Summer of the Lake House

Summer of the Lake House

Kizuna: Thanx for all you’re reviews, they make me smile ^_^ As for you’re question, yeah, I think I’m probably going to have some slash couples but I’m not sure who yet. I’m waiting to introduce the new characters before I make any decisions.

Moonstar: So glad you liked the storm, I was trying really hard to portray what I was imagining in my head. I’m a big fan of storms to but it’s so so so hard to put it into words. Glad you liked.

Rachel180: Yup, it’s getting more ominous now. Glad I managed to freak you out. I did the same thing to myself, writing a scene in this chapter while home alone at night.

And of course, to the others who have reviewed, sorry I didn’t respond before but thanks for all the encouragement. Hope you all like the new chapter.


A/N: Ok, let the plot begin. I reread this chapter and I’m not sure but I hope I got across the imagery I was imagining in my head. And sorry if the descriptions seem a little long and monotonous, I wanted everyone to have a good mental image.

Chapter Four: In the eye of the storm


The only sound that could be heard in the kitchen was the sounds of the storm raging outside. That was because at that very moment I was stunned into silence at my friend’s crazy confession. Seriously, sometimes you have those moments when someone you know says something so utterly stupid that you have no choice but to stand there in awe of the blatant idiocy.

It was a moment before I spoke. “So...you’re telling me I had sex with an alien?” I smirked at the disgusted look Tyler was shooting me. “Score.”

“Stop being a fucking idiot!” He yelled in my face, actually startling me out of my momentary good humor. Tyler almost never swears and I don’t think I’ve ever heard him raise his voice. He was serious about this. I think that frightened me more than I would have thought it would. I don’t normally get scared but when you’re friend is telling you that he seriously thinks someone is not human, is out for revenge and conjuring up storms out of nowhere, its cause to worry.

“Ty, you can’t be serious, okay. You CAN’T. There’s no such thing as aliens,” I tried to tell him.

He scowled at me. “I didn’t say he was an alien, I just said he wasn’t human.”

I ran my hand roughly through my hair, nearly pulling at it in my frustration. “Look, I’ll admit the kid is strange but that doesn’t mean he isn’t human. God damn it, Ty, if you start telling people shit like this your going to get yourself locked up in a loony bin.”

“I think we have bigger problems to worry about right now.” He sighed, pressing his lips together in frustration. “I’m not crazy, Dion. I know what this sounds like but I know what I saw. His face was wavering like it was an illusion; it only happened that one time but I remember it. You have to believe me! I know he has something to do with this!”

I sighed, giving him a helpless look. I didn’t believe him, that was the problem. I knew he could see it in my face because he got that helplessly frustrated look on his face that he got every time he saw an animal in trouble that he couldn’t help, or when we wouldn’t listen to his protesting the evils of processed meat. When he just wanted someone to HEAR him. “Shit.” I muttered to myself. “Fine, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, but that doesn’t mean I believe you. But…I don’t think you’re crazy either.”

A relieved smile spread over the pale face and he tucked his hair behind his ears in a very girlish way that I had always hated about him. “Thank you,” he said with such sincerity. I could see it in his eye’s that my agreeing to listen to him lifted a weight from his shoulders. It felt weird to have my opinion mean so much to one person, it made me a little uncomfortable.

“Don’t thank me. I’m only doing this because-” I paused. Hell, I didn’t even know why I was doing it. I’m way too nice. “Never mind, what are we supposed to do about that,” I nodded my head in the direction of the window where the storm was still raging outside.

Tyler opened his mouth to speak when we both screamed and jumped nearly a foot in the air. We froze, suddenly standing closer together and staring, wide eyed, at the balcony door. I was wired my muscled were hurting with how tense I had just become and I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins.

Somebody had just knocked on the glass door. A loud, pounding knock that demanded entry.

The sound was like a gunshot in the otherwise silent house as the glass trembled under the force of the person’s fist. Tyler and I were as still and silent as statues, frozen in utter fear. I had never felt like this in my life, it was like living out Friday the 13th. Everyone was inside the house right now and nobody should be able to be walking out in a storm like that. I just knew in my gut that we shouldn’t open the door.

The knocking stopped but we knew the person was still there. Whenever the lightning flashed the silhouette was visible, standing solid and still behind the curtains and glass. I grabbed onto Tyler’s hand, I don’t know if I did it more or me or for him but the contact helped ground me. I still wasn’t prepared for the second knock; again like a horribly loud gunshot that echoed through my stomach, making it roll sickly, and I got the feeling that whoever was behind those curtains was toying with us.

A movement from the stairs drew my gaze and I saw Darren, Dominick and Jamie peeking out, looking pale and frightened. Jamie was shaking so hard I though he was going to fall apart. They looked to me and I made a sharp gesture, telling them to get away from the balcony. I don’t know if they listened because I turned my attention back as the lighting flashed again. A horrible thrill went through my body.

The person was gone.

I drew in a sharp breath and held as time slowed to a crawl and nothing dared to disturb it.

