//------------------------------// // [ARC I] Prologue - Summer Bound // Story: Summer Bound // by Windsocks //------------------------------// Summer was here, as the wind blew lazily through the forest. Each passing moment one could hear the sounds of the rustling leaves and waves lightly lapping against the rocky shoreline. Just a few feet away from the bank lay the foundations of a small rustic cottage. It’s pure white pine logs stood ever strong throughout the years of use. Today was the type of day this cottage was built for and its owners knew so. As the bugs buzzed within the foliage around the cottage, the sound of rubber against gravel could be heard. Its volume increasing till a small city car came into view some little ways down the road. It’s occupants all ready for two full weeks in the sun. Reaching the front of the house, the passengers didn’t waste any time. Before the car was even parked the doors were being opened. First out of the car was Shawn. He was one of the best friends anyone could have ever ask for. That being said, when he did you a favor; he expected you to return it in full. As one could imagine Shawn had a very energetic personality, especially for someone his age. Wherever and whenever there was a party you could be certain that he was there. Next to exit was Eddie. He was your run-of-the-mill smart-ass kind of a guy. Every fact he knew, every book he read and to top it all off all the subjects in school came naturally to him. That being said he was a human (contrary to what everyone at school believed) and needed his getaway from all the hustle and bustle every once in a while. And what better way to do it, then to join some friends at a nice little cottage. Out of the other side of the car was Brian. While Eddie had the smarts, Brian could be said to be the complete opposite. It seemed that he would never graduate college, but if there is one thing he has down pat, it’s his priorities. Something that I often found myself admiring. Lastly, but certainly not least, the driver finally shifted the car into park and exited the vehicle as well. The moment he stepped outside he immediately reached towards the sky stretching all the sourness away in one fettle swoop. Who was this guy? Well that’s easy, that guy was me, Kenneth… “Finally!” Brian exclaimed before continuing, “Jesus, I thought that ride was never going to end.” Brian stated as he followed my lead. However, when he stretched it was no joke, hell you could hear every single bone in his body crack. It was kind of disgusting to hear, but at the same time pretty cool. If that makes any sense? Letting out a well-needed sigh I shut the door to the car and walked to the back. “Really?" I asked "Only four hours in the car is needed to bring down Brian the jock? Just be glad the knights don't know that secret.” I teased opening the trunk. “Yeah, yeah, just remember you two, we’re here to relax not start feuds,” Shawn stated. “So, where’s the nerd?” He continued. “How did I know that you were going to inject some form of hypercriticism into that statement?” Eddie responded from the door of the cottage, his baggage already in his grasp. Shawn chuckled in response before adding, “Because that’s just who I am. No need to change my amazing personality I possess for a bookworm like you.” Rolling my eyes at their bantering, I reached into the trunk and started to slowly take everything out. Which for four guys was actually quite manageable. “You guys want to help out or what?” I asked knowing full well what the response was going to be. “No” Was Eddie's immediate response. “I already got all my bags, no need to carry someone else’s baggage.” “You know sometimes you’re a dick Eddie,” Brian stated as he walked out back to help me with some of the bags. “Anyways, Ken you got the keys?” Shawn asked. “Yeah, right here. Catch!” I said as I reached into my pocket and tossed him the keys to the cottage. “Now don’t go fucking things up.” I continued taking another bag out of the trunk only for it to reveal a large slab of meat. “What the fuck! Alright, which one of you fuckers brought the slab of meat!” I yelled out as the juices were leaking out of the wrapping and onto the bottom of the trunk. Placing the somewhat wet bag onto the floor I looked around. Shawn just shrugged, Eddie's face palmed and lastly, Brian had a confused look on his face. “What?” He stated. “I thought that you all liked a nice meal once and a while. This is some grade ‘A’ meat!” He lectured. “That’s not what I’m talking about, you didn’t even pack it right!” I started telling him. “You know that it's probably spoiled being back here for so long.” “Spoiled? Naw the woman at Costco told me that all I need to do was wrap it before storing it.” Brian started up again, I could hear Eddie once again face-palm in the background. “Just leave him in the dark Ken, he’s already gone,” Shawn stated as he picked up some of the bags that I brought out. Following his advice, I picked up some of my own bags and started our trek to the cottage. “I hope you're carrying that piece of meat Brian,” I stated as I watched Shawn toss the keys to Eddie who in turn unlocked the