The door opens. Judas's thoughts raced through his head as he ran to Lady Clarisse's desk. He firmly placed a hand on the desk and his gaze stared at her.
"Claire, there's be-" his voice was cut off by Lady Clarisse's, "Jude, don't you see I'm busy!" She put her fingers to her temple as she rustled through papers.
She gives a huge sigh before putting both hands on the stack of papers. "I know, the lights went out. I'm going to call the electricity department." Lady Clarisse sorts through the papers, gently taking one out, and placing it at the side. The paper itself is covered in numbers sorted by names.
"No, it's som-" Judas gets interrupted again by Claire, "Jude. I said I'm handling it. I'm calling them"
She brings out her phone, "Right", She dials a strand of numbers, "Now", the phone rings. The ringing is just adding to the tension.
Judas grips his fists. Not being able to get a word out, his face crutches up. The ringing lasts for a few seconds before halting. "Please leave a message after the tone-" Lady Clarisse hangs up as Judas clicks his tongue.
"I can't believe they will just not answer me like that!" Claire tosses the phone to the other side of the desk before jumping back into her chair. "Ugh!" She groans. Judas stands up straight.
"What the fuck man..." She slouches and puts her arm to her forehead.
"I think-" Judas gets cut off again by Lady Clarisse, "They are supposed to call me whenever something goes wrong like this!" She gestures her other hand as her furrowed stare lingers on the ceiling. "Like how incompetent-"
"FUCK", Judas yells. His face mixed with anger, frustration, and nervousness. His gaze floats from the floor to Lady Clarisse. Judas sees her sitting right up, her face stabbing daggers into him. "You-" she tries to speak, her face not turning from that terrifying stare.
"Someone Died!" Judas interrupts her.
"What..."He watches as her face changes, slowly from that terrifying stare to deep confusion.
Startled by his words she stands up, "W-what do you mean?" Judas took a deep breath before stepping back to open the door.
His confidence slipped, and he muttered, "I'll show you..."
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Judas leads Lady Clarisse down the hall. Their cold feet jog across the red velvet carpet. Quickly, they make their way down the stairs meeting with everyone else. Though, most were gathered, panicking, by the entrance.
Once Lady Clarisse saw the body herself, the color left her skin. Witnessing the lifeless corpse oozing blood from their chest, Claire covered her mouth as a gross feeling overwhelmed her. Swallowing it, she turns to Judas.
"So... It's true....", she took a deep breath as she turned back to the body, "Has anyone called the authorities yet?" She asks.
Judas looks up to her, nervous but he muscled up the courage to walk towards the crowd. "H-Has anyone called the authorities yet!?" He calls out.
One silhouette from the crowd raises their hand before making their way to Judas. As she got closer he could make out her features, long black hair with silver tips that were tied up in a ponytail, bright blue eyes, and a short black and navy blue long-sleeved dress. S
he steadied her breathing, still looking terrified, and held out her phone. "S-*huh* S-see", she mutters. The phone shows multiple calls, all to the authorities, but, every single call doesn't connect.
"What does this mean?" Judas asks as he looks back at the lady.
"Well," she takes her phone back, "I've also asked others to call as well but... there is no answer..." She clutches her phone to her chest. She looks down at Judas, "I don't know what is happening..." She whispers.
"Um..." Judas awkwardly looks at her and glances back at Lady Clarisse. "We're trying to figure things out..." He says, hiding his face, "We'll find out who or what happened here..." He gulps, barely looking back at her, and walks to Lady Clarisse.
Judas, quite nervous, delivers the news to Claire, "I-It looks like w-we are...", he sighs, "unable to contact anyone...", His voice trails off.
He stares at the ground, almost lost in thought, while his hand grips his arm tightly.
Lady Clarisse's eyes widen but then soft away as she scoffs, "Of fucking course!" She gives a quick inhale and exhales.
