Mystery Lake

[24] Protected

Before Roxy could struggle to her feet, he overwhelmed her again, seizing her by the waist and pulling up her dress. Her mind flared with every defense technique that ever crossed her mind. She kneed him in the face but didn't flail wildly with her legs. They stayed down and angled forward for protection. It was a hopeless cause, but she would fight for every inch.

He had his grip around her shorts underneath, and she focused everything she had into one last attack of arms and legs. He shuddered briefly and reached out again. She struck him a second time, and he crumpled at her feet. No time to waste. She dug her heels into the altered ground beneath her and pushed off the grass, wishing those damn legs would stop being such weaklings.

They shook, quivered, and refused to stay steady under her, but they held her weight enough to lift her into a standing position away from the bastard. She was about to stagger backward, cascading head over heels, but she bumped into something, as if she had found an invisible wall to brace herself against.

It was truly strange, like someone was with her. Hands even held her tired shoulders as she managed to catch her breath and let go of the aches. A voice whispered against her like a stray sliver of breeze. It was as calming and comforting as a summer day spread across her skin. Like a big sister she had never known before. You'll be fine; just breathe. I am with you.

Roxy settled into the feeling, and the serenity surrounded her like a perfect shield. She looked over, across the endless field, at the bastard getting back to his feet. Only the fear she felt sublimated away, and now he seemed so small, so desperately pathetic.

A rumble filled her throat, like a growl surging from beneath, from somewhere unnatural and intimate. Her attacker paused, and his ears seemed to twist with fear. His eyes widened in alarm, and his mouth dropped.

"Oh… Shit..."

Roxy felt the ghostly hands of her new invisible friend cradle her and guide her arms up. A voice rose from her throat with a frightful potency she didn't realize she had, speaking words she didn't know in a harsh and alien tongue: "Mashares tolka ferrik cull matare."

The trucker fucker dropped to his knees with his eyes quivering and meekly responding, "I am so sorry... I humbly beg your forgiveness on my kalamek."

Neither Roxy's companion nor Roxy herself believed that bullshit. Shifting together, they raised Roxy's left hand in a sweeping arc and brought it down as if cutting an invisible cloth. The expansive grassy swath fell away, and they were back at the rest stop, back on the pathway. But it was immediately different.

There were sounds, there were people, and the voice she wanted to hear most of all.

"ROXY!" Jake cried out in panic and relief that felt so far away, but he came with arms wide open to embrace her. What flash of strength she had just moments ago staggered and struggled to push her towards him, but it was enough to reunite them. She wobbled, but Jake held her steady and turned to protect her with his body.

"What did you do to her?" Jake practically roared from deep inside his chest. The words exploded and echoed across the pavement. Despite their ferocity, the people and families in the area didn't flinch or turn in surprise at the sudden, shouted question.

The cowering trucker panted and presented his empty hands, just as he had before. "Nothing, absolutely nothing. She just... She has such tremendous power, and her aura... She is a destined princess of light. She will be as magnificent and glorious as they come. And I have the honor of knowing her. It has been the greatest privilege of my life."

Roxy wanted to flip the fucker as many birds as she could throw. But she felt the strange ethereal friend on her shoulder lean over and whisper gently. It wasn't so much words as an entire thought transmitted at once. She gestured to the left, to Ross, who was standing off to the side, almost touching the grass by the trees. Her friend bent her head forward, as if they were giving a sign. Ross squinted but nodded slightly before walking over to the restored car in the parking lot, though Roxy assumed she was the one who left, not it.

A deep part of Roxy, closely connected to Joel, was worried about what was happening—about being commanded by this strange presence. Only it wasn't a command. She had a lure—a kind of glamour and radiance—but Roxy knew she could easily reject all that in a moment. It was a suggestion, an idea, like secretly passing along a prank notion that would be so perfect.

While Ross was away, Roxy laid it out: "He tried to force himself on me. I'm okay though...I think." She felt Jake's arms and body tighten, but his grip remained tender.

"Did he hurt you?"

"No. He tried, but someone's looking out for me, and we're both really pissed at this douchebag." Roxy quickly added, "It has something to do with that stupid lake, but I can't be sure what."

The trucker looked up and asked, "Lake? What lake?"

Ross lunged at him, carrying one of the plastic cups from the back and hurling its contents at his chest. A stretching, sprawling mass of water splattered his blue shirt and ricocheted across his arms. The trucker shrieked as if it wasn't water but more like a melting acid that splashed him.

Immediately, his shape started to shift, as if an invisible, intangible presence was reshaping him like soft clay. He fell to the pavement, squirming in terror. His arms dwindled to dainty limbs and his legs slimmed, while his body lost its former, bulky heft. His hair grew, spilling across his shoulders, overwhelming his cap, which tumbled over and away from him.

The biggest change was at his drenched chest, as an unmistakable, massive bosom swelled up, straining the contours of his shirt like the water was fostering flowering, soft mounds. A terrified blush filled the former man's cheeks as she sat up shakily.

Her clothes barely stayed on, especially her pants. She fumbled nervously and glared at the group. Before she could spit out bitter words, Roxy's friend nudged her and politely asked if she could say something. Roxy had no objections.

A calm passed over Roxy's body as a gaze, glittering like sapphires through her eyes, focused on the transformed trucker and said, "You won't be alone for long. I hope they have fun with you."

