Whoosh: The Yacht
Gwen stared at the invitation in her hands. In seven years, she had been in Los Angeles, far away from her home on Harper's Island. And now, thanks to her best friend's wedding, she's coming back, fearing the worst. Six people have been murdered on the island, the killer is dead, of course. Her father, Sheriff Ezekiel had shot him, but not before he took away the life of his beloved wife and Abby's mother.
She remembered her dad had told her she needed to see something important. She followed him to the tree, the Tree of Woe as most called it, and there she found her mom, hung up on the highest branch. Her shock was immense, and she could no longer bear to think about her life on the island. Her thoughts ended as the taxi abruptly stopped at the harbour.
"So, who's gettin' married?" the taxi driver asked her, noticing the invitation in her hands. He was an elderly man with a black eye patch.
"Oh, the groom is my best friend growing up," Abby explained.
"You look familiar," the taxi driver eyed her with his single eye.
"Well, I grew up on the island and-"
"Oh, right, you're Sheriff Mills' kid!" the taxi driver interrupted her. "Pity what had happened on the island, what a terrible thing! Good thing that Hatchet is dead."
Gwen cringed at the mention of the killer's name. A sinking feeling overwhelmed her as she exited the taxi and headed for the moored yacht.
~ * ~
"I know I have said this a billion times, I just, like, cannot believe my little sis is finally getting married!" Sadie exclaimed excitedly.
"Finally?" Bridgette joked. "You got married three years older than me! Oops-" she bit her tongue, reminding herself that Sadie's husband had just died in a car accident two weeks before.
"It's okay," Sadie said mournfully. "He... he wasn't that great anyway."
They spotted the groomsmen greeting Geoff on the lower deck. Owen was carrying a cooler. He opened it, handing out his home-brewed beer.
"You know what I love about those guys?" Bridgette said.
"They bring their own beer?" Sadie joked.
"No! They love Henry as much as I do!"
"Not in a sexual way, I hope."
Bridgette stood over the upper deck, mouthing the words "I love you".
"Me?" Geoff pointed to himself.
"Me?" Cody asked.
"Me?" Owen joined in.
"Me?" Harold continued.
"No, me!" DJ said.
"Yes, you!" Bridgette giggled at Geoff.
"Yes! I knew it!" Geoff cheered in triumph as DJ jokingly hit his heart with his fist. He smiled at his bride-to-be, who smiled back.
~ * ~
"Voicemail, again!" Bridgette was exasperated, having called her cousin nine times.
"Cousin Ben still not answering?" Geoff asked concerned.
"It's not like him to be late," Bridgette seemed worried. "And if he was, he always called."
"He's probably on the Subway or something. Don't worry, if he doesn't make it, we'll book another charter boat for him," Geoff reassured her. Suddenly, the sound of a Mariachi band blazed through the ocean breeze. Geoff immediately knew who it was.
"Uncle Chris!" he called out to a middle-aged man dressed in clothes as flamboyant as the band's attire.
"Henry!" the man answered as he danced to the tune of the music. He took of his sombrero and ran up the yacht with a large "Ole!"
"Hi, Chris!" Bridgette greeted.
"Oh, it's Uncle Chris to you, you're part of the family now!" Uncle Chris told her, then turned to the rest of the boat. "In fact, it's Uncle Chris for everyone for the whole week! Ole!"
"Ole!" went the rest of the boat.
"Ole!" Uncle Chris repeated.
"Ole!" everyone answered again.
"I'm so glad you're here!" Geoff told him.
"Yeah, family means everything!" Bridgette agreed.
"How did you find a Mariachi band here? You are the only person I know who can pull it off!"
But he wasn't listening. He caught sight of a young, blond girls smiling at him. Soon, a brunette male approached her, giving her a glass of wine. The male leered at him.
"Never mind, I don't wanna know!" Geoff continued.
"Oh, you definitely don't want to know!" Chris snapped back to reality.
