Before I get started I would like to clarify that this story does not focus on one specific pairing or one specific couple. It is a fic centered around Blaine, Kurt, Santana, Brittany, Puck, Quinn, Mike, Tina, Rachel, and Finn. The pairings I use are Klaine, Brittana, Tike, and Finchel. My reasons for choosing each character are my own and really not important to the story at all. These are just the characters I felt most comfortable writing about.
Important things: This story is set in the late 1920's. It is based off the book 'And Then There Were None' by Agatha Christie. I recommend reading it if you haven't, it's really very good.
Warnings: Character death. This is a murder mystery so there will be a lot of character death. I mean, tons of character death. If you're not interested in that then I suggest you leave right now. If you're okay with that and enjoy mystery, suspense and darker fics then I hope you enjoy it.
Kurt Hummel sat at his kitchen table, sipping quietly at his usual morning coffee. Blaine walked in with a smile, coffee in one hand and mail in the other. Kurt smiled as Blaine placed a quick kiss to his cheek before sitting in a chair across the table.
Blaine held the morning's newspaper in his hand, while setting the rest of the mail on the table.
Kurt watched as his boyfriend of eleven years unfolded the newspaper and began reading. Reaching forward, he grabbed the few letters that had arrived that morning.
His eyes immediately fell upon a striking black envelope with gold trim. He placed the rest of the letters back on the table, leaving only the black and gold letter in his hand. Eyeing it curiously, he read the curly script on the front of the envelope. It was exactly like every other letter he'd ever received apart from the colour and the fact that there was no return address.
Kurt flipped the envelope over and opened it carefully. He pulled out two small rectangles of paper, and one bigger, folded paper. He unfolded the bigger paper and began reading the beautifully curly handwriting.
Dear Kurt,
Considering it has been almost ten years since we've seen each other, I think it's time we caught up. I'm having a dinner party at my home on Indian Island this Friday, August 14th. I have included two train tickets for you and Blaine along with this letter. I have also arranged for a boat to take you from the harbour to the island. The boat will be leaving at four fifteen that afternoon. It would be best if you pack a bag and stay the night, as the dinner party probably won't end until around eleven and the boats don't sail at night.
I hope you can make it.
Sincerely,
Mercedes Jones
Kurt eyed the name happily, recognising it immediately as her old friend. They hadn't seen each other since they moved to different cities when they were nineteen, and he smiled broadly as he thought about getting to see his long lost best friend.
He flipped the letter over, discovering directions to the harbour from the train station along with the name of the sailor he would be looking for. He flipped the letter over again and reread the invitation with a smile.
"Mercedes wants us over for a dinner party," Kurt said casually, picking up the train tickets that came with the letter.
"Does she? When?" Blaine asked, turning the page of his newspaper.
"On the fourteenth." Kurt replied, pushing the letter to Blaine so he could read it.
"The fourteenth? Well, that's tonight." Blaine said, picking up the letter and reading it quickly.
"Is it?" Kurt asked, genuinely shocked. "The letter must have gotten lost. Or the mail service must be moving slowly," Kurt reasoned.
"I'll say," Blaine replied with a chuckle. "Well that's nice of her to invite us. Should we go?" Blaine asked, inspecting the train tickets.
"I think we should,"
"Well, let's get packing then," Blaine said happily, sharing a smile with Kurt. "The train leaves in two hours."
Kurt and Blaine walked to their bedroom, filling their suitcases with clothes and everything they would need for their upcoming weekend on Indian Island.
Noah Puckerman was laying face first on his couch, feeling groggy and tired from the previous night's events. He knew he had one drink to many, but he really didn't care anymore. Pushing himself up, he blinked to adjust to the bright sunlight pouring into his messy living room. He stretched his arms above his head and attempted to work the kinks out of his neck from his awkward sleeping position.
He heard the unmistakeable sounds of letters being pushed through the mail slot of his front door and he groaned loudly. Nothing like another bill he won't be able to pay to start the day off.
