Something in the Water

Something in the Water

It was a warm summer day at Lake Clearwater. The birds were singing, the beach goers were enjoying the sun, and the little kids were playing in the water. But everything was not alright. Something was stirring from the bottom of the lake, and it was not happy.

From the edge of the lake, it looked like swamp gas was being released from the bottom of the lake. No one seemed to care until it started to increase. Parents were calling their children to get out of the water when something burst from the water. It landed on one of the dry docks in the middle of the lake. It then stood up and roared.

By this time, all the beach goers were panicking. They were running around, grabbing stray children when the sand around them started shifting. Out of the sand rose what looked like giant crabs. They looked similar to crabs, but they were the size of minivans. Everyone dropped what they had in their hands (minus children) and ran from the lake.

As they approached the parking lot, they noticed the first creature was battling the giant crabs. It looked like an average teenager, but with attributes of a fish. He had bluish/green skin, webbed hands and feet, gills on his neck, and fins on his calves and elbows. He was slashing and hacking at the crabs with a crude stone sword and knife.

He had just successfully cut off one of the crabs' legs when he was hit from behind. He hit the ground and rolled as a claw hit the ground where he landed. He quickly got up, avoiding claws and pinchers, and ran to the lake.

         At the lakes edge, he turned and faced the five giant crabs. They were slowly making their way to him, so he had some time. He raised both hands above his hands. As the crabs got closer, the whole area got dark.

From their cars, the beachgoers also saw it go dark. They got out of their cars and saw the source of the darkness. A giant wave had formed somehow. When the first giant crab reached the fish-teenager, the fish-teenager dropped his hands and pointed them at the giant crabs. The wave that had been formed swept came crashing down onto the beach.

The wave swept the crabs off their feet, but it didn't stop there. The wave passed the trees surrounding the lake, and into the parking lot. As the beachgoers scrambled back into their cars, the wave picked up the cars and carried them further out into the parking lot. When the wave finally receded, several cars and minivans were pulled out onto the beach. When the wave had full receded, the fish-teenager turned and returned to the lake.

The whole story was covered by the local news. It was decided that the destruction was caused by a large water spout that had formed over the lake, but continued onshore. However, one high school news reporter did not believe it was a water spout. Her name was Cheryl Wilson.

Her cousins had been at the beach and had described seeing giant crabs, a huge wave, and a fish/human hybrid. She also videos off of YouTube that should what people saw on the beach. However, the editor in chief would not let her publish the story.

"Come on Charlie! Why won't you let me publish my article? I have everything a good story needs. I have an actual interview, live video, and pictures of the lake," questioned Cheryl.

"Because it is the worse story I have ever read. Who ever heard of a fish teenager? This is a load of bologna. Also, don't call me Charlie. My name is Charlotte," retorted Charlotte.

"Whatever. That article about the mystery meatloaf was a load of bologna. You only published it because Kyle wrote it and you want him to like you," accused Cheryl

         "What! That is a total lie and don't tell Kyle any of this or you are off of the paper," threated Charlotte.

         "I won't tell him if you print my paper," ordered Cheryl.

         "I'll publish your stupid story only if you get Kyle to talk to me," bribed Charlotte

         "What! No. I am not helping you with your dating problems," shouted Cheryl

         "Okay then. I guess your article won't get published," retorted Charlotte

         "Fine. Just don't expect my vote when you are running for editor in chief again," said Cheryl as she left the paper room. She started down the hallway towards her locker. Once there, she grabbed her homework and headed towards the door. Passing the boy's locker room, Cheryl saw something in the locker room out of the corner of her eye. Turning to face the locker room, she noticed that the lights were still on.

         "That's weird. No one else is supposed to be here," pondered Cheryl. She was about to leave when there was a loud bang from the locker room. Cheryl knew she shouldn't go in the boy's locker room, but someone was in school that shouldn't be. She quietly opened the door and slipped in.

         The first thing she noticed upon entrance was the smell. Cheryl had interviewed the football team for the paper, so she was accustomed to the smell of sweaty jocks. But something was different. There was a fishy smell in the air. Then there was the trail of water that led from the back door to the supply closet and then to the pool. Among the water on the floor was a small trail of blood. It led from the door to the supply room then stopped

         Cheryl looked in the supply closet and noticed that some towels were missing and that there was more blood in the supply closet.

         "From what I can tell, someone broke in and then stole some towels. But what about the trail of water and blood?" pondered Cheryl. Suddenly, the light for the whole building went out. Cheryl fell back and knocked over a rack of basketballs which caused a large crash. When Cheryl recovered, she reached for her keychain around her necklace and turned on her mini flash light.

         Exiting the supply closet, Cheryl noticed that the door to the electrical room was ajar. She entered the electrical room and surveyed the damage. There were what seemed like bite marks on everything. Upon closer inspection, because that is what a reporter does, Cheryl found several shark teeth in the holes.

         "I really hope this is a huge practical joke. I don't want to find a land shark," said Cheryl. Cheryl turned around to see the door to the pool slam shut. She quickly ran to the door and listened. On the other side of the door she heard someone run and dive into the pool. Cheryl slowly opened the door and entered the room.

