StoryTree
you are here

The Skin of the Lake

horror◐ Mature
5 contributors · 3 paragraphs deep

I waved my partner Reyes over to film the table. As his camera light hit it, I saw the chairs were pushed in neat, but one fork was wet-shiny, like someone had just used it. I told myself the lake plays tricks. Then I noticed a fifth plate, smaller, set on the floor by the wall.

Reyes tapped my shoulder and pointed. Through the kitchen doorway, deeper in the house, a light was moving. Not lamp-light, softer and yellow, like a candle. Underwater. We both froze. Then the light went still, as if it had noticed us watching it.

↔ version 2 of 3 of this paragraph — hover its sides to flip. The card below is what happens next.

What happens next?

2 ways forward
Vote share across the top 2 branches
A possible continuation

We backed out the way we came. But the kitchen had changed. The table was gone, and in its place stood the family of four, perfectly still, facing the wall. As our lights touched them, all four heads turned to us at once. None of them had faces, just smooth, blank skin where the eyes should be.

SV
Sasha Volkov
7 votes · future 1 of 2