My mother was fired from her job last week, so we had to move away from the city to a smaller town. She found a new job in a small town called Dickinson, up in North Dakota. We packed up all our things, which wasn’t much, and made the long trip to our new home. I didn’t mind moving and having a fresh start.
Yeah, I’d have to leave the city and the school I was already going to, but it’s not like I had any friends there to begin with. Maybe this time will be different. We made it to our new home, a small place in a quiet neighborhood. The house was a nice, comfortable place. Better than our old apartment in the city.
My mom was too busy and stressed to make her and I dinner tonight, so I just made a quick PB and J, my favorite. I headed to bed earlier than normal, I just wanted to get some rest from the long drive, and for my long day tomorrow. Because I start a whole new life tomorrow at a new school, in a new town.
I woke up early in the morning to get ready for my first day of school. I noticed that my mom was already gone, she probably already left for work. She never really told me about this new job she got, other than that it paid well and was hiring, so I didn’t really question it. I showered, got dressed, had some fruity pebbles for breakfast, and started my walk to the new school.
The school wasn’t that far from our new home, and I’m assuming that’s why my mom chose this place. She’d be too busy to take me to school so walking would be the best bet. I began my journey to the school, which was about a mile away, so it wouldn’t be too bad. I’d get a little bit of exercise in.
On my walk, I noticed a girl about my age wearing a backpack on the other side of the street, presumably heading to school as well. The girl had long, wavy black hair, and seemed to be purposely walking slowly, maybe to avoid getting to class too early? I had passed by other students on my walk, but for some reason she seemed to stand out to me. Maybe it was her looks, or perhaps maybe something more.
I made it to the school and tried my best not to stand out. It had always been hard for me to make friends, maybe this was the reason why. I got to my first class a few minutes before the first bell rang and made my way to an empty seat in the back of the room. Not trying to stand out and all. I didn’t realize it at first, but I sat right next to that same girl from earlier. Being more up close, I was able to see more of her features.
She had freckles across her face, a button nose, and what stood out the most was her dark, brown eyes as she looked at me. She seemed nice, though I’m a pretty shy guy. However, for some reason I felt like I could talk to her. And I wanted to, but she beat me to it.
Girl: You’re new here, aren’t you?
Kyle: Yeah, this is my first full day here. Moved here just yesterday.
Girl: What brought you here to this town?
Kyle: My mom lost her old job, and found a pretty good job here, so we were able to make a move to this place.
Girl: There aren’t many open jobs in this town. I’m surprised your mom managed to find one so quickly.
Kyle: Yeah, me too.
Girl: So, what’s your name?
Kyle: My name’s Kyle, and you?
Girl: Nice to meet you, Kyle. My name’s Eryn.
Kyle: Likewise
We spoke for a little while longer until class began. Although, she didn’t really say much. She seemed like she wanted to say so much to me, to speak her mind to me, but she stayed rather reserved. That first class was the only class I had with Eryn, so I’d have to wait a bit to see her again, and to know more about her. The lunch bell rang, and I headed towards the cafeteria, grabbed my lunch and sat down at the farthest, most empty table I could find. Sure enough, Eryn was sitting at that exact table. I sat next to her and greeted her.
Kyle: Hey Eryn, how has your day been so far?
Eryn: Eh, not too bad. You?
Kyle: That’s cool, mine’s been hectic, trying to get used to my classes and all. So uh, I was thinking, since I’m new to this town, maybe you could show me around sometime?
She paused for a moment but replied with an almost trembling voice.
Eryn: Sure
Kyle: Great! I can’t wait to adventure more around this town and to learn more about it.
We proceeded to finish our lunch, rather, I ate my lunch, and she didn’t. She seemed out of it and dozed off quite a bit. She looked very sad, like something had happened. I didn’t want to disturb her, so I didn’t say anything.
