Chapter 2

"Come on, Terra!" Tricia said.

"I'm trying!" she said. "But my shoes keep getting stuck in the mud! It's like gum!"

The teenage girl rolled her eyes as she jumped from the wet pile of leaves to the bare ground covered by water. Tricia's splash wetted her pants from the knees up, but she didn't care. Her mother would dry them without much of a fuss.

Much of her brunette hair was pressing against her pale skin from the raindrops falling from the trees above. It was no longer raining, but the trees were still slick with fresh precipitation that soaked the two girls' clothes. Tricia, unencumbered by the wetness, led Terra through the forest in their search for treasure and excitement.

The forest was full of thick oaks sprinkled with large batches of bright green moss. The oaks near Jewel's region were known for their enormous girth, and the moss for its slightly shiny quality. Tricia took advantage of the woodland near her home to frolic in it daily.

Every minute she spent in school, she was itching to head into her backyard and start running through the forest. Today was the day of an extensive rainstorm that flooded the roads for a day before the volume of water decreased. Now, even though the brunt of the rainstorm had passed, much of the forests in the area were still overrun with water.

Much of the woodland Tricia raced through was more than half an inch deep in water. The water buried most of the ground she and Terra tromped through in a slow-moving water current from the storm. They followed the creek to their right that looked impossibly deep as they sought treasure.

"How do you know you'll even find any?" Terra asked.

"Because you can find amber slate after a big rain!" Tricia said. "You know how it is in these parts! More of a flood there is, the more amber slate!"

She splashed through more water covering the forest floor as they headed up the creek.

"Yeah, but what about…." Terra said behind her. "The…The creatures?"

"The ones that are said to come out after a rainstorm?" Tricia asked.

"Yeah," Terra said. "I heard…I heard they're scary."

"Yeah," Tricia said. "Wouldn't it be cool if we caught one of those creatures?! Or if we saw one up close?"

"I don't know if they're real," Terra said. "I just…I know people around here say they've seen them lurking about after a rainstorm."

"Of course," Tricia said. "That's why we have to go investigate."

Tricia continued to jog along the soaked forest floor beside the creek that flowed to her side. Not only was it overflowing, but something about it looked incredibly dark. She couldn't see the bottom of it, not because it was muddy. The water seemed intense blue, as if somebody had mixed coloring dye into the liquid.

Jewel is known for its odd terrain. Tricia remembered. Trees grow here quicker than in other areas, and the moss and water are slightly different in color from other sites. Many believe it has to do with the amber slate found here…

And then she finally saw it. Protruding from the other side of the creek bank was a rectangular stone object that was slightly yellow, like bronze. It was half-buried in mud, half in slow-moving water. It was impossible to see any carving. Only the upper, leftmost edge of the rectangular stone breached the surface. Tricia felt giddy at the sight of it.

"See!" Tricia said as she pointed to it. "I found one! I found one!"

"What?!" Terra asked. "I don't see anything."

"It's on the other side of the creek!" Tricia said. "I'll go get the amber slate!"

"Wait!" Terra said. "The water! It's too–!"

But Tricia was already racing ahead toward the stone object. She jumped from the forest floor covered by a slow-moving current to the creek in front of her. Upon getting in, the water went past her waist and midway to her torso. Her feet landed in squishy, almost slick mud.

While the water was deep, it wasn't fast enough to knock her down. The brunt of the rain had passed, and the subsequent speed of the currents it produced was enough for the average person to withstand. For Tricia, an athletic girl who got plenty of exercise, it was a cakewalk to wade through the creek. The creek was wider than deep, and the thirteen-year-old was dead set on getting that piece of amber slate.

Jewel is known for its odd territory. Tricia remembered. Trees grow here quicker than in other areas, and the moss and water are slightly different in color from other places. Many believe it has to do with the amber slate found here…

"That's a bit deep, don't you think?" Terra said.

Tricia waded through the water to find the thing within reach. At that moment, she felt herself step on something rather odd. It felt rough and somewhat rugged, like a stone embedded with slightly sharpened pebbles.

Tricia was barefoot so that she could feel the oddity of the object beneath her. At first, she thought it was a board with debris on it before finding it almost felt organic. After putting more of her weight on it as Tricia leaned forward, the surface of it reminded her of a combination between a sponge and petrified wood. The girl paid little mind to it as she grabbed hold of the rectangular stone in front of her.

"Nah," Tricia said. "I got it."

