“Je ne suis pas si facile à faire confiance, homme rouge.”I wink, brushing past his arms as I hear a scoff fall from his lips.
I rush in the opposite direction of everyone. The walls are tall with black wallpaper. Dimmed lights hang on the walls, making my role in the game easy.
My fingers trail along the wall as I feel my breath pick up. Can the other murderer murder me? When I stop walking, I hear footsteps behind me halt. I quickly turn my head and see a woman following me.
“Oh?” I say, holding a red note, ready to stick it on her.
“No, it just started!” She laughs as she accepts the death.
“Does anyone know you’re here?” I ask her with a mysterious tone in my voice.
“No.” Her eyes widen as she sits on the floor, acting dead. “Okay, well, one person does, but I can’t tell you who, for obvious reasons.”
“Fair enough,” I say, laughing as I turn away from her, continuing my path down the hallway.
At the end of the path, there is a single door. I open it, and I’m hit with a burst of wind. The outside is even more decorated than the inside.
The air is cold on my legs as I make my way toward the center of the pathway. Large trees hang over me, lights covering every branch the tree has. There are small hills leading to the wooden dance floor where the DJ plays a mix of songs. I walk up to the floor and see a man lying in the middle of it.
I look around me, my head turning faster than my eyes. People are dancing, talking, and sharing drinks while I am worried about the other murderer killing me.
My eyes land on the door I walked out of five minutes ago. A man lurks in the shadows. I squint as if I will be able to make him out to be someone I know, but nothing comes to mind. It’s not Papa; he has grey hair. It’s not Carlo because his hair is shaved in a buzz cut.
I become impatient with my own thoughts as I strut toward him.
“Miss Red,” he says.
“Oh, great.” I laugh. “It’s you.”
“You look worried.” He steps toward me, and I step back. He may be somewhat familiar, but I don’t trust anyone.
Miss Red.
“I’m not,” I stutter.
“Trust me.” He’s almost whispering.
“What makes you think you can trust me?” I step toward him. Technically, I could kill him right now. No one is looking over here; it would be a clean kill.
I could just place the note on him and rush back inside.
“Because if you were the murderer, you would have killed me by now with all this small talk between us.”
I laugh and shake my head. If I partner with him, he’ll see me kill people and then run from me.
Or I could just toy with him and enjoy the company, then kill him. “Fine.” I reach my hand toward his. “Partners?”
He grabs my hand and shakes it. “Partners.”
I open the door behind him, and he holds it open, allowing me to walk in first. I don’t know what it is, but I am starting to get the feeling I can trust him.
“Were you following me?” I ask.
“Of course.” His voice is strong.
When we turn the corner, I see the girl I killed earlier sitting against the wall.
“Don’t trust her,” she says, acting like she is choking on blood.