Chapter 1

I knew from the get-go I was woefully underprepared for the fishing trip. It was never fully my thing, it was Matt’s thing, then Noah’s thing, and I simply glossed the surface level of fishing so that I could fit in.

Quite honestly, I do NOT like fishing. It’s simply a means to hang out with the boys. I’ve seen them go through several hobby phases, and honestly it was admirable to see them live a life of experimentation as we all approached the age of 30.

I saw Matt and Noah park side by side across the parking lot from me. We had landed ourselves in a newly developed neighborhood that, with a small hike, led to a fishing spot near an old dam I was not expecting anything to be built near. Fishing rod in hand, I got out of my car to greet them.

“Where’s your tackle box?” Matt sneered in jest.

“Yeah, are you gonna be warm enough in just a t-shirt?” Noah added in.

I inspected the five-diamond spoon that was tied to my line. I flicked it with false confidence, watching it spin.

“This one’s all I need.”

“Alright, big guy, lemme know when you actually catch a fish,” Noah patted me on the back, then gestured for us to get moving.

I watched as the two yapped about their last fishing trip, the duo occasionally glancing back at me, but not really checking in. They were lost in their hobby, and that was fine, even if I felt a bit left out. I observed from a literal arm's length away as they finally spoke to me, just to guide me through the marsh.

“Oh hey, at least he’s wearing the right kind of shoes,” Matt laughed. I did a little dance to show off my hiking boots. After all these years of friendship, we would go in shifts of who would be clowned on. This time around, it was my time, and I took it well.

“These are pretty good to run in as well,” I looked down at my shoes. “Better than those goofy rubber boots you two jackasses are wearing.”

“They’re called waders,” Noah said, voice tinged with a bit of defensive energy as he gestured to his outfit that sprawled halfway up his body.

“Did you bring beer?” Matt called back.

“Yeah.” Noah tapped his backpack. “What about you, Jack?”

I tapped my deep pockets; the two cans I had packed were easy to spot.

“Fuckin eh, I guess you’re half-prepared,” Noah grinned.

As we trekked through the marsh, the dam came into view. The rain clouds coming in from the west made the colossal structure an even larger eyesore. Birds circled it, but I didn’t see a single one land on the wall. That didn’t stop them from shitting on it for what looked like years. The chain-link fencing around the dam’s entranceways had rusted so badly you could mistake it for wood.

I never understood why it was here. The river itself was fairly small, and even in rainy seasons it was never this one that was problematic for flooding. Based on the condition, I don’t think our city knew why it was here either; but they couldn’t be bothered to tear it down.

I almost felt dizzy staring at it for too long. I noticed the area was quiet. The mosquitoes that I’d been swatting at for the first half of the journey had disappeared. I’m pretty sure Matt had brought bug spray. Felt odd regardless.

“You good?” Noah broke me out of my daze. I shook my head back into focus.

“Yeah, yeah, just…never seen this thing up close.”

“It’s hideous, but the fish I’ve seen here, man…” Matt began setting up his fly rod. “It’s super quiet, too.”

“I can help make it even quieter for you guys,” I gestured towards the base of the dam.

“You can still hang with us, even if you didn’t pack for shit!” Matt chuckled.

“Nah, it’s fine. I’ll scream ‘FISH’ when I catch something.”

I leaped across the massive river rocks that lined the bank and made myself at home on top of a larger one. I cracked open my drink and took a sip, looking at the massive pile of rust on my right. I noticed a red, blinking light coming from above one of the doorways.

“You guys see these lights?” I yelled. Matt and Noah were practically in sync, looking my way as they stepped into the water together.

“It’s fine, man,” Noah dismissed. “Probably just a sensor.”

I grumbled and kept casting. Absolutely nothing. Noah’s explanation didn’t really make sense, but we were here to fish, and we sure as shit weren’t trespassing. The clouds moved closer, but it was still a warm, summer evening. I didn’t catch a thing after nearly 50 casts. I decided to put the rod down and take it all in.

Occasionally, the boys and I would chat, but it was as Matt said: quiet. You’d think how they gushed earlier that they’d be nonstop talking fishing or clowning on me some more. But I was wrong, and it was nice having some silence.

With the silence, I noticed that the base of the dam, just shy of where I’d been casting, had completely still water. Not only that, it was many shades darker. This still spot ran deep.

I stared at it. The way it remained still reminded me of all the internet bullshit about brain-eating amoeba in still water. It didn’t look like that, but I felt hairs stand on my neck the longer I stared at it.

“On the line!” Matt broke the silence. I hopped off my spot, leaving my pole behind. I snatched a net they’d brought. I watched as the two carried the brown trout towards me like they were proud parents. He plopped it in, damn thing was huge!

“Nicely done, Matt.” I stared in awe as the flailing fish writhed in the net. It was easily two and a half feet.

