Cacophony and disorder ensued.

"The Viper's in this restaurant! We're all going to die!"

"I have a wife and kids!"

"Please spare me..."

"I WANT MY M-MUMMY!"

Rowan could only watch in shock as the restaurant descended into a twisted synchrony of stark terror and mindless shrieking. Sometimes the transition from idyllic to cataclysmic was so rapid, nobody, not even fate itself, could stop and think things over. Suddenly, a voice of clarity and frighteningly calm disposition rose above the clamour:

"Everyone, stand still!"

Eyes wide, the cats, customers and staff alike, stilled; a blazing fire that suddenly doused. Rowan numbly turned towards the source of the voice and found himself facing his partner, who had leapt atop their table. Silence hung like death in the air.

That was when true fear settled in. 

Rowan, like the other cats, stared at Ebony. Of course. A brief moment of proudness followed by another self-deprecating thought crossed his mind before he shook himself back to reality. A reality he never wanted to go back to.

"Listen! I know you all are scared, and it's likely that the Viper (Rowan internally shivered a little) is in this very restaurant right now, but do not panic. All exits are definitely locked, the windows are way too small to escape out of, and right now someone should be checking if there is any way to communicate with cats outside."

More silence, broken by sets of clumsy paws dialling.

"I can't contact her!"

"The phone cord in the restaurant is severed!"

"There's no way to communicate with anyone outside! What are we going to do?"

Wails followed, and Ebony had to call thrice before the noise died down again.

"I am Ebony, and this is my partner Rowan." She gestured to Rowan, who leapt up beside her. "We are detectives, and we will try our hardest to ensure your safeties. Panicking will never help the situation and will only slow down our investigating, which in this case can save twenty-four lives."

Rowan was faintly impressed; he could tell Ebony was trying as hard as everybody else not to break down, but the hints were so subtle he nearly didn't pick them up — and she had said exactly what she needed to say. 

He checked his watch and raised his head to speak. "It's been approximately ten minutes since the last death," — there was a cry of anguish — "and through past observations, we are aware that the Viper is very systematic with his or her acts of murder. Each and any one of you could be the murderer, even the ones that are close to you. Don't trust anyone."

The detective felt a shiver run down his own pelt as he repeated for emphasis, "Trust no one."

X X X 

Rowan sighed and shakily stood. "Next!"

They were proceeding through a series of interviews; a basic attempt to eliminate suspects. Nothing of value was obtained so far and, still, any cat could be the murderer. After the death, chaos had taken over so fast, no cat remembered the details.

"I'm Lavender. I-I'm the victim's daughter."

Rowan could see the signs of grief and suffering in the would-be pretty she-cat's empty eyes. Ebony tensed beside him and he laid a paw over hers for a fleeting moment. 

"Where were you sitting?"

"By his side."

"Which side?"

"The right."

"We were told that a tom called Tiger sat on the victim's right."

"Oh, yes. He's my brother, " — Rowan didn't miss the shadow of disgust that passed in Lavender's eyes — "I must have sat to my father's left, then."

The interview wrapped up quickly, and they were no closer to finding the victim than they were nearly an hour before. Rowan glanced over Ebony's shoulder and pointed out that she wrote one of the responses they'd received inaccurately in the notes. 

A shriek.

Rowan snapped his head upwards and was met with a horrifyingly familiar scene: a small she-cat that still had kit fluff on her face was convulsing on the ground, moaning in agony. Ebony flashed past him, and he took after her, yowling a "NO ONE MOVE!" as he went. They pushed through the crowd surrounding the she-cat to find her already dead, body in a position that told anyone who looked how painful her death had been.

Ebony glanced down at her watch. "7:42 p.m. Exactly one hour after the initial murder."

Rowan found himself unsteady on his legs and sat down, examining the she-cat's body.

A similar-looking older she-cat pushed through to the front of the still crowd and collapsed beside the corpse. "Zinnia, my baby!"

Rowan couldn't bear to hear anymore and walked away from the mother and daughter.

X X X 

There was another murder the next hour. 

Cats were huddling together in groups, too afraid to move around. Everyone was under close scrutinisation as soon as it was 8:40 p.m. 

Yet, another cat had died. 

Rowan swallowed and unconsciously shifted closer to Ebony. Everyone in the restaurant was stranded on an unreachable island, forced to turn against their loved ones and spending each heartbeat waiting for the next death.

This island wasn't surrounded by sharks; the island was the shark.

Written by Saph! 🍩✨