Dappled sunlight danced across the trail as Ellie led the other two girls down a faint path in the woods toward the lake. The deep burgundy branches of Manzanita bushes scraped Ellie’s bare arms and other small plants that looked suspiciously like poison oak brushed up against her jeans, but she didn’t care. It was one of Ellie’s favorite places in the world.
Sanctuary Lake was a man-made reservoir to capture water for the small town. Red Northern California dirt dotted with rocks, some volcanic from centuries before, led straight down into the water. The secluded spot they hiked to was part of a small inlet. The dirt was scuffed with footprints. Some other kids must have been here recently. A few discarded beer bottles were strewn nearby.
The deep blue lake reflected the towering forest green pine trees as clearly as a mirror. The air smelled fresh and pure. Ellie looked down at the shimmering image of her and the other two reflected in the clear water as they stood on the shore.
Ellie felt a tremor of anxiety, fear, and excitement swirl through her.
It was too quiet. Too isolated. Exactly why she liked it here and exactly what she hoped it would be like today.
The girls stood there for a second in silence, taking in the deep stillness of the lake and surrounding forest.
“Let’s strip,” Ellie said and pulled her sweatshirt over her head to reveal a startlingly white bikini top that almost looked like a bra. The girls had worn their swimsuits under their clothes to school that day.
Charlie stood still, kicking at a giant volcanic rock, shiny and black resting in the dirt near the shore.
Ellie gave Sienna a meaningful look and then glanced at the rock Charlie was toeing with her tennis shoes.
Sienna shrugged for a second, her forehead creasing and then mouthed a big “Oh” when she realized the significance of that rock.
Ellie smiled, kicking off her bright blue Nikes. It was the rock. The rock they were going to use to fulfill Shadow Man’s wishes.
As the other girls started to take off their clothes, Charlie remained motionless.
“Come on,” Ellie said. “We’re burning daylight.”
Charlie made a face. “Aren’t there like big fish in this lake at the bottom, like sturgeon or something? It’s kind of creepy out here.”
Ellie shot a look at Sienna, who took the cue and blurted out, “It’s fine, Charlie. They don’t let those big types of fish in our drinking water. That’d be disgusting.”
“It’s pretty gross to swim in the water we drink,” Charlie said, biting the inside of her lip “I can just imagine the high school guys out here peeing and doing stuff like that, thinking it’s funny. That makes me gag a little.”
“It’s not like the water doesn’t go through this whole big filtration process. I mean it has to,” Ellie said. “Otherwise we’d be drinking like fish poop and stuff.”
Sienna sat on a log and scooted out of her jeans and top until she was wearing a black one-piece tank swimsuit.
Charlie sat down on the other end of the log and took a puff of her inhaler. “I think I’ll just watch you guys. My asthma’s acting up. I’m just going to wait a little bit first.”
Sienna shot a frantic look at Ellie.
“Whatever. Your loss.” Ellie tossed her head and ran into the water, shrieking as it splashed around her. Once she was up to her neck, she turned and looked back at the two girls on the shore. Sienna hovered, one foot at the edge of the water, glancing back at Charlie, who was clutching her stomach as she sat on the log.
Ellie dipped her head underwater and then re-emerged closer to the shore. She slanted her eyes at her friends.
“Come on in, Sienna. We can have fun without Charlie.”
Sienna looked back one more time and then made a face at Ellie that Charlie couldn’t see before she came splashing and screeching into the water.
Ellie dived under again and surfaced farther out on the lake. She gestured for Sienna to join her. When the girls were both out forty feet from the shore, they tread water.
“What do we do now?” Sienna asked in a loud whisper.
Ellie put her finger to her lips. She knew sound could travel eerily well on water and there was a chance Charlie could hear them from this far away. She leaned toward Sienna’s ear and breathed the words, “We wait.”
The plan had been to hit Charlie over the head with the rock while she was splashing in the water. Sienna was going to distract her and Ellie was going to walk up behind with a big rock. Ellie had already scoped out the rock yesterday and had it close to the shore. Once they hit her, if the blow didn’t knock her out, they would both hold her underwater and say she’d drowned. But if she didn’t get in the water, that would complicate things. Ellie wished she had brought the knife.
The wind had picked up in the trees and there was an eerie whistle as it made its way through them that sent a ripple of fear down Ellie’s back. She pulled back and glanced around. The woods surrounding the lake suddenly seemed ominous. She realized that all the little forest creatures had quieted. The crickets, the squirrels, whatever little insect noises had been there before in the background, had now silenced. On the far side of the lake, Ellie heard a slight rustling that sent fear ricocheting up her throat. The dark clouds reflected in the lake water, which had also grown still around them. The woods looked as black as night. Ellie squinted her eyes but could not see past the first line of trees. Someone was watching them. Something or someone was there.
Was it Shadow Man? Did he come to make sure she would follow up with her plan? If she didn’t kill Charlie, she would pay the price that Unloyal ones did—death of a family member. That’s what happened to those who disobeyed him and were deemed Unloyal. She wanted Janet dead, but if something happened to her dad, she would kill herself. Shadow Man wouldn’t have to bother, she’d rather die than live without her dad. He was all she had.
“I’m going to go back to shore,” she said to Sienna over her shoulder, already turning toward the bank that held her clothes.
“What?” Sienna seemed confused.
“You know, to work on my tan,” she said. If Shadow Man was there in the woods on the opposite shore, she wasn’t sure she was ready to face him in person. Part of her wanted to run away and live in his mansion playing video games all day and part of her wanted to stay far, far away from him.
She dipped her head under the silky water and kicked her feet, propelling her away from that dark shore opposite of them, not caring if Sienna followed.
As she swam back, Ellie decided she’d just pick up the rock, hit Charlie over the head, get her clothes off, and then hold her underwater. It couldn’t be that hard. She wanted to get it done and over with and get out of there.
But when she climbed onto the shore, a cloud fell across the sun and a chill ran down her back. It seemed like darkness had fallen over the day that had nothing to do with the clouds that had only now swept in. Now, more than anything else she just wanted to put some distance between her and the lake and the woods.
“Come on, Sienna. Let’s go. It looks like it’s going to storm,” she said.
Ellie didn’t want to admit that she was torn. Being out at the lake and sensing someone watching her struck fear through her. She was too afraid to stick around and try to kill Charlie. But at the same time, she was afraid of Shadow Man’s wrath if she didn’t.
She’d explain. He’d have to understand. It was too risky.
Later, when they were back home and Charlie was busy in the bathroom, she took Sienna aside in her big walk-in closet.
“I’m scared,” Sienna whispered. “Is he going to kill my mom now? It’s not my fault. She didn’t want to swim.” She grabbed Ellie’s arm in the dark closet, her fingernails biting into the soft flesh. “He’s going to kill my family.”
Her voice verged on hysteria. Ellie reached out and grabbed Sienna by the mouth, squeezing her cheeks together.
“Shut up. Settle down. That’s not going to happen.” She hissed the words in a low whisper. But Ellie couldn’t quite hide the fear in her own voice.
Sienna clawed at Ellie’s hand and swatted it away. “He said. He said he’d kill my family.”
“Shhh,” Ellie said. Her thoughts were racing. “We’ll come up with another plan.”
But she was worried. Shadow Man had to understand. He wouldn’t want them to fail, right?
When they’d gotten back to her house, she’d quickly logged onto the Shadow Man website when her friends were getting snacks downstairs. There were three new messages from Shadow Man. Ellie was afraid to check them.