The Leopard Of The Lake

THIS STORY IS PART OF A SERIES CLICK HERE FOR THE PREVIOUS PART

ONE

The family car ride had become boring after only the first half hour and by the two-hour mark, it had become unbearable. Mel had hit Cal in the arm so hard he nearly cried and when dad yelled at them they both wanted to cry. Neither of them could even remember what the initial fight had been about and now they ride in silence.

They had started their journey somewhat late in the day so now the moon hung high in the sky. Mel gave Cal a look that she had given him many times this ride. A confused look that asked, "Where are we going?" Cal does what he did the last five times she gave him this look and shrugs. This thought consumes his mind as well. Something strange is happening and the two siblings needed to figure out what it is.

Cal looks around the car trying to act like he is looking at the scenery but what he actually doing is making sure his parents aren't looking at them. Dad has his eyes on the road and mom seems to be dosing off. Confident that he won't be seen by them he pulls out the cellphone that Dover had left them and types something on an empty text message thread. He discretely hands the phone to Mel to read.

"Does dad seem scared?"

She erases his words and types back, "Less scared, more angry. We left so abruptly."

"Right?" He types after she hands the phone back, "Why was he in such a hurry?"

"It didn't seem like he really knew, he just told mom that we were going on a trip out of nowhere." Mel types.

"Well, I am glad I grabbed the phone before dad rushed us out."

"Me too, should we text Dover?" Asks Mel through text.

"Yes."

TWO

*BUZZ BUZZ*

Agent Dover pulls his hand away from the computer keyboard and checks the new text. When he finally unglues his eyes from the computer screen he glances at the much smaller phone screen to see that it is from the kids. A sort of SOS message, something about their parents acting funny. His eyes that were only looking at screens now widened to the point that he could see almost 360 degrees. Adrenaline dumps into his bloodstream and he slams the laptop shut before taking off down a long, dark corridor.

THREE

"Are we there yet?" Asks Cal, in a whiny voice.

"And where is 'there' anyways?" Asks Mel, in a much harsher tone.

Their parents don't respond for a moment, they just simply look forward. The longer the drive has been the more and more quiet and creepy they had become. In a sudden flash of movement, their dad looks at them in the rearview. He shushes them at an almost imperceptible volume causing chills to run down both of the kid's spines.

"Uh," Says Cal nervously and starts to breathe quicker. Mel puts her hand on his shoulder and glances at the pocket that has the cellphone in it. She meant to comfort him with the thought that Dover would save them if something would happen, but it made her more worried because Dover hasn't responded yet. His breathing subsides and he looks out the window. She follows suit and prays that Dover will get back to them soon.

FOUR

The parking garage gave all of the eerie feelings that most parking garages do at night but Dover noticed none of it. He had descended the building floor by floor after receiving the text from the kids and now he is looking for a vehicle. He needed something nondescript and a bit old so that he could fly under the radar.

*BUZZ BUZZ*

He checks his phone from the front seat of a 95 Camry to see that his employer had texted, "Still only two of the four codes received, you have 15 minutes before we terminate our contract. B." Dover curses under his breath and remembers how Cal reacts to foul language.

"You swore," He says to himself, with a half-smile, then jump-starts the car before speeding out of the garage.

FIVE

When dad first started to close his eyes while driving, Mel and Cal rightfully freaked out. Once he started to do it regularly they absolutely panicked. Both parents said "Testing optics," at the same time, then dad closed his eyes while mom watched the road. Somehow dad even made a turn correctly and never even swerved out of his lane. Eyes closed he is a perfect driver.

"OPEN YOUR EYES!!" Shouts Mel at her father.

"PLEASE!!" Chimes in Cal, and their father does.

For a moment they see a strange look in his eyes, a look of panic, a look of fear. A single tear comes down his cheek, then the stoic mask comes back on and he gives them the almost silent shushing again. He goes back to driving and the kids sit motionless in the back seat with eyes as wide as saucers.

SIX

Dover threads the needle of speeding, erratic driving, and following the law. He needs to move quickly, but wouldn't be able to convince a cop that he is an FBI agent. After checking the odometer and finding that the car has over 200,000 miles on it, he honestly wasn't sure how much Tokyo Drifting this car could do. He thought it best to not push the car too hard.

*BUZZ BUZZ*

He knows who it is, and it isn't the kids, they knew not to text repeatedly. It is his employer telling him his time is up. This was part of the reason he fled the building, he knew they would be after him the second they knew he was out. A quick glance at the cellular device told him that he is a dead man walking... or rather, driving.

SEVEN

The car stops so hard that the kids nearly hit their faces on the backs of their parent's seats.

"What is going on?" Calls out Mel.

"You okay?" Cal asks mom who did hit her head on the dash and has blood flowing freely from her forehead.

"Fine," Mom says looking at him blankly.

"Oh, okay," Says Cal shifting in his seat.

"Where are we?" Asks Mel.

"Wha-" Says Cal in a breathy voice. He is looking out of the window towards a foggy lake about twenty-five feet away. The large trees around the lake cut the bright moonlight into strange shapes in the fog and on the water. Walking in front of the lake is what has caught Cal's eye though. It is a large spotted jungle cat lurking around and staring at the car with glowing eyes.

"Is that a leopard?" Asks Mel almost involuntarily.

EIGHT

"COME ON, COME ON, COME ON!!" Dover shouts at his burner phone. The little device just barely has enough processing power to complete the task that the agent needs it too but it makes do with a glitchy beep. He cheers with a clenched jaw as he rips the cord out of his phone and throws it out of the window. Instantly the burner starts to navigate the angry man to his destination.

