Chapter Text
A trail of sunlight crept through the windows and into the cabin. The beam of light swept back and forth across the neatly furnished room, moving with the slight rock of the ship. The furniture was pristine and unmoved, as if it hadn’t been used yet. There was nothing out of place to suggest anyone had been in here, aside from the body resting on the bed. She had been seemingly placed gently on top of the covers, which were still neatly tucked in.
The beam of light traced up the wall and landed on the girl’s face, shining with a kind of fierceness that almost felt like it wanted her to wake up. And then, Leléka opened her eyes.
She woke up slowly, her mind still felt warm and fuzzy, like she’d been in a pleasant dream for a while. She turned over onto her side, to face the rest of the room while her thoughts caught up to her. The scenery was unfamiliar at best. How had she ended up here again?
The room was completely silent, which gave her no clues. Where am I?
Time passed funny as Leléka did nothing except stare at the white room. It could have been five or 30 minutes before she finally stood up. It gave her a chance to walk around in the room. There was a desk and a chair resting on the wall opposite the bed. To her left, the room led out onto a small balcony, which was empty. She tried the door, but even with all her might it didn’t budge. All she could see out of the sliding glass was the expanse of water, so it didn’t do much to help the mystery.
Abandoning the balcony, Leléka turned back to the front of the room. There was a mirror plastered on a cupboard just behind her bed. Walking up to it she could see her reflection clearly for the first time today. Her hair was a bit messy, like she’d been sleeping for a while. Who knows how long I was sleeping for, anyway. She tried to comb it with her fingers, but it didn’t really make it better.
Her hair soon became the least of her thoughts as she kept staring. How obvious it was. Her first real clue of how she was in a room with seemingly no memories. Her outfit.
Staring back at her was the same outfit she had been wearing to perform Ridnym. Even her makeup and gloves were still intact. Could she have blacked out drunk after the final’s afterparty? It didn’t sound like something she’d do, but Leléka was seriously struggling to think of another solution as to how she’d ended up here. Not to mention, she was definitely on a boat, which would be the strangest place to find yourself after a party. Or maybe not, maybe some rich person had had a party on a yacht? Leléka would have liked to believe that, but as sunbeams drifted lazily across the quiet room, it just didn’t feel like the right answer.
Since the cabin she was in was so small, there wasn’t anything else aside from the bed, desk, cupboard, and bathroom. Only the large, heavy door that led to who knows where.
With one more glance back to the place she’d first found herself, she pushed the door open and ventured out.
The door was heavy, but unlike the balcony with a little bit of effort it opened easily. She kept gripping onto it as she poked her head around, looking at the rest of the ship. It was just as quiet as it was outside. The corridor was long on both sides, so long she couldn’t see where it led to. Opposite her, there was a door that looked the same as her, except labeled Alicja. Presumably that would be Alicja Szemplińska, Poland’s representative from this year. Had she and other Eurovision contestants all managed to book a cruise trip? Anything could have happened in the gaps in her memory, theoretically, but that answer seemed a bit outlandish.
Slipping one of her shoes into the door in case it locked behind her, Leléka quietly tip-toed across the carpeted corridor and to Alicja’s door. She knocked on it as loudly as she could.
“Alicja?” She tried.
Only silence answered her. Leléka tried knocking again, but still nothing. After a few beats of silence she tried a different approach.
“I’m coming in, okay?” Leléka warned, and tried pushing on the door. It, like her own, gave way after a shove and Leléka fell into the room. It was the same as her own except mirrored. And, like she had hoped, there was Alicja lying in her bed.
“Alicja!” Leléka cried, rushing over. It was so good to see a familiar face, though it was good to see just another face at all. “Alicja, Alicja, do you know where we are?”
The pole laid out in front of her didn’t move at her questions, and for a horrible second Leléka thought something may have happened to her. However after a bit more yelling and shaking Alicja opened her eyes and woke up.
“Oh, oh, thank goodness.” Leléka said with a hand to her heart.
“Leléka?” The grogginess in her voice seeped through. “...What?”
“Do you remember anything? Like, for one, why are we on a boat?”