Noah walked slowly to the kitchen, grabbing a cup from the cupboard and filling it with cold water. He filled his mouth with the liquid and swished it around, attempting to get the taste of alcohol off his tongue. Spitting the water into the sink, he ran his tongue along his teeth. He grimaced when his tongue found the familiar burning taste of alcohol and the unfamiliar taste of the girl he had met at the bar.
Slamming the glass onto the counter, he walked to the front door and picked up his mail. Just as he expected, there was a large pile of bills, all seeming to have the same red 'final notice' stamp. He picked up the pile angrily and threw them at the wall.
He was just about to start kicking every envelope that landed near him when a suspicious black envelope landed just by his foot. Still scowling with anger, he grabbed the envelope forcefully. He turned it over and ripped it open forcifully, pulling out a folded piece of paper. He watched as a smaller piece of paper fell out and landed on the floor.
Slumping back against the wall, he let himself slide down until he was sitting comfortably. He grabbed the smaller piece of paper and held it behind the other as he read.
Dear Mr Puckerman,
I hear from a friend of mine, you are quite the craftsman. My wife and I could really use a new shed, and I feel you would be the perfect person for the job. We will pay you greatly; money is no issue to us. If it isn't too much of bother, please join my wife and me at our dinner party this Friday the 14th at Indian Island. You can enjoy a nice meal while we further discuss plans for the shed and we can negotiate your payment. We hope to see you there.
Sincerely,
Mr U. N. Owen
Noah Puckerman eyed the invitation curiously, putting it the side as he inspected the train ticket. He didn't know who this person was, but obviously the person knew Noah was a skilled woodsman. Noah wasn't usually a conceited person, but he knew for a fact he could build a damn good shed.
He considered the offer as he looked around at his messy apartment. He glared at his unpaid bills and decided he could use the money. He pushed himself off the floor and walked to his bedroom to begin packing.
Mike Chang sat with his fiancé, Tina, in their private compartment on the train. They had only gotten their mysterious invitation that morning, but they were still smiling grandly from the excitement. Tina thought it was a little strange that Mike's cousin would invite them to a dinner party on such short notice. But Mike had convinced her that the mail had most likely just arrived late.
They chatted excitedly, exchanging ideas of what the manor might look like and how big the island might be. They were both completely fascinated with the idea of a private island, but Mike was mostly excited to see his cousin. The two hadn't spoken in years and were quite distant, but when they were young they had been very close friends.
"Did you know your cousin owned an island?" Tina asked, voice brimming with awe.
"No, I had no clue! But I did hear my dad saying she married a wealthy man."
Tina nodded her understanding, and turned to look out the window. The train sped along the tracks, the windows open to a perfect view of the ocean. Tina watched the wave's splash on the rocky shore only feet away from the train. She sighed happily, and turned to see Mike smiling as well. Tina loved the ocean, but since moving to the city she hadn't gotten to be around it as much as she would've liked.
She didn't mind, of course. She loved living with Mike, and she loved her life in the city. She could live with only seeing the ocean on special occasions if it meant she would get to spend every moment of her life with the man she loved.
Finn Hudson sat with his wife Rachel, only half listening to her talk about the next show she was going to be starring in. Finn nodded and smiled, apparently giving Rachel permission to list off every song she would be singing in the show, and the meaning behind the lyrics. Finn just continued smiling as his thoughts went back to the upcoming dinner party.
Rachel hadn't thought much of it. She was always invited to various fancy parties because of her work on the Broadway stage. She excused the abruptness of their invitation to the poor workmen ship of the mailmen in her neighbourhood. Rachel was actually quite looking forward to getting away from the busy, crowded cities. Spending the weekend on a private island was just the thing she needed to relax.
Finn, on the other hand, was completely nervous. He never knew how to act at these things, and he always managed to make a fool of himself somehow. He really was not looking forward to this party at all.
