Friday the 13th: Lost Lake

❦ Chapter 1 • A Place Nobody Knows ❦

Claire leaned over the counter of her shop in Argyle, her dark brown- almost black- eyes reading the newspaper article over and over again. A random forest fire had spread the previous night, and since her neighborhood was in the massive wildfire's crosshairs, she and her neighbors were forced to evacuate. That night, all of their homes were burned to the ground. Her home and most of her belongings were lost forever. All she had was her German shepherd dog, Stryker, and a couple bags of luggage and supplies she could pack and take with her.

She gave her loyal canine a small half-smile, unsure where to go from here. Claire had few savings since her meat shop didn't exactly make a lot. It was enough to cover bills and afford a decent house, but she scarcely had extra savings, and when she did they mostly went towards emergencies. So far, Claire had decided to stay in her shop temporarily until she could afford to find other arrangements. When she found the bastard responsible for this, they were going to pay.

Claire shook her head and put the newspaper in one of the counter drawers as soon as her clock hit seven in the morning before walking to the door and flipping the open and closed sign that hung on one side of the glass windows, signaling to her customers that the shop was open. She flicked on the lights to her displays of various meats, most being the typical selection of beef, pork, and chicken cuts. Claire also sold other meats as well, though in smaller quantities since they weren't big seller items. She learned to have a respect for the winter months as it brought venison sales to her shop from hunters sparing her extra deer parts their families wouldn't be able to freeze or eat before it went bad. In their words, it was their way of giving back to the community to those who were too old or "too pussy to shoot an animal". She also sold fish, most from fishermen but occasionally Claire added her own catches to her stock whenever she felt like fishing.

After her store was ready for the day, Claire would casually read a book with Stryker laying contently at her feet. Yet, not even a tale of adventure and forbidden romance could take Claire's mind off the loss of her home and most of her belongings. Insurance would never cover the various heirlooms passed down from each generation. Plus, a handful of young adults had disappeared, and only two bodies so far had been discovered. She heard several theories around town; some say it was robbery gone wrong, some claimed it was premeditated murder and the fire was either an accident or was set to cover up the crimes. Or, there were multiple arsonists involved and a couple ended up burning in their own pyres.

The bell above her shop door rang, snapping Claire out of her train of thought as she raised her dark brown eyes to the front door as a small elderly woman entered. Claire recognized her as Mrs. Cooper, who hadn't quite been the same ever since her husband's sudden death from cancer. The sweet but paranoid lady was kind enough, and if Mrs. Cooper truly was a shell of her former self, Claire wondered what she used to be like.

The elderly lady would browse the shop's selection of dog treats for her pomeranian, her dull eyes squinting as if she needed help.

"I had some extra chicken feet and pig ears if Snowball wants any," Claire offered with a small smile. "The chickens and pigs were dropped off yesterday and I butchered them in the afternoon, and they're still plenty fresh."

Mrs. Cooper nodded slowly, inspecting the items Claire had pointed out. She smiled slightly, turning her gaze awkwardly to Claire.

"Your home… your home was burned down last night, was it not?" Mrs. Cooper asked casually, the random question catching Claire off guard.

"Er… yes, it was. Sadly…" Claire scratched the back of her neck. "At least I still have… all this." She gestured to her shop, earning a slight chuckle from the elderly woman as she pushed back a couple curls of snow white hair.