With the remaining daylight the girls had spent a few hours at the pool and grabbed a light dinner at the buffet before moving inside with the crowd gathering at the lounge bar just as the sun was setting. They had managed to secure themselves one of the last free booths and had just received their first round of drinks that Bianca had referred to as cocktails. The drinks came in a variety of glasses, some tall, some short, some narrow and some wide. Andras had no idea why you would need so many different glasses to drink but he didn’t voice his wonder.
The drink Bianca had chosen for him was known as a pina colada, it was a yellow drink filled with ice and a slice of what the demon recognised as pineapple wedged on the rim. Sarah held up their drinks, “Ladies I want to raise our glasses to Lena for organizing this wonderful holiday for us, let’s have the time of our lives!” With that they began connecting their cups with an audible clang, Andras did the same when the girls turned to him. “Thanks Lena!” They all said before raising their glasses to their lips and taking a sip.
Andras’ drink was delicious! It was definitely made with pineapple juice but whatever else was in it, he had no idea. After setting down his drink and looking up he noticed ‘Elizabeth’ approaching them and the unsettling feeling in his stomach returned. “Hey girls! What do you guys think of the Island so far?” She asked
“It’s amazing! I really wasn’t sure what to expect given that the tickets were free but we have so much space to ourselves, thank you so much.” Sarah answered
“Yeah and the pool was lovely, I can’t wait to try out the rest of the island.” Bianca added.
“You’re very welcome, I’m glad you all seem to be enjoying yourselves, make sure to tell all of your friends when you get back.” The demon queen said before briefly eyeing Andras, “Well I’ll be around for the next while or so, come and find me if you need anything.” with that she strode over the bar and started talking to the bartender.
“Ooop I’ve got to go to the bathroom, someone come with me?” Kiera asked, “I will, I’ve gotta go too.” Amber said as the pair left for the ladies bathroom in the opposite corner of the bar.
It was now just Andras, Sarah and Bianca at the booth, “Mm so I was thinking we should visit the theme park tomorrow?” Sarah asked
“Yeah that sounds fun! That roller coaster looks intense, it goes so high up. Did you go on it when you were here Lena?” Bianca said to the demon.
“Oh yeah… it was good.” He said half heartedly while watching what ‘Elizabeth’ was doing.
Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed the girls share a look before Sarah slid a little closer to him in the booth, “Hey Lena are you ok? You’ve seemed a little down ever since yesterday and it’s only gotten worse after we got here. Is something wrong?”
Andras didn’t know how to answer that because by all accounts everything had gone perfectly, he had successfully passed himself off as Lena and infiltrated the friend group. He had made friends with Kiera, successfully added her to the group and convinced them all to come to Spooky Island with him. All in just under two weeks. The demon knew this was even more than what had been asked of him and he would likely be highly rewarded for his performance but now as the last few dregs of the sun disappeared from the horizon he wasn’t excited as he thought he would be. If anything the pit only got deeper in his stomach.
“Yeah… I’m fine, don’t worry.” He offered weakly.
“Lena we know you, we know when something is wrong. Whatever it is, you can tell us. We’re here for you.” Bianca said with concern for her friend evident on her face.
Andras looked away from the girl, thinking about how he felt and what he could do about it. Before he could say anything a panicked Amber and Kiera ran back over to their table, almost out of breath. “GUYS we have to go, there was something BIG and PURPLE slinking around outside.” Kiera said, eyes flicking between every window.
“What do you mean big and purple, Kiera? Is this some sort of prank?” Bianca asked with a grin, clearly not convinced.
“It is NO JOKE Bianca, whatever it was I saw it too and it didn’t look like anything normal!” Amber almost yelled at her friend, starting to attract the attention of the other guests.
“Look whatever it was I’m sure it must have jus-” Sarah tried to say
“Is something wrong girls?” ‘Elizabeth’ asked, interrupting the blonde.
“It’s nothing, I’m sure the girls are just trying to play a prank on us, sorry if we’ve caused a disturbance.” Bianca said.
“It’s NOT a prank, Elizabeth, Kiera and I BOTH saw something big and purple moving by the window. Whatever it is, it didn’t look normal!” Amber panicked.
“Look if it makes you feel any better I can put security on alert for a wild animal but I can’t give them a description of anything like that.” ‘Elizabeth’ reassured the pair.