She pulled with both hands on the half-buried item before attempting to pluck it out of the ground. It took a little strength, but Tricia pried it from the grasp of the earth and floodwater as she pressed against the object lying on the creek bed. Upon digging it out of the mud, she smiled down at it, only to find a slight disappointment.

More than half of it still needs to be clearer to make out. Tricia thought. Oh…guess I'll have to wash it off.

She jumped off the hard object at her feet within the creek before turning around. Now facing Terra, she waved the piece of amber slate at her friend. She raced towards her, no longer wading through the creek as much as jumping joyously through it.

"Hey!" Tricia said. "I got it! I got it!"

However, just as Tricia turned back towards her friend and plowed through the creek, the area around her disappeared in a moment. She was no longer in the backwoods of Jewel, Massachusetts but surrounded by fire and broken buildings at night. People screamed as they ran in panic while trying to avoid trampling over the corpses of others.

In the firelight of the burning city, Tricia found two silhouettes cast against the wall of a stone building that no longer had a roof. One was of a man in a loose-fitting robe holding his arm forward, and the other was an impossibly giant serpent. Tricia almost mistook the snake-like for a building it was so tall. It raised its head toward the man confronting it as he held something up to the hideous creature.

Tricia turned around to see the two figures whose shadows fell upon her. She couldn't know the man very well because all her focus shifted to the hideous beast in front of him. She couldn't see its head very well as it was so high up it blocked out the moon. The man in front of the thing with a plain gold crown wrapped around his forehead held a stone piece of amber slate at the creature, just like what Tricia held in her hand. Tricia cried in desperation and shock before the vision ended.

She now stood facing her friend, Terra, as she limply held the amber slate above the water. What she saw knocked the enthusiasm out of her, and she felt afraid. For the first time in her life, Tricia broke into a cold sweat. Perspiration began wetting her face rather than the remains of rainwater. The mere sight was enough to make her fear she was on the verge of death.

What-? She thought. What did I see? What was that? That creature…I only caught a glimpse of it but…but it knocked the breath out of me. That thing… it's more powerful than any other animal on this planet. That much is certain.

"Tricia, what's wrong?" Terra asked.

She couldn't entirely understand Terra's question, the sight of the monster scared her so much. As Tricia waded through the water to get back toward the opposite side of the creek, her senses dulled, and she couldn't focus. She began experiencing a mild dissonance as she couldn't listen to anything, even the gurgling of the water.

As she pushed through the water, Tricia held out the slab of amber slate above the water's surface to prevent it from being taken by the stream. Terra held her hand towards Tricia, obviously trying to aid her friend in climbing out. However, Terra still looked concerned.

"Get the amber slate," Tricia said as she waded through. "Get it, and I'll be able to climb out."

"Are you okay?" Terra asked just as the rectangular stone object was within reach. "You seem frightened."

"Oh…" Tricia said, almost in a dazed state. "Um…nothing I-I-"

Just as Terra reached for the stone slab, something strange happened. Tricia had almost made it to the opposing side of the creek when she felt an odd current ripple through the water. It was different from the creek's movement that pushed directly against the right side of her body as this new current did so now against her back. And the stream it produced was more forceful than the creek. Terra had grasped the amber slate before she went bug-eyed at something behind her friend.

"What is that?!" Terra shouted.

Tricia turned around to find that something was rising to the surface rising from the place she stepped on that odd object. The movement of the ascending creature produced some strange ripples that made Tricia stumbled forward. She almost lost balance on the creek bed below as the organism breached the surface.

She turned to find the surface breached by a starfish almost as wide across as a full-grown man was tall. It was a purplish-blue color and had ten limbs, all equal in length. Many bumps decorated the perfectly symmetrical creature on the surface of its skin. And within the center of its body was a prominent eyelid shut tight by two skin flaps. It floated atop the surface of the water, not moving despite the current.

Is that what I was standing on? Tricia wondered.

As it floated atop the creek surface, she found the eyelids open to reveal a hollowed-out cavity in the center of the starfish's body. From the empty spot within the creature's core rose thin, cord-like, yellow tendrils longer than its limbs. After the tendrils waved like thin hairs caught in the wind, a man-like figure rose from the hollowed-out center.

"I got it!" Terra said. "Climb up!"

The young girl turned back to see that Terra had already grabbed the amber-slate object and placed it in her pocket. Now she was holding out both her arms to catch her friend. However, as she was inches from her friend's embrace, Tricia felt something akin to slimy ropes wrap around her shoulders.

