"They were being picked off one by one. They were like little ants under a teenager's microscope. They had nowhere to run, and there certainly wasn't any place to hide. It was like the killer was omnipresent. What's even worse is that they didn't even know there was a killer until the sixth person was already dead. They were trapped and fooled, and they didn't even know it."
Ke$ha had taken little time to examine her surroundings during her interview. The walls were made of a thick, greyish, blocky substance – she assumed it was clay. The table that separated her and Mike was black, with silver stands, and reflected the light from the single bulb above them. It was dim, but she could see well enough to make out Mike's facial expressions, most of which remained static during the interview.
'Why didn't any of them question the fact that they're friends were dropping like flies?" he questioned, looking up from his paper to face her.
"They just all assumed they had run away. They were so stupid. Even after they found-" she stammered.
"Found what?"
Jane went through the house at precisely nine-o'clock in the morning, waking everybody up.
"Sammie's missing" she whispered to Vivian. Vivian rose, rubbing her eyelids and face. A look of concern immediately shot to her face and her cheery morning smile faded. Her blonde hair was tangled and messy, running along the length of her face. Her grey V-neck collected some of the hair inside of itself, pressing it against her body. Her black eye makeup from the night before was smeared, and her light pink lipstick had faded.
"What the fuck do you mean?" Vivian mumbled, rolling over.
"I mean Sammie's missing. Get your lazy ass out of bed" Jane said, pushing Vivian's body to the edge of the bed. Vivian lost her balance, landing on the finished hardwood floor with a loud 'thump'
Jane continued making the rounds. She found Miranda sleeping on the stairwell and kicked her. Miranda grunted, drool spilling out of her mouth. She continued through the house, waking up every individual room. She walked into Claire's room, Michelle nowhere to be found.
"Where's Michelle?" Jane questioned. Claire gave her a sassy, half-assed 'I don't know.'
Michelle's voice came cooing from the rafters. She was supporting herself with the bed-sheets, tying them around the wooden beams to lift her.
"I was in the winter of my life, and the men I met along the road were my only summer." She said, her brown hair curling around her face. "At night I fell asleep with visions of myself, dancing and laughing and crying with them.Three years down the line of being on an endless world tour, and my memories of them were the only things that sustained me, and my only real happy times. I was a singer - not a very popular one,I once had a dreams of becoming a beautiful poet, but upon an unfortunate series of events some of those dreams dashed and divided like a million stars in the night sky that I wished on over and over again, sparkling and broken," her voice cooed.
"Get down here" Jane sighed, motioning for Michelle to come towards her. The bed sheets loosened and she descended to the ground, her toes landing first in a graceful landing.
"She's insane, if you haven't noticed" Claire whispered, stroking her Sky Ferreira pillow.
Lauri and Mark were the first downstairs. Both voiced genuine concern for the disappearance of Sammie, but Lauri insisted that it was coincidental and she probably just fell asleep in the woods.
"We said the same thing about Kevin" Mark said. Lauri looked down at her bowl of cereal. She was surprised Kevin hadn't even given them a moment's notice as to where he was or where he was going. It almost seems as if he had vanished completely from the face of the island.
"Jan, pull up the escalade" Jane yelled; giving the room of feeling of Déjà vu from the day Kevin disappeared. Jane gathered everyone together and shuffled him or her into search groups. Jan drove with Claire, Steven, and Vivian, rushing to the helps house. Broo Broo manned the golf cart the second time, taking Mauro and Gaby with him. Mary and Nicole hopped into the car.
"I'm really worried" Claire said, Nicole co-signed, sharing her sentiment. The car ride was silent until Mary broke the ice surrounding everyone's tongues.
"What if they're dead?" she asked.
Jan slammed on the brakes, and Claire lurched forward, narrowly missing the dashboard. Nicole flew into Vivian, hitting her in the ribs. Steven flew into Mary's seat, pushing her into Jan's back, his seat pressing his body to the horn.
"Why the FUCK would you say that" Steven yelled at her.
"I don't know. I'm scared. We've never had any problems working here all year and then two people go missing in the span of two days. Sammie was one of my best friends and she just disappeared like that," she said, snapping her fingers on the word 'that'. Tears began flowing from her eyes while Vivian and Nicole comforted her. Claire gave Steven a look of apathy while Jan put the car back into gear.
