Rick

Rick had been woken up by Madison only a few minutes ago. He stood alone in a dark corner of the library, while Dwain and Lara, his shift partners, sat in chairs farther away. They held a whispered conversation, and Rick could even hear them laughing about some silent joke every now and then. He was being left out, but he didn't care. He wanted to be alone.

Besides, who could laugh at a time like this?

Rick's gaze passed over the students that lay sleeping, some snoring, in the dark. Although Madison had been awake only minutes before, she was now fast asleep in an armchair.

Rick moved his eyes away and looked at the bookshelves. He tapped his foot and sighed,  wondering briefly if there was anything good to read, but then he turned his attention to the students again. He looked closely at each one. Could any of these people murder someone? He looked at Julia. She couldn't have done it. Not Nathan either. They're both too good. James is suspicious, Kathryn is weird, but they both have good intentions. Dwain or Lara? Definitely not. Madison or Amanda, maybe. His eyes locked onto Stewart. No, he thought. But...there must be a reason he doesn't talk.

He looked over to Star was sleeping. Not Star, he thought. She's too...ridiculous.

A sniffle drifted through the darkness. Raising his eyebrows, Rick looked at Dwain and Lara to see if they had heard it as well. They were still whispering to each other. Apparently they hadn't.

Rick moved a step closer to the sleeping students to see where the sound had some from. Another sniffle floated to his ears, then a sob. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw someone move. It was Star, lying down as if she were still sleeping, but her sides were trembling. She was awake.

Rick glanced at Dwain and Lara again, but they weren't watching. Rick tiptoed around the other students and crept toward Star.

He could tell that she was crying. He dropped to his knees a few feet away from her and leaned over slightly. "Star," he whispered.

A tear-stained face popped up and looked him straight in the eye disdainfully. Star's eyes were shimmering with wet tears and her face was contorted into a less-than-perfect look of distress. "Go away!" she snapped, her voice a whisper, but still piercing.

"What's wrong?" Rick asked, ignoring the demand.

Star sat up, trying to throw him a fierce scowl, but it was weak. "Go away," she repeated through her teeth.

Rick shook his head and leaned back. "No," he whispered. "You obviously need some help. Now, what's wrong?"

Her eyes narrowed. "I don't need any of this. I don't need your pity. I've had enough to deal with in the last twenty-four hours with a murderer on the loose. I don't need you to make things any worse. Leave me alone."

"I'm just as scared as you are," Rick pointed out.

Star sniffed; whether it was from her crying or out of disdain, he couldn't tell. "You have no idea," she said.

"I think I do. If you can't remember, my best friend's gone."

Star's attitude deflated for an moment, but it returned quickly. "That kid? Your friend? That's too bad for you. Not me, though. I didn't really like him anyway."

Rick was silent. He pushed himself to his feet and turned to leave.

Star's pride dropped. "Wait a second!" she said in a loud whisper. She scrambled to her feet. "Wait!"

Rick looked back.

Star took a step forward. "Don't go. I don't know what's wrong with me. I...I do need help."

Rick shook his head. "I don't feel like helping anymore," he muttered.

Star rolled her eyes. "Look, I didn't really mean what I said...."

"You still said it."

"What do you want, an apology?"

Rick frowned. "What do you think?"

Star shrank back a few inches. "I think you do," she whispered. She took a deep breath. "I...I...I'm...." She was having a hard time forming the words. Rick shook his head, disappointed.

Star tried harder. "I'm...I'm sorry. There!"

Rick nodded curtly, then continued to retreat.

Star's eyes flew open wide. "Wait!" she said. "I said I was sorry!"

"Yeah, you did. But I still don't see how you need any help."

"But I do!" Her voice sounded so pitiful, Rick almost turned back. But he kept walking, making his way over to his solitary corner. When he arrived, he slumped to the floor with an upset sigh.

Star had followed.

"What do you want?" Rick snapped at the girl standing above him.

She placed her hands on her hips. "Don't you dare talk to me like that," she said. "I apologized, remember?"

Rick didn't respond. Instead, he held his glare, hoping that Star would go away. Unfortunately, she was very persistent.

"Don't ignore me!" Star cried, her voice cracking. "It's not nice!"

"So is insulting someone who might be dead," Rick retorted.

"Yes, I admit, that was bad. I'm sorry, okay? Sometimes I can't help it. It just pops out."

"Sure." Rick wished the conversation would be over.

Star sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I'm such a brat all the time. It's just that...well, I didn't even want to come here. And now with everything that's happening, this place really scares me."

"And why does that make it okay to be rude all the time?"

"It doesn't! I just do it...to try to be strong, I guess." Rick couldn't tell in the bad lighting, but he thought he saw another silver tear pricking the corner of her eye. "I'm really not," she said. "I'm terrified."

Rick nearly forgave her, but he refused to drop the issue. "Why did you come at all?" he demanded.

Star looked at the floor. When she replied, her voice had dropped a few levels. "I had to," she whispered softly.

"Why?"

She shot an angry look at Rick. "Why? Because when my parents saw the invitation, they thought it was the greatest idea. I didn't want to go, but they made me. They sent me off, and now they're free to go on with their busy lives without me in the way. They probably don't even miss me."

Rick sat in a stunned silence. He was beginning to regret everything he had said. She wasn't just a stereotypical rich girl. She was a stereotypical rejected rich girl.

