Ricki loved to swim. Ever since she was a little girl, she took to it... well like a fish to water. The local public pool, the small pool in her backyard, the water park, anywhere there was water... well you get it.
Her dream, however, was to swim in a big lake. About two hours away was Siren Lake.
She'd heard tales of water so clear you could see right to the bottom and fish galore.
This was the selling point she'd use to convince her father to make a day of it, pack some food and necessities, and head out.
When they'd got there, Ricki could barely believe her eyes. Everything was true. The crystalline waters beckoned as the summer sun beamed down upon her.
After promising her mother not to go out too far in unfamiliar waters, she waded in.
The water was colder than she expected, especially with the temperature outside. Shrugging it off, she walked by bustling schools of fish, lost in her aquatic daydream.
Suddenly, her feet met not the solid bottom of the lake, but the grasping of a legion of hands.
They would lead her to where she belonged.
With them.
No matter how she struggled or cried, they held steadfast, pulling her deeper.
Down, down, down she went, her parents none the wiser.
You need not be worried about only troubled waters. Calm and still can kill as well.
We are many. The waters that claimed us, rivers, lakes, springs, gorges, oceans...keep us here.
Missing child. Missing mother. Missing uncle. Missing brother. Missing.
Because they can't see us. We reach towards the surface, but our limbs are so intertwined. It's like undoing an eternal knot.
The *aliens* or Snatchers do not come from a galaxy, far, far away.
You have only seen a fraction of the depths of The Waters, and how distant they flow.
You study the mysteries of the universe. From ashes you rise, then return to dust.
We Are Here.
Let the salt sting your eyes and endure. For your sight is now clear and pure.
