The lake is cold, slimy, and filthy.

You stand at the edge of the dock on a bleak cloudy day, looking out over the thick murky water.

Something isn’t right with this lake. It almost looks like it’s _breathing. _

The fog swirling over the surface. The forest on the other side beckoning you to run across the water to join the shadows.

You catch yourself from falling forward over the edge. You only came out here to check for your dog, but you can’t see or hear her anywhere. You turn in a circle on the dock and call for her.

You hear a faint bark echoing across the lake. You look across the lake and see your dog, standing at the edge of the dark forest on the other side. Her silhouette is wagging her tail. She wants you to follow her.

You don’t intend to jump in the lake of course, but you don’t know how you will get your dog to come back. You call her to come, but she just barks in reply and wags her tail.

You notice a little canoe on the shore close to you, and you decide to have a little adventure. You’ve never used a canoe before, but how hard could it be?

You pull the canoe over to the dock, and get in. There’s a paddle inside. When the paddle is thrust through the water, it feels like pushing through slightly congealed jello. You keep paddling, but the conoe isn’t moving very fast.

Your dog is looking a bit bigger now. She isn’t wagging her tail. Her shadows seem longer.

A splash of dark sludge in your canoe. The canoe is sinking, being pulled bellow. You try to use the paddle to come back to shore.

Your dog is coming to save you… running across the water? No, _slithering _across the water. The fog around you thickens. You can’t really see anything anymore. Something cold and wet touches your feet. There’s nowhere you can go… suffocating… petrifying… calm.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A couple hours pass and a hiker walks onto the dock. He looks out over the cold lake and marvels at how beautifully the sun reflects off of the water. The forest on the other side is perfectly green and frames the lake in a pretty way.

He notices a little canoe floating around in the middle of it. There’s no one in it, and the paddle is bobbing a few feet away. He walks off the dock and sees a pair of shoes placed on the shore. He wonders who’s canoe and who’s shoes these are, but he doesn’t have time to wonder. He appreciates the mistical wonder of this sunny lake. He takes one more look at the beautiful picture nature has painted, and walks off on the trail.

     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As he walks off, you watch him go with a little longing. You wish he would stay longer. The hiker brought a sense a familiarity to you.

You wonder why he didn’t notice you looking at him from everywhere… watching… waiting… craving…

You wish he had noticed you, for you feel so lonely…

As beautiful as it is, when the sun dances across the peaks of wave casting a beautiful glow. Lake Laurel holds a mystery,that maybe,you can solve?

The story begins on a warm summer day. July forth weekend,Saturday to be exact. Returning families, cottage renters and those who travel from a far, all gather to spend the holiday weekend boating, bonding, camping,fishing,fireworks and swimming in Lake Laurel.

Lake Laurel is man made, holds around seventy cottages on the first row or also know as, lake front. Next row about, eighty cottages they are a bit further back but can still use the lake, they have there own access point, on the right side of the lake. Built in the 1920’s, it has been said the land was taken from those before. Over time it was discovered, an Indian tribe had lived where the lake now resides. Some say they had burial ground on the far right side where the lake breaks off to a small pond. (Funny the right side has no vegetation that grows.)

It is believed , because they were forced to vacate, a curse was placed on the water also to those who occupy the land surrounding.

As kids some of us believed this story others thought it was used an attempt by the old timers to instill fear. They always told questionable stories so we would not take off alone or swim too far out. We just thought if we started to drown they were too old to come get us.

The only problem with the curse, no one has been hurt.. No boating or swimming accidents and no deaths have been reported. No mention of anything that would be questionable or concerning circumstances.

Well that was what we thought…..

In 1994 three separate accidents resulted in three dealths and several injuries. These incidents are attributed to drinking while operating machinery (boats)according to the police reports. The only problem is when talking to others who were also on the boat that night. There seems to be more that lead up to these accidents .

(Not finished)✔️

Author thought this day was different then any other, though he tried to begin it the same way. His wife has gone on a business trip off to the coast and wasn’t coming back for around a month.

