The Lake Keeps Countv6

[Intro — rain, distant camp bell, slow footsteps; sudden low-tuned breakdown] [Extreme vocals] ONE… BY… ONE… [Verse 1 — restrained clean vocals] The cabins sleep beneath the pines, The shoreline wears a veil of mist. A lantern swings; the trail goes cold. Someone’s missing from the list. The trees keep every secret That the daylight tried to drown. And somewhere past the waterline, A shape moves without a sound. [Pre-Chorus — rising tension, extreme vocals] DON’T SPLIT UP! DON’T TURN AROUND! THE FOREST KNOWS YOU’RE HERE NOW! [Chorus — strained, emotional clean vocals] The lake keeps count beneath the rain, It knows the ones who won’t return. We call for help; the woods reply With distant footsteps, closing time. No road leads out, no light stays on— The night goes still, then something’s gone. The lake keeps count. It keeps us all. [Slow Breakdown — dragging half-time, stylized cinematic impacts and blade-like swishes] [Extreme vocals] SLOW… [Impact] STEP… [Silence] NO… [Impact] ESCAPE… [Verse 2 — darker clean vocals, tense strings] A hockey mask beneath the moon, A silent figure through the trees. The storm erases every track; The branches bend but never breathe. We find the gate, we reach the road— The headlights flicker, engines die. A handprint blooms across the glass. The shoreline waits on the other side. [Pre-Chorus — extreme vocals, building] DON’T LOOK BACK! DON’T MAKE A SOUND! THE LAKE HAS WOKEN! THE NIGHT CLOSES ROUND! [Chorus — strained vocals, heavier band] The lake keeps count beneath the rain, It knows the ones who won’t return. We call for help; the woods reply With distant footsteps, closing time. No road leads out, no light stays on— The night goes still, then something’s gone. The lake keeps count. It keeps us all. [Post-Chorus — sudden stop, then a theatrical cough] [Cough] KHE-KHEM—BLEAGH! [Slow Breakdown — crushing half-time, abrupt stops] [Extreme vocals] NO LIGHT! [Impact] NO SOUND! [Silence] THE MASK IS RIGHT HERE NOW! [Bridge — eerie clean vocals, rain and distant bell] Morning finds the empty cabins. The lake is calm. The woods are still. They’ll say the storm came through the camp— But the shoreline never will. [Final Chorus — raw, strained vocals, full band] The lake keeps count beneath the rain, It knows the ones who won’t return. We called for help; the woods replied With distant footsteps, closing time. No road leads out, no light stays on— The night goes still, then something’s gone. The lake keeps count… And it’s not done. [Final Breakdown — slow, stop-start, one final cinematic impact] [Extreme vocals] STAY… [Silence] AWAY… [Impact] FROM THE LAKE! [Outro — rain fades; one distant camp bell]