Death is Only the Beginning

Zombies

The  next morning everyone shuffled to the kitchen, dark circles under their eyes and throbbing headaches from the music which had mysteriously stopped much to Casey and everyone else's relief. 

"Thank god" moaned Rihanna as she gulped down some coffee and painkillers at the same time. Her appearance was dishevelled, for once not looking like an elite socialite thought Casey with a small degree of amusement. Guess even she was too tired to give a damn about her own appearance let alone tease anyone else over it. She felt a small degree of satisfaction from that. 

The rest of them had the same appearance except for herself and Kenneth who had made a real effort to shower and dress in actual clothes. Casey raised an eyebrow at him. Was he one of those people who thrived on very little sleep? Casey was like a bear with a sore head if she didn't get enough. In fact she pitied the day some man decided to marry her and find out one morning just how bad she was when she was woken up.

"Slept through it after a couple of hours" he admitted with a wry grin "always been told I could sleep through an earthquake I'm that much of a deep sleeper."

Rihanna looked daggers at him and he fell silent, drinking his own coffee and eating several slices of toast with a hungry appetite. None of them had seen Isabella come back but maybe her family had an emergency and the company hadn't been able to replace her? She had mentioned she needed to go back to her family. It was a real shame though, Casey had really liked her and eyeing the other girls suspected they wouldn't even be able to boil an egg between them all. Relying heavily on fruit and the coffee that Casey brewed for herself, the leftover plenty for everyone else, the machine was that large. 

Casey sighed. Painkillers had dulled her headache and she sipped on the juice and munched at her croissants thoughtfully. How had the music been able to blare in all the rooms and all over the house. She had an inkling and a thought but would have to investigate for herself, deciding her own room would be the best way to start. Casey quickly rinsed and cleaned her dishes and headed to her room, locking it behind her as she started to search.

Under the bed was clear, nothing untoward or even fallen down. Her dresser was completely empty, Casey even running her hands along the bottom of each drawer and checking the sides and back. Nada. The shelf with books on it was clear, skimming inside the books and finding nothing. Maybe she was wrong? She looked at the bedside lamps and ran her hands along the shades on the inside. Bingo! Sure enough her suspicions had proven to be correct even as it puzzled her as to why they were there in the first place. Were they in every room then?

She pulled out a small device and examined it. It was miniscule, compact and round. It looked like a small camera? But why would there be cameras in the room? It didn't make sense. No holiday house she knew of would impinge on a guests privacy in that way. Not without dire consequences. If there was a camera then surely there must be a speaker or something to blare music from? She walked into the bathroom and took a glance around. The shower was fine, the cabinets had nothing to hide, the floor was completely clear. Casey was just about to come back out when she swung her head up and spotted the exhaust fan. Was there something shining through the gaps? It was too shiny to look like it belonged up there, whatever the hell it was and she eyed it intensely wondering how to get at it. 

She was too short to reach and had to carefully climb onto the toilet and then onto the vanity, reaching up and slowly turning and unscrewing the exhaust fan, not wanting something to fall out and break. It came unstuck and she lowered it down, a long blue cylinder lying atop it. Casey jumped down and grasped it, not surprised to find it was a blue tooth speaker, something that was terrifying in itself. They only had limited range, which meant that somebody would have to be relatively close in order to play the music and use the blue tooth. After the endless hours of rock music Casey was willing to bet each of the bathrooms had a speaker as well as some hidden in the roof or attic even for the level of noise that had reverberated in the house.

They weren't the only ones on this island. But why would somebody set this up? Was it just harmless pranks possibly by teenagers with nothing better to do? Why wasn't there any caretakers either? Most holiday houses had somebody who maintained and looked after the property and checked in with it's guests, something that the others most likely hadn't even considered. Was it possible that in reality the dates hadn't been screwed up after all and that someone had purposely arranged for them all to be on this island at the same time? She could feel herself becoming more hysterical the more she began to put the puzzle pieces together. She wasn't even supposed to be here. Sandra was. Had she known beforehand or was it just some strange coincidence that she'd asked Casey to go instead of her? 

There was no way off the island at least not for the next few days. There was no number to call to request a ferry and very limited range on their mobiles. If someone was out there they were at the mercy of the unknown with no way to call for help. This wasn't what Casey had signed up for and she wanted to leave now. She headed to the bedroom door intent on showing everyone the camera and speaker. Maybe they would have a way of getting back home? Their cell phones were more expensive and top of the range, maybe theirs would have more coverage as well? It was worth finding out that was for sure.It was too creepy for Casey to want to stay. Besides something was eating at her and it was like her mind was screaming at her to get out before it was too ate. But too late for what?

Casey had just reached out for the handle when she heard a low hissing sound, her brow furrowed in confusion as she looked back, trying to locate it's source. Was that fog coming from the vents in the wall. She sniffed and her eyes widened. It was some sort of gas, her limbs becoming shaky and her vision beginning to blur as she dropped to the ground, frantically trying to crawl to the door, her breathing heavy and laboured. It was hard work, each movement exhausting as her vision got dimmer and dimmer, her legs barely moving at all as she fought not to breathe any more in, her shirt proving useless though as she tried to press it against her nose and mouth to no avail. I'm not going to make it realised Casey even as the door stood mere inches away, her stomach beginning to feel nauseous and her eyelids heavy.

She briefly wondered about the others, her small cries for help evidently unheard before it became too hard to open her mouth, flopping completely face down on the floor in defeat. Were the other's being gassed too or just her? Was it poisonous, was she going to die? Her eyelids closed of their own accord, her body becoming completely paralyzed as she felt her drowsiness overtake her body, falling asleep even as she struggled to stay awake fearful of what was about to happen to her. Completely out of it she didn't feel herself being grabbed and flung over someone's shoulder, being taken out of the house, the others also being carried in a trail behind her. 

The men gave a grin as they walked, uncaring if their victims swung into a tree or branch but being careful of Casey as their boss had instructed the only one not hurt, the other's hands and arms flopping uselessly as they were carried. 

"The WIC company will be pleased" one commented in a hush.

"Indeed, we have done everything to their instructions so far" another said with a chuckle. 

With a spring in their steps they endeavoured to make it to their destination before their victims woke up, aware of the limited time they had to do so and the distance that had to be covered. None of them felt any compunction at what they were doing or what the victims would have to face whem they woke up.