Amelia is searching the second floor, hoping to find some windows or something that could give her a better sense of direction.

She opens one of the heavy oak doors to her right and inside is a dark room, lit only by the kerosene lamp that sits on a desk. Mia finds the lightswitch and slowly the lights turn on, the warm light illuminating the room.

Amelia is surprised to see she's in a beautiful but dusty schoolroom. With a blackboard on the wall to her left and rows of desks to her right, each row slightly higher than the last, she reminisces of her time in a private school back at home.

Those were some good times...until high school. Those last three years are something she'd like to just forget.

She notices some white on the large blackboard and moves closer to read the fancy cursive. Chills run down her spine when she realizes what it says.

Welcome to the Game, Mee-uh Oh-my-uh.

Who wrote that? Is the Host trying to mess with her? How did they know that it was going to be Mia that would first find this room? How did they know she was going to play the Game?
Most importantly, how did they know that name?

It was what he used to call her. Amelia trembles slightly upon remembering the shouts, slurs, and slaps.

Her mind wanders to a darker place as she vigorously scrubs away at the chalk with an eraser, but doesn't get very far because the usual fog blankets her memories, making her blank out and forget it all.

Amelia runs her fingers along the surface of the cedarwood desk, wondering why there is even a schoolroom. Then she remembers that multiple families, usually the servants and employees, live in mansions such as this one. Their children had to learn somewhere and so there would usually be a hired teacher who also lived in the mansion.

Setting the history aside, Mia goes back to her initial task: finding good windows. And lucky for her, large, circular windows line the side of the classroom, letting in the pretty starlight.

To anyone else, her quest would be pointless, as there is no daylight, but Amelia knows that some things can only be spotted under the cover of darkness.

She creeps up to the windows and squints her eyes. The lights are creating a glare on the glass, so Mia quickly flicks off the light, leaving the lantern as the only light source once more.

As she lets her eyes adjust, she subconsciously shivers. Being alone in a dark room such as this one brings back memories that her brain has blocked for so long; her own demons that had haunted her for four years of her life.

If they return, she just might lose it.

It had taken two years of counseling to get her back to a good place. If her past were to come back to her now, in the middle of a Game that consists of many deadly people, she could lose both her sanity and her life.

Which would mean she'd lose the Game.
And that wasn't an option.

If she lost, well...She wouldn't. Mia knows how to get her way and she has no doubt that she can make the other Players do what she wants them to.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, she turns back to the window. For a moment, she sees nothing, but as her eyes further become accustomed to the lighting, she sees there are small lights flickering in the distance. The only question is, what are the lights. The only identifying indicator is that they seem to spin clockwise while flashing.

Mia tries to get a closer look at the source of the light. She can make a faint outline of a tall building in the distance, but it's too dark to tell what it really is.

She has never heard of any sort of flashing light that spins. Well, at least nothing that makes sense. Unless...

Unless they're in the ocean. Mia thinks it might make sense. It would explain the odd smell in the air, the faint sound in the distance, and—adding in the information about the height of the source—the lights.

There are a million things that can explain the smell and sound. But the only thing that can explain the lights: a lighthouse. The smell could be the salt water and the sound could be waves crashing.

She is about to take a closer look around the room when she hears the echo of yelling. Mia walks out of the room and, noting that the lights had gone out, begins to find her way towards the yelling. As soon as she finds where it's coming from, she rushes through the hall and down the steps, appearing outside the library.

Before her is Zach pinning a very fidgety Chase to the wall with one arm behind his back, desperately trying to escape.

"What on earth is going on?!" Amelia shouts over the noise, causing the people before her to freeze and turn to look at her.

Chase looks at her pleadingly. Oh, goodness.

Something bad definitely happened.

"Zuri's dead," Jennifer supplies. "Chase was at the scene and ran away when I found her body."

The first death.

Perfect.

"The little perv bound my hands and feet, hanging me upside down! Left me there to starve to de–"

"That's fun," Mia jokes. Eliza raises her eyebrow, and Vivca gives her a look that says, what the hell is wrong with you?

"I didn't kill anybody, I swear."

"Shut up! You were running away from the crime scene!" Jenna shouts, one hand pointing at Chase's face and the other hand on her hip.

"I can attest. I was the one who so bravely stopped him!" London puts a hand over his heart, as if he were swearing an oath.

