I swat away pesky flies circling the beads of sweat on my forehead. The heat emanates from the pavement in waves as the 6 of us step off the bus in Dayview. It's the type of hot in Idaho that makes you feel like a crab at a seafood boil. For the first time already, I wish we'd come during the springtime instead of the middle of summer.

"It's hotter than the devil's ass out here," Jonah gasps as he yanks his suitcase off of the bus.
"No shit, Sherlock, it's July," Isa snorts.

Upon closer inspection, Dayview appears to be a ghost town. Ancient shops with vines growing up the sides of chipped, splintered wood crowd along a cracked, dirt road. There's an abandoned fountain in the middle of the town square, that now looks like a pond. In this town, even the tumbleweeds appear melancholic and frail.

The only sound is a single flag smacking against a shop window. There's not a single person in sight, just a few empty cars and seemingly vacant buildings.

"Well, this is depressing," Zain mutters. His girlfriend Ally places a hand on his arm. She looks at the town in horror as if thinking we're not in Kansas anymore. It's only when I attempt to order Ubers to our lake house Airbnb that I realize there is zero reception. I'm not sure there would be a single Uber driver around here anyways.

"Looks like we're walking. It's only a few miles up the road," I say, trying to sound cheerful while dying for a cold shower and a frosty glass of ice water.

"A few miles? In this heat? You're tripping," Xavier whines. Not for the first time, I remember that my best friend was raised like a prince in a palace, never having to lift a finger for a single thing.

"Then you'll still be standing out here in the heat by the time I get there," I answer with an eye roll. I turn my back on them and begin walking in the direction of the lake house.

My friends reluctantly follow in my footsteps, leaving Xavier to wallow in self-pity. He crosses his arms like a toddler and looks around in helpless frustration. In 3...2...1.

"Fine, but if I faint and die, everyone blame it on Elettra."

After an hour in the heat, we're gasping for breath. Between all of us, our sweat could overflow the lake. I'm just about to check the Uber app again, when we finally see what I recognize from the pictures to be the lake house.

It's prehistoric and secluded in the woods. The chipped paint needs a touch up and the front yard hasn't been managed in who even knows how long, but there's an alluring quality to it. Lovely window seats, lined with wispy white curtains. The turrets on the roof peek out from above the trees, making it look like a decrepit castle. 

"I feel like I've been catfished," Jonah jokes. Isa smacks him on the arm, holding back a laugh. "It looks just like the pictures, come on let's make the best of it," she says.

The inside of the house exceeds my expectations. A crystal chandelier with wine colored tear drops hangs opulently in the entryway and two lavish staircases wind up to meet on the second floor. Right away, all I see is red. Everything from the carpets, to the chandelier, to the peeling wallpaper is reminiscent of the vampire's castle from the movies I'd watch as a kid.

It doesn't look like your typical lake house, more gothic than you'd expect, but that makes me instantly feel at home. My jock friends do not feel the same sentiment. They peer around at the eccentric decor with disdain evident on each of their faces.

"This trip is already feeling like something from a horror movie, we should've just gone with my idea and went to Vegas," Xavier complains with a bemused tone of voice.

"We're here to party and get drunk, I think it's good enough," Isa says, taking me by surprise.

"Well, I'm going to check out the rooms just to make sure there's no one in a mask with a chainsaw hanging around," Jonah announces before taking the stairs two at a time, his suitcase thumping behind him.

"I call dibs on the biggest room to share with Ally!" Zain chases after him, climbing the stairs two at a time.

"I need a bath. If I scream, just know there's probably a cockroach in the tub," Xavier says before leaving the 3 girls alone in the foyer.

I decide now is the time to get familiarized with the house to avoid getting lost while drunk. Sconces line the never-ending hallways, leading into one sitting room after the other. Each sitting room is a different shade of red. I stop when I get to one room with peach colored wallpaper. It feels softer, more feminine than the rest of the house somehow.

I notice an antique record player and decide to put a record on to see if it still works. The music sputters a bit at first but then starts playing an old country toon, something about a man and his dog.

The music begins to crackle again, and just when I'm about to shut it off, a gravelly voice comes through the static. At first, it's unintelligible but then I can make out a woman's voice. "If you don't leave soon, you will meet your grave."

I feel a wave of confusion rush through my body, although I'm not sure what I've just heard. Could it have skipped to a different song by accident?  I quickly shut off the record player and practically dart out of the room like a rabbit running from a serpent. I don't tell the others about the voice, half out of fear they'll call me crazy and half because I want to forget about it.

Little do I know, I'll later regret keeping it to myself.