Chapter 22: Lacerations Part 3
7:45 P.M. Day Eleven
Mausoleum
Trial Room
"I'm sure you all have the procedure down by now." Jibo said from his seat. He waved a hand almost dismissively. "Begin."
Everyone in the circle of podiums was silent. Nervous (or apathetic in a few cases) about what was before them. Some honestly weren't sure who could be considered a suspect or not. People that had seemed trustworthy had turned out dangerous or liars over the last two trials. What was to say now was in any way different?
"... Well, if you're all just gonna stand there quietly, I'm more than happy to lecture everyone on the detailed history of alchemy." Kinsei offered, smiling as he looked over the hushed trial room (and ignoring glares sent his way). "Alchemy has its roots as far back as Hellenistic Egypt, though the real starting point would be 1144 A.D. in Europe-"
SLAM
Brooke smashed a fist against the podium, denting it. "Can we just get on with this trial already?!" She growled out, annoyed even further by the Alchemist's antics.
"My, such forcefulness. It be attractive in a better-looking body." The Alchemist snarked. He looked over at the Surgeon. "Hey Doctor Goodfeels, did these folks ever get the current case files?"
"Just wrapping up the last pieces of formatting these here," Syd muttered, writing up some finishing touches to his work, "aaand..." he quickly tapped his pen to his journal page. "There! It should be arriving momentarily."
Sure enough, the newest files appeared in blank journal pages for everyone around the trial circle.
Case File #3
Victim Name: Kelley Devlyn
"The victim was slashed in the chest by claw-like objects, before being stabbed in the stomach with a pointed weapon."
"Cause of death was blood loss, predominantly from the stab wound to the stomach."
"The time of death was 7:14 P.M."
"The body was discovered at 7:14 P.M."
"The killer was Teresa Enchino."
Case File #4
Victim Name: Teresa Enchino
"The victim was struck several times with a large bladed weapon."
"Cause of death was a decapitating strike to the neck."
"The time of death was roughly 7:16 P.M."
"The body was discovered at roughly 7:18 P.M."
"Well, nice to get confirmation on the Sphinx." Alexis commented, smiling slightly as she looked over the files. "Now no one needs to feel bad that she died so brutally and horrifically."
"Pretty sure that's not how it works." Gary noted, concerned.
"Eh, I can't say I disagree." Brooke shrugged dismissively. Gary looked even more concerned.
"Well, let's get to this." Eric decided to get the discussion ball rolling. "What are everyone's alibis?" he asked.
"Weren't you going to check those?" Brooke reminded him.
He rubbed his head, sheepishly. "Kinda couldn't actually get around to that." He admitted. "We were all still pretty in shock over the whole 'two deaths' thing."
Victoria huffed a bit. "Alright. Brooke, Sabishī, Clarisse and I were in the Study." she provided. "We found Kelley in the Conservatory after hearing her scream. She, um, passed away a few minutes after." She looked down at her blood-stained hands, sadly recalling the moment.
Elle spoke up. "I'd been, uh, on the outskirts of the forest. I'd just been wondering if there were any dinosaurs out there that I could see." That drew stares from the others. "What? They seem to have everything else in this island!" She pointed out defensively.
"Y'know, she has a point." Shiro whispered over to Mackenzie, who shushed him.
"When Kelley screamed, I'd been in my bathroom." Eric shared. He coughed. "Really don't want to elaborate on that. I didn't get outside until after Teresa was found."
"Like I already covered," Shawn explained, arms crossed. "I'd been in the graveyard. No reason in particular, but I didn't kill anyone."
"I'd been exploring the balcony in the Ballroom, got tripped up by the scream. Took me awhile to get downstairs." Gary informed everyone. "Ran into the Surgeon as he was heading outside, followed him outside."
"And I'd been in my room, getting ready for bed. I needed some time to get dressed again and didn't get out until after everything was said and done. I honestly didn't notice anyone - nor was I noticed by anyone, it seems - when I left, focused as I was on getting to the maze, and I'd only just entered said maze by the time the others showed up after me." Alexis concluded the round of alibis.
