Dive In

The car went flying down the old gravel road, bouncing over deep potholes and kicking up dust as it raced along. Ella Keaton had given up reading her book once they had turned off the paved highway and onto the bumpy side road. The words on the page were jostled about too much for her to focus on them without giving herself a headache. The drive from her house in the big city to her aunts cabin at Mirror Lake was a long one, and she'd driven it so much that sight-seeing bored her to tears. At least when she was reading she could escape the insipid atmosphere of the car, but now she was stuck listening to her little brother Derek whine and her step-mother Tracy try to pacify him. She loved going out to her aunt's cabin, in fact, it was probably her favourite place to be in the whole world. However, now that her brother was old enough to go out to the cabin, he put a damper on her trip. He was always complaining about something, whether it be the lack of television or how insanely boring Ella was to hang out with. Ella didn't think she was boring, just mature. Much too mature to entertain her eleven year old brother.

Ella stared up into her reflection on the windowpane, her own two light grey eyes staring back at her. Long blond hair framed her face, so light blond that combined with her pale skin she looked a little bit ghostly. She parted it down the middle and let it hang straight and natural, with no layers or highlights. She found doing anything else with her hair just made it look scruffy and strange. She had tiny, delicate features, her nose was small and rounded, her lips thin and pale. Long lashes rimmed her eyes, but they were too light to see with the naked eye. Ella had tried to wear make up to make herself more natural looking, but all it did was cause her to break out in hives. She was incredibly short for her age, at fifteen her little brother already towered over her. Ella was skinny too, she had barely any muscle on her arms and legs and the only clothes she could find to fit her small frame were children's clothes. Ella hated how fragile she looked, she wished she could be built more like her father than her mother. She had seen pictures, her mother looked like her, just taller, more elegant and with startling green eyes. She'd inherited her short stature from her father as well as his graphite eyes. She squirmed around in the leather seat, trying to angle herself so it was harder to hear Derek whine.

Derek was an exact copy of her dad, aside from his height, he got that from his mother. He had the exact same shaggy brown hair, the same grey eyes, freckles, pale skin and even their dad's crooked grin. Ella secretly envied how warm and playful her brother looked. He was charismatic, he was always making new friends and everyone loved him. She personally thought he was a moron, but that could just be the jealousy talking. He had the perfect life- tons of friends, the prefect parents, and the girls loved him. She had the opposite- a mother that left her, barely any friends, and she scared boys away with her alien-like appearance. She wasn't sure why she was an outcast, it could have been the way she looked, but more likely the way she acted. She was quiet and mostly kept to herself, she made no effort to make new friends and barely tried to keep in contact with the ones she had outside of school. Now that the school year had ended, she was looking forward to a peaceful summer she could spend alone before taking on High School. She had already decided how she would tackle High School- she would just ignore everyone and everything. She would do her schoolwork, achieve good grades so she could get into university, and that would be it.

Tracy took a turn around a familiar corner, and her aunts cabin rolled into view. It was a beach front cabin, surrounded by so much wild forest that the nearest neighbour was the gas station ten kilometres down the highway. Sometimes they got the occasional camper on the lake, but they didn't bother the occupants of the cabin, as long as they followed proper camping protocol. Hiding food, putting out fires, and so on. The cabin itself was a small log building, stained dark and weather worn. There was a front porch that held a swinging chair, and a screened in patio out back. Their aunts jeep was parked outside of the dingy little garage, its new coat of green paint sparkling under the sun. Tracy pulled up to the cabin and parked the car outside the front door. Ella grinned as she saw her aunt come bounding out of the cabin to greet them. She was a friendly looking women that wore the families crooked grin on her face. Ella hadn't developed the goofy smile, to her dismay. Her teeth were perfectly (and unnaturally) straight. Maria's hair was wrapped up in a pony tail that was desperately trying to tame her unruly hair. It was dark, curly and long, and it seemed her aunts hair had a mind of it's own. Her warm brown eyes twinkled as she pulled Ella into a fierce hug. Wrapped in her aunts embrace, it made her realize how pale she really was. Maria's skin was bronzed from spending so much time outside, and she boasted an athletic build from all the hiking and swimming she did.

“It's so good to see you Ella! I've missed my favourite niece!” she exclaimed, pulling away so she could grab Ella and Derek's bags.

