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Well, in honor of Halloween, I've resurrected a story that I started working on back in February. I'm still not finished with it, but here's what I have so far. Please let me know if this is any good or if it's utter crap and I should stop wasting time on it. I know there are still people on this forum! Please help! :) ******************************************************* I stand, shivering, at the end of the dock. The gray October sky watches silently. The air is still, nothing stirs. The lake is calm, an icy reflection of the sky above. The world joins me in my moment of silence. But the lake is deceiving us. Its calm exterior hides the darkness below. I used to love this place. The old cabin, nestled gently between towering trees, the lake, always reflecting the sky-sunbeams sparkling across the surface, the pale rays of the moon slowly dancing, breaking the darkness. This place was a sanctuary to me, filled with happy memories. It had been a serene, peaceful, safe haven. No longer. I haven’t been here for over a year now. I didn’t want to return, ever, but it is October 23 once again. A full year has passed since the shadow was cast out. The ordeal itself lasted a mere three months, but its horror and destruction will certainly stay with me forever. Which is why I have returned here, where it all began. A small breeze sweeps through, rustling the gold and red leaves that still cling defiantly to their branches. They too will eventually fall. But spring promises to bring back more, to continue the cycle. Life replaces death. I turn my back to the lake, wipe away the few tears that had fled from my eyes, and returned to my own life. My name is Miriam Geter. I have always had a love/hate relationship with my name. It sounds like an old woman’s name, which really bothered me in junior high. But it is unique. In many of my classes, there were several Jennifers, Sarahs, and Heathers. But only one Miriam. My parents chose it from the Bible. Miriam, the sister of Moses, who followed her brother’s basket until the Pharaoh’s daughter drew him out of the river. At any rate, as I grew older, I made peace with my name and, after recent events, have even drawn strength from it. These events of which I speak are hard to describe, to put into words. Many scoff at them, others pity me, believing I invented this story to explain what happened to my friends. Others recoil in horror. Only a very few have accepted my story at face value. I rarely tell it, but it is necessary to put it out there. The evil is real, it exists, whether we choose to believe it or not. Sometimes we create our own evil. But sometimes, evil finds us. The three of us met our freshman year of college. We had signed up for the same writing course. Lanie Kimmins, Keila Traeger, and myself. Lanie was a small and timid brunette with dark, haunting eyes. She grew up in a small town in Wyoming. How she ended up in Vermont is something I doubt I will ever fully understand. She always knew the answers though. Without a doubt, she was the girl everyone tried to cheat off of. We, her friends, thanked our lucky stars that she always offered to go over our papers-many “C” worthy work transformed into “Bs” or even “As” thanks to her diligence. Keila was her opposite in almost every way. She was a native to the area with bright green eyes and short blonde hair. Extrovert doesn’t even begin to describe her. Sweet at heart, she laughed continuously at everything around her. But such was her nature that even when she laughed at you, you never felt hurt nor embarrassed but just joined in. She, too, was smart but rarely did she put much effort into her work, which sometimes drove Lanie to the edge. But Keila would just flash that smile at her and all would be well once again. As for me, I was often the moderator of the trio. They both appealed to different sides of me. Keila loved having a good time-parties, barhopping, dance clubs, whatever. She belonged more in a big city than this small college town. Lanie had a more dreamy nature. She’d come along with us when we went out, but her eyes always had a far-away look. She belonged out under the sky. I grew up outside Buffalo, New York. But I spent many summers at my parents’ cabin on a small nameless lake in Wisconsin, where my mother grew up. It was here I brought Lanie and Keila last July. It was here that all our trouble began.