I finished my classes and waited around the front of the school to see if I could find Eryn walking out of the campus. I never saw her. Maybe I had missed her, or maybe she left from the back of the school. I waited for maybe five or ten minutes until I decided to head home. On my way home, I had the thought that I might end up passing her on the street, the same way I had done earlier this morning. But that never happened.
I made it home and found the house empty. Quiet, and with no lights on, the way I left it this morning. Must mean mom wasn’t home yet. She told me she’d be working longer hours, and late nights to afford our new home. I just hope she wasn’t too stressed. Maybe I should find a part-time job to help, even though I’m busy with high school.
I watched some shows and played some video games. I must’ve been playing Skyrim for like three hours, because it began to get dark outside. I heard a car enter our driveway and I looked out my window, it was mom’s car. I got up and headed to the front door to greet her, but she seemed extremely exhausted. My mother is a strong woman, both physically and mentally, and I’ve never really seen her like this before.
She hugged me, and said she was going to head to bed. I asked if she wanted me to make her some food, she thanked me but said that she had already eaten. She said goodnight, and walked to her room and closed the door. I decided to do the same, right after I made myself a sandwich for dinner. After I ate, I headed to my room and went to bed.
In the morning, I went through my same routine of showering, getting dressed, having a bowl of cereal, and then walking to school. This time, however, I did not see Eryn on my path to school. This was only my second day of classes, and I had only met the girl, but I couldn’t help but feel worried.
I made it to my first class of the day and sat down at the same seat I had before. Only this time, Eryn wasn’t there. Did she skip school? Was she sick? Now I was getting just a bit more worried. As I was pondering these thoughts, a person walked into our class, saying that our teacher Mr. Smith had become ill. They said that he wouldn’t be teaching here anymore and that they would be taking over from now on in that class. I thought it odd but shrugged it off.
I made my way through the day and finally the lunch bell rang. I was hoping to see Eryn sitting at the same lunch table, the same as before. And sure enough, there she was, sitting at the table alone, in the back of the cafeteria. I sat next to her with my lunch and asked why she wasn’t in the classroom today.
Eryn: Sorry, something came up and it made me late to school today.
Kyle: No worries! Is- Is everything alright?
Eryn: Yeah, everything is fine, thanks. Did I miss anything?
Kyle: Not much academic wise, but something weird did happen. Mr. Smith apparently became ill and now we have a new teacher. Not even the second day of classes and we have a new teacher.
Eryn: Did they say what he was ill with, or why he was ill?
Kyle: Um, no, they didn’t really give any reason, or really any information at that. Why, do you know something?
Eryn: No, just curious.
Kyle: I am too.
I finished my lunch, and once again, Eryn didn’t touch her food. She might as well not even grab any food if she’s not going to eat it. Regardless, we conversed for a bit until the bell rang for our next classes. I told her I’d see her later and waved. She gave me a forced smile and walked the other way.
After classes ended, I decided to wait for her outside the school again on the off chance that I see her come out. And to no surprise, the same thing happened. I didn’t see her come out. While I was waiting, I received a text from an unknown number.
The text read: “Meet me at the park near the school in 1 hour. - E”
Who was this from? Was “E” meant to be Eryn? If so, how did she get my number, and why does she want to meet at the park? I just figured that she wanted to finally show me around the town. And as for my number, I thought that I must’ve given her my number and just forgot about it.
I made my way home, and waited for about an hour, then made my way to the park near the school as instructed. Sure enough, there she was. Eryn was sitting on one of the swings, swinging back and forth. She seemed sadder than before and it concerned me. I walked over and sat on the swing directly next to her.
Kyle: Hey, what’s up?
Eryn: Hi Kyle.
Kyle: So, why’d you bring me here?
She paused for a moment, before saying:
Have you heard of The Drowned Soul, Kyle?
Kyle: The Drowned Soul? No, never heard of it. What’s that?
Eryn: I kind of figured you wouldn’t know about it, hell, even many of the locals try to ignore it.
Kyle: So, what is it?