Around noon, he sat out on his porch with a steaming cup of coffee in his right hand. He sat and looked out to the large pond in his back yard. He swirled the coffee in his hand as he thought on what could make this day different from any other.

Perhaps he could go bowling or to the bar. Or perhaps he could even run a mile. Before he thought of anything else, Jenny walked over to him from next door. “Mr Malacry, how are you?” She asked, her eyes glancing into his for only a moment. “I’m doing well, how are you Jenny?” Author asked in response. “Not to well actually, my husband’s gone missing” And this was the time that Author knew it was not a normal day. When the movies he watched became reality.

The lake was our vacation spot. We would go camping here every summer with the family. I remember the time when you tried setting up the tent and you just needed one last knot and down it came because of the wind. We couldn’t stop laughing at you scram inside trying to escape. It was always such an amazing time being out here with you. We would wake board, fish, throw rocks and just be ourselves. The last time we were here, I can help but wonder why you decided to end it all. Everything was going great, or so I thought. You were about to marry Katie later that fall. You had a baby on the way and amazing career that could have supported two families if you needed. I just don’t understand why. I still cry myself to sleep at times picturing how I found you. I woke up and couldn’t find you, thinking you went to grab a few more cases of drinks for the evening, I went for a morning swim. I accidentally kicked your head when swimming out. I didn’t know if was your head at the time, when I looked down, I saw you floating, motionless with your arms floating by your side. Your hair looked so sleek like it was floating in epoxy resin. Completely thrown from I what I saw, I forgot that you were actually under water. I panicked and tried grabbing to pull you up, but I couldn’t. The weight of the stone you picked was holding you down by your ankles. I resurfaced and called the authorities. I sat there crying knowing I wouldn’t be able to talk to you again. All those summers we had together talking about the girls we dated and the crazy night we had, gone. Katie no longer had a future husband, Issac, the name of your unborn child will never meet his father. How could you be so selfish? I was angry for a long while. Until I realized being angry wasn’t doing me much of anything. I began coming out here every year to remember the good times. I wish you would have talked to me. We good have figured something out. I kiss you my friend. Rest in peace.

In the small country town of Pickett, there is a lake that is unnamed but loved by the locals. The locals do not know of the crime that took place there, though. There once was a crime that took place there and the husband of one of the participants found out about their crimes. Their crimes were blackmail and stealing. The husband stomped over to the lake and their cabin that was nearby in the gloomy and foggy woods. The woman’s partner opened the door and the husband grabbed him and threw her partner into the lake, never to be seen again.

We watch the sky disappear from a vivid blue to a darkened grey covering up the beauty of the grassy lands before us, in only just a few minutes. “I think it’s going to rain,” I say wanting to leave this place while I shiver in my bikini. I turn away from the lake and reach for my clothes, where I see nerves are making me jingle with anxiety. “Shouldn’t we leave?” I ask desperate to get out of here.

There is a splash, a cascade of water spits out and I can feel some of the remains touch upon my cold fragile skin like a trigger. My eyes dart up to look at the sky still grey and no sign of rain while a thought creeps up on my mind, he hasn’t said a single word to me in awhile. “Cillian?” I turn to face the lake to see not a single soul in sight, not even his.

I walk upon the wooden plank where I hear my footsteps echo like thunder, rumbling with nerves. “Cillian?” I say his name again without making sure I stutter his name, but I do. My voice hurts as it has cracked upon saying his name multiple times without a response. Then I feel forced to jump into this body of water, and there is another splash but this time it is mine. The water trickles on my skin, touching every vulnerable part of me while I bounce in the waves.

I start to calm down as I close my eyes and think of my safe place. _Books, diving into different worlds. Reading transforms me. _The waves ignore me now because it knows I am not their enemy, just a friend trying to swim. “Cillian?” I say his name once more hoping this time I would get an answer. Silence, while the ripples of the waves haunt me.

