Lucas will never forget the way that hand felt.
That hand had curled its grasp around his then tiny wrist and yanked. For the first microsecond, where all he felt was that lifeless iron grip and all he wanted to do was pull back but hitting the water and going under; his world going a slow, murky black.
Lucas remembered feeling oddly calm, even while his world faded. He'd thought that the hand felt cold and clammy and dead; when asked he just repeated that it felt dead in a creeping way that slithered up your spine, searching for your heart to devour. He'd touched things that weren't living before that and nothing dead that he touched afterward had that same feeling of "deadness" that the hand had had.
Lucas threw a stone across The Lake, watching the rock skip three times.
The Lake, he thought. The Lake, with capital letters. Too much had gone on here that he could ever think of it as "the lake" or "a lake".
The Lake lay serenely. That dam project had never been completed. Somewhere in between things, the government had decided that The Lake was more profitable as it was. It had been almost nine years since that time and even though The Lake had been dragged, no one had ever found his grandfather's body.
Nine years, and Lucas found himself plenty of time to read. The more books he devoured, the more careful he is - and the more questions he has have been left unanswered.
His mother wasn't surprised when he started to talk about finding those men after turning fifteen. But try as he might, it was like trying to catch mist with a sieve. Even ghosts, Lucas often said to his mother, were easier to find. And Lucas had run into his fair share of ghosts.
Deep in thought, Lucas squatted on the dock and looked downwards. And for a second, he saw eyes peering back at him. With a start, he quickly looked away; touched the salt he keeps in a little bag in his pocket.
When he looked back, the eyes were gone.
Lucas took a deep breath in and picked up his backpack. He'd already said bye to his mother (may she rest in peace) and he wouldn't miss this town.
Shouldering his backpack, Lucas paused for a final glance at The Lake and headed towards his car.
He was off to find the brothers. And he'd never felt more liberated.