Lake Encounter Read online

  Kayla bridled. Really? Was that all she could manage? Irritated, Kayla deliberately lagged behind, not surprised when Miera didn’t slack off. Too bad, Kayla thought rebelliously, maintaining the staid tempo. Kayla watched as Miera rounded on her and ran in place. Resentment clouded Miera’s face at being forced to slow down or end up without a running partner. Alarmed, Kayla felt a chill run down her spine. Wow, she hadn’t thought Miera would be that upset.

  Catching up to Miera, she wasn’t surprised when she didn’t say a word. As they ran on, Kayla grew more uncomfortable by the second. She snuck a peek at Miera. Shockingly, her running partner appeared to have regained her sense of humor. Miera’s face showed none of her earlier hostility.

  So why did Kayla feel like there were invisible worms crawling all over her skin? She wasn’t normally so insecure. Unexpectedly, she tasted a familiar, metallic tinge on her tongue. The taste of her fear. Something she hadn’t experienced in a very long time. Through sheer willpower, she had learnt to conquer her nerves whenever they settled in a new area, dodging the unpleasant experience of her saliva turning leaden in her mouth. What was she so afraid of? Surely Miera wasn’t going to turn into some monster? In an effort to calm her nerves (and avoid Miera’s gaze), Kayla averted her eyes toward the frozen lake. She stumbled. Whoa! What was that?

  CHAPTER 4

  “What?” Miera growled.

  “Over there!” Kayla rasped, pointing.

  Miera glanced at the lake. Perplexed, she said, “The geese?”

  “No, silly, whatever’s scaring them!”

  Kayla’s feet slowed to a standstill. Amazed, she gaped at the geese who were scrabbling over one another in their frenzied attempts to escape the intruder in their midst. Their panicked honking filtered through her ear muffs. Whatever the intruder was, it was colossal! And it wasn’t floating either. Just hovering above the water.

  “Why have you stopped?”

  Miera’s irate tone pricked Kayla’s consciousness and she automatically countered, “Because, I’ve never seen anything like that. Have you?”

  Something in Kayla’s tone made Miera finally stop and pay attention. She jogged back to where Kayla stood, studying Kayla as she did so. What she saw was disconcerting. Kayla was ghostly pale and totally focused on whatever was happening on the water. Miera swiveled her head toward the geese. She couldn’t spot anything other than the frantic birds. But Kayla obviously could. Her attention was honed in on a spot near the middle of the lake. As Miera watched, Kayla’s head lifted, as though whatever it was that she was so intent on had taken flight.

  Indeed it had. Kayla’s bemusement as the creature lifted higher was quickly replaced by disgust. Repulsed, Kayla put her hand over her mouth. Ugh! It was awful! Like some horrendously misshapen bird, if it could even be termed a bird. How could it be, with that long, scaly neck and that bizarre tail?

  Standing at the angle she was, Kayla craned her neck, squinting to see more of the tail which was obscured by the senseless geese. What she saw didn’t bode well. The tail was long and tapered with an odd bulge at the end. Shouldn’t it be flared? And where were the feathers? Instead, the tail looked . . . hard and scaly. Like the neck. The beast lumbered upward and then twisted, allowing Kayla her first true glimpse of the entire tail. A smothered scream escaped her lips. What she was seeing was undeniable—the stinger of a gigantic scorpion!

  Miera jumped, startled by Kayla’s unexpected scream. Her eyes never left Kayla’s face, now a mask of horror, and when Kayla jerked backwards involuntarily, Miera rushed forward, grasping Kayla by the elbows to steady her. Worried, Miera supported Kayla as she swayed. There was no doubt in Miera’s mind that whatever Kayla thought she was seeing, it was obviously scaring her out of her wits. Peering at the area Kayla’s eyes were glued to, Miera still couldn’t find anything amiss. Gently, she moved her hands up to Kayla’s shoulders.

  “Hey, are you okay? Do we need to walk a bit?” Although Kayla turned her head toward Miera, her gaze was vacant. Miera shook her friend a little. “Girl, talk to me! I need to know you’re alright.”

  Kayla stared at Miera. How could she be so calm? Then the stunning realization hit. Miera couldn’t see it. Examining Miera’s concerned face, devoid of any fear, Kayla finally understood. Whatever she was seeing, it was visible only to her. How could that be? No, how awful was that? As if the grotesque bird could be any uglier, now only she could witness its ungainly ascent? Incapable of speech, Kayla watched, appalled, as the revolting thing suddenly flew straight toward them. Her flesh went cold. Silvery saliva filled her mouth. Her legs wobbled.

