The Beast Across The Lake

Chapter 1

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*****

Isabella

Summer this year had gone by briskly. The leaves that littered pavement grounds and wet grass were no longer green but a happy pumpkin-coloured orange and autumn brown. They crunched under my rain boots as I made my way down the steps of my porch and to my driveway where my 1987 olive Jeep Cherokee was parked. It had been a birthday gift from my father this summer, and although it enacted strange noises and homed an unpleasant smell whenever it'd been running for too long, it was my first ever car and the feeling of liberty and independence that accompanied the gift was unmatched. My father hadn't told me where he'd gotten it from, but I wasn't too keen on finding out.
I unlocked the driver door and threw my backpack onto the passenger seat. I drove the key into the ignition in an attempt to start the car. The engine roared for mere seconds before going silent. I tried again, but had no luck in turning on the ancient vehicle. I tried for the third time, this time my flustered mother came running out of the house.

"What's the matter with you!" she was still dressed in a pair of white pajama shorts and a black bra," you woke me up!"

I rolled down the window which seemed to take ages," "I can't start the car again."

"Why are you even trying? I told you, this car won't last longer than a week!"

"Well, I can't just toss it out!"

"Get out, I'll do it!!" she burst down the steps and violently grabbed at the handle of the driver door.

"Can you calm down, you're going to break it," I mumbled, jumping off from my seat so she can replace it.
She huffed sarcastically," like there's any more damage that can be done to this piece of crap."

I rolled my eyes and watched as she pressed her foot on the gas while twisting the key. The engine roared again but died no more than twenty seconds later. She mumbled angrily under her breath and played around with the gear, before pressing down on the gas pedal again.
She twisted the key around and the vehicle erupted firstly with deep roars that turned into screeches that sounded like metal plates being rubbed against each other. The noise continued for a minute and then- boom- the car shook violently as my mother had successfully revived it back to life.

I could not help my smile of relief," thank god!"

"No, thank me," she jumped out of the car, tossing her short messy blond hair to one side.

"Thank you!" I yelped happily as I took my seat whilst she was hurrying inside and began to finally back out of the driveway.

Today marks the first day of my last year at Eastsound High. I had spent the entire summer plotting my life after high school, I hated to admit that at the end of the day, it all depended on whether my boyfriend, Holden,gets a football scholarship or not. I'd enroll in whatever university he gets into, this had been our plan for years. The chances of him getting a scholarship were high, this year he was promised the position as the team captain for the Eastsound High Marmots. I couldn't wait to get to school to see Holden, we'd spent the majority of the summer apart. Most summers, his parents take him away to spend time at their family cabin in Seattle and most summers I accompany him. This time, my father had fallen off the bandwagon again that is being sober and I had to be there to care for my chaotic mother. Most times I felt as if I were her parent. I hadn't seen my father since mid August when he'd shown up in the Jeep.