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comforting-madness · 4 hours ago

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The lake. Part 1.

Nick Folio x OC

Summary: Petra moves to a quiet village and settles in a cabin by a serene lake, where the locals tell stories of a mysterious creature that dwells beneath its surface. As she spends more time by the water, Petra begins to feel an inexplicable, almost intimate connection with the creature. MASTERLIST. Note: this story was inspired by the beautiful board made by @mischievous-mayhem-is-upon-you, the moment I saw it I had to start writing. Thank you for such a beautiful concept. This is the first part of 3 (I think). I hope you like it.

People had told her stories. They always did when she told them where she lived.

Petra was a nurse, a new nurse in the town. She had found a job in the small clinic down the main street at a moment when her life couldn't go worse. Losing someone to an addiction, losing friends, loneliness, a broken heart. The city swallowed her and she soon found herself spiralling to a fate she already knew too well. But she couldn't do that, no. She needed a way out.

That morning was misty. Almost every morning was. Her backyard wasn't huge. There wasn't more than 20 meters to the edge of the lake. But she loved it. The house wasn't big either. It had been a cabin owned by a family from San Francisco, or that's what they told her. She still had so much to clean, it had been closed for three or four years. But it was starting to feel like home.

Petra sat looking at the calm waters. On this side of the lake, boats didn't reach. It wasn't really deep and in hot summers the shoreline could go back for more than 100 meters. Or that's what they said. Mosquitoes and flies would eat her alive if that was the case.

Only her neighbour's dog could distract her from her thoughts. A couple of doors away, in a cabin a bit bigger than hers, lived a couple of guys. One had long hair and bear and the other was really tall with tattoos covering his skin from his fingers to his neck. She hadn't talked much to them, but the tall one always said good morning. Today, the dog was barking at something in the water. The trees wouldn't let her see more. The long-haired one walked to the shore and grabbed the dog, with one last look at the water, he pulled the dog back inside. Maybe a duck, or even a rat, but she didn't give it a second thought before going back inside.

Mornings were slow at the clinic. Grandmas loved to go to get checked, they always complained about some hip pain or a knee that cracked too loudly. Laura, the doctor, would send them back home with some painkillers and a smile. That keeps them busy for a few days.

As always, she had her break at 11 am.

"You are the new girl, right?" Sofia owned a dinner. It was open for almost the whole day.

"Yeah"

As Sofía served her coffee, Petra looked around.

"I used to know them, the Jeffersons. Their grandparents owned a boat, he was a fisherman."

"Like everyone here, Sofia..." A man said from a table, which made everyone laugh.

Petra hadn't gotten used to everyone knowing who she was. But news ran fast in a small town like this. No more than 4.000 people lived there.

"They were nice people. But you know, the kids move to the city and forget about their roots. They sold the house when Mary passed away."

"There are no ghosts in the house" A quiet voice said behind her.

She turned to find a dark haired man with blue eyes. He had tattoos all over his arms and stretched ears.

"Mary moved with them a long time ago" He sat on a stool. "Don't scare her, please"

Sofia chuckled and put a cup in front of the man.

"If you have to befriend someone, better be him. Sweetest guy in the whole town"

"I'm blushing now" The man winked at the woman.

"I've known you for longer than you remember, I know what I'm talking about"

Petra was quiet watching the interaction.

"It's Nicholas" He said. "I work down there. On the 63"

"Petra" She said and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you"

"Same to you"

She smiled and took a sip from her coffee.

"How are you finding the town?"

"Uh... Fine. It's fine. It's really nice in here"

"Wait 'till the rain arrives..."

"I said don't scare her, Buck" He told the man that had talked earlier.

She chuckled.

"Does it rain a lot?"

"Yeah" Nicholas nodded slowly. "That's why your house is lifted from the floor."

Petra was a bit taken aback. "You know..."

Nicholas blinked fast at her. "That sounded creepy. But yes. I know where the Jeffersons' house is"

"Oh" She muttered. "I'm used to the anonymity of the city, sorry"

Nicholas smiled. "I've lived in the city too"

"Yeah?"

"Mhm. I went to Los Angeles as an apprentice before opening the studio here"

"Studio?"

"Tattoo"

"Oh" A tattoo studio in a place like this...

"I have my clients if that's what you are thinking"

"The kid is a true artist. People come all the way here only to see him" Sofia pointed.

"Wow"

"I try my best"

"He did the illustration for the fair two years ago and we kept it"

Petra looked at him. There was something soothing in his eyes.

"The one with the monster?"

Nicholas cleared his throat.

"Creature. The lake creature" He corrected her. But there was something behind his smile that left her thinking for a couple of days.

