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libra_travellerI wrote the poem first based off of folktales I read, and it inspired the short story. Bloody Waters is as gruesome as the title implies, as is the poem.
Bloody Waters
The building was old, the bricks faded from the sun. Weeds gathered on the lawn and vines crawled up to the window. Inside was a dingy office crowded with stacks of books and papers on the single desk and a table off to the side. A cup of cold coffee sat next to the elbow of the lone man in the room. His head rested on his arm, a computer screen in front of him with sticky notes on the top. He was dozing after playing a game of solitaire. His name was Larry Sloan, a private detective.
A bell rang as a woman stepped into the office, jarring Larry from his sleep. He lifted his head, some spittle of drool clinging to his arm. The woman had blond hair tied up in a knot. She wore a jacket with ‘PD’ stitched on the sleeve. A gun hung in a holster at her side. Sherry Trenton was a police officer and a friend of Larry’s. She placed a pile of portfolios on his desk.
“What are these?” Larry picked up his cup and tasted the cold coffee, making a disgusted face.
Sherry sat on the edge of the desk, one leg up. “It’s cases dating back twelve years. Every year we have documented cases of women committing infanticide.”
“How did you get the documentation?” Larry flipped through the packets.
Sherry stood up and began pacing. “That’s the strange part. The women turn themselves in. They say they drown their babies but never say where. Finally this latest case the woman was more forthcoming, mentioning that the moon was eclipsed that night. So I checked back at the dates the other women gave. They all happened during a lunar eclipse.”
“Did she say where she did it?” Larry leaned back in his chair, intrigued.
“Yes. Lake Chancett. Only ten miles from here. Want to check it out with me?”
“Yeah. Say tomorrow? You should get a team of divers together; see if we can find the babies.”
Sherry gave him directions to the lake and promised to meet him there at nine in the morning.
***
The sun was shining over the lake, water sparkling. A police car parked in the grass along with a couple cars. Two divers were getting into their suits. Detective Sloan stood next to Officer Trenton. The breeze made the place seem peaceful.
“You think we’ll find anything?” Larry asked as he brushed his foot across the grass.
“This is the place, but the woman could have been lying.” Sherry shrugged.
They both watched as the divers lowered themselves into the water. The divers held flashlights. They swam down and came across a bloated baby. Looking farther they noticed decayed corpses. At the very bottom were dozens of little skeletons. They rushed back up to the surface.
“They’re there,” one diver said as soon as he took off his mask.
“How many?” Sherry asked.
“At least fifty bodies,” the other diver said.
Larry’s eyes widened. “So it’s been going on more than twelve years. What the hell is happening?” He was shaken.
“That’s why I’ve brought you on to the case. I’m hoping you can figure this out.” Sherry felt spooked herself and was happy to pass this onto someone else.
Larry seemed aggrieved for all the lost life. “When’s the next lunar eclipse?”
“It’s in nine days, that’s why I came to you now.”
“I’m going to be here then.” Larry left determinedly to his car and drove off.
***
The moon was full with a shadow beginning to cover it, turning it the color of rust. Detective Sloan hid behind a bush fifteen feet from the lake. As the moon became completely covered, a beautiful sound came across the wind. Looking over to the lake, Larry saw four gorgeous young women wringing out a sheet. They had brunette and blond hair that shined. Their skin was fair and ethereal, they were singing. He heard the most amazing voices coming out of them.
As he watched, a woman came out to the lake from a nearby house, holding a young baby in her arms. The woman and her child got closer as the song became more enticing. Larry noticed the woman out of the side of his eyes as she approached the other women. It was then that he noticed a red sheen to the sheets. He suddenly remembered why he was there and breaking out of the trance the song put him in.
Larry Sloan took out his gun and shot into the air, startling the woman and making her baby start to cry. The woman got scared and ran away across the grass. He followed her with his eyes. Then out of nowhere the women of the lake were near him with the sheet carrying between them.
They were no longer young and beautiful, but old and hideous. Their skin was decaying and their hair was long and brittle. Larry cried out as they threw the sheet around him. He struggled but could not free himself. They dragged him to the lake and threw him in. Larry Sloan drowned that night.
