The Lake Dragon

There is a forgotten mysterious legend in Southeastern Wisconsin. A mystery about the deep waters of the lake and the beast has only truly been seen by two brave men.

Very few have seen this monster, some calling it the Lake Serpent, some would be considered lucky to come back alive from the lake. No one else was considered brave enough to come to face the face with it. But one young man from the county of Racine, Phineas, decided to end the life of this creature in 1900.

It was summer, yet it has been cloudy for nearly a week. Scattered rainfall appeared throughout days, and the waves crashed on the rock barriers with a thick layer of fog covering the lake and its shores. Whenever there was strong and foggy weather, it meant the monster was near, and Phineas thought it was the perfect opportunity to get rid of it.

He went alone. Despite the warnings not to go in the waters, he did. He packed his bag, making sure he had to essentials, a flare gun, flashlight, lantern, compass, and his pack of weapons.

He drove his boat to the middle of the lake, the rough waters making it difficult to keep balance. He made it far out, the mainland barely in sight. He looked at his watch. It was almost noon, the same time when most people see the monster.

The young man took out his binoculars, seeing nothing but water and  fog. He waited. Phineas waited and waited.

He looked at his pocket watch again, making sure not to lose it. It belonged to his grandfather, Johnathan. Phineas's grandfather always told him stories about the mystery in Lake Michigan. When Phin told his grandfather about his plan to one day murder the beast, Jonathan told him something a bit odd to him. To tell Neptune that he said hello, which were his last words before passing away.

Phineas shook off the old memory and focused back on being on the lookout. The fog grew thicker, so thick that he couldn't see land anymore. A rush of cold wind surrounded him, and the waves became stronger than before. He fell back on the boat, and the waves became calmer.

He gasped for air, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He laid there, staring at the sky. Phineas closed his eyes and reached back into his pocket. His eyes shot wide open when he couldn't feel his grandfather's timepiece.

He took off his jacket, going through each of the pockets, but couldn't find his most prized possession. It really did feel like a dreadful day. Phineas lost his watch and his chance of killing the monster.

Filled with sadness and anger, he yelled at the top of his lungs. He took his bag of weapons and threw them out to the lake. The bag sank in the water, and Phineas gave up.

He sat down, about to pull up his anchor and start his motor. Phin stopped when he heard something come out of the water behind him. The waves returned, rocking the water vehicle to and fro. Phineas held onto the sides, trying not to fall overboard. The boat stopped rocking, and the man was scared half-to-death. His muscles tightened and sensed a terrible presence staring at him from behind.

He slowly turned his head and saw a dark navy blue monster towering over him. Water dripped from its scaly sky-blue scales mouth. Its eyes were an electric blue color and had it had a webbed neck. Phineas saw the creature's fangs hang out of its mouth, strong enough to murder him in a second. He was more of a dragon than a serpent.

This is it. Phineas thought to himself, accepting his fate. I threw away my only weapons. I'm going to die here!

The monster only stared at the man, and Phineas soon became confused. Go on! Just do it.

The sea creature moved one of his claws out of the water and reached out to the boat. Phineas tried to back away, but if he did he'd fall into the lake. The man saw that it was holding something small and shiny. Phin cautiously held out his shaky hand, and the creature dropped the shiny object in his hand.

It was his pocket watch! In the monster's other claw came out the water. It was the man's bag of weapons. Phineas was surprised to see them again. He looked at the creature again, who lowered his head. They looked at each other, and Phin saw that this beautiful dragon, Neptune as his grandfather called him, was misunderstood.

He thanked him for the kind gesture and smiled. Phineas frowned when he looked at the bag, curious if Neptune knew what was inside. He grabbed it and dumped all the weapons on the boat.

The lake creature didn't move, surprisingly. Phineas grabbed a hold of the gun, an examined it. He bought the pistol only a day ago, along with rope, extra bullets, and a dagger. The man placed the handgun bag in the weapon bag and tossed it back into the lake, along with the other weaponry he bought.

Neptune didn't show a reaction. Phineas placed his hand on his snout, feeling the smooth scales on the dragon-like animal. Neptune rose back up and took off one his scales on his long neck. He dropped it in Phin's hand, before disappearing back into Lake Michigan.

Phineas returned to the mainland, the fog clearing up after Neptune disappeared. He raced to the cemetery to his grandfather's grave and took the scale out of his pocket, which glimmered in the sunlight appearing from the clouds. He placed it on the gravestone before walking away.

He made his way back to the lake, telling the people that the monster didn't exist. As he strolled on the sand near the rock barriers, he noticed a dark blue shell. He picked it up and looked at the horizon on the lake, curious about the other misunderstood mysteries in the world.

Phineas visited the lake everyday, whether it was just a small walk on the beach or a boat ride on the body of water. Neptune has never been seen again after that foggy day. 

No one ever saw the creature after Phineas returned from his failed mission. Some say he somehow left Lake Michigan and made his way to the Mississippi River. Others say he only appears on cold, foggy days. 

The sightings of the gentle and magnificent creature soon turned to legend. The simple story everyone to have forgotten about in the waves of time. But Phineas never forgot about his magical encounter with the great creature of Lake Michigan, Neptune the Lake Dragon.