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Anathema
| Attempting to save his failing marriage, Jim Anderson moves his family from California to the Wisconsin town of Prairie Rest. For a while, things seem to be working. Then it goes bad. Very bad. Very fast. The mysterious death of his young son, Travis, triggers a chain of events that consumes the rest of his family and threatens the entire village. Jarvis Clark, one of the Town Elders, tells Jim that his arrival has awakened an evil existing deep within the earth. Convinced by Jarvis that he is also one of The Chosen, Jim reluctantly joins Jarvis and the other Town Elders to fight the ancient evil. In a cave on Anderson’s property, The Elders, armed with the weapons of the Lord and things they’d taken from the hardware store, prepare to make their stand. But can something older than time really be destroyed? |
Read an Excerpt
From Chapter 13:
Travis stood at the edge of the swimming hole and watched sunlight dance on the water's
surface. The children had gathered in a half circle behind him. They were giggling.
Travis couldn't understand why he'd been so afraid to come back to this place. It was just
water. The same stuff that came out of the faucets at home.
Squatting down, Travis stuck a pudgy finger into the pool and stirred it around. The water began to churn and splash against the edge. A green foam formed on the surface. From the pond rose an awful stink.
Travis pulled his finger from the water and stood. He remembered why he hated this place. The water was creepy. It was like it was alive.
He turned to run home, but the children blocked his way. And Travis noticed they had changed, too. Their blue eyes had turned yellow and razor sharp teeth shone between grinning lips. Hands were claws with crooked talons for fingernails. Although they were still translucent, their bodies seemed more whole, more solid. Hissing, they took a step towards Travis.
Travis took a step backwards.
And that was when a claw, made up entirely of scummy pond water, shot up from the swimming hole. It hooked the waistband of the boy's shorts and he was yanked into the water. The Water pulled Travis towards the bottom and he felt his lungs fill with the choking liquid.
Rufus dove in after his young master, determined to rescue him, but a second hand formed of water grabbed the dog by the neck and tossed the animal away.
Rufus was slammed against the edge of the pond. The animal stood, shook the water from its fur, and dove in again. The Water grabbed the dog a second time. Rufus snapped at the hand, but his fangs found no purchase.
This time he was thrown hard enough that he slammed into a nearby tree.
Rufus crumpled to the ground like a broken doll. Then he stood and with his tail between his legs, ran home.
Like the obedient servants they were, the children jumped into the water. They paddled to the bottom and grabbed Travis's arms and legs, pulling him deeper into the murky blackness.
Travis struggled in an attempt to free himself. He knew he had to get to the surface, but he was only a boy and was being held under by some kind of creatures.
His chest ached. His lungs screamed for air. The water felt like acid against his skin. Even if he somehow managed to break free, he was too weak to paddle through the dank water. It was too late.
A pair of bubbles burped from his nostrils. They floated through the water and popped on the surface. Travis's eyelids fluttered, opened, fluttered again, then closed forever.
The creatures let go of the boy and watched his body float lazily to the pond's silty bottom. They poked him once. Poked him again.
Satisfied, they backed away and became one with the Water once again.
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