Washer Women
Washer women
Wove the world
Clean cloth
Soaked souls
Draped dirt
Crusty cotton
Scraped silt
Braided branches
Crying children
Wringing wrists
Broken babies
Blackened blood
Bloody Waters
The building was old, the bricks faded from the sun. Weeds gathered on the lawn and vines crawled up to the window. Inside was a dingy office crowded with stacks of books and papers on the single desk and a table off to the side. A cup of cold coffee sat next to the elbow of the lone man in the room. His head rested on his arm, a computer screen in front of him with sticky notes on the top. He was dozing after playing a game of solitaire. His name was Larry Sloan, a private detective.
A bell rang as a woman stepped into the office, jarring Larry from his sleep. He lifted his head, some spittle of drool clinging to his arm. The woman had blond hair tied up in a knot. She wore a jacket with ‘PD’ stitched on the sleeve. A gun hung in a holster at her side. Sherry Trenton was a police officer and a friend of Larry’s. She placed a pile of portfolios on his desk.
“What are these?” Larry picked up his cup and tasted the cold coffee, making a disgusted face.
Sherry sat on the edge of the desk, one leg up. “It’s cases dating back twelve years. Every year we have documented cases of women committing infanticide.”
“How did you get the documentation?” Larry flipped through the packets.
Sherry stood up and began pacing. “That’s the strange part. The women turn themselves in. They say they drown their babies but never say where. Finally this latest case the woman was more forthcoming, mentioning that the moon was eclipsed that night. So I checked back at the dates the other women gave. They all happened during a lunar eclipse.”
“Did she say where she did it?” Larry leaned back in his chair, intrigued.
“Yes. Lake Chancett. Only ten miles from here. Want to check it out with me?”
“Yeah. Say tomorrow? You should get a team of divers together; see if we can find the babies.”
Sherry gave him directions to the lake and promised to meet him there at nine in the morning.
***
The sun was shining over the lake, water sparkling. A police car parked in the grass along with a couple cars. Two divers were getting into their suits. Detective Sloan stood next to Officer Trenton. The breeze made the place seem peaceful.
“You think we’ll find anything?” Larry asked as he brushed his foot across the grass.
“This is the place, but the woman could have been lying.” Sherry shrugged.
They both watched as the divers lowered themselves into the water. The divers held flashlights. They swam down and came across a bloated baby. Looking farther they noticed decayed corpses. At the very bottom were dozens of little skeletons. They rushed back up to the surface.
“They’re there,” one diver said as soon as he took off his mask.
“How many?” Sherry asked.
“At least fifty bodies,” the other diver said.
Larry’s eyes widened. “So it’s been going on more than twelve years. What the hell is happening?” He was shaken.
“That’s why I’ve brought you on to the case. I’m hoping you can figure this out.” Sherry felt spooked herself and was happy to pass this onto someone else.
Larry seemed aggrieved for all the lost life. “When’s the next lunar eclipse?”
“It’s in nine days, that’s why I came to you now.”
“I’m going to be here then.” Larry left determinedly to his car and drove off.
***
The moon was full with a shadow beginning to cover it, turning it the color of rust. Detective Sloan hid behind a bush fifteen feet from the lake. As the moon became completely covered, a beautiful sound came across the wind. Looking over to the lake, Larry saw four gorgeous young women wringing out a sheet. They had brunette and blond hair that shined. Their skin was fair and ethereal, they were singing. He heard the most amazing voices coming out of them.
As he watched, a woman came out to the lake from a nearby house, holding a young baby in her arms. The woman and her child got closer as the song became more enticing. Larry noticed the woman out of the side of his eyes as she approached the other women. It was then that he noticed a red sheen to the sheets. He suddenly remembered why he was there and breaking out of the trance the song put him in.
Larry Sloan took out his gun and shot into the air, startling the woman and making her baby start to cry. The woman got scared and ran away across the grass. He followed her with his eyes. Then out of nowhere the women of the lake were near him with the sheet carrying between them.
They were no longer young and beautiful, but old and hideous. Their skin was decaying and their hair was long and brittle. Larry cried out as they threw the sheet around him. He struggled but could not free himself. They dragged him to the lake and threw him in. Larry Sloan drowned that night.
Washer Women
Washer women
Wove the world
Clean cloth
Soaked souls
Draped dirt
Crusty cotton
Scraped silt
Braided branches
Crying children
Wringing wrists
Broken babies
Blackened blood