The Reservoir: Part One

Jillian isn’t like other little girls. She has special abilities that terrify her mother and father. They treat her horribly by neglecting her, locking her in the basement, and sometimes not letting her eat for days at a time. The only person who looks out for is her older brother, Jackson. Three weeks ago, he developed a runaway plan for him and Jillian to escape their parents and live on their own. They staged a kidnapping while their parents were out in the city, and when they came home the two were gone. Jackson and Jillian fled up into the hills that overlook their city.

The parents went straight to the authorities and it didn’t take long for the news outlets to catch wind of the kidnapping. For the first few days, the tragedy swept the country like wildfire. Their parents could be found crying on every television, interviews in every newspaper. By week two and three, schools were holding fundraisers, and donations for the family were flooding in from all across the country.

Meanwhile, Jackson and Jillian had built themselves a cozy hideaway in the hundred year old dam that towers over the city. On both sides of the dam, there are rocky slopes leading down to the base. In the middle of the dam, there’s a metal hatch that they were able to open. They found this secret hide out a few years ago, so when it came time to run away they knew where they’d start their new life.

It was early in the morning when Jackson woke up to the sound of rain. The dam is pure concrete and several yards thick, not to mention the massive reservoir on the north side, so a majority of the noise is drowned out. He knew the storm must be violent if he could hear it from here. The metal hatch lets in a little light and he can see Jillian is still fast asleep on the other side of their small room. She can sleep through anything after all she’s been through. Their drinking water supply is low and the rain will be fresher than the water they usually drink. He gets out of bed and grabs the pale they use to collect water. He quietly opens the hatch and heads outside into the rain to fetch some of it.

Jackson meets the aggressive wind and fights it as he walks over to the left side of the dam. To catch the most rain, he’ll have to go up to the top. He maintains his balance all the way up, and manages to get to even ground without slipping. The dam is a tourist and local jogger location, but thanks to the rain it’s completely vacant, otherwise he’d have to be careful showing his face.

He walks along the edge of the dam and looks out over the giant reservoir. Without the dam, all this water would form a large river down the hills and right through the city. It would all be washed away.

Jackson puts the pale on the ledge to let it collect water. He closes his eyes and imagines he’s in the shower. The rain washes away a week's worth of dirt and some dried blood from an old scrape, the feeling makes him smile. When he opens his eyes to check on the pale of water, he sees a police car approaching the side of the dam he had just come from.

His body tenses as he tries to act casual. He’s certain the police have his photo or at least a description to be on the lookout for. Jackson slowly grabs the pale of water and makes his way toward the opposite side of the dam. He hears the car doors slam behind him, but he forces himself to not turn around and keeps walking. He can’t get caught, he won’t let them take Jillian back to their parents.

Jackson gets to the end of the dam and turns his head enough to see that the two police officers are not far behind him. He rounds the corner and is hidden by a thin layer of trees. Jackson drops the pale of water and starts running. He runs straight for the hill and climbs up. He hopes it’ll look like he disappeared into thin air.

The police jog around the corner and see the bucket turned over, laying on the ground. One gets on their radio reporting the suspicious activity and stating from afar that the kid looked to be the same height and age of the missing Evans boy. The other police officer scans the area looking for Jackson hiding in the trees or bushes. He shouts his name, following the other officer's hunch.

Jackson’s name travels up the hill to where he’s at and he stops climbing. He doesn’t move. The muddy earth has caked his arms and legs, and the rain starts coming down harder. He looks down the hill, and can see the officers' flashlights sifting through the plants. He’s out of range and out of sight, but he waits.

He waits until they retreat out of the rain and back to their car. He pulls his mud sunken hands and feet out of the earth and carefully climbs down the hill. When he reaches the paved road, the mud flows off his body and forms a foggy stream on the pavement. The officers took his bucket, but he doesn’t care, he needs to get back to Jillian before they’re found. He makes his way back to the dam and peeks around the last tree hiding him. The police car is still there and visible because of the headlights, but he thinks the rain is thick enough that they won’t see him. He counts to three and sprints as fast as he can.

In the car, one of the police officers asks if the other saw something run by. The other continues typing on the in-car computer and says they didn’t see anything because they’re on the computer. The police officer is convinced he saw something, and says he’s going to go check it out.

On the other side of the dam, Jackson hears the car door slam shut again. He needs to hurry, but the right side of the dam is much more dangerous than the left. Jackson climbs down the slippery rocks one at a time. His eyes scan the rocks to find the least slippery surfaces and he quickly descends the hillside. The police officer makes his way across the dam and looks over the side. Jackson is clearly visible and the officer shouts down to him. Jackson looks up and loses his balance. He tries to catch himself on a rock, but it’s too slippery and he tumbles all the way down. He lands on the muddy ground with a crack and thud. His head landed right on a rock barely uncovered by the mud. Blood from the back of his head intertwines itself with the muddy water around him.

The officer cries out and frantically waves his arms over to the officer in the car, who looks over the computer confused and annoyed. She gets out of the car and starts walking over to him. The officer on the dam runs to the rocks Jackson just fell from, and begins his descent down to his body.

Jillian, now fully awake and getting anxious that Jackson is still gone, opens the metal hatch. Rainwater sprays on her face and her eyes adjust to the overcast light. She sees someone laying on the ground at the bottom of the rocky hillside. Not someone, she realizes, Jackson. She steps out of the door to run to him, but sees the officer clumsily making his way down the slope. Jillian swiftly moves back inside and pulls the metal hatch closed. She runs to her bed and, as she rocks back and forth, she sobs and tells Jackson how sorry she is.

End of Part One.