Underwater

Sometimes there are things in this world that bring the true meaning of terror directly into the minds of certain people. You may consider these people lucky or unlucky, depending on how you look at it. For example, once somebody is exposed to this kind of terror, they can become stronger from it. They could change for the better. On the other hand, somebody else might feel the same exact terror for the rest of their life. If they live.
Here’s another thing that should be pointed out: The terror that I’m talking about usually doesn’t show itself very often. Maybe once every fifty years. And it’s always in small places. Under your bed. In your closet. In a small pond in a small, unsuspecting New Hampshire town.
The town of North Conway, that is. Every once in a while, some poor child goes exploring into the woods and stumbles upon the pond. Sometimes, and only sometimes, this child can sense fear and horror and runs away, narrowing escaping a most horrible death. They might tell their friends what had happened, and a little legend gets started. Then the legend dies down and we go through the whole process again.
Tyler Hunt was one of the few, the very few, who made the venture more than once. Actually, three times. And he lived each time to tell the tale. He was one of the unlucky ones. I don’t know what it was that made him survive, but he has a true gift. I can tell you that much.
Let’s go into the memory of Tyler’s first trip. Because it was this first trip that changed his life forever. Changed it for the worse, that is.
It was late October, and the lakes were frozen over on that cold, cold day. He was looking for tracks in the woods, not of any particular animal. There was an inch of hardened snow on the ground, and the deeper into the woods he went, the deeper the snow got. No problem, though, it was frozen and stayed solid underneath his Carolina boots.
How many lives today, Tyler? How many lives? The voice was familiar. He had first heard it in his dreams last night, not a pleasant dream, but not a nightmare, either. It was sort of in-between. Come closer, Ty, come closer. Only you can help me. The voice was dark (If voices had colors), and sinister. It put Tyler in a trance, and he totally forgot what he was doing in the woods. Suddenly he belonged to the voice and the voice alone.
Good. Come closer, Tyler. I want to see your beautiful face. You know I’m your friend, your ONLY friend. Come help me out and I can let you meet some of my friends. Come on, it’ll only take a minute.He had no willpower. Actually, it was as if he wasn’t even in his own body. He let the voice lead him, showing no resistance. He had no resistance.
He came to a pond, a small one, and there was no ice on it. Just for a moment, Tyler came to his senses and wondered why there was no ice or anything on it. But then the voice told him that was an absurd idea; that of course there wouldn’t be any ice on it. He was once again succumbed to the trance the voice put him in.
The voice let him go, or so it seemed. He once again had free will, but what was even stranger- he didn’t realize he lost it. He stared at the water, mesmerized by it. It was swirling around slowly in some parts, and the center looked like water was pushing upwards, so it must have been a spring. But the thing that grabbed his attention most was the damn thing wasn’t frozen!
Even the springs south of here freeze up in the winter, he thought to himself. This is really weird- something kids might even pay to see. Hell, I could be rich from showing kids this! The voice was controlling his mind in a passive way now, letting him think freely but blocking his natural urges to go away. Yes Tyler, bring kids here. And adults, too if you want. Make them give you money. You and I will both benefit from that. The voice was taking over again. Now go away. Bring the children here tomorrow. You are my messenger now Tyler, do you understand?
“Yes. I will do that,” he whispered to himself. Not really to himself, but the voice that was in head. 
The next day, Tyler came back with two kids about ten years old, a twelve year-old, and ten bucks in his back pocket. The voice from the pond had never completely left him the night before, and got stronger with every step he took. The kids didn’t feel anything, not yet, and the voice that was with Tyler was far enough away for him to think freely but close enough to take his fear away.
“Maybe we should go back. I don’t think we should be here.” It was the twelve year-old who spoke. “I mean, is it really worth it? I could be at home right now, playing Call of Duty.”
“What are you, a wuss? C’mon Brett, don’t be scared. What could possibly be back here that could be dangerous?” He gave the boy named Brett a long, hard look. “Besides, we’re almost there.”
The foursome walked on, completely unsuspecting of what was about to happen to them. Of course, Tyler was in a complete trance by this point.
Come on, Tyler. Just a little bit closer. I need you to bring me my supper.
The pond came into view. It was actually steaming a little bit, fog slightly obscuring the surface of the water. It looked completely out-of-place among the snow-frosted ground and the trees, full of branches with no leaves.
