Writing Prompt
Writings
Writings
VISUAL PROMPT
by Thomas Griesbeck @ Unsplash
'The Lake'. Write a crime, mystery, or horror story about what happened at this location.
Writings
The air smelled like a dying animal. That was the first thought that came to Rich as he stepped out of his smoking car. He stepped around and lifted the hood, his wife could see the cloud pour out both sides as her husband disappeared behind it.
“We’re stuck here until we get this fixed,” said Rich while rubbing smoke from his eyes.
“There was a house by that lake we passed a mile back, maybe they can help.”
There was nobody for miles, only the single house. The small town was a few miles ahead of them and so they took their chances with the lone building.
Rich walked up to what looked like an abandoned house. He knocked heavy on the wooden door. There was no response, he tried again after a few seconds.
“Shit, we’ll have to go to town,” he said turning to find his wife was no longer behind him. “Carter?” He stepped off of the porch and rounded the house to look towards the shed and pier in the back. Maybe she had found someone or something to help.
The shed was locked tight with what looked like an ancient padlock. One that had not been handled in a few years. He called her name again, no response. Looking around his surroundings, he noticed a wooden railing along the pier, something white blew like a flag from it.
It was a dirty rag that had been stained with what smelled like oil. Rich called for his wife again and pulled out his phone at the winds response. No signal still, he had that problem back at the car as well. They had not had a signal since reaching this remote town, it almost felt as if the place was disconnected from the rest of the world.
The smell was worse here, almost as if it radiated from the house. There was a warmth, an odd feeling he got from the building, like it was alive, breathing, and the lake water was it’s blood. His wife had disappeared, after they reached the house, she had to have found something, but why wouldn’t she say something?
He turned back towards the house, maybe she found a way in through the back and couldn’t get out. As he stepped along the pier, the boards creaked and water sloshed beneath him. A loud crack exploded from below as the boards he stepped on snapped. His leg broke through the old boards and hit the water. “Fuck.” He couldn’t help but to curse at the frustration. The water was freezing cold, and felt like fingers of ice grabbing ahold. That’s when something touched him, a fish or turtle maybe. Rich pulled his leg quickly from the broken pier and regained his balance.
He started towards the house after straining his pant leg free of most of the water. Then he heard a whisper.
It came from behind, the lake had said something that he couldn’t make out. Was he going insane? No, he definitely heard it. Rich walked back towards the water, taking caution and stepping over the board he had fallen through. It whispered again, he was not crazy. He looked along the horizon, the water stretched for a few miles and he could barely make out civilization on the other side, much too far to hear talking. The water was completely calm, there did not seem to be anything living within to cause waves, and nobody had boats that he could see. He looked deep into the water below him, and human eyes looked back.
Body parts, arms, legs, and eyes sat at the bottom, strapped to different things to keep them weighed down. Rich jumped back and fell on his bottom, kicking himself away from the lake’s edge. He scrambled to stand up and turn to run back towards the car, he had to get out of here. Then he ran face first into what felt like a metal wall, knocking him nearly to unconsciousness. A shovel had hit him. His head began throbbing, and a warm red dripped over his eye.
Running was no longer an option. The hit had knocked him into a state of confusion. Loud footsteps moved toward him as his vision began to coalesce. He had landed with his back against the boards, and looking towards the sky. The boots were closer, and the metal dragged behind them, seemingly bringing death towards him. Rich managed to roll himself onto his stomach just as his vision was normal again.
There she was, her head, floating in the water beneath him. He was now face first looking into the hole his leg had punctured in the pier. His wife was lifeless below him, floating in the water. She was the last thing he saw as the metal came crashing down on the back of his head.
I was with my friend, Este, sitting at Olive Garden, just like we do every Tuesday night. Catching up on the week we had. Este told me her husband was acting weird. I remember just what she told me. “That was not my lipstick on his mouth,” she said. “He bought jewellery via our joint account he never gave me” She thought it was infidelity. I said thought so too. So she was going to call him out.
Este wasn’t there. Tuesday night at Olive Garden. I waited. Long. Normally she’s there perfectly on time. Sometimes even early. But she wasn’t there that night. I heard she also didn’t show up at her job. She wasn’t seen anywhere.