But Rachel seemed so sure and excited, so Finn couldn't help but push back all of his fear for her.
The train slowly pulled into the station, and Rachel giggled excitedly. Finn smiled at his wife and grabbed their luggage from the rack above them. Rachel led the way off the train, Finn following behind closely.
Rachel passed a nice looking tall man, with brown hair, and striking crystal blue eyes. The man motioned for Rachel to take the steps down first, and she smiled at him gratefully. As she stepped down she noticed the man was holding the hand of another man. She stood away from the door to wait for Finn, and felt her heart go out to the two men. There were very few people in the world that were as accepting as she was. She caught a few people sneering as the gay couple stepped off the train, and Rachel thought of her fathers.
The men walked passed Rachel, and the blue eyed man caught her eye. She smiled sympathetically, and was given a sad smile in return. She heard someone yell something rude at the couple and Rachel glared in the direction it had come from. The amount of hate in the world made her blood run cold. The two men walked quickly out of the train station, glaring, even as the blue eyed man looked close to tears.
Rachel thought of her dads, and the hate inside of her only grew stronger.
"Hey, are you alright?" Finn asked, approaching cautiously with their luggage in his hands.
"I'm fine," Rachel snapped quickly. "Just... these people make me so angry. There is nothing wrong with a man that loves another man."
Finn nodded in understanding, shifting the luggage around so he could take his wife's hand. Rachel had told Finn everything about her life and her opinions on the world. He used to think that gay people were... different, but Rachel made him see things from her point of view. She always seemed to be able to change Finn's mind. It was a little annoying sometimes, but it was just another one of those things he's grown to accept and love about Rachel.
Quinn Fabray walked with her held high and suitcase gripped tightly in hand. She exited the train station and looked up and down the street. Reading the signs, she turned left, down the street towards the harbour.
She pulled the folded invitation out of her pocket and read it again quickly. She didn't know much about the island, but the man who owned it was a highly respected business man. Quinn had heard a lot of the man from newspapers, and magazines, and from the people at her work.
Quinn was giddy with excitement as she thought about the upcoming party, but she did her best to not let it show. She knew that to be taken seriously she needed to be calm and level headed. She would never be taken seriously if she was smiling like a crazy person and hopping up and down.
Fighting back another smile, she walked on with dignity and grace. Her father would be so proud, if had he paid any attention to her, that is. Quinn missed him dearly, but she was determined to do her job to the best of her ability. Maybe one day, if she got far enough in her career, her father would look at her again.
Quinn walked onto the docks of the harbour, and checked the numbers on the boats. She found boat number 34 and tapped a sailor on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, are you Mr... Merdian?" Quinn asked, double checking the name on her invitation.
The man turned to face Quinn, and smiled. He had grey hair and his face was covered in wrinkles. He was missing a tooth, and he didn't look like the strongest man around, but he had bright eyes, and an essence of friendliness. He was the type of person that you couldn't help but feel comfortable around.
"Yes, yes I am. Are you part of the group headin' over to Indian Island?" the man asked.
Quinn nodded in reply, failing to hide her excited smile but she was relieved when the sailor just smiled back at her.
"Well, just go on in. I'll take your bag. We'll be leavin' in a few minutes."
Quinn handed the sailor her suit case, taking his hand to steady herself as she climbed onto the boat. It was a good sized boat, although not as big as the boats Quinn was used to. But it was big enough to hold herself, the sailor, and the nine other people heading to Indian Island.
She looked over the other guests, and sat in an empty seat next to a blonde woman that was talking quietly with a mean looking brunette woman.
Pulling a book from her handbag, she started reading, blocking out the whispered conversations around her.
There was a loud pop, followed by a soft humming noise, and Brittany Pierce looked around curiously. The boat pushed away from the shore, causing the blonde woman to giggle excitedly.
