- Mason. - Terrified, Noah tugged at his brother, trying to wake him up. The older boy lazily opened his eyes and looked at the blond with sleepy eyes. It was already dawn outside. - Get up, something terrible happened - he continued. The brunette boy pushed himself up to a sitting position, realizing that he was sleeping in the room he had woken up in the first day. - Daniel is dead.
It was shocking. Even though Mason hated him and wished him dead with all his heart, he didn't really expect the boy to actually die, and on his first night on the island.
- What are you talking about? What do you mean he's dead? - It clearly still didn't sink in for the brunet. He wasn't awake enough. - What happened to him?
- He was murdered.
The blood drained from his face. He stared at his younger brother with terrified eyes, his voice catching in his throat.
- What? - was all he uttered.
- Mason, for God's sake, wake up and start making contact! Daniel's been murdered! He's dead!
It was like being hit in the head with a hammer. He looked at Noah, unable to accept it.
- Someone murdered him? So there's a murderer among us? - he whispered. - And the man I suspected died? Who's doing this, Noah? Who's the perpetrator?
The blond boy looked at his brother with a gloomy expression.
- I don't know, Mason, but I'm afraid that none of us will leave this island," he replied, not taking his eyes off his face. - The worst part is that we can't trust anyone but ourselves.
- Where is he? Where is his body?
- In front of the hotel...
The brunette boy got out of bed and hurried to the door. Noah kept up with him, even though he would rather not look at his old friend's dead body a second time.
The sight was drastic.
They both stood over his body, which was under the tree. Noah watched with tears in his eyes while Mason frowned. His attention was drawn to the boy's neck — he had no doubt that he had been strangled.
- It definitely wasn't a girl who did this. She couldn't have strangled a man," he said. He lifted his face, his attention drawn to the broken window. - Something happened here, and if we're going to judge anyone, it's certainly Jake and Will.
Noah bit his finger in his mouth, moving his leg nervously.
- What if it's neither of them?- he asked.
His brother turned to face him. He fixed him with a questioning look.
- What do you mean?
- What if there's someone else among us? Is someone hiding and wanting to kill us?
- Nancy confirmed that there was no one else besides our pseudo friends and Daniel, but she asked me if I trusted my employees 100 percent. I started thinking about that - Mason said. - Do you remember who was steering the yacht? If we all ended up on that island, where did the yacht and the man who was steering it go?
Chills ran through Noah's body.
- We were all high, but Mason, weren't we the ones driving that yacht? Are you sure there was someone else with us?
The brunette boy lowered his face and looked at Daniel's dead body.
- What if he was in cahoots with someone and they fought? There's a reason he lost his life first, Noah.
A loud scream rang out behind them. The boys turned and looked at Betty's terrified face. The redhead fell to the ground, putting her hands to her mouth. Pale as a corpse, she looked at Daniel's dead body.
- Is... is.... is he dead?
- It looks like he was murdered by someone during the night.
The girl's hands, which she had put to her mouth, began to tremble. She immediately remembered what she had seen at night through the window. Except that at that moment Will was being strangled by Daniel. If she hadn't reacted, Daniel would have killed him! But the worst thing was that the window closed in front of her face, breaking the glass, and in her memory there was still the image of the face, that devilish look she had seen in that room!
She looked at Mason and burst into tears.
- Judging by her reaction, I think she saw something. I know Betty too well - Noah said in a whisper.
The brunette boy approached the redhead girl, trying to calm her down. She overreacted and pushed him away, causing him to fall to the ground.
"=- Don't touch me! You're all monsters! - she screamed, rising from the concrete. - I didn't do anything to you! Just send me back home!
Crying, she ran down toward the beach. Noah looked at Mason and ran after the girl to talk to her.
It was certain, she would tell him everything as soon as she calmed down.
***
When Jake opened his eyes, something seemed wrong. He didn't remember how he got to this room, but he woke up in the place he had been on the first day. It was here that he had found a picture of his grandfather.
But something was wrong. The hotel was too loud, as if the abandoned building on the island had come back to life.
He hesitantly approached the door and opened it a crack, keeping one eye on what was happening outside.
He frowned as he noticed the cheerful people passing by, dressed completely differently than they would have been in 2024. The clothes looked so... old-fashioned, as if he had time-traveled back to the 1970s.
The women had their hair teased and too much make-up on. They were talking and laughing loudly, telling the man who was with something.
Jake left the room. He walked across the patterned carpet, looking around carefully. He passed people who seemed to ignore him.
His attention was drawn to a room with an ajar door. The boy peeked through the crack and noticed two men and a woman who were there. One of them sat in the middle, looking like he had the most power. Although he was smiling, he looked at the rest with superiority.
When he looked in his direction, his heart stopped in fear. He reminded him so much of someone in his face... those eyes...