“I'm your only niece,” chuckled Ella, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

Behind her, Derek came tumbling out of the car, dragging all his portable gaming systems with him. He grunted a hello to Maria before stomping off inside the cabin. Tracy gave a wave before backing up and driving away from the cabin. Ella hadn't expected her step-mother to talk to Maria, she didn't care for her aunt. Ella could see why, Maria had been her mother's best friend before she had disappeared. Maria had actually been the one to introduce her parents. Ella was pretty sure that her dad was still in love with her mother, but the pain and heartache of her leaving him without reason would be too much to forgive. Ella wasn't even sure she could forgive her mother at this point. Fifteen years was a long time for her to be absent, how could Ella just let her back into her life? Ella helped her aunt drag the luggage into the cabin, they were small suitcases but they were stuffed to the brim with clothes and books. She set the suitcases at the bottom of the staircase, she was much too small to lug them up the narrow steps. Ella sighed happily, the cabin looked just the same as it did last time she had come out here. There was still a tiny kitchen and the old circular dinning table with its wobbly legs. The rest of the main floor served as the living room, with the pull-out couch and brick fireplace. A tall, broad bookshelf leaned against one wall, and to Ella's delight, she noticed her aunt had added to her personal library. She strolled over and selected a few books to bring with her to her room. She went upstairs and into her room, setting down the books on her bed. She could hear her aunt in the adjoining room where Derek stayed, trying to make conversation with her grumpy brother.

Ella took a deep breath. She loved the natural, woodsy scent of the cabin. Her room was small, it was basically the attic of the small cabin. The walls sloped upwards and met at a point above her head, forming the triangular roof. There was window in the room and it faced the lake, giving her a great view of the beach. This was regularly her aunts room, but when Ella came to stay Maria always gave her guests the best rooms she could offer. She slept on the couch downstairs and Derek took the guest room that faced the backyard. She glanced over at the old alarm clock that sat on the bedside table, it was almost dinner time. Maria's menu was limited, but the food she did make was delicious. Ella padded down the stairs to see what her aunt was cooking up, smelling frying onions as soon as she stepped out onto the stairway. Derek poked his head out of his room, sniffing the air. It seemed that the only thing he didn't complain about at Maria's cabin was the food. He followed Ella down the stairs and into the kitchen. Maria was frying up some onions and beef, and there was hefty cans of tomato sauce and beans sitting on the counter. Noticing a large pot set out on the stove, Ella guessed that her aunts famous home cooked chilli was for supper.

“Hey guys, you all settled in?” asked Maria as she rigorously stirred and chopped at the beef.

“Yes,” answered Ella and Derek simultaneously.

“Are we having chilli for supper?” asked Derek eagerly.

“We sure are. Hey, have you guys seen Topher around? I can't remember if I let him out or if he's in the house,” sighed Maria. Topher was her gigantic German Sheppard.

“I'll go look outside,” offered Derek. It might look like he was being useful, but Ella knew he was trying to get out of helping with dinner. Wordlessly Ella pulled out some pre-made dinner rolls out of the freezer, placed them into a pan and started up the oven. She'd spent so much time out here that she knew the routine off by heart. They always had dinner rolls with chilli. Always.

“How has Topher been doing?” asked Ella as she started to set the dinner table.

“Pretty good considering his age. What is he now, at least seventeen? Probably older, he was already full grown when I got him. The vet's amazed that his old hearts still beating,” exclaimed Maria.

“He still acts like a puppy if you ask me,” smiled Ella. She had fond memories of Topher, he was probably the silliest dog she'd ever met. It was almost like he would deliberately try to make her laugh.

“Maybe he still is one. Perhaps he's ageing backwards, like Benjamin Button,” pondered her aunt.

“Or like my brother,” snorted Ella. She could now see him through the kitchen window, he was wrestling Topher for his favourite ball. When Derek managed to steal it away, he hurled it into the forest and Topher went bounding after it.

“Ella, you want to open those cans for me?” asked Maria as she continued stirring her mixture of onions and beef.

Ella tried to open the cans with the ancient can opener, but no matter how hard she pushed, she couldn't get the blade to puncture the lid, “Sorry, I'm not strong enough,” she sighed.

“Don't worry, I'll get them. You just keep stirring,” said Maria, passing her the spoon then wrenching the can open like it was the easiest thing in the world. Ella sighed, it probably was easy for someone that wasn't a child sized toothpick.

