The Nightmare of Belton Lake

CHAPTER 3

"Here it is," Garrett said, pointing to the rustic-looking 7-Eleven in front of them.
"Garrett, that's a 7-Eleven that's not a gift shop."
"It's actually not a 7-Eleven anymore. They just have the decor up still because they can't afford to take it down or replace it with their own." Garrett explained. "The shop itself is called Lake Gas and Tackle. It's really cool, come on."
"If you say so," Carlos said, undoing his belt.
"I'm going to go get a spot by a pump," Savannah said as Cassandra, Garrett, and Carlos got out of the jeep.
Carlos pointed to one of the pumps.
"Go to pump 1. I'll put 20 on there for you at the register." He told Savannah. She nodded and closed the driver's side door. After everyone was clear of the Jeep, Savannah backed out and turned to a pump.
Cassandra turned and looked at the store. The old 7-Eleven sign that stood on a tall pole had long fallen off and ripped away by various windstorms. An outline of where the 7- Eleven sign used to be still stood out boldly against the dirty white ceiling.
The second thing that Cassandra noticed was multiple old bird nests had made their home on the top of the store. Their nests laid over the sides of the ceiling in disarray. They seemed empty and abandoned for some time. There were also multiple empty small wasp nests under the overhang of the store.
A homemade-looking wooden sign hung over the 7-Eleven logo that normally was on the front glass doors. Garrett turned around and looked at Carlos.
"See? I told ya." He said to Carlos.
Cassandra walked behind them closely and saw what Garrett had meant. The sign on the front door said,
"LAKE GAS AND TACKLE".
Cassandra found herself amused at the sign.
"They really converted a 7-11 into a gift shop?"She asked Garrett
Garrett nodded. "Yeah! Me and my dad come up here all the time for worms and stuff. They have floaties and boat gear sold here all year round." He explained.
"Well, hopefully, they got some gummy worms cuz I am craving some," Carlos said moving past him and inside.
Cassandra and Garrett followed him in, and they were greeted by a traditional doorbell that rang loudly when the door was opened. They were also met with the cool AC unit blasting above them and then the cool air that floated within the store. It felt like a lovely release getting out of the Texas heat.
Cassandra's eyes were immediately intrigued by the multiple rows of fish and tackle items.
The long row before her held a variety of different types of bait and lures. Small tiny bags of different-sized hooks and long different types of fishing wire nearby it. On the bottom shelf were different styles and sizes of tackle boxes. They even had a Barbie-decorated tackle box and a teenage mutant ninja turtle tackle box as well. Cassandra smiled and continued to look around.
At the end of the aisle to her left was a small mini fridge which she had to assume was filled with cans of worms.
Moving on, she saw the multiple long drink cooler isles. Most of their glass doors had been removed and their shelves gone. They were remade into small rows of gift items. These items ranged from small bears, gift cards, swimming gear such as floaties, noodles, and even swim shoes
The last two coolers closest to the cashier were still used as a place for drinks.
Cassandra took a blue Gatorade out of one of the coolers and turned into another isle.
In this isle, there was nothing but swimming suits. 2 piece bikinis, one-piece bikinis, swim trunks, and even speedos. Cassandra found herself amused by what she was seeing and felt herself even enjoying this store.
The store had made its way from just a convenience store to a lakeshore gift shop.
Carlos went up to the register that went to the far right corner of the store. The counter had a large protective glass with a large hole in the middle. It separated the cashier and the customer. A bottle of hand sanitizer sat half empty on the customer's side, as well as eye-grabbing items. Fancy metal lighter1-dollarlar sweets, and even some bananas. Behind the counter and the tall glass was a middle-aged man. He had a long thick grey beard with a receding hairline. His grey hair was matted in some places and looked uncombed. As Cassandra began to stand in line, she saw it had many hair dandruff in it.
The cashier shrugged his shoulders and stood behind the glass. He wore camouflage overalls on top of his gray plain shirt.
Carlos handed the cashier a 20-dollar bill through the counter slot.
"I need 20 bucks on pump 1, please." He said.
The cashier grabbed the 20 and clicked on his computer. After a few moments, he placed the money inside his cash register.
He looked over at Carlos and then over at Cassandra and Garrett. He slightly frowned when he saw Cassandra. He turned his attention back to Carlos quickly before Cassandra could understand why.
"You kids heading for the lake?" He asked.
Carlos nodded. "Yes sir. It's our spring break."
"Oh, that's good. The weather should be clear this weekend. Good weather for swimming and fishing." He said. With this, he handed the receipt to Carloslos. "Y'all stay safe."
"Thank you, sir," Carlos said. He turned away from the cashier and looked over at Garrett and Cassandra. He opened up the store door halfway and gave out a thumbs up to Savannah who was waiting at the pump.
