The Merigold Massacre

Keir

The cable car was moving, piercing through the darkness, and Keir started clearing off the snow from his boots.

“I can’t see anything out there,” said Kali, looking through the window, her palms shaped like a pair of binoculars around her eyes.

Keir kissed her cheek. “Don’t be scared, babe. I’m right here.”

“Is it always like this?” she asked, looking at Balthazar, who was sat on the other side.

“You mean dark?”

“More like creepy.”

“I guess so. It’s just quiet.” Balthazar stretched his arms before continuing. “But don’t worry. We’ll get to the top soon.”

“Good, the faster we….” Before Kali could finish her sentence, Keir shook the cable car. “Have you lost your god damn mind?” she yelled, slapping him on the shoulder. He burst out laughing.

“Calm down; it’s just a bit of fun.”

Kali moved on the other side and sat next to Balthazar. “Thank you again for inviting us over, Baltz. I’m just not a big fan of heights.”

“Or darkness,” added Keir.

“Or you.”

“Liar.” Keir blew her a kiss.

Towards the top, the cable car slowed down before coming to an end. They got off and saw Alex waiting for them on a bench. Keir rushed to greet him.

“My man, nice to see you,” he said, hugging him. “How’s is it going?”

“Come here, you. I’m buzzing. This place is awesome.”

Kali and Balthazar joined them, and soon after, they were on the move, cracking jokes, enjoying the lit-up paths. Alex slipped on a patch of ice and almost fell on his back.

“And that’s why you shouldn’t come to Switzerland during winter season wearing trainers,” said Balthazar laughing.

“I know, right? Plus, how is it that you’re not freezing?” asked Kali. “I’m so cold.”

Alex laughed, his voice intensified by the silence. “Who said I’m not freezing?”

“We’re almost there,” observed Balthazar, pointing to his right. “I’m sure I’ll find a spare pair of boots for you to use tomorrow.”

“Cheers.”

They walked past one of the neighbouring houses when Keir noticed something hanging by their windows. “What the hell are those?”

Kali activated her phone torch and pointed it at the house. “They look like flowers.”

“Marigolds,” noticed Alex. “But… blue? Maybe they’re spray-painted. Balthz, is it like a thing people do here?”

“Not that I know off.”

They resumed their walk and, minutes later, reached their holiday home. Three more marigolds were placed in front of the main door. Their stems were ripped off.

“Balthz?” asked Keir, picking one up.

“No idea.” Balthazar shrugged, moving them out of the way with his foot. “The wind might’ve blown them here.” He placed the key in the lock and opened the door.

“Yuks, my socks are so wet,” said Alex, removing his shoes. Kali laughed.

“Quick tour,” announced Balthazar, and everyone followed him. “Kitchen is right here, living room to the right, pool and wine cellar downstairs and bedrooms upstairs.”

“Dibs on the pool,” yelled Keir, louder than he intended.

Balthazar laughed. “Go for it. I’ll start a fire.”

Keir kissed Kali, who whispered, ‘I’ll find us a nice bedroom’, and rushed downstairs.

Kali

“I’m just grateful to be warm again,” said Alex, keeping his palms in front of the fireplace.

“More importantly, how are your feet?” Kali laughed, pointing at his socks drying on the radiator.

“Very, very dry. And not as numb anymore.”

“I bet.” She stood up and approached the balcony door. “I’m going to brave it.” She pulled a cigarette out. “The perks of being the only smoker, I guess.”

“Oi,” yelled Alex as soon as she opened the door. “Close that right now.”

Kali lit up her cigarette and took a puff, nestling inside her jacket. She looked at the sky, at the stars spreading all across.

“Do you want a sandwich?” Balthazar’s muffled voice came from the inside.

“Yes, please,” responded Alex.

Kali took a second puff when she heard a rustling coming from the left end of the balcony. She took her phone out and pressed record.

“Guys, I think there might be a deer down there. Maybe the poor thing is starving.” She slowly approached. “What do deer eat anyways? Apples? Plants? Oh, I see something. Hold on, let me put the torch on.” Her phone lit up and a face covered in blood stared back at her. Before she could scream, a spiked chain wrapped around her throat, penetrating her flesh.

Alex

With his hands still close to the fire, Alex was humming a song. His phone vibrated, and he pulled it out of his pocket. He received a message from his mum.

“Fuck,” he whispered.

‘Hey, did you get there safely?’

‘Yes! I forgot to text. Sorry, Ma.’

Alex stared at the three dots jumping up and down the screen as his mum was typing.

“Do you want a sandwich?” asked Balthazar from the kitchen.

“Yes, please.”

His phone vibrated again.

