Chapter One: The Anniversary
A tall blonde boy sat on the edge of his bed wearing briefs that showed off his long legs. This boy is me and I'm Winnie which is short for Winthrope. Looking down at my legs made me think of the reaction my sister had to my hairless legs, I had gone to get them waxed and when I came home she had a good laugh at my expense. My thoughts drifted to her, Jessica, after two years they were still looking for her and her friends. The theory was that Josh had taken them up to the lodge to get revenge on them for that stupid prank. The police only thought this because I had told them that Josh was off his mess and was mentally unstable. I should've just shut up, I'm always talking when I shouldn't be and always getting myself or someone else in trouble. It was cold today like it's been all week and it was perfect, the gloomy weather matches my mood. My phone rang, playing some song by Ariana Grande and I picked it up saying "Hello?" In a hoarse voice I said, "Hello?!" I heard sobbing and realized it was my mom and I looked at the clock to see the time and realized it was one in the morning. "Mom, has something happened?" I asked, sitting up in bed and realizing Jessica hadn't come home yet. "Mom, what happened? Where's Jess?!" I cried in a panicked screech. My mothers voice broke when she said "They found the lodge... It was on fire... They didn't find any survivors..." I sat in shock and everything seemed too slow and I felt like I couldn't breath anymore. I began to cry but didn't want mother to hear it so I regained my composure before I said, "Are they even looking for them?" And my mother said yes. The rest of the phone call was a blur, she said a few things and so did I. Then I hung up and sat in bed, unable to sleep, until I heard a knocking on my door and forced myself into some grey sweats and a black t shirt. I opened the door and saw two policemen standing in front of me and asked them what they needed. They said they needed me to go down to the university conference room with them, so I did. We sat at the long table with the blinds drawn and I wondered what they wanted from me... They wanted to ask me questions about Josh and the others.
PO 1: what was your relationship to Josh Washington?
Me: he was friends with my sister and her friends, I saw him a few times because my sister shares my dorm and they were talking about the trip to the lo-
PO 2: was he showing any signs of distress?
Me: he was off his meds
PO 2: can you repeat that louder, please?
Me: he was off his meds
PO 1: how do you know this for sure?
Me: I'm nosy, I tend to go through people's things and I saw he had his pills but they were all gone. I thought that was strange because he said he'd gotten his prescription filled just the day before. I'm guessing he flushed them down the toilet
PO 2: do you think he could've murdered the other in retaliation for the prank involving his sisters?
Me: no... No. He's not a murderer, he couldn't hurt a fly. He'd never hurt them, maybe prank them but not hurt them, not intentionally anyway...
PO 1: you look like you're holding something back, are you lying to us?
Me: well, this one time he was having a breakdown when everyone was together before they lost contact and before this trip. He got really mad when I asked him if he'd been back to the lodge... He smashed my phone against a wall and my parents had to buy a new one the third one that year.
PO 1: we hear that you and your sister weren't on good terms before the trip, could you tell us why?
Me: why? Do you think I killed her? C'mon this line of questioning goes nowhere.
PO 2: just answer the question
One Week before the Lodge Trip
"You slut! I can't believe you! You were my friend!" Emily screamed as she ran out of the house and slammed the door. I stood at the top of the stairs until Jess turned and saw me. "What, do you need something?!" She said in a bitchy tone and turned, bouncing out of the entryway to the kitchen. "I can't believe you did that! Jess, she was your best friend and she was mine! Now she won't talk to me because you're a skank that can't keep her legs closed!" She looked at me and for a moment I actually thought she was hurt but she just poured and left the house. I followed her out and yelled, "How can you be such a bitch, one day someone's gonna rip that tongue out of your stupid head."
That was the last time I saw her or talked to her.
Present Day, 2 years after Lodge Trip
I left the psychology classroom and saw it was raining, I wanted to feel it on my skin so I walked the long way around and found a memorial for the lost teens. Everyone had given up faith that they would come back. They were all there, someone had smashed Josh's picture and wrote "psycho" on it. I didn't know how to feel anymore, I felt soulless and I felt regret all the time. I had isolated myself and didn't talk in class, I was barely passing. I bent down and picked up the picture and stuck the photo from the frame in my sweater pocket. My dorm was dark, like it always is now, and there were piles of clothes everywhere. The winter break was coming up and today was the anniversary of the Lodge Trip. I sighed and sat with my knees on my chest and allowed myself to breakdown for the first time in months, I pushed my face into the pillow and screamed. I was about to fall asleep when I heard a knock on the door and I opened it to see the guy who had a crush on me, smiling back at me with a package in his hand. " Here's your mail, Winnie!" He was always excited, how does he have the energy?
I opened the package and found a cellphone that had a pink cover and looked familiar... It was Jessica's phone and it was ringing. It was our parents, knowing they called every anniversary, I let it go to voicemail and heard my parents sobbing and asking for their daughter back. After the call was over the phone lit up and beeped, there was a text.
Unknown: come to the lodge!
Me: who is this?
Unknown: come to the lodge now!
Me: is this Jess or Josh?! Please tell me!
Unknown: you can still help them if you hurry and get your ass to the lodge!
Me: this is a prank, I'm blocking you!
But was it a prank? I mean, Jessica had her phone when she disappeared and the lodge was off limits to the public. My parents had hired another search team to look for the group and they were currently there, so I'd be safe there, right? What could be so bad?
I packed my bags and put my faux fur coat on. Grabbing my keys, I knocked over Jessica's phone onto the tile floor and it started playing her favorite song. I bent down slowly to pick it up and told myself I had to do this for Jessica, if I could help her I had to. I took the phone and got in my car, I was going to the lodge.