This is the first page of my story, how it all started for Jake Shepard- The Deadliest Threat.
It was a dark, cloudy night in February when everything changed. I made my way down the same quiet street that I always do, nothing seeming out of the ordinary. It’s relatively late, and the streetlights above cast a dim light, making it difficult to see more than a few feet ahead. I make my way to the Cracker Barrel where I work as an overnight maintenance man, cleaning up and completing minor repairs when needed. I’m the only one there at night, and it can be pretty boring there with no one to talk to, so I wasn’t in any hurry.
As I made my slow walk, completely lost in thought, I heard a strange noise coming from the woods. Its low hum reminded me of electricity, and the continuous vibrancy captivated my attention. It felt like it was drawing me towards it. I looked around, trying to find the source of the sound when I saw a glow of shining lights, dim and changing colors like a chameleon. The brightness cast through the trees was a stark contrast to the darkness around it. What is that? I wondered. The longer I looked at it, the harder it was to keep walking. I had to know what it was. I decided to check it out.
I start my trek into the creepy woods, heading for the lights. The quiet of the forest was eerie, the only sounds coming from the fallen branches snapping under my shoes. The closer that I get, the more I can see the outline of the glowing object. Its spherical in shape and seems to be hovering above the ground. My whole body wants to move towards it. Every cell is screaming for me to go to the orb. I clumsily run through the trees until I’m right in front of it. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The thing before me was something which I cannot specifically describe. It was strange, and I had to brush the frosty leaves to the side of me to see it clearly.
In a small clearing of trees, there was a small ball of water, about the size of a basketball, completely suspended in the air; it glowed blue, then green and back again. It was mesmerizing, and I could feel it beckoning me, drawing me even closer to it. It was so beautiful and the longer that I looked at it, the more I needed to touch it. I reached out my hand and pressed it against the silky surface.
The ball exploded, covering me in a lukewarm, glowing liquid. It startled me, causing me to stagger back and fall to the ground. I felt a sharp pain in my hand, and as I raised it to my face, I noticed a jagged stick protruding from my palm. I quickly pulled it out and got to my feet. Oh crap. What am I going to do now? I have a huge gash in my hand, and it’s still going to take me a while to get to work
Let me know what you think and if there is anything I can do to make it even better. thanks
Floating Mermaid – Hand Embellished Print -Original Watercolor ©Carolina Russo 
Floating Mermaid – Hand Embellished Print -Original Watercolor ©Carolina Russo 
mgshepard 