         The pool room was cold and eerie. From where Cheryl stood, she didn't see anything ominous. Then she heard a sound coming from the pool. It sounded like someone was swimming towards her. She shone her light towards the pool and saw a flash of blue before she was forcibly thrown to the ground. Next to her she heard someone wince in pain.

         "Oh, my head," said a male voice

         "Are... are you alright?" asked Cheryl.

         "No, I hit my head when I jumped out of the pool," responded the voice.

         "Why were you in the pool? One second, let me grab my flash light," said Cheryl. She went over to her flashlight and turned towards the voice what she saw made her drop her flash light.

         The voice came from what appeared to be a fish human hybrid. It was obviously a male, judging from the hair and chest area. He had bluish skin, gills on his neck, and fins on his calves and arms. He hesitantly smiled a shark toothed smile at Cheryl, which made her flinch. Cheryl then noticed the fish human's arm. There was a blood soaked towel tied around his arm.

         "Wha, wha, what are you?" blurted Cheryl.

         "I'm a human. Or at least I once was a human. I was going for a swim in lake clear water about a month ago, when I must have swam through some radioactive materials that were dumped in the lake. I ended up mutating into what you see before you,"

         "Wait, you're the monster that fought the giant crabs yesterday aren't you?" asked Cheryl.

         "Yes that was me. Also, I happen to have a name," stated the fish-teenager.

         "And what would that be?" questioned Cheryl.

         "Uh, I don't want to tell you."

         "Why not! If I'm going to help you, I might as well know your name."

         "Promise you won't laugh?"

         "Yes, I promise."

         "Marlin, Marlin Anderson."

         "I get it. Like the fish. Okay then, my name is Cheryl Wilson."

         "It's nice to meet you," said Marlin as he offered his hand to Cheryl. Cheryl noticed that his hands were webbed as they shook hands.

         "Now then, how did you get here from Lake Clearwater?" asked Cheryl.

         "It wasn't that easy. I can change my appearance to that of a human for about an hour," replied Marlin.

         "What happens after an hour?"

         "What do you think? I change back to a mutant."

         "Oh, right. But why did you come to this school?"

         "I use to go to this school. I transferred two months ago. I was on the swim team, so I knew this place had a pool. I wanted to remember how it felt to swim in a pool again."

         "Oh, I remember you now. I actually interviewed you for the school paper. I was hard to put the name and face together."

         "Oh, that's okay. I don't blame you. Here, let me change back," offered Marlin as he stood up. He closed his eyes and breathed in. The scales vanished, the fins grew back into his body, and his skin changed color.

         "There, is that better?" asked Marlin.

         "Hey! I didn't say that your true form was bad. I just couldn't put the name and face together. By the way, what happened to your arm?" questioned Cheryl.

"Oh, this is from yesterday. One of the giant crabs got lucky and slashed my arm," stated Marlin as he showed Cheryl his arm. Even though he was in human form, his arm was still bleeding.

"Oh my gosh! You should have told me about it first. Let me go get something to treat that," ordered Cheryl as she ran off into the locker room. From the locker room, she ran back into the main hallway and towards the nurse's office. Upon reaching the nurse's office, she founded out that the office was locked. Cheryl looked around and grabbed the fire extinguisher. She then continued to use the fire extinguisher to break into the nurse's office.

Rummaging through some cupboards Cheryl grabbed a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, some bandages and a first aid kit. She then retraced her steps back to the pool. When Cheryl got back to the pool, she found Marlin back in the pool.

"What the heck! Why are you back in the pool?" yelled Cheryl.

"Oh, right I forgot to tell you. I have regenerative properties. When I am in water, I can use the water to heal injuries," replied Marlin.

"Cool!" replied Cheryl as she sat at the edge of the pool. Marlin slowly swam over to her. He reached the edge of the pool and sat on the edge of the pool with Cheryl. Suddenly, Marlin stood up and froze.

"What is it?" asked Cheryl.

"Someone is in the school with us. I heard him earlier, but I forgot when I got distracted by the pool," explained Marlin. Cheryl and Marlin then went to the door and peered out. There was no one in the locker room. They entered the locker room and looked into the hall.

"It would be easier to look if you hadn't eaten half the electrical room," stated Cheryl.

"Hey, I didn't do anything. I told you I know my way around this school. The lights were on when I entered the pool," explained Marlin.

"If you didn't destroy the electrical room, then who did?" asked Cheryl.

"That is what we are going to find out, now shush!" whispered Marlin. The two of them peered into the dark hallway and waited. Just before Cheryl was going to ask what they were waiting for, there were scratching noises in the hallway. They were getting closer when Marlin shut the door. The two of them sat just outside the door as the scratching continued past the door and down the hallway.

"What is that?" asked Cheryl as Marlin peered out the door.

"You will not believe me, but it looks like a land shark," explained Marlin.

"Really..." said Cheryl as she crossed her arms and starred at him.

"No, really!" said Marlin as he opened the door and walked out into the hall. He stopped and knelt down and pointed at the floor. Cheryl walked over and looked at what he was pointing at.

There were several claw marks followed by two gashes that continued down the hall.

"So, I'm guessing the land shark made these..." suggested Cheryl