My scream was so loud, I ended up falling over onto the beach. My scream continued as I kept my eyes on Donald's dead body.
"No!" I cried to myself. "No! No! No! How did this happen?! Why did this happen!? The motive! The party! Donald!"
I continued to scream a bit more until my voice started to hurt. I then just sat there on the beach, trembling in fear at Donald's body.
"Natalie! What's wrong?!"
I slowly looked around to see Dana running towards me on the beach.
"Why were you screaming?" Dana then turned to look in front of us and saw the body. "Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!" Dana nearly fell over herself.
"Donald!" I cried. "Somebody...killed him!"
"No, oh no!" Dana who was usually calm was starting to freak out just a little bit.
"What's with the fucking noise you god damn bimbos?!"
I turned around again and saw Simon walking towards us.
"Simon!" I cried.
"That's my fucking name, but shut up will you!" Simon then saw Donald's body. "Fuck! Fuck me so hard!"
Suddenly, Aqua Tail popped out of the water and landed on the beach right next to us, scaring all three of us."
"HAHA!" Aqua Tail laughed. "Now things are about to get good!" Aqua Tail then took a deep breath before shouting all over the island. "ATTENTION STUDENTS! A BODY HAS BEEN FOUND! EVERYONE GET YOUR ASSES TO THE BEACH! THE FUN IS REALLY ABOUT TO BEGIN!"
"Could you be any louder, you deformed otter!" Simon growled.
"YES I COULD!"
It took about ten or so minutes, but everyone else joined us on the beach with Donald's body, where everyone was definitely freaking out now.
"No freaking way!" Rory cried.
"What happened?!" Kirsty demanded.
"Damn it! Damn it!" Irene growled as she kicked sand.
"...Donald..." Miranda sobbed.
I saw Dane wrap Miranda into a hug, but now was not the time to be jealous.
"What...Why?!" Raj cried.
"The first of us to go." RK muttered.
"Puppet fag is dead?" Harvey asked.
Bridget slapped Harvey in the face. "Not cool! Blood is literally on the beach!"
Ellen got real close to Donald's body. "I knew this was going to be happening soon."
"What was gonna happen?" Asked a panicking Henry.
"Idiot, that somebody would will somebody."
"Somebody as in us?!" Sam cried.
Dane looked up from comforting Miranda. "You think one of us killed Donald?"
"Ellen frowned. "Why are you people so stupid? Of course it was one of us."
"Who?!" Sapphire asked. "Who did it?!"
"No way!" Gavin cried. "My party was suppose to prevent this from happening!"
"Well your party failed, horribly." Ellen replied.
"Wait!" Irene shouted. "We haven't decided who killed Donald yet."
"What about him?!" Henry pointed to someone.
We all looked to see who Henry was pointing at, it was Aqua Tail.
I gulped. "Aqua Tail!"
"You did this!" Rory added.
"Admit it!" Raj cried.
Aqua Tail started laughing again. "Unfortunately for you guys, Ellen is right! One of you killed Donald!"
"Liar!" Gavin cried. "My party-"
"Did nothing to prevent a murder from happening! Did you honestly think some food and dancing would convince all of your classmates to forget about my motive?!"
Gavin had no response to that.
"What happens now?" Harvey asked.
"If you remember when I was going over the rules, I said after I finish explaining everything, you all have two hours to investigate before the class trial starts. Of course, you don't have to investigate or do anything really, you can use these two hours doing whatever you want. However, it might be wise to investigate, cause all the marbles are riding on the class trial!"
"What is the class trial again?" Sapphire asked.
"Oh my god! Weren't any of you paying attention?! But I'll explain it again, the remaining students, you guys, are going to discuss who you think the killer is, before voting on a final answer. You only get one chance to vote though! If you vote correctly, then that killer will be executed by me, and the remaining students will continue to live on this island. But if you vote incorrectly, then all of you who are innocent will die, while the killer gets to leave this island!"
That made us more freaked out as we remembered when Aqua Tail explained all of this to us before.
"We seriously need to find out who killed Donald!" I thought to myself. "Or else, everyone else is dead!"
"Shit, I have to work with these dumbasses to make sure I survive?" Simon asked.
"No one asked for you!" Kirsty yelled.
"Please, settle down everyone!" Dana begged.
Miranda's sobs got louder, so Dane pulled her into a tighter hug to comfort her.
"Shit." Rory stated.
Aqua Tail laughed. "Looks like you guys know what you have to do! But I do have one more thing for you!"
"What's that?" Raj asked.
"The app on your tablets that is labeled "Files" is now accessible. It has a file that gives a little bit of detail on Donald's death. Nothing too big, but something to get you started."
"Interesting." Ellen remarked.
I just realized something. "And what about our precious things that you threatened to destroy if a murder didn't happen soon? Are those still in danger?"
Aqua Tail shook his head. "Nope. Someone killed someone before time ran out, so all of your precious things are safe, for now."
"For now?!"
"I wouldn't be worrying about that now if I were you, right now you should be focusing on who killed Donald. Of course I know who did it, but you guys gotta figure that out on your own."
"But how do we know for sure that you didn't kill him?" Asked Sam.
Aqua Tail groaned. "That is starting to get really annoying you know! Honestly, think whatever you want! I don't care! Do whatever you want for the next two hours, just be at the cave on the side of the beach for the class trial. Anyone who refuses to come will join Donald in death!"