As she straightened her posture, she brushed herself off, "Whatever... Jude," she turned to Judas, "I'll go calm- well... I'll contain the panic while you," she put her hand on his shoulder, "Take notes on the state of the body, okay? Okay." Lady Clarisse steps up before walking over to the crowd of silhouettes, leaving behind Judas.
His gaze lingers on Claire for a bit longer as she leaves him. He swallows himself as he turns to look at the body, swallowing something else at the look of it. Now, after a while, it had grown a smell. The blood crept down soaking into the carpet. Judas gently slaps his face, preparing himself.
Judas crouched down, pulling out the notepad and pen. "So... Just take notes...", he whispered. He looks closely, writing down everything he sees.
The weapon looks to be still submerged deeply into the chest. Judas couldn't see exactly what it was without touching it, but he assumed it had to be sharp to penetrate the chest.
Also, it has to have had quite a bit of force to stab the heart and cause all of this blood. At least, that's what he thinks.
"Ugh..." He sighs, "I'm no detective..." Judas clutches the notepad, intently staring to get a clue.
Then, Judas realized, this couldn't have been an accident. There was too much intent. And that means someone did it, someone killed them.
But who?
Judas turned to scan the room, looking at all the silhouettes. "They can't have gone far..." He murmured.
As he said that, he caught a glance at Lady Clarisse, organizing everyone with a smile on her face. It was a lot more strained than usual. Though, Judas's gaze lands next to her as he sees her talking to Sir Alexander.
His face seems tense as he talks to Lady Clarisse. Then Judas's eyes land on a silhouette in the crowd, a large man. He stands up, Notepad and pen in hand.
Judas readies himself, "Okay... Okay...", he mutters, "I'll have to ask around..."
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Walking up to this tall muscular man, Judas gulps. Now close enough to see his features, Judas can see his terrifying gaze mixed with his short dark red hair.
"H-hey! Excuse me..." Judas stammered, recognizing the man now, "H-have you seen a-anything unusual or anyone acting s-suspiciously?"
Judas looked closer as he recognized this man as Sir Derick. Though Judas has only seen him a few times, he could never forget his terrifying gaze.
Sir Derick, his towering figure casting a shadow in the dimly lit room, locked eyes with Judas. Derick's gaze is stoic as it leaves little room for emotion. Judas felt the weight of Sir Derick's intense gaze, and for a moment, the room seemed to freeze.
After a brief silence, Sir Derick spoke in a deep, gravelly voice, "Unusual? No, I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary. People were enjoying the party until... that happened."
His eyes narrowed slightly as he surveyed the chaotic scene around them. Judas noted the controlled calmness in Derick's demeanor.
Judas's eyes turn to linger on the ground, away from Sir Derick's gaze. Clutching the notepad and pen he spoke, "Th-thank you..." He quickly looked back to the body then to Sir Derick again, "Well... Actually... Do you think you could help me?"
Judas sheepishly holds his notepad in front of his face while still looking up at Derick. "I mean... We-we need to find out who... Un... Unalived her..."
Sir Derick's expression remained stoic, though a hint of curiosity flashed in his eyes. He nodded solemnly, "If it helps get to the bottom of this, I'll assist you."
Derick's large hand gestured toward the Judas, "Begin by asking those who were close to her tonight. People act differently when they know they're being watched, especially in situations like this." Judas nodded, hesitant but grateful for the guidance.
As he turned to approach others in the crowd, Sir Derick's watchful gaze followed.
He reluctantly walks over to a group of silhouettes as they speak. Judas recognizes them vaguely as the people who were chattering with the lady who died before the lights went out.
As he walks closer the silhouettes reveal their features. The group consists of three individuals: a middle-aged man with graying hair, a woman with a sleek bob cut, and a younger man in his twenties. They hush their conversation as Judas approaches, and a tense air lingers.
Judas takes a deep breath, clearing his throat before speaking, "Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice you were with... her... earlier. Did you see anything unusual or anyone acting suspicious before... You know...?"
