Photo: Dead Cody Phoenix (DeathShadowRules, computer image)

The three of them ignored the message over the intercom as they stared at the body, frozen in shock and unable to utter a word. 

The rumble of footsteps brought them back to reality as the group in the kitchen ran to the bathroom frantically.

"What happened!?" 

Star shook her head as she mutely pointed into the boy's bathroom, hand shaking slightly. The rest of the group walked in, some swallowing nervously. 

There were mixed reactions. Some screamed and ran back outside. Damien passed out onto the floor, crumpling like a rag doll. Through the chaos, Wyatt heard others jump back, a string of curse words escaping their mouth. 

Cassie fell down weakly against the wall, clutching onto the nearby trashcan tightly until her knuckles were white. "Cody... wasn't Cody alive like ten minutes ago? We heard his voice, didn't we?"

Kiara stepped back, holding her shirt over her nose to block out the smell. "More importantly, what did Dagger mean by investigation?"

"I'll tell you what I mean!" Dagger smiled as he walked into the bathroom nonchalantly, the blood staining his black dress shoes as he stood next to Cody's body. 

The group turned around in alarm, watching as he glanced down at the body before grinning in amusement. 

Dagger sneered as soon as he saw their ashen faces. "I told you in the beginning! All you sixteen... oh wait... fifteen people have to investigate who murdered your dear friend," he said, putting emphasis on the last word. "Look around for clues. Remember, it's a very difficult task to get rid of every single piece of evidence. I'm sure there's some hiding around, right? That's your job for now. I'll tell you the rest later at the trial."

"We don't even need a trial!" Thane glared at Wyatt, Erik, and Star. "It's obviously all of them!"

"You never know!" Dagger said, walking towards the majority of the group. "Find clues and bring them to the trial!" He smiled slightly as he reached into his pocket and pulled out several thin cell phones. "Here, I'll even give you these! They're useless for contacting other people, by the way. You can use these to take pictures and notes to present at the trial." With that, he strode out of the bathroom, shoes trailing bloody footprints as he disappeared down the hall. 

Everyone stood in silent shock, clutching the phones in their hands tightly as they looked around fearfully. 

Star cleared her throat as she shifted away slightly from the murder scene to get fresh air. "Well... we already have a big clue." She sighed as she walked over to the body and gestured to the blade in his stomach. "This thing."

"A knife," Erik answered. His eyes widened as he glanced over at the crowd and then back at the knife. He looked over to Cassie. "It's Cassie's knife in his stomach."

Cassie paled slightly at the sound of her name. 

"That's for starters," Star agreed. "Alright, let's split up and find some clues. Harmony and Wyatt, stay with me. We need to look at the real scene."

Everyone nodded in agreement, deciding that the Ultimate Detective would know more about what to do than they did. The crowd dispersed, leaving the three alone in the room. 

Star walked into the bathroom and bent down to examine Cody. Wyatt followed along with Harmony, gagging at the smell of blood as he stood slightly away from the body. Star slowly placed her hands on the knife hilt, taking it out of his body slowly. Wyatt covered his mouth, holding back the sudden wave of nausea. He watched her as she took a few pictures of it before opening up a small satchel hanging off of belt. She took out a plastic bag, carefully dropping the knife in and zipping it up carefully. 

"Harmony, you're the Ultimate Healer, right?"

Harmony nodded, her eyes wide.

"I'm assuming that you're well acquainted with wounds and such. If you can hold in your nausea, could you examine the wound?"

She gulped nervously before nodding hesitantly, almost like she was in denial with herself. "O-Of course I can. I've seen way worse than this."

Harmony put the collar of her shirt up to her nose, and peered at the wound from a safe distance. She frowned slightly. "Strange... the size of the wound isn't big enough to hold the knife. You can see the marks that prove that it was shoved in forcefully. There's almost a perfect hole but then it's further ripped by the knife." Harmony bent down. She slowly examined the blood on the back of Cody's head. "From what I see here, he got rammed into the wall with quite a large amount of force." 

She glanced up at the large blood splatter that was high up on the wall. Star nodded and snapped a picture before quickly taking notes on her phone. Harmony then checked the blood on Cody's fists. "From here, it looks like he had been in a fight with the murderer. There are bruises all over his body."

Star nodded, finishing the notes before putting the phone in her back pocket. "Good work."

Wyatt smiled nervously, feeling out of place. "Should I investigate the other rooms?"

"Please do."

