cryptid olympics (unus annus)

cryptid olympics

saturday, october 31, 2020
6:22 pm
eagle lake, los angeles

Mark hauled his suitcase out of the trunk of his van. It was filled with your average camping gear. Matches, snacks, tuna fish sandwiches, and various medical supplies that he and his friend, Ethan, would most likely not need to use.

"You brought the tactical shovel?" Ethan smiled as Mark propped his shovel against the big oak tree.

"Oh, you think I'm a moron?" He chuckled. "Of course I brought the tactical shovel!"

The tactical shovel wasn't any ordinary shovel. It was, well, tactical. There were many small compartments in the silver shovel. It twisted off into a knife, harpoon, and lots more. There were bits and bobs that Mark himself didn't know about.

The soft waves of the lake sloshed onto the pebbly shore. A boat far in the distance wobbled in the water. Little pieces of wood and debris floated and washed up on the ground.

Something sparkly somewhat far away got Mark's attention. It was around human size, from what he could determine, and laid on the lakefront like a beached fish or something.

"What is that?" Mark asked quietly, half expecting Ethan to not reply.

"I dunno," He said. "Do y' think we should check it out?"

Mark's eyes were still locked on the motionless animal. "Why not,"

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saturday, october 31, 2020
6:29 pm

eagle lake, los angeles

The creature was close enough now that the two men could tell that it wasn't any animal they knew of. It had two tails, directly opposite to each other. It would be a funny sight if they weren't seeing it with their own two eyes.

"The hell..." Ethan started.

Something was sinisterly wrong. A kind of wrong that crept around your shoulders. The kind of wrong that tickled your stomach. The kind of wrong that breathed down your neck and whispered in your ear.

The kind of wrong you can't comprehend.

"We should," Mark took a deep breath. "We should go back."

"Y-Yeah..."

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saturday, october 31, 2020
7:45 pm
eagle lake, los angeles

"Can you come help me get the sleeping bags in the tent?" Ethan asked, carelessly throwing his bag into the tent they had pitched not too long ago. It was a little ways away from the big oak tree.

Mark agreed and accommodated his friend in rolling the sleeping bags into their tent. The bags were heavier than he had expected, probably about three pounds. 

Ethan's eyes drifted towards the Mermer, a name he and Mark came up with for the creature. "'Cause it looks like two mermaids put together," He said. Giving the Mermer a silly name eased the pit in Ethan's stomach, even if by just a little.

The tent was a bright neon yellow, made with smooth nylon. The plastic pegs were half-underground and half-exposed. If it had been Mark to put them in, they'd be so far underground, you wouldn't be able to see them.

"Oh, fuck!" Ethan exclaimed. "I forgot Tank Fish was supposed to stream today!"

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