Ella stirred away as her aunt added her secret ingredients to the bubbling pot. Ella knew they really weren't secret, she was almost certain that Maria found the recipe on the back of a ketchup bottle. They made small talk, the usual catching up that they always had at the start of Ella's visits. How school was going, the latest and greatest books she'd read, how her friends were, and there was always a few awkward sentences wasted on the topic of boys. Maria thought that Ella was just shy about boys and was hiding her boyfriends, she didn't believe Ella really didn't date. Aside from the fact that she couldn't get a boyfriend if she tried, Ella wasn't certain she wanted one. The boys she knew were immature and gross. Maybe if she met an intelligent boy that bathed everyday she might reconsider. But boys like that were hard to come by, and they certainly wouldn't be interested in Ella. She ladled the chilli into three bowls and set them on her table. Her aunt pulled out the steaming rolls from the oven an instantly the room smelled like warm fresh bread. As usual they didn't have to call Derek and Topher in for dinner, they just followed their noses. Ella swore that he brother had a better nose then the German Shepard. She watched in disgust as he brother plopped himself down at the table and began to construct his version of a sloppy Joe. Maria sprinkled cheese over her and Ella's chilli before taking a seat. They all dug into their meals, too busy eating to make conversation. Topher knocked Derek's spoon off the table and licked it until it was clean. When they finished, Maria declared that it was Derek's turn for clean up duty and she escaped to the backyard with Ella.

“You want to start the fire?” asked Maria, waving a lighter and some newspaper in the air.

“Sure,” said Ella, grabbing some kindling from the box by the door.

The backyard had a magical feel to it, almost like a fairy garden. There was a cobblestone path that led down to the stone fire pit and wound through the cornucopia of flowers he aunt had planted. It branched off the the left where a small vegetable garden flourished, the bright red tomatoes visible from across the yard. Past the flower garden was an old shed that had been on the property when Maria bought the cabin, and the old owners had never given her the key. She left it alone, relishing the mystery it contained. To the side of the shed was a pathway through the trees that led down to the beach. There was no cobblestones on this path, it was just one beaten through the trees and worn down by constant use. It was considerably easier to wander down to the beach via the path then climb down the mini cliff that separated the lawn from the sand. Maria grabbed some wood from her pile beside the house and set it down next to the fire pit before leaving to hunt down some chairs. Ella started building a tipi of wood, shoving newspaper and kindling into the centre and setting it on fire. The kindling quickly took aflame, and Ella blew as hard as she could so the fire would spread to the bigger pieces of wood. The bigger chunks of wood started to catch on fire, and Ella sat back on her heels, satisfied. Derek emerged from the house, carrying the dirty dish water in a pail. He systematically poured it out into the garden then deposited the empty bucket by the back door. Maria insisted that dirty dish water made great fertilizer for her plants.

“Nice fire sis,” said Derek, standing beside Ella.

“Thanks,” said Ella. Compliments from her brother were rare.

“You know, if it wasn't for the food and the s'mores, I don't think I could survive the two weeks of torture I spend out here. Do you think you could convince mom and dad to let me stay home next time?” he asked, poking the fire with a stick.

“I'll try. I'm sure your mom would agree, she hates Maria's guts. Dad on the other hand, he'll be a challenge,” she answered.

“Yeah, but your his favourite. I'm sure he'll say yes to you,” said Derek, shooting her a look. Ella was about to object when Maria returned with some fold up chairs and the ingredients for s'mores.

“So, who wants one?” asked Maria as she started stabbing marshmallows with roasters fashioned out of clothes hangers.

“Me!” shouted Derek, leaping up to grab the roaster.

Ella rolled her eyes at him as she accepted her own roaster. She slowly roasted her marshmallow until it was golden brown, then sandwiched it between two graham crackers and a piece of chocolate. Derek shoved his marshmallow straight into the flames until it caught fire. He blew it out and made his own s'more out of the burnt lump. Just as Ella took her first gooey bite, she felt a raindrop hit her forehead. She frowned up at the sky, and it responded by sending a bolt of lightning shooting through the clouds. More rain began to fall, and thunder clashed above their heads.

“Wow, that came on fast. Grab the roasters, let's go inside,” ushered Maria, collecting the chairs and setting them inside the sheltered patio.

“Aw, can't I roast just one more?” pouted Derek, his messy hair already damp from the rain.

“Sorry kiddo, if you get electrocuted your parents will never let you visit me ever again,” she said, dragging him inside.

