Write to Rank: 2023

Black Belt: Water's Edge

Author's note: Below you'll find a very weird romance horror story. Just thought I'd warn you.

Their feet burned while their hands warmed one another. Snowflakes melted in strands of her black hair, and they became one with her just as he wished to be. The snowy sand flew behind them while they ran toward the frozen lake. She stopped in front of him so suddenly he nearly smashed into her. She teetered with one foot on the sand and the other caressing the ice.

"Tragedy starts at the water's edge." The words left her lips so softly that he strained to hear them. He wasn't sure what she was quoting, if anything, but he didn't dare to ask.

The wind rushed over the lake, sending blasts of cold toward them. Her white nightgown whipped around her legs, and he felt only hot sparks rushing through his body. They'd waited for this moment for months, planning their great escape. With him and her together, he saw the future filled with warmth, memories, and happiness.

She let go of his hand, twirling in front of him. Her bare feet left trails of blood across the ice. She was as beautiful as the snow-covered dunes behind them. Adults would have called them stupid teenagers, but he didn't care. The world consisted only of her and him-mostly her. Life was so complex before but now while they moved over the ice toward freedom, it had become such a simple thing.

He held out a hand and when she put her palm in his, he pulled her closer. "I love you."

Her lips, turning blue, lifted into a smile. The cracks formed. "How much?"

"More than ice." He reached out for her once more, never wanting to let go of her.

She frowned.

He grasped her forearm, yanking her closer. The cracks spread. She tipped, like a ballerina, one foot on the frozen water and the other rising high in the air behind her.

"To death." He went in for a kiss, whispering once more, "I love you to death."

Their lips nearly touched before she pulled away, a playful grin on her face. The cracks circled her. She stepped back several feet. "Prove it."

He screamed when she fell through the ice, like a doll thrown to the floor. Her hair morphed with the dark water as she sunk deeper. The ice around him showed no signs of breaking as if the lake had asked for her and only her. He waited for her to come to the surface and shout for help. He imagined how he would give her his hand and pull her to safety.

But she didn't resurface, and he was forced to choose: jump in after her or run for help?

Tears burned his cheeks and the cold finally set in.

~ ~ ~

Everywhere he went, death followed.

The sun's rays scorched his skin while he stood atop a sand dune. The lake's endless water glistened like thousands of diamonds 500 feet below. Browning dune grass spotted the slope, whistling in the chilly autumn wind. The sight was ruined by the large metal wall that was placed to stop the erosion of sand dunes. It was both the same and completely different from when he'd come as a child.

Before him was a makeshift walkway that led straight down the massive hill. The sand was cold, but this was his home, and he was used to the cold. The funeral for his parents would be starting soon, he was almost sad he'd miss it.

Gravity pushed down on him while he teetered on the edge between upright and running down. Though it'd been 10 long years since that winter night, he could hear her counting before they ran down the sand dune together.