Ebb & Flow
Prologue
The news reports were in, summer was coming to end. School was starting; the days were getting shorter and the weather colder. The summer fun days were numbered. Everyone knew that and everyone wanted to get in as much as they could while they still had time.
A seaside town was already experiencing the turn of the season. The crowds had diminished and the hotels stood vacant. The warm sea air was already turning nippy, and the water frigid. However, the atmosphere hadn’t dissipated yet. And the few brave ones were soaking in the last of summer’s sun and warmth.
Towards the end of the pier sat a man. He was a professor for the local college. The summer courses had ended for the students, but not for the teachers. On the bench next to him sat a stack of final papers. Half of them had red marks the other half had yet to be touched. They rippled in the wind, but the stone on top kept them from blowing away.
Spending most of his days indoors, the professor braved the windy day, to enjoy a few days break before the start of the fall semester. He was enjoying the seaside smell of salt and sun, he would’ve liked to have sat at the end of the pier but four young ladies in swimwear had taken it. He had his fill of college students and decided to let them be. He could always watch the sunset from where he was.
The girls had sparklers and were cheering about one thing or another. They looked completely carefree and extremely happy. It was rare to see youth so happy. The light from their sparklers were bright, very bright.
The professor turned back to the paper he was currently reading. He had to stop himself from laughing. The final assignment was to write about a recurring theme/event in history, citation was required. This student wrote about an off the wall idea ‘Global Supernatural Occurrences’. It wasn’t the first time the professor had gotten a paper like that and it wouldn’t be the last. What always got him were the resources they cited. They weren’t creditable. Yet somehow this student had found ways to link their ideas together with credible information; it had the professor wanting to believe.
The change of power from one hand to the other; it sounded a like average war. The major aspect being supernatural; it could almost be compared to religious wars. The professor knew this paper would get a good mark because not all of it was based in fantasy, it had grounding in reality.
The professor finished the paper and packed up his stack. The sky was darkening and the sun was casting its last rays across the water. He was enjoying the sound of the sea and the happy cheers of the girls, but it wasn’t long before he noticed something odd. The salty smelling air had an overbearing decay-like smell. He looked over the edge of the pier looking for the culprit, the water no longer looked refreshing, but putrid. He gaged slightly at the smell; it was so thick he could taste it thick on his tongue. The light posts that dotted the pier were slowly turning on for the night stopped short. The lights at the end of the pier refused to turn on. The end of the pier was getting darker as the sun was swallowed by the sea. The girls were suddenly quiet. Their sparklers were barely lite as if an oppressive source was trying to vanquish them.
The professor watched in fixed horror as a shadow manifested before the girls. The girls tried to step back, but the darkness swarmed them, they were consumed by it. The professor watched as the shadow breath in, ripping the life from their bodies. Four strands of different colored light came from their bodies and disappeared into the shadows mouth. The shadows were bathed in a flash of light, revealing a human-like form for a brief second. Life faded from their bodies and they fell lifelessly. Their bodies dissolved into the dark mass, disappearing.
The professor’s logical mind told him he was imagining it. That is was a side effort from reading that last paper. He was on edge. But the older more instinctual part told him to slowly walk away, never look back, and be as small as possible. But his irrational mind was taking over; he slowly headed towards the end of the pier. The closer he got, the more he noticed that the darkness was taking form. He came to a dead stop as he heard a noise.
The dark form moved as if it was waking from a long nap. A resonating chuckle cut through the air like a knife. The sound gripped at the professor’s heart, making his chest clinch. A gloved hand reached through the shadows, almost beckoning the professor. The professor didn’t move. The form chuckled again, and then disappeared over the pier.
If anyone saw what had happened, the professor doubted they would believe it. He hardly did. The only thing that made him believe it, were the four used up sparklers. He collected them and stashed them in his bag. He looked over the pier, but nothing was there. The water looked fine and the lights were back on. The fishermen were slowly making their way to the end of the pier to do their nightly fishing.
With the life of the four girls, the shadow formed a human figure. It waded through the foam under the pier. It shook itself dry and called the shadows to cover its exposed skin in something humans would find inconspicuous. It wasn’t there to cause too much attention, yet. The old man was just a consolation prize. What it really wanted was to send a message. It chuckled as it made its way across the beach, the night slowly taking it in.
