Lake Of Reeds

“Did you hear that?” said Maggie

“Hear what?” said Jillian

That snapping it sounded like someone stepped on a branch close by relied Maggie.

Your paranoid, you shouldn’t have drank two pumpkin spice lattes says Jillian as she rolls her eyes.

“I wouldn’t have drank two if you drank yours, i didn't want to waste it either,” Maggie continues to grumble and complain then sighs and whine says “how much longer?”

“We’re not that far off, and gosh i cant wait to get there your so annoying. “

Jill and Maggie were sisters, their mother recently pasted away and among her stuff was a deed to a cabin, a map and coordinates and a few pictures that look to be mom and grandpa and someone they weren't sure who it was but assumed to be family in front of a lake and close by a cabin draped in towels. Not able to be found on Google Maps they decided to take a weekend and go hiking in the woods to find it. Closest place that came up to the coordinates was a small town in Massachusetts called the Village of Reeds. Trying to research it nothing much came up besides the town closest to it opened a casino. The pictures that i could find were old from the 1980s stores lined up in the down town area. People crowding the streets for a city parade it looked nice for the time.

We’re here! Say Jill

“Finally i cant wait to sit”, said Maggie

The girls finally go to the The village they took not how walking though it was a dead silence, no wind, no trees swaying, no animals noises. Just a dead ominous feeling, the air was cold, it seemed like it got darker once they got there. Not a person in sight all the shops were mostly small lined up building that resembled like tiny houses.

“How much further?” Asked Maggie

Jillian pulls out the map and looks for their location on the map.

Here we are, says Jill as she points to the location on the map. It says there’s a trial in the back of this building. We follow that all the way down and take a right at the split the cabin should be right there in front of the Lake Of Reeds.

Upon getting to the split the girls encounter a woman on the trail she wore a poncho like top that was dirty and torn it looked like it used to be a bright yellow but it’s all stained torn, dingy and tatted, she had a dirty sweat pants on and torn sneakers the odor of alcohol was in the air. The woman was on the ground on all fours, grunting and growling. She slowly turns her head to the left where the girls were standing. And smiles a big smile, she was missing teeth and the teeth she had left were yellow or black.

Maggie screams, Jill asks her shaking under her breath feeling Maggie tug on her coat “are you okay?”

They lady now staring at the girls, drops her smile stares at them first with this confused look, then fixes her face in a furious look and start shirking.

Jill grabs Maggie by the arm an take off running to the right. As they ran by the lady she stops shirking to say “come back, come back, help!” her blood curdling scream could be heard in the air as they kept running til they came to a small wooden bridge.

They stopped to catch their breath, and look behind them to make sure they she wasn’t following them.

Maggie out of breath says “who *breath* the hell *breath* was that.”

Jill also out of breath sarcastically says. “your best guess is mine dummy”

Catching their breath they look up and notice the cabin up ahead around the lake. Just in time thought Jill because it was getting dark and she didn’t wanna find out if the creepy old lady was following them.

Walking around the lake they notice how mucky the water looks, there was fallen branches, some broken rope hung over one of the trees and the tire on the bank of the lake semi covered with leafs. In the middle of the lake was a giant brown hunk.

Hey look at that in the middle of the lake said Jill to Maggie.

“What is that?” Said Maggie with curiosity

“I don't know” says Jill but lets hurry and get to the cabin it’s getting dark and that creepy old lady also with our luck the animals come out at this time, she chuckled and they sped up a little.

Getting to the cabin it looked like it was vacant for a very long time, the windows were covered in a dust the door knob looked super rusty if you grab to turn it you might need a tinnitus shot. “How are we supposed to get in?” Asked Maggie. Jill throws her backpack down opens up the front zipper and tosses a bag full of small papers and a large key ring with a ton of keys in it to Maggie. “Find the key” Jill said.

There was an old rusty ax next to the chair by the door and there was a red rag hanged over the top. Jill grabbed it to turn the door knob to her surprise the door was unlocked and she pushed the door open.