Eryn: Listen, I’m only telling you this because you were kind to me, and I feel like you’re the first friend I’ve really had. Let me first tell you about a rumor in this town that is making people disappear. I heard this story from this town’s sheriff, named Sheriff Mike, when I was looking into my brother’s disappearance. Years ago, around the late 80’s, a man by the name of Oliver Whitaker once lived in this town. He was around the same age as us when he was bullied by his fellow classmates for his appearance.
People say that he had pale skin, patchy black hair, and a condition that made him smile, constantly. Because he looked different from the rest, a group of young men and women would often call Oliver names, knock over his books, and even throw eggs and other things at him. The teachers never batted an eye, nor the parents of these bullies because, deep down, they too were horrified by that boy’s appearance.
One night, during Oliver’s senior year of high school, he was walking home from one of the school’s football games. It was a cold Friday night, and Oliver was alone. A group of boys followed Oliver until they knew no other person was looking. They ran up to him, and practically kidnapped Oliver. They tied him up and put tape over his mouth. They put him in the back of a bright red truck, and while doing this, they called him names like “freak” and “demon boy.” They said more things like he should have never been born. Oliver was in tears, crying for his life.
They drove to a secluded lake called Shadowmere Lake and parked their truck. These boys were the true devils for what they were about to do. They dragged poor Oliver towards the water, all the while tying his feet to a set of lifting weights. Oliver screamed and pleaded with them to let him go, for he didn’t know what he had done wrong. His screams were drowned out by the tape over his mouth.
The group of boys pulled his struggling body into the water and onto a small fishing boat. They oared the boat far into the lake, far enough so that the depth would be low. They finally tossed the tied-up Oliver into the cold depths of Shadowmere Lake with the weights pulling him deeper, and deeper into the dark water under the full moon. These boys had no remorse for what they did and never got caught. That is, because something caught them first.
Some people say that Shadowmere Lake has… powers, and those same people might be right. A few days after Oliver went “missing,” two out of the four boys that kidnapped Oliver, Tyler and Jake, also went missing. One of the boys was never identified, and the fourth boy, named Freddy, went crazy.
He confessed to everything that happened that night with Oliver but didn’t say anything about the other three boy’s disappearances. But what he did say, is that he saw him. He saw him, he saw him, he saw him. When they asked Freddy what he meant, he only said one word, Oliver. He’s been kept in an insane asylum ever since. Since that day, it’s been rumored that Oliver came back to haunt this town as The Drowned Soul.
Kyle: Jesus, I hope that story isn’t real.
Eryn: It is real, I know it is.
Kyle: How do you know?
Eryn: I don’t really tell people this, but I feel like I can trust you. I saw The Drowned Soul, or as you might know now, Oliver. I saw him the night my brother Ethan and his girlfriend Ava went missing.
Kyle: Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know that.
Eryn: It’s fine, thank you. On the night that my brother went missing, about a year ago, I received a text from him. He said that he was sorry, and that he loved me. I had asked him what he meant, but he didn’t reply. In my panic and concern, I rushed over to his house on my bike as quickly as I could.
We only lived about a mile or two away, so I got there fast. When I arrived, I saw that the door to Ethan’s house was busted open. Almost like it was forcefully pushed open from the outside. I was even more panicked. I slowly walked into the house, calling out his and Ava’s name. But I didn’t get any replies. But what I did hear was a quiet, hellish laughter coming from Ethan’s room. I called out his name once more, only to find that the laughter subsided. I peeked into the room, only to see a humanoid figure, standing in the room.
It looked up at me with a terrifyingly curious smile patched onto its face. It had pale gray skin, with pitch black eyes that stared directly into my soul. Worst of all, its hellish smile had water dripping from its mouth as it gazed upon me. I was frozen and couldn’t move in the sheer terror of it all. That thing, no, Oliver walked towards me and chuckled. It passed me, and walked out of the house, never to be seen again. All I could do was cry in fear.
They never found my brother, nor his girlfriend’s bodies, much like the bullies that went missing.
Kyle: I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry, Eryn.