A seaside town was already experiencing the turn of the season. The crowds had diminished and the hotels stood vacant. The warm sea air was already turning nippy, and the water frigid. However, the atmosphere hadn’t dissipated yet. And the few brave ones were soaking in the last of summer’s sun and warmth.
Towards the end of the pier sat a man. He was a professor for the local college. The summer courses had ended for the students, but not for the teachers. On the bench next to him sat a stack of final papers. Half of them had red marks the other half had yet to be touched. They rippled in the wind, but the stone on top kept them from blowing away.
Spending most of his days indoors, the professor braved the windy day, to enjoy a few days break before the start of the fall semester. He was enjoying the seaside smell of salt and sun, he would’ve liked to have sat at the end of the pier but four young ladies in swimwear had taken it. He had his fill of college students and decided to let them be. He could always watch the sunset from where he was.
The girls had sparklers and were cheering about one thing or another. They looked completely carefree and extremely happy. It was rare to see youth so happy. The light from their sparklers were bright, very bright.
The professor turned back to the paper he was currently reading. He had to stop himself from laughing. The final assignment was to write about a recurring theme/event in history, citation was required. This student wrote about an off the wall idea ‘Global Supernatural Occurrences’. It wasn’t the first time the professor had gotten a paper like that and it wouldn’t be the last. What always got him were the resources they cited. They weren’t creditable. Yet somehow this student had found ways to link their ideas together with credible information; it had the professor wanting to believe.
The change of power from one hand to the other; it sounded a like average war. The major aspect being supernatural; it could almost be compared to religious wars. The professor knew this paper would get a good mark because not all of it was based in fantasy, it had grounding in reality.
The professor finished the paper and packed up his stack. The sky was darkening and the sun was casting its last rays across the water. He was enjoying the sound of the sea and the happy cheers of the girls, but it wasn’t long before he noticed something odd. The salty smelling air had an overbearing decay-like smell. He looked over the edge of the pier looking for the culprit, the water no longer looked refreshing, but putrid. He gaged slightly at the smell; it was so thick he could taste it thick on his tongue. The light posts that dotted the pier were slowly turning on for the night stopped short. The lights at the end of the pier refused to turn on. The end of the pier was getting darker as the sun was swallowed by the sea. The girls were suddenly quiet. Their sparklers were barely lite as if an oppressive source was trying to vanquish them.
The professor watched in fixed horror as a shadow manifested before the girls. The girls tried to step back, but the darkness swarmed them, they were consumed by it. The professor watched as the shadow breath in, ripping the life from their bodies. Four strands of different colored light came from their bodies and disappeared into the shadows mouth. The shadows were bathed in a flash of light, revealing a human-like form for a brief second. Life faded from their bodies and they fell lifelessly. Their bodies dissolved into the dark mass, disappearing.
The professor’s logical mind told him he was imagining it. That is was a side effort from reading that last paper. He was on edge. But the older more instinctual part told him to slowly walk away, never look back, and be as small as possible. But his irrational mind was taking over; he slowly headed towards the end of the pier. The closer he got, the more he noticed that the darkness was taking form. He came to a dead stop as he heard a noise.
The dark form moved as if it was waking from a long nap. A resonating chuckle cut through the air like a knife. The sound gripped at the professor’s heart, making his chest clinch. A gloved hand reached through the shadows, almost beckoning the professor. The professor didn’t move. The form chuckled again, and then disappeared over the pier.
If anyone saw what had happened, the professor doubted they would believe it. He hardly did. The only thing that made him believe it, were the four used up sparklers. He collected them and stashed them in his bag. He looked over the pier, but nothing was there. The water looked fine and the lights were back on. The fishermen were slowly making their way to the end of the pier to do their nightly fishing.
With the life of the four girls, the shadow formed a human figure. It waded through the foam under the pier. It shook itself dry and called the shadows to cover its exposed skin in something humans would find inconspicuous. It wasn’t there to cause too much attention, yet. The old man was just a consolation prize. What it really wanted was to send a message. It chuckled as it made its way across the beach, the night slowly taking it in.