Then there is something touching my leg, I freeze. It is pulling me down into the depths of this lake. _I thought we were friends. _After my face is plunked into the water, my eyes burn from what seems like salt. But I see him, I see Cillian dragging me down and I try to break loose from his grip that is tight around my leg suffocating the blood from there so now my leg feels numb and I can hardly swim back to shore. I swallow a gasp of water that stops me from breathing, my heart suddenly starts to fall from both the limit of oxygen and the cold temperature of -1 degrees.

But I try to swim, swim away from Cillian who is now trying to take my life. I reach a shallower area where I can allow myself some air spitting out the water stuck in my mouth. However, Cillian has caught up to me as he also reaches up for air right in front of me. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I ask him bewildered by his attempt of drowning actions.

“I’m killing you before you have the chance to kill me,” he says as he flips his hair where water splashes onto my skin, my pale frozen skin which feels like glass. If he touches me one way or another, he’s going to break me. Cillian moves forwards to be closer to me, but I freeze just by looking at the man who is betraying me. “But before I do, I want to kiss you one more time. Is that alright?” He asks for my permission, but I shake my head refusing to be anywhere near him. I try to swim backwards away from this human monster, but his arms grab onto my legs pulling me closer to him before he can wrap them around my waist. He leans in and his lips touch mine, electricity bounds us together and I am stuck as I cannot defy electricity. Then he lets go leaving me hanging for more of his taste, and has already drowned me with his love which makes me survive.

“Your love kills me, but you won’t ever get the pleasure to see my dead body,” I say before I sink my teeth into his neck and take every drip of blood from him. It tastes metallic like a sword is digging in my back.

“You think I didn’t know what you are?” He says as he pushes me away. “A blood thirsty vampire who preys on sweet boys who gives you affection. It sure bites you doesn’t it? Pun intended.”

He watches me choke on blood that is filled with ivy, a poison that is deadly to me. He watches me drown into the darkness of the lake below, where I am unable to swim back to shore.

Cindy Lockwood went missing one morning. The last place she was seen was Pedalwood Lake. Pedalwood was a quiet town that was very remote from the rest of London. It was a very small town, away from most of the bustling streets in London. I got the news that she never came home after I woke up yesterday. The day previous we had grabbed our bathing suits and cannonballed into the misty waters. Cindy stayed longer then I did. I left an hour after we arrived, but Cindy never left. Soon, even I was getting increasingly worried. Cindy was my best friend, we did everything together. Knowing that she could be missing was something I couldn’t possibly get out of my mind.

After school I headed over to Pedalwood Lake. I looked out into the misty hills, stared at the pine trees towering over the houses. Birds chirped continuously. I couldn’t stop thinking about her, no matter how hard I tried. 
I remembered the last thing I ever heard her say, and I found myself daydreaming. 
“Don’t worry, I’ll just be here a couple more minutes,” Cindy said, resssuring me. 
“Ok, don’t stay out too long,” I advised.
“Don’t act like your my mother Pearl,” Cindy laughed. 

I laughed back. I was being a little protective pf her in the moment, but I didn’t want anything to happen to her. I walked away off the old wooden dock. The wood creaked under my weight. I was soaking wet, and still shivering even though I had my towel wrapped around my body. I glanced back at Cindy, she lifted out from the water, rearranging her hair back into the way she liked it. She got back on the dock and noticed me. I quickly turned away, walking back home.