"Really?" Victoria asked skeptically. "It took you so long to get dressed?" Her gaze ran over the rather, sparse, attire the Brazilian was adorned in.
"Hey now, it's not so easy as you might assume, I'll have you know." Alexis defended. She lifted up a leg and rested her foot on the podium, pointing at her knee-length boot. "These take quite a while to tie, and I had no reason to think this was something I'd actually be invested in more than usual, so I didn't hurry."
Victoria looked offended through all the bandages. "Regardless of who it was, someone still died! The scream made that rather clear, I should think! Why would you be so, so blasé about it?!"
"She usually is." Shawn pointed out bluntly. "Really makes it hard to find her attractive, actually." Brooke, Victoria, and Alexis shot him a glare.
"Anyways," Sabishī looked over the group, "Brooke, Victoria, Clarisse; you three were the ones investigating Teresa's body, did any of you find anything pointing to who killed her?"
"Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any definitive bits of evidence laying around that we could see." Victoria confessed, rubbing her forearm.
"I'm pretty sure the culprit kicked the Sphinx's head away from the body after the decapitation. I'm not sure if they would've gotten blood on themselves, however. The way she was stabbed seems like the culprit might've managed to avoided any blood spraying from the wounds." Clarisse shared. "They were either really good at this, or surprisingly lucky."
"So, probably no leftover hints on anyone that we might be able to use this time?" Eric asked.
"Doesn't look like it." The Markswoman confirmed, arms crossed.
"Well, where did the culprit go, when it sounds like you weren't far off from them when the body was found?" Gary questioned.
"We didn't find anything on that, and the Alchemist said no one showed up before us." Brooke explained. "Pretty sure they're not allowed to lie about trial facts, so..." she shrugged.
"Perhaps it was Alexis?" Victoria accused, glaring slightly at the Latin-American Mythologist. "She was the only one nearby."
"Um, I'm not so sure that Alexis is responsible for the Sphinx dying." The Undertaker spoke up. She herself wasn't sure why, but after that conversation with the Brazilian in the Hallway, she just felt like the older woman wasn't a killer. Not for this case, at least.
"She's literally the only other person that was in the maze at the time, who else could it be?" Victoria insisted, looking around the room. "You agree with that point, right Brooke?"
Brooke was silent, seeming caught up in thought. "No, actually," she finally responded, surprising her friend, "I think Alexis is innocent on this one."
"W-wh-what?! H-how can you say that?!" Past her surprise, Victoria was growing more than a little annoyed and frustrated; everything from hearing the scream to now had been an emotional wringer, the Brazilian's flippancy over an innocent girl's death was rubbing all the wrong ways with her, (that her hands were still soaked with blood didn't help her in the slightest) and the seeming refusal of the others to see the (to her) obvious about the case was not helping. Granted, logic may have taken an extended vacation away from this island, but even so!
She failed to notice the bandages on her arms and upper back starting to flail about, growing more active as her emotions raised.
"v-Victoria?" Sabishī stuttered out, not expecting the moving wrappings. Most of the others in the trial circle were similarly caught off-guard by the sight.
"Last time I checked, you had made it rather clear to me you didn't even like Alexis, let alone trust her, so why on Earth are you actually defending her when she's he most obvious suspect?!" The Mummy demanded.
"Because I honestly think she's not the Sphinx's killer, and I'd prefer to find who it actually is!" Brooke snapped back. "Besides, we already covered the 'no blood on her clothes' thing. Seems like a fact to consider, even with what Clarisse had covered."
"Well unless you have some hard evidence, then for all we know, when we found her in the maze entrence, she could've been leaving the scene of the crime, bloodless clothes or no." The Mummy insisted, scowling.
"She was with us when we found the body." Brooke reminded her, scales not obscuring her glare at all. "The three that discover the body are pretty much exempt from being suspects."
