"What kind of fuckass party is this?"

Came Ryder's irritated voice as he walked in, his eyes glazing over the decorations strung around the Airbnb.

"Yeah, where's the booze and everything?" Natasha asked, trying to sound cool. "The invitation said there would be pizza!"

"Did it?" Miles asked, picking apart the streamers by the living room door. "Mine just said it would be a murder myster themed party."

"Is that why you're dressed as Sherlock?" Ryder joked, lamenting Miles' boring outfit. Miles gave him the finger in response.

"Does anyone know who sent the invites?" Bernadette questioned, hugging her coat closer to her chest.

The rest nodded in negative.

"Well that's kind of weird, isn't it?" Damian said, looking at Ryder.

"Well, whoever sent the invites surely knows that the lot of us wouldn't decline a party on a friday night, no matter how shady it is." Ryder laughed. The others exchanged looks.

"Come on, guys. Lighten up already! If not anything, we'll just thrash this place up and head to Savaryn's for a drink." He continued, trying to lighten the mood. Miles gave him a poker face.

"We're underage, idiot." He said. "Why would they serve us drinks?"

"Oh I don't know," Ryder's eyebrows rose comically. "...maybe because my dad knows the fucking owner."

"How does your dad know everyone?" Natasha asked.

"Asked like a true noob you are, Nat." Ryder said, making Nat embarassed. "My dad's running for mayor, remember?"

"Right." Damian coughed. "So what do we do now? Should we just head bac-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the automated voice system welcomed them. "Welcome, players."

"Jesus!" Natasha almost shrieked, huddling close to Damian. "That scared me."

Damian gave her an uncomfortable smile while Ryder chimed. "Oh this just got a lot more interesting!"

The automated voice system cackled into force again. "Tonight, your task is simple: find the clues scattered around, solve the mystery of 'whodunnit', and gather in the dining hall once you're done."

"Hey lady, anywhere we can find some booze to get us going?" Ryder asked out loud.

"I don't think it can hear you, Ry." Bernadette whispered in his ear.

"Drinks and other refreshments would be provided once you complete the first task." The voice said.

They laughed, all of them buzzing with excitement.

"Alright, let's split up. It'll be faster." Damian suggested.

"I'll go with you." Natasha said, giving him a flirtatious smile. "Something tells me we'll be a good team."

"Is that something your vagina perhaps, Nat?" Ryder mocked, laughing.

"Shut the fuck up, Ryder."

"Well, we are five people so there'll be an odd one out." Miles said and everybody looked at him with a sympathetic look. "Wha- why does it have to be me?"

"Who else would pair up with you?"

"Maybe the girls can go together and us guys can stick together." He suggested.

"Nuh-uh. My girl ain't finding dead body parts alone." Ryder rolled his eyes. "You'll survive, Montgomery."

Miles sighed heavily, realising there really was no point arguing with him. "Fine. Whatever."

As they split up to explore, each of them showed an eagerness to be the first to discover something.

Miles found the first clue. In one of the rooms, dimly lit with candles, there was a glass case. Inside, a severed finger. He stared at it, not sure if he should be amused or creeped out.

"They're really going all out, huh?" he muttered to himself, chuckling as he moved on.

Natasha was next, opening a closet to find broken teeth, stained with what looked like dried blood in a plastic ziplock bag.

She wrinkled her nose but shrugged it off, calling out, "Looks like we're in for some serious horror vibes!"

Ryder and Bernadette stumbled across a severed toenail placed carefully in the bathtub. She covered her mouth, feeling the bile rise up her throat. Ryder recoiled at first but quickly laughed it off.

"This is fucking nuts," he muttered, finding it amusing then creepy. "Whoever set this up is a freak."

Damian, always the last to the party, pulled back a heavy curtain and found a pair of ears hanging from the ceiling by thin, black cords.

His laugh was uneasy. "Alright, this is getting weird," he said under his breath.

The group reconvened in the dining hall, exchanging uneasy laughs about the macabre clues they had found. The table was set, dim candlelight casting long shadows across their faces with promised glasses filled with wine and trays with fried chicken.

"Ugh finally!" Ryder said, gulping down the contents in his glass in one go and picking the bottle for seconds.

"That was a weird ass task." Miles muttered, drinking from his glass and grabbing a chicken leg from the tray.

"Yeah, what kind of sick person did that?" Bernadette's nose scrunched up as she took a sip herself.

"Could be your brother, Montgomery. I mean he's known for throwing whacky parties all the time." Ryder suggested.

"Nah." Miles drawled. "Doesn't really feel like Felix's style."

"Plus why would he only invite us?" Damian asked. "Shouldn't there be more people?"

"The invite did say it was an exclusive party only for selected people." Natasha pointed out, taking a sip out of the bottle of chardonnay.

"Still,..." Bernadette drawled. "Something feels off about all of this."