“In that case, please oh please let me stay outside,” he begged. Ella hit him in the arm when Maria wasn't looking and he stuck his tongue out at her.

“Real mature,” she muttered under her breath.

“Resorting to violence doesn't make you any better,” he argued.

“I could start a fire in the fireplace,” offered Maria as she raced around the cabin to shut the windows.

“No, it's okay,” said Ella, “I think I'm just going to go read in my room.”

“If you let me have what's left of the chocolate bar and I'll go to my room too,” said Derek, rubbing his hands together and licking his lips. He could be such a pig, it was a wonder that he wasn't fat with all the junk food he ate.

“Sure. If you leave it out, I'll just eat it. I shouldn't be snacking, after all, it is hunting season,” winked her aunt. By hunting season, she meant it was off season and that poachers would be out. He aunt worked sort of like a forest ranger, just without the cheesy horse and tacky uniform. Maria took it upon herself to drive all poachers out of the woods that neighboured her cabin. Ella sometimes worried that Maria might come across some hostile poachers, but she felt safe wandering the woods that her aunt protected none the less.

She climbed up the stairs, taking care not to get a sliver on her bare feet. The wooden stairs had been worn smooth by years of use, but Ella had managed to get the occasional sliver. She stepped into her room and locked her door. She didn't want her brother barging in on her while she was changing or playing a prank on her as she slept. If he really wanted to prank her though, he wouldn't have to come into her room. She frowned, remembering the times he'd put honey in her shampoo bottle and salt on her toothbrush. Once, Derek had actually convinced one of his friends to pretend to be Ella's secret admirer. She had been glad that she didn't respond to the flirty letter stashed in her locker out of nerves, because if she had her brother would never let her live it down. She changed into her pajamas; a pair of her old terry cloth gym shorts and over-sized t-shirt that her grandparents had bought her as a souvenir. She hated pajama sets, the only ones in her size were kids pajamas and they always had babyish designs all over them. Kittens playing with yarn was not exactly what she wanted decorating her pants.

Ella pulled out the book she had been reading on the drive here, Heroes. It was a weird book about a man who'd had his face blown off by a grenade but managed to live. She felt a connection to the character, he was an outcast because he looked different, and so was she. She snuggled deeper into her bed, trying to tune out the noises her brother was making in his room. What was he doing, jumping on his bed? It sure sounded like it. Ella only go through a few pages before her eyelids started to droop and the words started swimming on the page. She hadn't realized how tired she was, travelling always seemed to take a heavy toll on her. She placed her bookmark in her book and shut off the light, falling asleep to the pitter-patter of rain on the roof.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Ella, I'm bored,” said Derek, standing in front of the sun so his head was illuminated like a heavenly figure.

“And that's my problem why?” sighed Ella, sitting up on her beach towel.

She had come down to the beach to relax while her aunt was doing her morning patrol. Maria had promised to take Ella for a driving lesson when she got back, but for now Ella was content with sunbathing on the beach. It was late in the morning, but the air still contained a slight chilliness from last night. The sun shone through a cloudless shy, drying up the sand and making the lake sparkle like a million tiny diamonds. There was a reason why it was called Mirror Lake, when you looked down into it you could see a near perfect image of yourself, disrupted only by a few ripples from nearby fish. When the sun was high in the sky, the lake reflected all the surrounding trees so perfectly it looked like a gateway to a different world that mirrored her own. Sometimes, the lake even took on some magical qualities. When the day had been hot and the night had been cold, the next morning steam would rise from the lake and blanket it with a wispy cloud. Once Ella had got up early to wade through the enchanted waters, letting her fingers fan out through the fog. Even though she'd only gone knee deep, she came back to the cabin damp all over. Ella's father had dragged them all over the country, camping anywhere he could, and they had visited many beaches, but none were as beautiful as Mirror Lake. She wasn't sure if it was the fond memories that she had that clouded her vision, or if it was truly a beautiful lake. Unlike every other lake in Alberta, it wasn't plagued by algae and seaweed. When Ella waded out to the drop off, she could still see her toes buried in the silky sand.

“Because. You were born to entertain me, duh,” he snorted, plopping himself down on the sand beside her.

“I think it's the other way around. I was born first, after all,” she said.

“Be honest with me: would you like me better if I was a girl?” he asked, tunnelling into the sand until he reached the wet stuff that was ideal for building a sandcastle.

