Shallow Friends

A Story by NoNameWriter

Mike set his pop down on the gas station counter, glancing around the dirty shop. The man at the counter was buff and heavily tattooed, making Mike feel extra scrawny. A few older teenagers hung out next to a Christmas display that was at least six months old. Mike envied their closeness. “Where you headed?” The man asked, startling Mike. His voice was friendly despite his rough appearance.
“Back home to Edmund.” Mike said, a little awkward.
“You're gonna be headin’ past Lake Eufaula. Be careful, town legends says there's sirens.” The man smiled so Mike could see that he was joking. He took his drink and left the store.
Mike got in the passenger side of his mother's car, and looked at his mother, who was running her hands through her graying hair. “One more hour,” she told Mike “One more hour then we’re back home.” She tried to sound upbeat, but she just sounded tired. Not that Mike blamed her, they had already been traveling for around five hours and the sun was already beginning to set. Smiled at her before turning to the window and watching the rainfall; slipping in his earbuds he let the drum of rain fade into the familiar song. He leaned his head against the window and let the soft music carry him off to sleep.
His dreams were strange from the changing music, so when he opened his eyes and saw sand instead of asphalt he didn't think much of it. He knew it was a dream for certain when he saw the large sharks coming out of the water. Their scales were the same shades of dark green as the lake, and the shades seemed to swirl under the headlights. Mike felt frozen in place, and he tried to console himself that it was just a dream. Just a weird twisted dream. It worked a bit, but his legs were still shaking.
The creatures began to morph as they rose, their snouts fading into something more human-like. Their fins elongated into arms, and the shark like teeth changed into a wolf’s canines. The higher the beasts rose, the more humanoid they became. He looked over at his mother, whose face was expressionless, and pulled at the steering wheel, his earbuds still blaring. The car hit a rock, and Mike's world turned white as he was jolted into the air bag.
He peeled himself off the fabric and stumbled out of the car, tears running down his face, a splitting pain in his head. He felt pain coursing through him and he staggered against the car with the sudden realization. This was no dream, it couldn't be, he wouldn't be feeling this immense pain. Mike slid to his knees, staring at the rock they had crashed into with blank shock. The earbuds were still in and he took them out, staring at the bright red stains on the white cord that had disconnected from his phone. He sobbed, and let them fall to the ground, as each sob worsened his agony.
Off by the lake, a voice called his name. The sound should have been like a nail driving through his head, but it the soft, melodic sound seemed to help him. He looked up and saw a group of boys that he recognized from his school, waving to him with the hands that weren't carrying pizza and games. At the front a tall, lanky boy was waving him over, who Mike recognized as Jonah, the head of the friend group. Mike had always wanted to be part of a group like that. The kind that invited you places, you could talk to without it being awkward, the kind of friends that talked about going to each other's houses every day as if that were normal. He got up smiling, then stopped. What were they doing in the lake? Why- “We've been waiting all day for you, man.” Jonah called in that almost feminine voice, interrupting Mike's thought. “Hurry before the pizza gets cold.”
“I'm coming!” Mike yelled back
It was now or never for him. There was no time to think, they were already disappointed with him, he couldn't let them down even more. So he ran, gaining strength and speed as he neared them. Soon, the water dragged down his shoes, but he kept on, finally slowing when his feat left the shore and he was forced to swim. He had lost sight of them. He swam on a bit longer, but he was forced to stop and look for them.
The waves were choppy and he was exhausted. He yelled for them, but no one answered. As his movements slowed, something pulled down on him and he screamed and flailed, which only made it worse for him. He yelled for Jonah, for the group, for anyone, but nobody came. He was jolted further down and sucked in water instead of air. He kicked and felt something hard beneath his shoe. Something screeched beneath him, too high pitched to be human. He coughed out water as reached above the surface. His vision was fading. He looked around and saw the water was red with his blood. Jonah's voice cut through his coughing and thrashing. “We're here Mike. Stop fighting.” His soft voice had a hard edge. “Just rest. It's getting late.” His voice had softened again.
Mike stopped. Jonah was right, and Mike had a long day. Jonah kept talking and Mike listened to his voice. It sounded like singing. As Mike relaxed he felt himself being pulled farther and farther down. His chest hurt every time he pulled in water instead of air, but Jonah kept talking, and some of pain went away. He closed his eyes, happy that when he woke up, he would have the life he always dreamed of. The last thing he saw as he closed his eyes, was the faces of the monsters he had seen before, looking at him in what Mike could have sworn were smiles.