I hugged her, with a gentle, yet genuine hug. I felt that she needed some comfort because I noticed some tears falling from her eyes.
Kyle: I believe you. You’re one of the first friends I’ve ever had too.
Eryn: Thank you, Kyle. And thank you for believing me. The cops and my parents don’t believe my story. They all thought I was crazy and making it up. But I knew what really happened to my brother, his girlfriend, and those other boys back then.
We sat in silence for a little bit, mainly because I was still processing all the information that I had just received from Eryn.
Kyle: Thank you for sharing your story with me. Do you think that it’s possible to get your brother, and the others back from this… Drowned Soul guy?
Eryn: To be honest with you, I have no idea. But I want to try, and I don’t want to be alone. Kyle, will you help me? I want to find my brother, and I want to take down that damn monster.
I hesitated for a moment, but Eryn had a cry for help that I did not feel comfortable letting go of. I wanted to help her; I feel like I needed to help her because… no one else would.
Kyle: I’ll do it. I’ll help you find your brother, and I’ll sure as hell try my best to take down Oliver.
Eryn: Thank you.
Kyle: Of course.
Eryn: No really, thank you. I really appreciate it.
She hugged me, and I felt her warm embrace of kindness. But I could feel her trembling in fear of that, that thing that took her brother from her. I don’t know how to explain why I wanted to help her; I just did. I could be home right now, playing some more Skyrim, or watching some shows, but no, I wanted to be here, in this moment, right now.
Maybe it’s because I’m a good person, maybe I caught feelings for Eryn in the short time I’ve known her, or maybe there’s more to it. It doesn’t matter now. All that matters is getting her brother back and taking down The Drowned Soul.
I went to bed that night feeling like I had a purpose. A purpose I had not felt in a long time. Not since I was on a team during my grade school youth basketball days. Back then, I had reason to get better, I wanted to be in the NBA like so many others but, that obviously wasn’t going to happen. Anyways, I decided to go to bed…
bang bang bang
Kyle: H-Hello? Mom?
I woke up to the sound of banging in the house. I looked at the clock and it read 3:00 A.M. Who would be trying to get our attention so late at night? What could they want? I got up, and the banging on the front door continued. I passed by my mom’s bedroom and noticed her door was open, and the room was completely empty. No trace of her ever living there. I was confused in my tired state but decided to continue forward towards the front door.
As I approached the door, the banging stopped, almost as if whoever was out there knew I was coming. I checked the door’s peephole and to my shock, I saw nothing. No one was outside. I was even more confused than before but decided to walk back to my room.
As I approached my room, the banging continued from which it had disappeared from. I was starting to get annoyed, thinking some high school classmates were being dicks. So, I rushed over to the front door, but before I even got about ten steps away, the door swung right open, and before my eyes was a tall figure, dressed in all black. Its skin was pale gray with pitch black eyes and a smile drawn across its face stretching from ear to ear with water flowing out of its mouth. I froze up in sheer terror. I don’t know why I froze, but I did.
This monster was exactly like how Eryn described it. This was it, this was Oliver, The Drowned Soul. It began running towards me and screamed a hellish roar that almost burst my eardrums. I wanted to curl up into a ball, but I was stuck standing, facing towards this, this thing. It swung one of its arms out at me, and I thought that I was as good as dead. As its arm got closer, I noticed that it had razor sharp fingernails, which one of them slashed out at me as this monster’s roar continued, and then I-
-I woke up. I was sweating profusely. Did I just have a nightmare? But it felt so real, I truly believed I was about to die. I looked at the clock and it read 7:14 A.M. It was the morning, and I had to get ready for school. I rationalized it to truly be a dream, until I noticed it. Pain in my chest. I lifted my shirt and to my horror, I noticed a cut running across my chest, which looked to be caused by a sharp fingernail. Was I hallucinating this mark? I decided to forget about it for now and got ready for school.
On my way to school, I saw Eryn. She was walking the same path that she had done the first day I met her. I sped up my pace to catch up to her, because this time she was walking with what seemed to be fear. As I approached her, she jolted around in fear. Her senses must’ve been on high alert for me to scare her like that.