Alicja didn’t answer, she just shook her head and looked around with a permanent expression of confusion on her face. Uh-oh. It seemed as if Alicja may know less than her.
“We’re on a boat?” She asked. “Wait.”
She gripped her head as if it suddenly hurt a lot.
“Are you okay?” Leléka asked, concerned.
“No. What is happening? And where am I?”
“I was actually hoping you knew. I just woke up here, but I can’t remember anything.”
Alicja gripped her head again and tried to sit up. Leléka grabbed her and pulled her up to rest against the wall. Alicja was also wearing her Eurovision outfit. That outfit can’t be comfy, Leléka thought privately.
“It’s like I don’t remember anything.” Alicja said, and as if asking it twice would make an answer appear, she added “Where are we?”.
“I’m not sure. I woke up in a room, the same as you. It kind of looks like a cruise ship. Do you think we booked one and blacked out drunk?”
“I suppose that could have happened.” She replied, but didn’t sound convinced. Well, neither was Leléka.
They sat against each other in silence for a while, the only sound was a faint sound of the ocean crashing against the hull of the boat, until Leléka spoke again.
“This place gives me the creeps. It feels like no one else is here.”
“Is there?”
Leléka looked around, but with the door shut she couldn’t see down the eerie corridor.
“I don’t know, I didn’t really have a chance to look around. I came straight into your room.”
Suddenly Alicja was on her feet and walking past Leléka.
“What are you doing?”
“Going to find answers.” She replied resolutely. “We can’t sit here all day.”
Alicja didn’t waste any time walking around the room like Leléka had, and went straight for the door. She held it open and Leléka slid underneath her, so she was standing in the corridor again.
“That room is yours?”
Leléka looked to where she was pointing.
“Oh.”She said sheepishly and went to retrieve the slipper jammed in the door. “I put my shoe there in case it locked. But I was able to open yours, so I don’t think it will.”
“That’s reassuring.” Alicja commented, and marched up the hall. Leléka quickly jogged to keep up with her.
“Sal Da Vinci, Eva,” Alicja listed off. “Essyla, Akylas.”
“This is so weird. Why are we all here?” Off the top of her head, Leléka couldn’t think of what they’d all have in common, aside from the obvious answer of all being Eurovision contestants.
Lost in her thoughts Leléka almost slammed into Alicja, who had stopped in front of a door. The corridor ended here as well, so it was their only way forward.
“Out of bounds.”
“Weird.” Leléka commented.
Alicja tugged on the handle, but it didn’t budge.
“Maybe we can’t go in?” It seemed pointless to break their arms trying to open a clearly broken door.
“Let’s try together.” Alicja pointed to the end of the door. “Out of bounds is a really fucking weird poster to put on a cruise ship door.”
They both tried yanking it open with everything they had, but it didn’t budge.
“I don’t really think this is working, Alicja.” Leléka said, wiping her forehead. “Should we come back and try again later?”
“One more go. I think I felt my side budging.”
They both tried again, pulling as hard as they could. Suddenly, from behind the door, a weird sound started playing. It was like a scream, but muffled by tonnes of steel. Leléka leapt back in shock, but before she could ask Alicja if she could hear anything, a crackling static sound blasted from above them. This time, Alicja stopped pulling and looked up for the source.
There seemed to be speakers above them, lining the corridor. After a few more seconds of static they both crackled into life and started blasting an announcement.
“Good afternoon, Happy Campers!” A voice bellowed across the ship. Alicja mouthed happy campers? in confusion to Leléka, but she kept quiet. “You may have a few questions, but they will all be answered if you make your way down into the 3rd recreational room! There are maps in the drawers of your desk you should be able to follow with ease. It’s marked ‘The Hub.’ I hope to see you there!”
The speakers crackled off as fast as they had on. Leléka turned to Alicja to discuss what on earth they had just heard, but she was taken aback to see Alicja was already making her way back to her room.
“Wait!” Leléka called, suddenly being a bit quieter. It felt like there could be a million people awake now, somewhere on this mysterious ship. Her memories drifted back into the thrill of the crowds she could see when she performed her songs. “Do you really think it’s a good idea to go?”
