Mansion in the Forest

The beginning

The scene were horrific, no one could will their body to move even if they tried to. Francis's blood on the floor almost covering the whole living room. There are no other people in there except them, but who took Francis's head?

Lexi's shaking hands tried to reach Francis but Jazen prevent her from doing so. Jisu bend over to pick up something from the floor. It was the blade from Francis's shoulder, she examined it just to determine if it's the weapon used, but it won't enough to cut a head. But to her surprised, she noticed something carved on the handle, she used her shirt to wipe the blood and saw Blake's name on it.

"It is Blake's knife." Jisu said.

"Oh my god, he's such a monster!" Siena growled.

"Who?"

Everyone looked behind them to see Blake, standing outside the kitchen, his shirt were covered with blood and he's holding a head of a boar while on the other free hand is a Bolo knife and blood all over it. They felt terrified at the guy so they had to take step backwards, and it covers Francis's body as well so Blake couldn't see his friend's headless body.

"Y-you!" Lexi yelled, pointing at Blake, her eyes were dilated in anger, she's also trembling in fear. "What did you do?!"

"What did I do?" Blake asked back mockingly, he doesn't care if the girls were all terrified at his sudden appearance. "Why do you wanna know?"

"Just f*****g answer the question." Jazen scowled.

"Why would I answer your question?" Blake retorts and he spit on the ground after wiping the blood on his chin. "Do me a favour bunch of lesbians, don't talk to me, don't ever look at me, don't stand in my way or—."

Jazen immediately pulled out her gun and pointed it to Blake when the latter step forward. "Stay right there or I'll blow your head."

"What the hell?" Blake asked in confusion as to why the girls in front of him are all acting like he did a crime, well, killing a boar is a crime, but it has nothing to do with the girls, unless they are from a association protecting animals.

"Why do you have a gun?" Lexi asked the girl next to her, she, as well, got surprised that Jazen have a gun with her all this time.

"I'm a professional marksman, Lexi."

"Since when?"

"Since I got my badge." Jazen said without tearing her gaze away from Blake.

"You're a crazy b***h!" Blake growled at her, gripping the Bolo knife tightly. "What the f**k did I do aside from killing a boar?!"

"You killed your friend, you monster!" Siena scowled at him.

"What?" Blake asked, his confusion grew stronger as he didn't know who are they talking about, is it the dear?

"You killed Francis, using that Bolo." Lexi finally said and she stepped aside to reveal the headless body behind her.

Blake's eyes slowly widen upon seeing his best friend's headless body. His body vibrates as well as his hands tremble which caused him to drop the Bolo and the head of the boar that rolled on the floor and stopped in Jisu's feet. Then with all his strength, he will his feet to move but he failed miserably as they wobble and he dropped on his knees, already crying.

He used his palm to cover his face and cried hysterically, he crawled towards his best friend and tried to reach for the body but he couldn't will his hands to touch it. He was too devastated and shaking violently.

They've been friends for God knows how long it has been, and there's no way in hell he would kill Francis. He treated him like a brother, and the reason he went out because of their deal that he would kill a wild animals and he will bring back its head, but this is what he witnessed, his best friend for his entire life is now dead in most brutally way.

Jazen still pointing her gun at Blake, but Lexi and Jisu already know that whoever took Francis's head, isn't Blake. The way the latter cried means he wouldn't dare to kill his friend.

"Put the gun down." Lexi said but Jazen refused, she shook her head firmly. "Please, he's not the killer."

"I'm not, because you are the one who killed him!" Blake suddenly stood up, he ran back to pick up his Bolo and was about to attack Lexi, but everything was to fast to see what just had occured.

After he swung his Bolo, he fell on the floor with heavy thud, Lexi got hit on his arm but it's not deep, just a scratch, thankfully, Siena immediately kick the back of his knee and brutally wrenched his arm behind his back when he fell on the floor. Iris stepped on his arm, which caused him to let go the Bolo and he groans in agony.

"Lexi are you okay?!" Jazen asked, she was too shock that she didn't have time to react, but Lexi was thankful for that, because if not, she would have probably shoot Blake.

"I'm fine." Lexi said while wiping the blood from the cut on her arm. "It's just a scratch."

"Good thing he didn't get to cut you in half." Iris said while she's examining the Bolo. "It's too sharp to severe your arm."

"I will kill all of you!" Blake said through his gritted teeth, still trying to struggle from Siena's grip.

"We didn't kill him. He was crawling on the floor when we saw him, your knife pierced in his shoulder." Jisu said calmly while walking towards Blake, carrying the blade she got from Francis's shoulder. "This is yours, right?"

"We we exchanged weapons, he gave me his bolo and I gave him my knife!"

"Then who do you think will stab him using this knife?" Jisu asked again.

