Bernard’s calloused hand gripped the oars and rowed slowly to the center of the large foggy lake. He was looking for a midnight fishing session on the lake for relaxation.  Bernard didn’t worry about the eerie darkness. His years as a fisherman gave him experience on the waters.

Bernard was almost to the center of the lake. He was getting old. It took much longer to row then it would have 20 years ago. As Bernard took a break to catch his breath, he failed to notice the ripples in the water. But Bernard looked up at a faint sound. There was a high female voice singing a soft tune. “That’s lovely”, he thought. He looked around but could not find the source of the voice. Finally, Bernard spotted a beautiful young woman seemingly floating in the lake, deeper into the lake.

The fog seemed to gather around her. Entranced, Bernard’s arms rowed of their own accord. The song grew louder and louder as he grew closer. The beautiful tune made his head foggy and unable to form a coherent thought. But just as Bernard came 10 feet away from the woman, the fog blocked her from his sight. He looked around. The fog was thicker than before and closing in on him. When he glanced at the water, he alarmingly caught a glimpse of a figure in the water, circling around him.

Bernard realized something was wrong. The song abruptly stopped. Its silent absence unnerved him. But it also cleared away the cobwebs in his brain. As he began frantically rowing to shore, pale, clawed hands rose out of the water and gripped the back of the boat. Bernard rowed harder. “Let me go!” he cried. Those hideous claws used supernatural strength to flip the boat. His world turned a murky brown. Bernard’s lungs were quickly becoming filled with water. His arms were tired from rowing. He was so terrified he couldn’t tell down from up.

Through the haze of Bernard’s fear, he witnessed a horrendous sight. A long, scaled creature was coming towards him. With the top of a pale, skinny women, and the bottom of a bloody fish, it swam. Bernard hurriedly swam to the surface. But a hand caught his ankles. The claws dug into his skin, drawing some blood. The crimson sight was enough to put the creature into a frenzy. It dragged Bernard down…

down…

down…

down…

The last thing he saw was inky blackness and the face of the beautiful singing woman.