Rivers End

Kelpie: a water spirit of Scottish folklore, typically taking the form of a horse and reputed to delight in the drowning of travelers.

The morning headline seemed to scream at the unsuspecting township of Silver Woods in the early hours that morning. Bold, glaring letters sat on every porch, waiting to spread that news. ‘Bodies of Local Teens Found At Rivers End’, the central article detailing the tragic loss of several students who spent Seniors Night camped out in the towns namesake forest. Neighbors peeked out windows to gaze at the homes of the ones they’d lost. A community that had tried to keep hopes high during the 3 weeks of searching, now wondered how to mourn all that they’d lost. The police tape, and uniformed officers, that walked the banks of Rivers End lake were reminders to all passerby of the dangers their town's natural beauty held. Quiet woods surround the near perfect circle of water, the shape broken open by the local development to create a picturesque park at the water’s edge. The lake water in autumn was always a strange silvery shade of blue, framed peacefully by the reflections of the multi-shaded leaves, clear to the bottom except for a single area. Like a black ink spill deep in the water, below the foam of the waterfall waters, is the deepest point of the lake. The lake itself was about ten metres at its center, but divers had reached nearly 18 metres depth before it was deemed impassable, and over the years the town felt it best left alone.

They say that underneath the falls the floor of the lake seems to drop straight down, as though the water above was constantly punching straight down through the water and to the center of the earth. Local gossips whispered that it went straight to the depths of hell, but that sort of story was exclusive to the lips of the elder community members. The ones who could still remember the local legends that were told to children on chilly autumn nights, meant to keep them away from the quiet lakes ferocious provider. Those like Sophia’s grandmother, who raised their grandchildren with constant reminders to stay far from the banks of the river in the woods.

‘The surface ripples gently, giving off a look of a peaceful and quiet stream…’ Grandma Murdina whispered to her, the words sounding eerie with her low-Scottish accent, ‘But below that lies deadly secrets, Sophia. Beautiful, but dangerous, is the story of Kelpie Falls.’

‘I know, Grandma. The current is too dangerous, and every year someone has an accide-’ Sophia is cut off by her Grandmother’s glaring look, and she tucks her ash-blonde hair behind her ear, and simply nods in affirmation. Murdina didn’t care to talk of ‘accidents’ and ‘currents’ in regards to the river’s tragic history, regardless of what any official word was on the matter. The most Sophia had been told was that it had something to do with her grandfather, Murdina’s long-past husband who disappeared one night after running into the woods. Her family had always said he’d run off with another woman, after rumors circulated of witnesses spotting him following a pale-dressed and shapely figure into the woods that night. But her Gran had always held firm that it wasn’t a woman who took him away from her but something far more sinister, and cold-hearted, than lover’s spite. She never speaks as though he is still alive, though nothing was ever confirmed to say otherwise, but maintains that her lost husband drowned that night and was dropped into the hell-mouth below the falls.

Sophia felt her Grandmother’s eyes on her again, softer this time, as she blinked out of her thoughts. With a sad look, and a heavy sigh, she reached out and held Sophia’s hand in her own. Her skin was always warmer than Sophia expected from the frail woman, comfortingly soft with the faintest blue vein lines spidering along her wrinkled skin.

‘I’m just glad you didn’t go out that night, too. Please, be safe heading to Ashley’s...’ Her eyes still gazed out the window, a deep sadness in them as the sun sank below the tree line, and she slowly let their hands fall apart, ‘Don’t forget to bring home my blue scarf this time...’

‘It’ll be fine, Gran, I won’t be out long.’ Sophia spoke softly, and kissed the elder woman’s pale cheek as she stood to leave. Watching her Grandmother for a moment, it almost felt hard to imagine the powerful woman she had heard so many stories of. This woman used to climb mountains, and she’d traveled the world with her grandfather, histories of photo albums documenting wild adventures and fearless journeys. Coming from ‘old blood’ and older money, this was a woman who seemed to have had the world at her fingertips. But the albums were cracked and dusty, and they felt more like the woman who sat before the window than the actual photos did. A part of Sophia always wished she could have met the woman Gran was before Grandfather’s dark night by the riverside.

With a final wistful glance, Sophia walks out of the in-law apartment attached to her house, waves to her mother in the kitchen window and heads for her bike. As she rides the path through the woods, she can’t help but feel a tinge of guilt as she remembers her Grandmother’s words.

‘She can’t find out I was there...I have to do this.’ Sophia grits her teeth and pedals harder, determination in every push of her feet and a fiery look in her eyes as she flies past trees and animals. What her Gran didn’t know is that she was there. She’d never gone to the swim club lock in, but her and a teammate snuck out to join in the fun. She glared as she rounded a corner, seeing Colin with his swim bag and remembering their fight over the phone. She could tell he was scared and nervous, and she admitted that it only empowered her, as she leapt off her sea-green mountain bike and ran alongside it. Stopping the front tire barely an inch from where Colin had been standing, before he’d stumbled back to avoid it.

‘What the hell, Sophia?! I know you’re pissed but that was cutting it a little close, don’t ya think?’ He straightened himself up and brushed dirt off his pants. He could barely meet her eyes as his brain struggled to ignore the sounds of the nearby falls, and the memories of that fateful night. ‘I know I shouldn’t have left you that night. I should’ve been there for you, and maybe I could’ve helped stop whatever happened…’

‘You don’t even know what happened, Col.’ Her eyes looked like a stormy ocean blue as they turned on him, wind whipping her hair in a frenzy around her face.

‘I would if you would tell me, just like you should tell everyone! Don’t you want to help everyone know what happened that night?’ Colin pleaded with her, his hand reaching out for her but too scared to actually make contact. His head drops, eyes closed, as he hopes for a sign that she’ll be with him in this now. His eyes burst open as he feels intense heat below his palm, and he looks up to find an eerie looking horse standing before him. His hand rested on the creature’s side, it’s ash-blonde mane tickling his wrist as the horse took a few tentative steps in place. He attempted to pull away, but his hand was held fast to the burning skin and the horse seemed aware of it as it suddenly turned into a gallop. Colin’s mouth opened in an attempt to scream for help, but it was lost to the wind as the creature headed towards the falls.

Colin felt his feet lift off the ground, and his wrist and shoulder both felt like they might pop from the force of holding on by one hand alone. The horse dove straight for the black spot below the crashing water, and he felt the air rush from his lungs as the cold pool surrounded him. Colin’s lungs burned, but just as he thought the tunnel would be endless, it suddenly opened to a cavern below the lake. He heard a young girl’s laughter, and felt an entirely new kind of chill, as he was suddenly dropped a few feet to the black water below. He managed to take in another gasp of air before something tangled itself to his ankle and pulled him under, back towards the depths. As he struggled to kick free from death, he looked down and squinted through the dark water to make out the shape below. His eyes finally adjusted to make out the cause of his demise, and an anguished wail was strangled as the water flooded his lungs. Colin could still recognize the bright blue fabric that wrapped around his ankle and, despite the decay of sitting in the water, the dead eyed stare of Sophia’s corpse sinking below.