Categories > Original > Horror
Since he was young, Jacob was always comfortable around water. However, at age thirteen, he found something he wished he hadn’t. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the sight that stared back at him. How long had this black mass lived under the dock? How long was it going to lie on the shallow sandy shore?
Yesterday his siblings and cousins arrived at his grandparent’s lake house. This traditional summer vacation was supposed to be like all the ones that had preceded it: barbeque, fireworks, getting in fights with his sister, and swimming…no, not swimming. Not anymore. Jacob could never get back in the water again.
Jacob flinched slightly; the sound of the rest of the kids running towards him briefly snapped him out of his trance. The black shadowy mass that had lain dormant now darted its white pupil-less eyes towards the noise of the kids; only for a second before it once again looked back at Jacob. If it had a mouth, Jacob could feel it wry with a smile.
Jacob knew he had to warn the others, but his throat was taut with fear. They were getting closer. Jacob couldn’t warn them about the terrifying creature that lurked just beneath the dock; ready to lash out and pounce upon the first to enter the water. The children were almost upon him, but to his confusion, the monster wasn’t moving. Jacob realized that as long as he gazed upon the monster, the monster would not move.
Bravery, this was all Jacob needed. He was determined to muster up his courage to stay staring at the mon…ster. Suddenly, Jacob felt a large arm wrap around him as his feet left the hardwood of the dock. His elder cousin, Mike, had picked him up in a playful manner and was now running with him to the edge of the pier. A quick glance back at where Jacob had been looking told him all he needed to know. The monster had disappeared. A moment of weightlessness followed by a refreshingly cool splash told Jacob he was a goner.
Yesterday his siblings and cousins arrived at his grandparent’s lake house. This traditional summer vacation was supposed to be like all the ones that had preceded it: barbeque, fireworks, getting in fights with his sister, and swimming…no, not swimming. Not anymore. Jacob could never get back in the water again.
Jacob flinched slightly; the sound of the rest of the kids running towards him briefly snapped him out of his trance. The black shadowy mass that had lain dormant now darted its white pupil-less eyes towards the noise of the kids; only for a second before it once again looked back at Jacob. If it had a mouth, Jacob could feel it wry with a smile.
Jacob knew he had to warn the others, but his throat was taut with fear. They were getting closer. Jacob couldn’t warn them about the terrifying creature that lurked just beneath the dock; ready to lash out and pounce upon the first to enter the water. The children were almost upon him, but to his confusion, the monster wasn’t moving. Jacob realized that as long as he gazed upon the monster, the monster would not move.
Bravery, this was all Jacob needed. He was determined to muster up his courage to stay staring at the mon…ster. Suddenly, Jacob felt a large arm wrap around him as his feet left the hardwood of the dock. His elder cousin, Mike, had picked him up in a playful manner and was now running with him to the edge of the pier. A quick glance back at where Jacob had been looking told him all he needed to know. The monster had disappeared. A moment of weightlessness followed by a refreshingly cool splash told Jacob he was a goner.
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