“Hey whatever that THING was, it wasn’t any ordinary animal. It was big and lanky, it had to be something more.” Kiera interjected, clearly not happy with ‘Elizabeths’ belief in what they were saying.
“What, like a monster? There is no such thing as-” ‘Elizabeth’ tried to say but was interrupted by a loud crash of glass as a large, purple monster jumped through a window at the opposite side of the bar and let out a hideous screech, “RWUAHHHHHHHHHHHH.” The monster’s structure was similar to that of a human with the exception of a hunched back and an almost dog-like face. It was also incredibly thin with darker purple blotches spread over its body.
What ensued was pure pandemonium as all those closest to the monster started running whilst those a little further away were briefly frozen in place at the sight before similar crashes started echoing throughout the bar as more of the creatures started smashing their way into the room. This scattered the rest of the crowd as they ran each and every way they could, bumping and knocking into each other.
By the time Andras had dove under the table Kiera had already run off, Amber had grabbed Bianca’s arm and the pair were running towards the nearest door whilst Sarah and ‘Elizabeth’ had bolted for the opposite corner. Looking back over to the pair of friends, he watched as they closed in on the exit, almost reaching it before a crash was heard above them and another demon landed right in front of them.
The demon let out a piercing screech at the girls before snatching both of them up within its hands. The girls struggled fiercely against the clutches of the demon and screamed for help but it was all in vain as the demon let out a spray of green gas in their faces. Bianca quickly succumbed to the effects of the gas but Amber lasted a moment longer, only enough to realize that the feeling was strangely familiar before succumbing along with her friend.
Turning his head he could see Sarah wasn’t faring much better, the girl was trailing a few steps behind ‘Elizabeth’ when a demon jumped between them and knocked Sarah to the ground, sending her glasses flying while the demon queen disappeared out the door. The demon didn’t hesitate in picking up the girl and gassing her as his brethren did the same to the other guests still inside.
Figuring this was the best time to join in, he ran out from under the table and dove over the bar, playing his part in the madness as various screams, shrieks and crashes came from just about every direction. The demon was happy to just stay hidden behind the bar to wait out the chaos but his peace was interrupted by a fellow demon jumping on the counter with a loud THUD and growling at him.
Before the demon could snatch him from where he kneeled Andras shone his eyes green at the stupid demon, it god the message and leapt from the counter to chase down other guests. The noises subsided as the demons had chased or dragged the other guests out of the building. Andras just shook his head at the dumb demon, with the shift in his gaze he noticed something moving in the corner of his eyes. Turning his head he was greeted with the sight of Kiera who had crawled underneath the bar and was staring at him with a terrified look at what she had just witnessed.
As he got closer she shrank back, “What are you?!” She asked as he closed the distance between them. She was completely trapped as his face came within inches of hers, Andras found himself hesitating as he reached the girl. The demon wasn’t sure what was possessing him but he found himself halted in front of the trembling girl. Andras was brought out of his trance by a cough, “Ahem.” he whipped around to see ‘Elizabeth’ had reappeared at the end of the bar with the two demons who had his three friends slung over their shoulders at her flank, waiting for him to present her prize.
Andras grabbed the girl and pulled her out from underneath the counter, she kicked at the possessed girl but Andras was unaffected by her strikes. The demon carried the thrashing girl over to ‘Elizabeth’ who was waiting with an outstretched arm. Andras handed ‘Elizabeth’ the girl and she pulled Kiera’s face up to her own, cupping her face with her free hand.
“Oh the trouble I went through to get you, you will do nicely.” She said, terrifying the young animator even more, “What do you want with m-” She tried but the demon queen let loose a spray of her own green mist in Kiera’s face. She coughed as the gas invaded her lungs, robbing her of her senses as she slipped into unconsciousness.
The Demon Queen handed the unconscious girl to the demon holding Sarah before turning her eyes to Andras who knelt down in front of her, “My Queen.” He said simply
“Rise my servant.” She said, speaking with a motherly air and placing a hand on his shoulder.
He did as instructed and raised his eyes to meet hers, “What you have accomplished here was beyond what any of your brethren have managed to achieve. For that you will be greatly rewarded but for now we have work to do, come.” The demon queen said simply before she snapped her fingers and her demon escorts, along with Andras, followed her outside into the night.
