22nd July, 2011: Fire and Lakes
The sun was beating down on the cracked brown earth where I was laying. I could make out the deep blue of the sky and rolled over onto my stomach. The grass nearby had been turned brown by the heat that had come over the summer. I was lying by the pool, listening to music when I heard the cars start up. The boys were up to their old tricks and took off way to quickly down the old driveway. I rolled my eyes as the cloud of dust they had brought up slowly settled by my side and stood up to brush the dust off my white dress. One of the boys stopped to give me a grin, he was about to climb on a deep chestnut horse and take off after the other boys who’d taken off in individual cars. He asked if I was coming down to the lake with them, and that he’d race us. I smiled and said I’d beat them there, running down the path. I could hear the slap of my thongs on the ground as I ran up the driveway, the wind slowly slipping past my hair. The guy rode up quickly on the horse and grinned as he rode past me. Turning right at the end of the drive way we headed into the paddock, the grass brown and dead from the long summer’s heat. I could make out the cars up ahead, one bright green, one bright purple, a red and a white. The guys were laughing as they got to the lake. For some reason, I had no trouble keeping up with them, despite being on foot the entire time. When they got to the lake, rather than demounting, the boy on the horse dove into the lake and began to swim across. I followed after, diving into the murky brown water. I swam across just behind him when the boys in the cars all drove into the water, doing the same thing. I scrambled onto the banks of the other side and we continued down towards the Cliffside. The cars over took me, and so did the boy on the horse until they came to a sudden halt. I skidded as I tried to stop myself falling over the side of the cliff, the boy on the horse grabbing at my dress and yanking me back before I flew over. The cars screeched and in the distance, I saw a large spark. We stood there for a moment, looking into the distance, attempting to make out the spark. It seemed to come closer and closer until we could make out the distinct pattern of fire heading our way. Abandoning the cars, we began to head back towards the lake, in a hope that diving into the water would stop us being burned. The run back seemed to take forever, dodging and ducking through branches, the sun beating down hotter and hotter, or perhaps it was the first that was on our tails, which seemed to move and burn in the same directions we were travelling at, nipping at our feet just to remind us it was there. I saw the water and took a deep breath, diving into the luke warm water. I could hear splashes behind me, one, two, three… but no forth. I rose to the surface to see the boy in the bright purple car engulfed in flames. He screamed out and then he wasn’t there anymore. The fire had reached the banks and taking another breath I dove underneath the protection of the water. I could make out the silhouettes of the other boys. I began to lose air, but could make out the fire crossing over the top of the water, seeming unfazed by the water beneath. I began to rise, but the boy on the horse grabbed my arms and held me down. I began to feel light headed, my lungs screamed to allow air in, and finally he released me. I rose to the surface and took in a deep gulp of air. The fire had just passed by in front of me, sitting on the surface and continued forward down the lake.
I looked at the boy and thanked him for keeping me down, because if he hadn’t, surely I would have been burned like the other boy. He looked at me, and said “don’t thank me yet” as I felt a tug on my leg. I looked down and in the water was a kid, who seemed to be trying to reach the top. Putting my arms down I helped him to the surface only to receive what can only be described as an electric shock course through my body. I looked up on the bridge and a strange man was standing there, his face shadowed by the broad hat he was wearing. He pointed at the child, and the next thing I knew the child was in his arms. He began to wrap the child in fishing net, over and over and over, before throwing the child into the water, where he was caught by a rip. The man smiled cruelly and said “let’s see you beat this one”. I swam for the child who began to sink under water, however with each passing wave in the water; I felt another electric shock course through my body. The waves pulled the boy further and further along the lake, the boys swam alongside me to help the kid. I watched as with each passing stroke, we all seemed to be shocked by the same invisible electric current. Reaching the child, one of the boys grabbed the net and instantly began to be shocked. I could see the waves of electricity coursing through him as he opened his mouth to scream, but it was only filled with water. He looked at me for a second, then his eyes became lifeless, he lay there clinging to the net, unmoving. The child smiled and then disappeared completely. I floated there for a minute, staring and trying to comprehend what had just happened. One of the boys pulled on my arm and began to drag me up stream. When we reached up stream, there was an old wooden dock bobbing in the water. We pulled ourselves up onto the dock, exhausted and gasping for air. The guy looked over at me and said “what the fuck was that?” I shook my head, unable to comprehend what was actually going on when I got a feeling of extreme dread. The dock lead into the forest and I had a feeling there was something darker waiting for us in there. Standing up I looked into the forest, seeing only shadows darting from one tree to another. I took a deep breath and stepped into the shadows. It was cold. I felt the shadows cling to me, blocking out any sunlight on my skin and then felt a tug. I landed hard on my back. I felt something grab at my leg and begin dragging me. Deeper and deeper into the forest I seemed to be pulled, unable to cling onto anything to stop this propulsion. The forest got darker and darker until I couldn’t see in front of me. I could hear a strange rumble growing louder and louder. Then I woke up.
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