Do Not Provoke The Ducks

It was a strange place I found myself in. An open field stretched out before me, surrounded by tall oak trees that feel like a cage around me. In the centre was a large pond filled with reeds and ducks. At first sight you think that there was nothing peculiar about this area, except for this unnatural cold covering my body. Just standing here made me uneasy.

A sign stood beside me. It looked old and decrepit, weathered from years of being outside. All I could make out was 'Ducks'. What could that mean? Why ducks? What does the rest of the sign say? I looked over at the seemingly calm creatures floating on the smooth reflective surface. Curiosity consumed me, I just had to know what was so special about these ducks. I steadily crept forwards, observing the birds. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Something hard hit my foot. I jumped, afraid of what I had hit. I had kicked a stone. It was just a stone. That's when it happened. An idea... an idea that secured my fate... throw the rock.

As soon as the calm was broken, everything changed. That uneasy feeling intensified as these creatures turned to face me. Their eyes were something I'd never seen before. They looked into my soul, pierced it. I felt naked under their gaze. An overpowering urge took over me, it was as if I had been possessed. I moved towards the pond. Every cell in my body screamed to run yet I had no control. Closer and closer to the water's edge I got, unable to stop. I was left wondering how I ended up in this situation and I am left with no answers. I was walking home at night, there was a bright light, and that's it. I woke up here, in this awful situation, with a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach.

The icy liquid was around my ankles now and yet I continued on wards, unable to return to dry land. I knew this was the end for me. My head sunk under. The last thing I saw before taking my last breath was the blank terrifying stares of the ducks. I realised then what that sign had said, 'Do Not Provoke The Duck'. If only I had known.