I stand there, frozen in shock. Sophie's mutilated body still oozes with blood on the ground in front of me, her lifeless eyes wide with terror. My heart jumps up to my throat, and I can't find the words, nor do I have any I'd want to say anyway. I then turn and run as fast as I can. There needs to be a second person to discover the body in order for an announcement to be made. I need to find someone, anyone.

"Azrael?" Oh, thank god. I turn to see Evangeline hurrying across the bridge to me, still holding a pitcher of water.

"I was just coming to tend to the plants over here, what's wrong?" she asks worriedly, setting down the pitcher as she reads my expression.

I don't say anything, just grab her wrist and pull her towards the haunted house.  I don't care that she looks confused, I need her to know what happened.

"Did something scare you?" she tries.

My throat is too dry to answer. I drag her through the haunted house, into the hospital-themed room, and point at the body. She gasps, her hands flying to her mouth.

"Sophie?" she whispers hoarsely.

And then the announcement finally plays.

"A body has been discovered! You lot have ONE HOUR, so make the most of it! You can almost say you need to get... creative... with this one!"

"That... cockwomble!" Evangeline spits out, her fists shaking with anger. "Dear heavens, this is terrible!"

"Okay. Okay." I take a deep breath, running a hand through my hair. When I woke up this morning, there was one piece that completely stuck out and won't budge. That doesn't matter right now, though. What matters is figuring out what happened to Sophie.

My digital handbook buzzes in my hoodie pocket, reminding me that it still exists. With shaking hands, I pull it out and turn it on, watching as the screen flickers to life with words that hurt to read.

Case Update

Name of Victim: Sophie O'Reilly

Talent: Ultimate Digital Artist

Time of Death: 12:30 PM

Cause of Death: Severe mutilation and partial severing of torso

"What could've possibly done this?" Evangeline gapes at her digital handbook. "No one in the right mind would be so... brutal!"

She's right. Looking at Sophie's body, it's so horribly messed up that it's difficult to know for sure what kind of weapon caused her untimely death. There's too much blood to even figure out what's just blood and what's the actual wounds.

"I'll go inform everyone of the scenario," the herbologist decides. I hear her footsteps fade away as she leaves. Now, it's just me and the body.

"There's gotta be something," I mutter under my breath. "C'mon, Sophie, please have left a dying message for us..."

In my heart, though, I know that her expression proves she was caught off-guard. There is no name written in blood, or accessory from the killer gripped in her fist, or anything of the sort. It's just her broken body. I have to be sure, though. I attempt to roll up my sleeves, which are too heavy to stay up, and ultimately just throw my hoodie aside before slowly reaching out and checking her bag. Nothing but her digital handbook and tablet inside, the latter covered in a spiderweb of cracks. It breaks my heart to see the thing she loved as broken as she is. I move to close the bag, but something catches my eye. I did miss something- a small, crumped piece of paper, slightly smeared with blood. I suck in a breath as I take it and smooth out the paper, my eyes scanning the words.

Sophie, and only Sophie:

I need you to know that I killed someone. But I can't keep it a secret nor can I live with the burden. Please, meet me at the rollercoaster on the fourth island. I'll show you where I've hidden the body.

I'm sorry.

The message is signed off with a small sketch of some kind of bird.

"Sophie?!" comes Caim's shrill scream as I hear him rush into the haunted house. "SOPHIE!"

"She's over here," I call to him, my voice trembling.

I'm forced to watch as the engineer comes running in, panic etched into his face, and the way the panic turns to complete agony.

"Oh my god," is all he says before the tears start flowing and he's sobbing uncontrollably.

I force myself to look away and back at Sophie's body. There has to have been an explanation as to how she ended up like this. And maybe the note has something to do with it. I slowly get to my feet and give Caim some space. As I leave, everyone else arrives to check out the scene.

This, thankfully, means I can go to the rollercoaster without raising any questions or suspicions due to everyone being distracted with the body. I set foot onto the loading dock and look around. Everything seems completely normal. There's nothing out of the ordinary. A part of me wonders if this "note to Sophie" is even a real note at all, or if it was just planted on her after she was killed. There's so many unclear things about this scenario that it's hard to tell what could be fake and what actually could have happened. I back away from the rollercoaster and head back to the crime scene.

"You're the horror person here, what kind of weapon would cause this?" Zeben is asking Will.

The videographer rubs his chin as he thinks. "...I want to say a chainsaw, but it doesn't seem clean enough of a wound for that."

"What a savage attack," Flauros remarks. "It seems to have been driven by sheer force more than anything else."

It suddenly occurs to me that Iris isn't here, and he probably has no idea what happened. So I exit once more to rush over to the hospital. I still just can't wrap it around my head that Sophie, who's saved us from losing the trials several times, is gone too. I mean, only yesterday she was luring me into the hotel lobby so I wouldn't overheat. Now what do we do? Do I try to step into her shoes? I mean, I've read my fair share of murder mysteries, but I doubt that's enough to solve a case. Still, I know that I can't stand by and let others do all the work. I've already gotten on analyzing the crime scene and have the note, so surely I can try playing detective for a little bit.

"Back already?" Iris looks up in surprise as I enter. "It's only been... two hours? I mean, that's what it feels like."

