Location: Château de La Lune: Foyer
Skills: N/A
One hand held the camera as tightly as his strength would allow, the strap still around his neck for good measure. The other gripped the railing on the stairs, helping him on his ascent towards his room. Every step shaky and uneven as his vacant stare looked onwards towards those above him. Every time he blinked, every moment he closed his eyes to gather himself, all he could see was her body strewn about the floor.
His body. Lifeless, and still, but yet he still looked as if he could spring up at any moment just to tell him it was all a prank. The sounds of that night played inside his mind as the vision of Renee's body kept interchanging with
his. Sam's own voice echoing in the background, begging,
pleading, to any who'd answer him.
You've got the wrong guy! Please, he's everything I have! His voice strained from screaming, his face red from the tears and pain.
His grip on the camera weakened, causing it to slip down and swing onto his chest. The strap now weighing heavy on his neck, like a hand gripping tightly at the base forcing his vision in one direction. As Sam blinked, one moment he'd see the stairs before him, the next a dark and dingy room, then the stairs once more. A familiar voice helped to cut through the mental fog, to anchor him into the correct scene. She had said something…something about Miguel missing or not being present or… Sam looked around, she was right. He wasn't with everyone else. Was she insisting Miguel had done it? Or perhaps that there was more than one victim last night. Both were possibilities, but a third option kept nagging in the back of his head.
You brought this upon these people. You're responsible for it all. He tried to push the thought away before trying to speak.
”Bathroom? I uh…I” He looked down at the fact that he was still in only boxers and socks, save for the camera wrapped around his neck.
How many more deaths must I capture?Sam's chin wobbled slightly as he spoke, the words clearly catching in his throat as he tried his best to remain calm. Those his eyes deceived him all too plainly. Pools of water threatened to burst at any moment as his face grew more and more red from the force of holding it all in.
Millicent watched Sam as he moved up, away from the scene, but he appeared…distraught? Something was bothering him and Millicent figured it was seeing Renee’s body, but…surely not. They barely spoke. Yes, seeing a dead person was not pleasant but it hardly needed this reaction.
”Sam, are you okay? Do you need help?” She didn’t want to touch or reach out to him without permission, but she was growing concerned.
”I just…I need a minute…” Sam responded, his voice breaking. He needed more than a minute, and potentially a shoulder to cry on. But he hadn't wanted to bother Millicent with it, nor Ralph.
”Do you mind if we go to our bathroom first. I just want…I need to collect myself.” Miguel hadn't exactly been encouraging on a good day, Sam didn't know if he could take those biting remarks right now. Not with how raw he felt.
Millicent nodded and walked with Sam, making sure not to do more than she needed. Sam appeared to be going through a lot and she did not want to heighten it. She walked with him towards their rooms, allowing him to go into his space first before their shared bathroom.
Once they were safely there, she waited a beat for Sam to calm himself down. She took a second too. She was growing more concerned. Were any of them safe here? She thought about leaving. Would they stop her? She should remain for when the authorities arrive, but it wasn’t like she did anything.
As they made their way into his room, passing his bed, Sam absentmindedly tossed his camera onto the pile of soft comforter he'd managed to create when flipping the sheets off himself this morning. He kept going until they finally reached their shared space. Silence filling the air for a moment before all Sam could get out was a sharp and painful
”Fuck!”. He wanted to throw something. To get out his frustration, but there was nothing around. So instead his back merely slammed against the wall as he slid down onto the cold bathroom floor, knees pressed against his chest as his breathing began to quicken. The only thing cutting between each gasp was a sob every now and then.
”I – can't – handle – this –” He exclaimed with sharp breaths.
Millicent knew a panic attack when she saw one and knew that he would need to ride it out. She let him yell and vent and breathe. She waited a beat before she walked over and sat down close to him, but not so close as to invade his space.
”Take some deep breaths Sam. As hard as it is. Don’t speak, just breathe.”It was hard to take in and, if she were being honest, it made her uncomfortable. She expected someone like Sam to possibly be okay with death, but maybe she read him wrong.
