There was something eerie about that lake.
No life could be found upon glimpsing under the calm surface; no seaweed, no small fish trying to evade the waves her legs awakened as she kicked the water to float above a bottomless pit of darkness.
Her heart jumped inside its cage as irrational fear numbed her senses for a fleeting moment. Somehow, the warning words of Mrs. Houston held more power now that water embraced her body.
A sense of sadism was painting disturbing thoughts in her mind, using paranoia as its favourite brush.
Coming up for air, Lynn sighed and glanced at the distant house.
"It looks different from here," commented Oliver in a quiet voice as he stopped next to her. "Darker."
That was the word.
Perhaps it was the cloud hanging above the old structure; perhaps, the shadows of the trees as they danced to the rhythm of a solitary breeze. Lynn couldn't be certain, but she could've sworn the house swayed and pulsated — alive, with a mind of its own.
She blinked, and the illusion broke. Yet the shadows of the trees kept gliding across the stony façade, like hungry fingers in desperate search of something to hold on to.
"Almost feels like it's watching us," she murmured before taking her eyes off, not wishing to keep designing a face upon its rough skin. But those wide windows continued staring at her, like a predator ready to pounce on its callow prey.
Oliver glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "I never had the chance to ask, by the way. How's your mother?"
Lynn scoffed in response. "Stubborn as always; she keeps refusing to get an appointment with a psychologist. She's spending more time with my aunt, though — which is nice. I think she's finally allowing herself to move on."
She's stopped crying, she added mentally.
Oliver hummed in understanding and placed a hand over her wet shoulder. "I'm glad to hear that."
Her lips twitched ever so slightly.
"It's been five years, Ol. But some wounds never truly heal."
"You know I'm always here if you need someone to lean on," he affirmed.
His boundless kindness never failed to touch her, to make her feel better no matter the situation. Taking a deep breath, Lynn swivelled to send him a grateful smile.
Her expression froze.
There was no one behind her; not Oliver, not any of her other friends. The waters were calm, softly whispering to her paralyzed body. She waited, counting the seconds as they ticked by. But no sound pierced the deafening silence; her mind buzzed with questions as she found herself alone.
Panic struck like lightning, cutting across her lungs and leaving her gasping for breath. Spinning in circles, she allowed desperation to tear a shout from her. But her voice was swallowed by a haunted wind which blew from every direction. Forcing her legs to kick harder, Lynn flapped her arms beneath the wild waters in a frantic attempt to win a battle against the growing waves.
"Lynn!"
Twirling, she searched her surroundings for Oliver. Her eyes met his wide ones, and the fright swimming in them pushed her to put aside her own fear to assist him. But a wall of water blocked her path and sent her whirling under its oppressive power. Water invaded her nose as her body was forced into a merciless sequence of somersaults.
At some point, she became lost like tears in the rain. The jaws of the lake opened to swallow her in, sinking its teeth into her ragged body to shake her wildly as dark dots started filling her vision. Her lungs burned with lack of oxygen as her energy was sucked out of her, claimed by the unnatural force that was playing with her.
And just like it had started, the storm dissipated.
As the fangs let go of her, Lynn glanced around weakly. A dark cloud of smoke floated before her; it was thick, laden with menacing mysteries never unfolded. Her survival instincts screamed for her to get away, but her legs refused to respond as exhaustion gripped her sore muscles.
A sense of hopeless stabbed her pounding heart as an image of her sinking, lifeless body flashed before her glazed eyes. Was that really the end of the line?
No, she thought with a voice that grew stronger as her will to survive took the wheel. Lynn had things to do, people to meet and places to visit. Having experienced the pain of losing someone close to her, Lynn wasn't about to give up and let some waves carry her away. She didn't wish for anyone to be torn apart like she had. Mum doesn't need that; she's suffered enough.
She shook her head and narrowed her eyes upon the waving cloud of blackness, as if she was sending a clear message.
I won't go down so easily.
