Chapter 6: The Curse Unleashed

"What should I call you?" I asked. The question hung in the air. Helena—Marlene—smiled, a sad, tired smile.

Marlene sighed. "I like you calling me sister; it makes me feel human." Her voice was soft, full of longing. I felt a pang of grief for all we’d lost.

I boldly guessed, "Did the Old Keeper lock you up here?" She nodded, her eyes dark with memory. "Yes. He trapped us here, made us suffer."

"Yes. Back then he locked us here for decades. You can’t imagine what monsters lurk below." Her voice was full of bitterness. I wondered what horrors she’d endured.

Marlene seemed to finally let out her gloom. She sat on the ground, the fish child enjoying his last warmth in her arms, but her gaze at him grew increasingly fierce. She stroked his hair, tears streaming down her face. I watched, heart aching.

She remembered when she and her brother came to town, they were under twenty. Their family was wealthy, respected. They came to Maple Hollow for business, never expecting what they’d find.

Their family was well off, carefree. She followed her brother Samuel traveling everywhere. Samuel was her protector, her best friend. They were inseparable.

When they arrived at Maple Hollow, they heard about the Lake God Chapel. The stories fascinated them, but Samuel was skeptical. He wanted to help the town, to bring them into the modern world.

Samuel had just returned from college; he didn’t believe in such things. He questioned the Old Keeper, challenged his authority. The townsfolk didn’t take kindly to outsiders questioning their ways.

Seeing the townsfolk fooled by the Old Keeper, Samuel suggested helping them connect to the outside world. The Rivers family had always been in the fish business—perfect. He offered to help, to share his family’s wealth and connections. But the Old Keeper saw him as a threat.

But everything was ruined by what Samuel said: "The Lake God doesn’t exist; it’s all nonsense." The words sealed their fate. The Old Keeper turned the town against them, and everything changed.

He didn’t see the viciousness under the Old Keeper’s mask. The Old Keeper incited the townsfolk to kill the outsiders, but when they were dying, he saved them. He wanted to get the Rivers siblings’ contacts.

The Old Keeper locked them in the Lake God Chapel’s altar below, giving them no food or water. They suffered in the darkness, hungry and afraid. But they refused to give up.

It was a dark, damp place, like a well, water up to their knees. The cold seeped into their bones. The only sound was the drip of water from the ceiling.

At first, the siblings weren’t scared, until something appeared in the water. It was a piranha, all red-brown, full of sharp teeth, biting Samuel’s calf. He screamed, the sound echoing off the walls. Helena fought it off, her hands slick with blood.

Sometimes, the will to live is strange. They survived by eating the fish, drinking the filthy water. Their bodies changed, adapted to the darkness.

After half a month, the Old Keeper returned to the altar, expecting to see two skeletons, but instead found the siblings gnawing piranhas alive. When they looked up, the Old Keeper met four fish eyes. He realized too late what he’d done. The siblings were no longer human.

The Old Keeper fell, landing on his own fish god statue. He died, but not before cursing them to remain trapped forever. He thought, the Lake God really exists.

The curse was powerful, binding them to the chapel, to the mountain, to the town. These two wouldn’t die; if they got out, the whole town would be doomed. So he made a vicious curse.

He pointed at them before the fish god statue: "Only your children can save you." The words echoed in the darkness, sealing their fate.

Samuel and Helena were clear-headed—they were siblings; impossible to have children. They couldn’t get out, no one could come in, they’d die trapped here. They waited, hoping for rescue, but none came. The years passed, and hope faded.

So they survived by eating fish and drinking dirty water. Their bodies changed, becoming more fish than human. They lost track of time, of who they were.

The Old Keeper checked on them from time to time. He watched from above, making sure they never escaped.

Once, a girl followed the Old Keeper, and after he left, she secretly came to the altar. She brought food, water, hope. Samuel barely remembered her face.

"Samuel, do you remember me?" He shook his head, lost in the fog of hunger and pain. The girl wept, promising to save him.

Samuel didn’t. The girl wept. "I will save you." Her voice was full of love, of desperation. Helena watched, unsure what to do.

"What a pair of star-crossed lovers." The Old Keeper appeared, mocking them. He threw the girl into the altar, sealing her fate.

The Old Keeper appeared behind her, smiling. "Clara, do you think that’s Samuel or a monster?" She recoiled in horror, realizing too late what she’d done.

Clara held her head high and spat at the Old Keeper. Her defiance only made him angrier. He laughed, locking the door behind him.

The Old Keeper threw Clara into the altar, wanting to see what would happen. She screamed, but no one came to help. Samuel and Helena watched, helpless.