door. “That’s what she said,” Eddie claimed as he entered the cottage. “One of these days I’m going to get used to hanging out with you guys,” Brian stated as he grabbed the piece of meat and a couple more bags. Entering the cottage hit me like a wave. The feeling of nostalgia was pretty strong as I took in the interior. So many memories with my family and friends that I couldn’t help but smile. The kitchen where we would all meet in the mornings was just as I left it last summer. Just passed the kitchen I could see the living room. It was a nice spacious room that had a huge window on one wall that portrayed the outside deck along with the lake. Every night we would sit on the balcony and chill. It was some of the best moments of my life. If the balcony wasn’t in the way you would be able to see the fire pit and dock right at the shore. “Man, I’ll never get over this feeling,” Eddie stated as he walked down the hallway to the right of the kitchen. “I call the master bedroom!” He shouted out as he disappeared around the corner. He was no doubt heading to said room. Even though this cottage was owned by my family. I often let my friends do whatever they wanted. After all, I could never sleep in the master bedroom. Something about my parents sleeping there when I was a kid just never settled down yet. Anyway, as Eddie got himself occupied I steered myself towards the living room. Out of all of the rooms in this cottage, I loved this room the most. Its beautiful vista was a dead giveaway as to why I liked it so much. However, the more I resided in that room the more and more I found myself finding new things to like about it. The way the sun rays poured from the skylights, the white pine logs that made the walls, and most importantly the fireplace that separated the two rooms. During the summertime, this was a place of partying and events. While on the other end of the spectrum, during the winter this was a place to huddle down and get cozy. Which with a cottage like this was actually pretty easy to do. Cuddling by the fire with some blankets was all it really took. Yet this was not winter. No, summer was upon the four fellows and they all knew that their time spent indoors was not going to compete with their plans. In fact, just as I placed down the last of the bags I could already see Shawn and Brian walking towards the dock. How they managed to switch into their swimsuits that fast was a mystery for another time. Sighing in relief that all the moving is done I took it upon myself to join the two amigos myself, but not before I yelled out to Eddie. “Yo, Eddie you coming down to the lake? Shawn and Brian are already down there!” I stated as I pulled out my swim trunks from one of my bags. “I’ll join you guys in a couple. Got to unpack and everything.” Eddie yelled back. Letting him do his thing, I quickly changed into my swim trunks and headed out the back of the cottage. The walk towards the dock was pretty uneventful, but that didn’t mean the scenery was any less breathtaking. Sometimes I wondered how my family got this place in the first place. I never really asked them, maybe next time I will. Shrugging off those questions for another time I soon found myself stepping onto the dock. From what I could see Shawn was already in the water while Brian sat on the edge of the dock dipping his feet in. While this would present the perfect opportunity to shove him into the water, I decided against it. After all, Brian is not one of those people that you would want on your bad side, especially when I’m stuck with him for another two weeks. Reaching the end of the dock I could now hear their current conversation. “Doesn’t Ken’s father have a boat here or something? I mean, it would be wicked if we took it out for a spin. Maybe break out the tubes and try to shake each other off of them. Man, what a first day that would be!” Brian stated as Shawn just shrugged before dunking himself into the lake. “Yes, my father does own a boat.” I interjected sitting next to Brian on the dock. “and before you ask no we can’t use it. Hell, I’m pretty sure you need a license for that.” “Yeah, but I’m pretty sure the fines only like what 250 dollars out here. Plus what are the chances of a cop being out here?” Brian stated a bit out of character. “Since when do you know about fines and laws?” I asked as Shawn came back up from his rather long drive. “It’s actually one of the few things I look into. To be honest I myself am looking to get quite the collection of licenses. You know… to have… and to take advantage of my freedoms.” Brian replied. While his reasoning was basically non-existent at least it sounded like something he would do. “Okay, let's assume your right here. Which one of us has 250 dollars to just cough up on one little boat ride?” I retorted. Surprisingly Shawn was the first one of the group to speak up. “Hey if it’s for a good cause, like a couple hours of fun, I would turn in my two bits for this,” Shawn stated. “Plus, I don’t even think it counts as a criminal act until the third time you get caught.” He continued. “Peer pressure sure is a bitch.” I heard Eddie state as he made his way over to the other side