Haunted Waters

NINE

The ground shook under her, and Lynn scrambled to her feet. Her eyes, which had been focused on the sinking car, were now wide and staring at the growling earth. A tree was ripped from its roots as an underground animal swam towards her; it tumbled towards her, toppling over the cliff to follow the same destiny as the car.

Out of instinct, Lynn took a step back. A few rocks came off and plunged into the void, causing her to stop moving and take a quick glance over her shoulder. The lake seemed to rejoice in her misery; it waved at her teasingly, prompting her to jump and lose herself in its lethal dance.

The rain fell in torrents.

With the memory of Mark taken away from her still fresh in her mind, her heart screamed in its cage. But her muscles were ready to fight, and her eyes were trained on the serpent poking out of the earth. First came its head; a mass of grey hair and a wrinkly face, and a sick feeling settled in her stomach.

Because that was no snake, it was a person. A nightmare crawling into life, breathing fire upon her soul.

Lynn clenched her fists, but fear was pounding in her heart. And as the monster crept out to stand mere feet away from her shaking form, her confidence crumbled down the cliff and she was left alone with primal instinct and a grinning demon. At that moment where life and death intertwined like long-lost friends finally reuniting, Lynn didn't care if what she was witnessing was real or not.

Was it Mrs. Houston walking towards her, or was it her mind playing tricks to her scarred mind? Or were those haunted waters clouding her sight with the mere purpose of claiming what little sanity she had left?

She cared not.

Fear was the only truth, and her body responded to it with no hesitation.

Mrs. Houston tilted her head in her direction, and a toothy grin twisted her face. Eyes black as coal watched Lynn for a fraction of a second, before the being showed its inhumanity. Crouching on all fours, its extremities extended to sink into the muddy ground as another set of legs and arms shoot from its emaciated body. A crack was lost in the wind as it craned its neck to display a long trail of fangs.

A rattling noise rang as the arachnid monster rapidly turned towards her.

"You can't escape, Lynn."

But Lynn didn't stay to converse with it, for the urge to get away became as strong as the fright breathing in her heart. Thus why she did the only thing she could do.

She jumped, and the monster went after her.

Both of them plummeted towards the chanting waters, but there was only one splash.

—

When they found her, she was not alone.

Even if there was no one with her.

Lynn did not stir as the wind carried the voices of her friends; her body remained still, decorated with layers of mud and damp leaves. Gelid hands kept her bones frozen against her sore muscles, yet she felt no pain.

She felt nothing and everything at the same time.

"She's here!" rang a voice in the distance, before rushed footsteps neared her mess on the ground.

Anxious fingers lifted her head from the dirt, searching her face and demanding her attention to no avail. Her hazel eyes were open, yet no light shone upon the darkness swimming like a black mass that pulled her soul under. She heard the lake whispering to her, singing to her heart and sinking her deeper in her daze.

"Lynn, can you hear me?"

She could, but her brain couldn't fully process the words. Her gaze was locked on the raining skies; on the dark clouds raging upon them with no mercy.

"Get her inside, Dana."

"What about Mark?"

Images flashed before her unblinking eyes; memories, moments, promises. Something inside her twisted and breathed, slithering across her soul and spitting venom into every reachable nook. Her world shook and spun, yet her body refused to respond and remained still — waiting.

And then, a voice — shrill, inhuman — echoed in her head.

"Well, it is dark in here," it mused. "Blood, murder, depravity... You're testing our self-control."

Chuckles broke out, paralyzing the air around her. They reverberated in her chest; she felt them as hers, but they weren't.

"Death follows you," it spoke through her, making its presence known. "Caleb was only the start... Mark is just another name to add to your list."

A wave of panic shot to her heart as her body sat up, following an order that wasn't hers. Her damp hair whipped around as her head lifted to meet the trepidation colouring the expressions of her friends. Tears rolled down her cheeks, yet her eyes were dry and no trail of desperation ever touched her face.

The fog cleared slightly, and her brain began to notice her surroundings. It wasn't raining anymore, but the storm kept raging inside — laughing at her demise.

"What are you talking about, Lynn?" the voice of Dana was but a whisper as the woman observed her from behind a chair. "Where is Mark?"

Her head tilted, her neck craned to sneak a glance outside. "It's too late for him."

A loud noise made her flinch, but her body didn't react. Her face was pulled to the side, and she was met with a glare that would have made many shrink. The monster didn't.

"Stop joking around. This isn't funny!" Dana bellowed. "Where the hell is he?!"

At the sight of tears in the corner of her eyes, Lynn felt her desperation grow. However, her lips twitched until a giant grin formed on them.

"Do you regret rejecting him?" the monster sneered. "He belongs to the lake now. He'll never know how you truly felt about him."

Shrill giggles escaped to freeze the air. The pain never came her way, but the slap echoed for long seconds. As Dana broke down in front of her, Lynn felt her heart shatter along with hers and screamed at the monster to stop.

But silence was the only answer she received.

Her nails dug into Dana's face as she quickly reached to grab her. "You will be next, Dana. You won't be able to resist the call of the lake."

A whimper escaped her friend, and Lynn was certain she was drawing blood.

Please, stop!

The monster clacked in return.

"That's enough!" shouted Oliver as he pried Dana from her claws.

But it wasn't — not for the terrifying parasite. Lynn could feel its malice like black smoke wrapping around her lungs, threatening to fill them and choke her. It was pure evil; a threat fuelled by an insatiable thirst for blood, a monster that would feed from their growing fear until there nothing was left.

However, something made it pause.

Her head tilted towards the ceiling as barely-noticeable steps caught its undivided attention. And for a fleeting second, a different emotion came to the surface for her to decipher. It was gone as quickly as it had flashed, and her lips were pulled into an amused smirk.

Lynn would have shivered at the amount of excitement suddenly flooding her body.

"Come down to play," it called, shouting at the ceiling. "There's no point hiding anymore, boy!" Silence crashed upon them as its anticipation clawed at her from inside. Its voice dropped to a low mutter. "You were the beginning, and she will be the end."

Somewhere in the house, a door opened.

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Word count: 1.243

Total count: 17.419