The Grimm Dossier

Chapter 30 - The Pond

England, West Coast
Devonshire, Dartmoor
St George, Outer Fields
5 November 1898, 11:57 a.m.

As neither Dr Archer nor Kyle knew where the Jäger family lived, they had to seek help from the few villagers. They certainly noticed the suspicion that was evident in the attitude and facial expressions of the lady they had approached for directions. Apparently, the Jäger family really did not have a very good reputation. A narrow path, no more than trampled grass and earth, led away from the village and towards the forest.

The grass stood very tall here, unmown, and reached up to the seekers' calves. Long wild stalks scattered damp drops of dew or rainwater on their trousers and shoes immediately after they had taken the first steps on the path. Only a few late-blooming flowers put a few spots of colour in the sea of green and brown.

"That wolf yesterday, there's no way it was a normal animal." Said Kyle to Dr Archer, "There are spells that can enhance the physique of a body. But the beast attacked tactically and chose its victims specifically. There is no doubt that there is someone who controlled the monster." Of this Kyle was absolutely certain. Just at that moment, Dr Archer suddenly extended his arm and Kyle ran his crotch against it before looking at him questioningly. The doctor had stretched his neck, his gaze roaming over the stalks swaying in the wind in search of something.

"Did you hear that?" he asked, turning his ears away from the murmuring wind.

"No? What?"

As if he were a dog that had picked up a scent, Dr Archer suddenly turned off the path without answering him and bounded into the grass of the meadow. Hesitantly at first, then faster and faster, he began to slash his way through the sea of green. His body left a swathe in the grass that Kyle could step into to move forward more easily. At first, he didn't understand what made the doctor run so suddenly as if something had stung him. But then he heard it too. Splashing like water, gurgling and stifled sounds.

Then silence fell and the sound died away even as they made their way through the meadow." I heard a shout!" the doctor said, brushing aside a branch that slapped Kyle against the chest. Dr Archer must have good ears because he wouldn't have noticed it from a distance. Perhaps also because he had been too busy thinking about the cursed wolf. So they crossed a thin line of scrub and thicket, interspersed with a few thin trunks of sparse beech trees, and unexpectedly stood before a medium-sized pond.

Somewhere a frog leapt away in fright, its indignant croak lost between their rustling footsteps across the rustling forest floor. The water of the pond was brownish, especially at the edge it looked dirty and churned up. Ripples caused unrest on the otherwise smooth or even mirror-like surface.

Thick lichens, rows of ferns and foliage framed the brownish water. Larger stones lay scattered around the otherwise steeply sloping edge of the pond, surrounded by leaves and foliage that also covered part of the water's surface and floated on it like small boats. An old lime tree stretched its branches away over the oval shape and shrouded the scene in a dusky shadow. A few stones protruded from the water, caked with algae and thickly overgrown wet moss. A few large leaves of aquatic plants, perhaps water lilies, covered the whole area with small screens on which the gliding little ships of foliage could catch themselves. 

The splashing had stopped when the two of them saw what had been responsible for it. Strands of brown hair swayed like billowing algae in the soundless rhythm of the water. The small body could almost have been missed amidst the foliage and lily pads, for it was already sinking. Dark green clothes floated on the surface. Face in the water, hidden from their gaze, the lad remained in it motionless as if trying to blend into the scenery.