You could hear your heart pounding in your chest as you stood in the doorway of the new room. Still a little unsteady on your feet, you leaned against the door frame. The area was connected to the living room, but you had never seen it before now.

It appeared to be an office of some kind. It was fancy, just like every other room in the house, but piles of papers and books strewn around the room almost hid that. The desk, the walls, even the floor and the bookcase were covered in scraps of papers and random pages torn out of books. A bulletin board on the wall held pictures and newspaper clippings dating back quite a few years.

As messy as it was, however, there seemed to be some form of order. Everything was sorted, albeit a bit haphazardly.

Eventually, curiosity got the better of you and you slowly made your way to the desk. Something about this room felt... off. Cautiously, you picked up a piece of paper. 'The Colonel' was scribbled all over the page in sloppy handwriting. Feeling anxious, you set it back down and moved on.

The next thing you saw was a newspaper headline. 'SAFARI HUNT GONE WRONG.' Next to it was a picture of the Colonel himself, holding a rifle. You knew almost nothing of his past, but the fact that he had been a hunter didn't really surprise you. You wondered what he had done wrong to get in the newspaper, but the rest of the article was missing. Disappointed, you moved on.

Upon closer inspection, you noticed the pictures on the bulletin board were connected with strings. Most of them led back to a polaroid of the Colonel. Whoever this room belonged to obviously believed him to be guilty. Your mind flashed to the detective, and you almost smacked yourself for being so stupid. He was the detective, of course he'd be investigating what he thought to be his only good lead. And unfortunately, it seemed like he had decided on who was to blame for everything.

You groaned in frustration and rubbed your face. Turning around, you saw a typewriter on the desk. In it was a sheet of paper filled with nothing but the phrase 'The Colonel did it."

"This isn't good," you mumbled to yourself.

Something caught your eye on the corner of the desk. It was the broken picture of William you had found in Mark's room earlier that day. Of course the detective held on to it.

Out of anger, you threw it against the wall, where the already cracked glass smashed even more, sending small pieces flying everywhere. You leaned heavily against the desk.

"There you are!" someone said, startling you. You spun around to see the Colonel standing in the doorway. "I've been meaning to ask you something-" His voice faded as he looked around the room. He picked up the safari newspaper clipping. "What is this?" he asked, anger clearly present in his tone. "The detective's been keeping tabs on us?"

"William-"

"No, the detective's been keeping tabs on me." He pulled a paper off the bulletin board. It was more scribbles, but this time they said 'Don't trust the seer' and 'Celine' over and over again. You hadn't noticed it before. "And Celine!"

"William, listen to me-"

"He's the one who orchestrated all of this!"

"No, listen-"

"He DID this!"

This was very bad. You needed him to listen to reason. You couldn't let his anger control him.

"Will! You need to calm down-"

"DETECTIVE!" He threw the paper down on the floor and stormed out. Nearing the point of panic yet again, you followed him.

"DETECTIVE!" he shouted again, nearing the stairs. You grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"Fucking listen to me for once!" You held him in place, desperate to get him to listen. He grabbed your shoulders.

"Where is he?" There was more than just anger in his eyes now. You could see fear, confusion, hatred. You knew for a fact that those did not mix well.

"Hurting him isn't going to help anything!" You knew shouting at him wasn't going to help, either, but you were scared. "You need to think this through! We can still get out of this!"

"He took them from me..." He was too far gone to be reasoned with. You watched as he pulled out his gun, charging up the stairs. Of course, you followed. "He took my friend, my love, from ME." You were afraid of what he was capable of. "He took... Celine..." He had lost it. "Where is he?!" You watched in fear as he kicked open one door, then another. "DETECTIVE!"

"STOP!" you screamed, blocking his way. You were determined to hold your ground.

His eyes narrowed. "Are you hiding him from me?! He can't hide forever!"

"You're being stupid! Think about what you're doing for one goddamn second!"

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" He easily shoved you aside. You hit the wall hard, banging your head for the second time in less than an hour. You fell to the ground and groaned in pain. You watched him stomp further down the hall. You forced yourself up, and were surprised when you felt hands help you steady yourself.

"Are you okay? I've been looking for you all over! You said something about Celine, and then I blinked and you were just gone!" Damien! You silently thanked whatever god there was as you grabbed his hand.

"We need to go!" You started running after the Colonel again, dragging Damien along with you. Thankfully, he hadn't gotten too far ahead.

"DETECTIVE!" he shouted again, finally spotting Abe as he was exiting a room.

As soon as the detective saw the Colonel's gun, he drew his own.

"You'd better choose your next words carefully, Colonel." You could see the fear and anger in his eyes, but he stood with confidence.

"Only my friends get to call me by that name, and you, sir, are NO FRIEND OF MINE!"

You motioned for Damien to stay back as you slowly approached. He was shaking his head, his eyes wide, but he didn't attempt to follow you. You didn't have a plan, you just knew you had to stop William from doing anything insane.

"You're one to talk about friends, you murderer." Lightening flashed, adding to the intensity of the situation.

"I didn't kill anybody!" You could sense a hint of desperation in the Colonel's voice. "This is MADNESS!"

"Oh, you wanna talk about madness? Madness is stealing your best friend's wife."

You tried to grab the Colonel's arm again, but he pushed you away, never taking his attention off of the detective.

"Madness is squeezing him for cash to fund your own sick sexual exploits with that very woman!" You glared at Abe, silently begging him to stop talking. He paid you no attention.

"SHUT UP!"

Things were going to turn violent, you had to do something.

"Abe, please, stop-"

"Madness-"

"No!" you tried again. "Please!"

"-is plotting the death of your childhood friend because you can't handle the-"

You locked eyes with Abe just before the gunshot rang out. Time slowed down. You felt paralyzed as you watched the detective, your friend, sink to his knees, blood leaking from his chest. Too late, he looked down at the wound in shock. Nobody else moved.

Fear was what finally sent you stumbling forward, toward the Colonel. Everything sped up- too much, too fast.

"We have to go, we have to get you out of here," you were rambling as you grabbed his arm again. You struggled with him, trying to pull him away. Protect the Colonel, he was innocent...

Another gunshot blast assaulted your ears. You heard someone shout. You looked around, fearing that it was the detective who had pulled the trigger, the Colonel who was in danger. Maybe even Damien. Poor, sweet Damien.

You watched as he rushed toward you. His mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out. The only thing you could hear was an annoying ringing. You felt warmth on your stomach. You touched it, feeling a wetness. When you pulled your hand away, it was a dark red.

Oh.

William, the Colonel, watched you with a wide-eyed stare. The gun fell from his hand, almost in slow motion.

You took a step back. And another. And another. You almost didn't feel your back hit the railing. Your stomach swooped, like you were going down a hill on a rollercoaster. Like you were falling.

You saw the Colonel lunge forward with his hand outstretched. Too late.

You closed your eyes.

The last thing you felt was a hand close around yours. Then, a far away, echoey voice.

"It was an accident, I swear..."