-George! - he called, beckoning him with his hand. -How long can we wait for you?
The boy didn't understand what was happening. Why was he named after his grandfather?
He hesitantly entered, and his attention was immediately drawn to the giant painting hanging on the wall, depicting the man who had called him.
Why did he look so much like...
He immediately thought of the photo he had found in that room. Next to his grandfather was the man who had been in that room, but there was another man among them who was not.
- What about you, friend? Come sit with us. - Jake took a seat on the leather couch, his attention drawn to another man and woman holding hands.
She looked like a goddess. She was very young, definitely much younger than the men who accompanied her.
Furthermore, she was so beautiful, she looked like a porcelain doll.
At the sight of her, Jake's heart skipped a beat. Although his peers were also beautiful at the time, this woman's beauty took them to their knees.
- Even though we are newly married, we would like to announce something to you - the man said, looking at his beloved with love in his eyes.
- Are you getting a divorce already? - asked the second one whose face appeared in the painting.
- James, don't joke around. - He looked at him with reproach in his eyes, and the woman smiled awkwardly. - Marie is pregnant, we're expecting a baby.
Jake didn't understand why, but he felt a grip of jealousy.
- Congratulations, we'll have to celebrate! I'll throw you a big party this weekend, I think your guests will be happy to celebrate with us - James said. - George, aren't you going to congratulate our newlyweds on their first child?
The boy swallowed nervously and forced a smile.
- Of course I congratulate them. I'm as happy as they are.
He still didn't understand what was happening to him, so he said the first words that came to his mind, even though they sounded a bit false?
He glanced at the girl and caught her looking at him. It was a look he couldn't explain.
What was that all about?
He opened his eyes and quickly realized that it had been a realistic dream. He woke up in a room where he found a photo of his grandfather, but the hotel was quiet and gloomy—frightening.
Furthermore, he was still stuck in this terrible reality.
***
Nancy felt faint, so she sat down on the concrete steps, unable to look at the dead body that lay under the tree. Jennifer and Will, who were with her, looked terrified.
- I don't understand what happened? - asked the brunette girl. - Is there really a murderer among us?
Will looked in that direction without blinking.
- Where are the others? Do they know what happened yet? - Nancy lifted her pale face and stared at Jennifer.
- Exactly... where are the others? I doubt they're asleep. I can't sleep a wink in this place.
The blonde girl was shaking and didn't know if it was more from cold or fear.
- Just because you can't sleep, princess, doesn't mean they can't either - Will said. - I need to see Betty.
- Why do you want to see Betty? - The brunette girl frowned. - Does she know anything?
- I just need to talk to her - he told her gruffly.
- You're acting strange. - The girl noticed, and this sentence made Nancy fix her gaze on the boy with curiosity. - You're nervous.
- And how am I supposed to behave when I'm standing next to a dead body that someone murdered?! - he yelled at her, causing the brunette to move away from him. - There's a fucking murderer among us! How do I know I won't be next? It's no coincidence that we all ended up on a deserted island, in this haunted hotel! Someone brought us here to kill us!
Nancy wanted to wake up from this nightmare. She never thought she would be in a place that would threaten her life.
She didn't do anything to anyone, so why should she pay the price for the sins of others?
- I've already told Mason this, but I think there's someone else on the island besides us. The person who brought us here and who's making us go through this hell - the blonde girl stated with a trembling voice. - I don't believe any of us could do this. You're tough, you're stubborn, but you'd never kill a man. I'm sure of it.
- Blondie, sometimes your best friend turns out to be your enemy, so don't be so sure of the words you say. People who consider themselves friends are the ones who like to stab you in the back, remember that and don't be naive - Jennifer said, looking at her with a sympathetic look. - In this place, you shouldn't trust anyone.
- And you don't trust Jake? - Will asked her sarcastically. - Because it seems to me that you can't see the world beyond him.
Nancy thought about the fact that the only person she trusted was Mason, but maybe that was just because she was in love with him? Feelings can make a fool of you, and you don't see the flaws or red flags in the other person.
Jake ran out of the hotel, first looking around at his friends, and then finding the dead Daniel.
He pointed his finger at it, looking as if he were possessed by something.
- What's the matter with you? - Will frowned.
- I know who he was, but I don't understand why he died first - he said.
Jennifer walked up to the boy and grabbed his hand, forcing him to let go of it.
- What are you talking about, Jake?
- Our grandparents, they were the owners and partners of this hotel - he declared in a whisper. - Will I die too?
Just at that moment, a strong wind appeared, causing shivers to run through their bodies.
Everything became more and more twisted, and no one felt safe there anymore.
Was there really a murderer among them? Or was it something else that caused Daniel's death? What if a hidden past played a big part in it?
One thing was certain: no one was safe there.