Something caught my eye and I was immediately drawn out from my day dreaming. It was Cindy’s phone she had kept on the dock the entire time. It still had some water droplets in it from last nights rain storm. I tapped the screen, it miraculously turned on but it was on low battery. I pulled my phone out. We shared everything together. Even passwords. I quickly entered her passcode, trying not to waste too much time. I grabbed out my camera to record anything I had found. I pressed the camera option on Cindy’s phone, and I looked at the last video she took, recording it from my phone. 
Cindy was recording herself jumping into the water, not even worried about getting her phone destroyed. She jumped into the dirty musty water. You could barely see anything in the water. Cindy got out of the water and brushed away some water that got stuck on the camera. Out of the corner of her phone, was a man lifting out from the water, and what looked to be a weapon held in his left hand…Just as Cindy screamed, her phone turned back and the low battery screen flashed. I looked back into the murky waters, just to see if anything was there. There was nothing at all, just the occasional fish that jumped out of the water. I stopped the recording, trying to process what had just happened. Had I really just seen the murder of my own friend. Was this even real? 
I kept up from my sitting position and hurried home. Just wait until my parents see this…

My parents stared at the video from my phone I had took, just as shocked as I had been. 
“What should we do?” I asked, finally breaking the silence. 
“I think we should show the police, I mean, I she’s really missing, then we need all the evidence we can get,” my dad explained. 
“Does Cindy’s parents know about this?” my mom questioned.
“I don’t think so,” I added. 
“I think we should show them first,” my mom exclaimed. 
I was in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering what had happened to my friend. I knew I needed to go back to Pedalwood Lake and find anything that could hint that she was killed. I have to find out what happened to my friend…

One day, many years ago, when horses were more common than cars, a woman sat at the edge of the lake, watching the moon drift lazily across the sky. She was a curiosity to the old-fashioned villagers who believed women should only be out at night with a man to protect them. She had arrived that morning, and in a small village, news travels quickly. She hadn’t been carrying anything. She just showed up out of the mist, and headed straight towards the lake, where shes been ever since. The villagers had been watching her all day, but now, in the absence of light, they had all gone to bed, leaving the woman to stare at the water in peace. So that’s what the woman did. She stayed put, shifting only slightly to gaze dreamily at something else, or very occasionally to move her leg or arm. But other than that she stayed perfectly still.

When the villagers woke up the woman was right where she was when they fell asleep. The women in the village never did anything without their husbands or fathers permission, and that was something the men rarely gave unless it benefited them. And this did not benefit them. So the villagers watched from the windows or the fields they worked at. The villagers watched the woman, the woman watched the lake. Then, the mist slowly crawled over the mountains toward the woman. A white cloak, obscuring everything it passed over. As the mist inched closer to the woman, she stood up and spread her arms wide, inviting the mist towards her. When the mist finished embracing the woman in its tight hug, it began to leave. To wherever it came from. It left the lake and the village, hiding behind the mountains. And it took the woman with it. The woman disappeared. She came with the mist and left with it.

So she was passed down for generations, “If you’re naughty the lady by the lake will get you.” A threat to get the children to brush their teeth. The story evevolved over they years, growing arms and legs. Eventually the woman adopted the name ‘The Lady By The Lake.’ Nobody knows where she dissapeared too. Just a children’s tale. The lady by the lake.

Back in the old days there was a lake later known as Lovers lake. The lake was used to drown people who betrayed the village that was close by weather it was stealing or murder or even lying. One day there was a 16 year old girl who was supposed to be married to the village chiefs son. The cheifs son was cocky and abusive to women. The girl has seen it first hand. He would beat curse and rape the women he was with or wanted. The girls father was an older man who believed men had the right to do anything they wanted to women and he was also the village merchant. At the time crops were failing and they merchant was having a hard time keeping his business up and running. The merchant and the village chiefs were old friends, so they decided an exchange for fertile land the merchant would have his daughter marry, the chief son. Later that night a young man came to the village. This young man was a tall kind and handsome young man. He was walking through the town and saw the girl crying by a tree. He asked her why such a beautiful young lady was crying and she told him about how her father is forcing her to marry the chiefs son and how terrible he was to women. The young man and the girl talked and soon the sun rised. The next day she was married to the cheifs son and every night she would sneak out to the same tree and cry and every night the kind man would be there . A week passed of the two talking by the tree and the girl feel deeply in love with the young man. The young man also feel deeply in love with the girl. Soon the girl started sneaking out to see the man. They would lay under the tree and enjoy the time they spent with each other and one night the young man and the girl made love. But that night the cheifs son followed the girl to see where she was going and saw what happened. The next morning the whole village went to that tree and they tied up the girl and the young man and drug them to the lake. They threw stones and mud at the young lovers. Even the young girls father threw stones. Every one was shouting whore and betrayer. Then the father tied a rope around both their feet with stones at the other end and the young couple was thrown in the lake. Their souls bound to the lake forever. And in the summer time when couples would go to the lake the souls of the two lovers would get jealous and drag them into the lake to join them.

