Like Marigold Flowers

In fourteen hours chaos would begin.

In fourteen hours blood would be drawn.

In fourteen hours desperation would take hold.

Walking down the wooden deck, William gazed at the Yacht he was about to board. His suitcase rolled beside him. A soft breeze blew through his white hair. It was a cool night. Wearing a sparkling white uniform, the captain awaited him. His eyes were a piercing blue, beautiful if wanted, but intense if needed.

A woman sat next to him, a table in front of her. When she saw him she immediately looked down at a piece of paper, searching for his name.

“Good evening, you must be Mr. Walkmen?”

“Yes.”

“You will be staying in room seven.”

She handed him a small key which he tucked in the pocket of his suit coat.

“Thank you.”

“Supper will be held at six. You are welcome to explore our yacht at your leisure.”

“We hope you enjoy your stay Mr. Walkmen, Jonathan here will show you to your room.”

The captain gestured to a crew member standing on the boat.

Boarding the yacht, William followed the crew member to his cabin. As he walked down the halls, he found marigold flowers placed throughout the spacious yacht. It seemed overkill, however the oddest part was that they let off a unique feeling. Being sweet, while at the same time, menacing.

Unnerving in a way.

___________________

Abruptly William's alarm rang. Dinner was in ten minutes. Checking himself in a mirror, William assured himself he appeared presentable. He left his room and headed down the halls. Dinner was being held on the deck of the ship, giving a wondrous view of the ocean. The sun had set. The water was black. The sky glimmered with stars.

Hungry, William entered the patio. Sitting at the table were nine other people:

Two couples,

three women,

two men.

And him.

There were exactly five men and five women aboard, the ages varying, the youngest looked twenty, the oldest was probably him. In the center of the table, there was a beautiful marigold flower.

Pulling out his pocket watch, William checked the time: 6:03. Some of the others at the table did the same.

“Where is the crew?” One asked.

Ten minutes past, and dinner had still not been served, nor had there been any sightings of the crew or captain.

“That’s it. I’m getting the captain, this is ridiculous. I paid sixty thousand dollars for this and they can’t get this bloody dinner together!”

One of the married men rose to his feet and left towards the bridge.

Passing by the flowers perched on the wall.

Passing by the doors leading to the cabins.

Passing by the windows displaying a view of the sea.

Passing by the halls that would soon wreak of death.

When he arrived at the bridge, he angrily knocked on the door.

No answer.

He knocked again, “Hello! Captain!”

Still there was no answer.

“Hello! Is anyone in there! I paid sixty thousand dollars for this, open the bloody door!”

Still no answer came.

He stormed back to the patio, furious.

“Anything?” his wife asked.

“No, they wouldn’t even acknowledge me. It's insane! Everyone on the bridge better be fired.”

Suddenly, all the lights died out, and the yacht was plunged into darkness. Someone gasped another cursed. When the lights relit, the flower had disappeared. In its place, was a pretty pistol. Sitting next to it was a note.

Grabbing the small piece of paper, William began to silently and curiously read it.

As he read the note, his face grew pale.

“What does it say?”

Worriedly, William looked up from the paper, speechless. Quickly, the woman beside him snatched the note and read it aloud.

“We are sorry dinner will not be served this evening, in fact no food will be served for the remainder of your stay. You will find you are the only ones on the boat and are stranded in the middle of the ocean. You will not be able to leave until everyone on this yacht is dead, save it be one. Throughout the yacht, weapons are scattered, however the gun you see lying on the table, is the only one of its kind. It will deliver a quick death to your opponents unlike our other weapons, so we suggest you use it’s ammo wisely. Anyone who leaves the boat, will die immediately after. There is only one way out. Last man standing.”

Cautiously, one of the men carefully picked up the gun and removed the magazine.

“Nine bullets.”

“One for each of us…” William softly spoke, “Except one.”

Everyone was still. Everyone was tense. Everyone was silent. One woman tried to call 911, but the call immediately failed. Once again the gun had returned to the middle of the table.

“This has got to be a joke,” a young man nervously chuckled.

“I mean, this can’t be real . A test or some prank by a TV show. I bet this place is rigged with cameras. I mean, why else would someone do this?”

Everyone was quiet for a while. The only sound was that of the icy water beating against the boat’s side.

When the sun rose, the gun hadn’t been used, at least, not yet. People had checked for food, but found none. The bridge’s door was impossible to open, and the glass windshield impossible to break. Waiting for help, the guests aboard the yacht desperately watched for passing boats, but saw none. The unique flowers that once decorated the ship had been replaced by weapons and tools with one purpose, to kill.

That night, there was an unbearable tension across the boat. People were beginning to believe the threatening message on the letter.

The next morning, the first death arose.

It was a woman, with blond hair, on the younger side. She had found one of the lifesavers aboard the boat and thrown it into the water when she was spotted. In her swimsuit, she was preparing to dive into the water. A worried crowd watched her.