Este’s husband, James, reports his missing wife. I saw him hanging up some posters around the neighbourhood. He was walking back home. I followed him, suspicious he did something. When we reached his house, I noticed his car had some brand new tires. “I’m going to slash his tires when I get him,” I remember Este said that night. He must’ve changed them already. I tried to look through their window, trying to find Este. I saw her upstairs, but it wasn’t her. It was another woman. His mistress. I had no doubt. Somebody’s got to catch him now.
“I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it,” I told Este’s sister. Hoping she’d help me. Ofcourse she did. She loved her sister.
We came up with a plan. “Didn’t your father make you get a boating license when you were fifteen?” Este’s sister asked me. He did. It’s a good thing he did. I’ve cleaned enough houses to know how to cover up a scene. “You’ll tell them I was with you, right?” I asked her. “You bet I will” She promised me.
And here I am. Standing on a wooden boat in the middle of the lake. A plastic body beside me. Wondering how this all happened in a week. His mistress already reported him missing to the police. Este’s sister is going to cover me. I throw the plastic into the black liquid. The moon reflecting bright over it. His mistress is panicking all over the place. Being not so surprisingly more worried than her beloved boyfriend was when Este went missing.
She thinks I did it, but she just can’t prove it.
Alone on the docks Sits an old man Who never talks Don’t know if he can No one knows his story Except the dead And the guilty That’s what they said __ __ I know his story. And I sit next to him every day. I cry when he cries. He cries over his sister and I cry over his sadness. I know her story. She loved to listen to music on the docks. She was the first to drown. As she was held under the water, the last thing she thought of was her brother. I know their story. Outside playing games until they got called inside for dinner. Laughing just a little to loud past bedtime and getting told to go to sleep, there is school in the morning after all. Running ahead when the dog is being walked, acting out stories. Then they grew up and drifted apart. And then it all ended to fast, and he regretted ignoring her for his friends. I know the story of right now. Her brother has grown old, while she remains forever young, a ghost who can’t let go of him. Who sits next to him every day, crying when he cries.
Alone, Alexander sat on the sad, rickety dock, his head bowed like an angel’s and his feet dangling off the edge. Cold water settled between the spaces of his toes, turning his soft skin to prunes and causing his knees to shake from the chill. Anxious clouds churned above him; threatening a storm.
He shivered.
Deep water had never been a problem for him—in fact, he would even say it was a bit of a comfort. His father was a fisherman, and his father before him, so it was routine for him to help out on the boat. But something about this specific lake put him on edge. Whether it was the way the water stood still like glass despite the wind, or the way the black depths seemed to glare up at him, he couldn’t be sure, but whatever it was, it sent an uncanny chill down his spine that made his mind scream for him to run.
There was a tug on his ankle.
Alexander froze, eyes wide and quivering. For a split second, everything was still and silent and he could almost pretend that the grip on his leg was nothing but a plant or a trick of the mind. And then he was pulled beneath the water.
Shocking and frostbitten, it swallowed him in an instant. Soaking through his clothes, filling his ears and nose and open mouth. Surface, he thought, he needed to get to the surface. But as he flailed his arms and legs he realized that there was none. The ghastly water had no end, no up or down, and there was no way for anyone to hear my screams as I frantically searched for a way out.
I should be dead by now.
However long I’ve been swimming in this frigid lake, it must be longer than a human can possibly survive underwater. It’s been long enough that I’ve gotten long and thin, scaly and green, snakelike. I can wrap my mangled body all around the circumference, licking the algae off sunken and rotting logs, creating rocking waves with the movements of my elongated spine.
It doesn’t scare me, this monster I’ve become. And that, I think, is precisely the reason why I’m so afraid.
I‘ve never thought I would ever return to this place. It was excactly how I remembered it, nothing had changed and the only indication of the passed time, were the weathered wooden planks and chipped off paint from the metal ladder at the end of the short jetty. It was late afternoon and the clouds made the day darker than usual. But my memories of a sunny summer spent at the lake weren‘t fading a bit. Exciting times those days - character defining days. Without thinking I had walked to the tenth plank on the right side and got down to touch it. And I could‘ve sworn the wood was still slightly tinted in this red hue. And suddenly I could smell it again - copper, sweet copper. And I could feel his grip on my arm while I turned the knife in his lower abdomen. And I saw all the emotions in his eyes. Surprise, shock and utter despair. The soft sound leaving his mouth. And the feeling of pride filling my chest once I pushed him back and he hit the calm surface of the water. He had been my first. And it was still the sweetest.
