The Haunted Lake: The Missing Women [Fiction]

The Irish Rose Lake lay still and tranquil, its surface mirroring the star-studded sky and crescent moon. A few ripples whispered across the water and Paul thought how serene the environment was contrary to the situation at hand.

His gaze strayed to a guest standing at the edge of the lake, wet from head to his toes, water dripping from him. The Resort manager, a balding middle-aged man, had his hand on the guest's shoulder, talking with him.

Paul knew something was very wrong. He left Hank trying to persuade the other guests to return to their rooms and walked toward the manager. "What happened here? Are you alright?"

The drenched guest, average height, brown skin looked upset. He glanced at Paul and back at the manager. He slightly shivered before responding. "M-my fiancée." He pointed towards the lake. "Stella is in there. Something pulled her in."

"What?" Remarked one of the guests right behind Paul.

"It was like she was not herself," the wet guest explained. "She would not listen to me. She just kept walking, like sleepwalking, stepped into the water and before I could reach her, disappeared into the water."

"And why are you not doing something about this?" Paul directed his question to the manager who stood idly by in his shirt and slacks, a frown on his face, looking like he would rather be anywhere else but by the lakeside.

"Sir, it's too late in the night to get quick help around here. We are a little further from town. I have made calls and the ETA of the EMTs is thirty minutes. They should be here soon."

"Half an hour? Are you crazy? She could be dead already!" Paul retorted.

"Can any of you swim?" The Manager asked. The men were still deciding what to do when suddenly the tranquil lake bubbled and a brunette head popped out. The woman's body floated to the surface of the water. It was Cherry.

In a flash, Paul jumped into the lake, splashing water around. He swam to her, put his hands under her neck and knees and carried her to the shore. She was unconscious.

He gently placed his wife on the soft sand and performed CPR on her. Hank urged the men who'd surrounded the couple to step back a bit. They watched as water trickled out from the side of her mouth. Seconds later, Cherry gasped, coughed and more water splurted out of her mouth.

"Honey?" Paul whispered. Her eyelashes fluttered open.

Cherry gazed at her husband for a full minute before she recognised him. She burst into tears. He held her to his chest as she sobbed. He noticed her left hand was clenched in a fist. Gently prying it open, he discovered her grandmother's pendant. The onyx gleamed unusually in the night. She fisted her hand again.

Other guests were anxious to question her. "Honey, talk to me. How did you get into the water?" Paul asked, just as the wet guest added, "Did you see my fiancée, Stella, down there?"

Cherry glanced at the man then at her husband. She paled and shuddered, her mouth slightly parted. "I-yes, there are other women down there."

"WHAT?!" The guests said in unison.

Two men were already running into the burbling lake when Cherry cried out. "No! Don't go. You won't find them. You'll just get yourself killed."

The men were already waist deep in the water, deaf to Cherry's pleas. Paul cupped her face. "Honey, what do you mean other women are down there?"

"I was asleep and thought I heard someone call my name. I turned to sleep again when I found myself here."

"Wait. Here, where?"

"Right here, on the shore. Uh, Hank - Hank was here…"

"What? Hank, the receptionist guy?" The manager asked in shock before Paul could.

The remaining guests on shore turned and realised Hank was not with them any more. "Where the hell is he?" Someone asked.

"Come with me! Let's go find the bastard." Stella's fiancé said and the men rushed back to the resort building in search of Hank.

"Honey, look at me." Paul searched his wife's face. "What did Hank do to you? Did he hurt you? She broke down in tears, mumbling incoherently.

"Ssshhh! It's okay. I'm here now." He held her to himself, rocking her a little.

"That thing - that—"

"What, Cherry? What thing?" Paul could see fear in her eyes.

To be continued….

Next chapter...

^{Image created by AI in Nightcafe Studio}