The door was heavy and the floor in the cabin was lined with a film of dust, it smelled musty, foul and their was a hint to the air that smelled rotten. They walked in left the door open and dropped their bags on the floor. “Come on we have a little bit of daylight left, we need to see if there's a generator we can switch on if not were SOL on power” urged Jill. “You check the outside and ill check the house” says Maggie.

“Okay Bet” said Jill

Maggie starts searching the the closets there was only one one, the kitchen was close to the living room with this old brown sofa with a dusty plaid blanket dressed over it. An Antenna TV sat in the corner with a pile of VHS tapes, half open can containers, rusty tools, “what a dump” thought Maggie to herself in disgust..

Jill walks around back to the cabin, “Gloonk” she heard a noise behind her in the lake, she turned to look but saw nothing there so brushed it off as a frog or a fish. It was late September the season just started to change and the weather goes from brisk and cold in the morning to hot mid August at high noon and cold early December temps at night. And being next to a body of water made the air more chillier. Walking around to the other side of the cabin Jill finds the generator and a ways away Jill spots what looks like a shed.

“I found it!” shouted Jill

“Finally!” shouted Maggie.

Maggie head out to meet her on the side of the cabin.

“How do we turn this hunk of junk on?” Asks Maggie as she lightly kicks it.

“It needs gas” says Jill we should check in that shed. I noticed it when i was looking for the generator. Heading towards the shed they hear “Gloonk”

“what the hell was that?” asks Maggie while looking around a little frightened.

“I’m not sure” says Jill. I heard the same thing earlier when i was out here alone. I think its a frog or a fish.

“Freaky ass fish” said Maggie shaking her head.

The girls opened the shed doors to there surprise a opossum jumps out, they scream an grab each other. “oh my god gross” shouts Maggie in disgust.

Laughing “chill out, its just a friendly forest creature nothing to be afraid of Jill says jokingly while Maggie glares at her for a second.

Look there's a gas can Jill reaches for the dingy red gas can that looks like its been sitting for years by the amount of cob webs was over the handle. Its got some weight to it, it feels almost full. Go inside and switch the main power off, then after i pour the gas you switch it on Jill told Maggie.

“okay” walking off Maggie says to herself i hope this works I'm so hungry.

Pouring the gas into the old generator seemed like it was taking forever, as Jill finished closing the cover to the generator she hear this blood curdling scream in the distance. Scared she runs into the cabin and locks the door. Pale and in a panic she turns around and asks Maggie “Did you hear that?”

“No, hear what?” said Maggie

Are you serious? You didn’t hear that? It sounded like someone screaming like they were in fear said Jill still shook from the noise.

“No, your probably just hearing things, Its dark out now we should get the lights on before we can’t see and that creepy old bat comes by” Maggie said teasing Jill.

The girls turned their cell phone lights on and hit the switch on the breaker and the flights flickered on and off a few times before staying on.

Now we have light! Shouts Maggie with glee. I hate camping so much did i ever mention that? Not to mention this creepy ass lake in front looks like this is where they filmed Friday the 13th here. Maggie kept going on about the days frustrations.

Jill content with being able to turn the lights on says at least we brought some supplies from home and the hike over wasn’t so bad. The girls both in the kitchen area start unpacking supplies and looking how to work the oven. This looks like a wood stove. “How do you know” said Maggie

“Because there's a small pile of wood here dummy” retorted Jill.

“Oh i knew that” chuckled Maggie.

The girls load up the wood in the stove and light the fire, The girls brought a cast iron skillet and a few hot dogs an stuff for s’mors the main reason for the over night trip was to reconnect with each other after there mom’s death, also to figure out why mom never told us about the cabin.

The girls made their food and drank some wine while they went through the closets, drawers, and boxes. The whole cabin was creepy it had this feeling of dread but they chopped it up to be because the cabins been untouched for so long and them being in the woods and the stillness of the lake. After a few hours of looking through old clothes, toys, and letters, they came across a table that had a drawer under, it was locked so the girls looked for something to open it.

“i found a old pocket knife” said Maggie.