“What are you doing? We’re in the middle of the ocean, there’s nothing out there!”

“The note warned us not to leave the boat, who knows what will happen if you do!”

Although many prompted her not to go, others were curious as to what would happen if she did. Realizing that her attempt at escape might be in vain, she hesitated for a brief moment. However, when her eyes found the gun, she made up her mind. Die on the boat, or try to find help.

She jumped. Made a clean dive. And popped out of the water a moment later. She speedily swam towards the lifesaver. Reaching out to grab it, she suddenly screamed and was yanked under the water. Someone gasped. A moment later, blood rose upwards.

“Impossible.”

“How can they have control over the ocean!?”

The lifesaver continued floating on the deadly water. Slowly the crowd dispersed, each to his or her room.

The first was dead.

Only nine remained.

There was a terrible unease. Still, the woman’s death shaking everyone to their core. Her death proved that the note spoke truth.

Only one would escape the boat alive.

Only one could tell the horrid tale.

Only one might exact vengeance on the people who did this.

Like many others on the boat, William couldn’t relax. In his room were no longer flowers, but a knife, a hammer, and an ax. William continued to ponder how they did it.

How did they kill the woman?

How did they make the bridge impenetrable?

How did they cause all the crew to disappear?

How did they replace all the flowers with weapons in seconds?

That’s when he heard it. A gunshot. Quickly he grabbed his ax, and slowly opened the door to his room. Peeking out, he saw a man, holding the pistol, break into one of the cabins.

A scream.

A gunshot.

A thump.

Immediately William closed the door, locking it. Another gunshot rang out. The killer hastily began making his way towards William’s room. Forcefully he kicked the door, almost breaking the lock.

Desperately, William looked around, there was nowhere to hide. Running up beside the door, he leaned up against the wall, ax ready. Abruptly the door barged open and the man rushed in, gun pointed forwards. William lifted the ax up high and slammed it down.

Digging deep into the killer’s spin, the ax quickly drew blood. The killer howled in pain, firing the gun, and crashing onto the floor. Speedily, William snatched the gun and pointed it towards his attacker.

The bullet put a speedy end to the man’s pain.

Four people were dead.

Five remained:

One couple.

William.

One man

One woman.

Locating the rest of the survivors, William led them to the deck, where they uneasily took their seats.

“Four more of us are dead, three because one man became desperate, and afraid. I think it’s time we ask ourselves an important question.”

Wearily, he gazed at the scared group.

“Are we going to kill each other, like they say?”

Everyone was silent.

“I won’t. Not in cold blood.”

He carefully set the gun down on the table. The woman next to him stared at the gun, and then at the group.

“We will die if we don’t.”

Tears welled up in her eyes.

“But I just can’t.”

Suddenly the man beside her snached the gun, “I’m sorry. But if no one does it, we’ll all die. At least one of us should survive.”

He shot the woman. Speedily cocked the pistol. And aimed at the couple. Quickly the husband lunged forwards. The gun fired, narrowly missing the husband as he knocked the man to the floor. Fighting each other, the two struggled for the gun.

Finally, the husband gained control of the gun and killed the man. When he looked up at his wife, he found she had fallen to the floor and was bleeding from the stomach. All color drained from his face as he rushed to her aid.

“Martha, Martha no!

Without hesitation he ripped off part of his shirt and pressed it against her wound. Growing paler and paler, her face was filled with pain.

“No, no stay with me Martha, stay with me.”

“John, John-” Reaching up, her hand touched his cheek. Tears streamed out of her eyes. Slowly her hand fell, and her body became limp. Her husband yelled in pain and anger, banging his fists onto the floor.

“Happy! Are you happy!” He gazed up at the sky, “You got us slaughtering each other! And for what!?”

John’s eyes fell to the floor, “Why are you doing this?”

William wearily stared at the man.

“One of us should survive.” He whispered.

Rising to his feet, William headed towards the railing of the deck. John looked up at him.

“Just like the flowers on this boat, we were once beautiful and innocent, and then,” William snapped his fingers, “We’re killers.”

“What are you doing?”

William turned to face him.

“You're young. You deserve life more than me.”

William turned to face the railing once more.

“No, I’ll go, then I can be with her.”

“Yes, but I need, she needs you to do something. Make our story known, and exact vengeance on the people who did this.”

Taking one last deep breath, he tipped forwards and plunged into the ocean. Silence filled the air. John sat on the lifeless boat.

“It’s done! I’m the last man standing! End this!”

Silence filled the boat. Angrily John banged his fists on the floor.

Suddenly a loud roar rang out. A large doorway opened on the horizon. Rising to his feet, John stared at the gaping hole, bewildered.

Suddenly, A sharp pain filled John’s neck, and he fell to the floor, unconscious. Standing behind him was a man holding a tablet, smiling

“Test complete.”

John will return...