I don’t know if it was that precognitive ability that all humans seem to have from time to time or just plain dumb luck, but I pushed Tyler to the ground, shielding his body with my own and covering my head just as the sound of the storm peaked in it’s volume, rising to a chilling shriek that made us all cry out in pain as our ears began ringing.

Then it stopped.

Out of nowhere as if someone had just hit the mute button. The silence was somehow louder than the storm had ever been. We were all suspended in that moment for a split second, not moving, not breathing until all hell seemed to break loose.

The house EXPLODED in a shrieking roar that rivaled the storm.

Glass exploded inward, showering me with its sharp, biting shards, cutting into my back and hands. Tyler screamed from underneath me and I took my hands from where they were protecting my head and held onto him, pressing him close, trying to protect him as I turned my head up and watched in horror as the roof was literally ripped off. The sound of wood and metal tearing apart as easily if it was paper filled the air.

The roof didn’t just get ripped off, it was torn apart. The wood shredded and flew into the air, spiraling upwards into the swirling sky as the roof slowly became part of a tornado of debris that quickly became a death trap as torn wood began catapulting back into the house in spears, whistling through the air and slamming into the ground with a force that vibrated under my feet.

“WE HAVE TO MOVE” I yelled above the roaring. I didn’t wait for him to answer as I took him by the hand and dragged him further into the kitchen, tearing open the door under the sink and shoving him into it. I pressed his limbs into it and crawled in after as the sound of wood stabbing into the linoleum increased behind me. I was so lucky Darren’s parent had gone all out on the place; there was enough room for both of us under the sink, though it was a tight fit.

I turned back to the horrible scene and my heart nearly stopped. Right where we were sitting before pieces of broken wood were embedded in the floor, buried deeply enough to know they would have shredded us both to ribbons if we had been and there only a few seconds earlier.

Tyler cried pathetically as the last of the roof was ripped away and all of the furniture was lifted into the air, along with anything else that wasn’t nailed down. And just like the storm the noise rose to a crescendo and then just….stopped. The debris and furniture slowly circled overhead in a silent testimony to the power of whoever was doing this. The only movement at all was a light misty rain that began to fall, covering everything, including us with cool little droplets of water.

Everything was still and dark.

I clapped my hand over Tyler’s mouth to muffle his crying. Even then it sounded too loud in the silence.

The once welcoming living room was now a graveyard, the broken wood sticking out of the floor like twisted headstones. Now that the lights had been ripped away with the roof it was nearly pitch black save for when the lightning flashed and illuminated the field of wooden spears. In between lightning flashes the silhouette of a person suddenly appeared among them, standing as silent and still as a statue.

Tyler whimpered and clung to me. I, on the other hand, had gone strangely calm. I wasn’t frightened or worried; it was like watching a movie. In the back of my head I knew this wasn’t good, that I should be felling something considering someone had just ripped the roof off the house, but I didn’t. I watched the tall, thin figure moving slowly, gracefully around the debris and I was struck with the image of watching a dance. It was so fluid and seamless in its movements, every step, and every turn of its body as it searched the area for us.

The figure stopped, standing as if posing for a camera, its head thrown back into the misty rain. “Come out boys,” sang a dark, raspy voice. I shiver ran down my spine and I felt Tyler shudder in response. “I know you’re here. I will find you.”

No one moved and I wondered if the others had managed to escape or were just hiding like us.

When no one answered I could literally feel the person frowning. Its displeasure seemed to be everywhere as if it wanted us to know how unhappy it was. “Fine,” It said in a childishly offended way, “if you want to be that way.” It threw its head back and looked up to the dangerously dark, swirling sky. My entire body tensed as the clouds began swirling faster and I tried to prepare for another hellish twister but to my surprise the swirling clouds began parting to reveal a warm, golden sky underneath. The clouds parted in a small circle and stopped, allowing a single beam of light to illuminate the ruined house, bathing it in a soft comforting glow as the misty rain shone like an ever moving curtain of amber. The droplets of water that clung to everything glowed with a gentle light, giving the entire place an ethereal feel. [1]

My eye’s wandered from place to place as I drank in the sight. The once sinister graveyard had been transformed into a noble memorial. The chill that had been in me without me realizing suddenly disappeared, and even though I was covered in the misty rain that made my shirt stick to my skin and weighed down my hair, I was warm.

I was filled with a deepest sense of peace and had the strangest feeling of a warm cottage, fresh bread, a calming sunset, my mothers hug, every good thing in my life came back to me. It was like being through hell only to open a door, walk through, and finding yourself in heaven. I could feel relieved tears crawling down my face, relief that I was out of the dark, that things weren’t exploding around me, and that Tyler had finally stopped crying.

“You don’t have to be afraid,” whispered a raspy voice. Tyler and I jumped, letting out horrified gasps. The figure that had been over there only a second before was kneeling in front of us. We had been so caught up in the peacefully feeling we had somehow missed seeing him move. Now he was in front of us, all I could see was the skinny legs but he had us trapped. The good feeling vanished. “Will you come out?”

Not like we had a choice. I didn’t want to mess with someone who could rip the roof off a house. We both awkwardly crawled out of the cupboard, trying not to trip over each other or make and sudden movements. The figure had moved back to let us out and when I was finally standing I was able to see who it was that had caused so much damage and fear.

