Chapter 7 - The Freezing Lake

I sprinted toward the back of the cabin, ignoring the painful branches tearing at my face and clothes.

The freezing rain was coming down in thick sheets, making it incredibly difficult to see anything clearly.

I reached the muddy shoreline and saw a small motorized rowboat speeding away toward the center of the vast lake.

I could faintly see Lily and Mason huddled together in the back of the small, unstable vessel.

There were no other boats tied to the rotting wooden dock for me to use in pursuit.

I knew the freezing water temperature would cause deadly hypothermia within a matter of minutes.

I threw off my heavy jacket and boots, completely preparing to swim through the icy darkness.

Before I could dive into the black water, the loud, deafening crack of a shotgun echoed through the storm.

A spray of lethal buckshot shredded the wooden dock merely inches from my bare feet.

I dove desperately behind a rusted metal barrel as Vanessa walked slowly down the muddy path.

She was holding the smoking shotgun, a look of pure, unadulterated madness completely consuming her eyes.

She yelled over the storm that the boat was rigged with a slow leak and a heavy cinder block tied to the children.

She gloated that the police would only find a tragic drowning accident, leaving her as the sole grieving beneficiary.

I realized she was intentionally stalling me to ensure the boat sank before I could reach them.

I grabbed a fistful of wet mud and threw it aggressively directly into her eyes as she aimed the gun again.

Vanessa screamed in pain, firing wildly into the air as the shotgun recoiled violently against her shoulder.

I lunged forward, tackling her heavily onto the muddy shore and wrestling the dangerous weapon away.

I hit her with the wooden stock of the gun, knocking her completely unconscious in the freezing mud.

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I looked back out at the lake and saw the small boat rapidly taking on water in the distance.

Without a single second of hesitation, I plunged my body into the agonizing, freezing black water of the lake.