The Lake

by Natasha Preston

  Lillian lowers the gun to her side.

  I press my arm into Kayla’s, willing her to understand what I can’t say. Do not move yet. That gun can be raised quicker than we can reach her. She’s not close enough.

  Kayla seems to get it or she’s just thinking the same thing, because she sits perfectly still.

  “Did you send that CIT pamphlet to everyone there that night?” I ask.

  “Yes. I wanted you, Kayla, Jake and Olly here.”

  “Rebekah?”

  “I met her a few years ago at a group for burn victims. She’s too easy to manipulate. So desperate for a friend she would do anything.”

  “Why Jake and Olly?” Kayla asks.

  “They watched and did nothing. Jake was the worst. I saw him later, when I was on my way home. He and Olly were wandering in the forest again. This time they looked right at me and saw the burns. Jake called me a psycho and pulled Olly away. They both ran. I knew then they were there the whole time. Jake’s not sneering now.”

  Olly hadn’t mentioned that.

  I steal a glance at Kayla. Her eyes are wide.

  “What did you do to Jake?”

  Jake might have made mistakes, but he was just a scared kid. How could Lillian not see that?

  Lillian’s eyes sparkle as she looks at the doors in the back.

  Oh God.

  “He’s in one of those rooms,” I whisper.

  Slowly, she nods. “He’s very quiet.”

  “What did you do?”

  “Go and see, Esme.”

  My heart stalls.

  “What?”

  “I’ll wait here with Kayla. If you even think about escaping, I’ll put a bullet through her head.”

  I lick my lips. “Lillian, please.”

  “Get up, Esme!”

  With my heart in my throat, I stand up and turn toward the doors. “Which one?”

  “Bathroom. Door on the left.”

  What could she be doing with him in the bathroom?

  I wrap my trembling fingers around the doorknob and turn it slowly.

  “Go on,” Lillian says.

  The door creaks as I nudge it open.

  There is a bathtub.

  Jake looks at me from the tub, eyes wide, pupils dilated.

  54

  I stumble back and grip the edge of the doorframe. Jake. She’s killed him.

  Dried blood trails from his mouth to his chin. It looks like it would flake away if you touched it. His face is pale, like a porcelain doll’s.

  “Find him?” Lillian asks.

  My blood burns. I want to scream at the laughter in her voice.

  Turning, I look at Kayla first. She shakes her head, her face crumpling.

  Then I look at Lillian.

  Lips pursed, dead eyes alight with satisfaction.

  “Why?” I rasp.

  “He doesn’t care about anyone but himself. People like that make me sick. Star of the football team thinking he’s better than everyone else, worth more.”

  “He was probably scared that night too.”

  Lillian scoffs. “Yes of course he was. Little Esme, always looking for the good in people. Who are you kidding? You’re not even good.”

  “I’m not the same person I was back then. It’s been ten years. I’ve grown up, I’m stronger, and I would never make a mistake like that again. No one is the same as they were when they were eight!”

  In the back of my head, I can’t stop thinking, She is a murderer.

  I was stupid to ever think we could talk this through. The revenge she wants isn’t the kind that Kayla and I are supposed to survive.

  Lillian thinks our deaths will make things right.

  “You haven’t changed that much,” she says. “Neither of you told the camp that all of this involved you.”

  “We never thought you would do something like this,” I say, nodding back toward Jake. “He’s dead, Lillian. You killed him. How long ago?” It couldn’t have been longer than a few hours. No one knew Jake was missing.

  She waves her free hand. “About an hour before you came to me. He was an asshole.”

  “He didn’t deserve to die. You could have dealt with this another way.”

  She rolls her eyes. “Don’t advocate talking when you’ve spent ten years hiding your sins. It makes you a hypocrite.”

  “What does all of this make you?”

  “You are the ones who hurt me! All I’m guilty of is speaking to you that night!”

  “You terrified us with that deer’s head. You ran at Kayla when she called you out on it. She only pushed you out of self-defense. She never meant for you to fall into the fire. And now you’ve killed Jake!”

  “I didn’t have a choice, and he deserved everything he got. I wouldn’t harm an innocent person. That’s the difference between you and me.”

  I push away from the door. The smell from the bathroom is making my stomach churn.

  “You were scared of your dad and we understand that. We were scared of our parents too. Can’t you see, Lillian, we didn’t feel like we had a choice either.”

  Her face freezes.

  We all feared something that night.

  I’ve made it sound like our parents were cruel as well. Maybe she’ll relent if she thinks we shared a similar childhood.

  “Shut up!” she screams. “Shut up, you bitch. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  I raise my hands, palms facing her. “Okay, I’m sorry. I didn’t understand.”

  Except that I do. I understand fully. Fear can be debilitating.

  “Okay,” Kayla says. “Here’s what we’re going to do. Jake was a bully to you, so you did what you had to.”

  Lillian looks surprised but nods. “He was evil.”

  “Yes,” Kayla replies. “But thanks to you, he will never hurt anyone again. We need to get rid of his body, though. If the cops find him, he can be traced to you. Your DNA will be everywhere.”