"Stop it!" Miranda cried.
"Just go away!" Dane added.
Aqua Tail laughed. "You got it kids! I think we're good to officially start the investigation! You got two hours! Good luck!" Aqua Tail hopped back into the ocean, leaving the seventeen of us scared and confused.
"This can't be right!" Gavin cried. "There is no way one of us killed Donald! My party should of prevented that!"
"Shut up about the party!" Yelled Sapphire. "It didn't work and you failed!"
"One of us, really killed Donald." RK added.
"And now, we have to do the investigation and class trial to survive." Henry stated.
"No!" Gavin cried. "My party was suppose to..."
"Relax Gavin." Irene assured. "This wasn't your fault, it was mine. I was voted leader, and I couldn't help anyone." Irene kicked the sand again.
Bridget put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It wasn't your fault either Irene, no one would of thought someone would actually try to kill."
"Shut up." Ordered Ellen. "Stop wasting time."
Everyone turned to look at Ellen.
"Ellen?" Dana asked.
"As much as I hate and think nothing of all of you, sixteen people working together to solve this case definitely is better for survival than only one."
"But there is seventeen people here." Raj stated.
"The killer obviously isn't gonna really investigate!" Sapphire yelled.
"Exactly." Agreed Ellen.
"We'll need all the help we can get to solve this case." Henry added.
"We're all gonna have to help." Dane replied.
"Shut up water girl!" Harvey barked. "Don't tell me-Ow!"
Irene punched Harvey right in the stomach. "Now isn't the time!"
"Idiots." Ellen muttered. "Getting back on track, we have about two hours to investigate Donald's murder. Therefore, we all need to split up and search for clues all over the island."
"Even with a little help from the file, we can't know for sure what really went down during this murder." Dana added. "We need to check anywhere that any part of the murder could of taken place at."
"Especially with the party happening last night." Kirsty replied.
"The party!" Raj exclaimed.
All eyes turned to Gavin, who started to get nervous.
"You did it Gavin!" Sapphire accused. "You killed Donald!"
"No! It wasn't me!" Gavin replied.
"Enough!" Irene cut in. "Now is not the time for accusations! Everyone is innocent until proven guilty."
"Enough wasting time." Ellen ordered. "We need to start investigating. Harvey and Raj, you two stay here to guard the body."
"Why?" Raj asked.
"And why me and the collecting fag?!" Harvey asked.
"You fucking idiots, so the killer doesn't ruin the crime scene." Simon answered. "And we need two fucking idiots just incase whoever was on guard duty turned out to be the killer."
"Not saying Harvey or Raj is the killer, but incase one of them is and tries to do something shady, the other can catch them and report it to the rest of us." Said Bridget."
"Exactly." Replied Ellen. "Now enough wasting time, let's move."
"I never done something like this before." Dane replied. "But I guess we have no choice."
"Let's do this guys!" Sam exclaimed. "Let's discover the killer and avenge Donald!"
"Working with you fuckfaces is gonna be hell for me." Simon replied. "But I guess an even bigger hell would be dying."
Miranda stopped sobbing and smiled at Dane. "I'm...ready."
"Looks like it's settled." RK added.
"Okay." I nodded. "Let's do this."
Everyone was still scared and confused, but we were now determined and hopeful to survive this. Everyone split up to start investigating. Most ran from the beach, but a few others and myself stayed behind to start there.
"I guess I should start with that file that Aqua Tail mentioned." I thought to myself.
I pulled out my tablet and turned it on. I went to the files app and it had an one called "First Murder." I clicked it and a short summary popped up. "The victim is Donald Warn, the Ultimate Puppeteer. The cause of death blunt force trauma. The body was found on the beach."
"That's all?!" I cried out loud. "That doesn't help much!"
Shaking my head, I put my tablet away. I already knew who the victim is and where the body was found, but I guess it helps that we know for sure what the cause of death for trauma is. I'll have to keep the file in mind for the trial incase it comes up.
Evidence-File 1
I then walked up the body, which Harvey and Raj were guarding. Harvey punched Raj in the stomach.
"Ow!" Raj cried as he held his stomach in pain.
"Hahahaha!" Harvey punched Raj in the head, knocking him to the ground.
"Stop that!" I yelled as I kicked Harvey right in the balls, bringing him to the ground as he held his balls in pain.
"Ooooowwww!" Harvey cried in a high pitched voice.
Raj slowly got up, rubbing his head. "Thank you Natalie."
"No problem at all." I replied. I then got down to look at Donald's body. Like I noticed before, his face was very bashed in and red with blood, whoever killed him really went all out.
"We'll figure out who did this to you Donald!" I told myself.
I spent a few more minutes studying the body, seeing if I could pick out anything important.
"Find anything Natalie?" Raj asked as he watched me look over the body.
"I don't think...oh shit!"
"What is it?"
"Mr. Warn!"
"Mr. Warn?"
"What about that...faggot's puppet?" Harvey asked as he slowly got up from the ground.
"Look at it guys!" I pointed to Donald's body.
Harvey and Raj both looked at Donald's body with me.
"Oh shit!" Harvey cried.
"Mr. Warn...is gone!" Raj added.