”Keep breathing. Do you want some water or something else to drink, like tea? Something to relax you a bit?”Sam did as Millicent instructed. He didn't talk, his breathing was shaky, sharp, as he tried to slow it down. He tried to rest his head against his knees, to close his eyes as he attempted to calm down. In that brief instant he was in that room again. His friend hanging in the air as the sounds of his muffled voice were cut by Sams, when all he could say was
Its gonna be alright man, its gonna be fine. Please. Both a pleasurable for help, as well as him trying to convince the both of them this wasnt monumentally fucked. Sam's eye's darted open once more. Wanting nothing more than to remove himself from the scene. One hand, still shaking, pointing towards a bottle of water that was sitting on his desktop counter.
Millicent stood and went to grab the water bottle Sam pointed at. She returned and handed it to Sam and waited to see him take a sip. She had tons of questions, but she bit her tongue. Sam was going through something.
”Make sure to take small sips so you don’t choke.” Millicent was reminded of her own panic attacks she had back when she was starting and the few people who helped her out in those moments. Panic attacks didn’t care who you were or what the reason was, it could be debilitating either way.
Sam gratefully took the bottle out of her hands, the water jostling as he fought to hold still. He took the cap off, taking a small sip of water. Then another, before finally deciding to pour the entirety of its contents over his head. Placing the opening of the bottle to his lips in lieu of a paper bag to help him with his breathing. Between the shock of water, and the contained breaths, he finally began to calm down after a moment. His breathing steadying out before he finally tilted his head back against the wall and looked up at the fluorescent lights.
”Thanks Mil…I…sorry you had to see that.””Don’t apologize. It’s understandable after seeing that. Are you good now?” She waited a bit to ensure Sam was feeling better. Once she was sure, she continued.
”You were working through it with the doctor. Did he get the sense it was an accident?” ”He didn't really say… I did ask him though, but he just kept giving me the factual evidence. No speculations. Which could just mean he doesn't trust me enough to say so. For all he knows I could've done it.” Sam was staring at the bathroom floor, watching as the spilt water began to pool to one side as it dripped off of him from his hair and other places.
”We need to talk to Miguel though. Why wasn't he out here? He was missing most of dinner too…and the reception drinks.”Millicent was happy to hear Sam also noticed Miguel’s absence. It had struck her as odd given their conversation last night.
”No, he wasn’t out there. I figured he would have responded to the scream or at least when people started showing up and talking. I’m…admittedly worried.” Millicent didn’t want to say why. Miguel could be laying in his room dead, he could have run away, he could be walking around the manor investigating. It didn’t matter. He needed to be found.
”Are you good to go check on him or do you need a minute. I imagine there’s no rush given…well everything.”Sam nodded.
”I think I'm good. That body…it just…I think I was in shock for it all and then it just felt like it all came crashing in, the reality of it all. I… I don’t handle death well. I actually started doing these videos because the idea of losing someone forever? I needed to believe in something more beyond it all. To find proof it isn't final. But to see a body like that…of someone who was just the other day eating and drinking with us…I –””I get that. I guess I just assumed given what you do that death isn’t so scary, but I imagine that it is for anyone. Like you said, she was just here with us last night and now…she’s gone.” Millicent handled death better than most. She had some losses, but she never had it where the person that died was from potentially other means. Renee could have fallen but…Millicent didn’t quite buy that.
”Well it looks like the authorities are on the way and the good doctor helped handle her, so I hope she will be respected and sent back to her loved ones.””Hopefully what photo's I took can aid in the investigation somehow…” Sam said before finally attempting to standing up, water still dripping down his chest slightly as he reached for a towel to blot himself dry.
”Did we want to go check on Miguel? Though…could you walk in first? Im not so sure if could handle another body if…” He didn't even want to say it.
Millicent didn’t need to hear it. She had thought it too. Miguel could very well be laying on his bed, dead.
”Of course.” Millicent didn’t bother to add she would have liked to see those photos herself, but she isn’t a detective. She would let the police do their job. She stood up and walked into Sam’s room, waiting for him to follow.
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