"Okay – so they set themselves up for a trip, I'm assuming?" Mike questioned.
"Yeah. They were all at the house. None of them knew what was going to happen. According to the person I talked to, it came out of no-where. They died fast and they died quick. Nobody had time to stop it. Nobody had time to even figure out who was doing it."
Ke$ha rambled along, eating her words, chocking up every few sentences. A tear formed in her eye and fell towards the cold grey table. Before it could reach its landmark, it got tangled in her blonde locks, lost in a sea of hair.
"Do you know how many of them I had actually met? They were my fucking fans, my fucking life. You don't get it. You never will!" Ke$ha shouted at Mike.
A pause enamored the two.
"Why are you here, Ms. Sebert?" Mike mused, breaking the silence.
"To tell you what really happened." She responded curtly.
"Why can't the survivor tell us?" Mike questioned, his fingers wiggling the bright blue pen in his hands.
"The only survivor is in solace. Even you couldn't find her," Ke$ha said, glaring at Mike.
"Why would she tell you and only tell you?" Mike said, prying at Ke$ha.
"She told me when we met, a month after it happened. The whole thing."
"Why didn't she tell the cops?" Mike said, giving her no sympathy or time to recoup.
"She didn't need to. The investigation was closed. She only told them what they wanted, and that's all they needed to know. Then you came around and decided to re-open this three-month old murder case with no solid stamp of evidence. If you couldn't find the killer then, how will you find him or her now?"
A silence mounted itself between the two. Ke$ha's cold eyes glared into Mike's, whilst he sat unresponsive.
"Continue your story, Ms. Sebert."
The tickets had been booked, the flights had been scheduled, and the bags had been packed. Their flights were set to send them all straight to Los Angeles International Airport. Once there, they all would get into Vivians RV and drive towards her house. Since her house was an island in a lake, the only way to access it was by boat. While the others enjoyed the magnificent amount of privacy, some were not so keen on it.
Steven sat in an airport gateway with Vivian by his side. Jane had gone to pick up food from a concession booth, since their flight did not depart for another fourty-five minutes.
"Are you sure this is going to be safe?" Steven asked Vivian. "I know it's a huge house, but it's a big lake, cut off from everything. What if something happens to one of us? What if one of us gets hurt or-"
Vivian cut him short. "Stop being such a pussy. It's 5 minutes or less to mainland by boat. My dad has an entire collection of Jet Ski's, a motorboat, and a few kayaks there. If anything goes wrong, we'll get into the motorboat, or call the help that lives right by us, and we'll motor right over."
Steven gave Vivian a look of apathy and shrugged away. Vivian was stressed out of her mind about the entire trip. What if something went wrong? What if they destroyed something? Better yet, what if the house set on fire and killed everyone? Vivian had no time for Steven's complaints at the moment.
Lauri, Michelle, and Claire were driving towards the Logan Airport in Boston. Since they all lived near each other, they figured they would be able to carpool to reduce gas costs and save each other time. All were singing along to a Karaoke Version of Lana Del Rey's "Summertime Sadness", belting the notes, nearly blowing out their lungs.
After the track was over, Lauri looked to Michelle.
"You excited?" she asked.
Michelle stared at her blankly.
"Keep your eyes on the road. I don't feel like getting killed or cut up before we get there," Michelle sternly shouted over the sound of the engine. 'Haha, cut up' she thought to herself. 'Just like Demi's arms.'
"Do you know what time we need to get there?" said Claire, impatiently messaging Vivian asking for details.
"We wont be there any later than eleven-o-clock' am" Lauri said proudly, expressing happiness she was able to drive and get them there on time. Michelle smiled, excited for the trip.
Just as she said that, a car with two African American men swerved by them, turning into their lane. Lauri honked her horn loudly.
"Stupid niggers," muttered Claire.
Alex and Christine were on their way out of Florida. They had agreed to get Mark before departing for the airport in Miami. They arrived at Mark's home, said hello to his mother, and picked him up.
"Hey," said Mark, cramming his luggage and himself into the back seat.
"Sorry I don't have a trunk, my job at McDonalds doesn't allot for much space and Alex's surburban is in the shop" Christine said as she put the car into gear.
"It's cool! I'm really excited" Mark said, gesturing his feelings towards Alex and Christine.
"Yeah, me too" Alex said, tilting his Starbucks Mocha Frappe up to his mouth, and pushing his aviators up to his hairline.
"Why don't you prefer McDonalds smoothies? They're 20 percent off this week, and if you bundle it with a Big Mac, Double Stack, or any other two-pattie burger, a medium fry, and a drink, you save two dollars!" Christine shouted, shaking with glee.