Finding the strength she thought she had lost in the fight against nature, Lynn kicked her legs and started swimming towards the remote surface. Her muscles were on fire, crying in agony as she begged them not to fail her. But the water surrounding her kept demanding her life and the air she didn't have. She felt its terrifying conscience seeping into her bones with a deciphered message that made her blood run cold.
It wanted her soul, for her to reach the hungry bottom so it could eagerly sink its teeth into her body and claim the discarded leftovers.
The fear in her heart was so intense she could hear it beating around her... or was it the lake she was feeling, thrumming with delight as it fed from her terror?
Lynn reached the surface, breaking through with a gasp and a cough. But she was only allowed a second to breathe.
Something grabbed her ankle and dragged her back under.
Thrashing about, Lynn looked down and felt the air leaving her lungs in a go as a drowned scream tore from her. Black fingers curled around her leg, slithering upwards and scratching her skin with sharp claws. Terror filled her and she tried to kick at the expanding darkness, but her foot cut through the fog. It swayed in front of her, watching her desperation grow as she shook her trapped leg to no avail.
The thin fingers crawled towards her face, slowly engulfing her body. She choked, unable to breathe in the suffocating, black waters.
And suddenly, something slammed into her stomach and her body was flung towards the surface. A grey sky welcomed her as she crossed the cold air, before Lynn crashed back into the lake.
This time, however, she didn't sink. As she lay sprawled over the haunted waters, she became aware of the ice holding her beat-up body and digging into her bruised stomach. A cough ripped from her, and she winced; her sore throat refused to let the freezing air in, yet she swallowed it.
The pain meant she was alive.
So she welcomed it as needles of air stabbed her burning lungs. She was breathing; she was alive. A trail of saliva slipped down the corner of her mouth, and she wiped it off with trembling fingers. Pushing through her agony, she rolled on her side and lay in her exhaustion until the sweat on her skin dried off and her body was shaking with cold.
Realization crashed upon her the moment she regained her breath, and Lynn paused. Why was the lake covered in ice? Her arms and her legs trembled, weakened after struggling for so long, but she pushed against the frozen water to sit up. Her hazel gaze caught a shadow swimming underneath, but the distant caws of a solitaire crow averted her attention and she lifted her head.
A leaden sky returned her confused stare.
Is that snow?
A white blanket concealed the grass and covered the trees behind her. Lynn shivered, as if the cold atmosphere had reminded her of the lack of clothes protecting her wet skin. She was disoriented, and a heavy feeling had sat in her stomach. Confusion numbed her senses, but a glimpse at what lay before her made her strength abandon her body.
Four shapes lying on the ice. Four bodies.
Her friends.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she crawled over, sliding across the slippery surface to reach their unmoving forms. She reached the soaked shell of Oliver, and a whimper escaped her as she received the empty stare in his usually-kind eyes. Her stomach churned and clenched, her voice broke as she called for her dead friend.
Her lower lip quivered as a wave of anguish made her slouch into an invisible prison whose suffocating walls closed in on her. Clouded thoughts filled her head, yet her eyes were clear of any confusion as they glanced from face to face and from death to death. She fell on her butt, head in her hands as the world watched.
Cascades of salty water slid down her face, freezing upon crashing on her bent knees. What little energy she had left in a shaky breath; her body rocketed back and forth, moved by a ruthless gust of wind.
Nothing made sense to her, but it mattered not anyway.
They were dead — all of them.
As her eyes drifted to meet the frozen expression of terror on Dana's face, a sudden urge to empty her stomach assaulted her. And so she did — twice — as her tears flooded her vision. Her emotions screamed at her, her heart thumped wildly as her soul attempted to grab a hold of them to no avail. They got lost in an exhausting battle, thrashing and kicking until it was silent — until she was filled with emptiness.
Before consciousness faded from her mind, a ray of light made a path on the ice next to her. Lynn glanced down with her unfocused gaze, following it along the thick surface to find the source at the other side of the lake.
The inside of the house was dark, except for one room.
The third floor was illuminated, and standing by the window, a tall figure was watching her.
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Word count: 1.706
Total count: 9.405 (second milestone reached!)