MonstrousMay 14. The Underground Lake

The party was in full swing. The stereo was turned up as loud as it would go. The whole cabin smelled like sweat and Aquanet. Janice sat on the back porch smoking a cigarette, hugging her knees to her chest. She was freezing, but it was so hot inside she felt like she was suffocating. 

She had been spacing out a little, the stiff breeze sobering her up a little. When she came back from wherever she had wandered off to, she noticed a well out near the treeline. This was probably an actual home before it became a place for college kids to barf everywhere and get in fights. 

“Where’s Janice?” Brett said from inside. Janice perked up, turning back towards the door. Someone had opened it while she was daydreaming. 

“Who cares?” she heard Patricia say, “probably being antisocial as always.”  They moved away from the door and Janice’s eyes dropped. She wasn't sure what she expected Janice stood up and walked down into the yard. There were other cabins off in the woods, their windows yellow with lamp light. She wondered who might be in them. 

Janice heard her favorite song come on the radio. It sounded strange coming out of the house and along the lawn. It was a sad song, something to lay your head against someone’s chest and slowly sway to. She thought of how Patricia’s head was probably on Brett’s chest now, right on the little alligator logo. She let out a sigh.

Janice flicked her cigarette out into the yard and reached into her shorts for the pack. Some change jingled. She plucked a penny from her pocket and tossed it down the well without thinking much of it. Lighting her cigarette, she took a deep breath and let the smoke slide out. She wished she had never let them talk her into coming out here. She wished they would all go away. 

“Hello?” a voice came up from the well. It sounded like it was a mile away. Janice shook her head. 

“Hello? Who’s down there?” Janice asked. Her voice echoed down along the stone walls. She heard water sloshing at the bottom. She flicked her lighter and could see its orange reflection rippling down against the black water. The voice didn’t answer. “Do you need help?” she yelled. She tried to think of everyone that had come to the party. Did someone else slip outside? Had they fallen down without anyone noticing?

“I got your wish,” the voice said. 

“Uh, sorry,” Janice said. “If I knew someone was down there I wouldn’t have thrown it down.”

“That’s okay,” the voice said. She definitely couldn’t place who it was. It was closer now. It sounded like a little kid. Probably a stupid prank with a walkie talkie. “You should come down.”

“Fuck off,” Janice said and flicked her cigarette down into the water. She was going to go say something. It wasn’t a good joke and she didn’t care if she came off as a frigid bitch. 

“I think you should come down here,” the voice said. "Brother is coming up from the lake. So you should come down.”

“What lake?” she asked. As far as she knew, there were a few rivers and creeks around, but no lake. 

“Beneath your feet,” the voice said. It sounded like it was at the lip of the well, just out of sight from where she stood. “The water’s fine.”

Janice heard a scream from the house. The music kept playing, something with a heavy beat and lots of keyboard. Other screams joined the first. Janice’s heart started to pound. “This isn’t funny!” she yelled. 

“No one’s laughing,” the voice said. A trail of splattered blood appeared on one of the windows downstairs. It sounded like everyone was screaming now. Janice took a step backward as the back door flung open. 

“Holy shit, holy shit,” Brett said. He saw her and started runnin“Janice, you gotta-” Something jabbed through the front of his polo and he looked down at it. He gurgled, blood trickling down the sides of his mouth. He looked at her, confused.

“Brett!” Janice screamed and ran to him. Brett fell to his knees and then forward. A snapped broom handle jutted from his back. An upstairs window shattered as someone was thrown through it. They landed in the backyard with a sick crunch. Janice clamped her hands over her mouth, trying to hold back her scream. 

The music stopped and the lights flickered. There were cries coming from everywhere in the house. People pleading for help. One by one, they went quiet.

The back door creaked open. Patricia crawled out on her hands and knees. She whimpered as she crawled, the once-white sweater tied around her shoulders splattered red. She saw Janice. “Help!” she screamed.

Something moved into the doorway. Even from here, Janice could smell it. It made her gag and wretch. It smelled like something that had died long ago and was left to rot, forgotten in a stagnant pond. It slowly pushed the door open, its feet heavy on the planks of the porch.

It resembled a man, but had to stoop to get through the door. Patricia drug herself along the ground as the thing stood up to its full height. Lit from behind, Janice couldn’t see anything but translucent chunks dripping and squelching off of its frame, squishing out onto the grass.

“If you don’t come down now, you won’t be able to,” the voice said.