Kyle: Is everything okay?
Eryn: No, nothing is okay.
She stopped walking, and as did I. She was holding on to her chest, with a look of pain. I thought it was a complete shot in the dark, but I still asked her anyway.
Kyle: Did you have a nightmare last night?
She seemed to be startled by this question.
Eryn: How did you-
Kyle: I had a nightmare too. It was of The Drowned Soul, and he gave me the scar.
I showed her my scar from my dream to prove myself. Although she probably would have believed me anyway.
Eryn: If Oliver is targeting us, we need to do something about it.
Kyle: I know.
Eryn: Let’s skip school today. We need the time to figure out what is going on and how we can stop it for good.
Kyle: You really want to skip school? This is my third day, and I-
Eryn: Oliver knows that we’re trying to hunt him down and he’s trying to torment us, the way he tormented my brother and the others. We must do something about it right now or it will be too late for us Kyle. You told me you wanted to help. You said you believe in me.
Kyle: I-
I remembered what I had said to her just the night before, and the same feelings came rushing back to me. I had the urge to help her. But now, because of my dream last night, it’s more than just helping her, I need to stop this thing haunting us for my sake as well.
Kyle: You’re right. We need to stop this thing before it’s too late. Okay, let’s go.
We agreed to check out the library first to read up on as much as we could about what the town knows about The Drowned Soul. Plus, one of the librarians there, Mrs. Parker, was a historian who might be able to help us. We made our way to the library and walked in. It was a relatively small library and didn’t have many people inside at this time. Which makes sense since it was a Wednesday morning. We made our way to the “Dickinson Historical Section” that had all accounts of this town’s history and past endeavors, many of which fascinated me.
I found it kind of funny that Eryn was, in a way, finally showing me around the town like I had originally wanted her to when I first met her. This thought was short lived when a woman approached us, practically giving both of us a heart attack with how quiet she walked. She began speaking to us both in a quiet yet powerful voice.
Mrs. Parker: Are you both finding the books you’re looking for?
Kyle: Y-Yes, we are, thank you.
Eryn: Y-Yup! We are.
Mrs. Parker: Hey lady, you look rather familiar. Do I recognize you from somewhere?
Eryn: I don’t think so, no.
Eryn chuckled quietly.
Mrs. Parker: Oh, must just be me then. Anyways, I won’t ask what two high schoolers are doing at a library during school hours.
Eryn quickly made up a story for us.
Eryn: We’re both homeschooled.
Mrs. Parker: Oh, homeschoolers! Ya know, I was a homeschool student for a few years back when I was in high school. Mainly because this one classmate always stared at me in class, and it gave me the creeps. I think his name was, um, Ollie, or Olivia, maybe Ol-
Eryn: Oliver!?!
Eryn practically jumped out of her shoes saying his name.
Mrs. Parker: Yeah Oliver! That’s the one! Why, did you know him?
Eryn: Well, not really no. I think my brother did though. But I’m glad you brought him up because that’s why we’re here.
Mrs. Parker: Oh, is it now?
Kyle: Yeah, we wanted to see if we could learn more about his disappearance, for our, um, our-
Eryn: School project! We have a school project about Dickinson’s history, and we thought we could pay homage to Oliver by making our project about him!
Mrs. Parker: I see, well I don’t know much about him, or his disappearance. And frankly, I really don’t want to. However, I can point you in the right direction.
She proceeded to grab a few books and documents from the Dickinson History section.
Mrs. Parker: Here ya go! Practically everything we have on Oliver and his mysterious unsolved case. Although I will say this, we did have a classified document in the back about a year ago and some shady looking men came in here asking for it. I only gave up the document because Sheriff Mike was with them.
Kyle: Sheriff Mike?
Mrs. Parker: Yeah, Sheriff Mike. Don’t know him?
Eryn: Kyle is quite new to this town so he’s still learning things like that.