When Clara saw Samuel’s face, she was finally afraid. His eyes were yellow, his skin covered in scales. She backed away, trembling.

"Why do you have gills on your face?!" Her voice was full of terror. Helena remembered the curse, the only way out.

Helena still remembered the curse. She clung to it, hoping for a miracle. Only her or her brother’s child could free them from Maple Ridge.

Clara’s arrival helped them a lot. With Helena’s help, Clara finally got pregnant. But Helena had to guard her day and night, because her brother was not normal. He was losing himself, becoming more monster than man.

When Clara was eight months pregnant, Samuel, while Helena slept, used his sharp teeth to gnaw off Clara’s head. The horror of it haunted Helena. She tried to save the child, but it was too late.

Helena had no choice but to attach a piranha’s head to Clara’s body. She used her new powers to merge Clara with a fish, hoping to save her.

Clara and the piranha merged, often hiding underwater, just a black shadow visible. She became something else—neither human nor fish, trapped between worlds.

Her body slowly degenerated into a fish’s, and the child in her belly could never be born alive. The curse held strong, keeping them all trapped.

So the years passed. Time lost all meaning. They waited, hoping for a way out.

Helena guessed the Old Keeper had died of old age. With his death, the curse weakened, but it was still strong enough to keep them trapped.

By then, they had become neither human nor ghost, but monsters. They lost their names, their memories, their hope.

When her brother’s body nearly filled the altar, a little girl named Marlene came to the Lake God Chapel. She was innocent, curious. Helena saw a chance for escape.

She was just playing, and when she peered into the altar, Helena swallowed her. She took Marlene’s body, hoping to use it to escape. But the curse was stronger than she realized.

When Helena left the woods, she had become Marlene. She tried to live a normal life, but the curse followed her everywhere.

She tried to use Marlene’s body to leave town, but failed again and again. The truth was, only her or her brother’s child could free them. She married Tom, hoping to break the curse. But every child died before it could be born.

So she married Tom, got pregnant three times, but none survived. The grief nearly broke her, but she refused to give up.

Then Helena realized, only the eight-month child had hope. The curse was specific—only a child carried to eight months could break it.

He was no ordinary fetus. He was the key to their freedom, the hope they’d been waiting for.

So she waited for a suitable human host like Marlene. She searched for years, watching, waiting. When Lila Mae was born, she knew her chance had come.

During the long wait, she suggested the townsfolk go out to work, leading them to Maple Ridge and the altar, to feed Samuel. She kept the curse alive, feeding her brother with the men who left town.

Everything came to a head when Lila Mae was born. The curse reached its breaking point, and everything changed.

——

The fish child woke up. He blinked, reaching for Helena. She cradled him, tears streaming down her face. He reached out to Helena for a hug. She hugged him tight, whispering words of love and regret.

Grandma Elsie and I fell silent. We watched, helpless, as the curse played out to its bitter end.

No wonder my sister Marlene became cold after leaving the woods. Her heart had been broken too many times. I understood, even if I couldn’t forgive her.

Poor Lila Mae, suffering all this. She was just a child, caught in a web of secrets and lies.

They didn’t belong here. We had no reason to stop them. I even hoped they’d leave soon and return the town to peace. I prayed for peace, for forgiveness, for a way out of the darkness.

There were footsteps in the dark—it was Tom. He burst into the chapel, his face twisted with rage and grief.

He gritted his teeth, face full of disbelief and agitation. "Then why did you marry me??" His voice echoed through the hall, full of pain. Helena looked away, unable to meet his eyes.

Helena was uncharacteristically silent. She held the fish child close, her body trembling. Tom’s anger filled the room.

Tom cursed viciously, using every curse in the county. He shouted, his words sharp and bitter. Helena didn’t respond.

Grandma Elsie sighed and interrupted him. "You can’t leave. Samuel has lost all humanity, become a living monster. If you let him out, only death awaits." Her voice was calm, steady. Tom fell silent, the fight draining out of him.

Helena sneered, ruthlessly pulled the fish child from her, drew a knife and cut his throat. Blood dripped on the altar. The fish child didn’t even have time to cry before dying. The act was quick, brutal. I turned away, unable to watch.

I quickly turned away, unwilling to look. The sound of blood hitting the stone echoed in my ears. I felt sick, but I couldn’t move.

"You don’t know what a good person my brother was. He was educated, gentle, loving. If not for your town, our family wouldn’t have become this." Her voice was full of sorrow, of regret. I wondered if any of us could ever be free of the past.

