Below The Surface

•••Chapter One•••

A young boy, no older than eighteen, hammered determinedly away at a strip of metal that glowed red hot on the stone block. As the blacksmith's son he worked dawn to dusk in the sweltering workshop that sat near the ocean. Sometimes he would escape, slipping out into the dark nights that he so often worked through, just so he could sit upon the rocks above a deep pool that was huddled between two cliff faces.
The rock walls were covered in vines and colorful tropical blossoms, and the water below would ripple quietly as a thin mist swirled just above the surface. He liked this secluded section away from the small town of his, which couldn't hold many secrets.
Tonight was no different then any other as he hung up his battered apron and silently pushed open the door, stepping into the evening. He walked down a cobblestone path to the wooden docks that ran along the edge of the water for almost a mile, with long poles that held flickering torches in their brackets.
After several minutes he reached the docks end, where the wood joined against the front of the rocky hill. He climbed up with skill and ease and soon found the small lagoon. Sitting down upon the cool stone he stared down into the swirling water in the pool beneath him. It was eerily dark and it was almost as if he could see shadows swimming just under the glassy surface...
He adjusted himself so that he lay on his stomach, peering over the edge of the rocks. His father had told him stories of the creatures that dwelled in the depths of the sea, many were merely fantasy, but some of the villagers had spread rumors of mysterious creatures that could snatch men right off the decks of ships during the night.
He didn't quite believe some of the tales that he had overheard in the village, but he wasn't such a fool as to ignore all the stories. His father had known a man that had worked on board a ship earlier in his youth. He claimed one night, as he and another man were tying ropes to the mast, something dark jumped out of the water, snatched the man from where he stood beside him, and landed in the water on the other side of the ship disappearing without so much as a splash.
This story drifted through the boys mind as he gazed down into the water below him absentmindedly. He stared unblinkingly, wondering about all the unknown things that could be darting through the water even as he lay there...
Suddenly he leapt to his feet, still watching the water as a cold, a panicked chill ran through his spine, his heart pounded rapidly and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as the once silent wind picked up, whistling over the surface of the pool...
He could see a pair of inhuman eyes rising up slowly from the deep water, staring eerily at him as they came closer and closer...

To be continued...