Raj was right, Donald's puppet Mr. Warn was not on Donald's right hand and didn't appear to be anywhere on the beach.
"That isn't all that's missing." I continued. "Donald's hat and cane are gone too."
"Oh, wow." Raj stated.
"What happened to them?" Harvey asked.
"The killer could of taken Donald's possessions after killing him." I answered. "But it might also be possible Donald left them in his hut or elsewhere before coming to the beach. We can't say for sure yet, but this is important."
Evidence-Donald's Missing Possessions
"I wonder why no one saw or at least mentioned this when we were all here." Raj stated.
"Shut up geek!" Harvey cried as he got ready to punch Raj.
I kicked Harvey in the shin, making him jump up and down holding it. "Stop it Harvey! This is serious!" I then turned to Raj. "Could of just been the shock of what happened, but at least we know it for sure and it will be brought up at the class trial."
Raj nodded. "Awesome."
I then thought of something. "Hey Raj, I'm not suspecting you or anything, but what did you do after the party? And was there anything you might of noticed last night that the rest of us should know about?"
Raj shook his head. "I'm sorry Natalie, but after I left the party, I just returned to my hut to go to sleep. I didn't see anyone or anything."
"I see, okay then."
"Looks like Raj can't provide an alibi, so I can't cross him off the suspect list just yet, but he isn't suspcious at the moment." I thought to myself. "I need to see if anyone can provide an alibi that could eliminate them as a suspect, as well as sort out any suspicious activity."
Harvey finally stopped jumping up and down in pain, I turned to him. "Harvey."
"Yes sexy?" Harvey winked at me.
I slapped him in the face. "Don't call me that! Now answer a question I have for you!"
"Ouch! Okay!"
"Last night, after I left the party and head back to my hut, I saw you passed out outside of your hut, and you where still there this morning when I was leaving for the beach. What the hell was that all about? Did you sleep outside your hut last night?"
Harvey shook his head. "That wasn't my hut, that was the fry cook faggot's hut?"
"Huh...Henry?"
"Yeah, that fast food geek."
"Okay then...but why were you sleeping outside of his hut both last night and this morning?"
Harvey bashed his fists together. "I didn't want to! After I left the party to return to my hut, I saw the fry cook nerd about to go into his, so I decided to bully him!"
"Of course!" I thought to myself.
"Okay, but how did you end up on the ground?"
Harvey raised his hands up to signal he didn't know. "I have no idea. I was kicking that fag's ass, and then I felt something hit the back of my head, and then I was out cold. Someone must of knocked me out."
"All night and into the morning?"
"Yeah, must have been Irene, she's the only one who could probably do that to me!" Harvey started flexing.
I groaned to myself. "Okay, so Harvey insists he was knocked out all night, and if he was still out cold this morning, then he couldn't of killed Donald. But of course, Harvey could easily be lying. I'll talk to Henry about it when I see him. But for now, I can't fully believe Harvey. He could easily be lying and is stupid enough to think lying down on the ground all night is an alibi, and then lying about someone else being involved would easily get him caught. Plus, Donald was one of the people Harvey bullied a lot, I could see him taking it too far. Regardless, I'll keep Harvey's story in mind."
Evidence-Harvey's Account
"Thanks Harvey." I replied. "I'll talk to you guys later, make sure no one messes up the crime scene."
"Will do Natalie." Replied Raj.
"Wait!" Harvey cried.
I groaned. "What?"
"Why was I put on guard duty with this little douchebag?"
"While Ellen probably thinks the rest of us are idiots." I thought to myself. "She probably thinks Harvey and Raj are the dumbest ones here, and I can't really disagree."
"No idea, Ellen must of just picked you two at random. Bye!"
I waved goodbye to Harvey and Raj and looked elsewhere. My attention came to a few rocks that weren't too far from Donald's body. There was five rocks in all, with one laying on top of the rest that was pretty bloody, so bloody that it had leaked blood onto the other rocks and even a decent bit on the sand. Also looking at the rocks was Simon.
"One of these rocks has got to be the murder weapon." I said.
"No shit Sherlock." Simon replied.
Ignoring Simon being Simon, I focused on the rocks. "I wonder why the killer didn't dispose of the rocks after finishing Donald off. I mean, surely they didn't think we wouldn't find them and assume the obvious."
"The dumbass killer was probably in a hurry and was concerned about someone seeing them, the hotel where you dipshits were having your gay ass party at isn't far away."
"Simon actually has a good point!" I thought to myself. "That's probably what happened!"
Evidence-Bloody Rocks
I turned to Simon. "Simon, what were you doing last night?"
Simon didn't meet my eyes. "None of your fucking business."
I started to get pissed. "Hey you asshole! All of our lives are on the line here! It is my business! That includes you too! If you don't want to die, you better start talking! And not cooperating is only gonna make you look suspicious! And you already are suspicious since you're one of the two people who wasn't at the party last night!"
"Okay! Shut your whore mouth!" Simon looked pissed. "First off, your stupid fucking party might not even be relevant in this case. But I'm sure you dumbasses have already assumed it is, so I guess I better tell you. I was by myself all night. I got dinner from the supermarket, so I wouldn't have to see you fuckfaces and then went back to my cabin. But no one saw me, so I guess I don't have an alibi."
"I see."