The lake is cold, slimy, and filthy.
You stand at the edge of the dock on a bleak cloudy day, looking out over the thick murky water.
Something isn’t right with this lake. It almost looks like it’s _breathing. _
The fog swirling over the surface. The forest on the other side beckoning you to run across the water to join the shadows.
You catch yourself from falling forward over the edge. You only came out here to check for your dog, but you can’t see or hear her anywhere. You turn in a circle on the dock and call for her.
You hear a faint bark echoing across the lake. You look across the lake and see your dog, standing at the edge of the dark forest on the other side. Her silhouette is wagging her tail. She wants you to follow her.
You don’t intend to jump in the lake of course, but you don’t know how you will get your dog to come back. You call her to come, but she just barks in reply and wags her tail.
You notice a little canoe on the shore close to you, and you decide to have a little adventure. You’ve never used a canoe before, but how hard could it be?
You pull the canoe over to the dock, and get in. There’s a paddle inside. When the paddle is thrust through the water, it feels like pushing through slightly congealed jello. You keep paddling, but the conoe isn’t moving very fast.
Your dog is looking a bit bigger now. She isn’t wagging her tail. Her shadows seem longer.
A splash of dark sludge in your canoe. The canoe is sinking, being pulled bellow. You try to use the paddle to come back to shore.
Your dog is coming to save you… running across the water? No, _slithering _across the water. The fog around you thickens. You can’t really see anything anymore. Something cold and wet touches your feet. There’s nowhere you can go… suffocating… petrifying… calm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A couple hours pass and a hiker walks onto the dock. He looks out over the cold lake and marvels at how beautifully the sun reflects off of the water. The forest on the other side is perfectly green and frames the lake in a pretty way.
He notices a little canoe floating around in the middle of it. There’s no one in it, and the paddle is bobbing a few feet away. He walks off the dock and sees a pair of shoes placed on the shore. He wonders who’s canoe and who’s shoes these are, but he doesn’t have time to wonder. He appreciates the mistical wonder of this sunny lake. He takes one more look at the beautiful picture nature has painted, and walks off on the trail.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As he walks off, you watch him go with a little longing. You wish he would stay longer. The hiker brought a sense a familiarity to you.
You wonder why he didn’t notice you looking at him from everywhere… watching… waiting… craving…
You wish he had noticed you, for you feel so lonely…
Author thought this day was different then any other, though he tried to begin it the same way. His wife has gone on a business trip off to the coast and wasn’t coming back for around a month.
Around noon, he sat out on his porch with a steaming cup of coffee in his right hand. He sat and looked out to the large pond in his back yard. He swirled the coffee in his hand as he thought on what could make this day different from any other.
Perhaps he could go bowling or to the bar. Or perhaps he could even run a mile. Before he thought of anything else, Jenny walked over to him from next door. “Mr Malacry, how are you?” She asked, her eyes glancing into his for only a moment. “I’m doing well, how are you Jenny?” Author asked in response. “Not to well actually, my husband’s gone missing” And this was the time that Author knew it was not a normal day. When the movies he watched became reality.
The lake was our vacation spot. We would go camping here every summer with the family. I remember the time when you tried setting up the tent and you just needed one last knot and down it came because of the wind. We couldn’t stop laughing at you scram inside trying to escape. It was always such an amazing time being out here with you. We would wake board, fish, throw rocks and just be ourselves. The last time we were here, I can help but wonder why you decided to end it all. Everything was going great, or so I thought. You were about to marry Katie later that fall. You had a baby on the way and amazing career that could have supported two families if you needed. I just don’t understand why. I still cry myself to sleep at times picturing how I found you. I woke up and couldn’t find you, thinking you went to grab a few more cases of drinks for the evening, I went for a morning swim. I accidentally kicked your head when swimming out. I didn’t know if was your head at the time, when I looked down, I saw you floating, motionless with your arms floating by your side. Your hair looked so sleek like it was floating in epoxy resin. Completely thrown from I what I saw, I forgot that you were actually under water. I panicked and tried grabbing to pull you up, but I couldn’t. The weight of the stone you picked was holding you down by your ankles. I resurfaced and called the authorities. I sat there crying knowing I wouldn’t be able to talk to you again. All those summers we had together talking about the girls we dated and the crazy night we had, gone. Katie no longer had a future husband, Issac, the name of your unborn child will never meet his father. How could you be so selfish? I was angry for a long while. Until I realized being angry wasn’t doing me much of anything. I began coming out here every year to remember the good times. I wish you would have talked to me. We good have figured something out. I kiss you my friend. Rest in peace.
