Apparitions

Hunted by a killer who knows no mercy.

Stalked by the vengeful dead.

Caught between reality and visions...Bailey fights to piece the puzzle together before it crashes down on her. Is the man staying in her boathouse friend...or foe? And what part does he have to play in the macabre game unfolding around her?

Under the shadow of the murder's blade Bailey strives to discover the truth using faith and arcane knowledge. While at the same time the fury of the scorned dead creeps ever closer...



Bailey stopped swimming forward and turned back to the boat, treading water to stay afloat. "What is it, boy?"

Thor never went into barking fits while they were on the lake. He'd usually wait patiently for her. On occasion, he'd lap up the cool water. Other times, if she'd been in too long by his estimation, he'd jump in himself and swim with her.

Pulling her wet hair off her face with her hand, she squinted at the water between her and the boat.

Strange.

A stringy mass floated just at the surface of the water, barely visible under the light blanket of swirling mist. It looked like a clump of thin seaweed. The lake boasted a few species of aqueous plants, so a mass of them rising wasn't all that discomfiting, not nearly enough to have caused such a reaction out of Thor. Until she realized...

It was moving.

The warmth leached out of her. The floating mass steadily struck a course towards her. That was...impossible. There wasn't enough of a wind to cause anything but the slightest ripple in the water. It was an enclosed lake with no currents. Seaweed didn't move on its own. Unless it wasn't seaweed at all.

It moved closer.

Andy found the spare oars under the seat of the second rowboat just as Thor had started barking out on the lake. He cussed and roughly pushed the boat from the dock.

Why couldn't she have a motor boat?

He plunged the wooden oars into the water and paddled. He hadn't manually propelled a boat in years. Thankfully, it was an ability that, like riding a bike, came back quickly after a few moments.

He could see Bailey - frozen, her eyes glued to the surface between her and her boat. He was too far away to see what she was looking at without his binoculars, and he didn't want to stop rowing to pull them out. Better to get there in time and deal with a surprise than get to her too late. He'd already let down Erika. He couldn't stand by and let Bailey be harmed. She turned suddenly and started swimming towards the opposite shore. Her movements were strong, determined and frantic with none of the fluid grace she'd had earlier.

He paddled harder, faster.

He pulled alongside Bailey's boat, grabbing the towline and tying the two boats together.

"Quiet." He glared at Thor.

The dog's deep, guttural barks resounded across the lake and ricocheted off the trees, increasing their volume beyond what his ears could handle. The dog refused to stop. He kept right on at it, staring ahead of them, eyes fixed between them and Bailey. The coat on his neck bristled upwards, nails screeched and clicked on the boat as he pranced in place.

Between the added weight of the dog and the drag of the second boat, Andy's progress slowed. Pumping his arms ever faster, he was able to close the distance. As he did he saw a dark, writhing clump floating...no...not floating...moving directly behind Bailey, going right towards her.

He opened his mouth to call out a warning.



She jerked under the water.

A cold hand clamped onto Bailey's leg, sharp nails gouging deep into the flesh of her calf. Pain radiated up her leg clear to her waist. Rushing water cut off her yelp, flooding her mouth and nose as she was yanked downward, the thing hanging on to her leg like a lead weight. She gagged on the influx of warm, gritty lake water that forced its way down her throat. Panicked, she flailed towards the surface. She could see the glimmer of the morning sun pierce through the fog and dance on the ripples of the surface. A pale, crystalline light that faded as it reached down towards her.