Helena stopped talking. As if foreseeing something, she turned around, facing a huge creature—its eye as big as her head. The creature rose from the well, its body massive, its eyes yellow and bloodshot. The chains rattled, the air filled with the scent of blood.

The yellowish eyeball was full of red blood vessels. It stared at Helena, unblinking. She didn’t flinch, didn’t look away.

A roar shook the Lake God Chapel. The sound was deafening, shaking the walls. I covered my ears, tears streaming down my face.

"Brother..." Her voice was soft, full of love and pain. The creature lunged, swallowing her whole.

Samuel opened his bloody mouth and swallowed Helena from the waist up. Tom collapsed, catching Helena’s lower half. He screamed, clutching her legs. The blood pooled around him, staining his clothes.

"Run!" Grandma Elsie shouted, urging us to flee. Her voice snapped me out of my trance. I grabbed Tom, pulling him to his feet.

"What about you?" I hesitated, unwilling to leave her behind. She shook her head, her eyes full of determination.

She took out a string of bells and a silver cross, chanting, ignoring me. The bells rang, the cross glowed. The creature roared, thrashing against the chains.

I grabbed the dazed Tom, put Lila Mae on his back. He still clung to Helena’s lower half, unwilling to let go. He sobbed, his grip unbreakable. I pried his fingers loose, whispering words of comfort.

"Tom, whatever happens, save Lila Mae first. I brought Grandma Elsie here; I can’t leave her alone." He nodded, his eyes full of grief. I watched him disappear down the hall, Lila Mae limp in his arms.

Tom nodded heavily, one arm around Helena, one supporting Lila Mae, running down the mountain. His footsteps echoed in the darkness. I turned back to the altar, heart pounding.

I turned back to the hall, picked up the knife Helena used, and stood beside Grandma Elsie. Her eyes met mine, full of gratitude. We faced the creature together, ready for whatever came next.

Her bells seemed to restrain Samuel, but his rage was too deep. He lashed at us with his fish tail. The tail swept through the air, smashing pews and sending splinters flying. I ducked, clutching the knife.

At the critical moment, a black shadow blocked us, fighting Samuel at lightning speed. It was Clara, her body twisted and monstrous. She attacked Samuel, teeth bared, claws slashing.

It was Clara. She fought with a ferocity I’d never seen, her eyes blazing with fury. It turned into a vicious battle between two lake monsters. They tore at each other, the air filled with screams and the sound of snapping bones.

In the end, both perished. After Samuel died, a pile of piranhas poured from his body, flopping on the ground. The fish writhed, gasping for air. The smell was overwhelming, making me gag.

Clara also struggled to crawl to the fish child and slowly closed her eyes. She reached out, touching his face. Her eyes closed, and she went still.

Grandma Elsie was exhausted. I carried her down the mountain, only to see Tom surrounded by townsfolk. The crowd waited at the base of the mountain, torches in hand. Their faces were twisted with fear and anger.

They held torches: "Burn it! Burn it!" They shouted, waving their torches in the air. I shielded Lila Mae with my body, heart pounding.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, my voice shaking. Tom stood beside me, his face pale and drawn.

I stood by Tom. He gave a bitter smile. "I told them the truth. They want to kill Lila Mae." His words sent a jolt of fear through me. I clutched Lila Mae tighter, refusing to let go.

I looked at the crowd in shock. They shouted, "That fish used Lila Mae to give birth to monsters. Who can guarantee Lila Mae is fine? For the sake of the town, she must die. Marlene was from your family. She caused our men to die. You can’t pay for that with your lives!" Their words were cruel, their faces twisted with hate. I wanted to scream, to fight, but I was too tired.

Tom was exhausted. "I told you, that wasn’t Marlene." His voice was weak, defeated. The crowd ignored him, their anger growing.

Townsfolk yelled, "How could it not be Marlene? You lived with her every day, didn’t you know?" They pressed closer, their torches blazing. I backed away, searching for an escape.

Someone whispered, "If not for Grandma Elsie and Maggie, our town would be finished." The words gave me hope, a reminder that not everyone was lost to fear.

The others ignored this, threatening to burn the whole mountain. They threw their torches, the flames spreading quickly. The air filled with smoke, the heat unbearable.

They threw their torches on the mountain. In a flash, flames soared. The fire roared, consuming everything in its path. I held Lila Mae close, whispering words of comfort.

I took Lila Mae. All the way, she never woke. Her breathing was shallow, her skin cold. I prayed she’d wake up, but she remained still.

I had an idea, listened to her heartbeat—dead silent. My own heart stopped. I pressed my ear to her chest, desperate for any sign of life.