“Honestly? I probably would. If you were a girl, you wouldn't be nearly as disgusting and immature,” she sighed, laying back down.

“Yeah, but you would be bored. Did you see my charger? I lost it. I'm worried I left it at home,” he grumbled. Without his charger, Derek would have nothing to do for the next two weeks. Which meant he would spend his time tormenting Ella.

“Um, nope. Last time I saw it was on the dinner table right before we left. If I remember correctly, you were already in the car. You probably left it at home,” she said. Ella had an exceptional memory, she barely ever had to study and she never used a calendar to remember her schedule.

“Great. Knowing you, you're probably right. Do you think mom or dad would bring it out for me?” he asked, creating a mound out of the wet sand.

“Do I think they'll drive three hours just so you can play video games? No, I don't. Besides, if you ask you'll get dads 'be one with nature' speech,” she giggled.

“Him and his stupid obsession with nature,” pouted Derek, kicking over his pile of sand.

“You definatly take after your mother,” Ella said with an eye roll. She couldn't believe how materialistic Tracy had been when she married her father. She'd grown more accepting of her father's outdoorsy lifestyle over time, but she still refused to go camping unless they bought a trailer. Her father argued that rendered camping pointless, and Ella agreed.

“She's your mom too. Why do you call her Tracy?” asked Derek accusingly, his grey eyes boring into hers.

“She's not my mom,” Ella sniffed, looking away.

“Well she's a better mom then yours is. It bugs her, can't you tell?” he asked, standing up.

“I don't care,” Ella said harshly. This was a sensitive subject, not one that should be discussed with her insensitive brother.

“Whatever. She's gone Ella, gone for good,” he said, storming off across the sand.

Ella took a deep breath and tried to restore her peaceful thoughts. They wouldn't come back. Growling frustratedly, she checked her phone for the time. Her aunt would be getting back home soon, so she gathered up her things and headed back to the cabin. She suited up for her first time driving, pulling on some sturdy runners and her sleek sunglasses. She ran over what she'd learned from the drivers manual one last time in her head, then sat out on the swinging chair. Her aunt pulled up in the jeep, bumping along the gravel road. Ella's frustration with her brother dissolved and the feeling of nervous excitement filled her stomach. She'd been looking forward to driving since she got her license, but her she was, actually about to do it. Would she crash? Would she flip the car over? Would she hit some wild animal? How many people died in car accidents annually? She couldn't remember the exact number, but it must be high.

“Ready to go, Ella?” called her aunt from the jeep.

“As ready as I'll ever be,” she said, running across the yard to the jeep. She climbed into the passenger seat and did up her seat belt. Topher sat in the back panting and drooling all over the leather seats.

“Okay. First of all, where are your turn signals?” asked Maria, putting on her teacher face.

“Here,” said Ella, flicking the stick that turned them on or off.

“Gas? Breaks?” Ella gestured to them respectively.

“Check your mirrors, are they good?” Ella nodded.

“Then put the car into drive and let's hit the road.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Of course Maria had taken Ella driving. He'd asked a million times, but she'd never said yes to him. Ella never asked and she'd been taken driving. It was pure favouritism! There was the small matter that Ella did have a license and therefore was legally allowed to drive, but still, it wasn't fair. He stomped back into the cabin and slammed the door closed. He'd driven the quads a million times, why couldn't he drive a car? Was it really that different? He plopped himself down on the couch and started up his DS. He'd already run the batteries dry on his PSP and they were about to die on his DS. The screen flickered to life briefly before flashing the battery sign and turning itself off. Derek sighed and dropped the useless device onto the couch. He would have to find something else to do. He glanced at the bookshelf, but there was nothing worth reading, no comics or graphic novels. Maybe he should go out exploring, it was better then nothing. He didn't really want to go wondering through the woods without Topher, their was more then just poachers out there. There was bears, wolves and moose. Not to mention it was breeding season, and the male moose would be especially aggressive. It was weird, being more worried about moose then bears, but he guessed that all of Maria's blabbering about the wild was finally sinking in.

