The Waters Edge

Jimmie and Ritchie Little are brothers, Jimmie is twelve and Ritchie is eleven born only a year apart the two young siblings have always been as close as two young brothers could possibly be. Their family moved to Jasper County just seven months ago to the Northridge housing development, they live one mile from the west side of Junction 35, and Although they are still relatively new to the area, they have heard others speak of the local legends, of a lake hidden back in the woods up on the hillside, across the haunted stretch of highway called Crows Crossing Road. The stories have it that the lake itself is haunted as well, by the ghosts of people that disappeared into its murky waters to never again be seen, the two Little brothers, have heard stories of another type regarding Lunar Lake as well, fish stories, big enough to make two curious young boys more than willing to tempt fate. it is early in the morning, and they are almost all of the way through the two mile path that leads to the Lake. Almost to the edge young Ritchie sees the fog rolling around the water, and almost immediately he begins to think about the stories that they were told.. About two other boys almost the same age, that went fishing on one cold foggy morning and were never seen again, they too were there against their parents wishes, they too even back in nineteen forty nine, didn’t believe in the stories. Jimmie reassures him that they are going to catch the biggest fish either of them had ever seen.. Neither of them wonder about the curious way the fog seems to separate to almost magically reveal a dock that goes out over the murky water for at least fifty five feet, they don’t even think twice as the young brothers slowly follow it to the edge of Lunar Lake..



They get almost all of the way to the end of the dock when they hear out in the fog what they think is a big fish splashing about twenty yards out, immediately all fears disappear at the prospect of catching a whopper, and now giggling, the two boys feverishly begin to unpack their gear with hooks bait both make a great first cast and are now sitting at the end of the dock, young Ritchie innocently has both feet dangling inches above the water, seconds later they can both hear something stirring in the water beneath them. Jimmie immediately feels that it is no longer safe. “Ritchie.. Get your feet up here now.” the younger brother looks puzzled but has no time to react when something in the cold icy waters grabs him by the ankle and tries to pull him into the Lake, he screams for his older brother and Jimmy Sees him being drug into the water and reaches out to grab hold of his brother with all of his might he pulls against the unseen enemy for what seems like hours, until finally Ritchie’s shoe comes loose, forcing it to release his ankle, now crying the boys both jump to their feet and on a dead run head to the end of the dock and soon find themselves back in the woods running towards Crows Crossing Road, at the roads edge, something odd catches Ritchie’s eye and he stops running in almost amazement to look at it, “What??” Jimmy asks him.. “What is it Ritchie?” they both look down and there on the edge of the road is Ritchie’s missing shoe, that only moments ago was pulled off of his foot and into Lunar Lake. They both look around to see if anything followed them from the woods, but all that they see is a lone single Crow that sits perched on a road sign. it cocks its head slightly to one side and studies the young boys as they turn and head for home, it raises its wings against the foggy morning sky, and as its body ascends into the cold morning air, it soon disappears from sight.


Scratch. A.B.T. copyright© 2006