The Eleventh Stranger

One clear evening on a secluded island, ten strangers gathered, summoned by an unknown host. The guests included eight individuals of various professions and two house servants, each with an enigmatic past marked by dreadful deeds.

With every tick of the clock, their disquiet grew. The silence was shattered with the descending darkness when a recorded message accused each of them of a past murder. Fear crept into their hearts, and the once grand mansion turned into an eerie dwelling of suspicion, a theatre of guilt.

Suddenly, one by one, they started dying, exactly as described in the children's rhyme 'Ten Little Soldier Boys' which hung conspicuously on the wall of their dwelling. The survivors realized their predicament, they were being targeted by an unknown avenger, known to them only as 'U.N. Owen.'

Lives were snuffed out one after the other, an apparition of justice for the wrongs they'd committed. Panic reigned, and accusations flew as a desperate attempt to unmask U.N. Owen. But all efforts were in vain as the night drew closer, and they kept falling prey.

Through all this, one person stood out, a middle-aged woman of humble origins. Emily was a skilful snoop, her inquisitive nature mirroring the famed Miss Marple. She picked up on the minor details, connecting the dots and smelled the stench of a scheme amidst their deaths.

One stormy night, when only four people were left, Emily made a revelation which held everyone's breath. She accused a man, one they'd all thought dead. He had tricked them, played dead, and was manipulating them all along. The man was none other than Judge Wargrave, the supposed sixth victim.

However, the revelation came too late. Emily was silenced permanently, leaving the remaining three in a state of paranoia and fear. Despite knowing the identity of the killer, they couldn't prevent his plan from coming to fruition.

As dawn broke, the last victim fell, fulfilling the narrative of the haunting nursery rhyme. But this was not the end. The killer's confession was found by the mainland police, a message in a bottle revealing his dark justice.

In the quiet corner of the island where ten sinners had met their fate, the echoes of their past continued to linger and the invisible eleventh stranger, guilt, kept watch, ensuring none would forget the horror of Soldier Island.