The Water Wraith

The Water Wraith

This place is beautiful, she thought. Walking into a grand entrance that led to an even more stunning lobby area, Jana smiled as she stared around at the place that would be her home for the next week. A writer’s retreat. Perfect.

She never got the chance to do this. She was always swamped with work at the office and found it difficult to take even a weekend to herself, she was usually stuck working overtime because her caseload was generally quite heavy. Not this week though. This week she had been determined to take it for herself. She had a book that needed to be written, after all.

“So, this house is 450 years old and has surprisingly held up well over the years...There are twenty bedrooms, two drawing rooms, a dining room, ballroom, as well as multiple bathrooms and of course the kitchen quarters. This house has been part of the same family since it was built and has been beautifully maintained over the years. The owners wished to keep every original part of the building perfectly preserved...but the fact that they required an income from this stately home meant opening it to a select few of the public. That is how The Writer’s Retreat came into being here.”

“Wow!” Jana whispered. Next to her, a man dressed in black jeans and leather jacket let out a low whistle. Clearly impressed by what he was seeing, she thought. There were only five of them for this season of the Writer’s Retreat. She had learned they happened only four times a year and booking was exclusively only for writers and people who required time away to work in solitude and peace.

The mahogany flooring was shining brightly in the warm light, the fires all well-lit in the four fireplaces on either side, eight in total. The lobby was warm and inviting, and as their cheerful host Teddy Winters led them through to their rooms they all looked at each other with silly grins. This was a rare opportunity for any of them, it seemed.

Jana was the last person to be led to her room by Teddy. It was on the first floor after a dizzying climb on a long winding staircase right at the end of a long hallway covered with a rich red carpet. The walls were littered with portraits and landscape paintings, pictures of times long gone. Teddy reached the door first, a large contraption made of oak with large brass handles. Opening it, he gestures with his arm for her to walk in.

“After you, Miss Jana. I’ve put you in the original bedroom of Laurel Ravenswood. She was the daughter of the original Lord Ravenswood who had first had this property built. I think you’ll find it to your liking.” He smiled gently.

Jana was speechless. Mahogany furniture finished with golden gilt, a desk, four-poster bed, wardrobe and chest of drawers...it was stunning. The walls retained their original wallpaper, a dusky damask purple colour with golden patterning tracing through, a beautiful collage that Jana’s eyes were instantly attracted to. The bedding was purple velvet, a colour that matched the walls beautifully. Simple in design but beautiful.

“It’s perfect! Thank you, Teddy!”

That first night she slept like a baby. She didn’t hear the storm thundering outside or the rapping of the tree branches on the window. When she awoke, it was with joy to see the sunlight peeking through the velvet curtains. She jumped out of bed eagerly and ran to the window, desperate to see what lay out there in the grounds. She pulled the curtains gently apart and gasped when she saw the large lake outside. It was covered with fog and mist and she swore she saw someone dive in from beside an oak tree. She shook her head at the person’s daring attitude and decided it would be a great time to get dressed and make her way to the dining room before settling in somewhere to write.

Armed with a notepad and pen in case she had ideas before she began working, Jana made her way downstairs, bumping into the Leather Jacket Guy who gave her a small smile.

“Hey, how are you? I’m Drew. We never got a chance to talk last night. The warden got us to our rooms first.” He then grinned at her.

Jana just chuckled, admiring the paintings on the walls as she spoke. “I’m Jana. You do know how late we arrived, remember? I don’t think I’d have been up for any conversation anyway.”

Drew scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed. “Ah, fair enough. Want to take a stroll before we start work? After breakfast obviously, I’m starving.”

“That would be nice. I want to get a look at that lake outside. Some crazy daredevil took a swim this morning.”

Drews eyebrows raised. “Did they? I wonder who it was. Maybe we’ll see them at breakfast.”

“Maybe…” Jana’s voice trailed off as they walked into the dining room, the table set and full to bursting with a variety of hot and cold foods. Sandwiches, toast, various spreads like jam and butter, fresh fruit, eggs, bacon, anything they could think of and it was right there on the table. Jana’s mouth began watering and she could bet that Drew was eyeing the bacon first. She looked to her left and sure enough she was right, the first thing he did was basically dive towards the bacon and grab a slice, throwing the whole thing in his mouth and letting out a moan of satisfaction.

