Richard walked out of his last exam, a shiver running up his spine from the terrible dread that filled him. It had not gone well- screw the 8 hours of studying he had managed to squeeze in between work and sleep- apparently studying didn't matter to this beast of an exam. He let out a long sigh and shuffled down the hall, avoiding eye contact with the other people in the college, all looking as bedraggled as he was. Ah yes, the college disease- insomnia. There was a cure for it, but who had time for that?
He pressed the elevator button and waited as it descended down to the bottom level so he could finally drive home. What a long week- and now finally he had a chance to relax. He tried to think of the message his aunt had left on his machine back at the apartment- she had wanted him to go somewhere to see his family. He thought of all the dozens of cousins of his cooped up in one house and almost burst out in laughter when it reminded him of very hyper sardines trapped in a small can. He got into his car, drove out after swiping his card at the exit of the parking lot, and finally made his way home.
He trudged up the stairs to his apartment, looking with dismay up at the 'HAPPY EASTER' wreath still tacked to his door. His neighbor had wanted to add some 'festive cheer' to his otherwise dull door- he wasn't one to complain, but couldn't it at least NOT be covered in glitter and fluffy bunnies?
He walked into his apartment, throwing his coat on the counter and running his hand through his brown hair as he sighed in relief. How was the time to relax- maybe he would grab a beer and play Halo…
He flinched as the phone rang again, sending the bells screaming through his head. He figured it was just another telemarketer and walked over to the small kitchen to make a meal.
"Richard?" The answering machine called out with his aunt's voice. "Are you there? I know you don't answer the phone you silly boy."
Richard rolled his eyes. Leave it to his aunt to insult him on an answering machine.
"Alright fine- I was wondering if you wanted to meet us out at the cottage and spend some time with your cousins? That nice blond girl will be there too- you know, the one you met when you were little? She's very pretty now you know."
"Oh stop it, woman!" Richard yelled in frustration to no one in particular. "I'm not going to be with a girl who's a 'gender studies' major- do you WANT me to get my nuts cut off in my sleep?" He growled. The 'cute blond girl' his aunt was describing had grown up from a sweet girl into a hot-headed feminist. For some reason all men were 'beasts' who had purely animal instincts and were hardly higher than the apes they were evolved from- including him, of course. Why the hell would he ever want to be with a girl who would think he's stupid and rude?
"Either way, we've missed you these past holidays- I understand you work and-" Richard heard the beep that ended the message, grinning when he realized she had been cut off by the automatic end of the tape to conserve space. He chuckled and continued making food, looking up with surprise as the phone rang again, the answering machine blurting its message before beeping again.
"I hate your answering machine. If you have time this weekend, please come up to the cottage- your mom will be here too." The answering machine beeped this time to signal the end of the message.
"Aw, shit." Richard rubbed his forehead with his hand in frustration. Now he would have to go to the cottage- he hadn't seen his mother since Christmas- 4 months ago. He looked over to his calendar thumb-tacked to the wall and noticed with relief that his weekend was generally free. Thank God his boss hadn't scheduled him all weekend like he normally did.
He picked up the phone and dialed his mother, smiling when she answered the phone in disbelief at his voice. "Yeah, I'll be there this weekend- save a spot at lunch for me." He laughed, knowing that if they didn't, his cousins would eat it all first.
The cottage looked as it always had- a small serene lake nestled in the back country of the rural part of the state. It was a nice quiet get-away past a couple miles of dirt road and apple orchards. There were prehistoric snapper turtles, giant big-mouth bass and all sorts of slimy nasty critters swimming in the lake's depths. He was never one for fishing… or catching of any sort of creature. They didn't really appeal to him much- what was the purpose of catching something and then letting it go?
Or worse- catching it and then having to skin the poor thing to eat it? Yuck. That's what frozen packages at stores are for.
He looked over at his cousins as they wrestled along the water's edge, others fishing and still more sitting around a fire cooking s'mores.
"Why are you all the way over here?" A soft voice called out behind him, his mother looking at him with concern. "How about you join your cousins in fishing or eating some chocolate and marshmallows?"
Oh yes, and gain 10 pounds over the weekend? "I just like the scenery here- it's relaxing. I'll be fine, mom." He smiled reassuringly to her, hoping he could fool her into believing him. He really didn't want to hang out with his crazy cousins. As if on cue, the twins popped out from behind his mother, grinning at him wryly.
"Ricky, why don't you come fishing with us? Maybe you'll actually catch something this time!" One of the sneered.
"Yeah right, he couldn't catch a minnow if his life depended on it." The other twin snickered, looking over to his brother. The two boys stood there grinning at Richard, as if expecting him to get flustered and take the challenge. Too bad Richard was too old to fall for that trick anymore.
"No boys, I'm just going to relax for today. Maybe someday when you've worked as much as I have you'll understand how nice peace and quiet are." Richard said, trying to put an emphasis on the quiet. He looked to his mother, who was trying to hide a smile behind her hand.
"You're no fun." One of the twins pouted before they both ran off to join the mass-wrestling match taking place on the grass in front of the cottage.
"Go ahead and take a walk sweetie- dinner will be ready soon." His mother smiled to him in amusement and turned back to take control over the boys in the yard. He watched the group of guys that had gathered at the cottage, still wondering why it was that their family had an abnormal amount of boys. Heck he had over a dozen male cousins- and only one girl. He sighed in dismay, hoping he wouldn't have the same luck in the future with his own children. He walked down the side of the lake, avoiding a particularly marshy spot that tended to have nasty leeches and wandered past the ancient willow tree.
This place was always so relaxing- the quiet lake, where the only disturbance was a jumping fish or a crane's long call in the distance. He stopped when he came upon a small stream, looking down at it curiously. He hadn't noticed this before- it was a rather large stream that seemed to feed into the lake. Then again- he usually didn't wander this far off. He caught a glimmer of something in the bottom of the clear water and leaned over to get a closer look. It looked to be some sort of egg or something- strangely shining in the water's depths.
He cried out in surprise as hands pushed him forward into the water, plunging him into the stream until he was fully submerged. He sputtered in surprise at being able to be sinking toward the bottom of what looked like a shallow stream, but the sensation he was feeling was definitely one of falling! He swam back up to the surface, reaching toward the air above only to find the top of the water solid. He yelled in terror as he hit the strange clear top of the water, his lungs burning for air as he fought to break through whatever was blocking him. He writhed as his body protested the lack of oxygen, grabbing at his neck as if that would help him get air.
His vision clouded, black tinting the edges of the world around him until all faded into darkness.