"Tricia!" Terra shouted.

Another tendril squeezed her neck before Terra leaned toward her water-bound friend, but it was too late. Tricia was being dragged backward by the pull of the odd fetters. The mental fog of looking at the giant serpent disappeared once new fear shot through her. The fear of drowning overwhelmed Tricia as the creature dragged her into the fast-moving creek.

"Tricia!" Terra shouted. "Tricia, no!"

Terra's screams did nothing as she reached out her arms for her. Tricia caught a mouthful of water as she moved with the creek's flow. The starfish was swimming atop the current at full speed. Terra became a speck in the horizon of Tricia's vision as she was whisked away by the thing.

Tricia's struggle did nothing to deter its grasp on her. The creature was blazing fast and swam atop the current at a speed the girl could only find ludicrous. She tumbled through the creek to perpetually swallow and spit out the creek's water. Tricia was constantly being dunked in and bobbed the surface of the creek dozens of times as the giant starfish sped down the creek.

"Pl-Please-!" she cried as she spit out water. "Let me goooo-!"

Her words were cut short by another drink of water that blasted right down her throat. Tricia shut her mouth to keep any liquid from entering it. Suddenly, just as she attempted to push with her legs and arms against the current, something rose out of the corner of her eye.

The starfish had stopped swimming across the creek and laid still atop the surface once again. However, now Tricia and the creature floated in a somewhat odd part of the creek. It was a place where the trench-shaped formation had now opened to a circular, pond-like structure for about twenty feet before continuing its more normal shape. The current here stagnated into little more than a slight swirl before the water continued to flush down the stream. Here, the shade made the place darker as the canopy of the oaks was far denser.

"Please-" Tricia shouted. "Please…"

She turned back as she fought against the tendril, grasping her neck.

"Let me go!" she cried.

And she regretted turning around as she found the upper torso of a man rising out from the starfish's wide, hollow core. His skin color was almost the same as the starfish portion of his body except slightly bluer. Also, his skin was devoid of the bumps that the starfish portion of him was. Instead, curved that were similar in color to his starfish body but were more purple covered the human-like part of him. His arms were thick and bulky, and stout muscle creased his abdominal area.

However, his face was so ugly Tricia could barely stand to look at him. Carved into his face were five deep wrinkles in a star-shaped pattern that all met in the upper center of his expression. One vertical crease ran directly from his forward while two slanted ones came from each jaw to travel across his cheek.

These creases complemented other lines in his skin that traveled from each temple down his cheekbones. These five lines met right between the top of his knees and between his eyes. His green eyes were the perfect combination of a human's and a fish, having the same expressiveness as a person's but slightly bug-eyed like the latter.

His mouth was full of needle-like teeth that were yellowish. His elbows had small blue fins behind him, and fins encircled the tops of his wrist. A large, circular fin that was slightly greenish complimented his head as a mane for his body. They glowed brightly in the dark shade of the forest.

With his broad hands, he grabbed hold of Tricia and roared in her face. His breath was hot and heavy, spit covering the girl's perspired face. His slim teeth gnashed together as he glared at her odd eyes.

"What do we have here?" he asked, his voice sinister enough to shake her with fright. "A human venturing through the forest after a delightfully freeing rainstorm? How could I consider myself luckier?"

"L-Luckier?" she asked. "Pl-Please…Please! Let go of me! I don't know how I offended you! I…I am sorry for stepping on-on-!"

"Oh, don't mind that, dear," he said. "I consider it fortunate to have met a human while released due to the rain. It means we will rule sooner."

"Wha-What?" Tricia asked. "What are you talking-? What are you?!"

"Those abandoned by time," he said.

His mouth opened wide as he lurched toward Tricia, and the girl's subsequent screams echoed throughout the forest.

{}

"Come on!" someone said. "Get moving!"

Terra shook in fright as she marched through the forest. Surrounding her were her neighbors and police trudging through the wet forest. Everyone carried flashlights, their circular beams cutting through the darkness of the shaded woods.

They had been searching along the creek for most of their time, traversing it per Terra's instructions. While it was still slightly overflowing, the water had receded and now they were not trudging through water. The gurgling of the creek was the only that could be heard over their voices.

"We've been looking for an hour and have no sign yet," said Terra's mother, Katie. "Will we have to call the search off until morning? I'm still tired from work."

