The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Mudding 
by K.R. Morrison 

Francis played out his line in the twilight of a hot day in August. He couldn’t relax; a day of mudding on the slough had left him too excited to stay onshore. He knew full well that the main rule for mudding was never to go out alone. But what a haul he had had today! A gold watch, several bits of jewelry—even a few old coins. He only had a weekend to do this, and time was wasting.

He had bought the best-and-brightest of the magnets built for mudding, and he didn’t regret a single dollar he had spent. What he had found in just one day had more than made up for the expense.

That instrument weighed heavily in his hand, but it was a comfortable weight. With all his strength, he threw the magnet as far out into the water as he could. With everyone else off the rapidly-receding slough, he saw no reason why he couldn’t get some real treasure now.

And he was rewarded almost immediately. The line drew taut with a twang of the cord.

He grinned as he pulled at the rope. There was a lot of resistance; if there wasn’t real booty at the end of this line, he would be very surprised.

Bubbles came up lazily from deep under the water, which meant that the object was quite heavy. He was positive that this was going to be the best catch ever.

But what surfaced made him fall backwards in the boat. He blinked, rubbed his eyes, and looked over the edge again.

His eyes had not deceived him. There in the water was a woman. Her face, beautiful as a spring day, surfaced slowly, and she looked up at him and smiled.

Francis was caught in her gaze, and felt himself craning further and further over the edge. He smiled back.

Her arms came out of the water and she wrapped them around his neck. He was enthralled and immediately in love.

Funny how it can all change in a moment.

She smiled wider, and he suddenly saw her in her true form. He pushed back as she sank back into the water, but he was already off-balance.

There was hardly a splash as she pulled him under with her. The pool of red that followed mixed with the water in the cooling evening.

The next day, as people walking along the shore came across shoes, clothes, bits of flesh, and a magnet, she readied her lures along the mud and sank back under the surface. She waited patiently, next to her cache of hearts and other treasures.

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Fiction © Copyright K.R. Morrison
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com.

More from K.R. Morrison:

Enoch’s Return: Pride’s Downfall Book 4

All hell broke loose, as demon fought saint, and undead fought mortal. Fangs and swords, fire and light, mingled in a cacophony of noise that would have awakened the dead — if they hadn’t already been in the pitch of battle.

Toby was looking forward to celebrating his 21st birthday with family and friends. However, the day is shattered by the arrival of his sister, Erica, fresh out of the juvenile detention center, where she has lived in isolation most of her life. There is something very wrong with her still; witness her biting the ear of her taxi driver and licking the blood from her lips, and the way she antagonizes everyone around her. The other thing that is very off-putting about the day is a gift he receives – a musty tent and a few iron spikes that have been lying in the ground for years. Toby faints at the sight of the “treasure,” while Erica reacts violently and runs off to who-knows-where.
While he is unconscious, Toby learns who he truly is, and of his mission.

Available on Amazon!