There was, like, this big contraption," Justine explains, "so then we had to go down and solve all these puzzles..."

"It was really creepy," Eva concurs.

Justine points at her brunette rival. "...and she solved hers super quick. I did the same exact thing, but nothing was working."

Tim isn't having any of this bull. He doesn't care what stupid puzzles they were supposed to do, or how long it took them to do it. All he knows is that he had a friend—a best friend, Andrea Brooks, his homegirl now and forever—and now she's gone. Killed by the freakin' "ungodly machine." Murdered by the very idiot who should've saved her life.

And as he watches Justine flounce and grimace in front of him, Tim's grief transitions into red-hot hate.

She wanted Andrea to die. His hands curl into fists beside him. She totally didn't play to save Andrea's life. She set Andrea up.

Justine is the rat. I know it.

 

Tim leans forward, his voice a dangerous growl. "You let my friend die, Justine."

At this point, Justine's angrier than she's ever been in her life. She's mad at herself for not saving Andrea, she's mad at Andrea for dying, she's mad at Eva for solving her puzzle so damn quickly, she's mad at Tim for blaming it all on her...heck, she's even mad at the stupid butler for just standing there and letting it all happen. She's mad at pretty much everybody (except for Joey; she could never be mad at Joey), and all of her anger is bubbling up inside her like a can of nitroglycerin ready to explode.

And explode it does.

"Maybe she needed to go, honestly!" she snaps. "What was she even doing here?"

Everyone gasps.

"You killed her!" shout Oli and Tim in unison.

Justine's seeing red. Her mind is begging her to shut up, Justine, stop making it worse, but her mouth just keeps on talking as if consequences don't exist. "All I'm saying is, we were over there, trying to open up that lock, and I was like, oh, hey, Fixer." She makes air quotes around Andrea's occupation. "Why don't you fix the problem? And she was like, 'mmm.'" She holds up her right hand in the classic talk-to-the-hand maneuver. "Didn't even try to help. And that's where I got a little bit upset, so you know what?"

"So you killed her?" Joey wants to know.

No, she didn't, of course she didn't, she tried her damnedest to save the girl, it's not her fault Eva's a genius and she's a total moron. But for a few crucial moments, Justine Ezarik is too goddamn furious to care.

Fine. Let them think she's a murderer. They weren't there. They didn't see. They don't have to sit here and live with the guilt for the rest of their goddamn lives.

"Who's the Fixer now?"

 

Oli's in shock. Losing Shane was bad enough, but losing Andrea too...it's like watching someone shoot a three-month-old puppy right in front of him. She might not have been that big of a help, but she was too sweet to die in such a terrible way.

But it's done. She's gone. They've killed her. And for what?

"We got an artifact," Eva explains, pulling out the strangest object Oli has ever seen in his life. "One out of the four."

After everyone passes it around for a bit ("Gosh, it's heavy," GloZell comments, watching Joey's hands struggle under its weight), Lele places their prize on the mantlepiece. Looking at it, Oli feels uneasy; it's the kind of artifact one would expect to find in an abandoned pagan temple. It's supposed to help them get home, but...who knows what that thing is capable of? Especially considering that they had to kill Andrea to get it?

Lele turns to the rest of the group. "Only three more artifacts to find."

And three more people to kill.

Out of the corner of his eye, Oli can see a bit of paper sticking out from the bottom of the mantlepiece. It's small, white, barely noticeable, but he's learned long ago that nothing in this house can be taken for granted. A clue. Our next clue. It must be.

He straightens up, marches over to the mantlepiece, and snatches the paper from its hiding place.

Eva frowns. "Oli..."

"What are you doing?" Matt wants to know.

Oli shrugs, unfolds the paper, and reads it to the rest of the group.

You've been warned. One among you is in league with the evil of the house.

Matt turns to face the rest of the group, a suspicious gleam in his dark brown eyes. "Someone's working with the evil?"

No.

"Guys, who is it?" Sierra whimpers.

"It's not me," declares Lele, "because I almost died!"

"It's your house!" GloZell snarls in Joey's direction.

Tim (poor guy, Oli can tell that Andrea's death hit him pretty hard) adjusts his coat. "So," he says bluntly, glaring at Justine, "who's the rat?"

Oli doesn't know who's in league with the evil. He sure as hell isn't. But if the note in his hands is right, it could be anyone.

Even Tim. Even Eva. Even Joey.

So now he can't trust anybody. Great.