"Can confirm that!" The Alchemist 'helpfully' shared with the group.
"... o-Oh, right." Victoria backed down, deflated. Her bandages retracted back upon herself.
"Oh-kay, anyone have any other possible culprits that we could narrow in on?" Eric spoke up, hoping to shift gears from the previous topic.
"I bet it was Shawn!" The Paleontologist called out, pointing at the straw man.
"Fuckin-!" Shawn yelled. "Seriously!?"
"He wouldn't need much strength to swing that scythe around!" Elle insisted.
"Can we please stop accusing the Scarecrow?" Brooke asked, exasperation lacing her voice. "I seriously doubt he can kill anyone."
Shawn was torn between agreeing and being oddly offended at how easily he was written off as a threat.
"What, and ruin a perfectly good running gag?" Kuuma interjected, grinning. "Nuts to that, I say, hang the straw man!"
"Pretty sure hanging wouldn't do it." Shiro offered, already thinking of execution ideas. "We could try burning him at the stake."
Shawn looked terrified again.
"w-Wait, l-let's hold off on that." Sabishī spoke up. "He was all the way off in the graveyard at the time." She looked to him. "Why was that again?"
"Like, I, said." He emphasized. "Change of scenery. Didn't bother coming over when the scream came because," he shrugged, "not like I'd be helpful." He glared around the room. "And repeating myself about that is getting really annoying, just so you all know."
"Okay, so, he wasn't around the hedge maze at the same time that the killer was." The Undertaker summarized.
There was a pause as everyone considered that.
"Well okay, who could it have been; Gary?" Clarisse suggested. "His alibi seems kinda weak."
"Huh?!"
"Not possible." Victoria defended. "He wasn't anywhere nearby, and was with the surgeon when he left the mansion. And he was far away from the maze when Teresa would've been killed."
"So was everyone, from the look and sound of it." Brooke complained. "Like seriously, how did ANYONE get away from this mess without being discovered?! The timing's just too off!"
"The only other person-" Victoria spoke up.
"-helped us ID the body!" The Gill-woman interrupted, annoyed that was coming up again.
"Well then I just don't know!" The Mummy shouted, frustrated.
A silence descended over the room. Then, the most unlikely voice spoke up.
"Why did you specify Shawn?" Gary asked, looking at Elle.
"Huh?" The girl asked, confused.
"When we were splitting up, you said that you'd fill in Shawn if he showed up." The Egyptologist elaborated, starting to not look very well. "But both Shawn and Teresa were still unaccounted for when you said that, and no one had mentioned who had died in the maze by name yet. As far as anyone who hadn't seen the Sphinx yet knew, it could be either Shawn or Teresa who still needed to show up. So, why did you only mention Shawn?"
The Paleontologist's eyes widened, and she reflexively drew in a sharp breath at the implied accusation. "wh-What are you going on about?!" She demanded, stammering. "I-I had just guessed that Shawn was still alive, b-because between the two I f-figured even he wouldn't be willing to hurt Kelley."
Shawn suspected he'd just been insulted somehow (and hadn't she just been accusing him of murder anyway?), but decided focusing on this moment was more important.
"a-And besides," She pointed in the direction of Brooke and Victoria, "they'd already mentioned Teresa died before you showed up-"
"No, actually, we very much didn't." Alexis interjected, looking smug as the younger girl flinched at her voice. "I distinctly recall that Teresa's name was never spoken, aloud or otherwise, while you were in earshot. I would know, I made a point of making sure her name never came up in the hopes that something like this would occur."
"l-Like, this?" Sabishī asked, uncertainly.
"The real culprit letting something incriminating slip and expose themself."
Elle paled even further. "w-What?! I'm not the culprit! wh-Why would you even-" She pointed at the Brazilian. "And like you're one to point fingers. You were the only one in the maze!"
"Because I was looking for you, actually." Alexis explained, calm and a little smug. "When I got outside I saw you weren't at the fountain like you were earlier, so went into the maze to try and find you, thought you might've taken my advice of heading off the killer."