Mrs. Parker: Oh, this might help you guys with your little, “investigation.” You know your teacher Mr. Smith and how he’s come ill?
Kyle: Yeah.
Mrs. Parker: Well, I was at the bar the other day and saw Mrs. Smith, your teacher’s wife, drinking alone. She seemed to be completely drunk and came over to me. She said a lot of information that I probably shouldn’t share, but she did say one thing. Something that has been weighing down on my conscience ever since she told me. She said that Mr. Smith was not ill and was not missing either. She didn’t give too much detail on it, but rather avoided any other questions I asked her when I tried to pry for more info.
Eryn: What? Really? So, you don’t know where he is, but he’s not ill?
Mrs. Parker: That’s exactly right. Now, you can’t tell this to anyone… like ever, okay? The only reason I told you guys this is because I can’t keep this information in my head any longer, and… I might be a little bit drunk myself…
We both stood there in confusion but was thankful that she gave us this useful information about our teacher.
Mrs. Parker: Well, okay then. I better get back to my duties here, I hope you both find what you’re looking for. Oh and, take my advice…
Mrs. Parker began to lean towards us and with a soft whisper that had a hint of bourbon in it, and said:
Don’t dig too deep, okay?
Mrs. Parker rushed away and went back to the front desk of the library as she had heard the sliding entrance doors to the building, presumably another patron. We decided to find a table and look through all the information that was in front of us. We skimmed through a few documents and texts that had some information about the many disappearances that have occurred in this town, including Ethan’s. This made Eryn feel a bit nauseous, so she decided to run to the bathroom. I decided to continue our investigation looking through more of the content that was before me.
As I was reading these documents, I heard a man’s voice. He sounded like he had an almost southern accent.
Man: I’m looking for two teenagers who apparently skipped class. Know anythin’ about it?
He startled me, which made me turn around. I noticed that this man was wearing a wide-brimmed hat. He was tall and had on large boots and a large belt that holstered a gun. He also wore a radio communicator on his chest and sat next to it was a badge that read “Sheriff.” This must’ve been Sheriff Mike that the Mrs. Parker was talking about before.
Sheriff Mike: Matter of fact, you fit the exact description of one of those exact students. Mind tellin’ me your name?
I hesitated, but it seemed he already knew the answer to his own question.
Kyle: My name’s Kyle, Sheriff sir.
Sheriff Mike: No need for the formality, Kyle. You can just call me Mike. I just wanted to make sure you kids weren’t out doin’ no drugs or somethin’ like that.
Kyle: No, there’s no drugs here sir, I-I mean Mike.
Mike: So, have you seen a young lady? Name’s Eryn, seen her?
Kyle: Uh… No, I-
Before I could even say anything to him, Eryn came back from where she had left.
Eryn: Dad? What are you doing here?
Mike: And what are you doin’ out of school right now? Skipping classes again?
Eryn: No dad, we were just-
And then she stopped.
Mike: Just what? Don’t tell me you’re looking into that whole Oliver shit again?
Eryn: I-I just-
He stopped. It seemed as if Eryn was about to cry. The Sheriff slowly walked towards her, knelt and put his hands on her shoulders. He said in a calm, whisper.
Mike: Listen… honey, Ethan is gone. It’s been a year already, just give it a rest, please.
Eryn stood back and pushed her father’s hands away from her.
Eryn: Why don’t you believe me, he’s out there dad! He’s lost somewhere, alone, why don’t you try. Why don’t you at least for one God damn time, try to find your damn son! Don’t you love him? Don’t you even care about him? You looked for maybe a few days for him but stopped. You gave up on him dad! You let your son, my brother, slip away! I hate you!
Eryn now had tears flowing from her eyes. She was clearly bottling up a lot of hurried emotions. Her father took a step forward and with solemn eyes, he said:
Mike: Honey, I stopped looking for him because… because we found him.
Eryn looked up at her father in shock. She looked like she had seen a ghost. Her skin looked pale, and her expression turned from sadness into betrayal.