Derek remembered the old boathouse on the beach. If he stole one of his sister's bobby pins he could probably pick the lock and break in. It was as safe as exploring could be, there was no poachers, wild animals or ways to get lost. His biggest worry was just a few cobwebs and wayward spiders, so how could his aunt possibly get mad at him? He walked over to the bathroom and dug a few of Ella's bobby pins out of her toiletries. He pulled on his beat up sneakers and stole out to the boathouse. It was a small, shabby structure built out of rough wood. Its old white paint was chipped and dirty, and the shingles on the roof were dangling precariously. If Derek was lucky enough to find an antique boat inside, he doubted it would be bigger then his aunt's sardine-tin fishing boat. With any luck, it may be newer then his aunts boat and they could stop using the rusty old thing. Taking care not to get a splinter from the rugged wood, Derek stuck the bobby pin into the doorknob and jimmied the padlock. He heard a faint clicking noise and the door creaked open. As he stepped into the dingy room, he found himself wishing that he had brought a flashlight. The only window was boarded up from the outside; the only light sneaking though a gap between the boards and the open door. The sunlight hit the water at a strange angle, cascading ripples of light onto the ceiling and walls. The water sloshed against the rotting runway, and the whole place had a damp, mouldy smell similar to stagnant water baking under a scorching hot sun. The air itself was damp and clung to his skin and he sincerely hoped that he wasn't inhaling mould spores that would make him sick. He took a tentative step onto the walkway, testing to see if it would break under his weight. It seemed sturdy enough so he slowly made his way towards the water. Peering down into it's murky depths, Derek thought he could see the faint outline off a wooden boat that had capsized. Even if he somehow managed to drag it up from the depths, it would be a worthless endeavour. The frame was rotted and the wood was coated in a thick, slimy algae.

The glint of something shiny and new caught his eye. Towards the doors that opened to the lake, there was a large object covered with a bed sheet. A small can off spray paint lay on the ground beside it, half of the bottle covered in the fabric. Derek inched towards it, taking care not to fall through the old wooden walkway. He grimaced at the tools that lined the walls, had the people who owned the cabin before his aunt been into torturing people? There were saws and hatchets coated in a red-tinged substance, whether it was blood or rust he couldn't tell. He look at the floor surrounding the covered object, it was made of a newer, different material then the rest of the boathouse. It looked like metal, but when Derek knelt down to touch it the surface felt rough and porous like stone. He tore the sheet off in a dramatic swooping motion and let it drop to the floor. Underneath was a painting easel! A blank canvas currently occupied the stand, and a few half-used bottles of paint and dirty paintbrushes littered the small stool beside it. An old jar that had been used to clean the brushes lay on its side, spilling out coloured liquid. He noticed a completed painting propped up against the easel, and he brushed it lightly with his fingertips. The paint was still wet and came off on his fingers. It was hard to tell in the poor light, but the painting seemed to be of the lake. He wasn't sure who had painted it, but whoever had was very skilled. He knew it couldn't be his aunt because she had been off on patrol all morning, not to mention the fact that she hated anything as slow and monotonous as painting. He would have thought it was Ella if he didn't know for a fact that she had absolutely no artistic talent. Last year, she had drawn a self-portrait for art class and Derek had thought she'd drawn a frog with hair. When he'd voiced his opinion, she had thrown a pencil at his head. No, whoever had been here was certainly no one he knew. And whoever they were, they had left in a hurry. Perhaps they had heard him coming and took off. But where would the go? Out the doors leading to the lake? No, they had rusted shut. The only direction they could have gone was down, into the lake.

He took an instinctive step away from the edge. What if that person was still down there, ready to surface for air? No, that was ridiculous. They would have had to surface by now or leave the boathouse by swimming under the doors. No human could hold their breath that long. Even though he tried to assure himself he was safe, he couldn't shake off the feeling that he was intruding on someone else's property. He glanced around the rest of the boathouse, there was nothing worth sticking around to see. He slowly backed out of the boathouse, and a thought struck him. Maybe they were hiding in the boathouse? He didn't dare look. He locked the door again and quietly shut it. Instantly he felt relieved as the hot, summer sun beat down on his back. He would tell his aunt about what he had found and she would take care of whoever was breaking in. The mystery gnawed at his mind, encouraging him to figure it out. The problem was, he had absolutely no idea who it could be. Derek didn't know of anyone other then his aunt that lived out here. With nothing else to do, Derek retreated to the cabin to find a book with pictures in it, making sure to lock all the doors as he went.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“And.. Stop,” said Maria as Ella jammed on the brakes. She flicked the car into park and cut the engine. He first drive had been a rough one, with lots of jerking movements and close calls. She was already exhausted, and had no idea how her aunt maintained a chipper disposition though all the trials she had guided Ella through. She dragged herself into the back with Topher and Maria slid into the drivers seat. It was an unspoken fact that she would be the one to drive them home. Ella pulled a large wicker picnic basket out from under the seat. Inside she found peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, two cans of rootbeer, two juicy apples and a giant bag of Doritos. She climbed back into the front so Topher wouldn't slobber all over her food and started unpacking it. Her aunt tore into her sandwich, gulping it down hungrily. Ella opted for an apple, her stomach was still churning from driving.