"w-wh-Why should we listen to you, huh?!" Elle demanded, fear and anger mixing. "We've all seen the way the Mastermind's son and you interact. For all we know, you're in bed with them, probably literally."
"Well if you want to question people because of their love-life, real or alleged," Alexis responded cooly, crossing her arms, "than why not bring up how you intentionally helped your boyfriend when he tried to escape the trial?"
"She did what?!" Shawn exclaimed as Elle grew paler still (which would've actually been rather impressive under different circumstances).
"She knew her boyfriend was a murderer and lied to give him a chance to escape." The Brazilian explained.
Eric looked at the Paleontologist. "Is that true?"
"Uh ... uh..."
"And actually, now that I think about it, how did you know a scythe was used?" Clarisse asked. "That was never brought up."
Elle started clenching a fist behind her back, trying to calm herself. "John and I went into the hedge maze with Shawn, remember? We went right through the room of hedge animals where the scythe was, the same place the Sphinx died. It was just obvious!" She insisted.
"... We never mentioned where the Sphinx died." Victoria mentioned. "Or that they used the scythe to decapitate her."
"In fact," The Surgeon, of all people, added, "no one had mentioned the scythe at all before you did in this trial."
"Speaking of," the Alchemist spoke up, "now that I'm thinking about it, your alibi doesn't make sense either: I already told you a few days ago there weren't any dinosaurs - or derivatives - running free on this island, that hasn't changed. So why go looking for any today?"
The Paleontologist was looking more and more like a ghost as the conversation continued. "Ummm ..."
"w-Wait, that still doesn't explain how she could've gotten from the crime scene to the forest without being seen by anyone." Victoria stammered out, surprised and confused at how things had taken such a turn.
"Well, maybe she managed to hop a wall, maybe Kinsei actually did lie about seeing anyone before us, I don't know, but everything else is seeming like too much of a coincidence!" Brooke fired back.
Ignoring them, Sabishī spoke up. "Elle ... d-Did you kill Teresa?" she asked, hesitantly.
"..."
Flashback
Elle had spent most of the day (besides getting food) sitting on the fountain, contemplating what might come next. She'd seen Shawn wander into the graveyard a few minutes ago (pretty sure he hadn't noticed her, seemed caught up in some inner monologue or something), but saw nothing worth noting otherwise.
Then an ear-piercing SCREAM hit and Elle nearly fell backwards into the fountain.
When she recovered, her first response had been to try to find the Banshee - that was not a 'normal' scream of hers by any stretch - but something stopped her; she realized that the culprit - for clearly there was one now, whomever the victim might be - would be heading for the hedge maze. She also remembered Alexis's own suggestion for caching the killer. Moving quickly, she ran inside the maze herself, running down the corridors until reaching the room with the scythe.
She was caught at an impasse - should she grab the scythe? She didn't want to risk killing someone, but wielding a huge blade might deter any arriving culprits.
Before she could make any decisions, she heard someone approaching. From the corridor, Teresa showed up. She seemed surprised someone else was in the maze already.
"Teresa? What are you doing here?" Elle asked, not expecting to see the Sphinx.
"i-I was just coming to stop anyone that might try to get through here." The other woman explained, stammering slightly. "t-Tell you what," she suggested, "I'll stay here and guard the way to the center - I'd probably be better suited for it, all things considered; claws and whatnot - and you go find everyone else, they might have a better idea of what has happened."
"n-No, I think we should both stay here, just in case." Elle insisted. "I was right outside the maze entrance when Kelley screamed like that, no one's gotten here yet besides-"
Something occurred to her. Something that had been bothering her for some reason up til now. "h-How did you get here so fast?"
"w-Well, I have wings, obviously." Teresa pointed out, flexing her wings for emphasis.
"Then why not fly right to the center and backtrack from there? You only weren't allowed to fly if-" she stopped, eyes going wide with realization as she stared at the Sphinx.