Katie sighed as she ran out of breath. Holding the flashlight seemed to be too much for her.

"No!" Tricia's mother, Aria, said. "We can't give up until we've found my baby! A bear or something might have carried her off!"

"I'd rather search for a week without leaving this forest," Karl said. "Ever since I heard this…I haven't completely given up on putting a bullet in my head."

Aria looked utterly panicked. The typically attractive woman with auburn hair and well-applied make-up had her expression distorted by worry. She looked jittery, each movement seeming to bring her pain.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Aria was the strongest proponent of continuing the search for Tricia as it grew dark. When Terra raced home to tell every adult in her neighborhood about the incident, many parents left their homes searching for the girl. They called the police, and many officers from Jewel aided the adults who lived close to the Freshters in their search to rescue Tricia.

"Can a bear hide underwater?" Tricia's father, Karl, asked. He stood right next to her, looking down at the middle schooler. "Terra…you said it was starfish or something with tentacles that grabbed her…right?"

"I-I-" Terra said. "I don't know what I saw anymore. I…I can't believe my eyes…that thing was not from this world."

"It sounds like those old legends about…" Ted, one of their neighbors, said. He was carefully scanning his flashlight around him. He had a shotgun strapped across his back for protection. "About those creatures that come out after a rainstorm. I know my grandpa said he saw one that appeared after a rainstorm. He was hunting with his old squirrel dogs, and they barked at something. He said something that spooked him…said it was like a fish that walked. He hates even describing what he saw."

"What are you talking about?!" Aria demanded. She stopped marching through the woods and stomped her feet into the thick, muddy forest floor. "Those old ghost stories about sea creatures that haunt you after a big rain?! I thought we'd outgrown boogeyman campfire tales!"

"What are you getting at?" Karl asked.

"I'm saying that none of you are taking my daughter's kidnapping seriously!" Aria shouted. "Rather than trying to find culprits and suspects, you're all talking about fairy tales meant to scare little kids! You think I'm supposed to take fish monsters seriously when my daughter might be dead right now?!"

"You calling my daughter a liar?" Katie asked.

The slightly younger woman turned to Aria with a look of disdain.

"I certainly am if she keeps talking about starfish with wings," the Freshwater woman said.

The search party had entirely stopped now. While it did have to do with the argument they were experiencing, most of them were just tired. An hour of searching with no leads through muggy weather and water dripping on them had rendered even the police exhausted. The officers were using this time to catch their breath while Tricia's mother continued bickering.

"It-" Terra said. "It didn't have wings…it had-"

"Whatever!" Aria shouted. "I don't believe in stupid things like monsters or Bigfoot! What I want is my daughter, and I don't take crap! In fact-"

"Do not talk to my daughter that way!" Katie shouted. "We've been searching here as long as you have. We've been trying our hardest because we care for you and your family. Please…I know you're tired but…but maybe we have to accept that…that maybe something rare happened-"

"Rare is not sea monsters!" Aria shouted. "That's. Stupid."

Tricia's mother turned to Terra and glared. The young girl stepped back a little, clearly hurt by such a gesture. Katie patiently sighed in defeat, obviously wanting the Freshter woman back off but too tired to intervene.

"In fact…" she said. "I think the more likely culprit is that you lured Tricia out here to kill her and dumped the body in a river."

"What?" Katie asked.

"What?!" Terra shouted.

The little girl burst out into tears at this accusation. Her words caused Karl to shout in discontent while Katie's expression immediately contorted into anger and confusion. Those around them hid their faces at the sight of such an awkward exchange.

"It makes the most sense," Aria said. "Searched throughout the area where you told us to go to and haven't found anything. You were the only witness, the only one with Tricia, and you made up a claim about a monster eating her…"

Aria's glare harshened.

"Taking advantage of the local legends," she said. "Very smart."

"If you even say one more thing about my daughter being a killer," Katie said. "I'll tear every hair out of…"

"Aria, calm down," her husband said. "Don't say something to upset the girl even more. Terra…Terra was her friend-"

"Think about it!" Aria said. "Not even a body! She probably made up where she last saw Tricia, killed her, and then dumped her body somewhere hard to find! Tricia was probably never here! Your demon of a daughter is just leading us off into a wild goose chase to throw us off her trail!"

"You witch!" Katie shouted. "We help you and lose sleep searching for your kid, and then you have the gall to call a thirteen-year-old a killer! You're...I don't even know…"

Terra began sobbing even louder and started covering her face at the accusation.