The new girl's eyes widened in terror as Roxy made a single sharp, high-pitched note with her mouth. It sounded bright and bold enough to shake glass. A quiver passed through the trees, like shadows awakening. Roxy narrowed her eyes with a smile.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Flailing for something in the air, the trucker yanked down what looked like an invisible courtesy curtain and vanished. A moment later, Roxy glanced at the others and told them, "We should go now."

After she said that, her quietly supportive, invisible friend drifted away, trailing a soft, comforting hand against her cheek. Roxy returned to herself and wobbled, needing Jake's support again.

The others had a mountain of questions dribbling out in half-finished sentences, especially Jake. Roxy shook her head and reiterated the last thought she was left with, encouraging, "We need to go. Get in the car. Gas up down the road... If that's real."

Chiara made the first move toward the car. Jake stayed close to Roxy. Ross lingered back to retrieve the fallen cup with a look of uncertainty. Miranda seemed torn between trying to puzzle clues out of this location and encouraging the group to hustle. Layla busted out what she clearly thought were approximations of karate or judo moves, slicing through the air and sliding her foot along the grass.

At this point, the scattered crowds that had recently materialized in the area began to look at the six of them with concerned expressions, suspecting them to be somewhere between performance art and the strangest iteration of a family unit. Despite how they looked, none of them hesitated in their efforts to scramble for the car doors.

Arriving first, Chiara puffed hard, efficiently slipping the key into the lock and disengaging the doors for the others. They slipped efficiently into their now familiar spots and coordinated their seatbelts, with Chiara easing into reverse. From there, there was an unfortunate log jam of leaving traffic plodding their way around behind them. Roxy hoped that the warning wasn't especially imminent, since no one seemed to sense any danger in the air.

They were still bound by the posted speed limit but threaded it as much as possible to climb back onto the highway. Once there, the sign noting further amenities wasn't the only assurance that things had been set back on their paths. The traffic was much denser than previously, which made more sense for a road like this. This raised several concerns for Roxy as she tried to parse recent events into something that made sense.

This feeling of isolation had persisted for some time in their journey. Was it just because of the trucker fucker? Was it because of this region and the whole fairy country idea? Or had they just come across a very strange stretch of road, and the other events were coincidences? The signs clearly reiterated that they were within spitting distance of the suggestively named towns and their destination, so some of it had to be real. Small comfort that the wannabe rapist couldn't conjure up extensive illusions, although how he found her and did what he did still left her shaking all over.

Roxy squeezed close to Jake, and he wrapped his arms around her. Despite what she wanted to tell her brain about who this was and how much he meant to her, her body still flinched fearfully. More psychology and trauma to deal with. Why couldn't she just forget the whole damn thing happened?

She could sense that Ross had several questions he wanted to launch through the air, but he restrained them until the frail promise of a refueling station solidified from a roadside hope into an actual reality. It wasn't as big as the truck stop, but it still had plenty of open pumps when it came into sight.

Everyone braced themselves as they pulled into the one on the end with the easiest escape route. At least the prices on the tanks looked frustratingly genuine. Miranda and Chiara went in together to put cash down inside. The others kept their eyes on them as long as they could. Layla slid a hand over Roxy's shoulder. She smiled at her gently in appreciation and gave her hand a quick squeeze before removing it.

Outside, the girls returned, and Chiara started pumping, although the nozzle overflowed from the last time it was used, and she had to scurry back from the spill. Miranda helped her set it up, and then she walked protectively around the car. Leaning forward from the back, it was quite obvious that Ross wanted to say something, but he held his tongue.

Roxy glanced out the window; the gas flowing into the car sure seemed real enough, along with the smell, the other customers, and the thing that wheels ran over, triggering a bell. The place didn't even seem to have full service anymore. It was one of those little, old-fashioned quirks that they kept the bell.

She watched as the counter stopped at twelve gallons. The faint sounds of birds fluttered near the station. The girls outside asked if anyone wanted any snacks, but none of them were in the mood. When they returned and Chiara confirmed a full tank on the dashboard and the tablet, Ross made a small sound, testing out the faintest sliver of his question.

Roxy responded, "I don't know what happened. I went to the bathroom, then I was alone, and then I was with that bastard. He claimed I was a fairy, some sort of princess, but he said a lot of shit. I don't know what to make of everything that happened when I saw you all again." She looked to Ross with an unspoken question about whether he wanted to add anything to that. He firmly held his tongue and shook his head without elaborating.

It wasn't long before they were back on the road with everyone sinking into their seats with the sentiment of a full day of exhaustion, despite the relatively early hour. Roxy wanted to curl up and shut her eyes, but the darkness behind her lids offered no easy respite. Phantoms and figures that loomed in shadow crept toward her with gnarled, smoky arms outstretched.

She didn't see the trucker; he was gone. She knew that. But she saw the next thing that might creep around her shoulder—that might wear an unassuming face but have jagged, hungry teeth. Her legs were finally starting to feel normal again, but the rest of her was trailing behind.

Ross dug around in the back and retrieved a small, light blue blanket from someone's bags. The way he held it carefully made Roxy wonder if it was Alyssa's. Ross flashed a scowl, as if he expected her to say something about the offering. Roxy just accepted it and squeezed it with a friendly smile and a nod. The warmth was a small but necessary comfort, even though the car didn't feel cold, but something inside of her did.