"I can't believe I won this vacation! I don't even remember entering the contest!" Brittany whispered into Santana's ear. She knew she could've talked louder, but everyone around her was being so quiet and she really didn't want to be the one to disrupt the environment.
"Thanks for bringing me along," Santana said, smiling for the first time all day.
"Of course! There's no one else I would rather share this with," Brittany reached out and touched Santana's hand lightly, but pulled away at the look Santana gave her.
Brittany sat back on the bench, leaning against the wall of the boat behind her. She knew Santana didn't want people to know about them, and she agreed to keep their love a secret, but it was hard. Especially with all of the loving couples around her.
She looked to her left and took in the happy Asian couple sitting on the bench. The woman was looking out to the ocean, with hearts in her eyes. Her husband was holding her hand, smiling at her love filled expression. Brittany smiled, as the couple shared a quick kiss, before gazing back out at the water.
She heard a small sniffle, and turned to face the two men sitting on the bench across from her. The paler of the two was wiping his nose with a tissue. His blue eyes were red around the edges, and Brittany could tell he had been crying. She watched as the men wrapped their arms around each other in a hug. The couple pulled apart and the darker haired man whispered something that caused the blue eyed man to smile softly.
Brittany realized that the two men were in the same situation she was in with Santana, except they were brave enough to be together in public.
Santana turned to face Brittany and saw her smiling sadly. She followed Brittany's gaze toward the two men, and knew in an instant what she was thinking. Santana and Brittany loved each other, but Santana couldn't handle the hate in the world. She wanted to be able to hold Brittany's hand without getting sneered at. She admired the two men for being brave enough to be public about their relationship, but she could tell they were hurting.
Santana loved Brittany. She didn't want to get hurt, but more importantly, she didn't want Brittany to get hurt either. She hated seeing Brittany cry, or in any form of pain. If keeping their relationship secret would keep them both safe from hate then so be it.
A quiet, excited cry brought everyone's attention to the scene on the horizon, in front of the boat.
Brittany turned and smiled as they grew closer and closer to a small island.
"Should only be another twenty minutes," the sailor announced, causing the group to break out into excited whispers.
The boat slowly pulled up to the dock of Indian island. The sailor leaned across the space between the boat and the dock to tie the boat tightly to one of the wooden posts. He grabbed a wooden plank, extending it out to the dock, creating a small bridge for the passengers to climb across.
Noah Puckerman was the first to stand, grabbing his bag from the sailor, and crossing the bridge onto the rickety, wooden dock.
The nine other guests followed suit, stepping onto the dock and getting their first good looks at Indian Island.
The island was quite large for being a privately owned piece of land. There was a small forest of trees to the left of the mansion, and a large, sandy beach in front of the mansion.
The old Victorian style mansion was enormous, to say the least. It was two floors high with large windows stretching across the length of the top floor. A large window was visible from where the guests stood; the signs of an elaborate dining room visible from beyond it. The mansion would've been eerie looking had it not been surrounded by such an amazing ocean view.
Noah Puckerman gazed up at the impressive structure and walked up the rickety dock. He walked through the grassy lawn toward the mansion, when he noticed a small folded paper taped to the dark wooden door. He pulled the note off of the door and unfolded it.
Dear guests,
I am sorry to inform you that I will not be in your presence until nine thirty this evening. We needed to pick up a few things from the market. Please feel free to make yourself at home.
Noah read the note again curiously, turning around to face the small crowd standing behind him.
"It says they won't be home until nine thirty, but we should make ourselves at home." Noah informed the other guests.
The crowd began murmuring to themselves and their partners, staring up at the mansion curiously curiously.
The boat's motor started up in the distance, and everyone turned to watch as the sailor waved them a happy goodbye. The boat became smaller and smaller as it retreated into the distance, back toward the main land.
The ten guests were alone on the island.
Noah passed the note along so the other guests could read it before turning back to the door and opening it. The door opened slowly with an eerie creak to reveal the home.
