Dark Waters | Original & Quick

Elias leaned over the gunwale, his heart hammering. "Thomas?" he whispered. The humming stopped.

As he reached the center of the lake, the air grew unnaturally still. The water began to vibrate—a low, rhythmic hum that Elias felt in his teeth. He lowered the lantern over the side. The light struggled against the murk, illuminating only a few feet of the swirling, ink-like depths. Then, he saw it. Dark Waters

The water began to rise. Not a wave, but a slow, bulging swell right beneath the boat. From the blackness, a face emerged. It was Thomas, or at least the memory of him, preserved in the cold, lightless pressure of the deep. His eyes were wide, glowing with a soft, bioluminescent amber, and his hair drifted around his head like smoke. He didn't look drowned. He looked... transformed. Elias leaned over the gunwale, his heart hammering

Elias looked back at the shore, where the lights of the town flickered like dying embers. He thought of the heavy air, the aching joints, and the grief he’d carried for half a century. Then he looked at the cool, inviting void below. As he reached the center of the lake,

"Is it peaceful?" Elias asked, his hand hovering over the water. "It is silent," the voice replied.