It was a guy, that’s the first thing I really noticed. [2] The only reason I noticed this right away was because the thin figure was completely nude, standing as casually as anyone I had ever seen. The body was stick thin but lovely, nothing about it was sickly the way most thin bodies are. He glowed with an inner radiance, illuminated by the warm, golden light, and the water droplets that clung to his naked caramel skin glittered like tiny diamonds.

I had never thought this about another guy but I was literally dumb struck by his beauty. I couldn’t stop staring and knew I must have looked like a complete idiot but I couldn’t help it. I wanted to touch that thin chest, feel those small legs wrapped around me as I-

I took a sharp breath, trying to shake myself out of that embarrassing fantasy. I wasn’t gay. He was just too girlish. My body was being tricked by his appearance because I definitely wasn’t gay. I kept trying to tell myself that as my eye’s crawled up his body.

His face was just as lovely as his body. Like the rest of him it was thin and narrow but he had full cheeks and full lips that curved into a dangerous little smirk. His features were distinctly Native, strong and well defined but soft enough in places to give him a gentle feel. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I sucked in a surprised breath when my gaze went even further upwards. It was an unexpected jolt. Though he had just totaled Darren’s vacation home I don’t think I was really expecting any physical evidence that this wasn’t a normal person.

It was almost too much. I could feel my knees weakening as I looked into those huge onyx eye’s. They tilted at an unnatural angle with the inner edges pointing towards his nose and they were twice the size of a normal eye. Black lined them, a soft feathery skin that encompassed the purely black eyes. Though they were all one color they showed incredible emotion, glittering with a dangerous mischief and humor that I could practically hear cackling around in my head.

But his eyes were only a part of it. The true show of how inhuman he was was sprouting from his head. Instead of hair on head it was instead covered in long, glossy black feathers that sprouted around in a crest that moved, seemingly of its own free will. They fanned out beautifully and looked like a halo around his head as the sunbeam hit it and the water droplets, making it glow majestically. As far as my body was concerned that crest was the only adornment he needed. He couldn’t have looked anymore noble or imposing if he had been covered in layers of silk, fur, gold, and jewels.

He was true power and I was in awe. He was like a wild, untamed pagan god.

Unfortunately Tyler didn’t share my awe. He was clinging to me, whispering over and over again, “Oh god, oh god,” In a terrified mantra.

I pulled him close, feeling oddly protective as I straightened up and tried to put on a brave face, both for Tyler and for the strange man. I couldn’t let him know I was afraid because I had a feeling the second I faltered he would be all over me, like a wild animal.

I cleared my throat. The man tilted his hips and raised the feathers on his head, smirking at me. I could feel my face flushing red hot in response but I forced myself to keep my cool. “W-who are you? What do you want?” I asked in a voice that was braver than I felt.

The smirk widened until his lips parted slowly into a grin. Tyler moaned in fear as the man’s lips slowly parted around a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. I could feel my heart pounding heavily in my chest, the blood pumping faster and faster telling me to run as far away from him as I could. I was so confused. I wanted to be near him, to touch him and at the same time I wanted…no, needed to be as far away from him as I could.

“Who am I?” He asked in mock surprise. “Do you not recognize me? Have I been gone so long from this world that people no longer speak the name Raven?” [3]

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I growled softly, “who the hell are you?”

The man frowned, looking mildly confused as if he couldn’t figure out if I was just pretending or if I really didn’t know who he was. I think my face gave away that I really didn’t know who he was and his face darkened, suddenly loosing all his humor and taking on a very sinister appearance. I get the feeling I had seriously offended him. “I am the God of this land!” The feathers on his head flared up angrily. “Have you all forgotten me? The Father, the Creator of this land? The one who gave you light and fire? The one who raised you up from the beasts and has watched over you for centuries? YOU HAVE FORGOTTON ME!!” He shrieked in outrage, looking up to the sky.

I saw the clouds begin to swirl and the rain begin to fall harder but before he could do anything I yelled in panic, “Stop it! What do you want?” I shouted, my voice cracking under the strain of fear and panic.

He turned burning, furious black eyes on me and I felt my blood freeze in my veins as he snarled, “I’m here for the boy.”





[1] When I was writing this I was thinking of the imagery from Lord of the Rings, when the sun would come out and everything would be that warm gold color and that’s when the good guys would come in and kick some ass.

[2] You’ve probably noticed I mostly write about guy characters. It’s not because I can’t write about female characters but I just find them boring. Modern literature has all but killed the female character for me and has pretty much locked them all into stereotypes. The sensitive one, the tough one, the girly one, the rebel ect. The only female character I could even read about was Anita Blake and now I can’t even do that because she has slowly but surely become a stereotype that is only justified by the men around her. It’s sad.

[3] Alright, I’m not sure how many people know of Raven. He’s a Native American Trickster God and For more info on Raven you can check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raven_(mythology)
And for some info on Ancient Gods vs Modern Gods check out: http://www.freewebs.com/tipsyarmadillo/article1.htm