Jan had packed his Escalade up full with luggage. He had picked up Kevin on his way into New York, and Peter had driven down to NYC to fly out of the same airport. They had agreed to meet at the terminal and group up.
Peters number appeared on his screen and the phone began to ring. Jan picked it up.
"Where the fuck are you? I've been in the city for literally an hour" Peter sniped at Jan.
"It's not my fault. I've driven through the entire ghetto and I still can't find Kevin." Jan said, an air of stress in his voice.
"Just… Just find him. Okay?!" Peter said, wringing at his hair. "Don't leave me hanging."
Jan hung up the phone, turning a corner.
Soon enough, after driving miles through the ghettos of New York, he found Kevin within a cardboard box on the street.
"Do you know how long it took me to find you?" Jan shouted at Kevin. "I almost got shot twice and I'm pretty sure I ran over Lil' Kim on my way up here."
"Nigga don't complain," Kevin said, snapping his neck to the left and back. "I told you I lived on Greneld Street. Not my fault yo' fool ass couldn't work it's way up to here."
"How do you even use twitter if you live in a box?" Jan jabbed at Kevin.
"Actually, my family lives on the upper east side in a two story flat. I taxi there err'day. I ain't got no time to spend around rich folks." Kevin sassed.
"Get in" said Jan.
"Can we stop for KFC?" Kevin hopefully questioned.
"No. We're already late as it is" Jan said, turning his entire head to face Kevin with a cold glare
"Help a nigga out." Kevin said.
As it became evident that he wasn't going to fall for it, Kevin retreated into his seat.
"I'mma cover yo' AP books in chicken grease, bum bitch" Kevin muttered, pulling out chicken breast from his pocket.
Miranda finishes packing her bags, and hops into her car. She is the only one of the group that isn't carpooling with the rest of them, since she lives too far away from them. Her car starts with a rumble and she begins her hour-long drive to the airport.
30 minutes in, her phone rings. Robin Thicke's cooing voice jitters out of the phone - its Vivian.
"Everyone else is at their gates already. Where the fuck are you?"
"I'm on my way. My flight doesn't even leave for another hour. Let me do my thing and leave the swag to me," Miranda says to Vivian, feeling un-roused.
"Whatever. As long as you get to the house we'll be fine. If you don't, I'm not paying for your ticket." Vivian said, hanging up the phone.
Miranda was going seventy-five in a sixty zone. Her car was zooming through the countryside, flying through the hills and reaching towards the city not so far away.
Out of no-where, an old lady appears, crossing a street. Miranda hits her head on, and she goes flying into the distance. Miranda keeps driving.
"Swaggie," She whispers to herself.
All of the planes departed at their separate intervals. The groups of friends came flooding into LAX, waiting for the others. First Vivians party, then Lauris. Afterwards came Alex's party, and finally Jan, Kevin, Peter, and Miranda. All jammed into Vivians RV, and shared their hugs. Before they knew it, they were in the tall treed forests of California.
"I feel like were in the middle of no-where," Peter commented.
Jan and Lauri shared a giggle.
"Isn't this common for you?" said Claire. "You live in the middle of nowhere."
"Yeah, isn't the only life-form in Canada Moose?" Michelle asked.
"Fuck off," Peter said, retreating into his seat.
"Were here" Vivian said, pulling into a rut in the road. Jan had ordered a transfer boat so that he would be able to ferry his Escalade Across the lake.
"Looks like it's there" he exclaimed, seeing a white spot in the distance.
"Where the fuck is he?" Vivian exclaimed, exasperated.
"Who?" Steven asked.
"Is he cute?" Kevin questioned.
Vivian rolled her eyes. "He's one of the help. They live on a smaller island rock off of ours. They help keep it clean n' stuff when were gone from it."
"Looks like he's here" Jane said, as a motorboat rolled in towards the edge of the water.
Standing on deck was a teenage boy with a Mexican-colored complexion. He didn't seem to speak English and seemed distant from the group as they loaded their backs.
"Introduce yourself" Vivian kindly gestured.
"Me llamo Mauro" he said in his thick accent.
"It means my name is Mauro," Vivian said, proud of her helper boy. "He's from Brazil. How exotic, riiiight?" she giggled.
"I can speak English you know" Mauro said. "I was just trying to be funny."
He looked at Claire, his gaze drifting towards her eyes.
"What?" she snapped at him
"Please come to Brazil."
The Motorboat pulled up to a large beach-like landing.