"Ma'am," Sheriff Coover said. He was a tall, lanky male officer who walked over to Aria. "You're tired. We'll resume the search tomorrow. It's obvious…"

"That what?!" Aria said. "My daughter's dead?! Was that what you were going to say?!"

"No," he admitted. "I was going to say that Tricia probably temporarily lost and will show up soon. In my experience in these parts, it often happens to kids tromping through the woods. They play a little too hard, get too tired to return home, and spend the night in the woods immediately."

"You think so?" Aria asked, relief in her voice.

"Is that right?" Karl asked, his voice peaking with enthusiasm.

"Happened to my friends and me once when we were grade schoolers," Coover said. "If Tricia's as familiar in these parts as you say… she'll probably find her way back and show up. We might have to call in a counselor to make sure she can handle any trauma."

"But what about that thing that grabbed her?" Terra asked.

The girl had pushed back her tears and calmed herself enough to speak clearly. Her lip still quivered, and her body shook slightly. Terra stepped toward the officer before tightening her fingers around his shirt.

"That thing…" she said. “I saw…it was…”

"Well, you know how those amber slates cause hallucinations," Coover answered. "Something in that stone…strange mineral that makes you see weird things…I know some history professors come down here every once in a while and wonder if some unknown Indian tribe made them…anyway you said that you were grabbing onto it while trying to lift Tricia out of the creek?"

"Yeah," Terra said. "Tricia gave it to me as she crawled out of the water."

"There you go," the sheriff said. "The kids hunting this stuff hallucinated while in contact with the weird stone. Tricia must have slipped in the mud and been carried down the creek by the current. The only problem is…is she still near the creek?"

"Well, it can't be in this part of the woods anymore," Katie said. "We looked everywhere. We should probably try looking further downstream or in another part of the forest. It may be why we haven't been able to find Tricia in this area. If Terra only hallucinated the monster or whatever, then it means she must have floated down the creek into a different part of it. Poor girl… she's probably cold and scared."

"Do we have to at night?" Ted asked. "Our flashlights are giving out, and I ain't no youngster who can stay up all night anymore. Besides…we don't want to run into an animal lurking in the dead of night."

"You can, but I won't stop until I find Tricia," Karl said almost angrily. "I'll take off tomorrow if I have to search for her."

"No one goes anywhere until we find my daughter!" Aria said. "And that's final!"

The adults groaned in frustration before a particular odd sound filled the air. Everyone waved their flashlights in confusion, the yellow circles hovering over the scenery. The sound grew more distinct to be recognized as wet leaves crunched underfoot.

With no one continuing to walk, it could only mean something was approaching them. They all turned to the source of the noise, the creature obviously to their right. The flashlights' bright circles of yellow collected just outside the search party's reach.

The flashlights lit up a young girl a little taller than five feet. Her brown hair was partially wet but strung with bits of leaves and sticks. Mud and grime dashed her pale skin while damp earth dirtied her clothes.

Her clothes looked clawed away by a wild animal. Her left pant leg was gone, and thin strings only held her right one. Her red shirt was torn to shreds, leaving the girl to fold her arms over herself to keep her warm as she shook in fright.

"Tricia!" Karl and Aria exclaimed.

The two parents ran toward her and immediately took the child into their arms. They kneeled in front of her as she stood shivering. Her father hugged Tricia's shoulders tight to her right while Aria slid her hands down her daughter's back and kissed her gently. After the gesture, Aria squeezed her daughter to the girl's left.

"Oh, Tricia," Karl said as he cried. "I…I didn't know what I'd do without you."

"I…I-I was so worried," Aria said through tears. "Where were you?! What happened?! Who–Did anyone do this to you?!"

Karl and his wife withdrew their embrace from Tricia for a moment as they stared the girl in the face, the middle schooler silent at the demand.

"Tricia…?" Aria asked. "Tricia…what happened? Did…Did a wild animal attack you?"

"Were you carried down by the stream?" Karl asked.

"I-" Tricia said. "I don't…know."

A sudden gasp came from everyone except the girl.

"What do you mean?" Aria asked. "You-You don't remember anything?!"

"Yeah…" Tricia said almost blankly. "I-I don't…I don't remember…anything…one minute I was hunting for amber slate with Terra…found one and…and then…water."

"Water?" Karl asked. "You mean…from the creek or the rain?"