She would think about that creature every time she looked at those waters. They said it stole from the fishermen, that it attacked animals that came too close to the shore, and that it tried to take a kid once.

Nicholas's drawing showed a spine and a tail splashing water. But there was nothing else. No pictures, no drawings, no books. It was all tales from people who swore to have seen it.

"Have you seen it?"

Petra had been having her break with Nicholas for at least four days by now. He had even invited her on Saturday to the bar. He had a band with a couple of friends.

"Uh... What?"

"The creature" She barely whispered.

Nicholas tensed, she noticed. His fingers clenched around his fork and his eyes moved around the room. Everyone was busy on their own breakfast or newspaper.

"Uh... I-" Nicholas swallowed and took a deep breath. "Yeah" He whispered that last part. "That's why I made the drawing"

"That's what you saw"

Nicholas nodded, his forehead covered with a thin layer of sweat.

"No one knows anything else? How big it is or..."

"No" He was stern, his voice colder than usual.

Petra found it strange. Everyone was so open to talking about that creature. Why was Nicholas so uncomfortable?

"Are you coming on Saturday then?"

"Yes" She understood that Nicholas didn't want to talk about it.

Petra sat on the deck that afternoon. The sun was setting and the lake had already gone quiet. There were no boats around, nothing but birds and insects. She kept seeing Nicholas' reactions in her mind. She wasn't sure if she believed in that creature. She had seen huge fishes on rivers and documentaries, what if it was one of those? But Nicholas... He was scared. He seemed scared of it, of the creature. And maybe he had lived something, had been attacked... There were so many thoughts on her mind...

Again, she heard the dog barking and then someone calling it. She turned to look at it. The damn dog was obsessed with the lake. The long-haired guy stopped and looked at her. He stood there for seconds and her skin crawled. Then he waved at her and she sighed in relief. She waved back and got up. Time to go back.

Just when Petra turned around, she heard a splash. She turned quick, only finding waves and bubbles...

"A fish. It was a fish" She told herself. There was no creature on the lake. It was only a fish.

Petra still locked the door once she got inside. And when she found herself staring a the lake in the dark for the third time, she closed the curtains too.

Petra went to Nicholas's gig that night. At first, she didn't notice, the music was loud, the whole town seemed to be in the bar that night and she spent ten minutes waiting for her beer. Then, once she had it, she found a place closer to the stage. They sounded good.

"Oh" She exclaimed out loud. To her surprise, next to Nicholas, on the microphone and guitar, stood her neighbours. The tall tattooed guy and the long-haired one. How come Nicholas had never told her? He must know she was his bandmates' neighbour. Everyone knew she lived there.

She enjoyed the music. They were good. She wondered how they hadn't made it out of the town already. Maybe no one had gone this far from everywhere to discover them. Nicholas had spotted her in the crowd and smiled sweetly. She had smiled back, but in her mind, the questions still floated around. Nicholas was a nice guy and she enjoyed their time together. But he was so mysterious. It made her doubt.

"Hey..." He was a bit out of breath when he walked to her.

"Hi"

"How did you find it?"

"You are good, guys. I had a lot of fun."

Nicholas smiled and ordered two beers, then he passed her one.

"Thank you. Do you want to meet them?"

Petra looked back. Her neighbours stood between people, they must be known.

"They are my neighbours" She muttered.

Nicholas gave her an apologetic smile.

"Yeah"

Petra nodded. She barely knew him, maybe she was dramatic.

"Let's go and meet them" She muttered. She couldn't get angry at the only friend - or close person - she had in this city.

They walked to them and both seemed as surprised as her.

"Guys. This is Petra" Nicholas said. They gave him a look, but she didn't understand.

"Oh, finally!" The long-haired man smiled. "We thought we'd never talk to you. It's Jolly"

She chuckled. "Yeah... Nice to meet you,... Jolly"

"Joakim, but just Jolly"

"Okay, just Jolly"

Then she turned to the other guy.

"I'm Noah"

"Nice to meet you, Noah"

"How are you finding the city?"

"Good, it's nice"

"And the house?" This time it was Jolly.

"It's nice too, small and cosy."

"Yeah... Sorry if the dog bothers you"

"It's nothing" She gave them a smile.

"We could hang out sometime, yeah?" Noah proposed. "You are free to come by"

Nicholas looked between them and sighed.

"Thank you, guys. I barely know anyone" She looked at Nicholas for a brief second.

Petra spent the night in a corner talking to them. Jolly was from Sweden and worked in a boat. Noah worked in a shop instead. Kind of like a supermarket.

"And the band?"

Nicholas sighed and leaned back. Noah lowered his head. Jolly looked at her for so long. She felt she shouldn't have asked.

"I'm sorry" She muttered quietly.