The Sphinx growled, realizing she'd been discovered. "Damn, I was hoping you wouldn't notice that until after you'd left." She stamped her foot, looking away and huffing, then sighed. "Well, you can't be a witness if you're dead." She looked back at Elle. "And I've already gone this far."
She lunged at the other girl, claws extended.
Elle, reacting on sheer instinct, leapt to the side, managing to dodge the attack.
Moving quickly, she grabbed the scythe from the hedge lion.
"Who? Who was it?!" She demanded to know, waving the scythe before her defensively.
The Sphinx chuckled darkly, showing her fangs in a grin as she slinked around the Paleontologist in a wide arc (an act that seemed uncomfortably like a predator - a big cat, maybe - toying with its prey). "Oh, I'm sure you heard her screams already. Quite the pair of lungs on that little farmer."
Elle was stunned as the realization crashed into her.
"Why? Why kill Kelley?!" She yelled, stepping forward slightly.
"It was a mercy!" Teresa insisted. "Now she's away from this island, away from this whole shit world! What better peace could there be, huh?! I'd certainly prefer it!"
Elle was unconvinced. "If you wanted her to have mercy, if you wanted to get away from this 'shit' island and world, why not make her kill you so she could escape, huh?! Heck, half the people here would've helped in that case-"
"BECAUSE THIS WORLD OWES ME, DAMMIT!" The Sphinx roared out, wings flaring. She paused, gathering her breath. "Before, I was just a sickly, flat-chested nothing that nobody would look at twice. You know what that was like?" Pushing her skirt back a bit, she presented her leg through the dress slit. Elle saw what appeared to be a collection of scars across her inner thighs. "I had to carve up my own thighs just to feel something! But now," she spun around quickly, displaying her body in full, wings and all, "now I have something that's worth showing off. And when I get out of here, showing it off is just what I intend to do!"
"... so, is that it?" Elle demanded, borderline incredulous. "You killed the nicest girl on this island over something like that?!"
"Well, omelettes and eggs, and all that business." The Sphinx brushed off, uncaring.
"She wasn't just some egg, you psychopath! She was a person, a victim the same as the rest of us!" The American yelled, furious at the insinuation and dismissiveness. "While you," she glanced down at the other girl's abnormally large assets, "you are just an oversized bitch that no person would ever actually want!"
"SHUT UP!" The Sphinx yelled, her eyes almost glowing in the growing darkness. "People see whatever they want to see, and from here on out I'll be one of the things that's actually worth seeing, ya here me?!" She demanded.
"... Oh. Ok. I think I get it now." Elle spoke calmly.
The Sphinx smiled, satisfied he'd finally gotten though to the girl. "Hmh. Good to kno-"
"You are a raging cunt."
... The Sphinx roared and lunged at her.
Diving forward, Elle ducked out of the way of the Sphinx …
… and spun the scythe around, swinging it up overhead as she passed under the Sphinx's left wing.
SLASH
"Agh!" The Sphinx dropped down, landing roughly on her feet. A deep cut ran at the innermost part of her wing. She couldn't fly properly with such an injury.
Before she had time to process any of this, however, Elle swung back around, scythe flying.
SQISH
"AAH!" The Sphinx screamed, a scythe blade imbedded into her side.
Elle wrenched the scythe out, prompting another scream and a spurt of blood to fly out of the wound.
Swinging upwards, Elle carved a diagonal slash up across the Sphinx's back. Screaming once more, Teresa fell to her knees, wracked in pain.
Elle approached her, scythe held horizontally so that the bloodied blade dripped onto the grass. The Sphinx was kneeling forward, neck visible past her hair.
Elle lifted the scythe up above her -
"Die, you monster!"
- and swung it down in a rage.
"rrrrraaAAARGH!"
SLASH
The Sphinx's head dropped.
The rest of the body dropped with it, limp.
Elle stood there, breathing heavily from the emotions and adrenaline. She kicked the bitch's head away, uncaring if any blood got on her.
... That's when it hit her, what she'd just done.