Tears flowed freely down her cheeks. "I hate this mansion. I can't stand being here, because every day I'm reminded why I came. And now there's a murderer here, which is absolutely insane. Someone's dead, for crying out loud! And one of the students, one of us, is missing? I'm going to lose my mind!"

Rick slowly stood up. He needed to help somehow. He didn't know how, but he would. "Everything's going to be fine, Star," he assured calmly, although he didn't know it himself.

Star shook her head. "No," she sobbed. "How could it?"

Rick hesitated, then set a hand on the trembling girl's shoulder to steady it. She stopped shaking slightly, but she didn't look up. Rick smiled gently. "Hey," he said. "Don't worry. I'm sure that between Stewart, Kathryn, and Amanda, this thing is already almost worked out. Really. As long as we stick together, we'll be fine."

Star looked up at his eyes in fear. "But one of us could be the murderer."

Rick lost his own confidence when he realized that what she said was true. How would they ever find out what was happening if the person they were trying to catch was one of them? Instead of trying to find a bright side, Rick smiled. "Don't be scared," he said. "Even if the murderer is one of us, you won't get hurt. I promise."

Star returned the smile and wiped a tear from her eye. "Thanks, Rick," she whispered.

They stood awkwardly for a moment. Rick  self-consciously let his hand fall from her shoulder and to his side. Then Star spoke. "I'm going back to sleep," she said. Without another word, she walked back to her place on the floor and lay down. Rick watched her go, wondering if he could really keep his promise.

A while later, Rick heard a muffled shout. Dwain and Lara heard it too, and they looked at Rick in confusion. Rick shrugged and walked toward the group of students again.

The noise hadn't come from Star this time. She was asleep now. Everyone else looked as if they were sleeping as well.

"A bad dream?" Lara suggested in a quiet voice.

"Yeah," Dwain agreed. "But whose?"

Another shout reached their ears. "Go away!" the person said, addressing whatever was in the dream. "I want to wake up!"

Rick, Dwain, and Lara looked at each other. They recognized the voice. It was Madison.

They found her, tossing and turning in her armchair. Her face was twisted with fear, but her eyes were still shut.

"Should we wake her up?" Lara whispered.

"I won't!" Madison yelled.

Rick stared at the girl, concerned. "Probably...."

"You're not real!"

The students were thinking the same thing, but none of them dared to do it. They had been told about Madison's dreams. They were afraid to wake her up, just in case they were interrupting something important.

However, after another minute of watching Madison thrash back and forth, Rick decided that he would take the risk. As soon as he reached out to shake her shoulder, Madison's eyes flew open and locked onto Rick's face.

Madison's hands shot forward to grab Rick's shoulders. Dwain and Lara jumped back. Rick was terrified. Had she gone mad?

"Rick!" Madison exclaimed. "I think Roy's alive!"

Rick sucked in his breath. "What? Why?" he whispered, almost afraid to think it was possible.

"I had a dream," Madison replied. "I was in a maze. Roy was there, too. He was real. I don't know how, but he was. He told me to tell you he's okay."

Rick was barely able to stand. "Are you sure?" he stammered.

Madison nodded. "I'm sure."

Rick straightened up. Was it true? Roy was okay? He didn't know if he could believe it.

But he wanted to.

Rick suddenly broke into a sprint, heading in the direction of the library door. Madison jumped from her chair, and Dwain and Lara stood in place, shocked, before finally realizing what was happening.

"Wait!" Dwain called out. "Where are you going?" A few students stirred, lifting their heads to see what was making noise.

Just before he burst through the doors, Rick shouted back. "I'm going to find a maze!"

Dwain blinked. "But you can't go alone!" he yelled. But Rick didn't hear it. He was already gone.

Madison rushed past Dwain toward the open library door. When she reached it, she called out, "Rick!" She turned back and shook her head. "I can't see him," she told Dwain and Lara.

"This is bad!" Lara exclaimed. "He's alone. He could get hurt!"

Dwain looked back and forth between Madison and Lara. "We have three people here," he said, talking quickly. "We need to find him!"

The girls nodded in agreement, and the three of them rushed through the door to begin their search.

Rick ran through the halls and out the mansion's front entrance. The best place to look for a maze, he reasoned, was outside. The night was dark and chilly, but that didn't bother him. His best friend was out there somewhere, and he was going to find him.

Rick ran down the main path that cut through the lawn, searching in every direction for something that could be a maze. As he neared the rim of a pond, he slowed to catch his breath. He hadn't noticed it while he was running, but his limbs were aching. Rick sat down on a large stone at the edge of the pond, his gaze sweeping over the dark landscape while he rested.

He stared into the pond's depths. It was dark, and the water was deep, so he couldn't see the bottom. Something changed on the surface of the water. The dark reflection was disturbed by the appearance of an indistinct figure. Rick was about to turn when he felt two hands shove him in the back. He shouted in surprise as he fell off the rock and into the water.

There was a loud splash. Icy cold water closed around him and filled his lungs as he gasped with the shock of the cold. His muscles stiffened, but he forced them to move and pulled himself to the surface. Before he could catch his breath, something struck him in the head.

Rick's vision grew hazy, and he slowly sank. Looking up, he thought he could see someone hovering over the edge of the water, watching him go down.

Great, he thought. I've been murdered. Then everything went black.