Chapter 1 - Lightning crashes

"Oh no! Not that patient again!"

Susan cried out in annoyance as the red alarm-light in the nurse's station clicked on, accompanied by a high beeping sound. The blonde, slightly overweight woman rolled her eyes.

"I swear, if she just wants her pillow shaken out again, I'll kill that lady!"

Her colleague flashed her a smile.

"It's ok. I'll go."

Mairi said, her voice calm.

"You're the best!"

Susan smiled thankfully.
It didn't take the smaller brown-haired nurse long to return to their station. Meeting the questioning look in Susan's eyes she explained.

"Oh, Mrs. Murray just needed some water. I think she will fall asleep soon though, she looked rather groggy."

"I hope so."

"Besides,"

Mairi said in a cheerful voice.

"Our shift ends in half an hour."

Susan's gaze shifted to the big clock on the wall.

"Yeah! You're right."

She stretched in the chair trying to get comfortable.

"So Mairi, any plans for vacation? You do have three weeks off after all."

Mairi smiled and tilted her head to the side.

"Nothing planned so far. Maybe we'll make a trip down to the lake. Heard it is a rather beautiful place."

Susan's eyes widened in fear.

"I hope you are not speaking of that lake. You know it's cursed! People have a tendency to die there!"

Mairi's smile grew even wider.

"Yeah right. Cursed. Oh dear. I need a coffee..."

With that she turned her back to Susan, her smile quickly fading away. Of course, she had heard about the curse. Working at Saint Clare's Hospital, Crystal Lake for nearly 10 years, she even had seen some victims. She had heard policemen talking and even read local newspapers report about the dark legend surrounding that place. In truth, however, Mairi wouldn't be too sad about the curse ending her life.
She felt tears welling up in her eyes, as she poured the steaming hot liquid into her cup while taking some deep breathes to calm herself. Luckily Susan, as nosy as she was, managed to distract Mairi from her troublesome thoughts.

"Thought you might want to visit your family in... oh where was it... Springfield? You do have a sister if I'm not mistaken."

"Springwood."

Mairi turned, glad that her colleague gave her the perfect opportunity for a little white lie.

"Actually I had indeed planned to visit the pack."

She took a sip of her coffee.

"It all depends on Brandon now."

"Aww dear. Still not certain he will get off too?"

Susan asked. Mairi nodded, happy that Susan seemed satisfied with the answers she got. Thunder rolled in the distance, while a soft tapping on the skylight announced the coming of a storm. Susan entangled one of her fingers in a golden strand of hair.

"Oh just great. We will be soaked until we're home."

Mairi stopped her car in the pouring rain, far from the town's outskirts. Caught in the headlight was an iron railroad bridge spanning a steep creek, which was fed by the lake. It was a beautiful place. Mairi remembered the day Brandon had taken her up here. It had been a beautiful spring day, the scent of flowers had filled the chilly air. The sun reflected in the crystal clear water and made it sprinkle. It was the day Brandon had proposed.
Mairi wiped a stray tear away and got out of the car. She was soaked in less than a minute, but she didn't care. Slowly she made her way up to the bridge, steadying herself on the cold handrail. Brandon's proposal had been 5 years ago, it had happy days then.
She climbed over the handrail to sit on it and looked down to the creek. The happy days had turned dark. She smiled at the irony. Just like this day had ended and night had brought this raging storm. She couldn't see the creek in the dark, but she knew that there were many rocks sticking out.
Tears now freely fell from her eyes. Three days ago she had found Brandon in bed with another woman. On that day her fiancé had not only broken her heart. Oh no, he had done more.
Lightning flashed across the sky, followed by booming thunder. Mairi's feet touched the small ledge of the bridge. She leaned forward, looking down. He had shattered her life completely. Told her, that she was a mistake. An overcaring mistake. She glanced back to her VW Caddy, that was packed with her personal belongings. Everything that fit in the car was in there. It was all she had left. Of course, he had thrown her out of their apartment. And now she had nowhere to go.
Sure, she had family back in Springwood, OH, but ever since her mother died in a car accident some years ago, she didn't feel welcome there either. Her father was hovering over her little sister all the time, while she didn't get any attention at all. The day she moved out, she had disappeared from her father's radar. She didn't care though since she had been old enough to make a living for herself. And she has had Brandon then.

No,

Mairi decided.

It's best to end it here and now.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her left hand automatically felt for the little rune-stone hanging around her neck. It had always given her a sense of security and she used to call it her lucky charm. This time, however, she didn't ask for any though.
The brown-haired woman could feel her heartbeat calm down. She was ready to let go. Thunder crashed over her, but she didn't bother to open her eyes. Nothing seemed to matter. She felt content. Her iron grip on the handrail loosened.
And then her world exploded in excruciating pain as lightning struck the iron bridge. She screamed in agony, unable to let go, as every muscle in her body convulsed. Smelled her burning flesh. And after what seemed like an eternity it was over and darkness took her.

It was early noon when Mairi woke on the sandy banks of the creek. Groggily she sat up, her head pounding with a vicious headache. Confused she looked over to the creek, running happily in its bed.

"What...?"

she started, slowly making her way up to her car. As her gaze fell on the bridge, that lay glistening in the morning sun, her memories came flooding back. She remembered standing on that bridge. And she remembered the agony, as the lightning hit her. Even more confused she looked at her hands.

"How is that possible? I shouldn't be alive!"

She asked out loud, but there she was, without a single scratch on her body. Then, slowly her confusion faded away, making room for a new emotion. Anger. In a fit of rage, she kicked the front tire of her Caddy.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me! Can't I even kill myself? It can't be that hard!"

Furiously she slammed the car door shut and started to drive off. Still fuming she drove down the main road, not caring for any speed limits. Then she drove out of town until realisation hit her. She slammed the breaks in the middle of the lone country-road.

"What am I doing? I have nowhere to go!"

She looked at the back of her car. The back seats were folded up to make room for all her stuff.

"Great."

She muttered while thinking her possibilities through.

I hope you're not speaking of that lake...

She heard Susan's voice in her head. For the first time, her sky blue eyes lit up.

Of course, the lake!

She engaged a gear, driving off slowly. Faintly she remembered a side-road leading to a parking lot near the old Camp Crystal Lake. It didn't take her long to find it and soon she stopped her car in the parking lot. Getting out of the car, she glanced over her shoulder the last time, while trotting down the narrow path to the abandoned camp.

"Let's find out if there is some truth about the legend of the lake. If he is still out and about, he can help me with my little problem."

She muttered under her breath. And then the foliage opened into a clearing and gave a view of the lake. Mairi stopped dead in her tracks and looked around astonished.

Well, this part of the rumours is true. It is beautiful here.

She thought as she sat down on the pier, taking in the serene beauty of the landscape. The lake lay still, shimmering where the sunlight hit it while reflecting the surrounding woods in the dark spots. While her thoughts wandered to a happier place, she was entranced by the scenery. She never saw the highwayman coming, that had followed her down from the parking lot.