An innocent prank

It was just an “ innocent prank”, but the lights from police cars were flashing everywhere. What was once a quiet fun night had turned into a catastrophe. Shouting and cursing broke open the night. Dawn had not even broken yet, the sky was still dark with turned off stars. Clouds in the sky blocked the moon. The lake water had turned a murky brown light colored, but impenetrable by light from even the strongest flashlights. I stood alone on wet gravel.
It had all happened so fast, no one knew they would take the dare, we all presumed that they would back down and that would be the end of it. We had no idea of how far their clique would be willing to go to beat us at our own game. Who would have guessed what would happen and how extreme it could go. A game, a prank, a joke and now the ruling group at T.R Junior High was disbanded.
I limped over to where my dad was standing yelling at the warden, “Dad I am going to go sit in the car”. My dad took a second away from his fiery debate to nod before plunging back into his war of insults with the park warden. I go to the car and it was all I could do not to just sink to the ground in pain. I wrenched the door open wincing at the pressure to my smashed ankle. I slid into the leather seat of my family’s BMW. I shut the door and lay down on the plush seats. Overwhelming exhaustion and familiar smells took me over into sleep. Bringing right back to what had spun out of control. It is like being propelled into the middle of a nightmare where you don’t know what to be scared of but you are scared. Even so I knew all too well exactly what was happening, just not where I was in the nightmare. The memory was too vivid.
It was a Friday; we all were cool and wanted to do something exciting daring. Starting out as a laugh, as a half joke leading into a real proposal, a real suggestion, someone suggested going to the old dock, that goes from the riverbank out of the mouth of the river into the sea.
Our town used to be a smugglers port and the ships needed a place to hide and then a way to get back out to sea again. The dock had been there for years but the part of it that lead from shore to the main way of it had long collapsed during storms. All that was left was the part that began in the river and stretched out to sea past the mouth of the river.
No one responded. Then, Alexa my best friend and the leader of our clique decided that it would be fun. She declared that anyone too scared to go is a chicken, and spoke with such scorn that no one even breathed the possibility of defying her. The outcasts of our school heard her while she was bragging loudly about her bravery. They never spoke to us ever. They wore older clothes and not really expensive clothes either. They never tried to get lots of attention but were well liked by everyone but us. We ignored them and they ignored us. They always got good grades and were always creative and reasonably good at sports. They have never had our flair for outrageously social, since elementary school it had always been us who were the loudest, had the most expensive things and we knew it to.
Emily Schroeder overheard asked us if she and her sister Ali and their friend Kelly could go. If they prove their right to be there they could stay. The guys and Rialle and I and almost all of us instantly scoffed at it and said NO. Alexa with a mean glint in her eye that I knew too well told them that they could come. She told them to meet us there at seven, in between glaring at us. I wondered about that because we had been planning to go at seven thirty but didn’t comment.
During last period Mr. Heitenstein was telling us about the local news. As usual we just ignored him, normally just out of boredom today we were too caught up with our plans. The bell rang just as he was telling us about the shark sightings by the old dock. I was the only one who heard him. There were always warnings and supposed sighting, so I thought nothing of it.
Nick’s brother dropped off Nick, Zack and Lucas. Alexa, me, Rialle, Marrissa and Taylor all either dirt biked or skateboarded down to the old dock. Our parents thought Alexa and I were going to Rialle’s and her parent’s thought she was coming to my house with Alexa and Taylor, and Marrissa parents were rich but really busy and didn’t care what she did.
We got there and Emily, Ali and Kelly were there waiting. We had barely gotten in earshot and Alexa started taunting them. “ So, how far will you guys go to prove you exist?” “ Twice as far as you would dare, and we would do it with a hella of a lot more style. Then again Alexa you don’t got any style so that wouldn’t be hard.” Alexa was furious, that set her off. Landing insults left and right, Alexa and Emily met up face to face, with Emily’s friends backing her and Alexa being backed by the girls and me.
We started off with daring each other. It was all easy stuff, go touch the water, do a wheelie on a dirt bike, flip the bike, stuff like that. We got creative with those dares but then it just got boring. Well, Alexa boring, the rest of us were satisfied with it. After another of the same dares, Alexa called it stupid, lame and pathetic. Emily agreed, and suggested we twist the dares so you had to do the dares and whoever dared them had to complete it to. By now it was already dark, and we could barely see, Zack had a couple of flashlights and he lent them to us. The fog had settled in around the river and us. We could hear the pounding of the surf way out, and the lapping of the river water against the old dock.

Emily started it off. “I dare Kira to wade in to the river and dunk her head. Get it completely wet. “ “Not me, no, why not Zack, come on that’s lame”, I heard myself say.
I was scared to death of water, petrified in fact. I would swim in my pool and swim in Tahoe’s lakes but rivers and oceans froze me up with fear.
Emily knew I was scared, everyone knew that. “Come on Kir,”Alexa coaxed. “Just go.” Knowing I would regret it I said I might, and kept trying to stall. “Kira, Em has to go in too, she will go with you.” Ali assured me, sending looks at Emily. “Yeah, fine I will, IF Kira does.” Shakily I got to my feet, I took small labored steps towards the water. Emily stripped down to a polka dotted bikini top and hot pink board shorts. I chose to just go in my jeans and blue tank top.
