The City Lake

II

When Caleb texted to say that he would be busy, Jeremy sent back a frowning face and then offered to be the muscle, which was sweet, but he knew Jeremy should stay out of this. The mission was dangerous.

The mission was also gross. They had all brought their boots, mainly to look cool. That was a lucky break because the lakebed was far from empty. There was dead or dying plant life and fish, and the further they walked, the muddier it got. The stench was choking and the moving was difficult. Caleb had found a long stick by the original shoreline of the lake and used it to navigate through the mess.

The lake had been a substantial part of the outer city by size; they walked down the slope for at least fifteen minutes before Lucas spotted something other than rotting aquatic life.

"Look! It's water!" he shouted.

Noah and Caleb glared at him for making so much noise. They seemed to be alone and kept that way by the less than perfect conditions at the bottom of the lake, but they still could be careful about being spotted or heard.

Mud squelched beneath their boots as they went to investigate the remaining lake. The water was murky compared to its regular crystal shine and fish were packed into the water as thick as Jeremy's hair while their home disappeared around them; those poor fishes.

At the edge of the pond-sized lake, Caleb could see something sticking out in the middle. "What's that?"

Lucas lurched forward to check, dipping his toes in the water. "Ummm. Looks like a statue?"

"Must be cursed," Noah provided. They walked further along the new shoreline, eyes on the statue, while their friends stayed behind.

"Where are you going?" Lucas called after them.

"I'm trying to get a closer look!"

Caleb raised his eyebrows. "At something cursed? Is that such a good idea?"

"It's a great idea!" exclaimed Lucas, as he began to follow Noah. "We can't solve the problem if we don't know what it is. Do you think we'll have to destroy the thing? Or maybe we can sprinkle it in salt? Light it on fire! I hope someone brought matches!"

"Stone doesn't catch on fire," Caleb said, exasperated. It was just a statue, probably something so ugly it had to be dumped in the middle of the lake. He rolled his eyes and went to follow them anyway. Well, walking towards them was the idea.

A white being flew out of the statue, taking them by surprise. Caleb, already unsteady on his feet, slipped into the mud. The thing whizzed over his head and caught his friends in its grasp, levitating them in the air. It whisked around them like a small tornado-ball.

"HEEEEEEELP!" Lucas cried. "I'VE BEEN CAPTURED BY A GHOST! SOMEBODY SAVE ME!"

"So have I, but I'm not screaming," said Noah. They poked Lucas in the side. "We're the ones who are supposed to be saving everyone else.

"OW. That hurt!"

Noah pursed their lips. "So do my ears."

"Shut it," said the thing. Its voice was high-pitched and soft, yet threateningly calm. Caleb swallowed and pushed himself out of the mud with some trouble. He focused on swiping gunk off his clothes as he processed the white entity.

"What do you want?" he asked. Perhaps he could find its motive.

"Me? I want a lot of things," it said. "I want them to pay."

"For, uh, for threatening to destroy you, er, your statue?" Caleb stammered out.

It laughed, although it was more of an evil cackle. "No. That ugly thing is keeping me here, sadly. It can go."

"I can do it! Do you have matches?" Lucas asked. He scrunched up his brow and felt his face.

"Of course not, it's a ghost! Do ghosts need matches? No," Noah said. They had a similar reaction after talking and looked like they were trying to speak but couldn't.

The thing growled. "I told you not to talk."

Caleb began to retreat, unsure what he could do. He stepped as lightly as he could but the ghost saw him.

"Where's your backbone? Not going to save your friends? That's too bad," it said, floating closer to him. "I'll tell you what, go get some government people down here."

"Or what?"

Caleb got the impression the thing was smiling at him. "Or I'll kill you and your friends for trespassing. I'm sure someone will notice you're missing and come looking."

His mouth was dry and it wasn't from lack of water. He dug his stick into the mud. "I can't. No one can just go to the government."

"Disappointing."

Caleb felt himself being dragged over to his friends and he clutched his stick harder to resist, hoping the mud would hold. His captor felt it and paused in the paranormal tugging. Then it laughed, much friendlier this time.

"Smart," it said as it continued to chuckle. "A smart cookie, you are. A gold star!"

A shape was forming out of the tornado-ball, as if the ball was being sucked into the form of a woman. Lucas and Noah were dropped and they ran over to Caleb.

"Take your friends. I don't need them," she said, striding over to them. "But I need you. You're the one. I can teach you."

Caleb pointed to himself and she nodded like it was obvious. "Well, I do like learning," he said nervously. "But uh, I have another shift at work. I could come back tomorrow?"

"Ah, to be alive and dependent on money. Now those were the days," said the ghost. "You can go. But know that I can come find you and, I don't know, jumble up your insides if you don't come back."

To demonstrate, she stuck her hands into Noah and Lucas like it was nothing and waved her arms around. "So, come back or I'll sacrifice you for my cause."

Caleb quickly agreed and backed up to his friends. Lucas grabbed his arm and tugged him along. Noah took his other arm and picked up the pace until they were all running back up the hill and out of the lake.

He risked a glance over his shoulder and saw the ghost with her arms crossed, watching him go. Oh, fudge. Ghosts were real, and one just tried to kill him.