The Lake

The lake had always been frozen. Ever since I was born. It sits about a mile out of town and is secluded in a small forest. The trees grew thick around it, leaving just enough room to get through the small path that led to it. If you didn't know the lake was there you might never find it.

The people of the town rarely went there. It was a place for teenagers to go really, but most didn't even go anymore. I went every day though. It was so fascinating to me. The temperature here stayed pretty even throughout the summer. From April to October it stayed around 75 degrees during the day, and 60 degrees at night. It went down in the fall and winter, but the frozen lake stayed that way all year.

Our mayor had made a statement years ago that the surrounding area had been subjected to testing and left the lake a frozen mass. Everybody accepted that and moved on with their lives. I couldn't do that though.

One summer, I spent every day at the lake. I studied it. I drew it. I brought home samples from different parts of it. I studied them, compared them to ice from my freezer. The ice from the lake always melted when I took it home. I tried to dig to the bottom. It was so deep and thick, I couldn't do it in one day. When I came back the next day, the hole was filled in and I had to start over. I tried digging as long as I could without stopping. I dug for 26 hours, taking small breaks of course. Eventually though, I fell asleep beside the lake, too tired from digging so long. I woke up and the hole was gone. As if I hadn't even dug anything.

After that, I decided to go a different route. I started doing chores and mowing lawns, and cleaning pools. Anything I could to make money. I saved up enough to order two trail cameras. They are normally used to check where deer are in the woods, but I had to find out how the hole filled itself up.

I took the cameras to the lake and set them up. One was attached to a tree that could see a wide shot of the whole lake. The other was attached to a different tree that had a branch the hung over the lake. I set it to where it would look straight down at the hole that I was about to make. I spent a few hours making the hole, big enough and wide enough that it could be seen on the camera, then went home.

I came back the next day, and sure enough the hole was filled. I checked the camera and it was gone. I went to the other camera and it was gone too. Something strange was happening here and I was going to figure it out. I went home to come up with a new plan.

I had to get help with this, but I didn't trust anyone with this information. My parents wouldn't believe me, no adult would. I had no real close friends. I spent most of my time with my computer playing and making games online. I had one online friend who I'd played with a lot, but even he'd think I was crazy. It wouldn't hurt to ask him though.

I got online only to see he wasn't on right now. He lived a few hours away and might already be in bed. I sent him a message so that he would see it when he logged in next.

Hey DeathStar917, I wanted to ask you what you thought about strange mysteries? I have a lake in my town that stays frozen all of the time. I've tried to figure it out, but I keep getting stumped. I'd like to bounce some ideas off of you. Message me back.

I sent the message and left the computer on so I would hear the notification if he messaged back. I laid on my bed staring at the ceiling, thinking of all the possibilities for the lake. I slowly drifted off to sleep.

I woke up to a loud metallic clanging sound. The first thing I noticed was the room. It wasn't my bedroom. The ceiling and walls were made of metal and there was a single dim light bulb dangling from the ceiling. It slowly swayed back and forth, making the room seem to spin and move. I was laying on a small cot on the floor that had no sheets or pillows, just a small dirty mattress. There was a toilet and sink in the opposite corner of the room, right beside a metal door. There were no windows and it looked as if the door was the only way in or out of the room.

The clanging continued. It was almost hypnotic. I tried to look around for any clue to where I was, but couldn't find anything. I went to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked from the outside. I started to panic.

"Hey!" I shouted. "What's going on! Let me out of here!" The clanging stopped. Then, it started back up again, but faster than before. It was almost like someone sending a message. It was three quick, short clangs, three longer clangs, then three short ones again. Then, it would pause and do it all over again.

"Hey-" I started again, but the door opened and I almost fell right into the person opening it. I got my balance and made a run down the hallway that the door opened into. I made it three steps before something grabbed the back of my shirt, then wrapped an arm around me.