Alicja turned around, just outside her door. “I don’t know what I think is a good idea right now.” She admitted. “But I want answers, and I want them sooner rather than later.”
Leléka could only grimace as she silently disagreed. The whole thing was way too weird. But Alicja had already disappeared behind her designated door, and Leléka didn’t have any better ideas. She opened her own and disappeared back into the place she’d first woken up.
When Leléka got to her desk, she could see a photo of Sal Da Vinci above it, and an envelope below it. That definitely wasn’t there before.
She ripped it off and grabbed the envelope, opening it hastily. But the only thing in it was a slip of paper that simply said щедрість.
Bounty. As in, generosity. It was a bit odd and didn’t make any sense to her. She threw the photo down and opened the drawers instead. Just as the voice had said, there was a map in there. Opening it carefully, it was clear it wasn’t the full scope of the ship, unless the ship was very oddly built. It had their corridor, with her own room marked out. She recognised Alicja’s room opposite hers, but it wasn’t labelled.
The map ended at that same door that had been labelled out of bounds. On the other side, it showed an elevator, a few large rooms claiming to be recreational, a buffet, and more rooms that appeared to be a floor below her own. The hub seemed to be across from their own corridor.
Tucking the map into the pocket she was glad to have asked for, Leléka made her way out the door. Before she left into the other end of the corridor, she quickly poked her head into Alicja’s room, but it was empty. Seemingly she had already gone down to the hub. Leléka couldn’t help but notice that there wasn’t a photo on her desk. So, it had just been her that had gotten one? What could a photo of Sal mean?
Leléka was so lost in her thoughts she almost jumped out of her skin at a hand tapping her shoulder.
“Leléka?” A cheerful voice asked.
Leléka, trying very hard not to scream, turned around to see Akylas. Oh good, it was only Akylas. She breathed in and out heavily, recovering from what was overall a pretty lame jumpscare.
“Akylas! How are you?”
“I’m uh- alright?” He replied, but he didn’t really sound that confident in himself. He was also wearing his Eurovision stage outfit, and Leléka was ready to bet the others would also be as well. However, Akylas didn’t seem to have his iconic jacket or sunglasses, and Leléka briefly wondered if he had taken them off or if he just didn’t have them in the first place.
“Do you know where we are? I heard the announcement but it's so weird, I don’t remember anything. Like, how’d I get here?”
Leléka grimaced.
“I’m the same too. And Alicja.”
“Alicja is here too?”
“She went to the hub already.”
“Ah.” He commented. “Are you going there too?”
Leléka nodded. “Let’s go together.” She felt easier going with someone else, unlike Alicja who was clearly a lot braver than she.
Akylas linked his arm under her and she led them down the corridor. There weren’t anymore labelled doors past her own. They passed an elevator with winding paths on either side, and then more unlabelled doors until they came to a large glass panel of doors. The paths continued on either side of these doors too, but a sign on it clearly said The Hub so they both stopped here.
“Ready?” Akylas asked.
“Of course.” She replied, and they burst through the doors together.
The room wasn’t anything remarkable. Leléka had seen plenty like it in her time travelling and endless hotels. There was a pool table in the corner, bean bags strewn across the floor, and other things that vaguely fit the theme of recreation. Alicja was there, just as Leléka had hoped, standing next to one of the tables and looking around suspiciously. Leléka was just about to feel worried when she spotted them, and waved over both her and Akylas with a smile.
“Leléka! Akylas! Glad you found your way over!”
“I was worried when you left like that,” Leléka began. “What if something bad happened?”
“Don’t worry.” Alicja said, bumping their hips together in a short little hug. “Nothing bad will happen. I bet this is some weird TV show special thing.”
“That would make sense!” Akylas chimed in. He looked happier than he had when Leléka first found him, now they were with another person.
“I just wanted to have a snoop around.” Alicja went on. “I couldn’t see any cameras, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. I hope they get my good side.”
“Both of your sides are good!” Akylas chirped, and they both giggled. While they were chatting, Leléka turned around and tried to see if there was any sign of the person who had made the announcement on the loudspeakers.
“Are you looking for that man, too?” Alicja asked, noticing what she was doing. “I couldn’t find him. There are a bunch of empty, weird rooms along that corridor, though.”