"He's right again. Simon doesn't have an alibi, and the sole fact he wasn't at the party will most likely have people pointing fingers at him, as well as Ellen."
"Well thank you Simon, I'm gonna go look elsewhere now."
Simon shrugged. "I don't fucking care."
"Asshole!" I yelled to myself.
Flipping Simon off, I walked away from him and the bloody rocks. I then walked over to Irene, who was looking elsewhere on the beach.
"Find anything Irene?" I asked.
Irene turned to me and shook her head. "No, I don't believe there is anything else on this beach that can be useful to us."
"Yeah, I don't see any other clues myself."
Irene balled up her fist. "I still feel like a failure, I'm suppose to be the leader and someone already died!"
"Stop! This wasn't your fault Irene. It's the killer's fault!"
"Unless of course, Irene is the killer." I thought to myself.
Irene looked at me and offered me a small smile. "Thank you Natalie, I don't think I'll ever be able to fully brush off these feelings. But I know everyone needs me to do my best now and for the trial."
I returned the smile. "Right you are." My expression then turned serious. "Hey Irene, what did you do after the party last night?"
Irene looked away for a bit. "I actually never left the hotel last night."
"You stayed in the hotel?"
"Yes, in one of the rooms...with Bridget..."
"What?..."
"Bridget and I hooked up last night at the party...and we ended up staying together in a hotel room all night at after the party came to a close."
"I see..."
"I definitely have to remember this." I thought to myself. "If Bridget can back up Irene's story, then they both can be eliminated as suspects."
Evidence-Irene's Account
Irene looked a little nervous. "I'm not ready to fully explain it yet, but Bridget and I are attracted to each other..."
"Okay!" I cut in. "Thank you Irene, I'll talk to you later. And definitely don't feel bad about letting anyone down, we all know you'll do your best."
Irene smiled at me again. "Thank you Natalie."
I waved goodbye to Irene and left the beach and headed for the hotel to investigate. I walked up to the patio to see Dane and Miranda there, they both turned to me when they saw me.
"Hi Natalie." Dane greeted.
"Hey...Natalie..."Miranda nervously stated.
Trying to hold back my jealous, I waved to them. "Hey Dane, hey Miranda."
"Find any clues yet?" Dane asked.
"Yeah, a few so far, have you guys found anything?"
"Not...yet." Miranda replied.
I cut to the chase. "I'm trying to see if anyone can provide an alibi for last night or even this morning to eliminate suspects, where were you two last night after the party?"
Dane suddenly got really nervous. "Well..."
"Dane and I stayed together in a hotel room last night." Miranda quickly said.
"What?!" I cried.
"Yeah." Replied Dane. "Miranda was a bit worried about walking back to her hut late at night, even with me walking her back..."
"So we decided to stay in a hotel room." Miranda added.
The fact that Miranda was able to say this stuff so fast and easy only made me think she was mocking me, which only pissed me off, but I had to keep a cool head.
"Okay then..." I replied. "And you two were together all night?"
"Yeah..." Dane answered.
"Indeed we were." Miranda smiled.
"Well I certainly didn't want to hear that!" I thought to myself. "But this pretty much proves Dane and Miranda couldn't of killed Donald if they have each other for an alibi."
Evidence-Miranda's Account
"Well you two seem to have the patio covered, I'm gonna go check inside the hotel." I quickly said, wanting to get inside as soon as possible. Without waiting for Dane or Miranda to reply, I booked it inside to the hotel lobby. Once I was inside, I ran into Gavin, who appeared to be looking over the hotel lobby.
"Man!" Gavin pouted. "I tried so hard! I really did! My party was suppose to make everyone forget about that stupid motive!"
"Hey Gavin." I greeted while walking up to him.
Gavin turned to me. "Hey Natalie."
"How are you holding up?"
"Still not good! I can't get over the fact my party was a failure!"
"Right...well the best thing to do now is to focus on finding any clues that can help us solve Donald's murder."
"Right you are!" Gavin exclaimed, before looking sad. "But my party!"
"Oh God!" I thought to myself.
"Listen Gavin, what did you do after the party last night?"
Gavin suddenly got super serious. "I stayed till the very end of course! I actually never left the hotel at all! I stayed in a room last night!"
"Okay then...can you provide an alibi?"
"Sure! You can ask Sam! We stayed together in a room all night after I deemed the party was officially over!"
"Irene and Bridget...Dane and Miranda! And now Gavin and Sam!" I thought to myself. "How many people hooked up after this party?!"
"You were with Sam all of last night?"
"Pretty much, yeah! First the party, and then me and Sam! I think we got something going on!"
"Alright then, I'm happy for you guys. Anything else?"
Gavin got serious again. "Yeah! Shortly before the party officially died down, I did look out the window and see someone on the beach! But I couldn't see any details, so I have no idea who it could have been! Maybe it was Donald since we found him there, but I really can't be sure!"
"Oh wow, I'll definitely have to keep all of this in mind."
Evidence-Gavin's Account
"Gavin was actually really helpful." I thought to myself. "If Sam can back up his story, then both of them can be crossed off as suspects, and while this person on the beach is a mystery for now, it should be helpful during the class trial. But even so, I feel people will try to blame Gavin for the murder since the party was his idea."
"Thanks a lot Gavin. You really gave me a lot to think about. Keep trying your hardest!"