“Now it’s my turn,” Noah sneered. “Mine’s gonna be way bigger.”

Matt let the fish go. He turned his back to the river, but I didn’t. The fish flailed even in the water, like someone sprinting from a threat. In my measly four trips I’ve been on, I’ve never seen a fish do that. I went back to my spot, periodically thinking about what I saw.

I got back to my rock, but something had stopped me from picking up my rod.

“What the fuck?”

The dark, still spot had moved. Or rather, it had grown. It was now twice the size. Had something spilled in the water? I looked to the sky. It was going to start raining in maybe half an hour.

“We’re leaving once it rains, right?” I called out, eager to distract myself.

“What? No,” Matt spat. “That’s when all the fish come out!”

I couldn’t make out what Noah was going to clown me for, as something else got my attention. A noise coming from the dam. It was a low, inconsistent thumping sound. It sounded like it was at the water level, just beyond the corroding wall. Coupled with the light, there was definitely activity happening in the dam.

The thumping made me nervous, though I couldn’t be bothered to ask this time around. Every concern I had was either joked about or dismissed. Maybe they’d heard it before. Maybe it was just machinery that was jumbled and old. I hesitated, staring at the still abyss. No fish would be here, right?

I casted out, not because I was expecting fish, but because I needed to present myself as not freaking out inside. I fished in silence until the rain came down, still nothing caught.

Minutes after the first drops of rain, the sky had decided to focus its fury on us. The rain came down so hard it almost blinded us.

“Jack!” I heard Noah holler. “There’s a spare coat in my bag! Grab it!”

I hated being so underprepared. I managed to get the raincoat from his bag, even if it was already half-soaked. I saw the two cast out into the river once more. These guys were nuts. I heard thumping, louder thumping. It was hard to distinguish from the thunder that began to rumble above.

Rain churned the river hard. The levels were rising just enough to notice. Yet, the dark abyss was not moved by the falling rain.

“Don’t tell me that’s a…”

A siren cried out from the dam; I clamped down on my ears. It was really loud.

“Alright, what the hell is going on!? We should be out of here!” I yelled, hoping one of them could hear me. I went back for my rod, then turned heel to trudge past the others in the storm. Fish were breaching the river at an alarming rate. They all struggled to flee from the dam. My friends were hellbent on snagging at least one more.

“Probably just from the rain! Relax!” Noah attempted to assure me.

“You can go if you’re bored! Nobody’s keeping you here!” Matt chimed in, wind nearly blowing him over.

One large thump stopped me in my tracks, then I heard suction as the riverbank began to lower. I turned around, immediately catching the red lights from the dam shutting off. My eyes drifted to the water as the levels sank, the dark spot sinking deeper and deeper.

“You seeing this?” Matt asked, slowly backing up and dismantling his rod.

“Yeah…” The words barely left Noah’s lips, but he followed suit.

“Guys, speed it up,” I began to back up, eyes locked on the dam.

Just then, the siren that had wailed so intensely cut out. Before I could register it, the darkness at the base of the dam swelled. Through the rain, the water rose in a mound that shouldn’t have been possible.

“RUN!”

Before I could turn myself around, I saw something move through the sheets of rain. A neck with more bends than any animal on the planet, nearly as dark as the storm sky. I heard the sound of something guttural drop towards the riverbank and swallow up Noah. I could hear his cries muffled through that thing and the rain.

I ran. My shoes scrambled over the rocks, but they worked. I could hear Matt falling down, the water splashing out of his waders. The same guttural noise followed. I don’t even think I heard him scream. I held back my tears and sprinted towards the marsh. I heard the sound of something massive dragging through the marsh behind me, but I didn’t stop. It was a miracle in itself that I didn’t trip on a rock.

I stopped hearing it as soon as I cleared the marsh, but I didn’t care. I sprinted up the hill towards the parking lot. I was about to pass out from exhaustion before I saw my trusty car. I threw myself inside. My hands shook as I put my keys into the ignition. My vision was still blurred from both tears and adrenaline.

I laid my head back, trying to take some breaths. The rain surged so intensely that I couldn’t even see the dam anymore. Seeing Matt and Noah’s cars parked far across the lot, however, prevented me from relaxing at all. I screamed and wailed as I drove past my devoured friends' vehicles.

I called 911 before I even made it home; Investigators never believed me. Their bodies were never found, and their cars were towed away a whole week later. I couldn’t stomach breaking the bad news to their families, but the news had done a good enough job of that. They said two fishermen were swept away by a flood from a catastrophic structural failure in the dam. What a crock of shit.

Somebody else has to know what the seemingly harmless dam contains. It’s not a protector of a low-grade water threat; it’s a cage for something the world isn’t ready for.

I drove by it last week. They’ve begun repairing the massive hole that was punched through the dam wall. From what I can see, they’re building it much thicker this time.