'Have fun and make sure to

send lots and lots of pics.’

‘Will do tomorrow, it’s very

dark outside ATM. ’

‘Night, sweety.’

‘Night, mum.’

Alex heard a thud outside and placed the phone back in his pocket.

“Kali? Are you okay?” No answer came back. He approached the balcony. “Kali?” He opened the door and looked out, the cold air pressing on his skin. “Kali, where are you?”

The balcony was large but not large enough for him to miss her. He rushed back inside and called for Balthazar.

“What’s wrong?”

“Kali went out for a ciggy, and it’s like she’s vanished.”

“Oh shit, maybe she fell.” He took out a flashlight from a drawer and hurried on the balcony. “Kali? Can you hear me?” Balthazar moved from one side to the other, but no sign of her. “I’ll go outside, see if I can find her.”

Keir

“This next one is an absolute banger,” announced the radio host. “So let’s hit it with ‘What is Love’.”

Keir swayed his head to the rhythm of the song, swimming in the hot pool. He checked the tiles on the bottom where a picture of Aphrodite was staring at him. He swam to the far right corner, used the pool’s edge to lift himself and opened one of the windows. Perfect. Hot water enveloped his body whilst cold air pressed against his face. He closed his eyes.

“Next stop is a song that’s been in top ten for two months and an absolute favourite of mine. Give it up for ‘When you were mine’.”

All of a sudden, Keir felt as if someone was watching him. He removed his headphones and looked around. Nobody. Was he just being paranoid? He closed his eyes and opened them again to a bright light coming from outside.

“Hello? Who is that?”

The light moved closer and he further from the window. As he was about to rush out of the pool, he heard Balthazar’s voice.

“Keir, is Kali with you?”

“No.” He exhaled loudly. “She was with you guys.”

“She went out for a ciggy and never came back in,” said Alex from behind

“Oh, I think I know where she is,” smiled Keir. “She snuck into the bedroom, waiting for me to...” He cleared his voice. “You know…”

“Right,” said Balthazar. “Let’s just check this one out. Put my mind to rest.”

Alex

With every stair, Alex couldn’t shake the feeling that something was out of place. They reached the top floor and checked each of the bedrooms. They were all empty.

“Kali, babe,” yelled Keir. “This is not funny. Please come out.”

“She’s clearly not here,” stated Alex. “I’m telling you she went outside.”

“There are no stairs for her to go down, and if she fell, I doubt she would’ve gone for a stroll after.”

“Then where is she, smartass? Tell me.”

“Guys, stop,” intervened Balthazar. “This is not helping.”

Alex and Keir nodded at each other.

“Should we check the balcony again?” asked Alex.

Before anyone could reply, a loud growl came from outside, and a blue liquid covered the windows. They all screamed and moved backwards. Keir tripped and fell to the ground. Another growl followed, and an object shattered the window. Not an object, but something else. A corpse. Kali’s corpse.

“What the actual fuck,” screamed Balthazar. “Run downstairs. Run the fuck downstairs.”

Balthazar and Keir managed to escape, but Alex was trapped. Not by whoever the growl belonged to, but by fear. His body refused to move.

“Alex, come,” yelled Keir. “What are you waiting for?”

It was pointless; terror had paralysed him. He could hear something crawling on the walls. Something that sought to end his life. He tried to unleash his tears, but they were stuck too. The beast came through the window, knocking Kali’s corpse aside. It had many legs and a face covered in eyes that oozed blood. Alex could hear his friends running down the stairs. That was the end for him. First, a blue liquid came out of the beast’s mouth and burned at his skin. It then turned around and used its spiked tail to grab him by the leg and slam his body savagely around the room until life left his body.

Balthazar

“What the actual fuck was that?” yelled Keir as he followed Balthazar downstairs. “Oh my god, they’re dead. They’re both dead.”

“You need to try and keep calm,” whispered Balthazar handing Keir a baseball bat.

“Keep calm? Keep calm?”

“Stop yelling. If we are to have a chance, we need to stop yelling. It will hear us.” Balthazar grabbed a knife from the kitchen. “Let’s get out the window, not the front door.”

Keir agreed, and they moved down to the pool area. They slowly approached and were glad to see that the window was already open.

“I’ll freeze to death,” whispered Keir, pointing at his shorts and t-shirt.

“There’s no time for that; grab my jacket. Let’s go.” They made their way outside and ran.

Seconds later, the growl returned, and the beast plunged from the rooftop. Keir’s scream was cut short when the beast’s legs pierced his body from the chest down. He turned to look at Balthazar, who was already gone, his head stuck in the beast’s tail.

Keir shifted his focus to the sky, to the multitude of stars that adorned it and waited for his end.