"You don't look like the one who's holding him down right now." Zach says as Chase struggles under his hold.

"Can you all stop arguing about me and just hear what I have to say!"

"If you think I'm letting you go—"

"I'm not going to run." Chase pleads, "I just want to explain my case."

"Ooh! Like a crime show?" Jenna's eyes light up as she seems to all but forget that this is real life.

"I wasn't—"

"We'd need a jury and a judge." Amelia interrupts Chase as she leans against a wall.

"Are you really considering this—"

"And a place to hold the trial!"

"I found a place perfect for holding a murder trial." Even though Mia will never admit it, she is curious as to what actually happened to Zuri.

"Hold up. Are we really holding a trial? Is it even necessary?" Zach says.

"I think we need to put all our facts together to decide whether or not Chase actually murdered Zuri." Naomi steps out from the shadows that cover the sides of the hallway.

"What are we going to do if he is guilty?" Eliza makes a good point. What will happen to Chase? Mia doesn't really care, as long as another Player is out of the Game.

"We'll cross that bridge when and if we get there!" Jenna's words don't match the sly grin on her face.

"Fine. Lead the way, Amelia." Zach lets Chase off the wall, though he still keeps a firm grip on his arm. Sasha follows close behind Chase, a mean look on his face. Mia can sense some tension between the two, which she thinks is a good thing. The more players that hate each other, the easier it will be for her to win. As long as she can stay on everyone's good side, the Game is as good as won.

Mia leads the group down the long hallway and up the stairs, making several turns along the way. Samantha stays close to her, as she is the one with the only source of light. London and James are walking a few feet behind Samantha, already talking about the case. Jenna is happily listening to them as she bounces on her feet. Next comes Eliza, Naomi, Katarina, and Carolyn. At the back of the procession is Chase—who is being led by Zach—and Sasha.

When they reach the classroom, the lights flick back on.

"Alright! We need to establish roles! Since there's twelve of us—one being the person who is on trial—we won't have enough people. We need one judge and ten jurors!"

"Why don't you be the judge, Jen? You seem to know a lot about criminal cases." Mia wants to stay on Jennifer's good side, as it'd make her easier to manipulate.

"Is this all really necessary—" Carolyn says.

"Yes, it is! I'll be the judge then, and you all," Jenna points at the rest of them, "will be jurors! Off to your places!"

When no one moves, Jenna throws her arms in the air. She moves around the room, pointing out where everyone should sit. When everyone is sitting in neat rows, she takes her seat at the front of the room on one of the highest levels. Chase, who is sitting in the center of the room, leans back in his chair.

"Alright! Let's get this show on the road!" Jenna bangs her hand against the desk, causing a loud echo, "Is the prosecution ready?"

"Sure, Jenna." After a glare from Jenna, Naomi corrects herself, "Er—Your Honor."

"Is the defense ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, Jen—Your Honor." Chase says without moving from his chair.

"Opening statements!" Jenna shouts, obviously pleased by being in charge.

"Do we really have to?" James looks at her, shifting in his seat.

"I guess we don't have to this time. Prosecution, you may call your first witness!"

"I call Jennifer as my first witness." Eliza stands up from her seat.

Jenna hops down from the highest level, moving to sit in a seat that seemed as if it was picked ahead of time.

"Where did you find Chase?" Eliza asks.

"I saw him when I was walking down the hallway. He was heading away from the living room."

"And what happened when you found him?"

"He seemed nervous. I went to go into the room and he told me there was nothing inside, that he already looked."

"And you went in anyways?"

"Yep! Chase followed after me. He ran after I noticed that a curtain was missing."

"That's all we need from you."

Jenna looks over at Chase, waiting for him to ask her questions. After a moment, he scoffs and walks over to her.

"Did you actually see me murder Zuri?"

"Well, no. But—"

"That's all." Chase has a smirk that Mia would love to wipe off his smug face. Jenna moves from where she is sitting to her seat at the top row.

"Prosecution, you may call your second witness." Jenna's voice shakes a bit.

"I call Vivica as my second witness." Zach says, following what Eliza had done earlier. Vivica struts down the rows until she is at the chair.

"Can you tell us what you saw?"

