Weeks have gone by since the night out at the lake. I hadn’t heard from my girlfriend in over a week and I am starting to worry.
I have been thinking about getting into the detective business. I will have to get daddy’s permission, but we have been so short on cash lately the old man is likely to give me the green light.
My girlfriend, Jenny, had decided to go to this lake that was close to where she used to live. We had been hanging out in the cabins there a few times and I thought her staying at the lake would be a much-needed break for both of us. I was starting to get poor grades and I hated it.
In fact I was so stressed out and tired that I had forgotten we had a date that night. I figured I would just get her a gift and say sorry for being late. So I went and got her a gold necklace that she had been wanting for a while. It was one of a kind and there was no way that I could have afforded it until that night and when I went to her door, she wasn’t home. I left the gift on her porch and went home.
When she didn’t come to school the next day I got worried. I went to her house to find out that her parents had no idea where she was. They told me she hadn’t even been home and had left angrily. This was very unusual for her as she never begins a fight like that.
That weekend was horrible. I spent it in the library trying to figure out what had happened. I looked in her room, and she was gone. Her clothes, her jewelry, her makeup, they were all gone. So I had thought the only way to find her was to go to the lake.
The road leading there was about a few klicks from my house and it was pitch black out by the time I got there. It took me forever to get there and the feeling of disappointment was starting to settle in on me. It was cool and dark and I could smell the lake from my vehicle. It reminded me of the time we had gone out to the lake. In reality this was the last place I wanted to be. I hated the mere sight of it.
The thought of the lake made me feel like a small child again. That I was afraid of the dark and that I longed to run. The lake was dark and the forest had given it a haunted look.
The moon was magnificent and when I was close to it, I could see the water lying there. There was no sound but the waves lapping against the shore. There was no clue as to where my girlfriend was. I felt like I was going to throw up.
As I looked more closely, I saw that the sand was stained red. I am not sure what I thought it was, but I ran towards it. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I felt like I was being watched.
I stopped at the edge of the red. “Jenny?” I called. I felt like my voice was going to shatter.
There was nothing.
I went back to her car to get my flashlight. I started to walk towards the cliff’s edge. The idea was that any presents would have fallen to the rocks on the beach.
I looked down and the sea breeze was blowing my hair, my jacket was fluttering in the wind. I was nervous so I turned back towards my car, planning to try the same trail up but it was gone. I ran towards it and the air was still.
I felt a shiver go down my spine. I used my flashlight and looked around. I couldn’t find my car anywhere. I went back to the other side of the beach and saw the tracks leading into the forest. I followed them and it only got darker and darker.
When I got to the end of the trail, there was a small clearing. There was an old shack where the lake emptied out or the ocean. There was an opening to a cave and a mountain range stood behind it.
I took a breather near the trees. Though it was dark, particles of light came in from the sky. I remembered reading a story about an evil wizard being trapped down here and how despite all of the cold and darkness, he would still curl up into a ball and explode of of all of it. I took that as a sign, so I decided to wait in that clearing, not sure of what I was going to do.
I was petrified by the spot on the beach where the old shack had been. The water was still there but there was no exit. I was scared that the water would come up and take me away.
I hardly got any sleep that night. I kept expecting to feel her arms around me, her lips against mine, but the only thing I felt was that dark rock cave. That is where I ended up the next morning.
I saw the sun start to rise and the light came down to the cave. I sighed when I heard the hisses coming out of the cave.
It was then that I started to notice that the rock in front of it was moving.
I thought of the story I had read about the evil wizard that was trapped there and I ran over to it. The rock was connected to the ocean and the howls were coming from there.
I heard a crack and when I turned my head around, I could see the ocean flooding the cave. I was trapped.
It was so dark and the sound of the water hitting the walls was like a hurricane. There was no source of light, so I took my backpack off and took out my flashlight. I looked around as I kept to the edge of the wall where the water was more shallow.
I saw a small crevice and I looked inside to see a small room with a treasure chest. The area was dry and I moved in to take a closer look. Inside was a mirror and some clothes. I found a bow and quiver with some arrows and I took them. I grabbed my flashlight and went over to the chest.
Inside it was an old cloak. It was navy blue with jewels embedded in it. I examined it carefully and saw text that was written in golden ink. It read:
When darkness comes, warmth will follow; the darkest night will be eternally brightened by the stars. He shall outlast us all, and he will be the last to bow.
I sighed and held the cloak for a moment. I picked up my flashlight and went towards the opening of the cave.