"Come, I need you to meet my dad!" Bridgette beckoned to him.
"Oh, I'm sure he's gonna love me!"'
Geoff spotted Gwen passing through the Mariachi band. He waved at her, she waved back.
"I thought you'd never leave that cab!" Geoff said.
"Oh, I needed a moment," Gwen told him.
"Hi!" Bridgette greeted her. "How was your trip from LA?"
"I'm still feeling a bit shaky from the flight!"
"Have some champagne, you'll feel better," Cody guaranteed, holding a wine glass.
"Uhm," Gwen instead took the bottle from Owen, glugging it down completely, surprising the groomsmen. "Well, what do you know? I do feel better!" She gave the bottle back to Owen.
~ * ~
"Daddy, this is Uncle Marty! Uncle Marty, my father, my sister, Sadie and my stepmother, Katie!" Bridgette introduced them.
"Izzy!" Sadie scolded her daughter, who nearby was showing the three bridesmaids, Heather, Beth and Lindsay, a box. Inside was her a hole she put her finger in, around the hole was fake blood, giving the illusion that she had chopped her own finger. The three girls screamed in surprise.
"Don't show that to me ever again!" Heather told her.
"Uh, as a matter of fact, I have to go to the little Uncles' room!" Uncle Chris went below deck. He took a sip of wine before opening his bag. Inside, a whole stash of money and a pistol. He took the pistol out and attached it to his belt.
~ * ~
"Here's too all of us!" Cody said. "And looking up, all of them!" The Mariachi band was still playing in the background.
"Cousin Ben still hasn't answered." Bridgette told Geoff.
"Well, we'll just book another boat for him. Don't worry!"
She decided to try one more time...
~ * ~
Unknown to any of the guests, a man had been tied to the propeller of the boat. His phone started ringing, of course he could answer it. He had an oxygen mask on, connected to a tank, It was the only thing stopping him from drowning.
"We can wait if you want," Geoff told Bridgette back on deck.
Bridgette checked her watch, alarmed, she realized they were already late. "No, we should go."
Geoff signalled to Noah, who told the driver to start. A large horn drowned out the band, startling everyone, indicating that the boat was about to go.
Back at the propeller, Ben realized that the propeller was no going... and he was moving towards it! Whoosh!It was going faster, he tried to squirm, but was not strong enough to change his fate. Blood splattered everywhere on the ocean, though everyone mistook it for red wine.
Back up, everyone cheered as the boat was now leaving the harbour.
~ * ~
"Shouldn't you be there?" Gwen asked Geoff as they watched the Wellingtons get a group photo.
"I don't think that's the plan, and there'll be many photo opts this week!" Geoff replied.
They stared at the ocean, until Gwen broke the silence. "You didn't think I was coming, did you?"
"Oh, I knew you were!"
"I didn't."
"No?"
"But I realized, if I didn't go back now, I might never be able to."
"It's been seven years since, you know what. But the island's moved on! It feels normal, again! Bridgette and I are getting married. You'll see, it would be great!"
~ * ~
"So, you've never heard of the murders?" Heather was astonished at the other bridesmaids.
"What happened?" Lindsay asked.
"Well, this man, Hatchet just showed up on the island and killed six people!"
"Why?" Beth wanted to know.
"That's the big mystery! No one really knows his motive." After a long period of silence, Heather went on. "You know Geoff's friend, Gwen, her mother was one of the victims."
"You mean she was on the island when-"
"Yup!" Heather interrupted Beth. She a was about to say something else when a pigeon suddenly fell onto their plates. All three screamed as it flapped around.
Abby watched the mainland go by, she still had that sinking feeling on her mind.
Okay, that's it. Sorry if you don't like it. Next up is "Whap: The Arrival". If you hadn't noticed, the titles are how each person dies, or at least a sound you hear before/after they die or something, or at least what I hear. Sorry if I get any HI/TDI mix-ups. Anyway, review, please!