That blood was now on her hands.
That she may have just failed his last request.
She dropped the scythe, horrified.
She looked around desperately, trying to see or hear if anyone was coming. She couldn't hear anything at the moment, but she was sure that would change, and soon.
She couldn't die. She'd promised she would survive. She couldn't be found. She couldn't!
Breaking into a run, she left the dead body behind and sprinted for the other entrance, heading for the maze's center.
The corridor seemed longer than it was before. Maybe that was just the weight of everything that had happened since then crashing onto her; maybe it actually wasn't. Either way, she eventually reached the maze's center.
Kinsei was leaning against the pedestal, staring into a crystal ball that reflected her flushed face. "Well, didn't think you had it in you, girly." He complimented, looking up from the magical item. "Carving her up like a sadistic Velociraptor playing with her food, most impressive I'd have to say."
"... Just give me the frickin' teleport thing." She held a hand out as she moved forward.
He pocketed the orb and blocked sight of the crystal, holding up his cane as though to ward her off. "Sorry, the rules said that only the first person to kill gets the crystal, if they made it here without being caught out." He explained simply. "The first person to kill has now been murdered, and can no longer claim the prize; said prize is not transferable, even by death."
"wh- I killed, too!" She yelled, incredulous (and slightly terrified).
"Exactly. You killed second." He clarified, waving his cane for emphasis. "Who was killed changes nothing here."
She could feel her legs starting to lose feeling. It, it couldn't just end like this. Not after everything.
She thought she could hear others in the distance. Maybe that was just her imagination. Maybe she was actually going insane.
Kinsei was talking still. "Now, you could just confess right away, keep things boring; heck, you can just stay in the room now and wait for the others to inevitably arrive; should make the course of things pretty obvious. Or," she looked up at him, noting the tonal shift and the deceitful look in his eyes, "I could teleport you outside of the maze, maybe off to the tree-line away from everyone else, and you can try your hand at hiding this until all the normal ultimates get to go free with you."
She was shocked as the meaning of his suggestion hit her. "y-You want me to just run with this? Try and escape by letting half my friends Die?!"
"Oh please, it's not like you actually care about any of them all that much." Kinsei dismissed. "The Banshee's already dead, the Mummy's gleeful over being descended from tomb robbers, the Floridian with a dumb talent name is a sexual deviant who's never given you the time of day, and no one likes the Scarecrow, not even himself. Besides, your boyfriend wanted you to survive, ri~ight?" He drawled out. "Can't do that if you die tonight."
... She ... she wanted to argue that, but ... she couldn't.
She could distantly hear voices coming from the corridors behind them.
"... You won't say anything?" she asked hesitantly.
Kinsei smirked widely. "That would just ruin the fun, so no."
"... Fine."
"Good answer."
FLASH
She was teleported out of the maze, appearing near the edge of the forest. So far, it looked like no one else had come outside.
Straightening her hat, she breathed in deeply, calming herself. All she needed to do was stay calm, get someone else blamed, and everything would be fine.
She had to survive.
Present
"So, that's that." Elle confessed, looking down at her boots. Lifting the left side of the right one, the faintest trace of blood could be seen across the bottom.
Everyone was quiet, processing the confession. Then, the staff spoke up.
"You fudged information on the case?!" Mackenzie shouted incredulously.
The Alchemist shrugged, unphased. "It made things more interesting, what can I say?"
"You can't just screw around with the rules and procedures for the fun of it!" Shiro complained.
Kinsei scoffed. "Like you wouldn't if you got the chance?"
Syd remained silent, glaring at the Mastermind's son.
"I am actually very much not happy about some of my ancestors, and they were archaeologists I'll have you know." Victoria opted to point out.
"Not exactly the relevant point here, V." Brooke murmured.
"So I fudged some details, sue meOH WAIT YOU CAN'T!" The Alchemist declared, pointing at the Mummy.
Elle looked slightly more stricken than before, likely from realizing that the information she'd been given to betray everyone's trust had been less-than-accurate.