They nearly turned the island inside out. They searched every tree, every bush, every pond or burrow. They searched the beach, and the pool. Every rock was upturned, while Miranda complained, yelling 'She isn't Patrick.'
All had returned to the four-story cabin-manor.
"We have a lot of ground to cover" Vivian said, using her hands to emphasize how large the house really was. "Steven, you and Claire go check the basement," she shouted, leading everyone else in different directions.
The basement was large and flat. Vivian's parents had decided against building a finished basement due to the fact that if there were ever too much rain, the lake water would flood the entire basement and cause the house to begin rotting. Aside of some metal beams, the basement was a division of a bunch of cubicles. Each cubicle housed a different set of switches and power lines, each leading to separate utilities. The basement, due to the house being so large, was nicknamed 'the maze' by Steven. Anyone could be hiding down there, and anything could be living there.
"This place is huge," he said, his voice echoing off of the walls. "We need to split up."
"No we don't" Claire said, folding her arms. A chill went up her spine.
"Yes we do. If we want to get the hell out of here, we need to work, and work fast." Steven walked away, searching each cubicle. Claire followed suit. There were probably sixty-something cubicles, covering a vast, empty space.
Steven was examining the boiler room. A figure darted behind him, his tiptoe steps clacking against the linoleum.
"Hello?" Steven shouted.
"What is it?" Claire yelled from what seemed like a mile away, her voice echoing off of the walls.
"Never mind" he shouted again.
The two finished their work and began making their way towards the steps. A shuffling sound came from behind them.
"What the fuck was that" Claire gulped. A shadow rushed by them and she screamed.
"Move" Steven said sternly, his green eyes widening. "MOVE" he shouted even louder, his tanned fingers pushing Claire's statue-frozen body into motion. He had known Claire for over two years, and protecting her was at the top of his priority list. Her brown, straight hair bounced and flailed as they ran. The figure came closer and closer, brushing past Claire's leg as she yelped.
They made it upstairs, gasping for breath. Claire was shivering, and began to cry. Steven held her tightly, stroking her back, breathing heavily. Steven shouted for help, and everyone assembled near the basement, the large hallways accommodating the horde of bodies.
"What the fuck happened" Peter yelled, pushing through the crowd.
"Someone was down there! Someone… Someone was chasing us!" Claire shouted. The group gasped in disbelief. Mary's eyes widened, her prediction beginning to take form in front of her very eyes.
"Oh, cut the crap" Jane shouted from the back. She had been to this cabin time and time again, and new well enough what had happened.
"You said it brushed against your leg?" she asked. Claire nodded quickly, her blue eyes bouncing up and down.
"No serial killer, pedophile, or homeless man rubs someone's leg while they're running. They grab legs, not pet them. It was an animal, probably a raccoon or a big rat," Jane stated, looking around the room. Gaby let out an awkward giggle.
"Maybe Jane's right. You don't just rub up on someone while you're running" Gaby shrugged. The faces in the room turned for horror stricken to relaxed. Everyone concurred with Gaby and Jane's sentiments, becoming calmer with the notion that some creep wasn't living in their basement.
"I know what I saw!" Claire shouted, her face red with anxiety.
"We couldn't see anything," Steven said, ushering Claire to agree with the group. She reluctantly admitted her mistake, and the group returned to scouring the house.
After hours of searching, they gave up.
"Look," Nicole said, drawing the group's attention. "Sammie never liked this job, she never liked anyone here, and she hated doing her work. She probably saw that Kevin ran away and took it as an incentive to leave."
The group nodded along, following her story and examining her details. They all came to a similar conclusion.
"Nobody is dead and that's a fact," Vivian said. "Stop trying to ruin this trip. I'm going to get on a jet ski and enjoy myself. Who's in?" Vivian questioned, shaking her hips from side to side.
Everyone in the group put their swimsuits on, heading out back.
The stretch of land known as "the beach" sat behind the house, underneath the infinity pool, slightly forward. The sand was artificial and the rocks constructed specifically for the area. It looked like something out of a 'Town & Home' article. Jet skis and kayaks lined the watershed to the right of the beach. A motorboat floated, parked near an artificial dock. The sun was high in the sky, it's beams radiating off of the surface of the lake. The water twinkled while the lake remained clear and pristine.