"I don't think I'll ever be able to forget that horrible sight! There I was, walking around, minding my own business. I happened to go into the living room, where Chase was. I saw him crouching in the corner when I asked him what he was doing. I bet he was taking stuff from Zuri's body!" Eyes turn from Vivica to Chase, where he was staring wide-eyed. Really, how dramatic could this girl be?!

"Get back to the question, Vivica." Zach says, tired of her already.

"I'm getting there! Anyways, I asked him what he was doing and he told me he was exploring. When I dared question what was up with the curtain, he kissed me! Can you believe that?! After I pushed that murderer away, I noticed the body. He pressed a knife against my throat and threatened to kill me! That's what a murderer does!"

"Vivica." Zach glares at her.

"I tried to scream, but Chase put his hand over my mouth. He just about choked me! He cut up strips of a curtain and tied me up! I thought I was gonna die there!"

"That's all, Vivica." Zach walks back to his seat next to Eliza. Mia thought she was going to die before Vivica finished her little speech. She doubts much of anything Vivica just said wasn't an over exaggeration.

"Why do you think I tied you up?" Chase is now standing in front of Vivica.

"To murder me, of course! So I wouldn't talk!"

"And did you ever think that you tend to twist things?"

"I don't twist things! Especially not about this!"

"That's all." Chase moves to sit down, the smirk appearing back on his face. Mia sees that James is giving Chase an odd look, though she can't figure out what it is. She is wondering what plan Chase has. He keeps asking a minimum amount of questions. He might want to leave them—the jury—with questions.

"Defense, you may call your first witness." Jenna calls as she slams a hand on a desk.

"I call Elizabeth as my first witness." Chase watches as Eliza makes her way down, Zach whispering something to her. Mia barely catches the words, 'I'll be fine.' come from Eliza's mouth.

"What exactly did you see when you walked in the living room?" Chase asks her. Mia is wondering where he's going with this, but she can tell he has something up his sleeve.

"I saw Vivica tied up and I cut her down. In another curtain was Zuri's body."

"And was there any blood on the body?"

"No. There was no blood or cuts on the body."

"So is it possible that she could have died from natural causes?"

"I guess. It's unlikely, though. The best answer is poison."

"Is it possible someone else could have killed Zuri?"
"I guess. I don't believe she was overly popular."

"Why do you think I killed Zuri?"

"You were running away from the body and tied Vivica up. The only reason you would do that is if you are the killer." Eliza pauses for a moment, as if she is thinking about whether or not to speak. "Well, you might have just made a big mistake. You could've not wanted to look guilty."

"Thank you, Elizabeth. That's all my questions for you." Chase seems pleased with himself. Eliza looks as if she is reconsidering everything she had thought before this trial.

"We don't have any questions for Eliza." Zach says, quieting Vivica's protests. Eliza sits next to Zach, and Mia can see him put a hand on her shoulder.

"Alright! Now that we've heard the witness statements, the jury can vote! Majority wins!" When no one moves, Jenna says, "You can go out of the room to vote!"

Vivica leads the way out the room with the rest following. Mia can see that a few have become uneasy at the prospect of voting. They don't even know what will happen if Chase is found guilty. Once the Players are sure they can't be heard inside, they start to discuss the case.

"He's obviously guilty." Vivica starts off.

"I don't know," Naomi says, "he made some good points."

"What points? He barely talked!" Sasha seems to be on Vivica's side.

"The fact that anyone could have murdered Zuri." Eliza joins in on the discussion.

"And he could've wanted to not look guilty." Naomi adds on.

"How about we just take a vote? We all heard the same information." Mia looks at the others.

"Fine." Vivica says, "Raise your hand if you think Chase is guilty."

Mia looks around the room to see only three hands—Vivica's, Sasha's, and Katarina's—are raised.

"Raise your hand if you think Chase isn't guilty."

The other seven hands go up, and Mia knows Chase isn't guilty. Vivica scoffs as she heads back inside the room, the others following.

"Have you reached a verdict?" Jenna asks when they are seated.

"We have." Eliza stands up, taking charge.

"What say you?"

"We have found Chase not guilty of the murder of Zuri Nyugen." Mia can see Chase sigh in relief as his shoulders drop.

"Court is adjourned!" Jenna slams her hand against the desk in front of her, causing the loud sound to fill the room.

"I swear I'm going to make Chase pay for what he's done." Mia hears Vivica mutter as she storms out of the room.