Carlos then returned inside and stayed near Garrett and Cassandra.
Cassandra followed and found herself eyeballing all the sweet treats and snacks. She finally settled on a bag of Sweet Tarts and a blue Gatorade from the coolers. Garrett grabbed a red Gatorade and a bag of ruffles. Carlos got himself two bags of gummy worms.
Carlos paid for his first, then Garrett, and then finally, it was Cassandra's turn.
A displeased frown landed on the cashier's face as Cassandra placed her items up on the counter for him to scan.
The cashier looked hard and steady at her.
"Sorry, cash only now."
Cassandra looked at him confused. "But... you were just using the card scanner fine a second ago." She mentioned.
"It's cash now." He said, not giving any explanation to her.
"But... I only have a card...." Cassandra explained. She knew the card scanner was fine. Why was he acting like the card reader was broken now?
"Dude, it is still on. Let her swipe the card." Carlos said pointing to the card reader.
"I don't have to." The cashier said sternly. "And I most certainly don't have to serve people like you."
"Like what?!" Carlos and Garrett said together.
Did he.... Cassandra thought and then felt anger rising in her.
She now understood why this man was giving her a hard time. She was shy but it didn't blind her from feeling angry towards people like him.
"Dude, are you fucking serious right now?" Carlos said angrily, stepping in front of Cassandra.
Cassandra stepped away from the counter, anger beating in her chest. She frustrated the cashier.
"It's 2024 and you are seriously being a racist?" Carlos asked angrily.
The cashier folded his arms staring at Carlos. Carlos looked ready to punch his way through the glass and to the cashier.
Before another word could be said between the cashier and Carlos, Garrett stepped forward. He nudged Carlos out of the way with a brown wallet in his hand.
He slammed a 10 dollar bill down on the counter all the while he was giving the cashier a cold hard glance.
"Let's get outta here," Garrett said, guiding Cassandra away. Carlos flipped off the cashier and grabbed Cassandra's snacks.
When the three finally arrived back at the jeep, Savannah saw the angry look that Carlos had and looked at them, confused.
"What's wrong?" She asked them.
"The cashier is a fucking racist and was refusing service to Cassandra," Carlos said angrily.
"What?!" Savannah said, looking over at Cassandra.
"That is not what happened," Cassandra said calmly. She looked at Savannah. "He refused to take my card and said he didn't have to serve...people like me."
"That is exactly what I just said!"
Savannah gave an angry look at the store. "That douchebag!"
"I'm so leaving a bad Google review on their store," Carlos said, scrolling and typing madly on his phone.
Cassandra sighed and looked down at her snacks. While she was grateful she had friends who defended her, she felt the situation was beginning to escalate.
"Let's just get out of here." She said.
Her voice of reason went unheard.
"I wanted to beat his ass so bad!" Carlos said.
"You would have probably lost." Garrett said.
"I know but... Ugh. That shit is still so fucked up!" He said. "Again, like I said to him. Who the fuck is still racist in this day and age? It's so fucking stupid."
"Savannah...." Cassandra said, grabbing her friend's attention. "Let's just go."
Savannah sighed and pulled out of the gas station.
They left the horrid experience behind them and soon, the group calmed down to the music and wind playing through the jeep.
Cassandra still felt rather upset by the encounter but knew nothing come could out of it if she reacted. Nothing good, anyway. She knew the world still had its opinions about people of her color. Even if they weren't good ones.
She didn't want to dwell on it.
This weekend is supposed to be about having fun and relaxing. Cassandra thought to herself.
She felt more grateful than ever for Garrett helping her out. Who knows what Carlos's short temper might have led to if he hadn't intervened?
Several more minutes passed by and soon, the jeep began to drive through the country. The road dipped down a large hill below them. Due to this, Cassandra thought the view she had was nothing but the sky.
Was Temple that indeed on such high ground that they had such a view?
"Damn, look at the view from here!" Carlos said excitedly.
"That lake water is so beautiful!" Savannah said smiling.
Lake water? Cassandra thought confused. She stared at the scene before her and felt silly as she realized what her friends meant.
The "sky" Cassandra was looking at was not the sky. It was the lake itself.
Lake Belton went out as far as they could see from the top of the hill. Long rocky cliffs that dropped off several dozens of feet to the water looked around the edges of the road and the side of the ground where they drove. The sky above the lake reflected onto the water, making it almost match the blue tone of it.
The water seemed endless. Almost like an ocean.
"Oh wow," Cassandra said.
"Looks better than last year," Savannah said. "The water was really low."
"I remember that. There was a no boat law in the lake that whole spring until the rains came." Garrett said.
"It's so beautiful," Cassandra said.