“I can’t believe we’ll be moving into our apartment in a few days!” Lanie said as we sauntered down to the dock. Our junior year began in late August, but since we had gotten into the campus-owned apartment, we could move in August 1. “Yeah, well, I can’t believe they haven’t updated those rooms. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that color green in a bathroom. Or anywhere, for that matter,” Keila commented. “Hey, the ’70s never die,” I said. “Though perhaps someone should put them out of their misery.” “Yeah, no kidding. Well, we’ll just have to buy some rugs and stuff. It’ll be fun! Too bad we can’t paint or anything,” Lanie said as she dropped her towel on the dock. We had one more night here and then we’d start the long drive back to civilization. It was about midnight and we decided to have a little late-night picnic on the dock. There was an occasional breeze and the haunting call of the loons. Someone across the lake set off a few firecrackers, leftovers from the Fourth of July. A half-full moon smiled gently down on us, her beams lovingly reflecting off the surface of the water. One couldn’t ask for a more perfect night. We talked idly of classes, our apartment, the fact that none of us were dating- “I think that means we’re failing college,” Keila joked. We ate chips and cookies and drank Coke and beer. Lanie kept strictly to Coke, Keila to beer, and I varied between the two. The hours passed and we ran out of snacks and drinks. The conversation turned to slumber parties that we had gone to as kids. “Ah, those were the days. Playing ‘Girl Talk’ and Truth or Dare. And everyone always tried to do something with my hair. But these flaming red curls will not be tamed!” I joked, reaching up in a feeble attempt to run my fingers through them. “Truth or Dare is the grea-*test*-('") game ever,” Lanie chimed in. “What about playing with Ouija boards?” Keila asked. I felt a knot grow in my stomach. “No way,” I said quietly. “Those things are evil.” “Oh come on, Mir. It’s just a game. Demons and ghosts aren’t going to possess you.” “You don’t fool around with those things. I’m serious. They’re bad, worse than bad.” I gave a little shudder. “Have you ever used one?” Keila demanded. I shook my head. “Know anyone who has had a bad experience with one?” she continued. “Well, no, but still…” “I can’t believe you. You really believe in demons? Are little devils going to get me for playing with a stupid board?” She was standing now, really getting excited. “Look, Keila, I don’t know what’s out there. I just don’t think you should fool around with that stuff. Let’s just change the subject,” I pleaded with her. I wasn’t overly religious and didn’t know or think much of the spiritual realm. But I had always been warned away from Ouija boards and the like. I had seen grown men get looks of terror in their eyes when the subject was brought up. I had no desire for this conversation to continue. But Keila had to have the last word. She turned towards the dark lake. “Hey, if there is a demon out there, I challenge you to show yourself! Prove to us you exist!” she shouted to the darkness. “Keila, no!” I yelled. Lanie just sat in shock. A cool breeze blew again, pushing a cloud in front of the moon. For an instant that lasted an eternity, the world stood still and silent. Then the cloud continued on its path and the moon reappeared. I glanced out at the lake. It was still, except for a faint ripple. “A loon must have dived,” I muttered unconvincingly to myself. “What?” Keila asked. “Nothing,” I said. The ripple was gone, but I couldn’t rid myself of the feeling that I was going to be sick. We continued to sit in silence and I concentrated on breathing, willing myself not to throw up. I was covered in goose-bumps and the whole world seemed to have changed. I dreaded every cloud that approached the moon. The darkness hid unknown horrors. I could only imagine what lurked beneath the water. “Well, I’m tired,” Keila suddenly said in a fake happy voice. “Let’s head back up to the cabin.” Lanie nodded, shaking like a leaf. We gathered our trash and towels and headed back. The whole way (all of ten feet) I felt sure something would jump out and attack us. Nothing did, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched. The next morning dawned bright and beautiful. Birds chased each other, singing and diving. We could hear kids playing in the woods, screaming gleefully. The previous night felt like a lifetime ago. The three of us spent the morning packing and cleaning. No one mentioned the fear from last night, though I don’t think any of us slept well. But it was hard to feel scared with the shafts of sunlight streaming through the canopy of trees. Here and there, you could see patches of blue sky, perfectly complimenting the various shades of green leaves. Part of me felt sad to be leaving. However, I was secretly relieved. As the day wore on, the feeling of being watched from the night before grew stronger. My childhood paradise had been forever tainted by darkness.

