- Wrote the first chapter of my novel, River Sons. c:
What do you guys think? Any crit?
c h a p t e r o n e.
down by the river
"She had blue skin
and so did he
he kept it hid
and so did she
they searched for blue
their whole life through
then passed right by -
and never knew."
- Shel Silverstein
There was no fog. There was no deafening noise, no blinding flash of light, nor smell and taste of a fire's twisting columns of ash grey smoke. There was only the sensation of moist earth squishing up between pale and dark toes as three forms moved throughout the woods. As the humans continued onwards, the one with skin the color of burnt sienna called out to disturb the silence. "Michael, Ann."
He turned his head to look first at Ann, then Michael. "We're almost there."
They were on their way to a small river that wound across the wood that they were traveling through. That river ended, on one side, in a small but considerably deep pool: a tiny lake that the three found refuge in. They were outcasts in their small Irish community, and it was hard to find somewhere where they wouldn't be mocked. Rory was the dark-skinned one, with a short-cut hairstyle for his ebony and curly hair, with eyes to match his skin. Michael had a rather ruddy complexion, with a head of flaming red hair cut into a neat bowl cut, with one sky blue eye and one cinnamon colored eye. However, Ann was the palest and most rejected of them all. She had smooth alabaster skin, a set of ruby red eyes, and long wavy platinum hair. She was an albino.
Many called Ann a spawn of Satan, while they called Michael a cocktail mix of good and evil, and called Rory hideous, telling him to go on back to Africa. When the trio reached the river that night, however, something new waited for them in those long flowing grasses beside the water. Ann saw it initially, followed by Rory, with Michael seeing it last. They all halted in surprise. A horse, coat even whiter than Ann's skin, was grazing on the grass, lifting its head once they arrived. It didn't make a sound, didn't run, didn't do anything except for wait.
Of course, as they were only kids who were unable to see but little reason to mistrust a seemingly peaceful animal, decided that Ann and Michael would approach the horse while Rory would keep watch. Ann began to stroke the horse's nose once it displayed no evil intent, and Michael poked the creature gently in the wither, not quite able to believe what was happening. When the white horse nuzzled Ann in the side with its muzzle, the girl giggled happily. It wasn't long after that when the albino girl spoke up again, excitement shining in her red eyes. "I wanna try to ride it!"
Even though both Michael and Rory protested her request, it seemed that Ann was more than determined to get her way. They had no way of being able to see the horse's hooves. Those hooves were backwards, and not fit for a horse at all. Pale fingers grasped onto the equine's mane, and Ann pulled herself up onto the horse's back, gasping from the effort it took. As the alabaster-skinned girl held on and the horse began walking forwards, Michael tried to pull his finger away. His brows furrowed when he found he couldn't, and that his finger was stuck to the horse. Panic began to fill his gut, but before a single word could be spoken from his mouth, where flesh touched horse fur, a black substance began to drip, shiny like ink, but thick and with a smell like fresh tar.
From a distance, Rory's eyes widened, mouth dropping open, but he was rooted to the spot. He was bound by a mixture of terror and fascination. As he watched, he saw the horse lift up a leg, and fastened onto the end was a hoof that wasn't on quite the right way. All at once, Rory, Michael, and Ann knew what this creature was. It wasn't a horse. It was a Kelpie. And it was trying to drown Michael and Ann. The silly little story that their parents had told them about at bedtime had seemed fake - but here it was - the murderer, the monster: the Kelpie.
Fearing for his life, Michael yanked a pocketknife from his pant pocket, and closed his eyes, knowing he couldn't do it if he looked. And with that, he sawed off his finger at the knuckle, tears squeezed from his shut eyes out of pain and hysteria. He was free. Ann, however, was screaming from the back of the monster, tears rolling down her cheeks freely. Michael ran after her, blood weaving a trail on the ground from his open wound, but his running was to no avail. The Kelpie slipped under the surface, taking the girl with paled skin and red eyes with it. Everything fell silent, the surface of the water calm and glassy once again. Michael looked back to Rory. One boy's face had tears streaming down it, while the other's was clear.