Gavin gave me a thumbs up. "You can count on me!"
I left Gavin to look elsewhere in the lobby. I ran into Bridget at the other side of the lobby. She was trying to appear calm, but I could tell she was freaking out just a little as well.
"Greetings Natalie." Bridget greeted, while offering me a small smile.
"Hey Bridget, how are you holding up?" I replied.
She sighed. "Not so artistic, I really don't want to do this."
"I don't either, no one does, no one even wants Donald's killer to die...but we have to do."
Bridget sighed again. "I suppose so."
I remembered something I needed to ask her. "Hey Bridget, I don't mean to get into your business", but I do have to ask you something."
"Yes?"
"Irene said you two stayed the night here last night together, is that true?"
Bridget giggled softly. "I figured that may need to come out if it came down to alibis. Yes, it is true, Bridget and I hooked up last night."
"...Right...but you two were together the whole night after the party?"
"Pretty much indeed, though at one point I did leave the hotel room to come down to the patio for some food before returning to the room."
"So...could Irene of sneaked out while Bridget was gone?" I thought to myself. "Or could Bridget of gone to kill Donald during that time?"
"But before you accuse Irene or myself." Bridget began. "I was only gone for a few minutes, so definitely not enough time to kill Donald and get back to Irene without her being suspicious. And she was still there when I returned, and there isn't any way she could of snuck out or had enough time either."
"Okay." I replied, somewhat concerned if she sensed my thoughts.
"But I did see something worth mentioning when I came down to the patio."
I got immediately curious. "What did you see."
"I assumed it was Donald because even in the darkness and shadows, I made out his hat and cane. But now I'm not so sure."
"What did you see Bridget?"
"I couldn't make out the person because of the darkness and shadows, but pretty much, I saw someone walking from the beach to at least past the hotel. I don't know where they went, as past the hotel was all I could see them."
"And you thought it was Donald?"
"Well like I said, I did make out his hat and cane, so that is why I assumed it was him, although the figure I saw did appear a bit shorter than Donald usually is, but that could of just been the darkness and shadows and it may have been Donald. But I have no idea why he would have been on the beach so late at night and long after the party ended."
"Interesting...I'll definitely have to keep all of this in mind."
Evidence-Bridget's Account
Bridget smiled. "Well I'm glad I was able to be of some help to you dear, I may be feeling artistic again real soon."
I returned the smile. "I'm glad Bridget, and please don't feel awkward or anything about me people finding out about you and Irene. I have the feeling you two weren't the only ones to hook up last night, and I think some people already knew you had a thing for girls."
Bridget suddenly got serious. "For girls? I'm pansexual, gender has no influence over my sexual interests."
"Oh...Sorry." I apologized nervously. I quickly waved goodbye and ran for the entrance to the upstairs. I ran into Rory on the stairs.
"Hey there babe." Rory greeted with his usual grin.
I groaned. "Hey Rory, were you checking the hotel rooms?"
"Yeah I was, but unless clues were ultra hidden somewhere I just couldn't find them, there doesn't appear to be anything in those rooms."
"I can believe it, it seems quite a few people stayed in hotel rooms last night after the party, so they probably would of noticed something shady here."
"Interesting, haha." Rory laughed.
I groaned again. "Anything else Rory? What did you do after the party last night?"
Rory shook his head. "I don't got much, after I left the party, I just headed back to my hut. I saw Raj walking up to his hut to call it a night, and I did the same."
"Interesting."
"Not sure it can be considered an alibi as he didn't mention Raj seeing him. Plus, even if he saw Raj go into his hut, it doesn't mean Rory did the same after leaving the party." I thought to myself.
"Oh yeah!" Rory added. "Incase you were someone who thinks my pranks could of played a role in the murder, Irene can back me up for only setting up harmless pranks for the party."
"Irene watched you set up every single prank for the party?" I asked.
"Yeah babe."
"It isn't much, but I guess I'll keep what Rory said in mind." I thought to myself.
Evidence-Rory's Account
"I'm gonna go look elsewhere, see you babe!" Rory ran past me down the stairs and into the lobby.
I sighed and headed up the stairs to the hotel rooms. I didn't fully doubt Rory, but I couldn't fully believe him. I spent some time checking the hotel rooms quickly, before heading back downstairs and leaving the hotel after not finding anything else. I then ended up walking by the supermarket where I ran into Dana.
"Hey Dana." I greeted, weakly.
"Hello Natalie, are you feeling alright?" Dana looked concerned.
"I mean, no overall...but I'll be fine physically."
"If you insist, but please let me know if you aren't doing okay."
"Thanks Dana, have you found anything that can be used for the class trial?"
"No, unfortunately"
"Okay then, where did you go after the party last night."
"Just back to my hut, but I didn't see anything or anyone during that time."
"Doesn't look like Dana is gonna be much help." I thought to myself.
"But I was thinking just before we crossed paths that there is something we should keep in mind."
"What is it?"
"What roles everyone did for preparing the party."
"Huh?"
"It may not be anything in the end, but perhaps it can be some help in in determining the killer."
"Yeah, I see what you mean. Do you remember who did what?"
"Of course, first off, Gavin was in charge of the whole party, since it was his idea. He gave the role of cleaning duty to RK, Henry, and Kirsty, since he felt like they would be the best cleaners."
