“The number you are trying to reach cannot be contacted at the moment. Please leave a message at the tone.”

BEEP

James sighed at the failed phone call, his gaze moving to the gas station’s neon spinning sign.

“Hey, Aunt Dina. It’s James. You’re probably sleeping right now, but I thought I should let you know that I’m heading to your house upstate. I might make it tonight, who knows? I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Call back when you get this. I’ll explain what I can over the phone. Love you.”

He pressed ‘End Call’ and pocketed his phone. His car had finally finished refueling, the meter stopping at exactly thirty-five dollars. James looked down at the wallet in his free hand. It was an old one, one he used back when he was still a freshman at college. He silently thanked his younger self for being too lazy to get rid of it.

It carried his expired ID and some leftover cash he had forgotten about. It didn’t amount to much, but it did help with the gas. Whatever remained left him with barely enough to afford some food on the way to his aunt’s place.

‘Not enough for a motel, of course. Whatever. I can sleep in my car. It's not like tonight’s going to get cold.’

The back of his vehicle was loaded with duffel bags that held items of importance. Books, clothes, and even his father’s urn were all stored neatly in the backseat of the Honda. His old room back in the apartment was bare and vacant, his bed and desk on the local curb.

After his altercation with Mike and Monica, James decided that he had had enough of city life. He was done with it all—the meds, the nightmares, the traffic—he was sick of it all. James needed a break after years of living in monotony and toxicity. His firing and Monica’s cheating were more than enough incentive for him to call it quits.

He wasn’t sure what he was going to do for money. Perhaps that job offer from a while back was still on the table. Then again, James didn’t really care for it. He had no real direction in life, not before today nor after. He had only done what was asked of him: went to college, got a job, and got a place in the city. James had done it all, yet he felt empty.

James had no goal. No ulterior motive for anything. His job and ex were the only things that were actually giving some kind of purpose. Not a great purpose. But it was at least something. Now, James had nothing.

‘That’s life for you, huh?’

James entered his car with some reluctance, his focus on the dashboard clock. It was currently 11:21, and the sky outside was nearly pitch black.

“I should’ve probably stayed a night at the apartment at the very least,” he muttered, turning the key in the ignition. The car sputtered to life, showing James that it still had some life in it. James couldn’t help but feel a little bad for Nick. His friend had always been there for him, through high school, college, and finally, adult life. They were almost inseparable in their life paths.

Until now. James wanted to move out and find a better purpose in life. While clearly upset, Nick had supported him in this. He even helped James move out his furniture and things. For that, James left his best friend his prized PC, a rig they had built together. At least Nick would make better use of it, as long as he didn’t eat next to the thing.

Of course, Nick had offered him to stay the night to reflect and plan the next few weeks. James almost regretted not taking the offer since now he had to drive through the darkness of the night.

“Then again, I probably would’ve had to deal with Monica or Mike confronting me,” James realized aloud. Those two knew where he lived, and it definitely wouldn’t have been pleasant to deal with the aftermath of that confrontation. James felt a little better now about leaving that godforsaken city.

Without wasting any more time, he drove off onto the highway. He had already been driving for a while, this gas station being one of his few stops upstate. James could already tell it was getting late since the cars on the road began to dwindle as time passed.

At some point, it looked as if he was the only one on the road, accompanied only by his fading headlights and the whistling of the wind. Driving had already become a lethargic task, the road only serving to hypnotize him. He would play some music had it not been for the fact that his radio had stopped working years ago. Then again, judging from the forest around the highway and the distant mountains, it was clear that James wouldn’t get a signal either way.

He soon passed a road sign detailing what was ahead, including a truck stop and an inn.

“Thank god,” James yawned. Just a bit more and he would be able to get some sleep. That was the one thing that was driving him forward.

‘So tired…’

James passed by another sign, this one telling him that he was nearing Black Water Lake, a name that rang a bell to him.

‘That’s right.’

His tired thoughts went back through his memories, specifically the ones from his childhood. Black Water Lake was his father’s favorite place to visit, mainly because it reminded the man of his home. While it wasn’t as impressive as the one back in Norway, his father had still visited it.

The thought of his late father sparked something in James’ mind, bringing back a buried memory he had wanted to forget for the past decade.

> “James,” the tall figure said softly, looking down at Little James with a gentle smile. Little James looked up at his giant of a father, who seemed both intimidating and gentle.

>

> “Yes, Dad?” the child answered, his small voice curious and excited. The giant looked out onto the lake's waters, which shimmered under the sunlight.

>

> “When I pass away in this world, promise me you’ll spread my ashes here, at my home.”

>

> Stolen novel; please report.

>

> Little James blinked, confused. “You’ll leave me? But why?” He could feel himself on the verge of crying, his eyes tearing up.

>

> His father laughed softly, which seemed to calm Little James’ fears. “No, not soon, at least. It’ll be a very long time before I’ll leave you. I promise.” Those words rang in Little James and would continue to ring in his head for years.

>

> “I promise.”

James blinked, cursing as he snapped back into the waking world. His eyes regained vision and focus, but it was already too late. He was already face to face with an oncoming deer on the road, which stared at him with terrified eyes. James quickly swerved out of the way, his car ramming through the fence on the right side of the road, sending his car down a hill. The car jumped and rocked, sending everything flying. The impact came milliseconds later, jolting James’ body violently against the seatbelt.

The world went black right after.