  My jaw drops.

  What is she saying?

  Kayla shakes her head at me. “Esme, this is the only way. We have a responsibility to help Lillian cover this up after what we did to her. We’ll scrub Jake clean and bury him deep in the woods. Then, we’ll burn this cabin to the ground.”

  What the hell? She was madly in love with him five minutes ago.

  Lillian watches Kayla as if she’s some complicated puzzle.

  It’s not complicated. Kayla is in full survival mode and it’s disturbing. I’ve never seen her like this.

  “You’re just adding another secret to the one we’ve been carrying! We can’t do this. It’s Jake, Kayla!” I say.

  I ignore Lillian’s smirk as she watches us disagree.

  “What she had to do was our fault and this is what we deserve for not doing the right thing all those years ago.” Kayla stands and Lillian makes no move to stop her. “Now, let’s strip his clothes off and put them in the fire.”

  “Stop! Do you hear yourself?”

  “What’s the alternative, Esme?” Kayla snaps.

  Lillian kills us. But how do we live with ourselves if we help hide her murder? How do we walk away from this? What is she going to do after we bury Jake? She’s never going to let us walk away.

  “There has to be some other way.”

  “You could die with him,” Lillian says. “Kayla is the one willing to do what’s necessary…but would she help me clean up and hide her bestie’s body too?”

  Kayla eyes widen. She looks at me, pleading.

  “Kayla?” I whisper.

  “Don’t make me do that, Esme. We made a pact ten years ago to never talk about that night. We can do that again. We’ll help Lillian, and we can go home knowing that this is all over.”

  My head
swirls with conflict and confusion.

  If we do this, would Lillian really let us walk away? We can’t do that to Jake or to his family.

  Maybe this was Lillian’s plan all along. She could be setting us up for Jake’s murder.

  “Kayla, this might not be what you think,” I say.

  “What do you think it is, Esme?” Lillian asks.

  Kayla’s face is red, like she wants to throw something at me. We are not going along with this blindly.

  “I don’t know. What happens if we help you?”

  Lillian’s lips curl, but her smile isn’t friendly. “You go home.”

  “What, and we never hear from you again? Or are you now thinking that with Kayla’s offer comes an opportunity?”

  Kayla looks at us both.

  “I’m not stupid, and neither are you, Lillian. Eventually people will start asking questions, wondering who was terrorizing the camp, why an old cabin is on fire, and where Jake went….The cops will come looking. They might link it to you; after all, your DNA is all over this place. But if we help, our DNA is on his body too.”

  With wide eyes, Kayla looks from Lillian to me.

  She was never going to let us walk away. If we’re convicted of a murder she committed…

  “I tell you what,” Lillian says to Kayla. “If we kill Esme too, we’ll bury her and Jake, and no one will ever know. If you refuse, you both die here today. Two bodies, three bodies, I don’t mind how many I get rid of.”

  My stomach turns. She can’t be serious.

  “No,” I say.

  Kayla is my best friend; she would never do that.

  Tell her, Kayla!

  Why isn’t she telling Lillian to get lost?

  “Kayla!” I snap.

  Tears well in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I can’t die. I can’t.”

  Her words punch the air from my lungs.

  “Kayla, you’re my best friend,” I whisper as fear grips my throat.

  She wipes tears from her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Esme, but I choose me.”

  55

  I know I should run. I should shove Kayla into Lillian and make a run for it.

  Will my legs move? No.

  “You can’t, Kayla,” I say.

  Lillian’s smile grows. She is loving this.

  Fire burns in my veins.

  Turning us against each other is a bonus for her.

  Kayla wipes her tears again.

  “Kayla!”

  She doesn’t look at me; instead she turns her head toward Lillian.

  “How does that feel?” Lillian asks. “To have your best friend in the whole world turn against you so easily. There was barely any hesitation.”

  Kayla may be petrified of dying, but I never expected this.

  “That’s not my best friend talking,” I say.

  Kayla cowers.

  She’s consumed by fear. Lost.

  I step closer to the sofa.

  Lillian aims the gun steadily at my head but makes no move to pull the trigger. Instead she watches what I’m about to do with Kayla….

  Kayla doesn’t meet my eyes, but she turns her head, showing me that she knows I’m there.

  “Don’t, Esme,” she whispers. “I hate this.”

  Lillian is a few feet from Kayla, and the fireplace is a step or two behind her.

  I shove Kayla with every ounce of strength I have. She flies backward with a scream and into Lillian.

  Get out.

  I take off without looking back. Something slams against the wall. The thud sounded like a head, but I can’t be sure.

  I yank the door open and sprint outside.

  My legs burn as I try to get away as fast as possible.

  Behind me, I hear Lillian shout.

  Then I hear two sets of footsteps.

  I look back, but the thick forest is dark. I can’t see them, but I know they’re coming. I take a path similar to the one I remember, but now I’m deeper in the woods.

  I have not been out here nearly enough to know where I’m going without a map and compass.

  I can figure this out. I can get away from Lillian—and Kayla—and get help.