"Don't get your hopes up. Most of it's fake," she said, gesturing to the sandy shore. "We had to pay for this to be built. It was all rocks before," Vivian stated, feeling proud her family even had that money to spend in the first place. "It's a seven minute walk from here to the house. You fatties can make it"
Trekking through the forest, one could not help admiring the landscape. Vivian said that the entire island was naturally shaped and built like this, and everything around it was real when they had bought it. All they had to do was cut down some trees to make room for the house.
The trees were tall, mostly palm or fern trees. Pine trees littered the heights of the island. Birds and other animals were cheering and yipping away at the new guests. The air smelled fresh and clean, and the ground was moist with wood chips and sod. Branches littered the trail leading to the cabin. Vivian explained that they use a separate beach within the cabin. The boat drops them off at the opposite side of the island since the ground is too shallow on the separate beach, and would run aground.
The giant finished-wood Cabin loomed into view. It was a large structure, entirely made of dark brown wood (although Vivian stated that the wood was manufactured to have the dexterity of titanium.) In front of the Cabin was a long, tiled path, with two large torch-lanterns ushering you to follow it. At the peak of the stone steps, the breathtaking view was present.
The Cabin was settled overlooking the back of the lake. The sun reflected off of a large, wood tiled porch, placed on the left of the cabin. A fountain trickled in the center of the path, which presented a roundabout so one could follow the path. The front door was preceded by a set of torchlights and finished, wooden steps that shone brightly in the light. Vivian opened the front door.
"Welcome to Paradise," she smiled.
The front door lead into a wood paneled coatroom, the size of the average teenagers bedroom. A two-door closet was stationed to the left, and a wall-sized mirror was placed on the right. Upon opening the glass coatroom doors, one was led into the living room.
Indian-print rugs adorned the floors, and giant, wooden cabinets lined the walls. Modern, white and black furniture lined the room, including a couch large enough to fit six families. A large TV was stationed on the back wall. To the left of the TV was the door out to the back porch.
"Oh my fucking god," Michelle commented, breathless, looking out to the back. She pushed open the glass, French doors and ran out to the back. An infinity pool sat right behind the porch, which was lined with a chiminea, a grill, and multiple glass and black tables to seat large amounts of people. The infinity pool was a straight shot, jutting out of the cabin like a dagger. To the right of it was a set of stairs that led down to a beach, equipped with a set of kayaks and Jet Ski's.
Back in the house, a kitchen was stationed behind the living room, to the right of the room. The kitchen had large, glass paneled windows that looked out to the lake and the pool, and an island table made of pure marble. Lining the walls and marble counter-tops were appliances to the newest standard. A twenty-seven inch iMac sat on the corner, accompanied by an office chair. Two coffee makers were opposite each other on the side of the counters. A blender, a Keurig machine, and an icebox were with the other applications. A shining sink sat central facing the window, and plates and utensils sat in their respective cabinets.
"It's all Platinum" Vivian giggled, a smile crossing her face. She looked towards the wall. "Ahhh, this is where the fun begins" she exclaimed. Vivian pressed a panel on the wall, entered a four-digit security code, and the wall opened. A plethora of Alcohol sat inside – from wines to whiskeys, from vodkas to tequilas. Vivian pulled out a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, pouring a glass for everyone.
"Bottoms up, bitches" she said as they all clinked their glasses and poured the fresh drinks down their throats.
"This way" Vivian motioned.
Leading them back through the living room, heading down a long hallway, she led them into the master bedroom.
"This is my room. Unless I invite you in, please, stay out" she smiled.
"Your rooms are on the two floors upstairs. Two to a room, twelve rooms. They're all fitted with beds and furniture, along with a bathroom. You can fight over that stuff." Vivian said, motioning them upstairs.
The rooms were set up with two large bay windows, equipped with silk curtains. A computer sat in each room, and a desk held it up. A gigantic two-door closet held all clothes and underwear any of them had, and the bathroom was set to the left, fitted with mexicano tiles, granite countertops, a full sized mirror and a shower. The beds were queen sized, and set opposite to each other, the bay window between them. A lamp desk and a drawer stood next to the beds. A television sat up, opposite to the window. In front of the window was a large, white couch, facing the television.
"This is gonna be good," Lauri smiled, setting her stuff down next to Marks in the closet.
Claire and Michelle settled in together, arguing over who got to play their music first on the stereo.
"Lana goes first. She always comes first. In John 3:11 she is the patron saint that re-assembles the Jews to go to war! Lana always comes first," Michelle cried at Claire, her face flushing red, eyes buck wild.