Shawn found himself wanting to speak up, but wasn't able to.
"Well, I believe that's time, then." Jibo announced, raising his hand up over the trial ground. "Place your votes for whomever you believe the culprit is. Now."
Everyone silently cast their votes. There was nothing else to do.
"The votes have once again concluded in a correct result." The Biologist declared after a moment. "Elle Grant, you have been found guilty of the murder of Teresa Enchino, herself guilty of the murder of Kelley Devlyn. Extenuating circumstances are irrelevant in this trial, so you shall now face punishment. If you have any last words, say them now."
Elle pulled off her hat, looking down at it. At the bandana adorning it.
"I can't excuse trying to hide this." She said, running her thumb over part of the bandana. "I just tried to survive. I know I don't regret killing that Sphinx, even if I would've preferred it be outside of a killing game." She laid the hat down on her podium. "Sorry that I've wasted everyone's time."
"... It's fine." Brooke reassured her. "Sorry it went this way. Honest." Elle nodded at her.
Chains wrapped around the Paleontologist, pulling her to parts unknown. Her hat remained behind.
"Oh! Hey Shiro, can I run this execution?" Kinsei suddenly asked, surprising the room.
"What?" The Executioner responded, surprised and confused.
"Thanks bye!" The Alchemist was already running away, waving behind him.
"h-Hey wait, that's my shtick!" Shiro called out to the retreating purple coat.
Everyone was more worried than usual by the Alchemist's antics (even some of the staff). However, all they could do was wait and watch as the screen came down.
8:00 P.M. Day Eleven
Mausoleum
Execution Chamber
Elle was dropped unceremoniously, landing roughly on a concrete floor. Getting her hands under her and rising up on her knees, she saw that she had landed in a darkened hallway, with an eerie red glow permeating everything. Quickly getting to her feet, she looked around, finding nothing immediately threatening.
Cautiously making her way down the hall (maybe there was some exit they thought she couldn't reach in time?), Elle kept her eyes and ears peeled for anything that might be lethal.
If she could just find a way out, then-
She heard something from a small ways behind her. It was a low sound, like a cross between a growl and a hiss.
She turned around, fearfully.
From the shadows, it became visible stalking forward from somewhere down the hall.
It stood about as tall as her, probably taller, from the way it was hunched forward. Its flesh was a dark-grayish brown and leathery. Its limbs ended in sharp pointed claws, some larger than others. A large tail swung back and forth behind it. Its eyes were a yellowed-green and slitted, and its mouth - full of razor sharp teeth and marred by a line of thick saliva oozing out of the corner - was pulled back, as though in a sadistic grin.
It was a velociraptor.
They'd actually made a fucking velociraptor.
Well, technically it was more the Jurassic Park type, while actual raptors were the size of chickens and had feathers, but-
The raptor let out a call and began moving forward.
Taking the cue, Elle started running.
She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, the raptor hot on her heels. She tore down the hallway, jumping around the first corner she came across. Past the sound of her heart trying to break through her chest, she could here the beast following her still. Was it gaining? She made another turn, hearing the thing crash into the wall. That would buy time, but not much. Already she heard it moving again. She couldn't look back, that wouldn't help.
Nothing would.
What was she even thinking, trying to run from this thing? It could run how fast? Faster then a human, to be sure. She-
No.
No.
It would be fine.
It would be fine.
It. Would. Be. Fine.
She wasn't going numb from the panic or anything ridiculous like that, it would be just fine!
She just needed to reach an exit. If she could just find an exit, any exit, then everything would be-
Something crashed into her back, sending her to the ground face first. Her nose was slammed hard against the floor in the impact. She wasn't sure if it broke, but it was probably- make that most definitely bleeding.
She felt a weight on lower back. And something sharp pressing into her body. Not enough to cut anything past her clothes - yet - but it was still painful. And hard to breathe, actually.
Trying to clear her head, she turned and looked up.
The raptor was standing on her. She looked into the slitted green eyes boring into her very soul.
