The Lakehouse

And they were never heard of again. Legend says that the murderous ghost of the deceiving telecommunicator still roams the Bolat woods to this day…

“Oh god Lisa, turn off that horrid podcast. The Bolat woods is not infiltrated by a ghost. My family and I have been going there for years,” whines Ceasar as he rolls his eyes in annoyance.

“I know I know, but the ghost podcast is so entertaining. It keeps you on your toes if you’re always on the lookout for something supernatural. You know I love being scared, why else do you think I’m obsessed with horror movies?” explains a grinning Lisa.

“Because you’re crazy. That’s why,” mutters Ceasar under his breath.

“Are we there yet? Trey is snoring back here and if we don’t get there soon I’m going to strangle him!” yells Bridget her eyes ablaze with simmering anger.

Ceasar and Lisa burst out in laughter knowing that their trip was bound to be extremely entertaining with Bridget and Trey being on the outs.

The four friends arrive at their destination. Ceasar’s family holiday home. A two-story lake house next to a beautiful large lake, complete with tyre swings and jet skis. The house was completely hidden in the woods, so they had the area all to themselves.

The friends yell out in excitement as they grab their luggage and enter their home for the weekend. They decide that the best way to christen their visit would be to take a swim in the icy torrents of the lake, so they adorn their bathers and run into the water, screaming and splashing each other as they went.

Trey exits the water to blast on some music and bring some of his homemade brownies down to the lake’s edge. The four friends fill their bellies with chocolate goodness, sing along to Trey’s horrible music playlist and enjoy the rest of the day in the lake.

When their skin had shrivelled up and the sun began to set, they decide to call it a night and go inside. As they prepare some dinner, Caesar’s phone beeps with a message.

Come home immediately, your dad is very sick.

It’s from his mom. Caesar’s heart stops. But before he can call her, his phone screen darkens and the phone dies with a last breathless beep.

“Shit!” exclaims Ceasar in anger. He didn’t have time for this, his dad might be dying!

He decides that he has to go home right away, even if it was dark outside. But he doesn’t want to ruin his friends weekend getaway so he insists that they should stay behind and that he’ll just take the late bus home. His friends are hesitant but are forced to agree when he leaves no room for discussion.

He packs his things in a hurry and his friends walk him to the bus stop nearby. They wait for the bus with him trying to comfort their friend who is now crying, fearing for the worst.

By the time the bus arrives, Ceasar had calmed down a little. Bridget hands him her portable charger and gives him a hug. Lisa follows suit. Finally, Trey steps forward.

“Don’t worry, you go home, I’ll call your mum and let her know you’re coming,” reassures Trey giving his best friend a hug. “Everything will be fine man, just breathe.”

With that final reassurance, Ceasar nods and boards the bus, walking to the back seat before waving his friends goodbye. The bus takes off and the remaining three friends walk back to the lake house.

“Poor Ceasar, I hope he’ll be ok. I can’t believe that his dad got sick today of all days. This was supposed to be our victory weekend,” Bridget ponders, feeling sorry for her friend. The boys’ basketball team had just made it through to the regional division. The four friends had come to the lake house to celebrate. But it seemed that fate had other plans.

“Call his mom,” advises Lisa.

Trey nods and pulls out his phone. Ceasar’s mother answers on the first ring, worry laced in her tone. She hadn’t been too fond of sending four teenagers alone to the lake house, but she wanted them to have some fun after all their hard work, so she had allowed it. Trey fills her in, letting her know that her son is on his way home.

“What do you mean? His dad is fine. I didn’t send him a message like that,” panics Ceasar’s mother.

The three friends freeze. Shock surging through their body.

“Wait what? If you didn't then who did?” exclaims Trey, fear grasping at his lungs.

Back on the bus, Ceasar looks down at his phone which is still charging on Bridget’s portable charger. Worry lines are evident as he thinks about what could have happened to his dad. It doesn't help that he is the only passenger on the bus, there's no way to distract himself from his thoughts.

He decides to ask the bus driver how long the trip will take in an attempt to take his mind off his unwell father. But as Ceasar makes his way to the front of the bus, he is shocked to realise that there is in fact no one driving the bus.

I must be high he thinks, Trey was known to sometimes add cannabis to his homemade brownies.

Yes, that has to be it thinks Ceasar. There’s no way I’m on a bus that has no driver he reassures himself. He thinks back to whether he ever actually saw a driver on the bus when he got on, but he doesn’t recall. He had been in such a hurry to get home that he hadn’t really been paying attention. Ceasar turns around to return to his seat, he probably just needed to sleep off the high. But the sight that meets him as he turns around sends electricity coursing through his veins.

In front of him stood an eery transparent looking man. Dressed in ragged clothes, eyes bloodshot red, a psychopathic smile plastered across his face. The man was holding a phone in his hand and let out a malicious laugh when Ceasar met his eye.

It was the ghost of the murderous, deceiving, telecommunicator. He was real.

Ceasar thinks back to Lisa's podcast from earlier on in the day. It said that the ghost sent false messages to lure his victims away from everyone else before he brutally murdered them. His dad wasn't really sick, was he?

With that realisation, Ceasar lets out a blood-curdling scream.