After the shocking revelation of the photos, panic started to set in with the guests that were with you. Someone brought a dry-erase board from the kitchen, put it up on the wall, and was taking a tally of the votes of who should die. Many people put up good cases, many people put up bad cases, but one person's behavior stood out more than the rest.
Mr. Guderian, a mild mannered yet paranoid man, kept eyeing the the safe in the corner of the room constantly. Soon enough, people started dropping their fights with one another and noticing his constant double-takes towards the safe. "Uh....hello, sir? Why do you keep looking over by the safe?" said one guest.
"Huh? Oh...uh....it's...it's nothing. Lets just keep going. I don't like this guy's attitude beca-"
"No, seriously." You cut him off. "You seem to be interested in that safe for some reason..."
"Guys....come on, I was just...I dunno, I've never seen a safe that big before in my life, so I...."
"Do you have something to hide?"
"Uh.....um.....guys, come on..." His voice started to get weak and frail. He started saying less and less.
"Which photo was yours? What did you do?" said another guest.
"Heh, I bet he killed somebody or something, that's why he's so paranoid about it." joked another.
Out of nowhere, a wave of panic set over Mr. Guderian's face due to the paranoia. Everyone stared at him.
"....guys, seriously, it's not what you think."
The guests burst out in anger towards this man in reaction to the statement. Many people shouted, like an angry mob. "MURDERER! HEATHEN! KILL HIM, HE NEEDS TO DIE!"
Mr. Guderian turned and ran up the stairs. You and the rest of the crowd chased him down, but little did you know that a guest ran into the kitchen, picked up a steak knife, and joined the crowd. You cornered him at the end of the hallway.
"What have you done?!?! Why are you so paranoid!?!?"
"GUYS, I didn't do anything! I swear, I'm innocent! Stop this, right now!" said the confused man. "If you don't.....I SWEAR, I'LL SHOOT YOU!"
He puts his hand under his shirt to act as if he has a gun. The rest of you stare at him like he has three heads.
"This is ridiculous. He needs to die!" said one person in the mob. Suddenly, a hand came out from the crowd and grabbed Mr. Guderian's sleeve. He was pulled into the crowd. People started punching him, choking him, holding him so others can get at him. You stand back in horror. He was pushed back and forth, and into the knife of the person who grabbed it in the kitchen. He screams out in pain. After being stabbed multiple times, he loses strength and collapses. The mob picks him up and carries him down the stairs, leaving a trail of blood. They open the front door to the cabin and toss him outside, locking the door behind him. He runs up to the window, bleeding to death.
"GUYS! I didn't murder anyone! I didn't do ANYTHING! I'm just..I...oh god...it's so cold, let me in! I swear, you guys will pay! I swear..."
He pounds on the reinforced window, whimpering. Random screaming and crying followed. Two guests held the door shut, while the rest of you waited for his inevitable death.
*pound pound pound*
"STOP IT, GUDERIAN. We're not letting you in!!" You yell out in a panic.
"...hahaha...I'm sorry....Guderian's not in at the moment...this is his brother...if you'd like to leave a message...please do so at the sound of the beep.
...beeep."
Then silence. The crowd freezes in horror. It's obvious that the paranoia and fear of death turned him insane.
Three hours pass...
By this time, the snow had piled up to a couple of feet, and the thermometer showed -10 degrees farenheit. The crying, pounding and screaming had stopped long before, but you decided not to risk opening the door. You finally gain the strength to open it up and check his frozen and bloodied body for the key. You climb upstairs, open the door to his room.....and find it impeccably clean. A made bed. Everything neatly tucked away. No guns. No notes. No technology...just the room of a simple man.
In a panic, you run downstairs, unlock the safe, and pull out the pictures. Finally, you find the one of the man fitting Mr. Guderian's description.
In it, he is caught jaywalking. Not a murderer at all. Just a man with a history of paranoid fits.
Tears well up in a few of the guests' eyes. You hang your head in shame. One person vomits.
After throwing the two bodies into the cellar, you open up a bottle of Jack, pour yourself a shot and turn to the guests.
"We need to take this night to rest...we've obviously lost focus of what needs to be done and who is at fault. I suggest that all of you go to your rooms and get a good night's sleep." The rest of the crowd agrees. You all walk up to your rooms. In your room, you go to lock your door...but notice that there's no lock on the inside. Locking the door from the outside doesn't allow you to close the door.
"Who the hell designed this cabin? It's like it's designed to have people invade your space..." you say to yourself, as a slowly creeping panic flows over you. You realize that everyone has access to your room.
You stare at the ceiling, in fear that something will happen to you. Your eyes do not shut once that night.