It was hungry. She was just a freshly caught meal.
It lunged down, sheer blades crashing onto her back.
-heh, wasn't that right where her tattoo was?-
-was she already going delirious from pain and fear she couldn't actually tell-
Blood.
It bit into her.
A chunk was torn out of her back. Blood sprayed everywhere.
Her mind went white from the PAIN raking across her nerves.
Did she scream? She probably did, she didn't notice from the drums pounding in her ears (was that more of her blood?).
It moved a foot, lazily dragging a claw through her lower back. She barely noticed from the Agony running across her self. Her arms and legs flailed helplessly, as though she could crawl out from under the beast's feet. Its tail whipped around, slamming into one of her feet.
She couldn't feel her foot anymore. Did it break? Was that where the PAIN was blooming anew from?
Oh, now it was coming from her arm. Looking up though the hair in her eyes - why'd she leave her hat behind again? that just let the hair get into her face - she saw the thing pulling away from her wrist, sending more blood raining down around her face and head. She could taste her own blood on her mouth. Or maybe that was just from her nose.
... she was going to die. She was going to die, her last minutes being torn up by one of her favorite extinct predators. She couldn't move, she could barely think, she couldn't even tell if she was still screaming or not as her arms, her legs, her face, her everything was collapsing into pain. s-s-She-
The beast leaned down, drool and blood dripping down onto her back, feeling hot on her shoulder blades even through her shirt. Its jaw widened, sending further dribble down onto her hair and -
HSCK
It-it bit down on her neck.
CRACK
Her neck snapped.
Her body went limp, unresponsive to any commands from her brain.
Blood was pooling around her head, she couldn't comprehend what was-
She - she - she - sheshesheshesheshe...
The light left her eyes. Her face went limp. The blood loss caused her brain to finally shut down.
Elle Grant, The Ultimate Paleontologist, was dead.
The raptor rose back up, gulping down its bloody mouthful. It looked down at the blood spreading around the prey's head, the face unmoving. Seeing the hunt had truly ended, the raptor let out a triumphant call, before it resumed eating the fresh kill.
8:05 P.M. Day Eleven
Mausoleum
Trial Room
The remaining participants stared in horror at the execution - if it could even be called that. The camera feed continued playing as the raptor enjoyed its late dinner.
The staff, by contrast (with the exception of Sebastian), seemed rather unmoved.
"Well, that was way bloodier than what I had planned. Still kinda bummed I didn't get to run things this time, honestly." Shiro mumbled the last part. Mackenzie quickly patted his head before returning to her sketching.
"I thought you said there weren't any dinosaurs on the island?" The Painter asked Kinsei as she sketched.
"Well there weren't at the time." The Alchemist explained, chuckling slightly.
"stop it, Stop it, Stop It, STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT!" Victoria yelled out, horrified and disgusted. "WHY?! Why do you get off on showing us this ... this shit! What is fucking wrong with you?!"
"Y'know, people keep asking that for some reason, it's weird." Kinsei commented.
Sabishī was nauseated. Brooke didn't look far off. Shawn averted his gaze, while Eric and Gary went to comfort Sabishī and Victoria, respectively.
Alexis leaned against her podium and watched the screen, eyes never wavering.
Clarisse kept her eyes on the Brazilian.
Not just because the screen was hard to watch.
"Well, it seems your last ritual was performed satisfactorily." The Mastermind stated, looking down at his son. "Nicely done, Kinsei."
The Ultimate Alchemist grinned widely over his father's praise. "Anytime, pops." He looked over at the Undertaker, remembering something. "Hey, don't you have a funeral to plan, or something?"
Looking over, Sabishī nodded numbly, before moving away from her podium. Eric followed her, intending to help with whatever she might need.
Slowly, the rest started leaving the mausoleum. Clarisse stopped for a moment to grab Elle's hat on the way out.
Three trials, and half their number was dead, with no end in sight.
They didn't know how much more of this they could take.
[8 participants remain]