Crooked Man

T H I R T Y N I N E

"Monica!" Rick shouts behind me. I turn to look at him, my legs in the water.

"What?" I say, disturbed.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm listening."

"To what?! Get out of that water!"

"Why?"

"Because it's not safe!" He says that like it's something I already should've known.
I slowly walk out of the water. I give him a questioning look.

He sighs. "Did you find us some place to sleep?"
"Don't you mean...me? Because...you know, you're dead. A ghost. A...what are you?"

He shakes his head. "Follow me. I think I saw a shed or something back there."

I take a one last look at the lake. Giggling is continuing. We walk away.

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After a minute, there's a small,wooden shed in front of us.
"You can sleep here at night. I can sleep anywhere."

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At night, as I try to sleep on the floor in the shed, trying to not hear the thunder, I feel eyes on me. Yes. That feeling again. So uncomfortable. The food Rick brought was...an animal. I guess. And I might've eaten a bit too much. I need some air.

I open my eyes and get up. Just as I do, I look out the window.

Faces. A lot of faces. All staring. At me. Not blinking. At all. And they're all human. All people. But...why are they staring?

I open the door cautiously. Rick's standing there.
"I was just coming to check on you! What are you doing?" He asks.
"I need air, Rick."

I stand outside the door for a few minutes with Rick standing next to me. I feel a hand on my hand.

"Will you let go of my hand, Rick!"
"I'm not holding it."

Alright! I need some answers RIGHT NOW! I look at my hand and I look behind me. There's nobody there.

"Rick! Go inside and sleep!" I say. Then I think how a dead person can sleep. But he goes inside.

I walk to the lake. The beautiful lake. The one that talks. Talks to me.

"I need answers." I whisper.

"I have them all..."the soft voice says, from the lake.

I take a deep breath and walk inside the lake. It gets pretty deep after some time. I dive in...