28 May 2024, 16:01
What Lies Below
Tommy's head was pounding, his eyes were heavy, and his body sluggish to move. He had not slept much at all the night before, restless due to the terror he had dreamed. Tommy walked to the Great Lake. The walk felt longer than it usually did. He felt a pit in his stomach. Fear and anxiety bubbled within him.
The lake was not in view. Tommy took a seat under a tree that would provide a view of the entirety of the lake. The lake was clam today due to how little wind there was. A calm deep blue. The hair on Tommy's body stood up as goosebumps covered him. Even without closing his eyes, the dream replayed in his mind clearer than reality, as if he was not only seeing it, but living it.
His dream made little sense, nothing out of the ordinary for Tommy, as his dreams were often riddled with plot holes and contradictions. He remembers in his dream he was swimming in the Great Lake. He didn't recall taking any gillyweed, but he could breathe underwater. It started off as a pleasant dream, a refreshing dip in the summer. The cool water, a reprieve from the hot weather. Then it quickly took a turn for the worst.
When diving under the water, Tommy heard singing. Not just any singing, a beautiful, alluring, almost intoxicating song. He began to swim deeper and deeper, the pressure on his head began to hurt and his surroundings began to darken. The fish that had been around him seemed to be growing more scarce. How deep had he gone? The singing still had not gotten any louder.
Deeper and deeper he swam, the pressure now not only on his head, but on his whole body. It was the first time Tommy had even felt heavy under water, a weird and unnatural feeling. Almost all the light had disappeared. Tommy was nearing complete blackness. How would he even find the source of the singing in these conditions? A terrifying thought occurred to Tommy. How did he hear the singing to begin with? He had already swum for what felt like an eternity to near complete blackness, and the singing only just now sounded like it was getting louder. Just a little deeper and he would find it.
Tommy stopped swimming, floating in complete, total blackness. Abyss enveloping him. Panic began to set in. His body felt like it would be crushed any moment, the pressure unbearable. Tommy began to flail his body in pain. What is up? What is down? He was stuck wherever he was now. His heart was pounding as if it would explode from his chest at any second.
Something grabbed him. Was it a hand? Was it a tentacle? Tommy couldn't see anything at all. More and more unknown appendages attached themselves to him, pulling, no almost ripping, of him apart in every direction at once. The pressure on his body made him feel he would be crushed, while the ripping made him feel he would be torn apart into countless pieces. He began to choke on water. Three horrific ways to go, but which would be his untimely demise?
That was when Tommy had awoken from his nightmare. Reflecting on it now, he knew a lot of it made no sense and was unrealistic. How deep was the Great Lake? Surely, some light would still reach the bottom. Tommy look at the lake, goosebumps still prickled on his skin. He knew the merpeople were too deep for students to hear them sing; he knew that it was unlikely to ever interact with them in his lifetime, but this did not shake the fear he had developed of the Lake he peered at.
In the deep blue abyss of the lake, Tommy wondered aloud, "What lies below?"
The lake was not in view. Tommy took a seat under a tree that would provide a view of the entirety of the lake. The lake was clam today due to how little wind there was. A calm deep blue. The hair on Tommy's body stood up as goosebumps covered him. Even without closing his eyes, the dream replayed in his mind clearer than reality, as if he was not only seeing it, but living it.
His dream made little sense, nothing out of the ordinary for Tommy, as his dreams were often riddled with plot holes and contradictions. He remembers in his dream he was swimming in the Great Lake. He didn't recall taking any gillyweed, but he could breathe underwater. It started off as a pleasant dream, a refreshing dip in the summer. The cool water, a reprieve from the hot weather. Then it quickly took a turn for the worst.
When diving under the water, Tommy heard singing. Not just any singing, a beautiful, alluring, almost intoxicating song. He began to swim deeper and deeper, the pressure on his head began to hurt and his surroundings began to darken. The fish that had been around him seemed to be growing more scarce. How deep had he gone? The singing still had not gotten any louder.
Deeper and deeper he swam, the pressure now not only on his head, but on his whole body. It was the first time Tommy had even felt heavy under water, a weird and unnatural feeling. Almost all the light had disappeared. Tommy was nearing complete blackness. How would he even find the source of the singing in these conditions? A terrifying thought occurred to Tommy. How did he hear the singing to begin with? He had already swum for what felt like an eternity to near complete blackness, and the singing only just now sounded like it was getting louder. Just a little deeper and he would find it.
Tommy stopped swimming, floating in complete, total blackness. Abyss enveloping him. Panic began to set in. His body felt like it would be crushed any moment, the pressure unbearable. Tommy began to flail his body in pain. What is up? What is down? He was stuck wherever he was now. His heart was pounding as if it would explode from his chest at any second.
Something grabbed him. Was it a hand? Was it a tentacle? Tommy couldn't see anything at all. More and more unknown appendages attached themselves to him, pulling, no almost ripping, of him apart in every direction at once. The pressure on his body made him feel he would be crushed, while the ripping made him feel he would be torn apart into countless pieces. He began to choke on water. Three horrific ways to go, but which would be his untimely demise?
That was when Tommy had awoken from his nightmare. Reflecting on it now, he knew a lot of it made no sense and was unrealistic. How deep was the Great Lake? Surely, some light would still reach the bottom. Tommy look at the lake, goosebumps still prickled on his skin. He knew the merpeople were too deep for students to hear them sing; he knew that it was unlikely to ever interact with them in his lifetime, but this did not shake the fear he had developed of the Lake he peered at.
In the deep blue abyss of the lake, Tommy wondered aloud, "What lies below?"