Artificial Earth

23

Route 11

PATROL OFFICER BOON AND HIS PARTNER Willy were invited inside the RV by Neds parents for coffee. It was still unbelievably dark outside, rain came down in torrents and the wind was unimaginably fierce. The Caravan was at a standstill, unable to move further forward due to the wrecked cars blocking the road ahead and the near zero visibility brought about by the storm.
"Thank you very much for inviting us over." Officer Boon said, taking off his hat and rain coat.
" No problem. Ned, get me two of those plastic chairs and two dry towels, they're beside the bathroom." Randolf said.
"I know where they are Dad." Ned replied, heading towards the bathroom.
"Yours?" Officer Willy asked, looking at the kid, also taking off his hat and raincoat.
"Yup. He just turned fourteen last month, pretty smart too. His sister's seventeen...She's riding with her boyfriend Albert behind us on the Pick Up."
"I'm Boon by the way and this is my partner Willy." Boon said, extending his hand.
"Randolf Bernstein." Randolf replied, shaking both their hands.
Ned walked back towards the three carrying two plastic chairs and two dry towels in both arms.
"This here's Ned."
"Hello there Ned...I'm Boon and this here is my partner Willy." Boon said, taking the chairs and towels from Ned.
"Hi...Ummm..officers." Ned replied.
Angela walked towards them carrying a tray with three cups of coffee. She offered them to their guests, gave one to her husband and went back to the kitchen area of the Rv.
"That was my wife Angela." Randolf said, sipping from his cup.
"Ahh." both officers nodded, wrapping the towels over their shoulders.
"So Mr. Bernstein....Ummm...Where do you work?" Boon asked, sipping from his cup.
"I used to work down at the docks on first lake, had a small fishing boat but my partner left so I was forced to sell the boat. We decided to use the money we got from the boat to build our own family business, selling baked cookies online."
"You bake cookies?" Willy asked, sipping from his cup.
"No...My wife does."
"Aah..." both officers nodded.
"Where are you guys headed anyway?" Boon asked.
"Marble City. We wanted to get as far as we possibly can from first lake."
"I saw the news about that creature out on the lake and the missing kids..." Boon said.
"It's not just the kids...people..and I mean a lot of them started disappearing. Something strange is going on...a lot of wierd stuff."
"What do you mean wierd?" Willy asked.
"Well...A few days ago, just before the storm, me and my friend Dell went out for some night fishing, took his boat far out into the lake. Dell's five years older than I am, around forty seven, and he has this small motor boat, brought some beers in can along and placed it in a cooler. The night sky was clear, no clouds, only stars and the moon was full. It was perfect....the water was calm, peaceful, you can easily see your own reflection on the water..and..because the moon is full, you can actually see some of those colored fishes swimming right underneath the boat, like I said...perfect." By this time, Ned, the two officers and even Angela were listening intently to Randolfs story.
"So...We were at the most, farther down the middle of the lake. I took my fishing rod out, placed the bait on the hook then threw the string in the water, Dell did the same. After that, we each opened a can of beer and waited for our catch. We were drinking our third can when suddenly Dell froze right in front of me, eyes bulging, mouth hanging open...I thought he was having a heart attack, we were both facing each other, you see? He was seeing something behind me.... So...." Randolf was saying.
"So..What did he saw?" Willy asked.
"Sssh, let him finish.." Boon said.
"So...I asked...Dell...Dell...are you alright? Then Dell pointed towards something behind me, still unable to talk. I then twisted around so I could see what's he pointing at...then...I...saw...or thought I saw a tall, slender form of a woman with long green hair standing above the water...I looked back at Dell...then looked back behind me....and she was gone....just vanished. After that, Dell just snapped out of his frozen state and started the motor, pushing it to it's max speed. We were like flying over the water...heading back to the docks. When we got there, I asked Dell to confirm if what I saw was what I thought I saw, Dell just nodded. I don't know what to make of it, maybe it's a ghost or something...The next morning I went over to his place and he was just gone...vanished...." Randolf said, ending his story.
"And what did you do? Did you tell the authorities?
"Ummm...no....I mean..I just thought Dell went away or something...." Randolf replied, taking another sip from his cup.
"What's strange is that....well...no one knew where Dell went, not even his neighbors. I began asking some of our mutual friends if they saw or heard from him...came up with nothing. Then I heard rumors, disapperances, people just vanishing without a trace."
"Do you think the thing out in the lake has something to do with the disappearances?...The green haired lady...took those people?" Boon asked, taking another sip from his cup.
"I'm not sure, at first I thought it was the serpent like creature they showed on the news who took them but....How can something that big go into town without anyone seeing it?"
"Your right...That is wierd, seems like a lot of wierd stuff going on these days, not just at first lake. This car collision we have outside....talked with one of the drivers, other one's unconscious. I had a chance to chat with him before the ambulance came and took them to the hospital...He said he saw a tree move towards the road, swerved and tried to avoid it...that's when he lost control and slammed head on with the other car." Boon said.
"Was he drunk?...maybe on drugs?" Randolf asked, finishing his coffee.
"Didn't smell alcohol on him, still...He might have been under the influence though. Won't know 'till after they test him down at the hospital." Boon replied.
Someone knocked at the door. Ned stood to see who's at the door then opened it. It was Albert, Nikki's boyfriend holding his jacket above his head.
"Hey...uhummn..excuse me but the others want to know when can we move out.." Albert said, brushing water from his hair.
"Can't yet. We wait until the tow truck from construction comes to move those two cars. It would take them at least two more hours to get here." Willy explained.
"I'll take care of it.." Randolf said, standing up. "You officers just sit there and drink your coffee....Ned, you go give them a refill."
Randolf went out in the rain with Albert to talk to the others while Ned went back to the kitchen to give the officers a refill.
"Hey Boon, What do you think?" Willy asked, whispering.
"Can't say...We can't verify anything unless we use the computer back in the station." Boon replied.
"I think he killed that Dell guy when they went out fishing, dropped the body in the lake...make it look like some monster took his friend." Willy said, leaning closer to Boon.
"Maybe he's telling the truth."
"Maybe he's not." Willy argued.
"He seems like a good fella, nice family too."
"That's what they said about the Marble City Mass Murderer before they discovered the bodies buried inside his house..." Willy said.
"Okay, Let's not jump to conclusions here.." Boon said.
"We can't just let that slip..." Willy argued. "What if I'm right?" he added.
"Okay, okay. Let's tag along for a while until we know more about these people. We be careful and not assume too much, not gonna do anything unless we're absolutely certain they're bad people." Boon said.
"Okay...but.. If they so much as make a wrong move, I wont hesitate using force." Willy said.
"Here's your coffee..." Ned said, holding up the tray with two cups of coffee.

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