“You know, that wasn't too bad for your first time,” said Maria through a mouthful of bread.

“Don't be silly, I was horrible,” flushed Ella. She hoped her aunt was right, or she would never get her full license and be stuck taking public transportation for the rest of her life.

“Seriously. The first time your dad went driving he backed into a curb and took the bumper off,” snickered her aunt. She popped open the bag of Doritos and scooped a handful into her mouth before tossing one to Topher.

“Really? Well I guess I'm not that horrible after all,” said Ella, taking a bite of apple. The juice ran down her chin, and while she was searching for a napkin Topher snuck a lick off her chin.

Ella heard a faint rustle in the bush, and immediately her head snapped into the direction it came from. Topher's ears were pointed and alert, and his noise was sniffing the air ferociously. Maria eyed them both suspiciously, she was well aware of Ella's excellent hearing. It was probably just a wild animal, but Topher's reaction and unease was worrying Ella. She'd seen him run into a bear before, he'd casually turned around and walked away. Whatever was in the bushes was bad news. Ella squinted at the trees, she swore she could see a humanoid figure standing in the brush. It seemed to be creeping forward slowly, it's shape growing clearer.

“Do you see that?” she whispered to her aunt.

“See what?” she asked, taking head of Ella's worried tone.

“A person, out in the woods. Over there, behind that birch tree,” said Ella, doing up her seat belt in case a speedy get away was in order.

“Barely... How can you see that?” asked her aunt, frowning. Topher let out a blood curdling snarl, and the person picked up their pace.

“Does Topher act like that around people?” Ella asked, goosebumps rising on her arms and legs.

“No, he's friendly,” said her aunt. She turned the key and started the ignition.

“Then I suggest you drive as fast as you can back to the cabin,” said Ella, her heart pounding in her chest.

“Gotcha,” said Maria, burning a doughnut and speeding as fast as she could back down the road. Ella looked back over her shoulder, but the figure had disappeared back into the forest. Topher still let out a low growl from the back of his throat, and Ella stroked his head to calm him. The closer they got to the cabin, the better she felt. She couldn't explain the odd fear of the person in the woods, it was like some deep, instinctual feeling inside of her had been awakened, like the survival instincts of an animal.

“What was that?” Ella asked as her aunt pulled up in front of the cabin.

“Honestly? I have no idea. I am going to go find out though,” she said, climbing out to let Topher out of the back.

“Are you sure that's a good idea?” asked Ella, her stomach twisting at the thought of her aunt venturing out into the woods alone.

“I'll be fine, I'll stay in the jeep and I'll keep my shotgun ready,” as she said this she pulled her impressive array of weapons out of her trunk and slid them onto the passengers seat.

“Stay here with Topher and Derek. Lock all the doors and make sure everyone stays inside. If Topher has to use the bathroom find him some newspaper. Oh, if you don't mind, there's some left over Chinese food in the fridge, if you could heat that up for you and your brother. I didn't mean to serve leftovers on your second night here, but circumstances have changed,” she said, climbing back into the jeep and driving away before Ella could protest further.

“Come on Topher, let's go check on Derek and make sure he's behaving,” she sighed.

When she tried the front door it was locked. She pounded on the door and shouted Derek's name, holding Topher by his collar so he didn't take off. Derek opened the door without a word and plopped himself down on the couch. Ella noticed that he had started reading a book about bear attacks and what to do if you encounter one. She took a peak at the page he was reading, of course it was full of pictures. She relocked the door and settled down on the couch beside her brother. Topher paced the room nervously before laying down at her feet. His ears were pointed up and his eyes watched the door intently. Ella could feel how tense his muscles were against her leg.

“Where's Maria?” asked Derek.

“She went back out,” said Ella, leaning over to pet Topher.

“Why?”