  The abomination stopped abruptly about thirty yards away. Its massive bulk towered over them. As it drifted, it glared, its heated, amber eyes flashing resentment. Its head was bigger than a basketball! The head should be orange to match its eyes, she thought hysterically. Wouldn’t that be a fine Halloween trick? The tip of the monster’s tail swished threateningly up and down. But it didn’t attack. Kayla’s feet took root where she stood. She couldn’t move even if she had wanted to. Dizziness swept over her unexpectedly. Breathe, Kayla chided herself.

  Just as suddenly as it had approached, the monster lurched upward. With a few short strokes of its warped wings, it was far above them.

  If Miera had not been holding her by the shoulders, Kayla knew she would have fallen. Feeling the comfort of her friend’s firm grip, she sucked in air, desperate to restore oxygen to her deprived system. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest. She continued her measured breathing, gradually feeling calmer. Sensation rudely made a painful return to her limbs, half frozen from the sub-zero air. Rubbing a hand over her runny nose, she turned her face slightly and the frigid wind hit her like glacial water. Gasping for air again, the spell she had been under was broken. What exactly was going on?

  “Ready to stand on your own now?” Miera murmured.

  “Yeah, I think so. What happened?”

  “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?” Miera encouraged quietly.

  “You didn’t see it?” Kayla clarified, wanting confirmation that only she had seen the monstrosity.

  “Girl, I don’t know what you saw, but I sure didn’t. What I do know is that whatever it was, it scared the living daylights out of you. And that frightened me more than anything. You’re white as a sheet. Maybe you should sit a minute?” she suggested anxiously.

  “No, I’ll be okay. I think we just started out too fast today. I couldn’t get enough air. That could make me see things, right?”

  Kayla mentally patted herself on the back. That sounded plausible, didn’t it? She couldn’t have Miera thinking she’d lost it. Or had she? Kayla was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Miera had not seen what was plain as day in front of them.

  “Yeah, I suppose it could’ve,” Miera concurred, although she didn’t sound convinced. “Let’s get you home. And let’s go slow. I don’t want you freaking out like that on me again!”

  CHAPTER 5

  They started back, first walking, then jogging, then gently increasing their pace to their regular rhythm. Normalcy returned for Kayla with each step. Desperate to believe she had imagined it all, she tried to block what she had seen from her memory. Could she really have envisioned something so repugnant? Her skin began to crawl again and she deliberately shut out the images from her mind. She was not going to think about it. She was going to get home, have a hot shower, and get into bed. She was going to forget this afternoon had ever happened. After all, Miera had not seen whatever she had, and how was that possible unless she had imagined the whole thing?

  No verbal communication was necessary for them to reach the mutual consensus that they were going straight home. They were not doing a second lap. Home was where they were headed, and they were not taking any detours. Home and indoors where sensible people belonged in weather like this. Relief trickled through Kayla when they exited the lake route. The trickle was a flood by the time they turned onto the last street. Comforted
to be home at last, Kayla gave Miera a thankful hug when they reached the street door.

  “Sure you’re going to be okay?” Miera pressed.

  “Yup, my breathing’s back to normal and a hot shower will do wonders to chase away the chill. I’ll call you later,” Kayla added, sensing Miera’s lingering concerns.

  “Alright. But let’s skip running the next time it’s so cold. Probably wasn’t the best idea that we ran in such freezing weather. Sorry I started out so fast. I thought you’d be able to keep up,” Miera said bashfully.

  “Not your fault,” Kayla soothed. “After all, I have a mouth. I can speak up!”

  “Well, I hate to admit that you did, but I didn’t want to slow down. It was too darn glacial! Next time, I’ll listen,” Miera promised.

  “Deal. Now get back home before you get sick,” Kayla urged, easing Miera off the porch.

  Entering the blissful warmth of their heated home, Kayla was aware of more tension oozing from her frozen body. She suddenly felt inexplicably exhausted. It was only three o’clock, but it felt like it should be bedtime.

  Wearily, she climbed the stairs to her room, stripped off her icy clothes, and crawled under the welcome heat of the shower. She didn’t know how long she stood there, but she realized it had to have been a long time when the water ran cold. Dragging herself out of the shower, she dried her wet skin and then fell onto her bed. Too drained even to drum up the energy to dry her sodden hair, she pulled the covers up over herself and fell into a deep sleep, haunted by images of an ocher-eyed monster, suspended, watchful, and waiting.

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