"I-" Tricia said, entirely emotionless. "I don't know. It felt like…like an hour turned into…into a few minutes. I remember water…lots and lots of…water. Splashing, struggling to get out, drowning…swallowing water…then I got out. I started…started walking in the forest trying…trying to find Terra and…and then I heard you guys and…and then I found you."

"But Tricia!" Terra shouted. "That big thing that got you! What was it?! Was…Was it a squid or something?!"

"What?" Tricia asked.

"That thing in the water that grabbed you!" Terra shouted. "It was like–like a starfish and pulled you under! It carried you away!"

"What are you talking about?" Tricia asked. "I just remember drowning before I found you guys."

Terra and the adults looked at her with strange confusion and blankness. Tricia kept her head down, not looking anyone in the face. She didn't talk. She didn't cry. She didn't even lift her head to her parents. She just stared at the ground, not emoting.

{}

"What do you mean she's pregnant?!" Aria shouted.

"I don't know how I can be any clearer," the doctor said.

Tricia stood in front of the physician glad in white, while her parents stood on either side. Tricia felt a bit faint and thought it was hard to stand up. She had noticed that she had developed quite a tummy despite her eating habits being the same as they'd always been.

It had been more than seven months since the incident in the woods. Tricia had stopped exploring the wilderness around her home. She had yet to add to her amber-slate collection in more than half a year as she felt no compulsion to search for more.

She rarely came outside her house and didn't meet up with Terra anymore. Her friend had returned the amber slate dug from the ground during their last escapade, but Tricia barely bothered looking at it before mindlessly shelving it with her others. She couldn't say Terra was her friend anymore as they barely spoke. Tricia didn't have any real friends anymore.

She kept almost entirely to herself and rarely spoke up in class. Tricia was scared to draw any attention to herself lest what happened to her at the creek happen again. However, Tricia couldn't describe what happened as she couldn't remember her life. She knew it was terrible, but in the same way, a bad dream is wrong once you've forgotten it. The fear remains even if the details are foggy. These last few weeks that she'd been vomiting were a relief for Tricia as that meant she didn't have to go to school.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you," the doctor said. "But all the symptoms you described to me are the same as pregnancy, especially for someone of her age. Her breasts are swollen and hurt, she has to run to the bathroom and pee quite a bit, it's hard for her to stand up, and she's been throwing up for around two months now."

"No…" Karl said, his body tensing up. "No, No, No. I-I-I can't-"

"And how could you have not noticed the belly she's developed?" the doctor asked. "I mean, you couldn't chalk it up to obesity…did you?"

"Well…" Karl said. "We knew Tricia had been gaining weight, but we assumed that was because she hadn't played outside in more than half a year. She's just been so…so quiet and…and not herself…"

"I-I-I-" Aria said. "Sir, I can assure you that we take excellent care of our daughter. We would not allow her to interact with men we thought were dangerous or immoral. I-I-I mean-"

"I am not making a moral judgment on your abilities as a parent," the doctor said. "I am merely stating a proven, undeniable fact that is obvious."

"But-But-But-" Karl said. "I-I-"

Aria rushed toward her daughter and grabbed her by the shoulders. Tricia cowered in fear as her mother squeezed her skin harder and harder. The girl began crying as her mother's fierce glare stung as her face hovered above.

"Who was it?!" Aria said. "Who was it, you little tramp?! Who did this to you?!"

Tricia began crying as her mother yelled at her, not knowing how to respond.

"Tell me, tell me!" her mother cried. "Or I swear I'll-"

"I don't know!" Tricia said. "I-I-I don't know! Please, mom…I haven't…I haven't had a boy who-"

"Don't you lie to me, you little tramp!" Aria shouted. "Now, you tell me who it is!"

Karl grabbed his wife by the shoulders and forced her off Tricia by dragging her back. She started kicking and screaming as he held her, desperate to be let go. She eventually wormed her way out of his grip before slapping him across the face. Karl held his face in pain from the strike to his cheek before pushing Aria away.

"Aria…" he said. "Let's not make this any worse for her. We don't… don't know… don't know what happened. Tricia has always been…been a good girl. She would never do something like this-"

"Then how do you explain that she's pregnant?!" Aria demanded. "Huh?! Huh! I'd like you to explain that!"

"I…" Karl said. "It lines up…pretty well with what happened all those months back when we lost her-"

"No!" Aria shouted.

She slapped him across the face again for him to recoil as he held his face in pain.

"Don't give me that!" she shouted. "Don't give me that!"

