"Can I use your phone? I forgot mine at home," said Millie as she and Astrid walked to the lake, the egg safely stowed in the paper bag.

Astrid walked on the far side of Millie, placing as much space between herself and the ominous crinkling of the shopping bag. "Sure." She fished her phone out of her skirt pocket.

Millie took the phone and dialed. "Hey, dad. Wait, you're all staticky." Millie set down the bag and took ten massive steps from it. "OK, you're better now. Mom took Winona to the hospital. No, she was conscious, just a little confused. Mom was afraid she might have a concussion. Yeah? OK. We'll head back in a few. Astrid is packing a just-in-case overnight bag. She doesn't want to stay at her place alone. Yes, dad. I know Astrid's always welcome. I will. OK, bye." Millie ended the call and walked to Astrid, who regarded the bag as if it were filled with angry vipers.

"My dad says you can stay as long as you need, and your grandmother is welcome to come, too." Millie deepened her voice, puffed out her arms, and said, "Why else do we have the guest room?" Millie giggled and handed back the phone.

"What you just did there, it's kind of creepy," Astrid replied, placing the phone in her pocket. "You looked exactly like your dad."

"The genes, they run deep." Millie lowered her arms. "The call should buy us half an hour at least."

"Great. The sooner this thing is back in the ground, the better," Astrid replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Is it supposed to rain?" Astrid asked. "It feels like a thunderstorm is coming." She rubbed her clammy arms, frowning at the oppressive humidity of Mystic Lake.

The strange aura around the lake caught the girls' attention. They'd grown used to the eerie feeling the lake gave off. But today, it had gone from something they could ignore to electric, making the air buzzed.

"Or an earthquake," Millie said, thinking of how people in California claimed that one could predict an earthquake by the weather.

"I didn't know that was a thing."

"It isn't." Millie set the bag down next to a glassy green outcropping. "It's just something people say. How about here?"

"As good a place as any." Astrid removed her backpack and unzipped it. Nestled on top of a change of clothes and were the spades they'd used days earlier to dig up the egg.

"Is that your toothbrush?" Millie scowled into the open pack.

"Hey, don't judge. I was in a hurry."

"All right, but when you find grit in your teeth later, I don't want to hear any complaining.""Deal," Astrid said and handed Millie the second spade.

The girls began digging. A mild rain a few days before had softened the soil, making their task easier than expected.

"That should be good," Millie said, wiping her forehead. "Man, the air is thick today. Was it this humid on the walk over?"

"It's the lake steaming up the air." Astrid swiped at her upper lip, removing beads of sweat."Really? I've never noticed it before.

"Let's get this done. For the first time, I'm creeped out by the lake."

Millie couldn't argue. The lake's alien feel had tripled. The air undulated, almost like the lake was breathing. That was it, breathing. Could she hear it? What was that sound?

Hands shaking, Millie reached for the grocery bag. She fumbled, knocking the egg loose from its papery container. It rolled to the base of the outcropping with a slow, steady wobble. The girls stared, frozen as the egg picked up speed even though the ground sloped in the opposite direction.

"Do you see this?" Millie asked, her throat dry.

Astrid stood and inched backward. "What's going on, Millie?"

Millie didn't answer. Her mouth hung agape, her eyes wide. The sweat on her brow beaded together and ran down her cheek.

The speeding egg collided with the rock outcropping. A flash of light blinded the girls, and their heads snapped away reflexively, eyes shut tight. The burst of light was followed by a loud snap, reminding them of a taut rubber band being let loose -- and then they were falling.