The knife was etched with JB, and it was stained red with a rusty plastic handle, it was in the pile of clothes the girls went through. Maggie hands it to Jill. As Jill attempts to open the drawer she forced it so hard that the table ended up tipping upward into the back wall, making a hole. Immediately they smelled a strong whiff of rot and death. Ignoring it she continues to force the drawer open and the knife broke and the drawer broke opened dropping a book on the floor. Bending over to pick up it up she realized it was a photo album.

“I wonder why that was locked up but the cabin door just stayed unlocked” said Jill.

The girls opened the photo album and see old pictures some of what looked like a young version of their mother in an American flag bathing suit standing by the same lake in front of the cabin.

“Hey look” Maggie said pointing at the back round “that giant thing that's in the lake now isn’t there in the picture”.

“Oh my god your right” Jill replied

As the girls kept looking at the album and the pictures went from happy picture of their mom, to random pictures of woman, sleeping on the shore of the lake, in a lounge chair, on the sofa, in the tire swing. Something about the photos seemed off. News clippings that were barely readable. Then the last picture was of that giant hunk that's in the lake now, covered in bush.

As the girls finished with the photo album, they looked around the ground to see if anything else dropped from the drawer, they turn to the hole in the wall. Inspecting the damage Jill leans on the wall and leans back. “Oh my god this wall is hallow, there's something behind it” said Jill. Let’s break down this wall she squeals. “No way!” said Maggie.

Were suppose to check this place out to sale it not to make more damage. Signing “I'll pay for it don't worry” says Jill as she starts ripping out the thin wood panels off the wall.

“It’s a door” gasps Jill

“I hope you don't think I'm going in there with you” said Maggie

“It’s cool if your chicken” said Jill

“I’m not chicken i just find it creepy that there's a whole secret door behind a wall, that we found by a locked desk, in the woods, that we had to run by an old druggie lady to get here” Maggie says trying not to sound annoyed.

“You can stay here” Jill says walking towards the door, turning the handle slowly with her cell phone in the other to use as a flash light. As soon as Jill opened the door the smell of old rotting death get stronger. As she hits the light switch it turns on a TV/VCR that’s in the corner. It starts a video. You see an older man recording three women in what looks to be the lake in front. He’s speaking to the another man off camera “shh they’ll hear you” the video continued to what seems like stalking of the women all day. Then the video goes black, The recording picks up on an off center fire, one women is seen sitting by the fire reading, the other two skinny dipping in the lake. The camera drops, video cuts to black again. The video then start off black to show a man prop the camera up and walk into focus with the woman now in the room i was standing in. She was bloodied and tied by her arms to hang above her, on the ground around her was shattered glass, tacks, and salt all over. The woman wakes up to scream she’s seen pleading “please don’t do this” She starts to cry and shout “Why?! Why are you doing this? I have money! Take whatever you want just please let me go” the woman sobs, while the man is heard laughing off camera.

Suddenly the camera cuts off and then the video resumes outside by the lake where you see the two women from before. One man is seen dragging one of the women under water and coming back up with out her bubbles coming from underwater. The other woman bound by her legs and arms with cinder blocks tied to her ankles hanging in the tire swing the man swings her back and forth as fast and hard as he can then cuts the rope to watch the woman go flying into the lake. The video ends with both men laughing.

Suddenly Maggie start screaming. Running into the room saying “we have to get out of here. I heard it! I heard someone scream from the woods”.

Scared out of their minds, the girls grabbed there keys and jackets and left the cabin in the middle of the night, running with just the light on their phones through the woods. Just as they got to the split on the trail,they heard crying in the dead of the night and what sounded like laughter. They girls mad dashed down the trail to frightened to look back, through the town and got to the edge of the town with their car in sight few yards down they make a run for it.

Jill presses the button on the alarm to unlock the door. Maggie and Jill jump in and lock the door. As they turned the car on and turned the light on the creepy old lady from before was standing in front of their car smiling big and waving. “Lets go!” shouts Maggie. Jill steps on the peddle and speeds off. Jill never told Maggie what she seen in that room, or that the pile in the lake was used to kill a woman, or that they were murdered by a possible family member. The girls ended up selling the cabin at auction as is. Never to return to the Lake of Reeds again.