The Poisonous Wave
by  Larry Sells

      Ralph Stevens drove his Jet Ski over Maple Lake.  Carefully, Ralph past a couple of boats and stayed away from any skiers.  Water splashed on Ralph’s legs and lower body.  After a while of droving the Jet Ski around Maple Lake, Ralph became tired and carefully docked the Jet Ski.  Ralph Stevens’ neighbor, Jack Stone, walked over to the dock and helped to lift the Jet Ski back on its carrier.  Jack and Ralph both looked at Maple Lake and saw a hooded figure walking on the surface of the lake.  They shook their heads and looked at the lake again.  The hooded person was still there.  Toward the banks, dead fish floated to Maple Lake’s beaches.

       “Let’s get out of here,” Ralph said as he jumped into his truck.

       Silently, Jack got in as Ralph floored the truck leaving Maple Lake and the hooded figure behind.

       A teenage girl swam underneath the hooded specter then she sank below the surface of Maple Lake.   She kicked her with feet and paddled her with her hands, but could not return to the surface.  A few minutes later, her movements stopped and the current carried her to shore. 

   Betty Lee was walking on the beach when she saw a bunch of dead fish and the girl lying near the edge of the water.  Yelling for help, Betty ran to the lifeguard station.  Hearing her scream, one of the lifeguards caught her and asked, “What’s wrong?” 

       Breathing deep breaths Betty tried to speak but could not.  When Betty caught her breath, she said, “There is a young girl dead near the beach.  Follow me, and I will take you to her. 

       The lifeguard yelled at the station.  “Call an ambulance.  We have someone in the water.”  Betty led the lifeguard directly to the young teenager.  He immediately pulled her out, cleaned the girl’s airway out with his finger, and breathed into her mouth forcing air into her lungs.  The girl’s face was nearing a dark blue.  A crowd formed around the three as the lifeguard tried to bring the teenager back from death. 

       When the ambulance arrived at the scene, the lifeguard was rotating between forcing air into the teenager’s lungs and pushing down on her chest.  The ambulance attendants took over where the lifeguard had left off.  The other ambulance attendant hooked her up to the EKG and shocked her with the paddles of the deliberator.  After a couple of attempts there was no change.  The ambulance attendants put the young girl on the stretcher, covered her up, and carried her in the ambulance.

       Cindy Robins waited on the sandy shore for her daughter to come back.  Cindy thought, she had been swimming a long time and was probably getting tired.   So Cindy started to walk around the beach, and yelled through cupped hands.  “Robin! Robin.”  Cindy saw the ambulance attendants put someone in the ambulance.  For some reason, dread crawled up her spine, and Cindy ran to the ambulance.  She arrived at the ambulance as the attendants put the young teenager inside it and closed the door. 

       “I can’t find my teenage daughter, anywhere.  Have you seen her?”

       “Miss, could you please calm down and describe your daughter.”

       “Robin has blonde hair about 5 feet and 10 inches tall and is wearing a blue bikini.”

       The lifeguard motioned for the ambulance to stop and to open the back doors.  He gently said, “This lady is looking for her daughter and she fits the body’s description.  Then, the lifeguard called the woman over to see if the body was her daughter.  One of the attendants lowered the sheet. 

       “Oh, my god.  No.  Robin, Robin,” Cindy screamed as she tried to wrap her daughter in her arms.  The attendant calmly sat Cindy down next to the stretcher as the lifeguard shut the ambulance door.  Leaving the scene, the ambulance threw some sand on the lifeguard’s legs.  He slowly shook his head and walked back to the lifeguard station.    

       On that evening, Ralph and Jack sat on Ralph’s couch watching the local news when it broke away to Maple Lake.   A reporter said; “There was a huge fish kill at the lake today.  Also, Robin Robins drowned here this afternoon.” 

       Jack and Ralph looked at each other then back at the TV.  Ralph and Jack silently thought about the hooded person walking in the middle of the lake.  “At Maple Lake did you see a hooded figure walking on the surface of the lake?” Ralph said.

       “Yes, I did, but I thought it was a trick of the sun,” Jack said as he scratched his head. 

       “Yeah, a trick of the sun,” Ralph said as if he was trying to convince himself.

       The next day, Ralph decided to go boating by himself.  He drove over to Maple Lake Boating Inc. and rented a small sailboat.  Ralph sailed to where they saw the hooded specter, but he did not see anything unusual.  After a couple of hours, Ralph decided to call it a day.

       When Ralph returned home, he called Jack.  On the third ring, Jack picked up the phone.  Skipping hello, Ralph said, “Yep, I guess you were right about the specter being a trick of the mind.”

       “Not so sure of myself, anymore,” Jack said.

       “Why? What made you change your mind?”

       “I was on-line today and looked through the mythology lists.  I decided to look under the Grim Reaper.  And you know something; it was he, the Grim Reaper. They also called him by the name Namis.”

       “Tomorrow is Sunday you and I should rent a boat and drive around the lake to see if you can find something.”

     “Sounds like a plan, Ralph,” Jack said.

     The next day, Jack and Ralph rented a small motorboat from Maple Lake Boating Inc. and started their search for Namis.   Jack and Ralph brought along a cooler of Bush Beer in case they need to wet their whistle.  After they each had six beers, Jack and Ralph coasted to the middle of Maple Lake.

     Suddenly, from behind them emerged Namis carrying a scythe.  Jack thought he heard something then turned around and saw Namis.  He screamed and patted Ralph on his shoulder.  As Ralph turned around, Namis slammed his scythe into the motor of the boat.  The boat explored throwing Jack and Ralph overboard.  Ralph and Jack tried to swim back to shore, but Namis caught up with them.  Ralph and Jack fought to stay on the surface, but they went under.  In an hour later, Ralph and Jack lifeless bodies floated on the shore.        

©2001 Larry Sells

Larry Sells lives in Cedar Falls, IA and work as a dishwasher.