Lake Cerberus

Soft grey mist rolled over the glassy water of the lake as the sun slowly rose, and vibrant watercolours soared across the waking summer sky. The air was heavy with cool moisture, and tiny dewdrops coated the grass, soaking Kerri's bare feet as she made her way down to the lakeshore. Her husband was still asleep in the tent, but being an early riser, the middle-aged woman liked to have a morning swim before he woke up. The two had been camping for three days so far, just to get away, relax, and enjoy the mountains.

Finally reaching the shore, Kerri draped her towel over a large rock and dipped her toes into the cool water. A chill slithered up her body, raising goose bumps. She took her time, moving slowly to get used to the cold, and then ducked quickly under the water, getting the worst part over with. Enjoying the refreshing feel of cool water washing over her she started swimming out into the middle of the lake. The water began to feel warmer and she started feeling the gentle pull of a current. She paced herself to get a good workout, but after a few minutes she was desperately out of breath. Confused, Kerri stopped for a moment, treading the warm water. It felt as if she had been swimming against a current for miles, but it was only a few metres in still water. She noticed a current was still pulling her, faster now, and the water was starting to feel like a hot bath. Icy fear snaked through her as she realized the lake was becoming a burning whirlpool. A strange numbness suddenly overcame her arms and legs, and her breath became short and painful. The water began to boil, whirling faster now and searing her skin. Opening her mouth to scream only drew in the blistering water as she felt herself dragged into the churning black depths of Lake Cerberus.

* * * * *

"Do they know any more?" My boss paused and rolled his eyes, "Jim... I know that, really, I do. But there's gotta be more than that. Keep trying. Call me back when you have enough for a decent story, ok? Bye." Mr. Cullen hung up the phone and looked expectantly at a young woman standing in his doorway. She was barely twenty-three, only a month on the job. She fidgeted nervously with a pen as he waited for her to speak.
"You wanted me, sir?" She asked.
"Yeah," He paused for a moment, thinking. "I've got a story for you."
"Ok," the young woman flipped open her notepad and looked up expectantly.
“Ahh...,” Her boss began pacing around his office, clicking a pen as he spoke. “I think...yeah, you can have a go at the ‘Gates of Hell’ story. It's opened up again.”
The woman began scribbling in her notepad then paused, frowning. “The what?”
“Gates of Hell. There’s a lake up in the mountains just a few hours north of the city and people keep disappearing there.” He smirked. “The locals are convinced the lake is an entrance to hell. Look in the archives for the last time this happened, and find out who wrote it. Then get some help from her. I think it was Sherry but I’m not sure, so you’ll have to find out on your own. Oh, and you can work with Bruce on this. He’s more experienced and you work well together. I’ve already told him about it. Can you do that?”
“Sure,” She said, then flipped her notepad closed and turned to leave.
“Oh, one more thing,”
“Yeah?” She paused.
“Just cover the story, okay? Remember, you’re a journalist, not a detective. Just give the facts and get on with life.”
She smiled and turned back to the elevator, “Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Oh, what was the name of that lake? I don’t think you told me.”
“Oh, sorry,” He frowned, scratching his short grey beard, “Uh...Lake Cerberus.”
Anne stumbled, dropping her notebook to the floor. She cleared her throat as she picked it up. “Sorry - lake what?”
“Cerberus,” Mr. Cullen looked worried, “Are you okay? You look pale.”
Anne forced a quick smile, “Yeah, I’m fine... it’s just, these shoes.” she lied quickly. “They’re impossible to walk in.”
Her boss looked hard at her for a minute, “Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Yeah,” She tried to compose herself, though she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. “I’m fine, really...I’m okay. These...shoes, terrible aren’t they?”
Mr. Cullen opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by the phone ringing in his office. He excused himself and turned to get it as Anne took a deep breath and pushed the ‘down’ button on the elevator.
Lake Cerberus, Cerberus...Cerberus...the name repeated itself over and over in her head as she slowly rubbed her temples, trying to ignore the memories suddenly flooding back. How is this possible...how did I not make the connection? She exhaled deeply. Did it happen again?
The elevator doors opened and she entered a maze of cubicles, computers, and televisions, people bustling around like flies. The warm scent of coffee and the vague, office-like clash of perfume and cologne mixed with sanitizer drifted unnoticed into her nostrils. The usual sounds of typing, news broadcasts, talking, yelling, and people running were drowned out by her mind, repeating the name over, and over. She wound her way silently through the laughter, chatting and shouting to her own little cubicle, furnished with a laptop, a leafy plant, a phone and some pictures tacked to a small bulletin board. She set her notepad on the desk and lowered herself into the rolling office chair. Eyeing the notepad, she picked up her pen and chewed the end, thinking hard.
* * * * * *
“They did what?”
“Closed the road off for investigation.” Bruce leaned his elbow on the edge of his car window, holding a small cell phone to his ear.
“You’re press!” Mr Cullen shouted into the phone, “They have to let you in!”
“They don’t want press coverage.”
“Alright, park the car and go in through the bush.”
"Are you kidding?”
“No, I want this story!”
Bruce looked at Anne and winced.
“Alright, we’ll see what we can do.”
“Good man, keep me posted.”
Bruce flipped the phone closed and tucked it into his pocket. He looked at Anne and raised an eyebrow, ‘He wants us to...go through the bush.”
“Yeah he was talking pretty loud, I could hear him” Anne smiled. “I knew this job wouldn’t get boring.”
“Alright, here’s what happened,” He put the car in reverse and started turning it around. “We got caught, and the cops kicked us out and threatened to arrest us. They knew we were press, and threatened to say we were trying to tamper with evidence.”
“What?” Anne looked at him.
“I’m not playing Tarzan for some fat-ass in a big comfy office chair. He wants the story that bad, he can get it himself.”
Anne looked into the car mirror at the distant yellow police tape strung across the road behind them. “So we’ve driven an hour and a half for nothing?”
“Shit happens, welcome to journalism.”

continued...