It took a couple months, not to mention quite a few dollars but we made our apartment home. We had two bedrooms; Keila and I shared one and Lanie got her own. We agreed that since she was the one who actually studied on a regular basis, she needed a place where she could work uninterrupted. I didn’t mind sharing with Keila, but sometimes I envied Lanie’s ability to shut the door and have some privacy. We bought a twenty-seven inch screen television and a nice entertainment center to put it in. We found the most comfortable couch in the world at a Salvation Army Store and had a hell of a time lugging it up the stairs and through the door. It wasn’t until we finished moving everything that Lanie commented on how we would have to move it all back out at the end of the year. But that seemed a long ways away, so we didn’t worry about it. Classes started in the usual way – the handing out of syllabi, the ground rules of the course, expectations for the semester, etc. We were all different majors - Lanie in English, Keila in Art and myself in Psychology – so we rarely had classes together anymore. That didn’t matter though. We would meet up for lunch when our schedules allowed and then eventually see each other back at the apartment. It was good to be back in school. Sure, classes and homework could be a real pain in the ass, but it was only for a few hours. I was living with my friends, staying up all night and sleeping away the better part of the day on weekends (and a few weekdays as well), going out, meeting guys, playing games, and generally not worrying about life. No 9-5 job, no bills to pay (thanks Mom and Dad!) and a work study position, which basically meant I got paid to sit in the department’s office and do homework. As autumn crept in though, I began to notice changes. Lanie was incredibly stressed out. She couldn’t concentrate on her work anymore. And for some reason, she refused to shut the door to her room. Keila began to feel the strain and it annoyed her. “What the hell are you so afraid of? Is there a monster hiding behind your door? Are you scared the boogeyman is after you?” Keila taunted. “Shut up,” Lanie muttered, her face turning red. She had brought her work out of her room and into the den where Keila and I were watching TV. It was odd, because Lanie usually preferred to work in silence. “Look, I don’t know why you’re so freaked out. It’s your room. You’ve been living there for almost three months. You shouldn’t be scared of it.” “Hey, leaver her alone, ok? She’s just stressed,” I told Keila. Lanie didn’t say anything. “What are we watching? Halloween is almost here. There has to be a decent horror flick on,” Keila said, snatching the remote from me. “Boring, boring, boring,” she droned as she flipped through the stations. “You know, I’ve never understood why people think this movie is scary.” “Which one?” I said, casually glancing through Cosmo’s “101 Most Steamy Sex Tricks.” “Not like I’ll be using these anytime soon,” I thought to myself. “The Exorcist,” she replied. My heart leapt to my throat. “Her head spins and she pukes. Big fucking deal. Moving on.” She kept flipping. But Lanie had a look of sheer terror on her face. She picked up her books and ran into her room, even shutting the door behind her. “Well, what do you know? She figured out how a goddamn door works!” Keila shouted after her. “Jesus, what’s gotten into you?” I asked her. “What?” she said, with an angry, confused look on her face. “Well, no offense, but you’ve been acting like a real bitch lately, especially towards Lanie.” “ME?” she yelled. “What are you accusing me for? She’s the one who’s been acting crazy. Can’t be by herself, always has to leave a light on at night, crying for no reason. I mean, for shit’s sake, she’s acting like a FUCKING CHILD!” she yelled the last part down the hall. “Look, I’ll be the first to admit she’s not acting like herself, but she’s under a lot of stress and you’re not helping. Why don’t you just cut her some slack?” “Oh, I see how it is. You’re on her side, huh? You guys are teaming up on me! You want to drive me out, have this place to yourself? Well trust me, it isn’t going to work!” She jumped up and ran to our room, slamming the door behind her. “Jesus,” I exhaled. What was going on here? Neither of them had been acting normal. Lanie was a bit more pronounced, but Keila’s attitude was downright scary. I had never seen her get so upset before. I shook my head and picked up the remote, making sure to skip over The Exorcist. ***************************************************** I know it's long, but thanks for reading!