The Lake Resort

It was fall , the girl had escaped ..

She sat overlooking the lake knowing that time here was fleeting.The fog rolled off the water as if steam off a hot bath,welcoming.

She looked down and her worn burgundy Dr Martens, her ripped tights, her black slip and hoodie, she should have run with more clothing.

The motel was cheap and no one would think to look here and it was near water, the girl loved the water, but when her mind went to the dark regions she felt she would be enveloped by the lake, her fear of drowning was intense. The girl needed to shake off these thoughts in her brain, drug free, booze free she should be able to transform.

Free..

Her last days in New York were a blur of anger and deceit. They had been together six months, a volatile relationship. He had approached her at the library where she worked, a beautiful man with long grey hair, a beard and piecing dark grey eyes. He looked like a wizard she thought, and she gave him the silent nickname of Merlin. He presented himself as a scholar, interested in old books about magic. Whenever he visited the library her heart would skip, and she felt him staring at her. She was intrigued, drawn into his world so quickly. He introduced her to a lifestyle she did not really want, a romantic Rapunzel kept in a dungeon, she preferred to read about it in her books. He was dangerous, his appearance would change, he looked older one day and then like a child the next, she called him Dorian Grey. One day he would bring flowers and be dressed in a suit, the next day he would look deranged in a flowing cape, making her drink Potions or teas he had made on the stove. Some days she was violently ill. He played in a folk band he said but she never saw him play. Many nights out late, rehearsing he claimed but he would come home and act strange. The days passed, she quit her job at the library and just lived for him. She did not leave the apartment, spending her days reading the books he brought for her, eatting the food he provided, sipping the potions he made, at first it was a dream, idyllic. A willing prisoner in love.

Then he started to go mad, he looked like he had aged his skin turning a bluish grey his voice was no longer kind but gruff. And then the evening with all the blood, he became more energized after that. Hyper and manic. The girl herself spiraling downward, the pills he gave her made her sleepy and in her fantasy the wizard Merlin became Dracula, she knew it was a dream those legends were only in books. Every night he would disappear and come back more agitated, it felt more than a drug fueled psychosis. To afraid to ask , silence prevailed and she waited trying to plan an escape.

The man she has loved had become a monster, a wolf tearing at her flesh, a demon consumed by opioids. Her mind was not her own and she knew he would kill her next. Her Raven black hair had been torn by the roots and even though like her namesake the Raven she had flown, the wolf was howling through the trees.

Warning her that her past was coming..

She was startled back to reality by a noise from the lake , a howl as the fog rose, the undulating lake swirled ,movement below, the fishes circling. Why had she come here?

The girl went back to her room, locking the door, the brown paneling, the tattered blanket, the t.v with a button that turned but did nothing. It was not welcoming. No one would stay here unless they were desperate and she was. But the view from the deck was freeing, the horizon on the other side of the lake seemed endless. It was vast and would take her to a new place.

The old lady, the caretaker at the front desk, had said as much, that the hotel was a dump but the scenery was breathtaking. The lady did not ask too many questions, she looked like she knew all that was within the girl. Returning to her leather bound book, the caretaker was drawing symbols in the margins. The book looked familiar, like one she had seen from her library days. The lake resort was a faded ruin but the caretaker was immaculate, a perfect 50s suit in a forest green, her blouse a deep reflective blue. She did not look old enough to wear such a style,with real pearls and an updo. Her eyes were grey and there were scars on her face, masked by make up. But the garish light revealed too much.The work of a surgeon, how had the caretaker ended up here. Maybe tomorrow the girl would ask her although conversation did not seem wanted.

The events leading up to her escape had been intense, the man, wizard, “Merlin” had kept her locked in her apartment for days claiming acid rain was coming, he had lost the plot. She gradually packed a small bag scrounged through her pockets and got some money together, where she would go she knew not. She had no friends, all had abandoned her when she had taken up with the man. They had been intertwined by drugs and the occult, not for long but long enough for her to change. He claimed to be a mystic , a musician, a mentor, a magician but had become a murderer. The girl was scared.

She had a flyer for a lake resort torn from a magazine he had given her. She had it secreted away in her hoodie pocket.It seemed a place no one would look. Her plans had been visualized for three weeks , she appeared placid and subservient to the man, but hiding away her secrets to get out. Pretending to drink his potions knowing she needed a clear head and finally the day he said he had a gig and would be out.

She flew.

Taking a train to the last stop then walking, the air of the lake smelling of freedom.

Today was a new day. She had slept soundly with some disturbing dreams but her brain was processing a lot. Her body still felt drained and week, it would take time. She sat on the edge of the bed counting the faded squares of the 70s wallpaper, she looked down at the carpet , the rust shag was thread bare in parts and she had not noticed the burn marks there before, forming a pattern that seemed familiar to her.The whole room felt strangely darker, but she was free.

She walked to the lobby, the woman had made coffee and it smelt good. The caretaker looked fresh and more vibrant in the morning light, maybe she had applied more make up. Her eyes appeared blue and shone. The girl commented on her appearance, “fresh as a daisy” she responded. The girl purchased a granola bar and walked to the lake and sat and thought about her future.

Would the man even care if she had left ?

Why did she feel that there were other people in the motel watching her, it was fall so no tourists, she felt movement. There were no cars parked. the lady had assured her that the resort was empty, not asking why she was here. Explaining the weekend would see some occupants for fishing and hunting and she should be careful of walking in the woods. Still she did not feel safe and knew she should leave soon, formulating plans for her new life

As she sat looking at the lake a feeling of knowing that she needed to cleanse herself of all that had happened in New York. The man had returned home, trying to hide what he had done, was it a drug deal gone wrong , she suspected something more sinister. He was covered in blood, manically chanting in tongues. If she believed in possession, she would have said he was possessed. The weapon a sword was old and he hid it in the wall. She did not know why she stole it, maybe to protect herself or to use to incriminate him , it was wrapped in a scarf hidden at the motel.

Another night passed, the dreams seemed more real, he was coming for her. Again she woke and knew she needed to leave here, even though she had felt drawn here. By the weekend people would be at the resort it would not feel safe, she felt she needed the lake, but why?

It was particularly foggy this morning , the caretaker was not around but there was coffee. She sat watching the fog creeping towards the pier she was sitting on, that extended from the back of her room. It was spiraling ,dancing, twirling and she wanted to dance with the fog. Something grabbed her leg from beneath the deck. Was it her imagination, had she been that far gone her mind had broken.She ran back to her room, and started to pack knowing that this place was not where she should be.

In the shadows she hid, looking at the lake. She watched as the caretaker walked from the lake naked and younger, behind her she saw another figure older but she recognized the walk , how had the man got here. The caretaker reached back and grabbed his free hand. She still looked serene and happy. They were a couple. In his other hand was the sword which had been hidden in her motel room, he held like a warrior going into battle. How were they both part of the lake, the dawning realization that her body, her shell was walking to the lake. The realization that it was all a plan to lure her in. The potions had taken her spirt , the burnt marks she had seen were signs of the occult and that the caretaker and “Merlin” had robbed her where now apparent. The sword would take her blood and it would feed the lake. No willpower left as the water took her.

The girl looked down at her hands they were wrinkled old, her stolen youth.

She now understood the last six months had been a lie she had been fooled by not a mystic, or a man but something more sinister, supernatural, Her life force taken by the spirits of the lake.