of Brian. “I don’t know about you Ken, but a couple hours out on the lake sure sounds better than chilling here on the dock.” I rolled my eyes at my friends attempted to pursue me. “Does anyone of us even know how to drive a boat?” I finally started giving into the idea of having the boat on the water. “I do,” Eddie stated. “Really?” I and Shawn said at the same time. “Well… not really… but I do watch a whole bunch of YouTube videos and one or two of them were about boating.” Eddie commented. “Great, so our only source of information comes from ‘one or two’ YouTube video’s.” I sarcastically stated. “Hey, don’t dis the tube okay. It has entertained me for numerous days.” Eddie quipped. “Yeah, and we all know what kind of Tube Eddie looks at in his spare time,” Brian stated as he started to chuckle. I and Shawn soon joined him while Eddie looked unimpressed. “Whatever so are we doing this or not?” Eddie budded into our laughing. Taking a couple more breaths, I mulled over the options in my mind. If we did get caught, my parents would kill me. Then again maybe if we acted all innocent we could get off with just a slap on the wrist. This would also be as Brian stated an excellent way to start the vacation off. Lastly, if peer pressure isn’t the worst idea-inducing feeling then I’ll go jump off the top porch of my cottage. “Fine, we just have to find out how to start the thing.” I conceded. “The boats in the small shack a bit east of here,” I stated. “Don’t you need a key or something?” Eddie stated. “Naw who out here is going to know there is a boat in a small shed one click east of here? They would have to go through so much for just a shitty dingy.” I stated as my family boat wasn’t anything special, just a small metal shell with a big ass engine on it. Which now that I think about it, is kinda useless. The motor that is on the back of that dingy is enough to propel a ship 10 times its size. Yet with all the waves and the design of the boat, it would only manage to speed up the boat by a couple kilometers. That being said the acceleration on the thing was crazy. “So, what are we waiting for?” Shawn started ruining my inner thoughts. “You,” Brian responded, “to get out of the lake.” Brian continued, inflicting a small chuckle on my side. The pure irony of the statement and its timing was perfect. Brian did that a lot, in fact, it’s the whole reason we both started to become friends back in college. Getting Brian’s message, Shawn hoisted himself up and onto the dock. “Well, now that I’m out I ain’t going back in unless it’s because one of you manage to knock me off the tube,” Shawn commented. “Not like that’s going to happen anytime soon.” He boasted. “Never knew your head could get that big Shawn?” Eddie nonchalantly replied. This statement only served to make Brian chuckle. “You would be surprised.” As the conversation started to wither away, I and Eddie opted to retrieve the boat from the little shack. While Brian and Shawn went into the house to get a couple of snacks for the ride. That being said me and Eddie had a couple of minutes to chat amongst ourselves while we walked the dirt path to the shed. Per usual Eddie was the first one to speak up. “You hear the rumors about this lake?” “No, but by the way you asked that question I’m going to take a gander and say that you’re going to tell me one anyways,” I commented rolling my eyes as I kicked a small piece of a log off the trail. Ignoring my jab at him Eddie continued on like I had guessed. “I heard that this lake, in particular, has a hefty reputation for strange phenomenon’s.” Eddie lectured. In all honesty, I couldn’t really care any less. All these rumors and ghost tales are all the same and usually turn out to be false. If by some rare chance that they're true, then I guess I’ll have to deal with it. The supernatural never really scared me, and quite frankly I had yet to experience anything that couldn’t be explained. Yeah, call me arrogant all you want, I know it’ll be my downfall one day. “Really? Never really took you for one of those supernatural kinds of guys? Anyways what kind of phenomena are we looking at here?” I asked Eddie, more to be on the polite side than anything else. Well, that and it would make this hike seem a lot shorter than it already was. Smiling at my willingness to listen Eddie started out, “It’s true I’m not as you say a ‘supernatural kind of guy’, but some of these rumors have me thinking. Like look at this,” Eddie stated as he pulled out his smartphone. I turned my head to look at Eddie’s phone, nothing looked odd at all about it. “What, all I see is a regular phone? What’s the big deal?” I asked him. “Heh, I’ll let you figure it out.” Eddie commented, “here catch.” He stated as he tossed me his phone. “Wow, you must have a lot of trust in me to just hand over your phone like that,” I stated with a smirk. This only got a worried expression from Eddie. “Just don’t open the browser okay. I’ll even give you a hint, look at the home screen.” Eddie said. Following his instructions, I clicked the side of the phone bringing it to the home screen. After looking at it for a good minute I sighed and gave up. “I don’t see