Instantly, I was cold. It was like the temperature dropped a hundred degrees. It felt like I was going to freeze to death. The person brought me back to my room, threw me in, and stood in the doorway. As soon as I hit the floor, I felt warm again. There was still freezing air coming from the doorway though.

"Please don't do that again," the man that I ran into said in a chilling voice. He sounded eerie, and looked the same. He was taller than most people, but very skinny, and had no hair. No hair anywhere. No eyebrows, no hair on his head, and even no hair on his arms. He didn't even have eyelashes. I noticed the other guy, the one who grabbed me, was the same way. Actually the two men looked almost identical. The only difference was the man who grabbed me was shorter.

"Who are you?" I asked. "What do you want with me?"

"We just need to ask you some questions. Please follow me." The first man turned and left the room. The second waited for me to follow, then closed the door behind me, and followed us.

They took me to a room with a table and two chairs, one on either side of the table. The first man sat in one and I was instructed to sit in the other. The second man stayed outside in front of the door.

"I'll make this quick," the man started. "Why are you testing the lake?"

I stared at him, confused as to why he was asking about the lake. "The Lake?" I finally said.

"Yes. The frozen lake. Why?"

"Lakes don't stay frozen like that. I was trying to figure out why. Are you the government?"

"I am with government. The lake needs to be left alone."

The questions just came pouring out of me. "Why is it frozen? How do the holes fill so quickly? Why does it melt when taken away from the lake? What part of the government are you with?"

"I can't answer those. Leave the lake alone."

"I won't. Answer my questions."

"I can't."

"You won't."

"Leave the lake alone. I will erase this memory and you won't remember this." The man pulled a device from the ceiling that I hadn't seen there yet. It was just a metal square that had a few blinking lights on it.

"Wait!" I said, afraid of my memory being erased. " I'll leave it alone."

"I don't believe you," he said, continuing to ready this device.

"Fine. Fine, then just tell me why it's frozen. If you are going to erase my memory anyway, at least tell me why it is."

"You want a story, fine. We're aliens. We come from a planet very far away that is extremely cold. We are a species that lays eggs. Our eggs have to be kept in extreme cold temperatures. Hence, the frozen lake. We have created technology that helps us keep the lake frozen all year long, and to help us fill holes if they're made by stupid earthlings like you. Why didn't we choose one of the poles you ask? Because you humans are already destroying your planet like we did with ours. The poles are melting at an alarming rate, so we found what we thought was a secluded spot, many, many years ago. Just to give us some time to find a more suitable planet for our needs.

"Then, you humans built a town right next to it. Started showing off the lake that never melts. We had to intervene and make them believe it was a manufacturing accident, so they would leave it alone. Most kids enjoy the lake and it's mystery, but you couldn't let it go. So now I have to erase this memory. Everything except, stay away from the frozen lake."

I sat there processing the story, trying to think of what to say, while he started pressing buttons on the machine.

"Why didn't you go to Pluto?" I finally asked.

He looked at me confused. "What's Pluto?"

"It's the last planet in our solar system. Well, technically not a planet anymore, but it stays at like negative 380 degrees Fahrenheit all the time. It's way colder than here."

"Oh. There was some error in judging this solar system. I will look into Pluto."

"Ok. Does this mean-" I started as the machine made a whirring sound, emitted a bright flash, and everything started going dark.

"Do you think he believed that?" A voice said.

"It doesn't matter. He won't remember it."

***

I woke up. I looked at my poster of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on my ceiling. I heard a notification ding on my laptop. I looked over and saw I had a message from DeathStar917.

Hey Wookie330, Wanna play today?

Yes. I responded back. But a little later. I have something to do first.

I left my house and headed out of town to the lake. I got there and something made me feel uneasy. Something seemed different. The lake looked normal. Ducks were floating on the water. There was a man fishing from the bank across from me. A couple of kids were swimming not too far from where I was.

I sat under the tree that I normally sat under, and got out a book. It was a book on other life in the universe. I sat there reading and listening to the wind push small waves onto the rocks at the edge of the lake. I wondered to myself if there really was other life out there.