The silence in the lake house follows us into the next day like an unpleasant hangover. Everyone sleeps in well past noon and wakes up groggy and irritable. In my friend group, this is a conflict waiting to happen. I pour myself a simmering cup of coffee as I wait for what I already know is about to transpire.

The night before still feels like a foggy fever dream, and I begin to wonder if I really had dreamt the whole encounter. The full moon casting a silver shadow over the lake. The iridescent scales glowing under the surface. The girl's foreboding voice plays on repeat in my skull like a sick tape recording. It was certainly a dream.

"Who the hell ate my bagel?" Zain demands, his face already flushing red with indignation. I let out a sigh of exhaustion. Here we go again.

"Bro, chill out it's just a stupid bagel," Jonah protests, hands up in surrender.

"It was the only thing that was going to keep me sane on this trip," Zain spats, refusing to back down.

I'd learned very soon after joining this friend group that Jonah and Zain were prone to combative outbursts and competition, so this altercation doesn't surprise me in the least. Before the arguing resumes, Xavier makes his entrance, alert and ready to start his day.

"If you guys are done with your testosterone fest, we can get ready for kayaking," Xavier says enthusiastically. I hear movement on the couch and for the first time I realize Ally had been buried under a heap of blankets this entire time.

"W-we're still doing that?" she objects, panic written all over her pale, freckled face. "Yes of course we are, silly, it's still on the list, isn't it?" he asks in a patronizing tone and waves the itinerary in her face.

Ally says nothing just gazes into space as if watching ghosts dancing in the living room, or maybe she's remembering the traumatic experience she'd had in the lake yesterday. For a moment she looks ready to puke all over the Airbnb carpet and we can in no way afford that fee. I rush to her side and gently pull her by the arm.

"Let's go and get ready," I say softly, shooting Xavier a sharp look as I lead her up the stairs.

The sun is setting by the time everyone is ready for kayaking. The only person thrilled to participate is Xavier, of course. The rest of the group seems to be dripping with dread at the thought of going back into the water.

"It's too hot for this shit," Zain scoffs, rolling his eyes. "I a-agree," Ally says shyly, looking like a terrified sea lion in shark infested waters.

"The sun is going down, it will cool off soon," Xavier retorts dismissively. After forcing Zain and Jonah to help him drag all 6 of the kayaks out of the shed, we fasten our life vests and wade the kayaks into the lake.

It's a beautiful evening, the clouds puffy and baby blue, the sky a mix of oranges and pink like a sunrise smoothie. As pretty as it is, there's something off about the atmosphere. It's too silent, not even a bird singing or the expected cicadas and crickets chirping.

The farther we push ourselves into the lake, the more the gloomy feeling begins to fade and we actually find ourselves laughing and enjoying each other's company.

I try not to think about how the sun is almost completely set behind the clouds and how we'll be entirely enveloped in the darkness soon enough.

Xavier flickers on his flashlight and we all do the same. For once, Ally seems at ease in the water again. Zain talks to her in a hushed tone, keeping her content.

I peer down into the water and dare myself to skim the surface with my fingertips. The water is much more frigid than you'd expect with how scorching hot it's been this summer.

I feel thoroughly tranquil in this moment, forgetting all of the events from the past couple of days. With the incandescent moon pooling over my skin and the fireflies performing their mating dance, I feel buzzed, enthralled.

This is when the murmuring starts to my left.

"Did you say something, Jonah?" I ask curiously. Even in the thick darkness, I can make out his confused expression. "No, I didn't say anything," Jonah replies.

I hear another murmur to my right and this time, I can clearly make out that's it's a woman's voice.

"What was that Isa?" I ask to the right of me. She just shrugs and I begin to wonder if my friends are playing some kind of joke on me.

It's only when the murmurs turn into humming a melodious tune do I realize that this is not the case in the slightest.

I feel my kayak begin to judder, as if something is underneath me. My friends simply look at each other. Fear or shock has no time to register on their faces before we all suddenly seem to lose our balance in the kayaks simultaneously.

We've gone from enjoying a night under the stars to being thrusted under the icy water.

My feet can not touch the bottom of the lake.

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Thank you so much for continuing to read The Lake House Sirens!! If you've made it this far I am so thankful you're here and for all of the comments, votes and support you have been leaving. If you have time, here are a couple of questions for you!:

1. What kind of bagel do you think Zain was saving for later? (Sesame, blueberry, cinnamon etc.)

2. What are your favorite types of bagels and what do you like on them?

3. How do you think the whole group ended up in the water?