”What do you mean that Ruck killed her?” Anna asked.

None of us had been prepared for that curveball.

“She was killed in a hit and run sometime yesterday evening before the party. Witness statements said that it was an orange pickup truck. The description sounded just like the one that Ruck was driving. They had paint chips from the scene.” Camden said.

"Oh..."

"In real life, it would be a coincidence, but... I doubt it is here," Camden said.

“OK, but what does this have to do with him getting murdered?” Kimberly asked.

None of us knew.

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Was it possible that someone from the party knew this girl? If so, how would they have known that Ruck was responsible?

“He did almost hit the house when he pulled into the driveway,” Anna said. “He had been drinking.”

“But who would have known so quickly?” I asked. “It doesn't make sense.”

The murder victim in a whodunnit having a dark secret is not unusual. However, this was really late in the movie to find out about it. I couldn't figure out how this fit into the larger puzzle.

“In any case," I said. “We have to look into Evan. Only one person could have known that I was at the house at the time of the murder, and that's the killer. Either he is Ranger Danger or Ranger Danger told him that I was there.”

Evan was the best suspect so far, even if we didn’t know the motive.

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“I'm not going to be able to do that,” Antoine said. “The game is today so unless this story ends before then I'm probably going to get forced into playing.”

It hit me.

“You will be forced into playing,” I said. “Think of it. We're being hunted by someone dressed as a football team's mascot. I'll bet anything that he's there.”

“He'll blend right in,” Anna said.

“Exactly.”

With Second Blood approaching, these were our stats and abilities:

Player Stats and Tropes

Riley

Antoine

Anna

Kimberly

Camden

Archetype

Film Buff

Athlete

Final Girl

Eye Candy

Scholar

Plot Armor

/ 2

+ 2

Mettle

+ 1

Moxie

Hustle

+ 1

Savvy

Grit

TROPE MASTER

Type: Insight

Stat: Savvy

Effect: Sees enemy tropes. Lose half of PA

IT’S PART OF THE UNIFORM

Type: Buff

Stat: N/A

Effect: Higher Mettle when attacking with sports equipment

LAST ONE ALIVE

Type: Rule

Stat: N/A

Effect: Cannot die until the party is killed

CONVENIENT BACKSTORY

Type: Buff

Stat: Moxie

Effect: Can change backstory to assist with the current task.

EUREKA!

Type: Insight

Stat: Savvy

Effect: Helps find important information with text.

CINEMA SEER—SURVIVE

Type: Buff

Stat: Savvy

Effect: Buffs Savvy and Grit of Allies by predicting plot elements

GYM Rat

Type: Buff

Stat: Moxie

Effect: Buff Mettle and Hustle by revealing athletic backstory

WHO’S WITH ME?!

Type: Buff

Stat: Moxie

Effect: In Finale, Allies gain a buff to relevant stat when assisting the player.

SOCIAL AWARENESS

Type: Insight

Stat: Moxie

Effect: Can see the Moxie stat of all enemies and NPCs.

RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB

Type: Buff

Stat: Savvy

Effect: Buffs Savvy and Mettle when fighting an enemy with their weakness.

THE OBLIVIOUS BYSTANDER

Type: Rule

Stat: Moxie

Effect: Cannot be targeted while convincingly acting oblivious to the enemy

JUST WALK IT OFF

Type: Heal

Stat: Grit

Effect: Heals Hobbled status by walking

LET’S NOT FIGHT

Type: Buff

Stat: Moxie

Effect: Stopping infighting buffs Savvy

LOOKS DON’T LAST (Not Brought into the storyline)

ZIPPOS ARE CHEAP

Type: Buff

Stat: Savvy

Effect: Boosts Savvy for plans that expend Zippo lighter

ESCAPE ARTIST

Type: Buff

Stat: Savvy

Effect: Plausible escape plans boost Hustle

GET A ROOM!

Type: Rule

Stat: Moxie

Effect: Exploration with loved interest during the party boosts the odds of important discoveries

A HOPELESS PLEA

Type: Rule

Stat: Moxie

Effect: Asking to be released forces the captor to explicitly deny the release