Sunlight filtered into the room as Shelly pulled back the curtains. She opened the windows and took a breath of fresh air.
'Today,' she thought, 'I will try to find this Aunt Una of mine. The sooner I get through with business, the sooner I can go home.'
She shivered as thought of the image she saw last night. Red blood flowed from the wound on Valerie's back, dripping onto the white piano chair and her bloody hands placed on the ivory white keys staining them with blood as she played the song of death.
Shelly shook her head vigorously, trying hard to forget the gruesome scene. She conjured up all the happy thoughts she possessed and started downstairs towards the main hall. Unlike her room, no sunlight came into the rest of the mansion. It looked just like it did during nighttime.
Valerie's body wasn't there anymore. The piano looked just as magnificent as the first time Shelly saw it, only this time, it emitted a feeling of disgust rather than elegance.
Shelly stared at the piano and she could see it, so clearly, Valerie's bloody body lying on the keys and the body of the piano. Funny how Shelly can't remember the last thing Valerie told her.
Deep in her own thoughts, Shelly didn't notice a shadow creep up behind her. It raised its hand that held a butcher knife. Turning around, preparing to go find the owner of the house, Shelly saw the knife just in time to dodge it. Her eyes were round with absolute horror as the figure came out of the dark and a ray of sunlight managed to hit his face. It was a terribly scarred face.
Shelly was scared. No! Absolutely terrified of the person that loomed over her, an insane look in his eyes and a twisted smile on his lips. She screamed! As loud as she ever screamed before, her lungs bursting with power that came from her horrified heart.
Then she felt a hand on her shoulder and heard a loud roar of numerous people laughing. Confused, Shelly opened her eyes and the first person she saw was Valerie. 'Valerie!' she thought, 'what's going on? Am I in heaven?' Then she saw the other people. The old man was holding a bottle of water and was talking to another man wearing a cap that had the word DIRECTOR written on it, but most importantly, he didn't have any more scars, just some wrinkles. 'Where are his scars?' Shelly thought, 'I don't get it..' Suddenly, she was brave enough to speak up.
"Hey!" she yelled over the friendly chatter, "Will someone please tell me what's going on. Why is Valerie still alive and what happened to that old man's scars?"
The man with the DIRECTOR hat chuckled and held up a small wooden cigarette box that had a little hole on the side.
"This," he said, "is a candid camera. My name is Herbert and you were invited here to do a reality TV show called 'Joker's Wild.' I apologize for scaring you but the only way to achieve life-like expressions from the people we film is to catch them unexpected. As for the gates, we hid a camera there too so we knew when you were coming. In other words, the gates were electronic. But admit it, wasn't that way more fun than sitting in a boring classroom listening to some quack lecture all day?"
"Well.." Shelly agreed reluctantly. "So, can I go home now? I didn't bring any extra money because the letter that you sent me said that I'll be able to take a private jet home."
Herbert looked at Shelly with confusion written on his face.
"What letter?" he asked, "We never sent you a letter." He looked at the other people and all of them shook their heads.
"We sent you an invitation by email."
"But then, if you didn't," Shelly wondered, "Then, who did?"
Suddenly, a blood-curling scream filled the mansion and all the lights went out.
Ten people huddled in a dark room. Ten different voices screamed out in agony at the same time. Ten little Indians and then there were none.