"I don't know! Probably not me! I'm out of the woods, hunting wild animals!"

"Just so you know, none of us is the killer. We tried to save him but someone arrived after the blackout and took his head." Lexi explained but received a mocking scoff from the guy who's still on the floor. He tried to push himself up but Siena used her knee to restraint him more.

"Do you expect me to believe that kind of bullshit?" Blake said instead since he couldn't do anything and just stayed lying down. "Even a 5 years old won't believe that shit."

"I'm not forcing you to believe us, but we didn't really kill him."

"You killed my best friend, and I will take your head as well!" Blake said venomously, looking at Lexi with full of anger and hatred in his eyes.

"I should've shoot him." Jazen hissed.

"Don't." Lexi rebuked and shakes her head.

"What are we going to do with him?" Siena asked, she's starting to feel tired using her strength to refrain Blake from standing or else, he's gonna hurt them.

"Just tie him till he calm down and let's find out who killed Francis." Lexi said and everyone agreed. They used anything they could use just to tie Blake and put Francis's body on the corner. Lexi walked towards the LED screen to look for the others but she couldn't see them anymore.

Her eyes shifted to one monitor where a shadow moves in the dark corner of the room, sitting in a chair. Lexi squint her eyes to look better at it, but she still couldn't see who it is or what it is.

"What is it?" Jisu asked next to her.

"Nothing." Lexi lied and shifted her gaze to another monitor where they could see the others, walking in a hallway. They are still complete and still seems lost. "Let's just wait for them here."

"Yeah, want some coffee?"

"Black one, please. Thank you."

_____

Trevor got awoken with the loud screams echoing inside where he is, when he shot his eyes open, he can't see anything but darkness, he tried to move but his body tied in a chair tightly, his head still covered with a black plastic bag. He tried to struggle again but couldn't move even a bit, he's breathing rapidly with his heart beating frantically.

"Damn it." He hissed. He tried to look around but there's nothing he could see, until he turned around and saw a bit of light coming from the corner. "Lexi.." He whispered. He could hear footsteps not too far from his spot, he tried to struggle once again but still none happens.

"Help!" He yelled but the footsteps couldn't be hear again. His arm were tightly tied behind him along with his feet below him. Nothing he can do but to wait till someone arrives and untie him.

His surroundings became too silent that he could hear the howl outside the mansion, he's unsure if the wolves are too far or they're just around the vicinity because he can hear them clearly. Until another screams can be heard. Trevor decided to save himself using his force.

He tried to use all of his strength to snap the rope but nothing seems to happen, and it's impossible to snap a big rope. He then remember the knife in his pocket, the one that he stole from Lexi when he accidentally saw it in Lexi's bag. He leaned his body behind him to let the chair falls down with him.

"Fuck." He groans in pain but luckily, the knife slipped from his pocket, sadly, he couldn't see where it fell. So, using the floor, he pressed his head onto it and removed the plastic by rubbing it, until he was released from the plastic bag and the first thing he did is suck a much needed air since he almost lost an oxygen. His eyes roamed immediately to look for the knife, when he saw it beside him, he used his shoulder to spin the chair so he could reach the knife.

It was hard, but he still managed to get it and start cutting the rope carefully to avoid cutting himself.

"Finally!" He sighs loudly after he could snap the rope successfully, then use the knife freed himself. He's totally unscratched, but he felt a sudden nausea, his head swirls and his eyes become blurry for a moment. He shut them off tightly and stayed on the floor for a few seconds till he felt that his dizziness were gone, but when he shot his eyes open, he's now in a different room.

"What the hell?" He whispered, looking around the room. "What just happened?"

"Trevor, right?" The guy leaped off when a voice suddenly appeared behind him, but he sees no one. He looked around and noticed a small speaker on the top corner of the room. "I heard that you snuck into the mansion."

"Who are you?" Trevor asked even if he couldn't see who he talking with.

"I am the Queen."

"Queen of what? London? Spain?"

"Japan."

Trevor snicker and huffed a breath. "So you're Owada? But why you sound like you're in your 20s?"

"Since you tried to sneak inside my mansion, I will now announce that you are now a participant and you have to join others at the living room." Sakura said, ignoring his remarks.

"Participant? In what?"

"If you stay alive until next week, then you'll get the prize, enough money for the rest of your life. Good luck player." Then the speaker turned off, leaving Trevor in stumped.

"What the f**k is the meaning of that?" Trevor asked to no one. He shook his head before leaving the room, but when he's about to reach the stairs, he saw someone standing in front of him, it's in the darker spot and no lights in there so he couldn't see who it is, but one thing he was sure of, whoever standing in front of him, ain't a f*****g human because of how huge it is for a normal body of a human.

