That Night On: The Lake

When the spray cleared, the lake was flat again. The watch was gone. The moonlight was just moonlight. Elias looked at his hand; the tip of his index finger was glowing with a faint, silver shimmer that wouldn't wash off.

Below him, deep in the dark water, a light was growing. It wasn't the blurry glow of a lantern or a fish; it was sharp, geometric, and impossibly bright. As it rose, the water began to hum. The ripples didn't move outward; they moved inward, toward the center of the lake, as if the water were being pulled down a drain that didn't exist. That Night on the Lake

The silence didn't stay quiet for long. A rhythmic thrum began to vibrate through the floorboards of the boat. It wasn't a sound, really—more like a heartbeat felt in the soles of his feet. Elias looked over the edge. When the spray cleared, the lake was flat again