"Of course."
"Those three on cleaning duty cleaned the hotel patio and lobby first, then came decorating. Sapphire was in charge of that, and she had Donald, Harvey, Miranda, Dane, Sam, and myself decorate. I was with Sam and Harvey, decorating the lobby, while Donald, Dane, and Miranda decorated the patio. Sapphire bounced back between both places to supervise as she said, but she was mainly yelling and criticizing everyone. After we finished decorated, we left. But I do recall that Rory was going to set up pranks all over the party area, but Irene was suppose to watch over him, but I'm not sure if he did. That was everyone's role in preparing for the party, minus Raj, Bridget and yourself who didn't have a role, and of course Simon and Ellen who didn't attend the party."
"Very good memory there Dana, but did you notice anything suspicious during decorating?"
"Like I just mentioned, I was assigned to the lobby, so I can't say for sure about what happened on the patio, but I didn't notice anything happening as Harvey, Sam, and I decorated the lobby. Though I suppose if something suspicious happened on the patio, someone who was decorating there or even Sapphire might know."
"Awesome, thanks a lot Dana, this will be helpful to bring up during the trial."
Evidence-Party Planning Roles
Dana smiled at me. "I'm so glad I was able to contribute, best of luck with the rest of the investigation Natalie."
"You too Dana!"
Dana waved goodbye and headed for the beach. I decided to check in the supermarket real fast, even though I didn't think I would find anything. And I was right. I left the supermarket and continued on with the investigation.
I ended up near the ship, where I ran into RK.
"Hi RK, how are you doing?" I greeted.
"I suppose as fine as I can right now." RK replied with no emotion.
"I see, well find anything so far?"
RK shook his head. "No unfortunately, I'm already not good enough with a lot of thing, investigating a murder is no exception."
Once again, I started to feel bad for him. "Maybe you can help with my alibi search. What did you do after the party last night?"
"I left the party pretty early as I was never really down for it, I just went back to my hut. I didn't see anyone else or anything that is of any merit."
"Alibis are gonna be so freaking hard!" I yelled to myself.
"Okay." I replied. "How about during cleaning duty? You were cleaning for the hotel patio and lobby for the party with Henry and Kirsty right?"
RK nodded. "I was, but nothing special there either. Gavin supervised the three of us cleaning the lobby and then the patio. But I didn't see anything during that time either. Maybe Gavin, Henry, or Kirsty might know better, but I doubt it."
"Still not enough to even solve a fraction of this case." I thought to myself. "But I did learn a bit more about today."
Evidence-RK's Account
"Well thanks for talking to me RK." I thanked him. "I'm sure you'll find something that will help everyone."
RK tipped his cap to me. "Doubt it, but all our lives are on the line, so I'll keep trying."
RK walked away and I continued on, eventually arriving at the forest, where I saw Sapphire standing in it. She was literally just standing there.
"Sapphire!" I called. "What are you doing?"
Sapphire turned to me. "Back off girl! If you try to take this evidence, I'll tell the others during the trial! And we'll probably vote for you as the killer!"
"What evidence?" I was confused.
Sapphire studied me carefully. "I guess you can come take a look, but don't get too close! And again, any funny moves, and you're getting voted for!"
Already annoyed with Sapphire's mouth, I walked over to where she was standing.
"Stop!" Ordered Sapphire.
I stopped and started to frown at her.
"You can look, but don't come any closer." Sapphire continued.
"What?" I replied confused. I looked down at where she was standing and gasped in shock.
Donald's hat and cane were on the ground, and a bit bloody as well.
"Now you see what I'm talking about." Sapphire said. "I was investigating and found these in the forest. I didn't want to take them with me as it could ruin the evidence and I would look suspicious carrying them around, but I couldn't just leave them alone here incase the killer came back and decided to discard them better, and then people might not believe me if I brought them up."
"I see." I replied. "Wait...have you been guarding these in the forest the whole time?!"
"You know it!"
I groaned. "I see...well this definitely is important evidence, I noticed Donald's hat and cane weren't with his body at the beach."
Evidence-Donald's Hat and Cane
"I don't know why the killer would take his ugly ass hat and cane with them after killing him, this is just weird."
"But do we really know that?" I thought to myself.
"Nice fine Sapphire." I replied. "Let's go investigate elsewhere now."
"No way girl!" Sapphire retorted. "I told you why I can't leave these here! I gotta stay!"
"No you...fine whatever!"
Not caring about Sapphire anymore, I continued on with my investigation, but I knew there wasn't too much time left. I ended up by the bathrooms where I saw Henry standing outside the girls side. I ran over to him.
"Hey Henry." I greeted. "What are you doing?"
"Hi Natalie!" Henry returned the greeting. "My dear Kirsty needed to use the bathroom, so I'm standing guard incase that no good killer is around! I'll protect Kirsty with my life!"
"Oh God!" I cried to myself.
"Wow Henry, that really is brave of you." I replied.
Henry smiled. "Thank you Natalie, I have to be for my Kirsty!"
Quickly changing the conversation. "Anyway Henry, can you confirm something for me?"
"Sure! What is it?"
"Well I was talking to Harvey when I was back at the beach, he said after the party he was bullying you right outside your hut, when someone knocked him out, which lead to him laying on the ground outside your hut all night and even this morning."