anything wrong, everything looks normal.” Eddie just smiled in response before giving me one more hint. “Look at the connection.” Glancing back at the phone I looked to the top right corner where it displayed the internet connection. Once again nothing seemed off, the logo was still the Wi-Fi symbol. It was showing full bars and everything. “I don’t get it,” I stated once again. “I don’t have data, Ken,” Eddie stated his smile kept getting bigger. “Then you’re probably hooked onto someone else’s router,” I claimed as I clicked the icon, bringing me to the internet setting page. “I highly doubt anybody out here has the internet,” Eddie stated. “Even if they did, I would have a shitty connection due to the distance.” All of Eddies points were valid, and he was a smart guy. So, something that has got even him stumped must be worth checking out. “Well, did you check who you were connected to?” I replied as I clicked another button bringing me to the Wi-Fi selector screen. “Yup, I can see you’re doing just the same. This is where things get pretty interesting.” He stated as I glanced back at his phone to see only one possible connection. The name was something that I couldn’t even read, it just displayed ‘ʊ∃ɟ⊂ΣʊΞ’. “What the fuck?” I all but whispered as I clicked the connection. In doing so, it showed once again that his phone was indeed connected to it. “I know wired huh, not any language I know of, but it only gets weirder from here,” Eddie stated. “Try disconnecting from it.” Eddie continued. Once again following his advice I went to tap the disconnect button, but when my finger hovered over the button I noticed that it was grayed out. “Man, this is some fucked up shit. You think this is like a government network they have here?” “I don’t know but at least I can browse the web all day long without a worry in the world!” Eddie cheered out. “No huge ass data bill for me this week.” He continued. “Did you try and connect to the router via the IP?” I asked handing him back his phone. We were coming up on the shed. Eddie just looked at me with a long look in his eyes. “Really? You didn’t even go to see if this was just some rando’s router broadcasting across the lake?” I questioned coming up to the door of the boathouse. “Never really thought about it. Didn’t want to mess around with free Wi-Fi and all.” Eddie said truthfully. “When did you find out about this?” I asked. “Just now when I got settled down into the cottage. The first thing I did was check if you had Wi-Fi. Once seeing this I searched it up and nothing came up.” Eddie relayed. “So, you going to do that now?” I asked entering the old shed, thankfully the boat was still there hoisted up above the water by four ropes. “Or are you going to help me lower this boat?” I continued as I walked to the far end of the shed. Letting out a sigh Eddie wandered over to the other side of the shed. “Yeah, I’ll help, but I’m definitely checking out their router page when we have the time. You should check if it’s the same on your phone too.” “I will let's just get this boat on the water first,” I stated as I got into position to release the right-side ropes. As I did so I saw Eddie on the other side doing the same thing. “Alright, you ready? It’s going to make a bit of a splash.” Normally we would lower it down slowly, but I was pretty lazy. That and this boat already had so many things wrong with it that one little fall wouldn’t make any difference. Looking Eddie's way, I got a small nod. “Alright on three. One, Two… Three!” I yelled out as both ropes were released causing the metal canoe to hit the water. Thankfully when it landed it stayed afloat with everything still attached. “The real problem is going to get it back up,” Eddie commented as he and I climbed onto the boat. “Nope, actually it’ll be easier. Just need to attach the ropes, feed them through the pulley system and give 'em a good old yank.” I said unscrewing the top of the gas can, ”I just hope there’s still fuel left in this thing.” “In hindsight, I guess we should have checked that before we dumped it into the water.” Eddie retorted. “Yeah but were young adults. So, we do things as we go and fall into peer pressure easily.” I said making sure to put a lot of emphasis on the peer pressure part. Popping off the cap I took a quick look at the fuel level, which was graciously high. “Alright fuel's good, let's see if she’ll start up the first time.” I continued as I primed the engine and yanked the chord. "I thought you said you didn’t know how to ride a boat?” Eddie questioned. "I lied, just didn’t want to let you guy’s win.” I continued. The first pull was pretty pathetic as only a couple feet of rope came out. This causes the engine to sputter a bit before dying. “And now that you said that, we’ll never get the darn thing running,” Eddie stated as he sat down. Once again, I pulled the chord, but this time a good portion of the rope came out. With the speed that I did it at the engine sputtered again before catching and starting. “You see,” I started tapping the engine, “With a little bit of TLC and optimism you can anything working your way,” I claimed with a smile. “Then why don’t you have