Brett and the other two kids were getting uneasy by now. Tyler just took them closer and closer to the pond. “I’ll give you guys your money back if you jump in.” Tyler taunted at them. “Do it, you won’t.” All while this was happening, the voice was going further and further into his head. Pretty soon it would reach the core and never let Tyler go. He came closer to the water’s edge.
“C’mon, Brett. You really are a wuss, aren’t you? I can’t wait to tell everyone in the neighborhood that you were too afraid to get into the water. It’s not even cold. You big wuss.”
“Oh yeah Tyler? Fine then!” He took his shoes and socks off, and then took his cargo pants off. He had nylon shorts underneath, but without the long pants, he was freezing. He was planning to only go ankle-deep.
He stepped closer to the water and started to feel the warmth come off of it. There’s probably nothing wrong here. I bet there’s a scientific explanation as to why the water’s warm. His right foot hovered over the water for a moment, and finally touched the water.
Yes, yes Tyler. I’m coming for him now. Brett was now about two feet from the shore. Now make sure he stays in there until I come for him. And try to get the other two boys in, also. You will get rewarded greatly for you deeds. Yes.
Brett sensed that something was wrong. He turned and tried to run for the shore, but was too late. He felt something grab his ankle and pull him out deeper. The water was extremely hot out in the middle, but he was focusing on his leg. Whatever it was that grabbed him, it felt like it had needles instead of teeth. He screamed, but it was quickly silenced. It pulled Tyler out of the trance (probably because whatever the voice was, it was more focused on Brett), and watched the other two boys run away. All Tyler could do was watch in horror.
Suddenly he felt hot, very hot. Brett was screaming, and it was the most horrible thing he’d ever heard. Extreme pain and terror all wrapped up in a nice little package.
Brett was still fighting, but it was a losing battle. He kept going under and back, under and back. The water heat was really unbearable under the surface; it felt like it was boiling. Finally, he breathed in a huge breath of water to let himself go. It seared his throat and lungs, and took a moment for him to die. Tyler watched in horror every time Brett’s body came above the water. Every time it had less skin on it than before. And Brett was still screaming.
His body went under one last time. By then he was dead. Either from his skin getting melted off or his drowning, but both were too horrible for Tyler to imagine. He notices blood mixed with a tan, gel-like substance and got sick. He turned and ran, all the while looking into his own mind for the voice that led him to bringing those three kids out.
He had trouble sleeping for a year after that, but the voice never came back. Almost in every one of his dreams, the sound of the voice and the churning of the water came back. Each time, he woke up screaming and in a cold sweat.
Ten years later, he got sick of it. He was twenty-five years old and still waking up to those horrible nightmares. He decided the only way to get rid of them was to go back to the pond and face his fears.
He brought along his Beretta M9 just in case he would need it. At the edge of the woods, he found himself interrogating himself. Why did he feel like he had to come back? Was it really worth it? Of course it was. It was the only way he could get rid of the nightmares.
This time it was summer. He walked slowly through the woods, and almost missed the pond through the thick, green underbrush. The shoes, socks and cargo pants were right where Brett left them on the fateful day, ten years before. Seeing them brought back horrible memories. He didn’t remember that he was the one who brought Brett in; he didn’t remember anything that happened during his trance.
He felt a presence on the very outskirts of his mind and quickly fired nine shots into the water. The whole clip. The presence left for a moment, and Tyler turned to run. He may not have remembered anything that had happened while he was in the trance, but he did remember the voice itself. He felt the presence trying to get back in, but he ran further, until he was out of the woods. As he got further away, the presence dimmed until there was nothing left but a bad memory and a guilty conscience.
Tyler never did go back to the neighborhood that was near the woods, or anywhere close. He spent the rest of his days in South Dakota, alone. He didn’t think he was capable enough to raise a family. Not after what he’d seen. He died an old man, of a heart attack in bed. No one else actually knows if he had heart problems or not, but you and I know one thing.
He did have nightmares. Nightmares that raised his heart rate almost once a week, but were forgotten about once he woke up. He never really noticed them, which could have been a blessing in disguise.
But these nightmares were what caused him to have a heart attack that night. Funny, the way that people think they have something from their childhood behind them and forgotten, only to have them come back and hurt them as an adult.
Or, in Tyler’s case, kill them as an adult.