HAUNTING STURGEONS: Chapter One

 Previously in this blog serial...

(Click here to read the Prologue) 

Now the HAUNTING continues...

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    I am standing as still as the surface of Lake Pontoon, its secret depths stretching out before me.  It has been ten years since I last stood here and the warmth of the late afternoon summer sun takes me back to that deceptively simple time.  A time when I was 11 years-old and my brother was still here.  

    It was a few days before his disappearance when Tommy and I visited the lake.  We were standing barefoot by the water’s edge, skipping stones and talking about weekend plans.  He always had plans, but he seemed eager to share something specific.

   “Don’t tell Mom and Dad or I’ll toss your sorry ass in the lake, but I’m sneaking out early Sunday to meet Tracy for a sunrise breakfast on Stickler Hill.” 

    “Why would you go there?  The woods are haunted.” 

    Tommy rolled his blue eyes at my belief.  “Stickler Woods isn’t haunted, but it will be once Tracy and I are done with it.  She wants our first time makkn’ it to be memorable.” 

    “Making breakfast?” 

    “Makin’ sex, dumbass.” 

    “Oh,” I said, skipping a stone. 

    “What about you?  Hangin’ out with Eddie again?” 

    “Yup.  We’re gonna catch a movie on Saturday and then go camping in his backyard.” 

    “You know, Jimmy...” he started.  Tommy was never at a loss for words, but for some reason he was struggling.  “Tracy’s been telling me some things about her cousin.” 

    “What about Eddie?”  I stared at my brother, daring him to say anything negative about my best friend.

    Tommy knew better than to cross that line.  He just shook his head and skipped his final stone, “Never mind, Jimmy.” 

    The memory fades and I stand alone, gazing across the tranquil water.  I imagine being that stone traveling over the surface, causing ripples with each impact.  Ripples spreading and colliding with one another until not a single area of Sturgeons remains undisturbed.  

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The HAUNTING continues in...  

Click to read

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words! 

Freak Out, 

JLH 

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