Chapter 1: Diana is a Badass Apparently
It was a surprisingly warm January evening with the wind blowing softly and the children happily screaming in the distance. All seemed fine in the mediocre, suburban town of Poore, Nebraskahoma. Quintin had went along his school day quite easily and nothing majorly important had happened.
Except—oh yeah. He died.
Nobody seemed to know what happened. The following morning he didn't show up to school and his friends got a little curious. One of his friends, Tollers, noticed first. Quintin hadn't participated in the Clash of Clans war that started the night before and "Señor Julio" was an important player in this game. Tollers called Quintin, only for the call to go straight to voicemail.
"Gosh diddly darn it!" exclaimed Tollers.
They were going to lose the CoC war without him. He didn't know what to do. Tollers ran out of his room and skipped straight to his neon, blue truck only to find huge, gaping holes in his tires. He sighed in defeat and whispered, "Shit…"
Just then, Diana Van Houten rode up on her sleek, jet-black motorcycle, her long blonde curls bouncing in the slight Nebraskahoman breeze. As she cruised to a stop, she clicked off her audio book of Insurgent and adjusted her nun costume. Diana liked to dress up as a nun to shake everyone up a bit, but nobody really cared. Tollers ran up to her, screaming like a banshee, but also making no sense. She slapped his uncleanly, shaven face and gave him the real news.
"Austin, something has happened to Quintin. I'm afraid he's been… murdered." She spoke softly. A single, glistening tear rolled down her freckled cheek. The sight made Tollers shudder. Diana only cried over puppies and salty French fries. Not Quintin.
"Diana… why is there blood all over your tunic?"
She squinted up at him through her long, blackened eyelashes, her blue eyes penetrating his gaze.
They had to go talk to the Bui's.
• • •
Nathan and Dylan Bui had a blue mansion that sat just outside the local Taco Bell. They had forty ferrets that always casually roamed the large, well-kept yard out front and the radio was always playing 80's pop music.
Today there were no ferrets and the radio was off.
Something was definitely wrong.
The frazzled coupling of Tollers and Diana paced at the slim, wooden door and rang the ornate doorbell thrice. No answer. They called out but nobody answered still. Diana, being the brains of the operation, brushed on the smooth door. It slid open. The hallway was dark and no alto or percussion sounds could be heard. Tollers peered into the Bui home. None of the saxes had been inside the mansion alone. Tollers pushed the door wide open and sprinted towards the nearest bathroom.
Diana sighed. She knew boys were animals of will but she thinks she'll never get used their tendencies. She stepped forward. Her heels clicked on the pale tile. She called out. Her voice echoed, empty; it bounced back against the cold tiled floor. She rubbed the wall sexually until her moist palm found the switch and she flicked it on.
"Let there be light," she sighed into the open foyer. Click, click. The noise was suddenly amplified and it pounded in her ears. She urged herself forward. Click, click. She could hear nothing but her own footsteps, and now her breathing. Her heavy breathing and Tollers pissing down the hallway.
Okay, maybe her hearing was normal. Her phone buzzed in her tunic. She got a text:
heyyy this is q, sry I am using a strangers phone lolol. u need to leave the bui's house right now and like go to stephanie's villa. its really important lolol k byyeeeeee
Diana quickly scanned the text. Uhm, Quintin, what the fuck? She was going to text him back when she recognized the number the text came from. Her phone said the contact was Tk. But how did Tk know she was at the Bui mansion?
She locked her phone and shoved it in her bra as she had no time for this. Click, click. She pressed on and took a left. The gross wallpaper of seventies floral panged her sore eyes. The Bui's had no taste. She heard a scuttling behind her, as if someone was crawling along the tile. She got a chill. She slowly pulled the bag of Doritos out of her nun costume and she tossed the bag behind her and—"OW!"
Alex and Tk slowly stood up. They ate the Doritos and sipped on mountain dew, hunched over as Diana scolded them as they walked down the hallway. They apologized quickly as they knew nothing good would happen if they bickered with her. Alex had on the horse mask for some reason. He neighed softly throughout the entire encounter. Tk ranted about Cory doing something dumb again (Or maybe it was Andy?) while Diana surveyed the house. They had come to the end of the curving hallway and were surrounded by an empty room with a door. The word "repor" was carved in the fake wood and the chippings hung onto the carving but some had landed on the floor. There were no windows. The staggering, egg-white walls curved toward the ceiling, almost ominously, but it was too dark to see their meeting. The door seemed to be calling. It wanted to be opened.
Click, click. Diana wandered into the room with neighing Alex and rambling Tk following her. Tollers ran close behind, still zipping his fly. The room echoed their movements as if sound had just rolled in, such as winter had last November, and Diana's heel clicks and Tk's clumped, rushed words were the wind carrying the snow. The sounds billowed into the room, almost uncareful, for the sounds did not know of the terror that lied in their wake.
The gang stopped at the door. Nobody seemed to breathe. Diana's thin, pale hand reached out and grasped onto the cold, brass door handle. The metal seemed to be warning her away and she flinched at its cold, reciprocating touch. She slowly turned the handle until she heard a click! This click was not unlike the others. They all put their sweaty hands onto the heavy door and pushed. The door creaked open and led to a ghastly sight.
Ms. Quintin Agatha Roper, sitting in a robust, leather armchair, holding a glass of ripened red wine in his large, dark hand. His suit was crisp and firm, no detail missed and no stain on it. Except the blood pouring out of his neck. His eyes were rolled into the back of his head and he looked pale and stiff. Diana cried out and fell to one knee. Tk stopped mumbling and Tollers started crying. Alex neighed in agony.
The glass fell out of his hand, and shattered onto the cold tile. The shards of crystal peppered the pool. The red wine seeped into the thick blood.
The room fell silent as the door creaked shut.
Click.
Diana's breath caught as the room got shot into darkness.