Aria then turned back to her daughter, her expression brimming with hate. Karl stepped back from his wife, clearly not wanting to instigate anything further. The doctor who had examined Tricia remained silent, still as stone.

He didn't want to interact with either of the Freshter parents as they were still too emotional to respond rationally to this event. A long pause could be felt in the air as no one spoke. Karl's face was distorted with fright as he began to sweat and turn pale. Aria's face was bright red with anger and frustration. After a moment, it was she who broke the silence.

"Alright," Aria said. "We can get through this. We have to terminate the pregnancy."

"What?!" Tricia said.

"You are not becoming a mother at fourteen, young lady," Aria said. "You don't have the capability to wield such responsibility. Besides, think about…bearing a child at such a young age could potentially damage your body."

"Yes but…" Tricia said as she began crying. "I-I-"

"No," the doctor said. "You can't."

"Can't?" Karl asked.

"Can't?!" Aria asked. "Why not?!"

"The state will not allow a termination of a pregnancy that is so late," the doctor said. "If you'd come earlier than maybe but not one that is nearly eight months along."

"But-But-" Aria said. "We didn't know she was developing a stomach until last month!"

"It doesn't matter in the eyes of the law," the doctor said. "She's too far into her pregnancy for an abortion to be legal. She might be able to go into labor next month."

"No," Aria said as she shut her eyes in pain. "I-I..."

"Dear," Karl said. "Just-Just calm down-"

"No!" Aria shouted.

She rushed forward and slapped Tricia across the face. The girl's face felt on fire as she lay on her side, screaming in pain. Her face felt impossibly hot, her hands trembling in terror. Aria would have continued her assault on Tricia, but the doctor and Karl held her back.

"No!" she shouted. "No girl of mine will embarrass me! I will not be the daughter of some floozy!"

"Calm down!" Karl said. "Please, just-"

"No!" her mother shouted. "From this day forth, I disown you! Never enter my house again!"

"It's my house too!" Karl cried. "You won't be kicking my daughter out of my house!"

"You won't be bringing this little tramp into my house!" Aria said as she struggled against her husband's restraint. "I won't stand for it! I'll destroy you in court if I have to!"

Tricia felt nothing but pain in her body. Fire consumed her bones and rose into her throat. Panic wracked her being, and she shivered coldly as flames spread throughout her skin. Tricia felt like she was in an oven as everything was so hot. However, paradoxically, she was breaking out into a cold sweat.

I'm pregnant…Tricia thought. With a monster's son…

{}

Tricia's eyes opened as she sat bolt right up in bed. She continued gasping for air. The twenty-nine-year-old woman rubbed her face to find it covered in sweat. Tricia whirled around to find she was lying in her bedroom, waking from a deep sleep.

I can't stop…Tricia thought. Dreaming about my past. All those years ago…

Her pregnancy hurt to even think about it. Soon after the doctor confirmed she was with child, her parents divorced. The stress of having a pregnant middle schooler and having no idea who the father was was too much for her mother. Aria disowned her daughter and filed for divorce once Karl said he would not kick Tricia out of the house.

Tricia gave up on all romantic prospects for the rest of her life. In direct opposition to her lively, adventurous personality up to thirteen, the woman became quite the recluse. Tricia gave herself every excuse not to leave the house, coming straight home after work most days.

She didn't want anyone to see her in public. As every woman around her began to date and got married, Tricia saw herself as Aria did. An embarrassment and stain to her family's reputation.

I wouldn't want to explain to a man I had a child at fourteen with no idea who the father was. Tricia thought. I'm better off being alone than burdening a man with a child, not his own…I had already ruined my mother's life—no reason to destroy an innocent man's future.

She stepped out of bed and stood up. She looked at the window to see a little light peeking between the curtains. This confused her a little.

"Odd," she said. "It's morning. Father said he'd be over for dinner thirty minutes after work."

Her father was one of the only people she trusted not to look down on her. Karl Freshter took care of Tricia even when Aria left them. For that, she was grateful.

He had dinner with Tricia at least once a month. He was a very supportive, involved grandfather with her son. The woman thought it was good for him as Karl was the closest thing the fifteen-year-old had to a father figure.

When Tricia invited him for dinner, she told him she'd take a nap after cooking dinner. She'd wake up from the doorbell or a knock and greet him. It would be late afternoon or evening before Karl arrived if the length of his meeting was anything to go by. It was fine for Tricia as she could catch up on some sleep after making a large meal.

