The remnants of Ida's soul sat in her ruby cell, watching the sunlight reflect off the water above her. Decades of imprisonment inside the cursed gem had slowly stripped away every shred of humanity, leaving only a twisted shell behind. It wasn't that she lacked company; hundreds of other souls were trapped with her inside the pendant. They cowered in dark corners, terrified she would notice them. When she grew bored, she would hunt down the weakest. Remnants of those encounters would cloud the gem, turning it a dark red, until the shredded soul pulled itself back together.
She wanted out of her prison, which required someone with magic in their blood. Several people had found the pendant in the years since Agatha had discarded it, but none had been suitable. Each and every one of them had drowned in a 'tragic accident,' their souls mercilessly sucked into the gem.
***
Lora looked over at John. "Hurry up, we're going to be late." She pulled a thin yellow top over her small breasts and grabbed her bag. John hurried into the room, throwing the last of his clothes into his backpack. He looked around one last time, then followed Lora outside to the car.
After tossing his backpack in the back seat, he turned to Lora. "You have everything, right? I don't want to get fifty miles down the road and find out you forgot to pack a sleeping bag like last time." The smile on his face let her know he was playing with her.
Lora climbed into the front seat. "I don't remember you complaining when we shared your bag last time."
John looped around the front of the car and got into the driver's seat. "Well, no, but we're sharing a tent with your mom this time. It might get a little awkward with you moaning all night long."
Lora pointed forward. "Whatever. You made more noise than I did. Now, can we go? I don't want to be the last one there."
***
Lora and John pulled into the Olympic National Park parking lot and found that Susan and Richard, the other couple on the camping trip, had already arrived.
Lora ran over to Susan. "Hey!" The two young women embraced before wandering over to look at the bulletin board.
"Hey, Brother." John greeted Richard with a quick hug. They had known each other for almost fifteen years and had become part of each other's families.
Richard looked around. "I thought Lora's mom was coming."
John also looked but didn't see Lora's mother's car in the lot. "I don't know; Betty's supposed to be here." His indifferent tone masked how he felt about her. Betty was an older version of Lora, only with slightly larger breasts. They acted more like sisters than mother and daughter, which caused some issues. More than once, he had almost been caught checking Betty out. Fantasies of fucking Betty had become a regular thing, bordering on an obsession. Lora teased him about having a crush on her mother; he regularly prayed to a random assortment of gods that neither she nor her mother suspected anything.
They slowly walked over to where their girlfriends were waiting. Susan had her hands in her pockets while Lora was on the phone. "It's okay, Mom. Yes, we will wait for you. Okay. See you in five minutes. I love you, too. Bye." She looked up and gave John a sheepish grin. "Mom is running a little late; there was a lot of traffic by her house."
"It's all good," John said, putting his arm around Lora. "Let's get everything ready to go so when your mom gets here, we can hit the trail."
The four young adults had just finished collecting their gear when Betty pulled into the lot, parking next to John and Lora's car. Betty hopped out of her car, quickly grabbed her gear, and almost ran to where the rest of the party stood. "I'm so sorry!" She hugged Lora and even pulled John in. He didn't complain; her soft breasts felt great against his chest.
"Everyone ready?" Richard asked, anxious to be on the trail before it got any later.
A rough chorus of assent answered him, so the group headed up the trail with Richard in the lead, followed by Susan, Betty, and Lora, with John bringing up the rear. The group ventured deep into the rainforest; it was several hours before they arrived at the site they had picked for their base camp—a low, flat shelf overlooking Lena Lake with Mt. Bretherton behind it.
Betty put her pack on the ground and looked at the lake. "It's beautiful."
Lora walked up to her mother and put her arm around her waist. The two women gazed at the water and admired the birds. John looked over at them and admired their curves and long blonde hair.
Susan cleared her throat loudly. "If you guys help set up the tents, maybe we can get some swimming in before it gets dark."
Betty laughed, and she and Lora walked over to John. Between them, they erected the dome tent they would be sharing for the next several days. The men let the women change inside the tents while they changed behind them. The five of them were at the water's edge in no time.
Placing a toe in the water, Lora quickly pulled her foot back. "The water's cold."
"Well, we are in the mountains..." A startled Betty stopped talking when her daughter screamed. She turned to see Lora smacking at John's arms as he slowly carried her into the water.
"Put me down!" Lora screamed. "Don't you dare put me in that water, John? John!" She released a particularly high-pitched shriek when John tossed her in the air toward deeper water.
Richard was right behind John, carrying Susan. He gave her 'the look.'
"Don't even think about it," she said.
Richard sighed. "Okay." For a single instant, Susan thought she was safe. Her boyfriend started to turn back toward the shore before suddenly tossing her in the air after Lora.
The two sputtering women broke the lake's surface; each bent on getting even with the man who'd put them there. A short, one-sided water fight involving a lot of splashing occurred before the younger adults realized that Betty was still standing on the shore.
Lora leaned closer to John. "It doesn't seem fair that Mom is the only one dry right now."
John needed no other prompting. He started moving toward shore, breaking into a run when he reached the shallow water.
"I don't want to get wet, John!" Betty said, running away from the approaching young man. The chase didn't last long; John's legs were longer, and he was in better shape than her. He spun her around, accidentally brushing her breasts as he tossed her struggling body over his right shoulder. "Put me down this instant, John! John, do you hear me?"
Everyone was laughing as John stopped short of where the water dropped off. "I'm sorry, Betty. Of course, I'll put you down."
"Don't put me down here!" Betty screeched as John tossed her forward into the water. Betty went under with barely a splash. After several seconds, she still hadn't resurfaced.
John couldn't see her under the water with the sun in his eyes. He glanced at Lora; her smile faded. Everyone just looked at each other.
"Shit," John said as he dived into where he had tossed Betty. The water there was much colder than where he had been standing and deeper than he had realized. John searched as quickly as possible but found no sign of Betty. As he ran out of breath and turned to swim to the surface, he noticed something red glistening, almost buried in the silt. Reaching into the muck, he grabbed what he thought was glass. A shock went through his system as his fingers closed on it.
