A Tale Beyond Belief

I held the fruit up with my knife. "These things are gross, why do they always include them?" I asked April then swung the gross fig into the trash can.

"We got a random assortment, Travis. You never know what will be in there." She replied.

"Well then," I said, "We are going to shop somewhere else next time and get our things hand-picked individually. None of these assortment boxes." I cleaned off the knife with a cloth then slid the thing into a wooden block.

There was a knock at the door. "I'll get the door." Said April. She yelled, "I'm coming! Hold on!"

"Uncle Travis! Uncle Travis!" My nephew said excitedly.

"Andrew!" I answered him. He sprinted over and hugged my knees. I patted his head and messed his hair, saying, "Tommy's in his room, you can go play if you'd like." He went thumping off through the hall to my son Tommy's room.

April and her sister Jessalyn were hugging in the entrance area. Jessalyn's husband walked over and shook my hand.

"Been awhile, Travis." He said.

"Sure has, Don." I replied. "You want a drink?" I asked him.

"Sure do."" Don answered.

"How about you girls?" I asked them. "Want a drink?"

"Yeah." Jessalyn said.

"Sure." April echoed.

We were soon enjoying mixed drinks on our side deck that overlooked the lake.

"What a view." Jessalyn said.

"Yeah." I replied. "No public access. This lake is entirely cut off to casual visitors. You gotta own a house to get in or know someone that does. See down there? That's my seventy-two footer. Ain't she a beauty? Tethered up to our own personal dock."

"And the water's so clear." Added Don.

"Yeah. April loved this property so much I couldn't disagree. We checked out that stoney grey one over there too." I pointed across the near left inlet. "But we both liked this one a lot."

"We're out on the deck a lot." Said April.

The lake was a good two and a half miles long and about a half mile wide. Dozens of properties surrounded the lake. Many of them were worth upwards of a million . Our house was under a million and we paid for it full price in one payment. We didn't discuss the sticker value. We right out kicked it off with a single check. The realtor thought that was great and even threw in a boat as a bonus. We couldn't refuse.

"Want to go out on the lake?" April asked Don and Jessalyn. "There's room, we can all fit without a fuss."

They both said, "Yes." Don shook his head.

"As you can see, there's a few boats already out there." I said. "Usually is. Gotta get out there early because once noon passes all those bugs wake up and bite the fun out of you. What's the time now?" I asked.

Jessalyn looked at her diamond watch glinting in the sun. "10:12." She said.

"Perfect." I said. "Let's get ready."

Twenty minutes later the kids were running out ahead of us as we walked along the stone pathway to the dock. Sparse reeds got thicker as we descended. A long bench was at the end of the walkway before the dock.

"Wow. What a great boat." Said Jessalyn.

"Brand new." I replied. "They didn't pull no punches. State-of-the-art."

"Mom. What does that say?" Asked Andrew of the lettering on my boat.

"Bon True Freedom." Answered his mother. "That's the name of this boat."

"I didn't choose the name, but the name suits this boat well." I said with a wink.

We all boarded Bon True Freedom and I turned on the engine. April put floatation vests on Tommy and Andrew. The calm water danced with mild waves, a tranquil breeze upon the surface. A cloudless sky got wider as we neared the center of the lake. Many of the houses appeared teh size of a fingernail, everything on the shore looked so tiny.

"So quiet." Said Jessalyn.

The sound of a pair of ski-dos were faint. They hung close to the shoreline, their drivers wore bright neon wetsuits. I turned the engine off and we slowed to a lull. The women were sipping on wine coolers while us men drank beer out of cans. Two table umbrellas provided adequate shade. I got out a radio and turned it on to a country rock station, volume turned beneath our talking.

I sat down on a fold-out chair, joining April, Jessalyn and Don. The boys were playing with a small drone near the nose of the boat.

Don said, "Jessa and I opened a second gas station, we've done so well with our first one. We owe it all to location, location, location. And timing. Man, within two years we really ponied up the dough. Soon we'll be buying a dream house of our own. Won't we dear?"

Jessalyn shook her head yes. She said, "Remember the Baileys, don't you?"

April and I said, "Yeah."

