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Ib led Garry into a dimly lit hall that the bloody footprints had disappeared into, the trail quickly becoming cold. The red marks on the floor had dwindled into almost nothing about three strides in, but Ib wasn't discouraged.

"It was a woman," she concluded after a few moments of silence. She was crouched down besides the first pair of prints near the door they had just come through, inspecting its shape.

Glancing around nervously, Garry stood close beside her, fighting the urge to snatch the can of pepper spray from her hands and stand guard with it. If they were attacked right then and there, there was no way Ib could protect them with the way she was all folded up near the ground. "How do you know it was a woman?" he asked, voice high with nerves.

Ib slowly unfolded herself as she straightened up. "These are heels. So, unless it's a man who likes to wear women's high heeled shoes, it's a woman," the girl explained.

Garry was about to inform her that there were men who liked to dress as women did, so they shouldn't not expect the killer to be a burly, lipstick wearing male, but the fluorescent lighting above their heads popped suddenly and everything went black. He fought the urge to scream. The only comfort in that situation was feeling Ib jump slightly beside him – maybe she was human, after all.

"H-hang on, I think I can use my phone as a flashlight." Again, Garry felt Ib move beside him, this time rummaging through the contents of her purse until she pulled out a cell phone and illuminated a very small space around them with the light of its screen. It wasn't much, but it would do.

"So, what now, Detective?" A little agitated and very much afraid, Garry crossed his arms over his chest, feeling as though the darkness was weighing down upon him. "How are we going to find the killer like this?"

"We keep going," Ib answered, moving forward. "You can stay here, if you'd like. But I'm taking my light and pepper spray with me, so you're screwed."

Ah, yes, Garry thought, some emotion. Even if it was irritation, Garry would take it.

The man took a long stride after her, his decision clear. "Right, right, sorry."

Mary had been elected vice president of the Drama Club just as the spring semester had ended, and upon hearing the news of her appointed position, she could have died of happiness. She would be the youngest vice president the club had had in the past ten years, only a sophomore at the university! And she was determined to make it the best vice presidency she could.

Part of the vice president's duties was to plan club outings and campus-wide activities that invited everyone, not just its members, to embark on a theatrical journey with the drama students. Anyone with a passion for acting was welcomed to join in on some of their events, like the small Renaissance fair that was put on at the soccer field or the improvisation competitions held at the end of each spring. Both of those things had enticed Mary into the position of vice president, but neither could compare to the annual Murder Mystery Party.

For the past four years, every summer before the fall semester began, the Drama Club hosted a Murder Mystery in a different building on campus, usually any of the oldest and creepiest buildings the school had to offer. They would invite everyone to join who happened to be on campus that summer for a whole night of "Suspenseful Fun" and promised a prize for the team that could solve the mystery first. They usually received a pretty great turnout, and tonight was no different.

As Mary watched from the suspended catwalk above the stage, she was delighted at how many groups were following her carefully laid clues to the scene of the "crime" and acting so beautifully! There were tears, promises of revenge, and one man even pretended to vomit – it was some of the best acting she had seen at one of their public events.

The first couple to come across the body was, by far, the most interesting though. The man who had pretended to puke was half of that pair, Mary remembered wistfully, mentally storing that idea away for the next time she performed a melodramatic monologue in class.

She couldn't remember seeing them in the information meeting held the day before, but she had been so excited to speak in front of so many people it wouldn't have surprised her if she had just glanced over them. Although, purple hair wouldn't have gone unnoticed easily.

Either way, they were good, and Mary was very impressed. She couldn't believe that it had taken them so quickly to find the "body" either. She and Weiss, the Drama Club's historian, had just finished laying out the scene when the first couple found him acting dead on the stage. She was lucky that she was able to run off as fast as she did, otherwise the whole mystery part of the Murder Mystery would have been ruined. It had taken the other groups at least fifteen more minutes to work through the clues she had posted around the Rec Center and find Weiss! Even if the couple didn't realize that she was the culprit, she was giving them a gift card for someplace nice for their fast detective work.

After the fifth group came through the auditorium, Mary decided it was time to take her leave and join in on the fun. She had been so excited when her name was pulled from the hat to be the murderer in their little game, so she was prepared to play with these people till dusk if it took that long for them to figure it out.

"Hey, Weiss, I'm gonna find a group to join! Keep up the good work!" the blond girl hissed from the catwalk.

The body gave a thumbs-up before letting his arm fall back down to his side. Mary smiled at her friend, so proud of how gruesome she and the rest of the club officers had managed to make him look, and then took her leave, quietly leaving her perch.

She hoped she could find the short girl and her purple-haired companion – she had a feeling they'd be the most fun to act with.

Shortly after they had ventured into the darkness of the hallway, Ib and Garry were relieved to find a small sliver of light emanating from underneath a door. Garry, still just as frightened as he was from the start of their adventure, begged her to keep her pepper spray at the ready as she turned the doorknob and pushed.

Thankfully, Ib didn't need it.

The room was empty, save for a counter against the left wall and a few stacked chairs in the corner beside it. Two other doors led to goodness knew where, one on the wall directly in front of Ib as she stepped inside the room and the other to her right. She frowned, not knowing what to think of it.

"Maybe we should see if they lead anywhere that could get us out of here," Garry suggested, moving towards the one to the right.

"I don't know if they'd be an exit. One of them is probably a closet."

Sure enough, as Garry tugged open the door, he discovered a small, empty coat closet. "Okay, then what about this one?" He pointed to the remaining door and walked briskly to it.

"Damn, it's locked," he mumbled, jangling the metal knob.

Ib sighed disappointedly and joined him on the other side of the room by the door, twisting the doorknob to see for herself that it was really locked, just as Garry had said. She was half hoping to swing it open and find another trail of some sort that would lead them to some dramatic conclusion to the evening, but no such luck. Figured.

"Hey, what's that?"

Thoughts interrupted, Ib's eyes followed the direction Garry was pointing. A small piece of yellowed paper was slipped in between the seats of the stacked chairs beside them, a line of ink on the page peeking out from beneath its hiding place.

Garry reached past Ib to pull at the piece of paper, brows furrowed as he straightened it out in front of him and read its message.

"'In the darkness and along the edges, you will find the key. But beware – the sudden chill will have meant you've gone too far,'" Garry recited, mouth twisting into a frown. "What kind of crazy killer leaves notes like this?" He turned to Ib, who could only shrug.

"I have no clue, but I think we should find that key."