Savannah drove them down the hill, and soon, the sight of the lake disappeared behind the treeline. They slowly approached the entrance of the lake property. A small hut sat between the road lanes. Lane bars blocked the way and a lady poked her head out of a small side window as they approached.
"Hi, welcome to Lake Belton. Can I get your names?"
"I actually should have a camping reservation spot under the name of Savannah Tillman," Savannah explained.
The lake employee nodded and typed for a few seconds on her computer next to her. She then turned back to the teens.
"Okay, I have your parent's signature signing off on it, so all I need is everyone's IDS." The employee said.
"ID's?"
"It's just protocol. If there are no parents with minors, then we need to have all the minor's IDs to confirm your arrival. And it also helps us know who's all at the lake." The employee explained.
"Is that a new policy?" Garrett pointed out.
The employee nodded. "We had a small group of small children get lost in the woods last year. Their parents snuck them into the lake without paying for their way. We found them but the company decided to make a change so it wouldn't happen again."
"Oh, shit? Well, okay." Savannah said, handing the employee her ID card. Cassandra passed hers and the boy's IDs to Savannah.
After making copies of their IDs, the employee handed them back.
"Alright, guys, the camping grounds are on the other side of the lake. Just follow the road around the lake and follow the signs. It'll lead you straight to it." The employee explained. "Ms. Savannah, on your phone, you should be receiving a confirmation number photo. If lake police stop you, you just show them that number, and all will be good."
Savannah nodded.
"Alright, enjoy the lake, you kids!" The employee said and then raised the lane bar to let them pass.
Savannah quickly pressed down on the gas and the Jeep went through. The road alongside the lake was narrow and quite curvy but the road was smooth as new pavement had been laid over. A long guard was placed between the lake and the road.
Cassandra could not stop herself from looking out the window on Savannah's side and admiring the view she had.
Lake Belton was beautiful and seemingly endless. Though she knew it was not the largest lake, she couldn't imagine what other lake around could be more beautiful than this. Cassandra now felt more silly than ever that she had never visited Lake Belton before.
"Lake Stillwater has nothing compared to this view," Cassandra said aloud.
"Meh, Stillwater is pretty good," Carlos said, "But I always prefer Lake Belton. Just because of what it offers."
The kids traveled alongside the lake for what seemed about 5 minutes, and then finally, they found a sign alongside the road that said, "Campgrounds." Its triangular sign pointed ahead.
Finally, the kids entered a wide parking lot with several cars already parked inside. The sign next to the parking lot said, "Campsite parking lot".
Savannah decided to park facing ahead of the lake itself. Down below, going down the slope of the Hill, were the camping grounds.
Cassandra could see a few tents pitched up already. Seemingly abandoned as their owners were already here and swimming in the lake at the bottom of the hill.
At the bottom of the hill were tall long reeds that stuck up. Wet sand and mud combined with each other between the land itself and the lake water.
Cassandra could see multiple people along the lakeline fishing and pointing out towards the horizon of the water. She then looked at her friends who had gotten out of the car themselves.
"This is so beautiful," Savannah said. She leaned into Carlos, who placed an arm over her shoulders. Carlos smiled down at her, seemingly satisfied with the view.
After a long minute of admiring the view, Carlos then took a step back towards the jeep.
"So, who wants to go to the secret spot Garrett told me about?"
"Secret spot?" Both Cassandra and Savannah repeated.
Savannah gave him a confused look and then a surprise one.
Garrett then looked at the girls.
"Yeah, there is this place along the lakeshore that has a wide open field and some old picnic areas. It has a really good view of the lake and everything. But it's pretty run down and it's also off limits."
"How did you find out about it then if it's off-limits?" Savannah asked him.
Garrett rub the back of his neck. "Well, me and my dad kind of went snooping around it. We found it about 2 years ago. We did some fishing over there for a brief moment and then we came back."
"I'm all for it," Savannah said, "Let's do it. Where is it?"
"Maybe we shouldn't," Cassandra said. "It's probably off-limits for a reason."
"Such as?"
"Well, maybe there's alligators nesting over there? Or maybe there are endangered species of animals that make their homes there now?"
"Or maybe there's a wild serial killer that has proclaimed that a certain point of the lakeshore is his home, and he will kill anyone who comes into the off-limits area," Carlos said to Cassandra, "Come on, no one's going to know we're there."
"What if we do get found out?" Cassandra asked nervously.
"You worry too much," Savannah said and then slowly began to head back to the jeep.
Garrett and Cassandra then looked at each other. She gave him a look of plea hoping that he would be against this. Garrett scratched his neck again and finally shrugged, giving in.
"Maybe it might be fun. It won't be as crowded as it is over here." He said.
He turned away from her and started to head back into the jeep with Carlos. Savannah honked the horn. Cassandra sighed and began to make her way back to the jeep.