The sound of the speed boats combing the lake rattled me back to my senses. Five bodies so far have been discovered at the bottom of the lake, all with signs of recent decomposition. “I got another two bodies down here!” Shouts one of the diving team. Seven fucking bodies now, what kind of a monster came to this little town?! I stand with the coroner while he examines the first two bodies we brought up from the depths, “Can you tell COD yet?” I ask almost impatiently. I hate this part, standing around waiting for evidence to cling to and start following any lead the evidence unearths. “I won’t know what actually killed them until we get back to the lab, but it absolutely was foul play, you can see obvious signs of bludgeoning and stab wounds hidden under the clothes. The state of decomp unfortunately makes time of death rather recent, can’t determine exactly when until later, but if they are all in this state, the was a mass killing, one after the other likely”. “Jesus, seven vicious murders all under our noses and zero leads so far, no witnesses except that one hobbiest diver that discovered the first two bodies”.

I approach the diver knowing he doesn’t know a damn thing about this but protocol and hope guide me. I need some small bite to hook into and follow. “Mr. Evans? I’m Detective Green, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?” “I suppose so, but I don’t know anything, and I already told the other officers everything I know.” Mr. Evans says trying to keep himself calm and collected. “Thank you Mr.Evans” I start. “Please just call me Jeff.” “Of course Jeff, so can you tell me how you came across the first bodies?” I ask as I pull out my notebook, reviewing his response to the report he already submitted. “As I told the other officer, I came to do some amature treasure hunting, you know, looking for stuff people lose off their boats or whatever. You can pawn some of that stuff for a pretty penny sometimes, usually I just find some trash and I try to clean it up as I can while I’m down there ya know?” “Do you do this often?” I ask not looking up from my notes. “The occasional weekend I’ll come out here and dive and fish, just escape for a bit, I got a family and sometimes a man just needs a break, ya know?” He replies with sincerity. “I get that Jeff, got a wife and newborn myself. But could you be a bit more specific? How many times a month would you estimate you come here?” I look up from the notes to show my understanding of his explaimntion. “Probably once a month, twice if I can manage.” He quickly replies with an honest politeness, “I’m sorry, I wish I could be more helpful, but I didn’t see anything strange at all, drove up here early, sun was up by the time I parked just up the road at the dock. Got right in the water and after finding a knock off Rolex I realized it was attached to a wrist, a human fucking wrist!” He exclaims progressively getting more worked up as I’m certain he’s reliving that trauma of finding not one but two human corpses. “Thank you Jeff, that’s really helpful” I interrupt and put a hand on his shoulder, “its okay, you don’t need to continue. You left your context info with the other officers so we will reach out if we need anything else. Thank you again Jeff” I shake his hand and turn to head back to the coroner. “Wait!” Jeff yells and runs to catch up to me. “Yes, what is it Jeff?” “I just remembered something, there was a boat docked, I thought nothing of it, I mean people leave their boats docked here all the time, I do even. But” he points up towards the dock, “it isn’t there anymore, and I haven’t left anywhere besides going underwater.”. “can you describe this boat?” I ask feeling the first bit of real hope in this case begin to flood over me. “It was pretty unremarkable, grey or faded black maybe, white stripes. Looked pretty beat up and old, not really cared for a whole lot. That’s really all I can remember about it” Jeff says alm,ost rushed so as to not lose the mental picture. “Thank you Jeff, this is a bigger help than you know” I say shaking his hand with much more vigor.