Part I - 1

Byron Matthews didn't know what to expect from the girl. 

His experience with prisoners was, besides those that he saw on television, pretty much nil. He had never hung out with the crowd that found themselves incarcerated, and while most families had the uncle or cousin that was always in trouble, it seemed his was the exception. Still, when he first laid eyes on Janice, he was surprised.

She looked every ounce the privileged rich girl that she was, tall and blonde, with the clearest skin money could buy. Something in the way she moved and held herself even made the orange jumpsuit look good, like the work of some avant-garde fashion designer from Paris. The hardness that he assumed all inmates eventually obtained had touched her but it didn't erase the years of private school and privilege; instead, it seemed to almost enhance them, giving credence to the nonchalant disinterest that so many young girls wore like a cloak. Byron found himself impressed in spite of himself. 

As one of the guards left the room, the other took position by the door, leaning back against the wall and trying to look unobtrusive.

“You the guy writing the book?” the girl asked. A hundred days of happy childhood hid behind the icy toughness of her voice, which perfectly matched the blue of her eyes.

“I hope to be, yes,” he responded with a soft smile. Byron was an unassuming man of moderate height and build, with short brown hair, and the sort of man people often forgot moments after meeting. He often used these things to his advantage during interviews and hoped this time would be no different.

“I didn't kill them,” she stated bluntly. It was clear that she said those words so many times that they had lost their meaning and became a simple prayer spoken repeatedly with little conviction. 

“Well, that’s why I'm here. I want to hear your story, not the one the news cycle put out there.”

The girl was silent for a moment, her eyelashes fluttering rapidly. Finally, after a few deep breaths, she spoke. 

“You'll think I'm crazy. Everyone does.”

“That remains to be seen.”

“Some people even think I shouldn't be here. That I should be over in Bellevue or somewhere.” Bellevue was a nearby hospital which is a well-known mental health facility.

“And what do you think?” Byron asked. 

“If I killed my friends, I should be here.” she answered, her voice calm, practiced. 

“But you just told me you didn't.”

She nodded silently. At that moment she looked younger than her nineteen-year-old self, almost like a literal child. Byron felt a stirring of pity grow in his heart.

“How about you tell me your story, and then we'll see what happens.” Byron said, pulling a tape recorder from his pocket and placing it on the table that rested between them. “Do you mind if I record your story, for research purposes?”

“No,” Janice uttered hesitantly, “I don't mind.” And then, “I don't know where to start.”

“How about you just start talking and let's see what happens. I brought several tapes, and can just fast forward through anything I don't need. Sometimes it's easier if you just talk and allow the words to flow.”

“Alright,” she mused while reclining in the chair. “I'll try.”

“Before we begin, can I get your name, for the record?”

She gave a nod and began— “My name's Janice Rosse.”

***

“I guess it all started with that damn House, but I don't wanna talk about that right now. If you're really going to write a book about us, not just about what happened, but about us, then I should talk about how we were before. 

We were beautiful, you know, young, rich and without a care in the world. Some of us were going to go off to college when that last summer ended, some of us had jobs waiting with Mommy or Daddy's company, and some of us, like me, were content to just drift around, enjoying life until something made us stop, made us pay attention to the world beyond ourselves. 

Well, I guess that happened...

Anyway...when I think about us, I always think of us in cars. We spent a lot of time in them, the sort that most people probably dream of driving; going to one place or another. Usually another concert or the latest club opening or something else to distract us and make us a little less bored with the world. 

I thought about it a lot when we were driving to the House. 

Kelly was driving that night, and since the driver picked the music, we were listening to The Ink Spots. She loved all that old stuff, R&B, jazz, blues, anything that sounded like a rainy Chicago night in an old movie. Had I been driving it would have been electronic stuff, techno or industrial, but I didn't mind hearing Kelly's stuff either. 

I like music a lot, you know. 

All kinds.

Anyway...we were driving to the House, listening to some guy sing about swallows coming back to somewhere, funny how I remember that, huh? Anyway, I think it was the last time any of us were happy, the last time that any of us weren't afraid. 

'I hope this place is cool.' Kelly said from behind the wheel. She had been putting her short hair in tiny pigtails lately, and they bounced along with the music as she drove. 

'It's gonna be.' Lacey voiced from the passenger seat. 'It was created by Emily Diamond.'

Lacey was the nerd of the group, but didn't look like what you'd think. She was as fashionable and pretty as the rest of us. She did wear glasses, but always had the best frames, the ones that enhanced her fox-like face more than detracting from it. 

'I never read anything by her.' I remarked.

'She's a bit like Kelly Link, or Caitlin R Kiernan.' Lacey answered, turning back to look at me. 

'Just as weird, but not quite as good.' Julia said, from where she was sitting beside me. Julia was the punk/artsy friend, and, unlike Lacey, she looked exactly like you'd expect. Right down to the dyed pixie cut. 

'I never read them either.' I admitted. Though I did read some Caitlin Kiernan later on, something about messed up kids in Alabama and angels and spider creatures. It was good, but Julia was right, it was weird as hell. 

'She might not be as good.' Kelly said. 'But she is awesome at setting a scene, making you feel like you are right there with her characters. I bet this place is going to be amazing just because of that.'

'Wonder if it's going to be like that other place we went to. The hotel...' Lacey pondered. 

'With the masks and the dancing?' Julia asked excitedly. 'I liked that place!'

'I don't think it's going to be like that place. It’s supposed to be really scary. At least it looked very scary on the website.' Kelly informed after a moment's reflection.

'Sweet.' I said, resting my head against my seat and closing my eyes, letting the music and the hum of the road wash over me.”