Along the Way

Chapter 7

Have you ever had that feeling, where it feels like you’re being watched?

That, and fear, was the only thing I could feel passing through the next town. I could tell Alex felt the same way. I could see shivers running down her spine as she stayed alerted, constantly checking behind her. I couldn't blame her, because I was doing practically the same thing.
This town was no other than Devils Elbow. Now the town itself is very beautiful, but when you know it's history, the colors seem to fade out of the flowers, the birds song sounds like cries for help, and everyone in this town seems depressed.

Many years ago, in this beautiful town, men, women, and children loved playing in the river. Families would play and have picnics on the bank, friends would play together, trying to catch the biggest crawdads, anyone who was anyone in that town, loved having a relaxing day by the water. The most favored spot to play around in, was the ‘Elbow’, which was a weird bend in the river.

It was a common meet up spot for friends, just like how Alex and I meet up at the diner.

One beautiful day, the Elbow was packed with people, adults and children alike. Splashing in the water, tanning on the bank, and having picnics upon the shore, one child spotted a toy in the water. As a young child, he picked it up and started playing with it happily.

The young boy was so excited that he had gotten a new toy, after examining it and playing with it for awhile, he wanted to show his parents.

He ran out of the water, excitement in his eyes, a bright smile on his face.

“Mommy! Daddy!” He exclaimed “Look at my toy!”

He showed his parents the object he’d found in the water just moments ago.

His parents were shocked and disgusted, the slapped it right out of his hand. When they asked where he got it, he happily showed them into the water. It was a struggle, with all the people around, to get to where he pulled in from the water, but as soon as they got there, everyone knew.

A loud blood curdling scream rang through the air, and all else grew silent. Everyone else was mortified, wondering why a grown woman possessed such a disturbing noise. He husband, the child's father, had known what the scream was about.

He reached into the water to pull out the rest of the pieces to this toy his son had found.

Everything seemed to grow more silent, as the toy dangle from the fathers hands. It was as if no one was breathing, no one was thinking. All eyes lay on the remains.

This, was no toy.

But, it was the remains of something no one had expected.

A human.

The silence grew and grew, until another unknown scream shot through the air, piercing the ears of all. The only sound for miles was the echoing scream. Moments later, everyone was screaming, crying, begging for help.

I’d be one thing if this were a skeleton, but no. This individual had not been dead long. And that toy the boy found? Her hand. The boy found one of the two missing hands of the girl.

It is unknown what happened later that day, except that no one could fall asleep. The screams rang through everyone's ears, the body in the man's hands was fresh in their minds.
Children cried and screamed in fear, mothers comforted the children, but only to have their own fear themselves, as the fathers all searched the water for more bodies.

13 bodies were found later that day, including the one from before.
Many people left and never came back that night, where as other couldn’t afford to go anywhere.
The town was silent for days.

Weeks.

Months.

It took almost a year before the town started regrouping, leaving their houses to do things other than get bare necessities.

Plants, like flowers, trees, bushes, and more, were planted all around town in honor of those who’d died. The town pledged from now on, to always keep the colors bright in the town to cover the sorrow and pain felt before.
The killer was never found, but after that day, they never came back in fear that they would be caught. No one dared to look for them, so the murderer is left a mystery to this day.

It took many years before the town interacted more normally, pushing aside the memories. New people moved in, old moved out. No one ever dared to speak of the incident.

But when the town got an official name, they called it Devil's Elbow. The name is what forced the story out of a few individuals, making it the famous backstory to the town.

Not many people know the story now. The townspeople from then polished over that point in time, as if it never happened. No one spoke of it in fear that someone from then could here.
Alex and I could feel the townspeople's fear as we walked.

Everyone seemed bright, but within their eyes there was sadness. The plastered smiles stood out like a black dot on white paper.

But that was all they knew how to do, fake the happiness that used to lie within the town. And so they did.
No one dared to visit the river anymore. There were no more playful children splashing in the water, or sun tanning adults, or picnicking families. No more friends used it as a meet up spot, and no more crawdads were ever caught.