The Last Resort(10)
She’d done a bit of digging on Timeo before she’d RSVP’d, but their website hadn’t given anything away. It had a black background – making her think she’d crashed her laptop – then a single line of scrolling text appeared, saying ‘Creators of the technology you didn’t know existed’, before ending with their simple logo, just like on Harvey’s polo shirt. That was it. Nothing else in Google – every search link led straight back to the same place. Which – although frustrating for someone used to being able to find all the information required, in record time – was more than a little bit intriguing.
Lucy’s whole online life is based on intrigue. Intrigue and cynicism, in fact. It’s not as if you can write a high-profile gossip column and not experience both those things on a daily basis. She’s heard of Tiggy and Giles – these so-called ‘influencers’ have become celebrities in their own right, and it’s especially intriguing when they come as a pair. Lucy had done a piece on Giles Horner only a few months before, dredging some dirt on some of his previous work, before he became a YouTube sensation – sharing his bespoke games and his views on those developed by others. The virtual reality games are particularly popular, and her column had a lot more hits than usual when she’d hinted that it wasn’t actually him who’d developed these but a silent partner – someone who wasn’t quite so Instagrammable. It’s just like those music scandals in the eighties and nineties. Milli Vanilli with their big hit ‘Girl You Know It’s True’, and the two pretty boys with the braids who turned out to be nothing more than glorified dancers – the real singers not being photogenic enough to show to the world.
It’s exactly this kind of thing that’s wrong with the world, in Lucy’s opinion. Hence her glee at exposing all the celebrity mistruths and cover-ups she can find. Most of it isn’t meant to harm, though – she strongly believes that the majority of the celebrities out there are fully aware of the nonsense of it all. Except for the reality TV stars who truly believe their own hype. Still, let them have their fifteen minutes of fame. Their antics are what pay Lucy’s exorbitant London rent. She can always move back to Scotland when she gets bored of it all.
But there must be some dirt on this Timeo set-up, and she’ll do her best to uncover it – but obviously that’s not really why she’s here. She’s been invited here to review the experience with a view to attracting the very celebrities she spends her days toying with. Well, there’s that, and the promise of a significant sum of money to lure a couple of young royals onto the island, should the whole retreat thing end up going ahead. And of course, it’s not like she had much of a choice, with those links she’d been sent. Self-preservation and financial gain are a potent combination – one that she’s definitely not immune to.
‘I’ll go first,’ Giles says. ‘I reckon I can play this thing.’
Lucy glances over at Amelia and pulls a face. Amelia gives her a brief smile. She looks nervous and out of place, but she shouldn’t worry about that. Everyone here is in the same boat right now. No one knows who anyone really is. It’s going to be interesting to see how the dynamics shift as people start to come into their own. What Tiggy said about it being a reality TV show set-up was spot on. Before she’d started her own – anonymous – column, Lucy had worked for a couple of the overpriced glossy magazines. She’d been forced to go on a team-building weekend once – one of those adventure things with ropes and helmets and zip wires, except they’d adapted it for the company, added in shelter-building and fire-making, made them all camp out there overnight. Her sense of humour had got her through it, but her cynicism had been in overdrive – mixing creatives with sales and marketing and the high-level finance bods had been an interesting idea. It had shown her that people always show their true selves when under pressure. Mainly it had shown her that she hates climbing ladders, and has no patience for the timid. Who’s going to be the timid one today? Her eyes are drawn to Tiggy, who’s busy nibbling the skin on the side of one thumbnail, her eyes flitting from one person to the next, as if awaiting instruction.
Giles walks away from her into the middle of the room, taps the tracker twice, just as Harvey had indicated, and says, ‘Who am I and what am I doing here?’ Then he grins, pleased with himself. ‘Got to follow the signals, right? You saw him tap—’
‘Wow,’ Tiggy says, cutting him off. ‘Look!’ She points behind him to the bare expanse of wall, which is not bare anymore but covered in green writing – more of it being added as it goes. Lucy turns round to look at another wall, and the writing follows.
‘What the . . . ?’ Scott puts a hand in front of his face, then takes it away. ‘I can still see it when I cover my eyes. You guys—’
‘I don’t understand,’ Lucy says, feeling a prickle of panic inching down her spine. ‘Giles, can you . . .’ She lets the sentence trail off. Everyone is standing still now, staring in different places, their expressions ranging from alarm to wonder.
All except Amelia, who is whirling around, looking from one wall to the next. Tapping at her watch. ‘I don’t see it,’ she says, her voice rising in pitch. ‘What are you all seeing?’
‘It’s bright green,’ Tiggy says. ‘How can you not see it?’