Mike: We found his body, with the other two boys that took that young Oliver fellow out to the lake.
Even more shock arose on poor Eryn’s face after she had just heard the worst possible thing that she ever could. Her brother was dead, not missing, but dead. And Ethan was one of the four bullies who had drowned and killed Oliver Whitaker.
Mike: We buried your brother near Shadowmere Lake where no one would look, with the other two boys. We also never found a body for Mr. Whitaker. Nonetheless, we knew that if word got out that these boys were murderers, it would ruin their respected family reputations. He decided to say to the families, and the town, that the young boys went missing. But one of the group of four boys survived whatever had attacked them. And the damn brat snitched… Look, I’m sorry that I lied to you. I know that this is hard for you to hear, but you must understand that I did this for the family. If word got out that we faked these boy’s disappearance, I’d lose my job and so would the other deputies. I did this for our sake, for your sake honey. Honey? Please say somethin’ ple-
Eryn didn’t even wait for her father to finish his sentence. She bolted right past him, and out of the library with tears in her eyes. Sheriff Mike screamed out for her to stay here and to listen to him. She didn’t even turn to face him and ran out the sliding doors. Mike turned to me with sorrow filled eyes.
Mike: Please Kyle, speak of this to no one. Please, for your sake.
I couldn’t even say anything. I was so shocked at everything I had just heard. Mike walked towards the exit and out of the building with the intent to find his daughter. And I stood there in silence. It took me a few minutes to gain the courage to begin walking out of the library after I’d just seen and learned so much that I feel like I wasn’t supposed to. But nonetheless, I knew one thing for certain. I knew that I needed to find Eryn. I needed to make sure that she was safe and that she was okay. I knew that she needed someone, more than ever. I knew that she needed someone she trusted, and I just hoped that that person was me.
I knew that I had to look for her, and I did. I checked the school; I checked the pathway she walks on her way to school. I went all around the town. I even saw Sheriff Mike driving around the town in his police cruiser searching for Eryn as well. As he passed by me, he gave me a friendly nod, which I interpreted as a “Thank you for looking for her.”
It was getting late, the sun was beginning to set, and I had no idea where she would have run off to. But then, the answer hit me like a truck. I felt so stupid for not thinking about it before. Sheriff Mike mentioned that Ethan was buried near Shadowmere Lake. If I was here and I just learned that my brother had died and where he was located, I’d probably run off to his grave site as well. So, I decided to make my way to the lake.
I rode my bike for what must’ve been about five to ten miles until I came across an empty parking lot, all but one truck. This parking lot looked like no one had been there for years, yet here was an old, almost vintage style bright red truck. I passed the truck and made my way to a broken and rusted sign that led to a path into a small forest clearing full of trees. The sign was barely understandable, but I could make out that the sign read, “Shadowmere Lake.”
I rested my bike up against one of the poles holding up the sign. I didn’t even bother to chain it since I was in such a rush. I ran on the path and made my way through the trees, passing open areas that had broken wooden picnic tables that had lots of litter and debris around it. After about a five-minute walk, I finally made my way towards the end of the path. I saw the water that made up the so-called Shadowmere Lake. It was dark, and hard to see, only illuminated by the full moon’s light that reflected off the surface of the water.
Even though my vision wasn’t the best, I could see one thing, someone kneeling off in the distance near the left side of the lake. I decided to walk towards this person, and as I got closer and closer, I began to see more and more details. It was Eryn, thankfully still one piece. I didn’t approach her right away, instead I stayed about ten feet back. I softly spoke to her.
Kyle: Eryn?
Eryn: He lied to me. I spent so long searching for you, and dad knew, but he still lied to me. Why did he lie to me, Ethan?
Kyle: Ethan?
It wasn’t until now that I heard a second voice. Not mine or Eryn’s, but someone’s I did not recognize. It was raspy, and almost sounded muffled and drowned out. Although I didn’t know the voice, I knew one thing for sure; that voice was coming from the water in front of where Eryn was kneeling. The voice slurred its words as it spoke and said.
