Lake Yixa by Cameron Harper

herself or
read her own book she had started. Even Tux had warmed up to the family and lay
there, letting Zoe pet him.
          Sarah felt herself
growing tired, so she excused herself and went to bed. She fell asleep quickly,
not worrying about Jeremy murdering her in her sleep. From talking to him and
his interactions with his kids, he seemed like a good guy. She only hoped she
was right.
     
          She awoke the next
morning from a night with only a couple bad dreams. Sarah
found Jeremy and the kids already sitting at the kitchen table eating.
          "Hi,"
she said, waving at Jeremy.
          "Hey, did you
sleep any better last night?" he asked, already knowing she had had
nightmares.
          "Better than
normal," she replied as she sat down.
          "Would you
like me to make you a can of green beans?" Jeremy asked, starting to get
up.
          "No, I got
it," Sarah replied. She set about warming them over the small fire. Even
though they could make another fire, she liked to keep it going. It was nothing
big, mostly a few glowing embers , but it made breakfast so
much better when it was warm. The house was a nice temperature too. After a
while, she spooned herself a small amount, and the rest she split between the
Bakers. They each thanked her in turn.   She smiled back and sat down at the table.
          "So about
noon we can go to the lake. Hopefully the water won't be too cool," Jeremy
said. Sarah let out a small laugh. "What?" Jeremy added.
          "It's going
to be cool no matter what time of day it is," she said with a smile.
Jeremy was happy to see Sarah smile. He hadn't seen her smile in the few days
they had been there.
          The kids finished
their food and went to play by the fireplace. Jeremy finished up his and went
to go fix his bike, even though to Sarah, it seemed fine when he rode up last
night. She then moved to Liam's chair and continued to read her book. Jeremy
came in a little before noon and helped the kids get a few things. Sarah went
and grabbed a few of her own things : a bottle of shampoo, a
change of clothes, and a bat. She returned to the living room to find Jeremy
and the kids ready and waiting. She held out the bat for Jeremy.
          "Are
you sure?" he asked.
          "Yeah,
you seem like a pretty nice guy," Sarah replied. Jeremy smiled and took
the bat from her. Sarah quickly went back to the bedroom and grabbed an axe she
had left there.
          The four of them
made their way down the trail to the lake. The water sparkled as the sun glided
off it.   She let the Bakers go first,
setting her stuff down by the dock and moving around the outside of the cove
till she could see most of the lake in all directions. She heard the faint
sound of laughter as the kids played in the water.
          Sarah sat there
looking out at the lake, glad not to see any boat s . Her mind
drifted back to that night.
          " Is there
anyone else?" a muffled male voice asked.
          " It's just me . " Liam replied. Then a pop of a handgun going off.
          "No!"
Sarah screamed as she watched Liam fall backward onto the
deck. She let out another scream, the shouts of the men from the other boat
drowned out by her. She rushed over to Liam and grabbed ahold of him.
          "No, no,
no," she shouted at him, not seeing him mouth words to her. She heard the
men say something, and then a few shots cracked into the boat around her. She
squeezed Liam's hand one last time and started to crawl toward the front of the
boat. She waited a moment after the shots stopped and then jumped over the
side. Her arm had a sudden pain shoot through it as she was in midair.
          "Sarah?
Sarah?" Jeremy said as he shook her on her shoulders. Sarah snapped out of
it and looked up at Jeremy, tears streaming from her eyes.
          "Matt, take
your sister to the clearing over there," Jeremy said, looking at them.
Matt took his sister by her hand and walked down