mirror of https://github.com/nealey/Horrors2
112 lines
4.3 KiB
TeX
112 lines
4.3 KiB
TeX
\chapauth{ack!}
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\chapter{The Dock}
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This lake seemed ordinary enough. The drive to this lake seemed
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also ordinary enough, though the road was windy and tedious. The
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unfortunate youngest child of the Bavarius family, Luke, endured
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riding in the very back seat of the Buick station wagon. With each
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twist on the windy road to the lake, Luke suppressed his twisting
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stomachs urge to purge and vomit due to the car sickness his seat
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on this ride caused him. ``I hate this drive and I told them
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we shouldn't go this year. I hate being the youngest. I
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always have to sit back here and get car sick, but that
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doesn't matter to anyone, especially my dad who never listens
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to me'', Luke thought while feeling the bile raise to his
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throat. ``This ride better end soon'' he wished, but the
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ride was really just beginning.
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Upon reaching the cabin at the lake they drove to, Luke's
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family unpacked for a week's vacation during the summer break
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from school. Luke ran to catch up to his older siblings who were
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faster than him as they each ran to claim their bunks in the cabin.
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The ride left him more nauseas than ever and he had no hope of
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getting a bunk in the main room. As usual, his bunk would be the
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one in the back room at the back of the house. Once again he found
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himself at the back of it all in the most uncomfortable place and
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anything he said about it would go unnoticed and uncared about.
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Needing fresh air to clear his head and most importantly, his
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churning stomach of suppressed oral violence which was nearing
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critical mass, Luke ventured outside, alone. He knew this trip
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would be bad and the start was proving it.
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Behind the cabin was a trail. Dreary and barren, this trail had
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seen no visitors all year. Vines grew across its misshapen
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cobblestones. He tried to skip as children do, but the uneven
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stones reached up to trip him. Even the ground he walked on tried
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to make his life miserable. Luke pressed on.
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At the end of the trail, which led from the house to the lake, a
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dock that rivaled an elderly woman's wrinkled and cracked
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skin wound its way above the lake's depths. No one knew the
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origins of the dock, but it had endured every frigid winter and
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every scorching summer since its birth. Neglected and uncared
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without a repairman's hands to repair it, the dock barely
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held together with each board twisting and splintering.
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Creeping like a silent cat on the hunt for its prey, Luke crept
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onto the dock. Engulfed in the mist of the lake which surrounded
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him like a funeral curtain, he made his way to the end where he sat
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on the end of the dock and put his feet into the water. The
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coolness felt good to him and made his stomach settle and no more
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churn like a vile popcorn machine ready to spew forth a vomit of
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undigested cheese and crackers that was his only meal for the
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day.
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Peering into the waters, Luke was surprised at the stillness and
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the clearness of the lake. As the cruel world spun around him, he
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could see through the very depths to the bottom which shimmered. He
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could see his reflection coming in and out of shape. As he stared,
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it seems time froze and the world stopped turning. His face became
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without a shape and disappeared entirely. The faces of his siblings
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floated by instead, pushing him out of the way. Then after that,
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the faces of his parents, who never listened or cared for their
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youngest child mocked him in his place.
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Feeling colder than ever before, Luke felt a fiery fury explode in
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his blood boiling heart. His mind spun deeper and darker than the
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largest tornados in Kansas. His eyes bulged, each vain throbbing
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and pumping their purple liquid to increase his vision. The real
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picture began to form. This lake was a mirror, a portal, a crystal
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ball to show his life, show his future.
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The water's blue gave way to rust as each body flowed by
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while blood drained from within. ``This is my life'',
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Luke realized, ``this is my work. Whoever won't listen,
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whoever won't get out of the way, this is where I must put
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them, this is where they will pay''.
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Snapping awake, Luke glared at his aged reflection in the window
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lighted by the moonlight in the night sky. His thoughts settled as
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his memory cleared and the pain rose burning and bright like the
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devouring flares of the Sun.
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``No!! This was not me!!''
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``You did this, Horace Manslasher. You took my family that day while
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I was at the dock and no one would join me. Now I'm coming
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for you.''
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