"Is it really morning?" Tricia asked.

She walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains to get quite the surprise. Half a foot of water flooded her driveway. She couldn't see the green of her lawn very well it was so flooded over.

It flowed into the street to carry debris like leaves and small branches. Water buried the road, and the various pieces of trees tumbled through the current. Tricia looked to see that many of the trees in the neighborhood had lost limbs. Their rural neighborhood, which was somewhat forested and dotted with meadows, looked almost like a floodplain.

And floating in the street was a lump of bronze-colored stone. The irregularly shaped stone bore some carved image, but Tricia could see little from here. She pulled the curtains back at sight and turned to press her back against the window.

Another big rainstorm? Tricia thought. That means…that means…

She shivered in fright at the memory of facing that monster. His fish-like eyes bored into her soul with some form of extreme sharpness. Pain seared through her at the mental image.

Why can I remember that thing sometimes but not always? She thought. Immediately after…after I was…I was…destroyed, I couldn't recognize him. But whenever it floods…

She shivered in fright, his evil face flashing through her mind like lightning.

I see him quite clearly! Tricia thought.

She slid down the bedroom window and clasped her hands against her face.

The rain here…Tricia thought. It brings forth something from the unknown…

"Mom."

Tricia immediately stood up at the voice. She turned to see her son standing at the door. He was a handsome young man with auburn hair covering his head. His skin was a shade paler than her own. He was slightly tall for his age and liked to wear blue jeans with a loose, short-sleeved black shirt. Covering his arms was a brown jacket that had fit him for nearly two years. Typically, he looked exuberant and cheerful, but he almost looked on the verge of tears.

"Alister," Tricia said.

She ran to her son and hugged, the young boy wetting her nightgown as he buried his face in her shoulder of the pink clothing.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "What happened?"

"Grandpa's dead, Mom!" Alister said. "Grandpa's dead!"

Tears burst through her eyes as she let out a gasp in pain. She pulled Alister back briefly as she looked at his pitiable expression. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

"What?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "They found his body all chewed up near a field between here and Jewel. His body looked like it had been ripped apart by some wild animal."

Tricia shook her head in pain, continuing to pant as it became harder and harder to breathe.

"Who told you?" Alister said. "You know, Caitlyn Pots, the sheriff? She recognized grandpa's body and car and called us this morning. You were still asleep when she contacted us. A lot of people died in this huge flood."

"How did he get out there?" Tricia asked.

"They don't know," Alister said. "And now people are reporting seeing…seeing weird creatures around."

"W-Weird creatures?" Tricia asked. "Li-Like what?"

"You know, the usual," Alister said. "After a big rainstorm, people say they see fish monsters sometimes. I've never seen one but…but they said something ate grandpa. I'm… I'm so scared."

"No…" Tricia said. “No…that’s…that’s…”

She shut her eyes in pain, the image of her father embedded in her mind.

Why is it happening again? She thought. Why does this keep happening?

"Alister…" she said. "I'm… I'm going to make some tea. I-I need to be alone. Will you please take any more calls from the sheriff's department?"

"I don't know about that, mom," he said. "There was another strange call I got yesterday."

"What?" Tricia asked.

"Yeah," Alister said. "Yesterday, while waiting for grandpa to get back for dinner, I was called by this kind of weird guy. He says he wants to meet us."

"Is he-?" she asked. "Is he-?"

"A professor of history from the university?" Alister asked. "Yeah, he is. I said he could come."

"Oh!" Tricia shouted. "Why can't they leave our town alone?! They never come up with any leads on who made those accursed rocks! All those Ivy League bigwigs…come down to bother us country folk with their questions. Anyway, what does he want with you?"

He gave a half-hearted smile in place of his cheerful grin.

"Because I'm the biggest collector of amber slate," Alister said. "Everyone in town knows that. He asked around and realized I had a huge stash of them."

"Yes," Tricia said disdainfully. "I am aware."

She had always hated her son's penchant for collecting the weird carvings that showed up every time a rainstorm came through Jewel or Ultar. Alister inherited the adventurous spirit Tricia had in her youth. Fortunately, he never went through anything as traumatic as Tricia, so his interest in the unknown civilization was still alive. She sighed and shook her head.

"When will he arrive?" Tricia asked.

"Around eleven thirty," Alister answered.

"Good," Tricia said with a groan. "That gives me enough to sleep."