Mystery Lake

[114] Everybody

For the first time since they had made their acquaintance with the Tritons, another group actually came in for the purpose of shopping. It was a sort of hybrid tour group that focused on elements of the paranormal. All the little approved snippets Riley had, along with her first-hand experience, went into her presentation.

Roxy tried to play the outside observer, seeing the disparate elements spread around and trying to make some sense of it. The little man documentation was probably the strongest evidence, but everyone nearby whispered about AI. The same indictments fell on the rest. It's hard to believe when it's not you, not your story. Alyssa had to keep Junior from escaping to the crowd and providing too much paranormal evidence.

As for the striking differences in Riley compared to her most recent social media presence, the speculation was about surgery, hormones, and prosthetics. The Tritons offered up what they could, and that was the best they could do. At least the group was interested in the trinkets, and some of them placed some pretty expensive orders. The regulars soon followed, along with a small but curious trickle.

After eating, the group roamed around the area and found a lovely place by a wide river. It had an art gallery, a visitor's center, and a big red clock tower intended for kids, but still at a pace that adults could take. Alyssa eagerly seized every ounce of cheerful opportunity around her and played joyously. She made friends with other kids around and didn't seem bothered by being treated as one of them.

Roxy rested on the top floor of the small clock tower and pulled out one of the books she bought yesterday. She was just going to poke through it, maybe skim the important parts, and look at the overall plot. That's what she said until she realized that it was several hours later and she had plowed through the narrative. She caught up with the others at the marina and enjoyed a few fishing events and a lazy stroll through the gallery as the day slipped away.

A little closer to Neverwink, they found a very comfortable campground with plenty of amenities. The hike through the forest was done with each of them sticking close together, still not sure what creatures existed out here in the wild that they had to be wary of. Those of a supernatural disposition and those of a more natural standing as well.

As night fell, they built a nice fire. All the camping provisions that had been intended for the lake were brought out. The tents enjoyed a good stretch. The fire was warm and pungent as they settled around it to cook and relax. Roxy made sure to leave a message at the number Cerberus provided. They were waiting for him.

It took a little while, but without further announcement or a ceremony, he walked out of the clearing and joined them, hand raised in greeting.

He wasn't wearing the old black suit anymore, but rather a less formal, collared combination with a bit more gray. Cerberus sat down next to Roxy and held a surprise in his arms. It was Roscoe.

The little dog eagerly escaped into Roxy's arms and modest bosom, causing her to giggle happily. Cerberus relayed that he was taking good care of the pup, no matter the challenges, with some duties shared by Rydia. It wasn't long before the dog was dozing, tail wagging, on Roxy's lap.

"What have you all been up to?" It was a surprisingly casual question from Cerberus, and it prompted a flurry of responses from the group, eager to fill him in on the plethora of new things that had happened since he had last been around. He looked remorseful for his question but absorbed most of what they said.

Roxy concentrated on setting him up with marshmallows in pre-s'more form. He was pretty good at keeping the little thing positioned close enough, but not too close.

"We need to tell ghost stories!" One Layla announced, and the other eagerly agreed. But the suggestion wasn't met with much enthusiasm from anyone else. How about singing instead?

"Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream..." One Layla began.

The other picked up on the previous, continuing the background melody, "Merrily merrily merrily merrily, life is but a dream!" And they encouraged the group to continue the round-robin. There was some hesitation, but Chiara offered her light but energetic voice. Jake joined in for the next round. And that was followed by Alyssa doing the loudest version, almost overwhelming everyone else.

Roxy followed Miranda. And it was left to Cerberus. Her expectation was that he would remain quiet, perhaps raising an eyebrow at the rest of the group. The solemn, sad fellow. It was all right. No big deal; they had enough of a crazy combination going on that...

"Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream..." He joined in at the exact moment he should have. Cerberus's singing voice sounded quite versatile. It had a rumble of gravitas but also a sharp, rising softness that bordered on the tenor of a professional singer. It was a little hard to make out every detail as their efforts blended together, but the Laylas cycled through the vocals, finishing first, followed by the next to start, until it was just Roxy and Cerberus singing a strange, out-of-sync duet.

Two people singing past each other, never quite meeting the way they should have. Unfortunate, but that was the life they had. And then it was just Cerberus alone to finish the melody. Chirping nature sounds were their skeptical audience after they finished.

The group chuckled and smiled, with Cerberus firmly in the smile zone. He mentioned that he'd somehow been able to retrieve the Greys' musical playlist from the ship, if anyone was interested in that set of songs from the 1930s to the 1980s, as Lillis angrily vented. Roxy grabbed a copy and made sure one went to Riley. Cerberus assured her that Riley and Rydia would be arriving at the camp soon.

To break the silence, the Laylas performed their own "musical original."

One cleared her throat, then the other.

"Pick me up!"

"Pick me up! You gotta pick me up!"

"You gotta pick me up!"

"I fell on the floor!"

"I don't know what for! But you gotta pick me up!"

"You gotta pick me up!"

"It's not a trick, you gotta pick, you gotta pick me up!"

"Do it; it's true, all for you. Just gotta pick me up!"

The "pick me up" chorus went on and on as if they were putting on an MC Hammer show.

"I know you're gonna pick me up."

"You always pick me up."

"Two of a feather."

"We're stuck together!"

"Through any weather!"

"And we're gonna to pick you up!"

