Fragile Hearts [DANGEROUS FELLOWS]

⚠️THIRTY-FIVE: WHODUNNIT?⚠️

Why Judy?

Why did it have to be Judy?

You were hardly even listening to the talk Felix was giving everyone in the dining room. There were a few people you'd never seen, some of them looking scared, and others eyeing the group suspiciously.

"As far as we know, Judy is still alive somewhere," Felix went on. "So I want this whole place searched top to bottom until we find her."

"Or her corpse, more like," an unfamiliar girl spoke. "We should be more focused on finding out who murdered her."

You felt your throat start to tighten and you swallowed hard, clinging onto the hope that Judy was alive somewhere.

"Yeah," Jay said, shuddering. "What happens if whoever killed her isn't finished? What if they kill someone else?"

"We don't know that she's dead," Lawrence interrupted.

Sue nodded. "From the state of her room it seems there was a struggle," she said. "The blood may have just been from a wound as a result from that."

"And whatever sick freak attacked her probably hid her somewhere," Zion added.

Hailey shook her head. "I-If she was still alive when she was taken out of her room, wouldn't we have heard... s-screaming?" she asked timidly.

"She must've been unconscious," Harry realized. "It's the only possibility if she was still alive."

Felix sighed, returning the attention back to him. "These are all just speculations," he reminded everyone. "Does anyone know who might've not liked Judy? Or maybe a reason someone wouldn't?"

You couldn't think of a single thing. This was Judy. A girl who was always kind, always smiling, and would never give anyone a reason to dislike her.

"I don't know," you said at last. "We were all friends with her, and I was her best friend. None of us had any reason to attack her."

"Sometimes violent crimes don't always have obvious reasons behind them," the girl from before broke in. "She could've simply been at the wrong place, at the wrong time."

"A coincidence, you're saying," Lawrence said. It made sense, but was it really just that?

"I'm more concerned that the person who did it could be in this very room," Harry brought up, looking around nervously.

"That's true," Felix agreed, nodding slowly. "It pains me to say, but it's a possibility."

"So we need rules," Sue said.

"Curfew," Ethan suggested, his cheek resting on the back of his hand.

"And someone could keep watch at night," Jay added. "Problem solved."

"So curfew and night watch," Felix repeated. "Sounds good to me. But until then, we need to start searching. Whether she's alive or dead, her body has got to be somewhere around here."

"Unless someone took her outside of the walls," Lawrence said.

Felix shook his head. "You can't do that without an ID card," he explained, taking his own from his pocket. "And only a few people have those."

"Then if we can't find her," Lawrence began, rising from his chair, "we have our main suspect."

"Wait, you mean me?" Felix asked sheepishly as others started standing too, gathering in groups to go search. The woman you saw at breakfast was holding her little boy tight, glaring at anyone who came close.

"So, groups," Lawrence said, choosing to ignore Felix. "How about Jay, Harry, Sue, and Hailey search around outside? And then Ethan, Zion, and I will search Judy's room and the rest of the hotel."

"What about me?" you asked as the crowd thinned out, doors swinging as people hurried to do their own searches.

"Oh," Lawrence said with a smile. "You can be in my group, (Y/n)."

As your group started to head towards the exit, you felt someone tap your shoulder. You turned to see Felix, his brow creased with worry.

"Be careful, (Y/n)," he said. "Really. We don't if someone else might be next."

You nodded, stepping out of the dining room and into the lobby that was buzzing with chatter. A few people gave your group nervous glances, shuffling out of your way.

"You guys go on ahead," Lawrence said, turning over to the front doors. "I'm going to check on Sue's group to make sure they know the plan."

"You coming back or what?" Zion called to him as he walked away.

"Yeah," he said over his shoulder. "Just meet me in my room."

The elevator ride up to the second floor made your stomach turn. Remembering the ride up with Harry wished Harry was here now to comfort you.

No, you suddenly scolded yourself. I need to be strong on my own.

Zion sidling away into the corner of the elevator pulled you from your thoughts.

"What?" you asked, feeling self-conscious.

"You looked like you were about to throw up," he said teasingly. "Just keeping a safe distance."

The elevator finally dinged and it stopped rising, the doors sliding open. You saw the door to Judy's room still hanging ajar and you quickly looked away, going straight to Lawrence's room. You opened a door a slit, peeking inside.

"What do you think's gonna be in there, a monster?" Zion said, giving the door a push and letting it swing open. You were terrified that somehow you would be faced with the horrific sight of Judy's room again, but instead, you faced an orderly and average one.

Saddle mewed at you, Zion, and Ethan in greeting, resting on a pillow half under the bed. He was grooming himself, tail swaying peacefully.

"I'm watching you," Zion told Saddle warningly as he stepped past. The little cat just yawned, turning his head.

Zion wasted no time plopping down on the bed, back to the door, letting out a sigh. "Man, who would've thought this would happen? I knew the Safe Zone was too good to be true."

You stood by the bedside table as Ethan sat as well, next to him. Saddle disappeared into the shadows under it.

A little book on the table caught your eye. It was thick and the cover was black, and it seemed like the pages were made out of plastic. When you looked closer you realized it was a photo album, the thickness from all of the photos.

You looked up to make sure Zion and Ethan weren't looking before deciding to take a tiny look inside. Slowly you lifted up the cover, seeing a glimpse of white before suddenly a hand slammed it shut, making you yelp in surprise.

"Haven't we had a talk about not touching my things?" came a voice by your ear, and you whirled around to see Lawrence. You were about to quickly start apologizing when you realized he had his usual smile on his face.

"Jeez, what's up with sneaking up on us like that?" Zion asked. "You scared the hell out of me."

Lawrence just shook his head with a laugh. "Everyone ready to start looking?"

Ethan nodded. "I brought my bat," he said, and the words brought back memories.

"(Y/n)? You think you can do this?" Lawrence asked you softly.

"I can do it," you assured him, clenching your fists. "For Judy."

"Then let's get on with it," he said, waving you all towards the door.

The four of you poured out, and you took a deep breath. You would be strong for Judy, wherever she was. You had to be. Judy was a sweetheart, she was one of the truly good people.

Whoever could hurt her had to be some sick, twisted freak.