Miss Meurtre
The cards were dealt. Elliot snuck a glance before tucking the card into her pocket. Killer.
Nearby, everyone did the same. Benjamin, the game warden, told everyone to close their eyes for round one. Elliot killed Sadie first. It wasn’t like she was even paying attention, focused as she was on Popeyes Drive-through.
It’s easy to win as the killer, honestly. The point is never to get too defensive. When someone accuses you, don’t panic, don’t overreact. Laugh it off, or placate them with a joke. Or better yet, bring the attention to someone else.
So the rounds kept coming, and Elliot kept killing until only Lizzie was left. Which meant that Elliot won.
She flipped her card over, displaying it to the other members. Sadie gasped. “You little traitor, you kill me first?”
Elliot shrugged. “As if you were paying any attention to the game anyway.”
“I was—”
“Nu-uh.”
“Yes, I—”
Theodore laughed, reaching over to clap Elliot on the shoulder. “Our little Miss Meurtre.”
Elliot couldn’t help but smile. Granted, she didn’t actively seek approval, but it was nice to be complimented now and then for her Mafia skills.
Elliot leaned her head against the cool glass, feeling the throbbing in her head lessen as she stared out into the night. Sadie was asleep on the couch, and Popeyes Drive-through, having decided to explore the house, was nowhere to be seen. Elliot had nothing to do but stare, as she had insomnia.
Usually, she would’ve turned the lights on and done something productive, but Sadie was a light sleeper, and Elliot was afraid that Sadie would beat her with a pillow if she did anything to disturb her beauty sleep.
So she sat in the darkness, peering out through the window, her gaze drifting.
Hold on. Elliot sat up straight. There was a figure, half-hidden among the trees that grew around their house, sprinting through the snow towards…
The cabin.
When Elliot and her parents had first moved here, there was a cabin in the forest behind the house. They used to stay there during the summer when Elliot was younger, but now they used it as a storage area. Elliot pressed her face closer against the glass, watching the figure disappear. She would’ve followed them, but she wasn’t a fool. Only idiots in horror movies did that, and she wasn’t an idiot, and she certainly wasn’t in a horror movie.
Besides, she could always check it out in the morning, when there was more light.
Suddenly, there was a low, hissing sound from the floor below. Elliot blinked. Was that Popeyes Drive-through? Who was he hissing at? She considered checking it out, but decided against it. If someone happened to break in, better the cat die than her.
Slowly, she tiptoed back to the bed, sitting at the edge of it, allowing her mind to drift. She snapped on a pair of headphones, letting the music flood her senses. Before she knew it, it was morning.
Elliot checked the clock. 7:56. Which meant the rest of the house was probably still asleep. She got up, dressed, and used the restroom. She headed downstairs, gently walking past a still-asleep figure of Sadie on the couch. The house was so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Elliot made herself a cup of coffee. Which was weird. She had never drunk coffee before. But today seemed like a good occasion to drink coffee. She winced at the bitter taste, and that’s when she heard it.
A faint scratching sound, coming from upstairs. She listened some more.
Scrhh. Scrhhhhhhhhh.
