Page 3 of Carnival
“I’m not sure why this is bothering me so much.’’
Aria purses her lips briefly, the amusement dropping from her face. “Maybe… is it because you regret sleeping with him? I mean, you're someone who gets attached easily, so the fact that your first time was a quickie in a terror house with a stranger is weird on its own. Or maybe it’s because you’re… dull.’’
“Excuse me?”
She quickly corrects herself. “Wait, that came out wrong. I mean, your life has no excitement. You’re all studying, baking cookies, and napping. So, you want excitement in your life and you need some sort of adrenaline rush in your life. I’m betting my money this is you just wanting some thrill.’’
“That… sounds weirdly correct,’’ I frown. Even when I can’t put my emotions into words, Aria does it for me. It’s almost creepy how well she knows me, how well she can read me, whereas I can barely read a single emotion off her face.
“Right,’’ she nods. “Then, if you’re so keen on going over there, I’ll come with you.’’
“What?” My brows rise to my hairline, shock evident on my face. “You will? Why?”
“At least one of us knows how to shoot,’’ she snorts. “Think of me as your shadow, alright? I’ll let you do your thing while observing from the shadows.’’
“What if he pulls his gun faster?”
Aria deadpans. “He’s using a butcher knife.’’
I smirk. “Seems like you also did your research on the killings, huh?”
“Obviously,’’ she says matter-of-factly, arms folded in front of her chest. “I’m curious about things like these, so when I saw the media outlets flooded by this news, I, of course, had to investigate myself.’’
“Did you find… anything useful?”
She shrugs. “Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows?’’
“You’re annoying. Just tell me!”
“Alright, alright,’’ she laughs. “We know that all murders happen in that specific terror house, every night of Halloween, sometime between eight and eleven in the evening, right?”
I nod. “Right.’’
“Well, I had a friend look into this through his connections at the police. After the second year, the cops decided that during the third year, they’d send undercover cops into the terror house every night of the carnival.’’
I straighten up, biting the inside of my cheek and absorbing the information. This is something that I wasn’t able to find through the public servers, so I’m keeping my ears perked, listening to every word she speaks.
“They apparently set up hidden cameras; however… they never managed to get a video.’’
A frown covers my face. “How’s that possible?”
“The moment the cameras were set up, they stopped working. Which means they had someone make sure nothing on the inside could be recorded. But that’s not the weirdest part.’’
“Go on.’’
“See, the agents undercover went through the terror house with a fine-tooth comb. They were unable to find a single thing that could prove that a murder had taken place there. No blood, no dead bodies, no nothing that would incriminate the place.’’
“How… bizarre.’’
Aria sighs. “That’s not all. These people… it’s definitely an organization.’’
“I haven’t found anything that indicates that this could be done by multiple people. In fact, they only have one man–well, clown– who they’re suspecting.’’
“Have you looked up the victims?”
I shake my head.
“That’s the odd part. Whoever this is, it’s definitely an organization. Because the victims, although we know who they were from their families, don’t exist on paper.’’
