A Puzzle Only You Can Solve
Short Story
Thank you for reading this, and taking the time to help me with my investigation- I'm desperate!
My Aunt, recently deceased, lived in an apartment block in a very seedy neighbourhood, filled with crime. The other tenants in her block were rowdy, and the walls were thin.
She told me all sorts of stories over the years about what went on in there, but my favourite was the anecdote about a couple called Mark and Lucy who lived on the same floor as her- the story of how they died.
She wrote down what happened for me, knowing I'd want to read it again. After she died I went through her things and found what she'd written, but there was a problem- she'd written the story onto cue cards! One sentence per card.
But why is that a problem? The problem is that I didn't know she'd written the story down onto these cards before I took them out their box and scattered them all over the floor! They were inadvertently shuffled about and reassembled before I realised what was written on them!
There's no way to determine the correct order from the cards themselves, and I can't remember the details of the anecdote!
That's where you can help. If you're able, try arranging my Aunt's cards to construct the most logical sequence of events. I'm sure the most sensible interpretation is the most likely; I don't remember the anecdote being outrageous or unbelievable.
Below I've listed the 26 cue cards in a non-chronological order. See if you can put them straight. If you can offer any help I'll be eternally grateful, and I'll pay you back somehow. I promise!
-Alexander
Mark got mad.
Mark cursed Lucy's name with his dying breath.
Mark fled the room as fast as he could, knocking into furniture in the corridor.
Mark opened the door to the room and entered.
Lucy chased after him, got ahead, and blocked his exit.
Lucy was waiting for him.
Lucy quickly died, thinking of revenge.
Lucy couldn't contain her tears.
He summoned his remaining strength, and crawled out the door.
He pulled out a gun, and blasted her, straight through the chest.
He began screaming as loud as he could:
He was full of surprises.
He grabbed her, and threw her to the ground.
He stumbled backwards, hitting the wall and sliding to the ground.
She pulled a pistol from her pocket and fired at his chest.
She fell to the floor, gasping, as blood gushed out of her.
She grabbed him, tears streaming down her face.
She couldn't let him win, and she crawled out the door with her last ounce of strength.
Her reaction surprised him.
They passed away on the stairwell, together in the end.
If that was supposed to calm the situation it failed to have the intended effect.
"I didn't mean to hurt you. It didn't feel like an affair when it started, it felt like a fever."
"You made me do this. Everything I am is because of you. Better or worse."
"You belong to me! If I can't have you no one can!"
"We're through, now let ME through!"
"You dare betray me like this? After everything I've done for you?!"