Henry thought about it for a second. "That would be right, that jerk Harvey must of left the party not too long after I left it. As I reached my hut, he wasn't far behind and started to bully me."
"But who knocked him out?"
Henry got his heart eyes again. "My darling Kirsty!"
"Kirsty knocked out Harvey?"
"Yes she did! She saved me from Harvey! She is just my angel!"
"Ignoring all of that love talk, it seems Henry can back up Harvey's account, but I better have Kirsty confirm as well before crossing off anymore suspects." I thought to myself.
"She really laid that jerk out!" Henry continued. "After Kirsty knocked out Harvey, she quickly went to her hut, and I went to mine. Harvey of course was knocked out, but I kept an eye on him, all night to be exact."
"You stayed up all night watching Harvey?" I asked.
"For sure I did! I couldn't take the chance that he might try to go after Kirsty, so I watched him all night!"
"Interesting." I thought to myself. "Henry's account may just prove Harvey isn't the killer if he watched him all night, but then again, how do I know Henry isn't lying? This is still important information, but I need Kirsty's confirmation as well."
Evidence-Henry's Account
Kirsty came out of the bathroom. Henry immediately turned and ran to her.
"Kirsty!" Henry cried.
"Leave me alone!" Kirsty replied as she punched Henry in the face, knocking him to the ground, he just laid there.
"I think you knocked him out!" I cried.
Kirsty shook her head. "He deserves it! This creep won't leave me alone!"
I walked around Henry's body and up to Kirsty. "Hey Kirsty, I need to ask you something?"
"What is it Natalie?"
"Both Harvey and Henry insist that the former was bullying the latter last night after the party, and you ended up knocking Harvey out?"
Kirsty sighed. "It is true, when I left the party, Henry left pretty much right after me, and Harvey not much longer behind Henry. I got Henry to leave me alone as we reached the huts, Henry headed for his, which is when Harvey showed up, and of course, that bully loves to torment people like Henry, I knew it was gonna be loud and annoying, so wanting some peace and quiet, I knocked Harvey out."
"Wow, you must have a good punch there."
"Hard work is all it takes." Kirsty beamed proudly.
"I see, and then you might not know for sure, but Henry insists he was watching Harvey all night just incase he would go after you."
Kirsty suddenly looked shock, but then disapproving. "Bah! Like I need help from him or any man! But...I guess I can say for sure that I know Henry and Harvey didn't kill Donald."
"Really?"
"I do, but I rather not say it."
"What? Why not?"
"Look! I just can't okay! Just please, believe me when I say neither Henry or Harvey is the killer."
"...Kirsty..."
"I gotta go now, keep up the good, hard work there Natalie!" Kirsty sped off.
"Wait!" But she was already gone.
"That definitely is weird that Kirsty didn't give me her full story, but it definitely helps!" I thought to myself.
Evidence-Kirsty's Account
I quickly used the bathroom and then started walking up the hill, where I ran into Sam, who was backflipping down.
"Sam!" I cried. "Stop fooling around!"
Sam stopped backflipping and turned towards me smiling. "What do you mean Natalie? I just like to go down the hill that way!"
"...Sure...Anyway Sam, I need to ask you something."
"Shoot!"
"I don't mean to get involved in your personal business...but Gavin insists you and him stayed-"
"Yep! Yep! It is true! Gavin and I hooked up last night!" Sam smiled.
"...Okay...and you two were together the whole night?"
"Yeah! Pretty much! After the party, Gavin and I stayed together in a hotel room!"
"Looks like I might be able to cross off Gavin and Sam as suspects." I thought to myself.
Sam suddenly got closer to me. "We aren't anything serious yet, so maybe next time you can join us."
"Huh?!" I was shocked. "Sam...are you..."
"Yep! I'm bisexual!"
"Okay then...Anything else about last night you think that might be important?"
Sam thought for a second. "I know! Maybe the order of people leaving last night!"
"What do you mean?"
"I kept track and memorized the order of when people left the party!"
"That will actually be pretty helpful, let's hear it."
"Sure!" "RK was the first person to leave the party last night. Following him was Dana, and then later on it was Sapphire. Raj was the next person to leave, and not much longer afterwards was Rory. Later on, Kirsty left the party, and of course, Henry wasn't far behind, and then Harvey shortly followed afterwards. You were number nine for leaving the party, Natalie. And then, the last person to leave the party was Donald! Gavin and I stayed the night at the hotel, and I didn't see Irene, Bridget, Miranda or Dane leave, so I assumed they stayed as well. And of course, Simon and Ellen didn't come to the party last night."
"That's right!" I cried to myself. "When I left the party last night, the only people that were still there was Donald and the six people who stayed the night at the hotel! Wow! Sam has been super helpful!"
Evidence-Order of Leaving Party
"I do remember that when I left the party, it was only Donald and the six of you who stayed at the hotel, so Donald was the last person to leave the party!" I cried.
"Oh my God!" Sam exclaimed. "This must be super important!"
"It definitely is, thank you so much Sam. I'm gonna check up by the huts."
Sam gave me a big smile. "Good luck Natalie!" She backflipped down the hill and past the bathrooms.
I continued up the hill until I reached the huts, where I saw Ellen was looking at some of the huts.
