Luis hasn’t moved an inch in the past fifteen minutes. Ron, on the other hand, hasn’t stopped pacing in circles. “It’s okay,” he mumbles, waving his phone in the air as he tries to get a signal. “Everything is okay. Everyone needs to calm down!”

“We are calm.” I fold my arms over my chest and heave. “At least, Luis and I are.” My eyes track Luis in the opposite corner of the dark basement. “Is he asleep?” I ask.

Ron spins around and jogs a few steps to kick Luis’ ankle. “Dude, please don’t be dead. I can’t handle two bodies in one day.”

Luis peeks one eye open, exhaling hard enough to deflate his chest. “I’m alive,” he mutters. “You can stop kicking me.”

“Right, my bad.” Ron steps back and blows out a sharp breath. His face has been in a constant state of duress since the basement door slammed shut behind us. Of course, finding Billy Holland’s severed limbs behind the old, sweaty gymnasium mats didn’t help.

“Will you just sit down?” I grumble. “Watching you walk in circles is making me dizzy.”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Ron’s hands find a home on his hips. “Is my panic inconveniencing you, Este? Do you want to guess what’s making _me_ dizzy?”

Luis’ hand shoots up. “Five bucks on Billy?”

“Bingo!” Ron shouts in a frenzy. “What’s wrong with the both of you?” He asks. “How can you just sit there and not care? We voted for this guy as our class president, for crying out loud!”

“I didn’t,” Luis admits. “My money was on Lucy Walkins. She promised us no more homework.”

I scoff. “You know she can’t actually do that, right?”

“I know,” he sighs. “But she lied like a champ. I admire that.”

“Guys!” Ron huffs. “Why am I the only one freaking out? Billy’s dead under there!” He points to the blue gym mats. “And it’s likely that whoever killed him is the person who locked us down here. He could be back any minute to finish us off.

“_He?_” I ask

“What?”

“What makes you think the killer is a guy?” I stand up and swipe the dust off of my jeans. “Could be a girl. Come on, let’s keep an open mind.”

“Yeah!” Luis snorts. “It’s the twenty-first century. Women can be vicious murderers too.”

“Exactly!” I nod.

Ron’s right eye twitches. “Billy is _dead_, guys! His body is in pieces under those mats, and you’re choosing _now_ to be feminists?“

“Should we just tell him?” I ask Luis and cross my arms, leaning against the concrete wall.

“Tell me what?” Ron asks, brows knitting together as his eyes flick back and forth between us. When we don’t answer, he repeats himself, “Guys, tell me what?”

Luis rolls his eyes and throws his head back. “Sure, ruin all the fun,” he mutters.

_This isn’t my definition of fun_, I think to myself. Listen, the prank wasn’t my idea. If I’m being honest, it’s a bit too cruel. Billy’s “severed limbs” were used as props last year for a short horror film in Mrs. Deb’s class. They’ve been sitting in a pile, collecting dust since then.

Luis thought pranking Ron would be a good way to get back at him for making us late to class this morning. We were given detention, and forced to clear out the school basement as a punishment, so we had nothing better to do. But Ron looks like he’s about to puke his guts out, and it’s making me feel uneasy. There’s a lump of guilt the size of a golf ball building up in my throat.

“It’s not real, Ron.” I give in. “It’s just a prank.”

“What do you mean it’s not real?” He asks.

“They’re props from a student short film.” I remind him. “Don’t you remember Billy’s character was slaughtered in the funhouse right before the credits rolled last year?”

“What about the door?”

“I convinced Ben to shut us in here for twenty minutes,” Luis snickers and pulls his phone out. “Three minutes to go.”

Ron’s face twists into a look of confusion. _What part about this isn’t he getting? _He glances back at the fake body parts and tilts his head to the side, grimacing.

“Guys…” He draws out the word for miles. “Didn’t Mrs. Deb donate all the props from last year to the theater department?”

“She must’ve thought this one was too realistic to give away.” Luis shrugs. “Besides, the school hasn’t needed severed body parts for the plays they put on.”

“But the jersey.” Ron insists, his voice cracking. “The basketball team got new uniforms this year. The prop was wearing last year’s design, wasn’t it?”

My brows lower and a slight chill runs up my spine, making the hairs on the back of my neck spike. I slowly walk towards Ron, and get a better glimpse at the dismembered parts.

“Luis!” I call him over so he can join us.

“I’m going,” he mutters. “You guys are being such big babies. It’s just a funny prank. Here, I’ll show you.” He walks past us and drags the blue mats that have been obscuring most of the body. Suddenly, he jumps back and murmurs something under his breath.

That’s when the basement door swings open and Ben pops his head in. “Guys! Did you hear?” He runs in, eyes wide. “Billy’s parents just reported him missing. I guess he didn’t get home after basketball practice last night!”

Slowly, the three of us twist around, grim expressions on our faces. “I think we found him,” Luis says quietly.