Dark Water

She hadn’t recognized the boy in the first dream. No, not a dream, a nightmare. All the other nightmares that followed went the same way. She saw the boy, whoever he was, on the beach looking out at the ocean. Standing in the waves was something best described as a creature. The creature very much resembled a human, but had too many inhuman qualities. The skin covering this creature was grey, and prominent blue veins. Their fingers were webbed and their hands had nails that looked sharp and long. She never did see the face of the creature, and she certainly hoped she never would.

She never knew how the boy ended up on the beach. She watched, unable to intervene as the creature lured the boy into the water where it stood. This was unsettling because it was winter on the Maine coast. Walking into the ocean at midnight was cold and deadly, even when you weren’t accompanied by a strange creature like the one she saw.

Once the creature had the boy out so deep that his feet could no longer touch the surface, it was over. The boy began to realize what was happening and tried to swim away, but the creature grabbed the boy and pulled him out further. Then, the creature ripped out the boy's throat with its long, sharp teeth. As blood flowed from the boy’s fatal wound, the water would swirl and bubble around the boy and pull him under.

That was when she woke up.

To her horror, the boy in her dream was declared missing the next day.

She had the same dream, with a different boy, who ended up being declared missing the next day.

She became terrified to fall asleep after it happened a third time. She was afraid of her own mind. How was she having such vivid and terrible nightmares about boys who ended up missing? She wanted to tell someone but they probably wouldn’t believe her, or chalk it up to anxiety. Three disappearances in a small town in the winter was very uncommon. Especially three teenage boys.

Though she tried her best not to fall asleep, eventually exhaustion won. She thought it would be safe in her dream, until she felt a cold wind. The beach was coming into view. Another boy couldn’t go missing. The town would be devastated. She had to try to wake up and warn whatever boy she saw in her dream.

As the beach became clear in her view she saw the creature standing in the water, but it looked closer to a human than it ever had. It sent a chill up her spine. She quickly tried to focus on the boy on the beach. She would have screamed if she had a voice. It was her ex boyfriend. They had broken up at the beginning of the year. He felt she was a distraction to his future. He was doing everything he could to get out of this town. He didn’t have the same ties that she had. Even though they ended things, she didn’t want him to die. She tried to move in his direction, to say his name, but it was as if she had no body and no voice. All she could do was see and hear.

“I don’t understand why you wanted to meet here.” He said, his gaze on the creature.

“I missed you, I just wanted to spend some time together. The year is half over, soon you’ll be gone.” The creature said, in a strange echoey voice. She could almost place it, but it had a similar quality to wind hitting your ears.

“Yeah, that’s the plan. You’re still staying here?” He asked, his features softening a bit.

“Oh I could never leave this place. I’m tethered to it.” The creature said in that same echoey voice.

She wondered why he didn’t run. This creature was going to kill him with its sharp teeth and drown him, how was he not terrified?

She tried to see the creature, wanting to see what he saw, or what he apparently didn’t see. But she could only see him.

“I know, that’s why I ended things when I did. I knew I could never get you to leave this town. I didn’t want to prolong the inevitable.” He said, looking down at the rocky shore.

Her heart sank at his words. It was like their break up all over again. It was too fresh, even though months had passed.

“I wish I could make you stay.” A voice said. She thought it to be the creature again, but she realized it sounded too much like her own voice.

Suddenly her fear for his life was gone. Her urge to wake up and stop this dream from happening was lost. She only knew that she needed him, and she needed him to come into the water with her. She felt the waves against her ankles. It was real, too real to be a dream. It didn’t feel cold, it felt good.

“Come into the water with me.” She said, her own voice now sounding echoey, like the voice of the creature.

He looked directly at her, his eyes locking with hers. He didn’t move. His gaze went back to the rocks and sand.

This upset her. She needed him to come in with her. A sudden memory offered itself to help her.

“Let’s have one last night together. I’ll let you go all the way, I won’t stop you.”

He looked up quickly, his eyes almost unrecognizable with lust.

See, this wasn’t like the other dreams. This was just her missing him in the dream. That’s what she told herself as he walked into the water with her.

They embraced and kissed. His mouth was difficult to navigate for some reason, but she wasn’t thinking of that. He was with her now, in the water, and they needed to go in deeper. She guided him as far as she could while they kissed, navigating the water easily. He paid no attention to the fact that they were moving.

Suddenly the water was up to their waists and he pulled away, now visibly shivering. Despite his discomfort, his gaze was still locked with hers.

She reached out to touch his face. But to her horror she noticed it wasn’t her hand she saw reach out, but a grey arm with webbed fingers and long, sharp fingernails. She began to hyperventilate. She was still in the dream, but she was the creature.

This was her chance to save him. She had to tell him.

“Go back to shore.” She demanded, her voice sounding more like her own, but it was like he couldn’t understand her. He moved to kiss her but she pushed him away.

“Please, you’re going to die. Go back to the shore.” She pleaded, but he just stood there.

Again she forgot her fear, only knowing that they needed to go deeper in the water. She grabbed his coat and pulled him farther into the water until she couldn’t touch the bottom, she held him up by his coat as she swam further.

She knew it was time now. They had reached the spot. It was a deep knowing, a feeling. She stared at him, his eyes still glazed over with lust. She knew what it was time to do.

She knew, and her panic began again. She remembered this part of the dream all too well.

“No. No, I can't do it.” She said in the echoey voice that belonged to her and this creature. He didn’t notice her protestations.

“You must.” A whisper, like the wind off the water, said into her ear. “You’ve done it before.”

A sudden flood of memories came to her. The nightmares she had. Except she wasn’t watching this time. She was the creature. She was ripping the boys throats out with her teeth and giving them to the ocean.

“But I can’t do it to him.” She sobbed.

“You must. I saved your life all those years ago, now you do this for me.” The whispering voice now seemed to be in her head, pulling her childhood memory.

It had been winter and she was playing too close to the water, when she fell in. They didn’t notice she was gone at first, until it was almost too late. Luckily her father was able to dive in and pull her out. She was taken to the hospital and recovered. But she remembered something she hadn’t before. When she was drowning she begged the ocean to stop, to send her back.

“I didn’t know….” She trailed off.

“It’s only fair.” The whisper cooed. “Now, give him to me.”

The command was all it took. She knew what she needed to do. She looked into his eyes one last time. Then she tore her gaze away and sank her sharp teeth into his throat. His blood was so warm.

She released her grip on his coat and the water swirled around his body. Before her eyes it happily pulled him under.

As soon as he was gone the water calmed, and she was alone. She noticed the moon for the first time that night. It shone full, sparkling on the water.

“You did well.” The whisper said in her head.

She couldn’t connect to what had just happened. It had been her but it hadn’t. “Will I…” she started, but she trailed off, the voice already knowing her question.

“You won’t remember this, you never do. It always seems like a dream to you.”

She didn’t question it. She swam back to the shore. She was just glad to be done with the night. She was feeling like herself again. As she got closer to the shore her fingers were no longer webbed, and her flesh was back to its natural color, no longer a translucent grey. She left the water and began walking home.

She silently prayed she never had to come back, her walk breaking into a run.

“You’ll be back.” The whisper echoed in her head as she ran. “I’m going to need more.”