"Babygirl, you worry too much!" Ryder chimed, placing a kiss on her cheeks. "Give that pretty brain of yours a rest and try to have some fun. Being friends with Doubtfire has really made you into this paranoid person."

The others shifted in their seats uncomfortably at the mention of that name.

"Yeah,.... whatever happened to her?" Nat laughed an uneasy laugh. "I haven't seen her in school for a while."

"God knows!" Ryder chimed. "Ever since Damian's New Year Party, she's been mostly absent. Rumors say bitch has officially gone off the rails. "

Bernadette cleared her throat as Miles interrupted, "Can we focus on the task at hand? What are we supposed to do with these body parts?"

They were met with silence until the voice returned.

"Well done, players. For your achievements, a personal gift awaits you under your chairs."

A collective rustle filled the room as they all reached down to retrieve their gifts. What they pulled out was far from the amusing party favors they had expected.

Damian's hands trembled as he pulled out a small bottle filled with a thick, red liquid, labeled in neat handwriting: "Impure."

"What the hell is this?" he muttered.

Natasha stared at her own gift-a miniature webcam, sleek and black, cold in her hand.

Her face paled. "Is this a joke?"

Ryder's heart skipped a beat as he held up his gift-a pool-shaped keychain. His laugh darkened. "What? What does this even mean?"

Bernadette slowly unwrapped her gift to reveal a porcelain doll with its mouth sewn shut, the words "Say No Evil" stitched across its body.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Miles pulled out an innocuous-looking pen, the kind that undressed a cartoon figure as you turned it. He stared at it for a long moment, then his expression hardened. He dropped it on the table like it had burned him. "This is-."

The unease that had been building finally exploded into nervous chuckles, each of them glancing at one another, trying to brush it off. But the tension in the room was palpable.

Then the lights flickered.

Their uneasy laughter died, replaced by the harsh sound of chairs scraping against the floor as they tried to get up. But something was wrong. Natasha was the first to speak, panic creeping into her voice. "Guys?"

"What?"

"I-uh...I can't feel my legs."

"What?" Damian tried to stand, but his legs refused to obey. "What the hell? What's happening?"

Bernadette looked around frantically. "This isn't part of the game. What's going on?"

Panic set in as they each realized they were trapped. Miles clawed at the edge of the table, trying to pull himself up, but his body wouldn't move. Ryder cursed under his breath, his face growing pale as the realization hit.

The flickering lights steadied, casting long shadows as the door to the dining hall slowly creaked open.

I stood by the doorway, a complacent feeling washing over my senses.

I moved into the room with a slow, deliberate calm, my eyes scanning over them-cold, emotionless. They stared back, wide-eyed, confusion etched on some of their faces, but the others... the others were starting to understand. Their expressions shifted as the realization crept in.

This wasn't a game anymore.

Their fear fed me, my chest swelling with a dark satisfaction as I watched them, trapped, helpless.

A slow, cruel smile tugged at my lips. I let the silence hang for just a moment longer before I finally spoke, my voice sharp and quiet.

"Ready to play?"

________________

"Cairo?"

Bernadette's voice trembled as she spoke, her eyes wide with panic. I turned my gaze to her but said nothing, letting the silence hang thick in the air.

"What the hell is this?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Cairo, have you lost your mind?!"

Their voices overlapped, the panic rising like a tide, and yet I stood there, unmoved. The smile tugged at the corner of my lips, slow and deliberate.

I let them scream, let them drown in their own panic.

Ryder was the loudest, his eyes bulging with disbelief. "You psycho! What are you trying to prove here?!"

I didn't respond, tightening my gloves around my hands. I just watched as the fear twisted and turned in their eyes. They had no control, no understanding of what was happening.

Finally, when the screams hit a fever pitch, I spoke, my voice calm, even. "You can scream all you want. But no one can really hear you out here. So I suggest not wasting your breath doing that."

"You are fucking psychotic, bitch!" Damian yelled.

A slow lapsed grin etched on my lips.

"Really? Thank you." I bowed. "I intend to be."

I stepped forward slowly, pacing in front of them. "Now that that's all out of the way, let's play, shall we? The rules of the game are simple. You each get to ask me one question, and I'll be bound to answer. But," I stopped, meeting each of their eyes in turn, "in return, you'll have to give me something I want."

Miles scoffed, his voice dripping with disbelief. "This is insane."

"Is it?" I turned to him, smiling. "You're welcome to disagree. But if you refuse... well, any one of you can vote for the punishment to continue. Isn't that fun? You decide each other's fates."

"Cairo... please... just stop this," Bernadette's voice was almost a whisper, her fear palpable.

I ignored her and turned to Natasha instead. "Let's start with you."

Natasha stared at me, her lips pressed into a thin line. "What did you do to us? Why can't we feel our legs?"

"That's your question?" I tilted my head, amused. "You've gotten so lame, Nat. To think there was a time when I used to think you were actually cool. I guess people do change with time."

"Just answer the fucking question, Cairo!" She yelled. I rolled my eyes.