I took a step towards the river. Emily had already dived in and dunked her body; she was on her way out now. I got to the river water and just before I was about to step in, I whirled back around to make a break for it. Nick came up behind me and gently tapped my shoulders. I stumbled and fell into the river screaming. I stepped down on the slimy mud. I quickly dipped my already dripping hair all the way in, and ran shrieking out. Alexa caught me and wrapped a towel around me. I was shivering, and crying. Taylor was off lecturing Nick for pushing me. Alexa walked with me up, and she gave the next dare. “ I dare Emily to swim out to the old dock, climb up on it and walk all the way out past the mouth of the river. I also dare everyone to follow her if she is game.” It fazed Emily for brief seconds before she was heading back down to the water again. “Alexa you have to also, you know.” In answer Alexa stripped down to a crop top and her jean skirt.
Matching Emily step by step, she followed her into the water and started to swim out. With strong graceful strokes Emily got there first and climbed up on to the dock. We lost track of Alexa for a minute, when she surfaced she called out that something had brushed her leg, something rubbery. She didn’t stop swimming but was more cautious. Alexa made it herself to the dock, and Emily reached a hand out to Alexa. Alexa took her hand and once she got up she pinched Emily. The girls waved out to us and beckoned for us to come over. The guys took off their shirts and waded out to the deep area of the river. They went underwater. Ali and Rialle were the next to go in they followed the guys out. Kelly walked to an outbreak of rocks reaching out and leapt out into the water. Eager to outdo her, Marrissa took a dirt bike and rode it up to the over hanging, dropped the bike and flew off the upraised mound of dirt, and into the river.
Taylor and I were left. She asked if I would. I could tell she wanted to join them but she was unwilling to leave me. I didn’t want her to just go, so I told her if she stayed with me I would swim out. Holding hands, hers alabaster white in the dark, mine smooth and tan, we careful stepped into deeper water. Out of the corner of my eye, when we were in stomach high water I saw a shadow lurking. I shuddered and gripped Taylor tighter. We got to the part where you had to swim, I dropped her hand and shoulder-to-shoulder we paddled out.
Midway Taylor twisted up the surface and cursed. “ Damn, something or someone just took a nick out of my leg”.” Are you bleeding?” I asked. “Just a bit let’s keep going”. Three yards away, Zack and Nick popped up cracking up, their faces were tomatoes from laughing so hard.” The look on your face Taylor, 10 grand for that again.” They sped out towards the dock when Taylor went for them. I felt something bump my leg, hard. Noticing how quiet it was, and that I was alone I panicked. I could hear my friends voices in the distance, laughing. I swam as fast as I could splashing all the way to the dock.
Marrissa pulled me up and hugged me. Taylor was still threatening Zack and Nick for their joke. She was holding Zack’s knife in her hand. She tossed it, it flew out, we heard it splash, as it dropped down to the riverbed. Marrissa and I followed Alexa and Emily out along the dock. Taylor and the guys and everyone else started walking out. We got nearer to the sea and we could hear the pounding surf clearly now. The dock was slippery with moss and damp wood. One of the woods stands cracked and tilted back towards the river. The sound scared me and I lost my footing. My ankle caught my fall, slamming down on the wood. It twisted beneath me in a way I don’t think bones are supposed to. I felt a snap, a crushing sensation. Marrissa helped me up; I hobbled on leaning on her shoulder. We stopped and let Taylor, Zack, Nick, Ali, Kelly, Rialle and Lucas go ahead. I saw dark red stains on the wood. “ Tay, you are bleeding badly”. “ I’ll live,” was the retort I got back.
It took an hour of very cautious proceedings on my part and Marrissa’s but we got to the end of the dock. We were now in open sea, forty or fifty feet away from the river. Everyone standing at the edge of the dock now, we were silent. Ali saw a glinting in the water and pointed it out to Kelly. She gasped and showed Emily. We all leaned forward to see. I still don’t know who pushed even now, but Emily and Alexa lost their footing and grabbing at each other fell in. Peering anxiously out to see a glimpse of our friends we waited. Time seemed to stop, and move in slow motion.
After abated breath and a couple heart-stopping moments, Emily rose struggling to the surface. Her dirty blond hair was plastered to her skin, her cheekbones were bloody and she had gashes alongside her arms. Taylor reacted instantly and dove in to find Alexa. “No, there’s a shark..” Emily began. Taylor ignored it and with a kick of her long graceful legs disappeared under beneath the surface of the water. I reached down to help Emily. When I was the only one who tried to help her, my hoarse voice screeched,” Help me, come one, I can’t do it alone, she is injured. Help me.” We pulled Em up to the dock. I held her hand, as she lay in my lap. Her breathing never settled down, it just stopped. She closed her eyes, and squeezed my hand, and smiled at me. She died in my arms. Her shorts were in ripped bloodied tatters.
Taylor rose to the surface, dragging Alexa. Alexa was barely alive, she smiled at me, blood was smeared along her abdomen, and her leg had been mauled. Taylor was exhausted. Zack and Nick pulled her up. She lay sprawled on the dock. They tried to get to Alexa but she sank beneath the water, pulled down by an unknown tug. I fainted. That was the last I ever saw of Alexa. I lost my best friend and a good new friend that night.