  Stay calm. Don’t overthink.

  Stepping around a tree, I run to the next one and plaster myself against it.

  I take a breath and listen carefully, willing that sense to take over. Lillian has a gun and Kayla is broken beyond recognition.

  She’s scared right now. The thought of imminent death has made her lose herself. When she stops and thinks, even for a second, she will see what a monumental mistake she has made and beg for my forgiveness.

  Above me, the sky rumbles. I raise my eyes and see a fork of lightning through the leaves.

  A thunderstorm. That’s going to make it harder to hear them, but it will also make it harder for them to hear me.

  I peer around the trunk in the direction I need to go. No one is around; the forest is dead quiet.

  They could be hiding and watching me. Lillian has been watching in the shadows for weeks. For years. Kayla doesn’t know how to sneak around, though; she will be tripping and falling all over the place.

  She’s a liability to Lillian. What happens when Lillian realizes that?

  I press my hand to my stomach and breathe through the wave of nausea. What if she kills Kayla?

  The sky rumbles again, and the thunder is followed by a quick flash of lightning.

  Forget Kayla.

  I look around again. Nobody. Pushing off the tree, I sprint to the next one, planting my feet on the ground quickly and quietly like a deer escaping a predator. My heart thuds faster with every step.

  I’m not supposed to be the prey out here.

  The sky lights up again and thunder rolls.

  I still don’t know exactly where I am, but I think I’m close to camp.

  Trees whiz past in a blur of brown and green.

  I pant harder, trying to get enough oxygen.

  You need to hurry up.

  Lillian could be anywhere.

  If I don’t get out of here, I’m going to die.

  Go, Esme! Now!

  With my stomach tied in knots, I push myself to go even faster. My feet hit the ground harder and my pulse thuds so fast I can’t hear anything else.

  I dodge trees, bouncing off each leg to get around each obstacle as quickly as I can. The sky lights up. I push harder.

  A slicing pain in my side makes me double over, but I don’t stop. I can’t stop.

  Thunder cracks through the air.

  Breaking through the trees, I fall to my knees. Camp.

  I raise my head and gasp.

  “What is going on?” I whisper, vision blurred.

  With my last ounce of strength, I haul myself to my feet and grab a branch so I don’t fall.

  Four cop cars. Red and blue lights flash across the camp, bouncing off trees.

  What happened here while we were in that little cabin with Lillian?

  We were gone for only two hours.

  Turning, I lose my footing and slam right into Rebekah.

  56

  I leap backward and she shows her palms. “I’m not goin’ to hurt ya.”

  “You were working with Lillian!”

  “Yes, but I never expected…this. She was so broken when I met her at a support group a few years ago. I thought she just wanted to frighten y’all, to make you think about what you did and to be sorry. She said she wanted you to be as scared as she was that night. I got that, so I agreed to come here as a CIT and help her.”

  I back up, my eyes scanning the forest. I haven’t heard Lillian or Kayla for a while. That’s both reassuring and unnerving.

  “What changed your mind?”

  Rebekah takes a
breath. “When I went to the cabin to find her a little while ago, I saw…”

  “Jake.”

  She nods, wide-eyed. “I knew she saw him that night too, but I never thought…This is crazy, Esme. We need to get away from her. Where’s Kayla?”

  I swallow the urge to throw up. “She’s with Lillian.”

  Rebekah gasps, one hand flying to her heart. “She killed her, too?”

  “No,” I say. “Kayla’s on her side. We were in the cabin and Lillian said either we both die or just me. Kayla chose herself.”

  Rebekah’s jaw drops. “What? How could she?”

  I don’t know, but she did. Somehow I need to get Kayla back.

  “What’s happening here?” I ask, looking around.

  “It’s been evacuated. The cops got an anonymous call about an hour ago about someone stalking the camp. The cops took all the kids to the police station until their parents can pick them up. I came back to find you and Kayla. I’m sorry, Esme. I didn’t know how out of hand this would get. Lillian never made it sound like she wanted to hurt anyone.”

  “She wanted revenge.”

  “I swear I didn’t know that she was so dangerous.”

  “Is anyone still here?”

  “Andy. He’s talking with the cops.”

  “Who would call the cops? We all agreed we wouldn’t. It doesn’t make sense.” I lean into the tree I’m holding and try to make the pieces fit together.

  “I don’t know, Esme, but we need to get away from the forest.”

  “Esme!”

  Rebekah and I jolt at the same time and swing around.

  “Olly.” My jaw drops. I start to run to him but stop myself. “What really happened the night of the fire? Jake was with you the whole time?”

  He looks over my shoulder. I do the same. No one is there.

  “I left him out of the retelling, just like you left Kayla out. After the fire started, Jake and I didn’t go back to my brother. We stayed and watched the whole thing. Lillian saw us. We ran and eventually bumped into her again a little while later. Jake told her off. I didn’t want to admit that we were scared of a girl, but we so were. After that, Jake and I agreed to keep quiet,” Olly says.

  “You saw her after, when she was burned, and didn’t help her or tell me!”