"Alright, in exchange for your question, I want... a haircut." I pulled a pair of scissors from behind my back, the metallic sound of them opening echoing in the silence.

"What...?" Natasha's voice wavered. "No! Absolutely not!"

"Alright, whatever you want." I shrugged, turning to the others. "What about everyone else? Do you want me to answer the question or for Natasha to keep her hair?"

The table went dead silent. I watched as they exchanged guilty looks among themselves as Nat looked at them, bewildered.

"Guys! Don't do this!" She pleaded. "Please! Say something!"

"I mean..." Ryder began, his voice quivering slightly. "It's just a haircut, Nat. You'll be fine."

"Ryder!"

"One vote it is then!" I chimed excitedly.

Without waiting for her to protest, I yanked her head back by the hair, bringing the scissors close. "Don't worry, I'll be quick."

I heard her breathe in sharply, but before she could scream, I sheared off a thick chunk of her hair, right from the scalp. The sound of it slicing through was sharp and satisfying. Her face twisted in horror as she saw half her hair fall to the floor.

The others gasped, and she started with her ugly crying.

"Now, now," I whispered. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Fuck you!"

"As for your question, I mixed a little something into your drinks-let's just call it an immobilizer for now. You'll regain movement when I decide you will. For now, it's just you, me, and this little game."

The shock rippled through them. Their faces paled.

Damian shifted uncomfortably, trying to regain some control. "What the hell are you even playing at, Cairo?"

"Oh?" I turned to him, surprised. "You remember my real name now? I thought you only liked calling me Doubtfire."

He subdued, glaring at me.

I walked back to the kitchen and pulled out a tray from the counter, and came and placed it on the table in front of them. The lid came off with a slow, deliberate reveal: it was meat, cut into perfect slices, seasoned and garnished. But it didn't look like any normal meat. It looked human.

Ryder's face turned pale. "What is that...?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that your question?"

"No, I wasn't... I mean, it's just-" he stammered, his eyes darting between me and the tray.

I leaned in closer, my smile widening. "It's just-what? Speak the fuck up."

Ryder swallowed hard, panic rising in his chest. "It was a rhetorical question."

I laughed. "Ooo, big words for you, Ryder. Too bad you don't know the meaning of it. See, a rhetorical question is something you already know the answer to. Here, I'll give you an example. 'Are you stupid?'"

His face darkened, his jaw clenched as he glared at me.

"Well, Ryder," I said, stepping closer, "in exchange for your question, I want to shave off your eyebrows."

The room went quiet. Ryder's lips curled in disgust. "You're out of your mind."

Natasha, still humiliated from her haircut, suddenly piped up, her voice filled with bitterness. "Do it. He did it to me, so why shouldn't I vote for him?"

"Finally!" I clapped in excitement. "Somebody gets the game!"

Ryder whipped his head toward her, fury flashing in his eyes. "You bitch-"

But it was too late. I had already made up my mind. I grabbed Ryder's face, my grip tight as he struggled against me.

"Hold still, Ryder. This won't take long."

I took the razor and shaved off one of his eyebrows, leaving the other one untouched. The half-mocking, half-pained expression on his face was priceless.

Leaning closer to his ear, I whispered, "Sucks to be at the receiving end of cruelty, doesn't it, asshole?"

He sneered back at me, a little gush of blood dripping from the cut above his eyes. I stepped back, wiping the razor clean.

"Oh, by the way... that meat you're all so worried about?" I smirked, glancing at the tray. "It's just regular meat."

"You bitch!" He spat. "You tricked me!"

I tilted my head. "Well, it's not my fucking fault you're stupid, Ry. Blame your parents for that. And don't worry too much. I'm sure your girlfriend will find a way to love you even with...half an eyebrow."

"I'm gonna fucking kill you! You hear me! Once I get out of this chair-"

"If, Ryder." I gave him my politest smile. "If you get of this chair, that is."

"What are you planning to do with us?" Miles asked, his eyes glistening. For a moment, I felt my insides melt. For a moment, she almost took over.

But I held my composure. "Is that your question, Miles?"

"You were my bestfriend, Cairo." He said. "What did I ever do to you? Why are you doing this to me? Is it all because of that one kiss? Didn't I already apologize to you for that-"

I burst out laughing. The nerve of it all.

"Your memory seems to be betraying you, Miles. So let me refresh it for you." I said, walking over to his chair. "You tried to kiss me and I pushed you away. Then you spewed all kinds of vile things because your pathetic little head couldn't comprehend the fact that just because you were nice enough to drive me home that night, doesn't mean I owe you shit."

He pursued his lips into a thin stubborn line as he looked away.

"Remember?" I pushed. "I hope you do. I know I will, for the rest of my life. I will remember what each of you did to me. Until the very end."

The table went silent except for Nat's hysterical sobs.

"So," I straightened, smiling wide.

"Who's next?"

______________

call me batshit crazy
but why do i wanna recreate this irl?

xoxo,
Bosedisha