Wyatt left the room— almost gratefully— and walked down the hallway to the dining room. He ran his fingers along the wall, letting out a small breath before his fingers came into contact with something of a different texture on the wall. He froze, eyes wide. "What is that?"

"You need me?" Dagger asked from behind him.

Wyatt spun around in surprise. "Stop doing that!"

"Hahaha! I see you've felt something! Yet, you can't see it. Do you want me to turn up the brightness?"

Wyatt nodded quickly, keeping his fingers on the spot where the texture was different. Dagger smiled slightly as he leaned over him and turned on a light switch. The lights in the hall flickered before they finally turned bright. Wyatt took a glance at the wall and quickly pulled his hand away. "Blood!"

"Yep!" Dagger grinned. "If you ever need me to help you with the investigation, go ahead! Call me on your cellphone! I'm the only person you can contact anyway."

Wyatt rose an eyebrow in curiosity as he took a look at the contacts page. On there, Dagger's name was listed as G.D.B, with a picture of Cody marked out with a bright pink X. He frowned slightly. "You're a horrible person."

Dagger smiled innocently as he waved, walking off. "I know."

Wyatt sighed and quickly snapped a picture of the blood line on the wall. He proceeded down to the dining hall. Wyatt glanced at a vase with fluffy, white flowers in it. He peered at it closely. This vase looked like it'd been washed recently. All the other vases were dusty, he noticed, were dusty from years of being untouched. 

Tilting his head in curiosity, he quickly took a picture of it. 

He took a look at a door at the end of the dining hall. There was a label next to the door,  with the words "Trash Room." Wyatt carefully pushed the door open, choking on the stench and backing out of the room quickly. He squinted at the corner of the large, green dumpster. Was that... blood... on the the corner of the trash can? Wyatt looked up at the menacing mound of heaping garbage piled up, the smell radiating off of the pile. He groaned, pacing around and considering his options before finally taking off his jacket. 

"They better thank me later for doing this," Wyatt grumbled, climbing onto the edge of the garbage can and pulling himself up with a heave. 

He took a deep breath before he quickly reached his hand inside. He immediately gagged at the feeling, closing his eyes shut as his hands dug around the bottom of the trash can. Finally, among the scraps of food and paper towels, Wyatt felt something interesting. It was odd, sharp... and wooden. He yanked upwards, pulling it out, before scrabbling out of the giant trash can and running as fast as he could out of the room. 

Wyatt gulped in a breath of fresh air when he entered the dining hall. He took a look at the weapon he'd found, ignoring the horrendous amount of residue coating his arms. It was... a bow. A broken bow, snapped in half. It was covered in orange peels and half of a bagel was speared onto the end of the splintered wood.

Wyatt quickly stored it into a plastic shopping bag he'd found on a nearby chair. He scanned his arms with disgust as he started to head to the boy's bathroom before stopping in his tracks as he noticed the blood. 

There was no way he was going to wash his hands in that room. 

Wyatt scowled in frustration as his eyes glanced over to the girl's bathroom. They would surely understand his situation, right?

He stopped at the doorway, biting his lower lip in hesitation, before pushing the door open.

Thank God it was empty.

Wyatt tiptoed around the room, checking the stalls to make sure no one was there before he went to the sink and started to wash the trash off of his arms and hands. 

He sighed. "None of the girls will like me after this and the guys will think I'm a pervert."

Wyatt's eyes landed on something as he took a paper towel and dried his hands off. It was on the edge of one of the elegant sinks. Pink blood stained the edge of it— smeared, like someone had attempted to wipe it off quickly. 

He took a quick picture, and picked up the plastic bag containing the rotting bow before leaving. He finally met up with a few people in the halls after searching the area for people. 

Chase sniffed slightly, frowning. "Someone smells overwhelmingly like lavender. And...trash."

Thane rolled his eyes, holding up a handful of rags. "Never mind that. I found some evidence."

Kiara came from around the corner. "How long has it been?"

Almost in response to her question, the intercom crackled and whined. There was the distinguished yell of Dagger as he screamed, "Ow! What the hell, I thought I fixed these!"

A scuffling sound continued over the intercom as the guests stood awkwardly in place. Finally, Dagger's voice laughed over the intercom. "The investigation is over! Everyone, please proceed to the end of the hall where the four doors are, and there will be a new door! It's an elevator leading down to the Trial and Execution Room!"

Wyatt heard nothing but eerie silence among the group as Dagger continued to laugh in delight. 

"The first Trial of Despair has come!"