I'm posting this early so that y'all can have time to read this over Christmas break. Enjoy!

The group quickly rushed into their rooms and looked at their devices for the riddle. Immediately, the screen changed to what Mr. Anderson described, and the first riddle appeared.

_ _.  _

Shaila was indeed mad
Which made her sister glad.
Her "lover" refused her, and chose her sister instead.
Which caused Shalia to turn up dead.
What letter can you substitute for g in gloom,
Choose wisely, for it could be your doom.

Angela felt her palms sweat. What could this mean? She was never interested in studying for school, and she was regretting that now. She pressed the letter r and dread filled her soul when a red X appeared on her screen.

In Iridessa, Raphael, Ash, and Lilith's rooms, they all spotted the little rhyme within the riddle.

"Gloom and doom." Ash muttered before pressing the letter D. A green checkmark appeared, causing a sigh of relief from him.

Jayden began to solve the next part, now that he got the first riddle.

When you came down the stairs, you saw Shailia dead,
However, she wished it was her sister instead.
What was the weapon that was used to kill,
Figure it out I'm sure you will.
Punch in the first letter of the word
Here's a hint: No noise from Shaila could be heard.

Jayden looked at what he had so far. He had the letter D. After the empty spot, there was a period. That must mean that this person is a doctor. Immediately, he put in the letter R, and a green checkMark appeared.

Time was of the essence for Anastasia. She had many people who targeted her, and didn't want her at the mansion. If she was to win, she would have to solve this next part.

Shaila loved him it's true.
For when he rejected her, she had the blues.
What is the first letter of his first name,
Here's a hint: He liked to spend time with her playing one of His favorite games.

" What the hell could that mean?" Anastasia wondered. She put in the letter r for the empty space, and was greeted with a red x.

Ash looked at his screen. He had a D and a R. It suddenly dawned on him It's the letter H for hangman! They were playing his favorite game now. Quickly, he put in the letter, and he was greeted with a checkmark. As fast as he could, he opened the chest on the stool. It was that moment in which the bell rang, and everyone groaned in dismay.

Inside the chest, was a bottle of medicine, and a note.

Congratulations dear guest. You've solved the riddle. Now, let me give an explanation. The bottle is for Shaila, to help with her ever changing moods. I set a trap for her using my friends favorite game. She was getting too out of hand, and it was going to affect our partnership. As for her lover, he works very close with me. He is indeed a scientist.
That my guest, is all I will say for now.
The owner of AveBURY estate.

Ash's hands were shaking. He had this valuable piece of information and he had no idea what he would say to people. Quickly, he joined everyone outside where 9 other pairs of eyes awaited him to give the information.

"Congratulations Ash for solving the riddle." Mr. Anderson spoke. "The other people who were also close to solving the riddle were Iridessa, Raphael, Lilith, Phoenix, Jayden, Elliot, and Anastasia. Alison and Angela, you were not as lucky."

"What does this mean for us?" Angela's lip quivered.

"That depends on how you testify your case." The butler said quietly. "Based on the evidence that you have gathered, you will explain your theory to a camera, in which the owner will watch from a different screen."

"Holy crap." Raphael muttered

"Ash," the butler began. "Is there anything that you would like to say to the other guests before we begin?"

"Everything that you have seen is within the answer." Ash began "the one thing that I can tell you is that this person, works with the owner of this estate."

The butler escorted Ash to the library to give his theory, because he has the most information.

"Shaila was a maid here at the estate. She fell in love with a scientist called Dr. H. This scientist was a player because he was also interested in her sister Sophia. Once a week, the two got together to play his favorite game, Hangman. However, Shailia was bipolar and was incredibly angry at her sister and her "lover" . Shaila decided that she wanted to poison her sister. things got so bad that the killer decided to kill her with Dr. H's favorite game. " Ash finished.

The other guests had the same base for the story. Some forgot more important details than others. However, most of the guests were happy with their theory.

When everyone was back into the parlor, Mr. Anderson walked in.

"Welcome back dear guests. Since the killer has heard all of your theories, he will now reveal to you who is going to live another day, and who is a target for the killer. If you are safe, then you will not be killed. However, if you didn't provide adequate information for your theory, then you are indeed in danger. Please look to your tablets in which the owner will reveal your destiny."

Their were several message alerts on each of the tablets. Each of them opened eagerly to see their results. Most were satisfied, but only Alison and Angela were unsafe. Alison tried to keep it together, while Angela immediately started to cry.

"Now that we have gotten our results, I'm sure you are all exhausted. Dinner is served in your rooms so that you can be most comfortable. " The butler said. Everyone murmured their goodnights, and went to their rooms except Iridessa, Ash, Raphael, Jayden, Phoenix, and Elliot, both separating into their different groups.

Iridessa, Ash, and Raphael found themselves in a small private parlor with a roaring fireplace. There was a silence in which each person thought of everything.

"I can't believe we're in a actual murder mystery game." Iridessa said softly.

"I know, but we need to strategize if we are going to survive." Raphael began, ready to form a partnership. "I believe that you two are crew mates."

"And if we are? How can we trust you?" Iridessa asked.

"Let's stick together for the next round. If I give you false information, you can call an emergency meeting and vote me out." Raphael began. "But I swear to you, I'm not that crazy."

Iridessa nodded in agreement before the three of them continued to stare at the fire. The clock struck midnight, and they all bid their goodnights before headed to bead. On the far side of the house, Elliot, Phoenix and Jayden all stood together.

"Right, I think it's time we form an alliance." Phoenix began, "we can see that it's happening with multiple people, and we shouldn't stand alone."

"How can we trust you?" Elliot began. "For all I know the two of you could be impostors and try to double kill me."

"We honestly can't really trust one another. However it's a game of survival. If we are going to live, we need each other to make it through, whether we trust each other or not." Jayden said.

"Yeah so either your in or your out." Phoenix said.

The group noticed that it was almost 12:30, and decided to head to bed. Hopefully, no one would die, but that would beat the whole point of the game regardless.

———————————————————

At 5 am, Angela woke up to get a snack. Her hair stood up on the back of her neck, and she carried no weapons to defend herself. She crossed the threshold to the living room, and was going to go a different way, but all the doors shut as if they were controlled with a mechanism. Frightened as a mouse, she began to look for the killer. An impostor watched from a secret room as she tried to escape. Angela found herself in the center of the room, with sweaty palms and fearful eyes.

The impostor hit the button for the countdown, and used the secret passageway to get to their bedroom.

Angela found herself in the center of the room, and she let out a shriek before the chandelier took her last breath.

The guests heard the noise and rushed out to see Angela dead with a Chandelier on top of her.

"Oh my god." Anastasia whispered, with tears in her eyes. "Oh my god."

The guests stared in horror, and the butler came running in to see the commotion.

"My guests, the real game has begun."

That is the end of the chapter! I hope you all have a lovely Christmas!