a girlfriend?” Eddie questioned. “Fuck you.” Was my response as I revved the engine causing us to exit the shack and enter the lake. In doing so Eddie barely managed to hold on as we made our way back to the dock. The trip this time took no time at all with the boat in our possession. “What took you guys so long!?” Brian yelled out from the dock. He was in the process of blowing up one of the two large water tubes. Slowing down the boat, I gently parked it right up against the dock. “The walk, what else are you wanting to hear?” Eddie stated the obvious. As he did so we both took up a rope and tied the boat to the dock. “Where’s Shawn?” I asked looking around. “Still inside, he’s making a couple of snacks to bring with us like you told us to do,” Brian stated as he put in another breath into the tube. “Part of me thinks that he enjoys cooking and shit, what a pussy.” He continued albite more out of breath. “So, what now? We just wait for him?” Eddie asked. “Yup, why don’t you try that IP thing with the weird Wi-Fi network. Might as well when we got this time, I’ll even check my own phone.” I replied as I and Eddie both pulled out our phones. Brian just watched the two of us do our thing as he continued to inflate the tube. Swiping through the different screens, I finally landed on my Wi-Fi options. “Heh, I have the same thing weird,” I commented showing Brian. “Man, that’s one weird name for a Wi-Fi network. What do you think it says? If it says anything at all.” Brian commented. “We’ll find out soon eno-” Was all Eddie could say before his and my phone shocked us both causing them both to fall onto the dock. If that wasn’t enough a small light seemed to exit both phones and enter the water. As if we were all the same person, we all in unison yelled: “What the fuck?!” Eddie being the first person to react to his electronics immediately picked up his phone and started checking it physically for any cracks then he went on to check to see if it still worked. Seeing as it happened to me too I followed his lead. “At least my phone still runs like normal,” Eddie stated after a while. “How about yours Ken?” He questioned. “Yeah mines fine as well, but you all saw that light, right? I’m not going crazy?” I stated. “You're always crazy,” Brian claimed before continuing. “But yeah I saw it go right into the lake. Fuckin' weird man.” “You know what caused that Eddie?” I asked still looking over my phone. It took a couple of seconds to get a response from him, but when we did it just made the whole fiasco sound that much more surreal. “Whether it was a coincidence or not, it happened at the same time I entered in the default gateway.” “Let’s not mess with the funky Wi-Fi anymore,” I stated getting nods from all of us. “Well, it’s not like we can’t use it,” Eddie stated. “Even if we wanted to disconnect we can’t.” Before we could say anything, Shawn came out of the cottage, his phone in one hand and a bag of snacks in the other. By the time he came down Brian had finished blowing up both of the water tubes. “Guys you’re not going to believe what just happened to my phone!” Shawn stated. “It shocked you and a light escaped,” Eddie replied. “yeah! Wait?... how?... never mind let's just get out on the lake. No need to stress about our phones out here.” Shawn confusedly stated. Not waiting around, I hopped back into the boat. However, this time I placed myself at the front. Eddie was the next to jump in, he positioned himself as the driver. After him, Brian placed both tubes into the water and tossed Eddie the ropes. With a little effort, Eddie tried both tubes to the back of the boat as Brian and Shawn got into their respected tubes. “Alright,” Eddie started as he untied the ropes from the dock. “Ready to last a good ten seconds on those things?” he asked. “I would like to see you try and tear my grip from this tube!” Shawn stated back as Brian placed in his two bits as well. “Don’t say I warned ya,” Eddie stated as he yanked the throttle hard causing me to tumble back in my seat. With my loss of direction, I felt the boat jerk another direction hard. This seemed to push me up against the boats corner. “Looks like Ken here is going to join you two soon” I heard Eddie yell out as he jerked the boat once again to the other side. Being unable to control my own velocity I soon found myself on the other side of the boat. Nevertheless, there was still a smile on my face as I attempted to get myself straight again. This, however, was countered by another rough push to the side. “Fuck Eddie at least let me get up!” I yelled as the boat seemed to level out. Its speed was still constant, but at least it gave me the ability to regain my baring’s as I started to stand up. This, however, did not last long. As soon as Eddie saw me stand up he jerked the boat hard left causing me to lose my footing and my position on the boat. Within seconds I found myself no longer on the boat, but five feet to the right of it and ten feet in the air. I could see both Brian and Shawn hanging on for their life’s as the boat continued to swerve around. Yet as gravity tends to do when you're up in the air it pushed me back down into the water.