And Then There Were ?

This story is part of the Vocal + Assist on Facebook Lost in a Story Challenge. You can learn more about it here:

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WARNING! Spoilers for And Then There Were None ahead. If you haven't read it already, you should!! You can order a copy here:

(Note: I will earn a small commission if you buy using this link, but this is seriously my favorite murder mystery of all time! I would definitely recommend it no matter what!)

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And Then There Were ?

Three months to write, all expenses paid, a peaceful island off the coast of England. Maureen could hardly believe her luck. And the address...Soldier Island, Sticklehaven, Devon.... What a fun detail!

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"Miss Claythorne!"

Maureen glanced behind her. No one.

"Oh, hi! You're- Rogers?"

The guests gathered in the dining room, a gramophone record accused everyone of murder, everyone acted shocked, and 'Mrs. Rogers' even 'fainted'. Somehow it seemed as if everyone else had rehearsed a stage production of And Then There Were None. But the acceptance email hadn't said anything about this! Maureen sat awkwardly and tried to remember what Vera had done in the book.

She was interrupted by 'Anthony Marston' yelling, "I'm all for crime! Here's to it!" He gulped down his drink and collapsed to the floor.

Maureen laughed nervously, then stopped cold as everyone turned to stare.

How was everyone so perfectly in character?

It was all too perfect. The email, the characters, everything was too realistic.

"I have to tell you! We're all going to be murdered and Mr. Wargrave is going to do it!"

"Will you stop?" hissed Lombard. "Quit going off script and ruining the mood!"

Oh.

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"So that's it, then." Lombard looked up from the 'dead man'. "Give that revolver to me."

Maureen laughed. Lombard sprang. Maureen squeezed the trigger.

His leaping body crashed to the ground. Blood gushed from his heart.

She dropped the gun.

This couldn't be faked. There was no way. She had actually killed someone. She--Vera...

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How very quiet the house was.

Like an automaton Vera moved forward. A rope, with a noose all ready. And a chair to stand upon...

She adjusted the noose round her neck. She did what she had to do.

She kicked away the chair....

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Thank you to Agatha Christie for writing my all-time favorite murder mystery and providing the setting for this piece! I'm sure fans of And Then There Were None will recognize many of these scenes and quotes (I used a combination of material from the novel and from the stage play version). I recommend reading both the novel and the play! They are somewhat different from each other and have different endings, so it's quite cool to compare.

Also, thank you for reading! I really hope you enjoyed this piece. I had a ton of fun creating it!