"Hold on kids, I am on my way."

NINE

"Attempting Connection." Says mom and dad in unison, over and over.

"Let us out!" Shouts Mel as she yanks as hard as she can on her door handle.

"What do you think is happening to them?" Asks Cal as he reaches up to poke dad on the cheek. He did not react, both of them just look forward like robots.

"I think it might have something to do with Nana's old life." Says Mel.

"The animals?"

"Attempting Connection." Mom and dad repeat.

"Yes, I think we are going to have to deal with a leopard... only this time, a real one," Mel says gesturing out Cal's window.

"Yeah, that sounds, scary."

"You think? Let us try and find something to break the window with."

"And deal with the leopard?" Asks Cal.

"Would you rather stay here with these two?! Repeating, blank face mom and dad are giving the willies."

"Okay, let us check under the seats?"

"Attempting Connection." Say, mom and dad

"Find anything?" Asks Mel.

"There is this bottle of water."

"Is it full?"

"Yes, do you think it would work?"

"No?!" Shouts Mel with sarcasm.

"Sorry, I don't know what I am doing."

"It's okay, sorry, wait! In the center console, dad put a window breaker in there."

"Attempting Connection." Mom and dad say, but Mel says the last syllable with them.

TEN

The kids freeze and stare at each other with eyes the size of the moon. A shiver runs through both of them and then Cal starts to breathe heavily. Mel puts her hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay Cal," Mel says with a hitch in her throat.

"Mel?" Asks Cal, with a quickening breath. He is scared of what is happening to his sister, but he is also quite worried because he is pretty sure he heard the words in his head as well as on his family's lips.

"It's... Attempting Connection." She says and then closes her eyes hard, like she is trying to fight something. With a head shake she reaches into the center console.

"I am scared," Says Cal.

"Attempting Connection," She says with a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Oh no," Cal says moving away from his sister. The realization that she is about to fall victim to whatever has mom and dad strikes him like a bullet.

She hands him the window breaker and repeats the phrase one more time before looking at Cal with sad eyes and says, "Run."

ELEVEN

Cal scrambles with the window breaker as Mel completely loses herself and the repeated phrase suddenly changes. He is now trying to break the window of a car full of his family members chanting "Stop. Stop. Stop." Focus is nearly unattainable because his breathing has reached a nearly dangerous rate.

His vision blurs from tears and tunnels from hyperventilation. He feels a hand grab his leg and he starts to kick wildly. The window breaker falls out of his hand and he shouts in frustration. His foot finally finds something solid and he hears a crack as he strikes. The handhold on his foot releases sending him to the floor of the car to scrabble for the window breaker.

"Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop." The trio continues to chant as they now all pile into the back seat of the sedan. Cal feels the pressure of bodies stacked on top of him and for a strange moment, he is aware of rib-cracking. He yells in pain and for some reason it makes the three of them freeze for a moment.

Cal doesn't know if he is imagining, but it feels like they might have given him some breathing room. Fueled by pure panic, the little boy pushes his way through the unwanted, familial, dogpile and up to the driver's seat of the car. One hard tug on the door handle and he finds himself with a choice.

The choice between his scary, zombie-like, family trying to "stop" him or this very eerie night outside of the car. This thought comes into his mind in a microsecond and the decision is made even sooner. Cal runs out of the car as fast as he can.

His shoes dig into the wet grass as he makes a beeline towards the trees lining the lake. When he breaks into the trees it is like being inside of an unlit Jack-O-Lantern at night. Hyperventilation and running are not a good mix but the sound of running footsteps behind him kept him moving.

His shoes soak right through to his socks as he pushes his body to the limits. A quick glance behind him confirms that he is being pursued by his family. They are running full boar at him and he wished that he was being pursued by slow zombies instead of the fast ones that he has been saddled with.

After what had seemed like an eternity of running, Cal takes a moment to breathe. He leans against an impressively large tree and huffs as he searches the landscape for his terrifying family. The thick, dark, foggy forest made it almost impossible to see anything but as he caught his breath he could focus. He doesn't see anyone, even when he squints and strains his eyes.

"Where did they go?" He whispers to himself.

When he got his heart rate from a frantic running speed down to regular levels of being in a horror film he decided to look for a way out. Maybe he could get to the car and drive away? He knew that it would be tough because he had never even sat behind the wheel before, but maybe he could figure it out.

Wandering now, he started to take some of the surroundings in. He notices just how stunningly bright the moon is tonight. What that beautiful light is illuminating is much more off-putting. The sight dampening fog added a creepy vibe to everything, especially the lake that he now found himself standing in front of.

He surveys the lake and the tree line beyond it, looking for his family or the car. The thought of the large cat came back to mind and he steps backward unintentionally. The question flows through his mind like a firefighter's hose, "What am I going to do?"

Another step back lands his foot on something strange... something metal. He jumps at the sound his foot makes on the apparent hatch, then again when he hears that something else had heard the sound. Leopard spots and family members flood his mind as his breathing rate increases again.

What is coming for him? Was that the silhouette of a person? Did a cat just growl? He spins in fear, trying to keep an eye on everything as more and more strange sounds come from seemingly every direction. He fears for his life, then he almost passes out when someone emerges from the trees.

Mel comes sprinting towards Cal with blank murder in her eyes and he closes his eyes shut so hard that they hurt. He feels hands grab his shoulders and he is yanked to the ground with a scream. He wiggles and kicks but he is pulled across the ground before he hears a loud bang and for a moment, there is a very dark silence...

To Be Continued...