"It's fine" Nicholas squeezed her shoulder. "Uh... We made it out of here, actually. It was five of us... One left, he had something else in mind."

"Nicky" Noah muttered.

Nicholas shook his head a bit.

"Our drummer... Uh... He..."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. I didn't want to... Uh... Sorry guys, you don't have to tell me" Petra was blushing, ashamed of having brought something like this.

"Something happened and he can't play anymore. Just that" Nicholas gave her a tight smile.

"Oh. But... He is..."

"He is not dead" Jolly said with a grin.

"Oh thank god..." She sighed in relief. "I thought... Shit. Sorry, guys. It wasn't my intention."

"It's okay" Noah simply said. "We are fine. We stuck together here"

Petra felt something warm when they exchanged looks.

"We have some friends who still live in the city. They usually come here to visit. You are invited next time"

"Thank you"

They didn't stay for much longer.

"Hey... I don't know why I didn't tell you they were my friends... It's just... There is not much new people here." Nicholas walked her to the car while Jolly and Noah got their stuff in the back of their old van. She had seen it parked by their house.

"It's okay"

"I got protective. We've gone through some shit together"

Petra looked at him.

"You don't live with them"

"I have a girlfriend. And cats. I live a couple of streets down there. She works in the city, but comes often"

"Oh!" A big smile painted her lips. "That's awesome"

Nicholas chuckled.

"Yeah. I'll bring her one day, okay?"

She nodded.

"Thank you for tonight. I was starting to feel alone"

Even with those uncomfortable moments, the guys were funny and nice to be around. She had a good time, something she hadn't said for long.

"Our pleasure." Nicholas gave her a tight hug. "I'll see you on Monday"

Petra nodded with a smile and said goodbye to the other two before driving home. She had survived her second week here. Boxes laid full and closed around the house. But she didn't feel that anxiety in her belly. Not that much, at least. She wasn't all alone now.

With a cup of tea that would help with those beers she had, she walked outside. The night was cold and humid. So cold and humid. There was mist covering the lake. There was something in it that called her name. It was like those gothic novels. Her feet dragged her to the shore, and Petra stepped on the deck. The wood cracked under her feet with every step she made.

The night was calm. The usual birds called through the trees. She hadn't gotten used to it yet. She wished she could identify them and put faces to those cute things that accompanied her at night. Another step and the deck cracked again.

Petra hugged herself, pulling her jacket closer to her body. She could see the port lights. It was far and blurry. She could point to the ships, only their shape, though. Suddenly, a movement in the water caught her attention. She froze. It hadn't been a frog, like other days. Or a fish. It sounded bigger. The porch light didn't reach far enough to offer some clarity, and neither did the moon. The night was particularly dark today.

"Hello?"

A breeze pushed her hair back and made the leaves whistle. Petra felt goosebumps covering her skin. She felt uneasy as if she was being watched. She looked around squinting her eyes. Nothing, she could see nothing. Only darkness and black water.

"Is someone there?" Her voice trembled. "Hello?"

Maybe it was a fish —a big fish—but those stories people told her kept playing in her mind. What if the beast was real? What if it was there?

"Fuck this shit" She decided that it was enough. Time to sleep. She told herself before turning around.

But then, the wood cracked again. It happened quickly. When Petra realized, she was already in the water. She gasped and tried to stand, but the wood and mud had somehow trapped her there. She tried to move around to get up. But the shock and the heavy piece of wood didn't let her. She was only lucky because it was shallow.

Petra hadn't noticed yet, but a figure crept from the side of the lake, slowly gliding through the waters. A dark shadow stood above her and suddenly the weight of the wood was gone. She looked up and a scream broke the night quietness. The birds went quiet and Jolly's dog barked.

Petra pushed back, she tried to stand up and ran away. But that thing, the creature, grabbed her. Again, she screamed. She didn't know what for, she couldn't even call for help. She was frozen. She pushed it and tried to hit it. Then it spoke.

"No!"

Her mind wasn't even working anymore. It was pure fear. Fear of that beast that clung into her arms with cold wet hands, that looked at her with predatory eyes. She pushed and kicked and the creature huffed. Petra slipped from its hands and she tried to run. She could leave the cold waters, but she tripped over a stone and fell.

"Wait" That voice, cold and deep, dug itself into her mind.

Petra tried to crawl, but again she felt those hands. It was right there behind her. She turned and threw countless kicks until again, the creature grabbed her leg. Warm tears were covering her face now in contrast with the cold water. She looked around, panting and breathless and grabbed the first thing she could. A branch. With all the strength the adrenaline was giving her, she threw a hit.

"STOP" Noah's voice broke through the night. "DON'T HIT HIM"

#i love this so far #nick folio #nick folio fic #bad omens fic

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