The middle-aged man exchanges a cautious glance, noticeably distrout, with the others before responding, "We were just chatting, and then the lights went out. When they came back on, she was on the stairs, like that. We didn't see anyone else near her..." Judas furrows his brows while his gaze leaves the group, realizing that this won't be easy.
As Judas engages with the group, he senses a palpable tension among them. The middle-aged man's unease is evident as he recounts the events. The woman with the sleek bob cut, observing Judas closely, interjects, "We were just minding our own business, you know? Then the blackout happened, and when the lights returned, she was there."
The younger man adds, "We didn't notice anyone suspicious around her, honest." Judas takes note of their apprehension but decides to probe further, "D-did she mention anything unusual or... express concerns before the lights went out? Any details c-could help." The middle-aged man hesitates, exchanging glances with the others.
The man heaves a deep sigh, "We knew her well..." His voice quavers with emotion as he sorrowfully lingers his gaze down at his black suit with gold accents.
"We were just talking about how each of us was pl-planning... a playdate for our own children and grandchildren..." Tears welled in his weathered eyes, threatening to spill over any moment.
The atmosphere grows heavier, and the woman with the sleek bob cut places a comforting hand on the man's shoulder.
Her voice is soft and gentle as she says, "She was kind, always bringing people together." The younger man is visibly affected, his voice trembling as he adds, "We never expected something like this to happen."
Judas couldn't help but look away from the group. But then he heard the young boy give a gentle sigh, "I barely noticed...", he whispered, "No..."
Hearing this, Judas's eyes fixated on him. "W-What did you see?"
The young man hesitates, his gaze shifting uncomfortably. "I... I barely noticed," he stammeres, avoiding eye contact. He takes a shaky breath before continuing, "Right before the lights went out, her eyes... they shimmered red in the light, then..." He glances around nervously, his voice dropping to a hushed tone, "I saw something."
Judas leans in, clutching his pen, "W-what?" The young man gulps, his eyes widen with unease.
"A shadow, it was like a figure, but I couldn't make out any features. Just a silhouette. It disappeared as soon as the lights came back on. I thought I was seeing things, but..." He trails off, a mix of fear and confusion evident in his expression. The young man's gaze meets the dull eyes of the body.
Judas, absorbing the young man's account, scribbles down the details in his notepad. Despite the unsettling nature of the shadowy figure, he attributes it to the chaos of the situation.
As the tension in the room lingers, Judas takes a moment to glance at Lady Clarisse, who's attempting to maintain a semblance of order amidst the crowd's anxiety.
The scent of blood hangs in the air. Judas tightens his grip on the pen. Not having gotten many clues he heads over to Lady Clarisse. Judas can see Lady Clarisse trying to calm down an older woman as he gets closer.
The older woman's face is withered and visibly drenched with tears as she clutches Claire's hands. Judas stands nearby, hesitant, awaiting an opportunity to convey the information or lack thereof, he gathered from the group.
After a moment, Lady Clarisse looks up, her eyes meeting Judas's. She gently excuses herself from the older woman, who continues to sob quietly. Lady Clarisse walks over to Judas, her expression tense.
"Judas," she says, her voice hushed but firm, "What have you found? We need any information we can get to make sense of this."
Judas's voice was shaky as he spoke, "Well..." he stammered, his anxiety evident, "I-I asked the people who were around.... Her..."
He quickly glanced back at the group for a second before turning his gaze back at Claire. "But they didn't see much other than some tricks of the light..."
Lady Clarisse's brow furrows slightly as she absorbs Judas's words. She nods slowly, her eyes focused and unwavering.
"Keep asking around, Judas. We need to piece together any details, no matter how small. And check for surveillance cameras; there might be footage that could reveal something useful.
I'll continue trying to reach the authorities or anyone who might help. We can't let this situation spiral further out of control." Her tone is urgent, yet determined. Though only Judas could notice the subtle shake in her voice.