"Ellen!" I called to her.
She turned around and frowned at me. "What do you want?"
"What are you doing?"
Ellen looked annoyed. "I was thinking about how the killer could of hidden evidence in their huts, perhaps that stupid puppet Donald always had with him."
"She has a good point." I thought to myself. "But why wouldn't the killer leave Mr. Warn with the hat and cane in the forest? Or why not hide those two in their hut with the puppet?"
"That definitely is a good point." I replied, walking up to Ellen. "Anything else?"
"I was also thinking about Aqua Tail's motive." Answered Ellen.
"The motive?"
"It's hard to figure out just by itself, but it is a fair assumption that the reason the killer killed Donald was because they were scared about losing whatever is precious towards them."
"Another good point."
"And just in case people won't think about it, as I think they won't or somebody tries to hide their precious thing, I memorized all eighteen of our precious things."
I was shocked. "You memorized them all?!"
Ellen nodded. "When we shared them, I knew a murder would happen because of this motive."
"Can you tell me all of them please?"
Ellen looked annoyed again. "I really don't want to, but I suppose it is best for another person to know the facts, and I sense time is almost up, so there isn't much to lose at this point. Pay attention Natalie."
"I'm ready."
"For actual people, Miranda was the only one in that category with her fellow movie extras. For a simple thing or things, Donald's puppet, Sapphire's laptop, and Harvey's bicycles. For a larger group of things, Raj's collection, Rory's prank website, Bridget's entire graphic design portfolio, and all of Gavin's research. For a single place, Kirsty's retail store, Dana's beach, and Irene's forest. For an organization, Dane's football league, Sam's circus, and Henry's fast food company. For...things that seem impossible to take away from you, Simon's sense of humor, your desire to succeed, and my memories. As for RK, he had nothing."
"Wow!" I thought to myself.
"Wow, that's amazing Ellen!" I cried.
Evidence-Motive
"Anyone who wasn't taking notes when we shared, is a damn idiot." Ellen stated coldly.
"Yeah...well I'm not sure how important it is to keep Donald in mind for the motive, since he is the victim. And since RK has nothing precious, that should-"
"Idiot. Just because Donald was the one to die, doesn't mean he should be brushed off when it comes to the motive. And I hope you weren't gonna say RK should be deemed innocent just because of the motive. It may not make him suspicious, but he isn't innocent. For all we know, RK could of thought that since this motive doesn't apply to him, no one would suspect him since there be sixteen other people who were actually affected by the motive."
"..."
Ellen shook her head. "I shouldn't be surprised that none of that occurred to you, I'm still disturbed I have to work with the other idiots and yourself."
"Bitch!" I cried to myself.
"I'll be going now, be sure to use this remaining time wisely." Ellen headed for the hill.
I gave her a few birds behind her back, and ran down the huts, thinking what else I could do or think of.
"Is there anything else?" I thought to myself. "Anything else at all that I can use for evidence for the class trial? Anything at all...the rules! Yeah! No one really talked about the rules after Aqua Tail went over them, and while they may not help us solve this case, they might just be able to shoot down wrong assumptions."
Evidence-The Rules
I spent my remaining time looking around the huts, but I didn't find anything.
"Hey people!" Aqua Tail's voice boomed all over the island. "Your two hours are up! It's time to start the class trial soon! Everyone get to the cave on the side of the beach! Now!"
I gulped, I was still scared and nervous. I played with my ponytail on the entire walk to the cave. It didn't take too long to reach it, Aqua Tail and the others were all there waiting for me.
Aqua Tail turned to me. "About time Natalie! But you're here now, which is all that matters!"
"Stay strong everyone." Irene assured. "We got this."
"Do we though?" Raj asked. "Are we gonna be able to figure it out?"
"Don't talk like that Raj!" Sam scolded. "We gotta think positive man!"
"Sam is right." Bridget agreed. "Positive, like artistic."
"The only thing I'm positive about is I might die, thanks to you fuckheads." Simon replied.
"Well nobody cares you think!" Kirsty yelled.
"I'm...I'm...I'm scared." Miranda sobbed.
Dane pulled her into a hug. "We'll be alright Miranda."
"Shut up! You water boy fag!" Harvey walked over to Dane to punch him with his fist raised.
Ellen tripped Harvey, making him fall to the ground. "Stop wasting time."
"Harvey!" Dana cried as she ran over to help him up.
"This won't be easy." RK stated.
"Nah man, we can do this." Rory countered.
"You better!" Sapphire whined. "I don't want to die!"
"Don't worry Sapphire!" Gavin assured. "I won't let that happen! My party may of failed, but I will do my best in this class trial!"
"I'll do it for you Kirsty!" Henry exclaimed.
I smiled at my classmates, while we definitely weren't the perfect bunch, seeing all of those determined to survive this nightmare helped ease away my negative emotions.
"Are you all done yet?" An impatient Aqua Tail asked. "Get into the cave!"
One by one, we all slowly walked into the cave.
"This is it." I thought to myself. "Someone betrayed the group and took Donald's life, now all of our lives are on the line here. And the only way everyone except the killer will walk out of this cave alive, is if we find out who killed Donald. I don't want it this way, but it isn't in my control to save all of us, this is the only choice. We must do this! We must survive this class trial!"
