Lake Cerberus, Pt. 2

Anne tapped her pen absently on the edge of her chair as she read over one of the five short articles she had photocopied from the archives. She remembered one of the incidents all too well. She was only eleven on a family camping trip when her five-year-old brother had wandered off and gone swimming, then vanished. She remembered hearing his desperate, choked scream, then running to the lakeshore with her parents just as the warm dark waters returned to their peaceful serenity. The mountains were quiet, and her brother was gone. A silent tear slid down her cheek as she remembered touching the empty casket at his funeral. His body was never found.
Anne read over the rest of the articles and set them down, picking up the phone. She dialled Bruce's number and waited.
"Hello?"
"Bruce?" She asked quietly.
"Oh hey Anne, what's up?"
"Bruce," She leaned on her hand. "I want to try going into the Cerberus story again. I can't stop thinking about it."
"Why?" he sounded surprised. "The cops don't want press coverage, just write a little blurb and forget about it."
"I can't!" She paused. "I have to find out more… it won't get out of my head."
"What's the big deal?" he asked, his voice carried a hint of annoyance, "A guy gets stabbed thirty-seven times in broad daylight and you don't bat an eye, but some woman disappears up in the mountains and you freak out."
"I'm not freaking out!" Anne grew anxious. "It has…personal meaning to me."
"Personal meaning, eh?" Anne could hear the sarcasm in his voice. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means my little brother died exactly the same way when I was a kid." Anne raised her voice, "If you don't want to help, I'll do it myself. I don't know why you're avoiding this story. Go watch football."
She hung up on him and glared angrily at the phone. It rang again as she picked up her car keys, but she ignored it and stormed out of her apartment.
* * * * *
A week later Anne sped down the highway, leaving the polluted comforts of city life to enter the vast mountain landscape. She reassured herself repeatedly. There is no other way; I have to see for myself. Countless hours of research and interviews had concluded nothing. As far as most people were concerned, Lake Cerberus was either an entrance to Hell, or there was some weird natural phenomenon going on that everyone was either too scared, or didn't care enough to investigate. A lifelong atheist, Anne wanted nothing to do with the idea of Hell, but there were too many coincidences for it to be a natural phenomenon. She decided the only way to know for sure was to go there herself.
* * * * *
Anne stepped out of her car and looked around. The vaguely familiar scene brought back painful memories from her devastating childhood camping trip. She ignored them and started stripping down to her bathing suit. The lake sat before her, deceivingly peaceful, nestled in the comforting mountain scenery. The police tape was gone, the investigation closed with no conclusions, once again. The wild summer aroma of pine trees and fresh mountain air were calming as she started to make her way down to the innocent looking water. She draped her towel over a large rock and stepped into the cool water. Her toes sank softly into the mud and she shivered, goose bumps forming on her skin. She stopped, taking a deep breath and reminding herself what she was doing. Whatever happens, I will come back to tell about it. A small part of her wanted to believe that she could find her brother. She swallowed hard and continued wading into the dark water.
So far, so good. She told herself confidently. She was approaching the centre of the lake, and so far nothing had happened. She continued swimming, but realized she was starting to tire and the water was getting warmer. Logical reasons started flooding her mind. It must be warmer in the centre of the lake…because there's a higher concentration of water. She told herself desperately, though she knew it made no sense. The water just feels warmer because I'm getting a workout. I'm in worse shape than I thought I was, she reasoned. She paused for a rest, treading the now hot water, and realized a current was pulling her. She tried to fight it, suddenly filled with panic, but her arms and legs were like lead weights. She thrashed against the gaining current, as the water grew hotter and she grew more terrified. She realized the centre of the lake was a churning, boiling whirlpool invisible from the shore, and she was caught in it. A frantic scream tried to escape her, but the scorching water seared her throat as she was pulled under.
* * * * *
Anne slowly opened her eyes and saw a vast landscape of nothing. She stood on a white, glass-like surface that joined in the horizon with an empty black sky. A long, jagged path stretched out before her, it carried a soft blue tinge and vibrated, glowing brighter as she stepped forward. She stepped back and the white surface suddenly shattered into a kaleidoscope of memories. Everywhere she looked, a jagged panel of the glass-like surface was replaying a part of her life. The pieces fit together perfectly, like an enormous jigsaw puzzle. She stepped forward again, and the memories disappeared, leaving only the smooth white and the soft blue path. She took another cautious step forward, but a sickening jolt lurched through her as her foot fell through the path, and she was thrown into a vertical blue abyss. She hurdled through the nothingness as it faded from blue to black, and suddenly she was filled with a strange calm, like she had never felt before. She wondered if she was dead, but felt no fear. Suddenly everything in her life made sense and she saw no reason to return. She relaxed, and allowed herself to fall silently into the blackness.
* * * * *
"I tried calling her cell, I can't get a hold of her," Bruce pressed his fingers against his forehead. "I don't know where she is."
"Well find her!" Mr. Cullen shouted into the phone, "There's been another disappearance in Lake Cerberus."

* * * * *
End.