Roxy was both delighted and annoyed at how much this wormed its way into her brain. Cerberus' marshmallow was sufficiently gooey as he slid it between graham cracker and chocolate. He looked uncertain but maintained his pleasant expression as he chewed.

The ghost stories were not forgotten. It felt like it was time for them. Layla started with a whistling ghost, which actually sounds softer and quieter the closer it is to you. They began to close the circle, with Roxy bumping into Cerberus' shoulder.

This tale didn't follow Roxy's expectation of a screaming scare at the end, but it still spooked her more than she expected. Chiara's story was a familiar one that she told quite well about young men trying to join a fraternity. The pledges had to go up to the fourth floor of a haunted building with a single candle and two matches. Each person who entered to check on the last one would have their candle go out and never be relit. Her final scream was unexpected because of the energy and emphasis she put into it. Even Cerberus looked unnerved.

The rest of the stories were briefer or lighter until that storyteller role finally settled at Cerberus' feet. He brushed back his hair and took a long breath before finally beginning his own.

"Once upon a time, there was a watchmaker who lived in a small but prestigious village. A few wealthy men and women had the largest and most beautiful houses, and the rest of the village had to eke out a living in small hovels. The watchmaker made magnificent pieces for wealthy men and women, and they rewarded him generously. But he felt guilty because he had enough while so many others suffered and starved. So he decided to change things in the village. He would build his masterpiece clock. A device so ingenious and powerful that the world would turn on it. He would use it to catch those vain and powerful men and women. Their time would be over after all their rushing about. They would be frozen, like statues, like the many representations they made of themselves in vanity. The poor villagers would finally get to laugh and gawk at them, and the world would leave them behind. But when the watchmaker wound his clock, he was horrified to see that everyone in the village became like a statue, not just the rich and powerful. They were all trapped together, and he was the only one who could move about. He tried to journey beyond the village, but it was as if the clock was holding him in its own way. He was alone—absolutely alone. His wife and daughter were frozen in their beds, in an eternal sleep from which they would never wake. And there was nothing he could do about it. He tried to smash his masterpiece, but each time his blows slowed down and barely touched it, as if the wretched thing had a mind of its own. He had to live all alone, trapped in this nightmare. He was determined for a while, but then he started to hear the ticking. Like a clock hidden right behind his ears, the pulsing heartbeat of the world that continued even when everything else stopped. Some greater clock that he had somehow disturbed, and now it was moving towards him, moment by moment, instant by instant, unseen. Tick tock, tick tock, relentlessly. Every step he took was shadowed by the sound that always followed him around. He couldn't get away, no matter how he passed this eternal day. In the frozen statues of the town, he started to see them frown, their faces twisted in anger that didn't move when he looked but changed every time he checked. Even his wife and daughter had shifted, flowing from contented sleep to bitter terror and frozen screams. Tick tock, tick tock ever follows on that clock. Though he may run and always go, no end of life will ever show; the ticking never ends until it hunts him down, my friends. Tick tock, tick tock... Where will the clock finally stop? Tick tock… Tick tock... Who is it behind... right now?"

And then he clapped his hands on his knees, with a mischievous smile slipping across his features. Roxy jumped, but everyone else just flinched slightly. It might not have been the most traditional scary story, but it definitely got their attention. Not long after Cerberus finished his story and took a sip of water, Riley and Rydia showed up to join the campfire circle. Riley had a lot of stories to tell from her large collection, and they went on long into the night.

Roxy leaned closer to Jake with all the warm, familiar feelings, but also bumped up against Cerberus again. He laid a hand on hers and released a breath. He looked so strangely melancholy, so quiet and reserved, as if he knew something special that none of the others did. It almost seemed as if he was saying goodbye without speaking it aloud. But he wasn't going anywhere. He still had the company to fight, and she got the impression that he was really old and couldn't die, so he would probably outlive them all. Nothing to worry about.

They were together. All of them, with Maggie at home relaxing on the phone that Riley held, offered kind words for the group. Their little group. People who, not long ago, didn't know each other, knew each other in some way, or didn't know each other clearly enough. Some lovers, some enemies, some joyful, some quietly sad, some secretive, some afraid, some hidden, some lost, but all finding each other and becoming more together. It would have been fun to have a binding, special name for it, even if the simplest name... was friends. And Roxy hoped they would stay that way as long as they lived.

[Final section. Action, drama, loss, and all sorts of unexpected things too. We're right at the end of this story. I'm still just a week ahead in my writing and I am winding down this story. Thank you for all your suggestions, sorry where I couldn't use more of them but there's always another story to tell. Even now, I encourage readers to suggest any character traits, tropes, and other wish list items that they might like to see for a spooky scene in something to follow. I also have some fun, musical, and awesome ideas for where this series should go. The ending is set, just need to get there. One more week after this. This wasn't as complicated at Yuri Worlds but it was still decently long. Comedic but creepy, emotional but sweet. As always, vast details, especially types of characters, character names, and more are wide open beyond this narrative. Feel free to add any idea which doesn't show up in the options. Also, if you see any random typos or uncapitalized starts of sentences, please pass them along. I am currently using Quillbot to assist with speedy editing, but it’s not 100%. We are into the final chapters. Winding down but feel free to suggest anything. Almost there. Thank you for reading!]

No official poll on ScribbleHub. But feel free to ask ME questions. Also, I am curious if there are any characters in this or another Cerberus Saga story that people wish they learned more about.