Valley Lake

The pale crescent moon had just risen above the ridge behind them as the three couples came to the edge of the small body of water known as Valley Lake .

Mike and Sarah were the first to reach the shore of the small body of water hidden away in a secluded valley in the mountains of western Maine . Sarah was enthralled by the scene , A natural basin surrounded on three sides by high hills and the light of the moon shimmering off of its dark surface .

Luke and Karen were close behind , and joined them as they took in the beauty of the scene . One by one they turned off their lanterns and flashlights , and enjoyed the scene by the natural ambiance of the stars above and newly risen moon .

Sarah had thought it silly that Angel had insisted that this had to be a cell phone free weekend , but Angel had been adamant about it , so everyone had handed over their devices when they met up in Portland , and turned them over to be put in the safe at the bed and breakfast , run by Angel's aunt .

Angel and Bill were the last to reach the waters edge , having made the trek from her parents cabin many times in the past they were less eager to get to the lake itself and were content to enjoy the peaceful walk in the night along the old trail , They had turned off their own lights nearly a mile back , letting their eyes adjust to the subtle light of the stars and moon .

"We should go skinny dipping ."

Oh mike , get your mind out of the gutter , Laughed Sarah as she stripped off her shirt .

A Moment later the two of them were splashing in the shallows , while their clothes lay on a rock at the shores edge .

Luke and Karen were quick to follow suit .

While Angel and Bill sat at the waters edge

With just their bare feet in the cool water of the mountain lake .

"Come on you guys , " called Sarah , " The water is perfect ."

Angel and Bill threw off their clothes and waded in , hand in hand .

The six of them swam in the cool waters , splashing and laughing , and having the time of their lives .

" See " said Angel , " this is why I said no cell phones "

" Just nature at it's best "

The splashing came to a stop as the three couples soon paired up and began expressing their desire for each other .

Before long Angel felt the familiar caress of the thrive as they brushed by her legs and feet . They recognized her and Bill as guardians . But the time was not yet right for a joining , " soon ."

Angel could sense their thoughts , ever since she was a child , she could hear them in her mind .

" Another sun " , they told her .

Angel suddenly slapped Bill , hard across the face , Bill put up a farce of being surprised and confused , but he knew the way it worked .

Angel rushed out of the water , grabbed her clothes and headed back to the cabin .

Bill took his time getting out of the water while the others whispered about the sudden turn of events .

Mike and Sarah were the first to climb out of the lake , and attempt to console Bill as he wiped the water from his body and donned his clothes ,which clung to his still damp skin .

Karen and Luke were not long to follow suit , and the five of them dried themselves as best as they could , got dressed , gathered up their lanterns and began the trek back to the cabin in an uncomfortable silence .

within a few minutes Bill began to speak .

" You know that lake isn't exactly natural . The locals say it was formed two hundred years ago by a meteor strike . And if you go in the daylight you can find tiny nuggets of gold , right there where we were swimming , I've found a few myself , They say the meteor punched a hole into the water reservoir below , An Aquafer they call it , which is the source of the water and every now and then it spits up a few gold bits .

The five of them followed the trail back in the darkness .

Bill fell behind a little as the rest made their way up the trail .

Suddenly Bill felt Karen's hands on his arm .

" Are you and Angel OK ?

Bill pretended to be surprised , but he was expecting something like this .

" We're fine , she's just a little on edge lately , work stuff , you know , ?

" Ok , sure , but I'm here for you if you need to talk ."

" Thanks but we're good ."

They walked the rest of the way back to the cabin in near silence and upon arriving they all went to their rooms and then to bed .

The next morning Angel was up well before the others and had prepared breakfast for them all , bacon and eggs and pancakes , and strawberries and sliced bananas as well .

Nobody brought up the events of the night before as they all devoured the fantastic breakfast before them .

Over the course of the day , one by one the four visitors , approached Angel and asked her about the story that Bill had told them about being able to find gold at the waters edge . though nobody mentioned the incident of her slapping Bill so unexpectedly .

Oh yeah people find bits of gold there all the time , She answered .

My grandfather spent years collecting it , he made a lot of money from it , that's how he paid for all of this . The lake itself is really deep , once when I was fifteen I took all these spools of fishing line and tied them all together with a weight on the end and went out to the middle to try and see how deep it really is , I had a thousand feet of line that I payed out , but I never hit the bottom .

She repeated this to each of her visitors , and as expected they each in turn were amazed .

They all spent that morning just hanging out at the cabin , but just before noon , Mike and Luke headed to the lake .

Sarah and Karen hung around the cabin for an hour or so , but then headed for the lake as well .

Angel and Bill sat on the porch of the old cabin , and waited for the day to fade away to evening , and then they too headed for the lake .