The mansion was lavishly decorated and seemed even bigger on the inside, with high ceilings and a large, glittering chandelier. The sitting room was to the right of the entrance, with comfortable looking couches, a large wooden coffee table, and matching side tables. There was a liquor cabinet against the wall, surrounded by tall bookshelves and other miscellaneous cabinets.
To the left of the door was the dining room the guests saw earlier through the windows. A large, mahogany table stretched the length of the room. There was a decorative art piece in the center of the table of ten little sailor boys, standing in a circle. There were four chairs on each side of the table, with a single chair on each end.
The group piled into the front hall, standing in front of a large staircase that led to the second floor. There was a hallway next to the stairs that led toward the back of the house.
"So what do we do?" Noah asked the group at large.
"Maybe... we should take our bags to our rooms?" asked a tall Asian man.
There was a murmur of agreement from the group.
"But how do we know which is ours?" asked a short, beautiful woman with brown hair.
"Maybe we should just pick one. I mean, does it really matter? All guest rooms are the same right?" Noah said, shrugging his shoulders.
The group hesitantly agreed as they tentatively walking up the stairs to pick out their bedrooms.
Then ten guests sat around the dining room table, making small talk and learning one another's names. Noah had been the first person to get a drink, but now everyone was sipping at a glass of wine. The time passed slowly, though the grandfather clock in the corner was glanced at every ten seconds.
The clock rang out nine times, and the group felt their anxiety grow. Only half an hour till the owners of the house were to show up. Some people found it curious that they were having a dinner party so late at night. Others wondered who was going to cook, and how late they would be eating since no one was there to make anything.
Noah Puckerman was hitting on Quinn Fabray to no avail, while Mike and Tina Chang gushed about their upcoming wedding to an annoyed looking Rachel Hudson. Finn sipped his drink quietly, watching his wife grow more and more annoyed as the Asian couple kept interrupting the brunette with their excited chatter. Santana Lopez was talking in hushed tones to Kurt Hummel while Blaine Anderson talked with Brittany Pierce. He laughed as the blonde said something outrageous, but he never once corrected her or put her down for being wrong about a certain fact.
The clock read nine thirty and slowly the chatter faded away, leaving behind a strained silence.
"Are these people ever going to show up?" Noah asked impatiently, throwing back the last of his drink.
"I'm sure they'll be here soon," Blaine stated reasonably.
"No one asked you, fag," Noah retorted, glaring at where Blaine's hand was linked with Kurt's.
Rachel glared at the man, feeling angry and protective. The rest of the group watched on warily. Most of the group had never seen a homosexual couple and they were a bit hesitant around the two men.
Blaine glared at Noah and squeezed Kurt's hand protectively. Kurt kept his head down, eyes focused on his lap as he silently wished everyone would stop staring at him.
Noah glowered at the pair once more before standing and refilling his glass. He sat back in his seat, setting his glass in front of him.
Rachel made eye contact with Kurt, giving him an understanding look, and he smiled sadly in return.
"I hope these people get here soon, that way I won't have to sit here with a couple of fags," Noah muttered angrily, more to himself than anyone.
Blaine was fuming, as he glared at the wall in front of him. Kurt was ignoring the man's very existence, and Rachel was clearing her throat, sorting her words in her head and preparing to make a speech.
But before anyone could do anything, Noah Puckerman took a long drink from his glass. His eyes widened as he suddenly began coughing and dropped his half full glass onto the table. He stood, one hand cupped in front of his mouth as he coughed, the other gripping the table for balance.
The group was horrified, unsure of what to do, as Santana stood and patted the man's back, thinking he was choking.
Noah fell to the floor with a loud thud, his eyes falling closed. The group watched fearfully as Noah twitched a little before he stopped moving completely.
And then there were nine.
Reviews are greatly appreciated, as I love would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on the story as it progresses. Also, you should guess who the killer is. I would love to hear what you think. (and I want to make sure I didn't make it too obvious lol)