Author's Note: I've always loved mysteries! I wrote this one day after thinking about a game I used to play with my friends when I was younger. I hope you enjoy this and you are able to successfully immerse yourself in the Serial Killer game. (:

The warm, morning light peeped through Raina McIntyre's half-open window blinds and peered at her cautiously. She stared back at it, lazily lying in bed. Pulling her light blanket over her head, she shut her eyes and prayed for some more time in dreamland. The light did not agree with her wishes and blasted more energy into the room. Raina could feel the presence of the morning, beckoning her to start a fresh new day. The teenager shook her head and buried her head underneath her plush pillow.

"Raina! I'm leaving for work soon. Piper's already awake, so can you please come down here and get her breakfast ready? She's going to Anna's house afterward so you'll have the rest of this Saturday to yourself if you come and help her sooner rather than later!" Mrs. McIntyre called up to her daughter. She waited several seconds until she heard a moan echoing from her daughter's room. She took that as a sufficient reply and began getting her things ready. She kissed Raina's younger sister on the cheek, grabbed her car keys, and rushed out of the house.

Piper ran to the living room and powered on the television, blasting it to its maximum volume. She then ran to the bottom of the staircase and waited expectantly for her older sister to scream at her to turn the volume down. When this didn't happen, a confused Piper ran up to Raina's room. She cautiously entered and surveyed the bedroom.

She saw the purple, four-poster bed in its usual location which was against the far left wall. The mahogany desk was solemnly resting near the door, empty. Piper gazed at the purple walls and wiggled her toes around on the carpet. She dared a few more steps into the room and was able to see the bookshelf that was stuffed with books of all sizes. Before she could even make another move, Raina jumped out from behind the door and seized the younger girl by her shoulders.

"Raina!" she screamed in terror. She whirled around and faced her.

"Can't you wait just a few more minutes? I've already brushed my teeth and changed out of my pajamas. I'm just picking out today's novel. That takes time," Raina explained.

Piper put on a pout and said, "I'm hungry."

Raina sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Her sister was always difficult and if she didn't get what she ordered, a tantrum was sure to follow. She motioned for her sister to go downstairs and followed her as she did. When they reached the bottom, they went their separate ways. The usual morning routine commenced. After all the tasks were performed, they sat in front of the television and waited for Piper's best friend, Anna Morrison, to call.

The phone rang after only a few minutes and Piper answered. After she was done talking, she announced to Raina that she would be back after their mother came home and walked out the front door. Anna lived right next door, so Piper had the permission to roam there whenever she felt like it. Raina locked the front door and took out her iPhone 5 from her back pocket. She dialed the number of her best friend, Lori Anderson, and put the phone to her ear.

Lori picked up after several rings. "Hello?" Lori answered.

"Hey! Are you busy today?"

A moment passed before she responded, "No, it doesn't look like it. Why? Do you have something planned?"

Raina smiled and nodded even though she knew Lori couldn't see it, "Kind of. If Celina and the others can come out, too, then I definitely have something in mind."

Lori laughed and agreed. The two friends hung up and Raina proceeded to calling Celina while Lori called the rest of the group. An hour later, the six friends arrived at Raina's backyard. Raina watched her friends as she returned with cold drinks. Martin Perry and Lewis Zoski were animatedly talking about politics while Hollis Woode and Morgan Carmichael shyly conversed about the weather right next to them. Raina rolled her eyes at the sight of them. Celina and Lori were right behind Raina and stopped when they saw her expression. They followed her gaze and sighed in unison. The three girls then looked at each other and laughed.

All six teenagers had known each other since nursery school and had grown up together. They were always open with each other and knew they could rely on one another. Everything changed, though, when Raina began developing feelings for Hollis. She had been sure, about a year ago, that he felt the same way. So instead of waiting for him to make the first move, she kissed him at their school's spring dance. Ever since then, their titles as best friends faded into friendly peers. Raina couldn't shake off what she felt whenever she was around Hollis and so she continued to have a crush on him. Hollis, on the other hand, had started flirting with Morgan ever since that dance. Celina and Lori constantly accuse him of trying to make Raina jealous, but she couldn't believe it. Things just became even more awkward between them and Raina moved into the shadows and stopped putting effort into the friendship. She knew that by trying to reconcile with him, she would only be setting herself up for more pain and hurt.

She glanced longingly at Morgan and Hollis again before passing out the drinks. Once everyone was situated, she began telling them about what she had in store for them.

"Do you guys remember that Murder game we would play when we were like, thirteen?" Raina asked excitedly.

"Oh yeah, where one person was the murderer and everyone else were civilians. Then we would all try guessing who the murderer was while he or she went on killing everyone," Hollis casually explained. The others nodded in agreement as Raina avoided eye contact with him.

"Um, yeah. That's right. Anyway, this is like an extension of it. So, we do the whole thing with the murderer and civilian thing again. Then, everyone, including the murderer, closes their eyes and lies face down on the ground. That's when the murderer silently gets up and chooses a victim. They hide their first victim and use the paper and pencils that I'll get to write clues leading to the location of the victim. The victim cannot move from their spot. The murderer then hides. He or she has a total of ten minutes to do all this. One phone will be kept here to keep track of the time. Now, it's every man for himself, so there's no point in creating teams. Also, while searching for the victim, beware of the killer. If he or she successfully comes up behind you and covers your mouth, you are their next victim. This whole thing has an allotted time of twenty minutes. If the killer has not been found and there are more victims than detectives, then the murderer has won. If the killer has not been found and there are more detectives than victims, another five minutes is added. If the murderer is able to capture one more person during this time, he or she automatically wins. Of course, if the murderer and victims are found, the person who found them wins. If one person finds two victims, someone else finds one victim, and someone else finds the murderer, then all of them are winners. Alright, I think that's it. Any questions?" Raina looked expectantly at her friends. She could see the gears turn as they registered the information she had just presented them. After some time, the whole group slowly began to nod. Raina beamed at them.

"Great! Then, let's get started." Everyone got the supplies ready and grabbed a piece of paper. Raina saw that she had an 'x' which meant she was the killer. Excitement brewed within her and she casually dropped the paper back in the bag. She tried her best to appear normal and withheld a grin. Just as everyone put their heads down, Martin piped up.

"What's the name of this game, anyway?" he asked.

Everyone turned to Raina as she replied, "The Serial Killer Game."

oooOOOoooOOOooo

End Notes: I hope you liked it. Intense? I found it pretty good. It took me awhile just to write this chapter, that's why I ended it right there. It'll take me a whole other chapter to explain what goes on in the game. How's Raina going to take on the role as the serial killer? If this is a mystery, what does it revolve around? Now it's intense, isn't it?;D Read and review, please. Constructive criticism is encouraged. Is this story worth continuing? Should I post the next chapter tomorrow or next week? I guess it all depends on the reviews! Thanks for reading!