I will never go swimming in Lake Jackson again

(Another original story, hope you all enjoy ^_^)

"We really want to thank you. Your testimony will help our website greatly."

"...Yeah, no problem"

"Ok, whenever you're ready."

It was another sunny Saturday in my town, which meant it was hotter than hell itself, but that was to be expected when you lived in Florida. My friends and I thought it would be fun to go to the lake that day, after all, what is better on a hot summer day than spending all day playing around in the crisp cool water. We packed our stuff and headed down to the pier. It was the best place to get into the lake since it had a small beach near it, so there was somewhere to put down the umbrellas and picnic basket we had brought. It was just me, my friends Cass and Sam, and Sam's little sister Emily, who Sam had promised to teach to swim.

The pier was pretty empty surprisingly, you would think that on a clear day it would be packed, but there were only about four other people around. Shrugging it off as just good fortune that it wasn't too crowded, we made our way down to the little bit of sand and set up. It didn't take long, and soon we were all in the water, splashing and just having a good time. Cass and Sam showed Emily some swimming basics, and I showed her how to dog paddle, as it was what I was best at.

I look back now...And wonder if it was watching us the whole time.

It didn't take Emily long to tire, her sea legs still not strong enough to support her body very long. Everyone decided that it was time to take a short break, except me. I didn't want to leave the cool embrace of the water just yet, so I stayed in...I wish I hadn't. I wish I had gone with my friends. I wish...I wish I had never tried to be a hero.

It wasn't long after everyone had left, after they were out of eyesight, having gone to the restrooms that were around the corner did I hear the frantic cries for help. My head whipped around in search of the cries, coming to rest on a boy no older than nineteen, who was struggling to stay afloat, his head bobbing in and out of the water. He was far past the buoys and trying to cling to the slippery legs of the pier. You see, there are signs everywhere around the pier that tell you to not jump from the pier, and for good reason.

Beside the pier, on the left-hand side, is what my friends and I simply called, the abyss. It's a whole that almost always has a whirlpool in it and drags down anything that gets to close...Like the boy. I looked around for someone to help him. My swimming wasn't the strongest after all, and I wasn't sure if I would be of much use. But as I looked around the realization set in that I was the only person there. All of the others had left, and my friends still had not returned.

My eyes landed on the boy once more as I watched his body flail around, and I knew at that moment that it was up to me to save him...I wish I hadn't. I ran out of the water and up the beach, running along the walkway to the pier and quickly jumping off of the side. The water rushing up my nose and my body began to go into a panic, my fear of drowning hitting me like a brick.But I pushed my legs and arms to work, to move like Cass and Sam had shown Emily only a few moments before. I gasped for air when my head finally broke the surface, and my eyes blinked away the water that filled them.

The boy thrashed when his grip on the pier leg slipped once more and he quickly sank into the water. Taking a deep breath I dove down, my eyes struggling to open under the liquid but I pushed forward, my arms outstretched for him to take. He desperately grabbed onto my hand and then arm as I began to swim back to the surface...Or at least tried. Looking back at the boy, his face had changed from terror, to apologetic and I stared at him for a moment in confusion...until I caught movement out of the corner of my eye.

My head jerked to the side and I came face to face with something...Something that to this day...I don't know what it was. Its body was covered in scales; its hands webbed, three gills lined its neck on each side. Its body was so thin that its ribs protruded against the skin, pulling it tight against them, almost as if the beast twisted wrong that they would tear through the slimy flesh. Its eyes, taking up most of the large head were as black as night, the small amount of light that beamed through the water reflected on the small pupil that raked over my body before resting on my face again.

Even then, nothing could compare the beast's terrifying mouth. Splitting open in four squid-like tentacles, it revealed a row of very long, very sharp teeth...But when its mouth opened...True fear set in. Sounds filled my head, muffled screams of agony, pleas for help and the sound of what I can only describe as the last moments of life. They were coming from this thing, it was telling me what it had done, and what it planned to do.

With quick movements I swam backward, the jerk making the boy lose his grip on my arm. The boy, I looked over at him once more, my eyes now seeing something I hadn't before...Something I wish I never did. Protruding from the boy's back, was a long tail. My eyes followed the appendage, trailing it back to the beast itself...It was a puppet. The boy may have been an actual person at one time, but now, now it was just this thing's tool to lure people in...and I fell for it.

My lungs screamed for air and I quickly shot towards the surface, trying to get as much distance between myself and that thing. But just as my head broke the water, just as my lungs filled with air. My body was being pulled back under, the grip tight on my ankle, and it pulled me down deep into the abyss. Was this how I was going to die? That was what I kept asking myself as I struggled against its iron grasp.

It never ceased its dive down into the deep darkness, and before long a new light filled my eyes, bioluminescence, it filled the small cavern that this thing had dragged me to. And with that light...I saw them. Bodies, bones lined the lake floor, and I wondered at that moment just how long this thing had lived in the lake. How many missing people were actually the work of this monster, how many lives had it taken?

My lungs brought me out of my thoughts. They burned for oxygen, and I knew that if I didn't do something fast...That this would be the end of me. Looking around, my eyes once again scanned the bones of the once living, I picked up a skull and lunged it at the beast, it bounced off it's back but didn't phase it. I tried again, but nothing. Looking down, I saw a broken bone, the point sharp and with quick movements, I grabbed the bone and drove it into the beasts arm.

The thing howled in pain, its grip releasing me instantly as it grabbed it's injury, pulling out the bone. The water around it turned red, but I didn't care. My legs burned but they pushed me up, my body screamed but I swam as fast I could. My eyes blurring and my head foggy from lack of oxygen. I could hear the beast behind me, hear the bones shattering as it swam towards me, I could hear it's cries of anger as it chased me down. My head broke the water once more, my lungs greedily taking in the air while my body kept swimming. The buoys were in sight, and I knew that if I could get to shallow water I could run, run to the safety of the beach and never get into the damn water ever again.

My feet hit the ground not far after I passed the buoys, and as I began my sprint, I felt the thing's iron grip on my ankle once more. Not stopping, I lunged myself forward, my feet digging into the soft wet dirt under the water. The water began to shallow, and soon I heard an ear piercing scream in my head, the grip instantly letting me go. My head whipped around to look behind me while my body kept moving forward. I saw smoke rise from its skin that was above the water before it quickly submerged it once more. I didn't stop until I was out of the water and by our umbrellas, and I could only stare at the water after that.

My friends soon came back, asking me where I had been and saying that they looked for me, but didn't see me in the water. I told them about the beast but...None of them believed me. No one does really. I have told my story to countless people...They all think I'm crazy or...or say that the sun got to me that day. But I know what I saw...I know it's still there...And I know for certain one thing...I will never go swimming in Lake Jackson again.