"They closed up shop and went to the Bahamas. Said they were squeezed so tight they couldn't survive much longer." Said Don. "And what do you know, oil prices drop and folks are buying twice as much as before and doubling their merch purchases. So we came in at the right time in the right location. The Baileys were disgruntled but what can ya do, you can't see this stuff ahead of time. These things happen. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. We rolled with the punches and won out. Waiting on the..."

A gigantic splash rocked the boat. The kids screamed. "What is it?!" April squealed.

The kids dashed the short distance to our space beneath the umbrella and into their mama's arms. "A monster!" Exclaimed Tommy, "A monster hit my drone!"

Don was out of his chair in a flash. "Woah, what is that thing!?" He said bewildered. I joined him at the railing to see what he saw.

"A snake." I said. "Whale size snake. Look at that."

Several feet wide, the snake passed right under the water surface. The snake's tail had two large flipper-fins.

"Whatever this thing is, we gotta go pronto." I quickly went to the captain's wheel and turned the engine on. "April, Jessa, take the kids into the stairwell, keep yourselves in view." They did as I asked of them and took the kids halfway into the doorway. The cabin was small and was located under the captain's wheel.

I looked down at them and said, "Hang on, I'm turning her around." I spun the wheel hard left and the boat automatically turned, tilting dangerously. Don stood at the nose of the boat intently staring into the water.

"I don't see the snake monster." Said Don.

"Because the snake monster is behind us! Look! In the sky!" I screamed.

Don turned around slowly with a heavy foot. The boat lurched ahead with unimpressive speed. I increased the accelerator full throttle.

I locked the captain's wheel on course and made a leap onto the lower deck to join the women and the kids. Everyone was speechless. We stared at the snake monster for several seconds but that snapshot in time felt like forever. I said loudly and firm, "Alright everyone, when I say jump, you jump. We're gonna need to abandon ship! You got it kids? Hold on tight because if that thing swoops on us we will have no other choice but to ditch the boat! Understand, kids?"

Tommy and Andrew didn't say a word, only shook their heads yes silently while they watched the snake monster hang in the air without explanation. The snake monster's head was twice the width of it's body. Several sets of beady eyes looked out unfocused on anything as a circlet sucker mouth filled with row upon row of hooked teeth leaked slimy drool into the lake.

The snake monster screamed out again, sounding every bit as much the monster it was. Then it made a dive for us. Right as I wrung my hand around Tommy's collar and April's shirt, readying myself to drag them into the lake waters in an instant, an explosive boom threw all of us onto our butts. Don was clenching his family tight like I was. We didn't believe what we were seeing.

A man in a yellow and blue costume appeared inside a swirling bubble, intercepting the snake monster in it's path. The man's cape flowed in the wind like a flag. On his chest were the letter's "E D M" in large bold font. "Look kids, a super hero!" I laughed with relief.

The snake monster teetered off across the sky under the super hero's intense boom. But that wasn't the end because the beast regathered it's wits and came flying back at us for another round.

The super hero stood floating above us in the sky with his fists on his waist and his elbows pointed out. He said to us, "Do not fear, my kind friends. Extra-Dimensional Man is here!" With that his raised a fist above his head and yelled, "I call upon the strength of Sarzoka! Tear this monster apart!"

With that command, right as the snake monster reached us again everything paused like a dream. Everything was silent and even the waves quit their dancing. Extra-Dimensional Man continued floating above us, defying the snake monster. The snake monster, paused in it's path, began vibrating. Suddenly his big ugly head exploded and the remainder of it fell into the lake.

Extra-Dimensional Man cheered in his victory. So did we. He flew over to the boat and we all got onto our feet to greet him. He said, "I am ever so glad I could assist you in your time of dire need. You should be fine for your safe return to the docks on the shore."

We all shook hands with Extra-Dimensional Man then watched him fly out over the lake. He turned to face us one final time before blinking out of existence. I returned to the captain's wheel to re-steer us on course for the house. Many people have stories to tell. But I'm sure that their stories aren't anything like this one. I wondered though, would they believe me?

Let's block ads! (Why?)

A Tale Beyond Belief