“We ran into someone in the woods. Whoever it was Topher was freaking out about them, so we left. She's going out to see if she can find them. Honestly I hope she doesn't. They were creepy,” Ella shivered, remembering how unnaturally scared of the stranger she'd been.

“You saw it?” asked Derek, eyeing her eagerly.

“No, just their outline in the trees,” said Ella.

“Then how can you say they were creepy? Maybe it was just some camper lost in the woods,” frowned Derek.

“It was just this feeling I got. Whatever was out there, it wasn't friendly,” she shivered.

“And you let Maria go out their to find it?” he asked, wide eyed.

“I couldn't stop her. She has her guns, she should be safe,” Ella hoped her words sounded more convincing to Derek then they did to her own ears.

“Yeah, her guns are pretty sweet. I had my own creepy encounter while you were gone,” he smiled crookedly. Ella could tell that he was baiting her.

“Really? What happened?” she asked, but she didn't expect him to tell.

“You'll just have to wait to find out. I want Maria to be here when I tell my story,”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Maria sauntered through the door just as Ella pulled the leftover Chinese food out of the microwave. She looked tired and unhappy, like her search had been disappointing. Ella suspected she only returned because it would be dark soon and she didn't want to leave Derek and Ella alone. Topher rushed up to her, jumping onto his hind legs and placing his front paws on her shoulders. He licked her face with his long, slobbery tongue and Maria pushed him off, laughing. Ella set the steaming bowl of rice on the table alongside the noodles and ginger beef. Derek had already started to pig out on some of the egg rolls.

“Find anything?” he said through a mouthful.

“Nothing. No tracks, no broken branches, nothing. I bet if I had Topher he wouldn't have been able to pick up a scent,” she sighed, spooning rice onto her plate.

“I definatly saw something out there,” defended Ella.

“I know, I'm not doubting you. Topher noticed it too, and I sort of saw it. Someone or something is out there, I just don't know what,” she said, pouring a ton of soy sauce on her rice.

“That's bad for you,” Ella frowned. She hated the taste of soy sauce, it was way to strong.

“At the moment I don't really care. I could use the salt, I'm pretty sure I sweated all the salt in my body out today,” she laughed.

“Gross!”

“Cool!” said Derek, wiping sauce off his face with his sleeve.

“So what do you think we saw?” asked Ella, pushing her food around her plate with her fork. Suddenly she had lost her appetite.

“I'm not sure. Perhaps a ghost? Maybe big foot?” she joked.

“Big foot would be cool,” nodded Derek.

“Yes he would, but I could never let you go exploring. It would be much too dangerous,” teased her aunt.

“Never mind, big foot's a loser,” pouted Derek.

“So Derek, what was your story?” asked Ella, hoping that whatever he'd been up to while they were gone would get him in trouble.

“Oh yeah! I almost forgot. You might want to cover your ears Ella, it might be too scary for you,” he grinned devilishly.

“Just spit it out,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Fine, but don't blame me if you have nightmares,” he said. Ella doubted her nightmares would be from his story, her brother was a bigger chicken then her.

“My PSP and DS died, and I was bored, so I decided to go out exploring. I didn't want to go into the woods without Topher, so I broke into the little boathouse on the lake.”

“You did what?” exclaimed Maria, “I've tried to get in there for years! I can never pick the lock!”

“I just used some bobby pins and it opened right up,” shrugged Derek.

“Bobby pins. Why did I never try bobby pins?” their aunt muttered to herself.

“Anyways, you won't believe what I found in there. At first I thought it was just a capsized fishing boat and some bloody tools-”

“Bloody tools?” questioned Ella.

“Okay, so maybe they were rusty. It was too dark to tell. This is the weirdest part- I saw an old bed sheet draped over a large object, so I pulled it off. Underneath was an easel and a canvas, and weirder still was that they were both brand new. There was still paints left out and a jar of water had been knocked over recently. And behind the easel their was a painting propped up- and when I touched it, the paint was still wet,” Derek finished, smiling mysteriously.

“That's... bizarre,” said Maria, baffled.

“If it's true,” snorted Ella.

“How could they have gotten in?” asked Maria.

“I think they had to swim under the doors. The doors leading to the lake are rusted shut, and the one on the beach was locked all this time,” said Derek.

“Strange. Well tomorrow morning you'll have to let me into the boathouse and we'll take a look. For now though, it's late, I'm tired, and I'm going to bed. Goodnight Ella and Derek.”