Alicja was about to say something else, but she was interrupted by Jonas Lovv walking in through the doors. His eyes lit up when he saw the others.
“Ukraine, Poland and Greece!” He said happily. “The strangest thing just happened to me, and I can’t remember a thing. I must have partied so hard last night!”
“We have names.” Alicja replied.
“Yeah, of course,” He waved. “You know I don’t even remember getting on this ship. Someone fill me in, ay?”
“We don’t remember either,” Leléka said. Akylas nodded his head in agreement.
“So…we all partied really hard?” He asked, but his smile was quickly fading.
“I don’t think so.” Leléka fiddled with her jumpsuit’s strings. “I mean, it doesn’t feel like what happened. How would we all have ended up on this empty ship, with no memories?”
Behind them, the doors opened again. This time, Sal Da Vinci, Eva Marija and Essyla walked in. So that was the rest of the people on her floor, Leléka thought.
“Jonas, which room did you wake up in?” Alicja asked, before Leléka could get her question out.
“Me? I’m not sure. It didn’t have a number, just my name. I had to take an elevator up here.”
“Was there anyone next to you?”
Jonas looked a bit sheepish. “I didn’t look. Oh, but the room opposite mine had Søren’s name on it.”
“An elevator?” Alicja mused. “It must have been the one I passed before.”
“Maybe?” Jonas said unhelpfully. He was about to add something else when that same horrible static sound crackled over the speakers.
“Welcome, my happy, Happy Campers!” It said lively. “Thank you to everyone for making it into the hub, our ship’s number one place to be!”
Leléka looked around and noticed another group entering the hub, but the three faces weren’t nearly enough to make up everyone who had been at Eurovision this year.
“You may be all wondering why you are here! It’s a very good question. I’ll bet some of you have already guessed it’s a new show for this year’s amazing Eurovision contest!”
Alicja smiled as her suspicions were confirmed.
“But please, don’t worry about making a fool of yourselves. We’ll go over the footage and edit out any…embarrassing moments. Just be yourselves! I hope you all enjoy your time here on the ESC Cruise Ship.”
“Just a few more things, and then I’ll let everyone go on their merry ways. I won’t take up too much of your time, I promise.” The voice laughed haughtily at it’s own joke. A few other people in the room also gave a few chuckles, albeit politely. “I know a question you must have is, what about your memories? Don’t worry about those. They’ve been removed to make the next weeks more exciting. And, where are the rest of your euro-tastic friends? Well, they’re having their own fun. You’ll find out soon enough. You may have noticed the rest of the ship is empty. Yes, it’s true. You will be the only living people on the ship. But don’t worry! You’ll all be fed and taken care of, I assure you.”
“Did we have to sign a contract for this?” Jonas suddenly interjected, yelling up into the ceiling. There wasn’t a reply, clearly whoever was making the announcement couldn’t actually hear them.
“You’ll notice some places are out of bounds. They’ll be unlocked as you complete objectives.”
“How long are we going to be here for?” Alicja tried yelling her own question.
“You’ll be here for the indefinite future, or unless you complete your own ultra-special task!”
“That was just a coincidence, I’m sure.” Alicja patted Jonas’ arm.
“What else did I have to say…” The loudspeaker mused. “Ah, yes! The tasks! Well, there’s no easy way to put it. If you want to get out of here, you’ve gotta kill someone!”
Any chatter in the room instantly stopped. Leléka put her hand over her mouth like she might be sick. Kill? What a sick joke.
Yes, kill those competitors of yours! Angry over those low points you scored? Perhaps you didn’t even qualify. Wouldn’t shoving a knife in another’s chest just make you feel so much better! I know I would!”
It chuckled again, but no one was finding it funny anymore. “But be careful! I mean, of course, kill to your heart’s content. The more the merrier! But you’ll only win if you kill your designated bounty. Be sure to check it every week, because they do switch around!”
“Speaking of weeks, you better have someone killed by the end of this one! Or there’ll be bad news all around. Okay, well, that’s it! Enjoy your day everyone!”
This can't be real. It just can't. Can it?