“So fucking perfect…”

Jana laughed. “Maybe grab a plate and be civilised instead of standing and eating like you’ve never tasted food before?”

“Sure, I could do that.” Drew winked at Jana, mouth still relatively full of bacon as he grabbed a plate and began to pile it high with a variety of food, the main one being bacon.

Over the next couple of days Drew and Jana grew closer. They enjoyed brainstorming ideas with each other and helping each other with their work, as well as exploring the grounds every chance they got. They were into their fourth night there, the mist rising over the lake again when they were out for an evening stroll. They had been warned not to go outside after dark, but the fullness of the moon over the lake and the gentle rise of the mist created a beautifully haunting atmosphere that tempted both Drew and Jana out.

They were sitting under an oak tree together, moving closer together, about to kiss for the first time when they heard a wail. They pulled apart, startled out of their romantic mood by the rapidly growing wail, getting louder in pitch. They threw their hands over their ears to shield them from the noise when Jana spied the same figure that had dived into the water a couple of days earlier, only this time she was rising out of the water. Her white nightgown flowed and clung to her body, revealing a very frail-looking wispy woman, her hair black as night and flowing long past her shoulders.

The wailing grew quieter as she rose and glided forward through the water, towards the very spot where Drew and Jana sat. Jana grew concerned at the girl in the water, thinking she must have been freezing. Drew must have been thinking the same thing because Jana saw him jump up abruptly and pull his leather jacket off, rushing forwards towards the shore to wrap his jacket around the girl’s shoulders. She never looked up once. Instead, her arms raised and she gently placed them around Drew, hugging him gently.

“Hey, hey, you’re okay now. We’ll get you inside and get you warmed up. What were you doing out there? You could have-” Drew stopped talking.

Jana stood up as she noticed the girl’s embrace getting tighter, making Drew struggle to remove himself from her. Her arms were steadily squeezing him and he was growing more shocked and losing energy while fighting for release. Jana screamed at the girl and ran forwards to help try and pry her arms off of Drew, who slowly turned purple, his lungs being crushed.

The girl finally looked up at Jana, making eye contact. Blood-red eyes, screwed up in anger as a spider slowly trailed across one bulbous eyeball stared at Jana, making her stop in her tracks and start to back away slowly. The wraith screamed, it’s mouth opening wide, a big black hole that seemed to grow wider still as the jaw seemed to dislocate itself. Jana didn’t dare to move or breathe.

“Fucking bitch! Let go of me!” Drew managed to scream the insult while finally getting an arm free and punching the thing on the side of its head, making it release him.

The wraith instantly dropped to its haunches, squatting in the water while the fingers and toes suddenly elongated to claws, the face growing longer, the mouth now a large gaping hole. It started to move forward, crawling towards them slowly.

“We need to move, Jana! Come on!” Drew grabbed Jana’s arm and pulled her towards the Manor, both now sprinting as fast as they could, afraid to look behind.

The doors were locked. The rain started to fall in heavy sheets, large drops that pattered loudly everywhere, drowning out the sounds of their screams and knocking on the doors. Jana looked behind her towards the lake and screamed louder. The wraith was right behind them, and as she grabbed Jana, she also reached for Drew’s throat when he had turned around to look. Slowly and steady steps back to the water, the two bodies thrashing, desperate in their attempts to escape her clutches, but failing miserably. As she reached the water, she took her two victims with her, their screams turning to gurgles as they drowned, wrapped in her embrace.

Teddy Winters woke up the next morning and announced to his remaining three guests that the two had fled in the night together. “I guess they found what they came here for.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet!” One of the guests whispered, enraptured with the idea of their beautiful love story.

“Today, I’ll take you on a tour of the Old Library, where it is said that Lady Lauren Ravenswood had died while working on her book.” Teddy smiled, ready to show them around. She’s got three more nights to enjoy herself, he thought. Three more nights and then the house would be closed for the season, to get ready for the next lot of guests.

“This is great stuff! I can’t wait!” One of the guests exclaimed.

Out in the back, next to the oak tree by the lake, lay Drew’s jacket, covered in mud and wet. If any of the guests had ventured out there, they may have guessed at what had happened. But Teddy Winters made sure that the rest of his guests remained indoors until the perfect time. Down in the depths, the Water Wraith waited.

Thank you for reading!