Come Home

"You can always come home to me…"

The words echoed in his mind as he sat in the back of the church, his wrinkled suit and cracked, hand-me-down oxford shoes afforded him more attention than he wanted when he first walked in. He could feel the judgement coming from the well dressed, neatly pressed masses as their eyes scanned over his haggard appearance. He knew he didn’t belong here, there was no reason he should be at this funeral.

The preacher stood in front of the congregation of people who sat waiting silently for him to begin, his face screwed up in an expression of despair as he started his sermon.

“We are here today to lay to rest a beautiful soul, taken from us too soon, at the hands of a monster,” he started, his words peppered with a mix of grief and anger. He continued with details of her life, pausing to allow the mourning collective throughout, the respect they deserved.

In the back-most row, the unkempt stranger sat, chewing his lip nervously; hoping no one would question his presence. Though none of the family would know his name, he knew all of theirs. How could he not? He had been watching them for months now, learning their routines and habits in hopes of finding a way into their world. Born into a life of poverty, with no family to call his own, he spent his early years trying on every personality he could; hoping one would feel like home. It wasn’t until he reached his twenties that he finally found the perfect combination of funny, charming, and dangerous. The latter being his favorite. Something about the thrill of pushing the limits of the law set his soul on fire.

Words from the eulogy filtered in through his thoughts, “she had so much more to give to the world, I know if she were here….”

“But she isn’t here” He thought to himself dryly, his heart racing as he relived his last moments with her.

“Daniel come on, just get in!” she jested playfully. The memory unfolded like a silk sheet before him, vivid details blanketing the present moment.

The water glistened in the sun, sparking like starlight against the inky black lake. The depth of the water was greater than anyone in Clark County was ever able to figure out, as divers tried but failed, to find the bottom.

Eliza’s smile was, if possible, brighter than the sun above them as she beckoned him into the depths. The heat of the day was hard to ignore, as sweat poured from his brow; but Daniel hesitated to join her. How could he? He knew what would happen if he got in the water, if he succumbed to not only the heat, but the voice inside his head. It was always there, whispering in his mind, whistling through the trees on frigid winter nights and cackling in the heart of any fire. Pushing him to do it again.

“Not this time, not with this one, not her,” he pleaded to the voice.

“What?” she asked suddenly, the playful smile dropping from her face, replaced by one of pure offense.

Oh no. He just said that aloud.

“Oh nothing,” he called back “im coming in!” he shouted, heading toward the dock that extends out to the middle of the lake. He started walking quickly, then broke into a run as he approached the docks edge. Pushing off hard from the weathered wood he grabbed both knees in midair and tucked into a ball, making a great splash as he sank into the freezing water. Immediately the voice changed from a whisper to roar.

“COME HOME!” over and over and over again it shouted, visions of nameless faces overwhelmed him, their eyes open but clouded by the shroud of death.

As he kicked his way to the surface his ears were ringing. Breaking through the icy water, he could see Eliza speaking but no words reached him. Silence swallowed the sounds of life around him. As he leveled himself with her in the water, he felt her soft warm feet treading below, brushing against his as they did so.

He looked into her beautiful brown eyes, ones that looked as though they held the deepest secrets of the earth inside and wished he could exist only within them. Slowly he brought his hands around her shoulders, feeling the warmth of her skin to match that in her eyes and her smile. This was his favorite part; the intimacy between them palpable. Eliza closed her eyes and moved her body close to his, preparing to share yet another kiss. As their lips met Daniel gripped her tighter, her trusting eyes closed to embrace the moment. It only took a second and she was under the water, her arms and legs thrashing around frantically as she tried to free herself from his impossibly strong hold.

Snapping back to the present, he looked down at his hands. They were soaking wet, to match his suit jacket. Nervously, he looked around to see if anyone else had noticed that he was now entirely covered in water. A small puddle began to form around him as water dripped from his starchless, wrinkled pant legs. He looked frantically around, his heart racing now for fear he would draw attention and be questioned.

“I need to leave, now!” he thought to himself, shame filling his gut. As he stood up the dripping water became more of a stream of water, as if he himself were a spring creek whose purpose was to feed the very lake, he took Eliza’s life in. With each step towards the door, the puddle of water he was leaving behind grew larger and larger. Yet no one seemed to take notice. The sermon continued as though he were invisible. Daniel grabbed the handle of the door, in the very back of the church and gave it a hard shove. It didn’t move. He tried it again, with more force and still nothing. Turning around to find another door, he looked down and noticed that the entire floor of the church was now fully under water. Six inches of freezing black liquid rippled under florescent lights, and still no one took notice.

“What the hell,” he asked aloud.

At the sound of his voice, every person sitting in the room turned at once to face him. He was standing there in the middle of the aisle, water now up to his knees.

“The church is flooding! We have to get out of here,” he shouted desperately, forgetting entirely that he was the one who murdered the woman they had gathered to grieve.

His outburst received no reaction as the funeral patrons simply continued to stare at him. One by one however their faces started to change. As though they were melting off their very skulls, the features began to distort.

Daniel let out a loud scream and tried to run towards the only door marked exit, his feet unable to move freely through the deepening water, as unseen obstacles and an unnatural current impeded his path. His lungs were burning from his ragged breathing as he tried to launch himself out the door. Locked. Turning back around he was surprised to discover that he was now alone.

No people.

No pastor.

Just an empty church, with an empty coffin, slowly filling with water.

Up to his chest now, the temperature of the water had dropped to a freezing forty degrees, and his lips turned blue as Eliza’s. His chest tightened as the water threatened to swallow him entirely. All at once he felt hands pulling at his clothing under the water. Panic crept in and he began to frantically thrash around; water continuing all the while to rise. As it reached his lips, he tried to tread water, but could not move his legs. They were being held, fixed to the ground, right next to the empty coffin.

Soon the water overtook him as he brought in a deep breath. Once fully submerged he was enveloped in pure darkness. He could not see what was holding him under the water, he only knew that it was far stronger than he was, and this was likely the end for him. He opened his eyes, hoping they would adjust to the darkness around him.

“You can always come home to me,” the voices whispered, muffled, and murmuring through the jet-black water. One by one the hands that held him in place released their grip now that the entire room had been filled. Daniel frantically tried to swim to the surface, only to find that there was no surface. There were no walls. There was nothing. And then all at once; there was Eliza. Floating in front of him, her lifeless body glowing white against the inky water around.

She was not alone. Nadine. Sarah. LeRissa. Stephanie. Audrey. They all floated in the water like plastic bags discarded to the ocean. Their eyes open wide and milky white.

Horror crept up Daniels’s spine, like a freshly hatched spider sack.

“This isn’t happening. This cannot be happening. This isn’t real” he attempted to reason, as his blood ran cold. Suddenly the floating women were not lifeless anymore. They circled around him like hungry piranhas, locking hands to form an unbreakable barrier.

“This is your home now, Daniel. This has always been your home.”

The words came from nowhere and everywhere at once, echoing impossibly around him as the women tightened the circle around their murderer, tearing his cheap suit from his body, exposing his flesh. Opening their mouths to reveal sharp, layered teeth, his victims ripped him apart until there was nothing left.

Above the surface of the black lake could be heard the faint ringing of bells from the church that sat on the water’s edge. Loved ones of the lost were making their way inside the building, all dressed in their nicest clothes; nothing less than Eliza deserved. The last to arrive was a man that no one knew. A man in an old, wrinkly suit and cracked brown oxfords pulled open the door and took a seat in the very back of the room.