Steven and Jan had decided to go kayaking with Lauri and Miranda. Their paddles cut through the glistening water, making ripples as they moved along.
"It's so beautiful," Lauri murmured, staring out into the distance.
Michelle was sunbathing on the shoreline.
"Pretty, isn't it?" Peter said aloud.
"Don't bother me" she said, her heart shaped glasses refracting the sunlight. "I need to get my skin to the right pigment and pucker my lips the right way so they crinkle into the exact shape of Lana's."
Vivian, Mark, Claire, and Jane were gossiping over afternoon martinis, the pink glasses clinking as they relaxed outside of the baby blue pool. Mauro fanned the three as they giggled.
"Fan faster" Claire demanded. When his face appeared confused, she shouted "Más rápido, usted babuino." Vivian let out a chortle.
Nicole, Broo Broo, Gaby, and Mary were swimming in the pool, splashing and dancing along with the water; it's rippling motions tracing their bodies. Mary shoved Broo Broo under the bubbles.
"My weave!" he screeched, jumping out of the water.
Claire had decided to go swimming in the lake. She saw Jan, Lauri, Steven, and Miranda kayaking in the distance. She gave them a wave. Her sleek figure cut through the water as she paddled out into a deeper region.
"There's no animals in the lake, right?" Claire questioned.
"Nah. My parents had it chemically bombed so no life forms other than plants could exist.
Claires body relaxed, her arms pulsing through the depths. This was her time to relax and to unwind. She let her body rise to the surface, thinking about all that her and her friends had planned out for their getaway. This was her own personal paradise, her own mental island. She traced the water with her fingers, letting it drizzle in and out of her hands. She began to swim again, her arms wind milling through the water; her legs paddling through the lake.
She stopped for a moment, treading water. Her toes kicked at the bottom of the lake. Without realizing it, her foot had caught itself in something.
After her short tread, she went to swim back to the beach to join her friends. Lauri and the kayaking group had returned, and she was the only one still in the water. Her leg caught whatever had latched on to her, and she screamed.
"What is it?" Michelle shouted from the shoreline. The group all stood up, and Vivian and Jane rushed down from the porch.
"Something's got me!" Claire yelped. She was still able to swim, but the object tied around her foot made it considerable hard.
"I can make it" she yelled from the lake, breathing heavily with every kick of her leg and pull of her arm.
When she made it to the edge of the water, Jan grabbed her arms, using his strength to tug her out of the water. A rope had caught her foot.
"My parents must have accidentally left that there during construction" Vivian said, concern crossing her face. Jan tugged at the rope, and Alex helped him heave.
"Whatever's at the end of this" he huffed "is heavy."
Alex and him gave it one final tug. What appeared out of the water sent a chill up Alex's spine.
Claire reeled back, her face draining of all color. Michelle ran to the rocks, vomiting. Mary's eyes rolled up her eyelids and she fell over, fainting from shock. Vivian gasped, her heart beating at the pace of a cheetahs and whispered "no." Nicole grabbed Broo Broo, who was frozen like a statue. Alex audibly gulped, his throat going dry. Peter sat down on the ground, cupping his hands over his head, and began to cry. Steven turned away, his brain not comprehending the image in front of him. Jane hugged Lauri and started to sob, while Lauri covered her eyes. Mark yelped, unable to scream. Jan fell backwards, his mouth dropped completely open at what he saw. Miranda grabbed Gaby's arm; Gaby mouthing, "this isn't real."
Kevin's body lay in front of them. A noose had been tied around his neck, and his body was partly decomposed, the soaking wet water turning his skin a dark blue.
"He…he…he…killed himself"
The killer's plan had worked. Not only did the group think Kevin had killed himself, they also didn't see the stab wounds. The group was too terrified to touch the body, and the blood had washed out the stains on his shirt. The only way for someone to find the wounds would be to remove his clothes, something none of them were willing to do. Jane had determined that he had tried hanging himself from the edge of the infinity pool, only to fail, tumbling down into the rocks, breaking his neck.
The killer watched the friend's cry and scream. The plan was put in motion. The figure ran its blade around a tree, tracing it's bumps, before heading back into the woods.