As Angel and Bill got near the water's edge , they could hear the excited voices of the others .

" Look at this one "

" look how big this one is "

" This must be worth a fortune "

Angel stripped off her clothes and dove into the lake .

Bill followed her in , swam out a few yards , a dove into the depths .

When he didn't resurface , the others became concerned .

"It's alright" said Angel , "Bill has gone to the cavern" .

"It's about ten feet down and there is a large air pocket and a bunch of caves that are fun to explore "

" Is it safe ?" , asked Sarah .

" Oh sure , I've been down there dozens of times ."

" There is this plant that grows there , and it glows , like a lightening bug .

" It is so beautiful "

" You can see the glow from the surface , just follow it .

Angel led them out into the water and pointed out the pale glow that emanated from below .

One by one , they dove to the underwater cave .

" I'm scared " said Sarah

as she and Angel were the last to make the dive

Sarah tried twice , but both times came back to the surface in fear .

Angel held her hand and said .

" We can go together "

Sarah nodded , and the two of them dove together and made it into the cave .

All six of them were now in the underwater cave .

Angel pointed across the cave to the far end , where there was an opening in the far cave wall .

" There is another cave over there ,and it is incredible , follow me "

And she took off running to the far edge and disappeared through the opening .

Mike , Luke , and Karen all followed her .

Sarah however was a bit apprehensive , But Bill had remained behind with her and took her hand , " come on " he said , " it is so amazing "

Sarah allowed Bill to lead her her across the cavern to the next chamber .

Once they crossed through that threshold , everything changed .

The opening behind them became crowed with shadows , and they found themselves suddenly surrounded by dozens of beings .

Tall scaly lizard like creatures who seemed to ooze out of the walls .

One of those creatures approached them and addressed Angel directly .

" You have done well " It said .

" Two breeders , and two drones as well "

Luke took a step toward the one who had spoken .

" what the hell do you mean ? "

" Breeders ... Drones , Angel What the fuck is going on here ?"

Immediately two of the beings stepped forward and grabbed Luke and held him , while a third came from behind . Luke felt a hand placed on his neck and pin prick . A moment later he collapsed , as a venom rendered him unconscious .

Angel began to explain .

" Let me introduce you to the Thrive , They are a species from another world who landed here over three hundred years ago , they created these caves to become their home .They have lived here In peace for all these years . But they have one need .They need a human host to incubate their offspring . "

" Oh my god ! " cried Sarah . " they are going to make us breed slaves "

" No Sarah " , " not you and Karen . "

" It's the men they need , "

" You see they implant their DNA into the males , into the marrow of their bones actually , you see they need the testosterone to nurture their young , unfortunately , those offspring burst out from the bones "

" Your insane " Cried Sarah

" It is really excruciatingly painful , but it is the only way they can survive ."

The who had greeted and spoken to Angel addressed the others , " The males will remain here and act as hosts for our young , The females will be implanted with a device that will compel them to follow a simple set of instructions as well as erase all memory of this place and these events . "

" They will return to their homes , and in a few weeks time , they will meet with tragic accidents . "

" You will inform your friends and families that your boyfriends broke up with you and moved away to start new lives ."

" No one will believe that , " Said Sarah .

" Everyone will believe it ," replied Angel .

" We chose Mike and Luke specifically because they have both just up and left before , Luke grew up on a farm in Iowa , He left his pregnant wife at the age of twenty two and moved to Boston were you met ."

" Mike Is from Chicago , and he fled to Boston a year ago to avoid possession charges , leaving behind two girlfriends , each with a his child and a baby on the way …. Isn't that right Michael ? , Or should I say William ? Michael was your younger brother , and when he died of a drug overdose you assumed his identity . "

" The thrive selects it's hosts very carefully ."

Sarah glanced over at Mike , and could tell by the look on his face that it was all true .

The Thrive closed in around them , and the four of them were taken away .

" The drones will be ready in two days time , and will be sent to the cabin as always . "

Angel and Bill returned to the cabin and waited .

When Sarah and Karen arrived two days later , the four of them drove back to their apartments in Boston , Sarah and Karen never spoke to Angel and Bill again .

Sarah cried to all of her friends how Mike had just left her without a word and then after a week of being a complete basket case , stepped out in front of a city bus and was killed instantly , with a dozen witnesses .

Karen emptied her bank account and was found dead in an alley , a dirty needle still in her arm .

A month later Bill met a guy named Timothy in a bar and told him a fantastic story about a lake where there were gold nuggets just laying around waiting to be found .

On the way out of the bar Bill put a small slip of paper with the name Timothy Tramer in the ashtray outside and set it on fire .