Before I learned Iris is... well, Iris... I found out pretty quickly that his ability to comprehend time and dates is concerningly bad. Maybe that should've been a dead giveaway that his mind isn't in the right place, but oh well. I guess I've personally messed up enough times that him guessing the time to be seven P.M. when it was actually around noon didn't really come across as odd to me.

However, he seems to be correct this time, so I don't say anything about it.

"So, I heard the announcement go off," he says.

"Yeah," I mumble. "It was Sophie."

"Sophie?" he repeats, blinking. "She... she promised me she'd help me restore balance to the island. She..."

He stops to consider this. "...she sacrificed her life to help weed out a second killer, if not the same one who went after me."

"We don't have a whole lot to go off of. Her body is... severely mutilated by the torso, and there was no murder weapon found. She was killed around noon, so it really could've been anyone as far as we know," I explain.

Iris is smiling to himself. "Her sacrifice will be remembered. ...God, Sophie, I always knew I could count on you..."

I don't want to disturb him while he's lost in thought, but I also need him to understand what's going on.

I snap my fingers in front of his face. "There's going to be a trial in less than an hour- probably around half an hour now."

"Oh." He blinks, his lavender eyes focusing again. "That soon?  I swore the alarm only just went off... whatever.  So horribly mutilated body, no murder weapon, killed around noon.  ...what time is it now?"

I check my digital handbook. "Two-thirty.  You were pretty accurate this time."

It takes me a second before I ask, "Where's your digital handbook?  Shouldn't it tell you the time?  You yourself used it the night Furfur and Marzy were murdered."

"It's been sitting on the desk in my cottage since I was restrained there," he answers.

"Okay."

A part of me wants to show him the note I found, but at the same time, I decide that maybe it's best to show everyone at once during the trial.  

I'm lost in my thoughts and don't notice Iris pulling his vest over his dress shirt and getting ready to leave until he's walking past me towards the door.  The sudden movement snaps me back to the present, and I turn towards him. "Leaving already?"

Iris shrugs. "I thought I'd get out of this prison before I lose my mind from being stuck here."

He pauses as he looks at me, tilting his head slightly as his gaze focuses on something.  I know exactly what it is before he says it, and I hate that I know.

"Your hair is, um..." he mumbles, gesturing towards the top of his head. "Y'know."

"You're a blonde, you can't talk," I jab playfully.

He fakes offense, his eyes widening with mock hurt. "Azrael, that's the harshest thing you've said this entire island getaway."

"Guess some of the girls' snark rubbed off on me," I say with a shrug. 

Including Sophie...  Damn it.  We gotta find out who did this to her.

Iris looks past me, his fake surprise becoming real as he moves back into the room to grab something.  I don't need to look to know, nor do I need to hear it to know, either.

"Even after it was almost your murder weapon, you still love it?" I inquire curiously.

The flautist appears at my side, flute in hand. "I mean, what kind of musician would I be if I didn't have an instrument?  This thing's been with me through thick and thin.  Though it, heh... does need a good clean now."

Oh yeah, the flute is still covered in dried blood.  Iris, however, is just treating it like this is a normal occurrence.  I guess that's what happens when you're stuck in a killing game with your friends dying all around you.  And it's Iris, so why am I surprised at this point?  

We exit the hospital and bump into Evangeline.

"Ah!  I was just coming to get you, Iris," she says to him. "Are you feeling well enough for the trial?"

"I've been feeling fine for a while now, and I don't think I'd have a choice anyways," he responds. 

"Very well than.  Shall you like to see the scene of the crime?" she offers. "I mean, it most certainly isn't a pleasant sight, but if you would like the context before the trial..."

Iris considers this. "You know what?  Sure."

My feet, however, refuse to budge. "I'll... pass.  I think I'll faint if I have to go back in there again."

Evangeline gives me a comforting smile. "Suit yourself, then.  We shall be back for the trial."

As they leave, I notice someone passing them on the bridge- a very teary-eyed Caim.

"Hey, you okay?" I call to him.

He blinks, as if trying to find a way put together coherent words without bursting into tears again. "I... um..."

"Y'know what?  Don't even." I walk over to him and give him a hug.  Not really something I normally do, but the poor guy clearly needs it and I've been told that my massive hoodie is incredibly soft.

Caim seems to think this as well, because he mumbles into my shoulder, "You're so soft..."

"Uh, thanks," I respond. 

He just stands there for a minute, arms wrapped around my waist (not sure if he can even reach any higher) and face in my shoulder (well, more like armpit, but he's trying his best) before he looks up at me and says, "Sorry.  I just... I get like this sometimes.  No wonder people think I'm just a kid."

"Hey, you're totally good," I assure him. "Everyone should be able to express their emotions, right?"

He wipes at his eyes with a hand. "Y-yeah.  Yeah, that's right.  Thanks, Azrael."

I smile. "No problem."

"Aww, what a cute moment!  But it'll be even cuter IF you can rest easy knowing the killer is dead!  Come on down, kids, let's catch ourselves a culprit!"

I take a deep breath after hearing Monokumace's broadcasted words, then turn to Caim. "Are you ready?"

He sighs. "I sure hope so, Azrael.  I sure hope so."

***

(2125 words)

Ok not my best work but hey that's what happens when you don't have enough evidence to write about and there's a 3 day gap between writing

AIGHT KIDS WHO DO YOU THINK DID IT -->