The group had gotten to the third floor, the uppermost floor of the mansion, their shock palpable at the sight before them.
Dollina, especially, had a few things to say but was left speechless as the puddle of blood underneath Naomi's dead body remained rent-free in her head.
She glanced at Goliath, his gaze shifted away from the sight and then at Ferralo, who seemed at ease, more so than anyone should.
"Ferralo?!" she muttered, her gaze turning dark as she walked up to him.
"Are you stupid? What were you thinking?! We found Naomi, we could have gotten clues on the killer".
Ferralo raised a brow, nervous and sadistic laughter piercing the air.
"Don't you get it? She was the killer".
"She 'could' have been the killer but we had no way of confirming it! You could have waited for us to meet up first, you filth!" She cried out, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him downwards.
"Did you think you would go scot-free without an ounce of renouncement for what you did"?
Hurried steps echoed in the hall stairway as Zon appeared in the mix.
"I just checked the time. It dropped by ten minutes…"
That was all the confirmation the group needed to know, and their reactions were equally as a result of that statement.
Goliath fell to the floor, his hands hovering over his face while the others sighed in unison.
Ferralo especially, seemed erratically confused, his gaze flickering with intensity as he turned to Zon.
"So–So what if it reduces?" He asked, his tone shaky and evident of fear and disbelief.
His expression turned cold, a distorted frown forming as tears tented on his eyelids.
"So–So what?!" He screamed out, pushing Dollina away as he panted heavily, his head lowered, his gaze pulsating and his heart beating at a fast rate.
His body felt chills, chills he recognized easily. 'They're looking down on me again…'
He thought, his thoughts screaming at him as he looked up.
"The time must have dropped since before! Stop making it such a big deal, you coward!"
Zon sighed, scratching the back of his head at the same time.
"So the rumours about you at the company weren't just rumours, huh?"
Ferralo froze in place, his gaze widened, and his mouth agape, but he was unable to say anything.
His teeth clattered, his limbs turning pale.
"I–I, I don't care!"
Suddenly he pulled up the barrel and aimed it at the group, his breath catching quick, heavy breaths as he stepped back.
"I don't care what you say! I wanted to stay safe! You all did! Stop pretending! Stop pretending that you wouldn't have killed her as well! How dare you?! How dare you all?!"
Dollina was about to walk forward when Zon placed his hand in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.
She glanced at his hand and then at him.
Zon shook his head, letting Ferralo walk away into the hallway.
"Why?" She asked.
Zon remained silent, glanced at the group, and sighed.
"What should we do concerning exploration? I think it'll be best to quickly round it up….but at this point".
The physiological battle was tough, much more than the physical battle.
Naomi had shown signs of mental distress before she was killed, and Ferralo seemed to have gone mad from guilt.
It was only a matter of time before someone else broke, and Goliath seemed like the more probable next candidate.
His sniffled tears ran down as he hid his face in his large arms, his voice shaky.
Things were not going as planned.
Anyone of them could have been next and anyone of them were, but yet, the killer had not been found.
Dollina looked up at the ceiling, the trap room coming into view. She narrowed her gaze and looked around, her gaze landing on Paxton.
He had been resting on the walls of one of the rooms all this time, unperturbed by the distress ensuing around him.
He seemed to alienate himself from things, and he was in fact, doing so right now.
'Maybe he's the one, after all…' She wondered, a sigh escaping her lips as a plan came to mind.
"Paxton". She called.
The young boy looked up at her, his brow arched with a question mark.
"Yes?"
"Let's explore the trap room while the others explore the other rooms".
Kenhi suddenly stepped forward.
"Hah…my lady, that isn't advisable, I think I should come with".
Dollina shot him a glare, and he whined backwards but Zon interjected in their conversation.
"I advise you to as well". He said, his gaze shifting between Paxton and her.
Dollina sighed, nodding her head.
"Sure, since you insist".
Kenhi smiled like a lost dog, wiggling his legs like it was a tail.
"In that case, I'll come with Paxton".
The statement was so unexpected that the others had to turn to get a look at the person who mentioned it.
"Bryan….it's not what you think", Dollina muttered a pang of guilt in her chest.
"It is what I think; I'm not dumb, so let me come with him. He's my classmate, and as much as he could be the killer, so can you all, and so can I. Let's not beat around the bush and just go?" He said with a click of his tongue as he turned away.
Zon chucked slightly. "He does have a point".
Dollina sighed, nodding her head slowly. "Let's go then….Zon, please explore the other rooms as much as you can…then, Goliath"
She paused, seeing as he was still on the floor, in his own world.
"....either take a break or explore as well. We'll understand if you sit this one out".
Goliath had seemed like an impenetrable wall, but he was someone with a clear conscience.
Watching a child get killed over something that wasn't even proven must have stirred a cord within him, and perhaps even more…
A few minutes passed, and the group had resumed their tasks.
Zon continued to explore, Goliath remained fixated on the floor, and four individuals had found their way to the attic through the trap door.
A stair mechanism was found upwards, and the tallest amongst them, Kenhi, easily reached out for it and pulled it down.
And now, with enough lighting, the group had entered the attic, inspecting the sight before them.
"Wow…this place is creepy as hell". Kenhi cried out in disgust. "People really use these?"
"Not so much anymore. It probably degraded with time or something".
Dollina muttered as she shone her candle of light on a wooden stick.
On it was a cut-off rope, and dried blood stains patched on the wood.
'Such brutality….they made the innocent girl seem like the killer…'
Everything seemed planned, from the death of Risa to the death of Naomi.
It made no sense so far and perhaps became a cause of confusion for her.
'It doesn't matter…' She sighed deeply as she flicked her gaze to the sides, landing on Paxton who seemed intrigued by a window.
'We'll get to the bottom of this right now'.
"Is that window blocked?" Kenhi asked as he walked up to Oaxton.
"It seems so….it was nailed shut…probably with wood".
"Huh…" Kenhi muttered as Paxton walked away. Just then, his candlelight landed on a door knob, which he suddenly shifted away, a slight flinch in his action.
Dollina raised a brow on observing him and walked up next to him and the spot where he stood a second ago.
"What was that?" She asked.
"What was what?" Paxton replied.
"Don't fool me, I saw what you did there. Is there a door here?"
"I don't know…it's not like I should be concerned about things like that".
Dollina remained silent, placing the source of light over the wooden wall until she found what she was searching for.
'It is indeed a doorknob'.
She grabbed it and turned it, and the door just as easily opened as the rest, the next room just as dark as the former.
She turned towards him.
"Why did you walk away from it?"
"I didn't" Paxton replied, his gaze shifting from hers.
She narrowed her gaze, a frown on her face as she suddenly grabbed his arm and walked into the room.
She pulled him in, held the door and looked up at Kenhi.
"Watch over Bryan in the meantime".
She turned to Bryan.
"I'm sorry, Bryan but I have to interrogate your friend".
Without waiting for a reply, she slammed the door closed, her voice fading away as their footsteps walked further away from the door.
Kenhi chuckled lightly as he walked up to the door, and placed his hand on its wooden texture.
"Bryan, Bryan. You know, I know you're aware of this, but you're even more suspicious than Paxton".
He said, his smile lingering on his face.
"Oh, really? How so?" Bryan asked, his shock palpable as his footstep echoed as if he had taken a step back.
Kenhi laughed out in amusement, turning around at the same time.
"Just kiddi"–STAB
He froze in place, his gaze widening in shock as blood dribbled down his lips, his gaze slowly staring into a dark, ominous one.
"Yo–You were the killer?"