In the small country town of Pickett, there is a lake that is unnamed but loved by the locals. The locals do not know of the crime that took place there, though. There once was a crime that took place there and the husband of one of the participants found out about their crimes. Their crimes were blackmail and stealing. The husband stomped over to the lake and their cabin that was nearby in the gloomy and foggy woods. The woman’s partner opened the door and the husband grabbed him and threw her partner into the lake, never to be seen again.
We watch the sky disappear from a vivid blue to a darkened grey covering up the beauty of the grassy lands before us, in only just a few minutes. “I think it’s going to rain,” I say wanting to leave this place while I shiver in my bikini. I turn away from the lake and reach for my clothes, where I see nerves are making me jingle with anxiety. “Shouldn’t we leave?” I ask desperate to get out of here.
There is a splash, a cascade of water spits out and I can feel some of the remains touch upon my cold fragile skin like a trigger. My eyes dart up to look at the sky still grey and no sign of rain while a thought creeps up on my mind, he hasn’t said a single word to me in awhile. “Cillian?” I turn to face the lake to see not a single soul in sight, not even his.
I walk upon the wooden plank where I hear my footsteps echo like thunder, rumbling with nerves. “Cillian?” I say his name again without making sure I stutter his name, but I do. My voice hurts as it has cracked upon saying his name multiple times without a response. Then I feel forced to jump into this body of water, and there is another splash but this time it is mine. The water trickles on my skin, touching every vulnerable part of me while I bounce in the waves.
I start to calm down as I close my eyes and think of my safe place. _Books, diving into different worlds. Reading transforms me. _The waves ignore me now because it knows I am not their enemy, just a friend trying to swim. “Cillian?” I say his name once more hoping this time I would get an answer. Silence, while the ripples of the waves haunt me.
Then there is something touching my leg, I freeze. It is pulling me down into the depths of this lake. _I thought we were friends. _After my face is plunked into the water, my eyes burn from what seems like salt. But I see him, I see Cillian dragging me down and I try to break loose from his grip that is tight around my leg suffocating the blood from there so now my leg feels numb and I can hardly swim back to shore. I swallow a gasp of water that stops me from breathing, my heart suddenly starts to fall from both the limit of oxygen and the cold temperature of -1 degrees.
But I try to swim, swim away from Cillian who is now trying to take my life. I reach a shallower area where I can allow myself some air spitting out the water stuck in my mouth. However, Cillian has caught up to me as he also reaches up for air right in front of me. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I ask him bewildered by his attempt of drowning actions.
“I’m killing you before you have the chance to kill me,” he says as he flips his hair where water splashes onto my skin, my pale frozen skin which feels like glass. If he touches me one way or another, he’s going to break me. Cillian moves forwards to be closer to me, but I freeze just by looking at the man who is betraying me. “But before I do, I want to kiss you one more time. Is that alright?” He asks for my permission, but I shake my head refusing to be anywhere near him. I try to swim backwards away from this human monster, but his arms grab onto my legs pulling me closer to him before he can wrap them around my waist. He leans in and his lips touch mine, electricity bounds us together and I am stuck as I cannot defy electricity. Then he lets go leaving me hanging for more of his taste, and has already drowned me with his love which makes me survive.
“Your love kills me, but you won’t ever get the pleasure to see my dead body,” I say before I sink my teeth into his neck and take every drip of blood from him. It tastes metallic like a sword is digging in my back.
“You think I didn’t know what you are?” He says as he pushes me away. “A blood thirsty vampire who preys on sweet boys who gives you affection. It sure bites you doesn’t it? Pun intended.”
He watches me choke on blood that is filled with ivy, a poison that is deadly to me. He watches me drown into the darkness of the lake below, where I am unable to swim back to shore.