Ethan: Yesss… He lieeed to youuu…
Eryn: Why would he, Ethan? Why?
Ethan: He didn’t loveee youuu… but I dooo… joinnn me… I won’t everrr lieee to youuu.
Eryn began to stand up and walk towards the water. And in the water, I noticed a dark, terrifying horrific figure staring back at her. I knew that it was lying to her, tempting her to come into the water. I knew that I had to act now. I rushed over to where Eryn stood, but it was too late. The horrifying figure stood out from under the water and gave out a hellish roar. It was much bigger than when it was in my dream that night that felt like it was so long ago. It was standing at maybe eight feet tall. It still had the same features I remember; however, pale gray skin, black eyes, and of course its devilish smile.
It reached out its massive hand full of razor-sharp fingernails to grab Eryn. All the while Eryn screamed in fear, feeling regret that she was so easily manipulated by this creature. I ran at the thing with a pocketknife in hand and attempted my best effort at a rescue assault on it to save my only friend. I managed to lunge the knife into its chest while it was distracted with Eryn. It turned to look at me and laughed with its stretched mouth. It laughed in such a way that I’ve never felt so humiliated in my entire life. It grabbed me too in the same way it got her.
Eryn and I both screamed for help, pleading with the monster before us. But we both knew that thing that was once Oliver also pleaded for his life. Praying to be saved when no one came to help. This was revenge. It got the other boys, including Eryn’s brother, and that wasn’t enough for it. It wanted more, it wanted Eryn, I was just a byproduct. It continued to laugh as it walked us further and further into the depths of the water. But its laugh was shortly interrupted by the sound of a gunshot. A man with a powerful, yet recognizable voice screamed out:
“Get the hell away from my daughter!”
It was the Sheriff! He’d finally found his daughter and was here to save us. She shoots his gun at that thing two more times, and then again, until his gun was fully unloaded. Oliver dropped us into the water, and we swam and ran as quickly as we could back to the Sheriff. The monster screamed a hellish roar for one last time until it finally sunk into the cold water under the full moon from which he came.
Eryn ran over to her father, hugging him, and immediately apologizing to him for the things she said to him earlier. Sheriff Mike also apologized, saying that he was sorry for not telling his daughter the truth sooner. The Sheriff looked over at me and said:
Mike: Thank you for protecting my little girl. She’s all I got left.
Kyle: No, I should be thanking you. You saved our lives back there.
Mike: You’re welcome, but I sure as hell wasn’t letting that monster take another one of my kids again.
Eryn looked up, eyes full of tears and ran to me next. Practically knocking me to the ground as she lunged at me for a deep embrace of a hug.
Eryn: Thank you, Kyle. Thank you for believing in me.
As the sun rose over the lake, and night was finally over, we all knew that this story was far from over. Oliver survived death once before, and we know for damn sure he could do it again. At least now we know what we are fully dealing with.
The harrowing events of that night left an indelible mark on all of us. Eryn, Sheriff Mike, and I had experienced something beyond our comprehension, something that defied explanation. But despite the fear and trauma, we found solace in each other’s company. Eryn and I grew closer and bonded by our shared experiences and the determination to prevent such horrors from befalling our town again. In the days that followed, we focused on rebuilding our lives, albeit with a newfound vigilance.
Sheriff Mike initiated a thorough investigation into the events at Shadowmere Lake, determined to uncover any lingering traces of the monster that had plagued us. Meanwhile, Eryn and I leaned on each other for support. We had faced a nightmare, and it was far from over.
Together, we remained strong, watching over our town. And though the memory of that night burned into our memories, we refused to let fear consume us. We knew that if we stood together, united in our determination to protect our town, we would always find the strength to face whatever darkness may come our way.
I know that monster’s story now, and I do deep down feel bad for him. But if Oliver… no… if The Drowned Soul ever steps foot back in our town ever again, we’ll be there to stop him.