The Blood Lake

The night was cold which was a relief from the mid-July heat but unsettling at the same time. The scene was chilling, like a shot from a horror film frozen in time. A lake house, an innocent log lake house hidden behind trees in a territory that's rumored to be trouble. Dellah and her friends, Marcus and Amelia (Mel) are all piling out of Marcus's old hand-me-down rust bucket of a van when they start to take in their surroundings. A lake, a cabin, and trees, nothing but trees. "Gross!! There are mosquitos EVERYWHERE " Amelia exclaimed with horror. "Oh shut it", Marcus replied smugly, teasing her for her bratty tendencies. "Personally I think it's charming" I responded, trying to lighten the mood. That seems to be my only response when faced with their bickering. "Enough chit chat let's go scope this place out, Dellah follow me", Amelia says suddenly giddy. Which is quite a jump from the disgust she displayed earlier

We start to branch off to our earlier determined sleeping arrangements Mel and I share the room with two ragged cots and Marcus by himself in the master suite, if you can even call it that. The cabin is run down and warmed by a wood stove, so it's cold at the time of arrival. We gather in the living room after settling in to watch Marcus load the logs into the wood stove "Soooo ladies, did you hear about the ghost" Marcus states teasingly. "Umm actually I heard It was some dude with a chainsaw like the one in Texas" Mel states beaming with pride. She just loves to be right, especially since they argue All the time. They joke that in our friend group, I'm the glue, like some bridge that closes the divide between them. I'm the extinguisher of the fuse that could cause an explosion between them. They will need me more than ever on this trip. " Let's go outside," I say, trying to prevent an argument.

We all sit around a fire by the lake doing the usual teenage activities of the woods, laughing, shoving, and storytelling. "So when do you think the crazy chainsaw-wielding, lumberjack ghost will jump out and get yah!!" Marcus teased "STOP!" Mel cried. Her cry made me unsteady "Are you ok Mel? You know he's just joking right." I said with concern while punching Marcus's arm. "Whatever, I'm going to go for a walk." Whines Mel with annoyance "Ok...Just don't go far" I sternly stated

"Marcus if you don't quit I'm throwing you in the lake you're freaking her out". I snapped. "Oh she needs to suck it up, it's not like it's actually real-." He stopped in his tracks. "Did you hear that Dellah?" He said his voice edged with concern "Oh stop Marcus, you're scaring me." I said suddenly frightened. "No I'm serious, I heard screams...MEL". He was suddenly sprinting into the woods at full speed and just like that I heard the sound that shattered my heart into a million pieces. Mel's blood-curdling scream was followed by the whirring of a chainsaw. I was frozen. All I could hear were her god-awful screams, I couldn't move, not even an inch. Then it stopped. That's when I knew the rumors were true and she was gone. But between sobs It hit me and I remembered, MARCUS before a second thought I sprinted into the trees dodging them left and right until I stumbled over Mel she was lying there on the brush cold and lifeless but unrecognizable, her golden waves were matted with blood still wet and pooling onto the leaves but one detail chilled me to the bone, her head, it was cut in half making her facial features distorted. The split stopped at her neck making her upper half look like a fork in the road. I was stunned, no, mortified but I had to find Marcus before it was too late for him too, or so I thought. When I turned the corner there he was, his lifeless body pinned to a huge Oak tree held up by a chainsaw right at his middle, I shrieked, not the kind of shriek that used to occur at Mel and I's sleepovers or the festivities that were supposed to occur this evening, the kind that sends shivers down a spine and induces horror into one's whole body.

I couldn't breathe, blink or move a single muscle in my body. I stood there almost as lifeless as he. That's until I smelt it, the rotten odor that crept into my nose and crawled down my neck, I sent up a prayer and turned around to find a man about six feet tall, covered in blood, and looked to weigh about 250 pounds staring at me with hunger in his eyes, I was about ready to accept my fate when he grumbled "I'll give you a head start doll, I like the chase" his voice was jagged and low like rocks, he had a kind of southern essence to his voice One that you would find in a kind sheriff, not a serial killer. Who in their sick mind calls a girl "Doll" before sending her to her death. Who even calls anybody "Doll" anymore? The thoughts came rushing like a river for what felt like hours but in reality, was only for a second then I sprinted out of the woods just as I came in, I ran using the sound of the chainsaw as my motivation I paused when I passed Mel but powered through and started up again even faster than before, I was soaring, it's amazing what fear can do to you, the adrenaline making you inhuman almost like a machine.

The whirring of his weapon grew closer like an alarm informing me of my life's end. He sprinted surprisingly well for a sick middle-aged man especially since he's already finished off another teenage girl and a high school football star. He's got to be exhausted. So I keep hope and keep pushing, until I reach the lake without even the slightest warning I collapse. He catches up and stops the chainsaw to peer into my soul in peace. I find myself preparing for death. He leans in and grumbled, "Not as fast as you thought, are you now" He leaned in and the smell of flesh and his unbrushed teeth filled my nose. His mannerisms chilled me to the core. At that moment something changed within me and the primal instincts I didn't know I had started to kick in as he fondled my brown curls like he was enjoying this a bit too much. I grabbed the chainsaw and kicked it into gear, before he could do anything about it I drove it into his gut and pulled upwards splattering his bodily fluids all over me, turning my once emerald sweater dark with blood until I reached his Adam's apple then pulled it out. Before I knew it I was standing up and he just stared at me shocked half dead, half alive like a zombie. And for good measure, I pushed him off the edge into the lake like I once promised would be the fate of Marcus just an hour before. I looked at the lake and saw a cloud of red appear as he sank beneath the surface. I then stood stunned for what felt like forever before checking my watch. It read 3:00 AM I pulled myself together and went into the cabin to gather our stuff.

I cleaned myself up as best as possible, rinsing my hair in the sink and changing into something less incriminating. I then grabbed Mel's suitcase and then Marcus's leaving my blood-soaked clothes on the floor. My hair dampened my fresh crewneck leaving me cold in a way it never had before. I then loaded the bags into the back of Marcus's van and left a note for the people who rented us this hell hole and started the car. Once far away from that place I get service and call the local sheriff and park rangers alerting them of the situation as vaguely as possible. Then hung up the phone and drove the rest of the way home...I'm sure there will be questioning at the police station in the morning. I'll process this blood bath then.