Trevor stepped backwards, cautiously and slowly, but he froze when the creature in front growled, bloody sharp teeth revealed amidst of the dark. Then it bend over, two hands pressed onto the floor, one foot move to the back while the other one bend, it was as if ready to charge forward to Trevor and it did.

It was too fast but Trevor's reflexes are much faster to react, he leaped on the side to avoid the monster and it went straight to the end of the hallway for how fast he attacked the guy. Trevor clutched his chest, he could feel his heart beating frantically against his ribcage, echoing behind his ear.

"That was too close." He mumbled. The creature growled and Trevor knew he needed to hide or he'll die. He twisted the knob behind him and luckily, it wasn't lock. When he got in, he heard heavy footsteps outside the door, pacing back and forth, as if whatever behind the door, couldn't smell nor feel Trevor's presence when he got inside the room.

His breathing are rapid and ragged, but he's trying his best not to make any sound so he wouldn't get notice, he waited for the monster to go away but it seems didn't want to, since it saw him on that spot. Trevor made sure the door is lock before he decided to step away from it carefully.

The room is big, seems like the master's bedroom. The curtains were a creamy brown, the kind that glows golden in the daylight but too dusty and already eaten by termites, seems been in the mansion for hundred years. One big bed in the middle, the mattress are all disintegrated along with the bed frame, shelves around the room with antique books, antique displayed that only antiquary will love to explore the whole room, because for Trevor, he needs to find Lexi as soon as possible, knowing that there's a possible danger that might occur to his best friend because of that u explained monster he just encountered.

Trevor looked around to see if there's another way out to avoid the monster, but nothing can be use. The only way he could use is the window, but it is more dangerous to go down using it.

What if there are more of them outside? Trevor thought.

He went back to the bed and sat at the edge of it, he ruffled his own hair frustratedly, blaming himself for not stopping Lexi when he could've had a chance. Now he's locked inside a room and there's a monster behind he door, that he's not sure of if what kind of monster was that.

_____

Lexi, along with the four girls and Blake, who's still tied up, stayed in the living room while waiting for the others, they've been waiting for almost 2 hours now, but still no one arrived. They could still see them walking around the mansion, but seems couldn't find the way down.

"There is really something going on in this mansion." Jisu voiced out to break the defeaning silence around them.

"Yeah." Lexi agreed, not tearing her gaze away from the monitor where she can see the others. "Can I ask you a question?" Jisu side glanced her and nod. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you, I got invited."

"Weren't your parents got into an accident?"

"They both died."

"Then why all of a sudden, you decided to join here?" Lexi asked again, she's discombobulate to the fact that she's with Jisu in a place like that, wherein she should've been grieving and mourning for her lost.

Jisu let out a sigh of defeat, as much as she wants to hide her reason, she can't. Lexi's been her friend since she arrived in Canada. They've became close friends when Lexi offered a place at Jisu when they met at the coffee shop where Lexi used to work to make a living. Jisu rely on her friend too much, that she will never see her day without Lexi, nauseating her everyday.

Along with Trevor who loves to stick around with Lexi, and Jazen, of course, who kept clinging at her girlfriend. The four of them were close, well at least to for her, she's not sure about Jazen and Trevor, since both teenagers likes Lexi so much.

"It's not an accident." Jisu finally said after became silent for 10 seconds.

"What do you mean?" Lexi asked, her eyebrows knitted together.

"Someone wants them dead to get my Dad's company."

"What? Then why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be there to find justice—."

"That's not how it works." Jisu cut Lexi off, she then walked away from the others and stood in front of the window to watch the bright moon. "That man is rich and I am broke, I have nothing against him if I don't have money, that's why I'm here. If I got the prize, I will face him and take my revenge."

"You're actually rich, just like what I've said, your parents has a lot of money that you'll inherit."

"He took everything and leave nothing for me. He killed my parents and took away every single penny that my parents earned for my future."

"That's mean!" Siena exclaimed. Lexi and Jisu turned around and see that everyone are looking at them and eavesdropping to their conversation.

"I know." Jisu smiled weakly.

"If I were you, even if he is that rich, I would get my gun and blow his head." Jazen said, as if it's too easy to kill such a wealthy man who has hundred of bodyguards.

"Easy for you to say that." Iris said mockingly. "At first, I thought she's just a nerd who got lost and found this mansion." She added, referring to Jisu.

Jazen raised her left brow and was about to throw her banter but Jisu shook her head, telling Jazen not to engage.

"It's almost 3, y'all should get some rest. I'll watch." Lexi said to dismiss their emerging argument. Everyone agreed to it but they all got startled when the monitor created a loud noise, it went black and a message appeared on the screen.

"One terminated, eleven left." It said and another message started to appear, letter by letter.

"Let's the game begin."

_______