----------------------------------------

“You would have been a good marauder,” a sinister voice called out as James fell to the ground. The dying man wasn’t sure what had happened or why it did. He only knew that he was bleeding out and that the cold was overtaking his senses. He could do nothing as he stared at the silhouette of the man who had killed him.

James couldn’t even say anything as his vision faded by the second. His mouth was numb, his hands unresponsive. His chest hurt like hell. He was dying, and there wasn’t anything he could do. He could only stare at the two moons above, his body going cold and his world turning black.

At that moment, in the void, his father’s voice returned to him.

“I promise.”

James gasped as soon as he awoke, the taste of steel in his mouth. He slowly touched his lips and drew his fingers back.

“Blood,” he realized dumbly.

He looked out of the cracked windshield, seeing that he had crashed into the guardrail, which had detached from the road and set him into some old fallen tree.

“Jesus,” James muttered as he slowly unbuckled the seatbelt. The pain then came full force, causing him to double over as he cursed every unholy word under the sun.

“Shit! I think I broke something.” James gritted his teeth in agony as he surveyed the damage in his car. Shattered glass and glistening debris peppered everywhere.

“Dad!” He suddenly remembered his father. James quickly moved to the backseat, where his duffel bags were. He ignored the pain as he grabbed the most important one, unzipping it to find the urn. Thankfully, it was undamaged and in perfect condition.

“Oh, thank god,” he breathed, taking the urn out and hugging it. He winced immediately after.

“Right, still injured,” James groaned as he slowly exited the car. Once he stepped out, he could feel the freezing night air hit him. “Jesus! It should not be this cold!”

James shivered as he leaned into the car to grab his other duffel bag. He unzipped it, digging through the packed clothes. Finally, he managed to pull out a gray bomber jacket. He winced as he put the coat on.

“Can’t carry the bags. Might as well take the essentials and come back for the rest,” James muttered, pocketing his wallet and phone before carrying the silver urn. He frowned as he looked down at his phone, which had broken during the crash.

“I could try to walk to the truck stop ahead,” he said to himself, shivering in the cold as he tossed his phone into the car. That was a possibility. Then again, he would have to walk on a dark road that winded through forest and wilderness. Not only that, but he had to climb back up since his car had veered off into some steep ditch. Had it not been for the guardrail…

James shivered in the freezing dark, his breath coming out in puffs of steam.

‘It wasn’t this cold when I opened my window.’

James could feel confusion settling in. It was August, meaning that there was no reason for the cold. Which begged the question: Why was he freezing?

Before the young man could ponder his question further, he was interrupted. There was the faint sound of something in the distance, the soft noise catching his attention.

It was whispering and chanting, the sound arriving with a sense of cold and eeriness. It was the same feeling as before. Identical to earlier that day. It was there in the morning and again when he went to Monica’s. James turned to the forest, his ears picking up even more whispering and chanting. It sounded as if the voices urged him to walk into the darkness.

Despite his inner voice screaming at him not to, James couldn’t help but take a few steps towards the woods. It was like something was tugging him to the woods for whatever reason. Despite his better judgment, and probably because he had a concussion, James walked into the forest, swearing that he could hear soft whispers guiding him.

He walked on for what seemed like forever, his feet aching from exhaustion. Whenever he thought about breaking out of it, the whispers would continue pulling him in. It was as if their words were coated in honey, and their sweet promise meant something. As James walked, he could slowly feel the pain in his chest and abdomen fade away, replaced by a cold, brisk feeling. He shivered again before finally stopping.

James wiped the blood from his nose and beard as he stared at the black waters of the lake. For a second, he thought he was back in Norway again, looking at the lake his father had taken him to when he was just a kid. But no, it was the smaller, less impressive lake he had visited a few times.

It wasn’t much of a lake if anyone could call it that. It was more like two interconnected bodies of water that looked almost like a lake, that is, if one were to squint their eyes at it.

James scanned the small lake, his gaze settling on the slight orange tinge in the sky. It looked as if dawn was approaching.

‘How long have I been walking? Or did that car crash knock me out longer than I expected?’

Before James could question some more, something caught his eye. He took a step forward, squinting into the distance.

“What is that?” James realized that there was something in the middle of the lake. It grew more visible as dawn approached, the soft, warm light of the distant sun shining on it.

Hypnotized, James took another step forward. Cold, freezing water seeped into his work boots, but it did nothing to break his concentration. He took another step, his eyes glued to the foreign object that stood in the water. He clutched his father’s urn tightly as he continued to walk forward.

After what seemed like a couple of seconds, James managed to snap out of his stupor. He was closer to the slab now, despite just being on the shore not even a few seconds ago.

‘Wait…’

He soon realized he was in the middle of the lake, walking on the black waters. His boots were perfectly leveled on the water, ripples coming from every step. Before James could begin to freak out, his eyes passed over the object, which was now more apparent to him.

It was a strange slab of wood, almost resembling a tree trunk, with foreign-looking runes carved into the dark wood. Roots covered in moss twisted and turned into the waters below it, giving the impression that they were suspending the slab. The glyphs on the wooden monolith even glowed a soft blue, which had James hypnotized again.

His hand inched closer to the totem, careful as his fingers neared the runes. Right when he touched them, however, the glyphs turned into an angry red. They quickly brightened to an extraordinary amount, nearly blinding James. He cursed as he covered his eyes, stumbling back before he felt the water beneath him give way.

Without so much of a scream, James Holter was consumed into the black waters of the lake, never to be seen again.