Children Of The Lake

It was late. Almost 11:00 and not an ounce of light in sight.

"Maybe i should have of listened to that wack job at the gas station. Always listen to the crazy old man at the gas station." He said to himself.

He was spewing some nonsense about the cast out dead children of the lake will rise and feast of outsiders. He doubted that it was dead children following him but there was definitely something in these waters.

His cheaply rented canoe was already rocking back and forth in the water, these waters weren't that rough so it spoke to the quality of the boat. You get what you pay for Jake kept repeating to himself.

He paddled hard down river, nothing made sense. He swore his arms would fall off at any moment. they were gaining on him. Something in the water was following him. He could hear splashing but nothing could be out this far could it? and that pace was too fast to be human.

He approached a clearing.

" That's gotta be it!" He yelled loudly.

'Maybe if i get through that clearing, whatever is following will disburse.' He was trying to convince himself. With all the energy he could muster he tightened the grip on his paddle and paddled the hardest in his life. His hand was covered in blisters but the only thing running through his mind was the thought of escape.

He quickly crossed the threshold of the clearing and he looked behind him. Whatever was following him wasn't there anymore. It was gone.

With a smile on his face he set the paddle to his side and laid back in his rickety canoe. his arms were the definition of sore. His breathing was so heavy, he had never experienced this kind of windedness before.

"Maybe i should stay off the water for a while" he laughed. "I think the stress of life is getting to me"

His newly found state of calm was soon ruined. in an instant the boat flipped.

Jake found himself underwater, flailing, trying to figure out which way was up. After a few moments his head breached the surface. He was able to manage one long gasp before he aggressively started coughing.

Something grabbed his legs and yanked him back under water. It felt like he had some cinder-blocks tied to his legs. He looked down at his legs, even though his vision was blurred he could make out five or six pale skinned children dragging him down. Surly he could over power a couple of kids? He kicked and flailed his arms as hard as he could. He even tried screaming as a last chance effort. The kids just kept on pulling him down. While he was mid flailing he looked up to see the full moon fade to black as he lost consciousness.

The next morning Jerry tended to his store. He would hear how people talked behind his back, calling him 'a Cooc' and 'crazy' but Jerry knew what he was talking about. He stocked his shelves and swept his floor but something eventually caught his eye. His towns daily paper.

The headline read: Man found dead in river. Police investigate.

"Damn shame. should've listened to me." He said to himself.

"You tried to warm him"

Jerry heard the voices, they spoke in unison. Almost immediately after the voices spoke to him, the lights in his store flickered. When the lights came back on, six pale children appeared in front of Jerry from behind the counter. They were dripping wet and their eyes were pure white.

"No, no! I didn't! I promise!" Jerry tried to beg but the kids weren't having it.

The kids turned their heads and Jerry suddenly couldn't breath, he stumbled behind the counter trying to scramble for the phone. He was able to get to the phone and he instantly called 911.

The operator answered. he was saved.

"911 What is your emergency?"

Jerry tried to tell the operator about what was happening but the only thing that came out of his mouth was water. It was like an endless waterfall. Jerry hit the ground and water continued to come out of his mouth until his eyes rolled up in to the back.

The lights flickered again and the children were gone. Not a trace of them.

Only Jerry's dead body remained. He belongs to the Children Of The Lake now.