Caramel | A Short Story Collection ✓

10. The Mystery Lake

I watch as my sister's body is pulled from the lake.

Even in death, she is elegant. Her hair is still braided in an intricate updo styled for the night's annual ball, her long black dress shimmering despite the water that clings to it.

Rachel did not look elegant as she ran, the tears sliding down her cheeks dragging mascara along with them. She cursed her expensive dress as it slithered over roots and branches, snagging at every turn.

Tears begin to slide down my cheeks as the police bundle her into a body bag, clearing the area by means of yellow tape. Do they not know that Rachel is my sister? Do they not realise I have every right to cross that stupid boundary? She is my everything, and even death cannot take her from me.

Rachel knew she couldn't glance back. It would cost her precious time, and besides, she did not want to look at the monster pursuing her. She wished her sister was here, shielding her from harm like always. Her sister was all she had after Mom died, and had practically raised her. It was no good having money and fancy balls every year if you didn't have a mother, and her sister was the only other person who understood that.

The police think it's a suicide. A thirty-eight year old woman with no husband or children drowns in a lake while everyone else is sipping champagne inside the massive house. They'll say she was lonely, depressed. They'll try to tell me I didn't know my sister as well as thought I did. Everyone will try to convince me that I'm wrong, that grief has corrupted my thoughts. All the people who hear about Rachel will think it's a suicide. They are wrong.

Rachel was getting nearer to the lake. She could practically feel the breath of her pursuer on her bare shoulder. Her only hope was the lake house, which was small but came with many locks and thick walls that could keep her safe, if only she got to it in time.

I feel a heavy hand clasp my shoulder, and I know without looking that my husband, Tim, has joined me. I don't say anything, and neither does he. We both know how precious Rachel is to me, and we both know that no words will comfort me, no words will make me feel any better. Just knowing that my husband has my back is enough for now. I feel safer, more protected against the onslaught of agony that is going to hit me in the form of well-wishers, memorial cards and funeral arrangements.

Rachel was so close to the lake, so close to the relative safety of the house when she felt a shooting pain right through her back. She screamed in agony as she fell to the ground, head sinking into the dry dirt that lay beneath the grass. She was able to somehow reach back, her fingers scraping her side and coming back sticky with blood. She knew without looking that she had been stabbed.

"Excuse me, Miss, we'd like to talk you about your sister." The policewoman eyes hold no sympathy for my distraught state; instead they are questioning, accusing me of not being enough to stop this from happening. It's evident that she thinks I am to blame, that as her closest friend and relative I should have prevented this. It makes me feel guilty even though I have nothing to be ashamed about.

And then the pain was gone. Confused, she stared at her fingers, at the dress that had been polluted with blood just a few seconds ago. It was clean. She managed to get back on her feet, head spinning. Either someone had just healed her of the wound they'd caused, or she'd imagined it on the first place. But she couldn't imagine that kind of pain - she'd never been subject to it before. Her eyes stayed around uncertainly, her suspicions confirmed. Something out of the ordinary was going on.

The thing that was chasing her was not human.

Numbly, I follow the police officer, my eyes welling up with fresh tears as I pass the body bag where the last traces of my sister remain. I don't know why, but in my haze all I can think about is one thing - the very last words my sister said to me was, "I'm sneaking off for a smoke. Don't tell."

Rachel ran to the lake house, getting closer with every passing second. To think this had all started because she wanted to indulge her guilty habit of smoking was laughable, but she was too consumed with fear to laugh about it then. She almost thought the danger had passed when she was grabbed from behind.

I try to my best to answer the questions the police shoot at me. Yes, I am her closest relative. No, she had no history of mental health issues. Yes, she seemed happy and content in her life. No, I don't think she had any major problems that would warrant killing herself.

Shrieking, the thing dragged her towards the lake. She wasn't sure what it was, if she even believed in such monsters. "What are you? Get off of me!" She tried to fight it off, but it was of little use. It was a monster alright, over eight feet high, and extremely burly. It took great pleasure in dunking her below the water, making her hold her breath for so long she thought she would pass out until he pulled her back again, wading further in. She wasn't sure if she was delusional or maybe even affected by the lack of oxygen to her brain during those moments below water when she saw it snarl, exposing razorblades for teeth.

I know even before the policewoman slaps her pad shut with finality that she's determined my sister is a suicide case. She never left any room for other possibilities. With one last look of contempt in my direction, she stalks off to mutter with some other police officers. I feel Tim stroking my hair, but at the same time I'm not really present. I'm staring at the lake, wondering how my sister felt in her final moments.

The monster must have decided she'd been toyed enough and killing her would give it more pleasure, because when he forced her under the water she sensed an air of finality. She had heard that drowning was the worst way to die, and it truly was. It took several minutes for her to open her mouth and let the water swarm in, to choke and squirm for the final time. In her last moments, she wondered if anyone would ever believe what had happened, if anyone would ever find out that such supernatural creatures existed, if anyone would ever discover why one of them killed her. She could only hope her sister would leave room for other possibilities.

I glance at the lake one final time before heading back to the house, wondering if I would ever discover the mystery behind what had happened at the lake that night.