Alex and Christine spent the next hour arguing over who got the bathroom first, per usual.
Kevin and Peter decided to bunk together. A putrid scent rose moments later.
"What the fuck is that?" shouted Peter, the odor becoming overwhelmingly disgusting.
"I stored some friend chicken under my bed. Hope you don't mind" Kevin shouted back.
Miranda decided that she wanted her own room, so she assembled herself in a hallway closet the size of the average kitchen. Mauro brought her a bed, and Vivian took some furniture from the living room and placed it upstairs.
Steven, Jan, and Jane took the last bedroom on the top floor. Vivian had Mauro deliver an extra bed for the room. This room was larger, with a higher ceiling, bigger bay windows, a fan, and more space. The furniture remained static, albeit Jane's bed, which sat in front of the bay window.
"Paradise, here I am" Jane mumbled, smiling at Jan and Steven.
After all of them had settled in, a loud knock came from the front door.
"I'll get it" shouted Mark.
"No you won't, dip-ass" Vivian yelled, running to the door. Four young women and a man, accompanied by Mauro, stood outside.
"Hey, get down here!" Vivian screeched. The hustling of footsteps could be heard, and all of the friends were arranged in the living room within a few minutes.
"I'd like you to meet the help. They live in a house down the way, probably about 5 minutes walk-time from here. They basically take care of the house and make sure everything's okay. I just wanted to introduce you all" Vivian said, smiling at the room. "Introduce yourselves" she gestured to the help.
"I'm Mauro, you know me already." Everyone said hi, and Claire grunted and rolled her eyes.
"I'm Nicole," said a tall blonde girl with a broad smile that resembled a model.
"She doesn't look like a member of the help," Steven whispered. Michelle smacked him on the arm.
"My names Gaby" said a tall, dark haired woman standing next to Mauro. She smiled at the group. Her red beanie that read "#teamdead" contrasted the dark porch behind her.
"I'm Mary!" sputtered a girl next to Nicole. She resembled a shorter version of the taller, model like girl standing next to her. She had long, straight blonde hair with tinges of brown at the roots, and smiled at the group, seeming friendly.
"I'm Sammi" said a girl around the same height as Mary. Her brown hair wisped next to her glasses, falling into curls around her neck. Peter went to give her a handshake.
"Cut the crap" she spat. "I have a boyfriend," she said as Peter's hand retreated.
"And I'm Broo Broo" said a tall, African-American man in to the very left of the group. He smiled, and his booming British voice rang through the house. He had an afro that was obviously a wig, or a weave. Nobody could tell. Kevin let out a tiny yelp of adoration.
"Broo Broo, what kind of ratchet name is that" mumbled Jane. Michelle giggled.
"Ratchet?" Broo Broo yelped at Jane. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean", he sniped, patting his weave.
"Annnyyyywayssss" Vivian commented, breaking the silence. "These guys are the help. If you need anything when they're around, ask them. If they're busy and working, don't bother them. My parents pay them to do their job and do it well," she stated, making sure the group was listening.
She ushered the help out of the house, with the group saying bye to them. Kevin breathed on the window and drew a heart with his hands matching Broo Broo's slowly fading figure.
Vivian ushered the group up to bed. Everyone was exhausted from the long trip, and eagerly awaiting to hop into his or her lush mattress. Vivian went into her room, the rest into theirs, and the lights were out within minutes.
Little did they know that tonight, one of them would die.
A figure rustled around Jan's Escalade, weaving in and out of the shadows. A wind whipped around the cabin, making all noises distorted and alien. The figure stepped on a branch, snapping it in two.
Claire shot out of bed, being awake for hours, unable to sleep.
"Did you hear that?" she whisper-talked in Michelle's direction. Michelle turned over.
"It's probably Lana, coming to take me to Paradise" said Michelle, obviously involved in a deep sleep dream.
"Go to sleep, assholes!" Vivian shouted from under them. Claire shrugged it off, receding back into her bed.
The figure wormed closer to the house, dodging branches and avoiding the stares of deer and raccoon. It reached the front steps. Pulling out a key, the figure unlatched the door. The activation of a key allowed the security system to recognize the figure as someone who should have access to the house, and let him in.
"Too easy" the figure whispered. He clenched his carving knife tightly, a roll of rope in the other hand. He inched closer and closer to the stairs leading to the bedrooms, not realizing Vivians room was right down stairs. He held a bobby pin in his mouth.
A door creaked open.
"Probably one of them getting a snack" Claire said as her muscles relaxed, falling into a deep slumber.