horrors2

ack_.The_Dock.tex

  1\chapauth{ack!}
  2\chapter{The Dock}
  3
  4
  5
  6This lake seemed ordinary enough. The drive to this lake seemed
  7also ordinary enough, though the road was windy and tedious. The
  8unfortunate youngest child of the Bavarius family, Luke, endured
  9riding in the very back seat of the Buick station wagon. With each
 10twist on the windy road to the lake, Luke suppressed his twisting
 11stomachs urge to purge and vomit due to the car sickness his seat
 12on this ride caused him. ``I hate this drive and I told them
 13we shouldn't go this year. I hate being the youngest. I
 14always have to sit back here and get car sick, but that
 15doesn't matter to anyone, especially my dad who never listens
 16to me'', Luke thought while feeling the bile raise to his
 17throat. ``This ride better end soon'' he wished, but the
 18ride was really just beginning.
 19
 20
 21
 22Upon reaching the cabin at the lake they drove to, Luke's
 23family unpacked for a week's vacation during the summer break
 24from school. Luke ran to catch up to his older siblings who were
 25faster than him as they each ran to claim their bunks in the cabin.
 26The ride left him more nauseas than ever and he had no hope of
 27getting a bunk in the main room. As usual, his bunk would be the
 28one in the back room at the back of the house. Once again he found
 29himself at the back of it all in the most uncomfortable place and
 30anything he said about it would go unnoticed and uncared about.
 31Needing fresh air to clear his head and most importantly, his
 32churning stomach of suppressed oral violence which was nearing
 33critical mass, Luke ventured outside, alone. He knew this trip
 34would be bad and the start was proving it.
 35
 36
 37
 38Behind the cabin was a trail. Dreary and barren, this trail had
 39seen no visitors all year. Vines grew across its misshapen
 40cobblestones. He tried to skip as children do, but the uneven
 41stones reached up to trip him. Even the ground he walked on tried
 42to make his life miserable. Luke pressed on.
 43
 44
 45
 46At the end of the trail, which led from the house to the lake, a
 47dock that rivaled an elderly woman's wrinkled and cracked
 48skin wound its way above the lake's depths. No one knew the
 49origins of the dock, but it had endured every frigid winter and
 50every scorching summer since its birth. Neglected and uncared
 51without a repairman's hands to repair it, the dock barely
 52held together with each board twisting and splintering.
 53
 54
 55
 56Creeping like a silent cat on the hunt for its prey, Luke crept
 57onto the dock. Engulfed in the mist of the lake which surrounded
 58him like a funeral curtain, he made his way to the end where he sat
 59on the end of the dock and put his feet into the water. The
 60coolness felt good to him and made his stomach settle and no more
 61churn like a vile popcorn machine ready to spew forth a vomit of
 62undigested cheese and crackers that was his only meal for the
 63day.
 64
 65
 66
 67Peering into the waters, Luke was surprised at the stillness and
 68the clearness of the lake. As the cruel world spun around him, he
 69could see through the very depths to the bottom which shimmered. He
 70could see his reflection coming in and out of shape. As he stared,
 71it seems time froze and the world stopped turning. His face became
 72without a shape and disappeared entirely. The faces of his siblings
 73floated by instead, pushing him out of the way. Then after that,
 74the faces of his parents, who never listened or cared for their
 75youngest child mocked him in his place.
 76
 77
 78
 79Feeling colder than ever before, Luke felt a fiery fury explode in
 80his blood boiling heart. His mind spun deeper and darker than the
 81largest tornados in Kansas. His eyes bulged, each vain throbbing
 82and pumping their purple liquid to increase his vision. The real
 83picture began to form. This lake was a mirror, a portal, a crystal
 84ball to show his life, show his future.
 85
 86
 87
 88The water's blue gave way to rust as each body flowed by
 89while blood drained from within. ``This is my life'',
 90Luke realized, ``this is my work. Whoever won't listen,
 91whoever won't get out of the way, this is where I must put
 92them, this is where they will pay''.
 93
 94
 95
 96Snapping awake, Luke glared at his aged reflection in the window
 97lighted by the moonlight in the night sky. His thoughts settled as
 98his memory cleared and the pain rose burning and bright like the
 99devouring flares of the Sun.
100
101``No!! This was not me!!''
102
103
104
105``You did this, Horace Manslasher. You took my family that day while
106I was at the dock and no one would join me. Now I'm coming
107for you.'' 
108 
109
110
111