Contents
The Wedding Night — Chapter 11
Overview
In the marquee, a shaken waitress interrupts the reception after a chilling scream. Prompted by Aoife, the wedding planner, she gasps that there is blood outside and a body before collapsing. The guests freeze as the lights flicker, escalating dread and confirming that something violent has happened on the island.
Summary
The chapter opens in the immediate aftermath of a scream that rings across the storm-battered island. Inside the marquee, guests stare into the darkness as the lights flicker, recalling the earlier power failure.
A young waitress, white-shirted and disheveled, stumbles in. Her once-professional composure is gone; her face is wild, her breathing rough, and she seems unable to speak. The guests, who barely noticed her before, are transfixed by her shock.
Aoife, the wedding planner, approaches with careful authority. She tries to calm the waitress and coax out what happened. The girl trembles violently, nearly retching, and manages a single word: “Outside.”
With gentle insistence, Aoife presses for clarity. In a hoarse rasp, the waitress finally says there is “so much blood” and adds, “A body,” before collapsing. The guests remain rooted and silent as the sense of imminent disaster takes hold and the lights threaten another blackout.
Who Appears
- AoifeWedding planner; calmly takes charge, questions the traumatized waitress, and elicits the revelation of a body outside.
- WaitressYoung staff member with a red ponytail; stumbles in terrified, reports blood and a body, then collapses.