Another Day in Deadwater

Another day in Deadwater for Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan. Snow trickling down onto the streets and gray smoggy skies above. The two sat in their home reading a newspaper while the daily news ran. Mrs. Sullivan gets up to fill her a cup of tea and asks if her husband would care for some too. Mr. Sullivan gave a blank stare while holding his cigar. She never much cared for his smoking habits, but whatever made him happy.

He gives a slight nod as he stands up. The mail has just run so he walks over to the door to go grab it. The Sullivans lived in a rather quaint home. The bottom of the home was lined with red brick that looked more green from the years of moss and vine clusters. Mr. Sullivan walked down their steps and grabbed the bundle of mail for them. As he approached his door he felt the most odd feeling. He felt as though someone was watching him. Not the normal kind of watching a nosy neighbor might do, but that of someone who wasn’t supposed to be watching. He hears a car start up and when he turns he sees a black car roll away.

Once he got back inside Mrs. Sullivan had already gotten the tea ready and it was sitting on their nice floral table in the living room. Mr. Sullivan walked over slowly to his chair and sat down. He went to take a sip of the tea before the news anchor caught his attention. “11 more missing people in Deadwater. The following names are-” Mrs. Sullivan looks over to her husband. “Oh dear,” her voice was rather concerned. “11 more people gone? And the police have no idea where to start?””Nothing new honey, Deadwater has always been known for missing people.”. One name however caught the ears of both of them. Mary Dockinns. She was their neighbor.

They never talked to their neighbors much but they knew Mary more than others. She was a young girl, just graduated college and came to live out here since her parents Joseph and Lilly Dockinns passed and their house was left in her name. The Sullivans walked over to the Dockinns residence and knocked on the old wooden door. The sound seemed to echo throughout the house. When they checked the door handle, the house was left unlocked. Normally Mrs. Sullivan would not be keen on entering someone's house uninvited, but seeing how Mary was missing, they went in anyway. Looking around the small one story home, there was no direct sign of Mary. They did notice one thing however. Her landline had three missed messages.

Mr. Sullivan pressed the button to hear the messages.

*BEEP* “Hello? Mary? This is Scott. So I looked into those cult reports you were interested in and let me tell you, the stuff it says about Deadwater specifically.. well let’s just say I don’t see why you would want to be out there. Especially with all the missing folk. Just be safe Mary, I care about you.” *MESSAGE END*

*BEEP* “Mary look I- I’m sorry. I know losing your parents was rough but what makes you believe that they were killed by a cult? There haven't even been reports of the cult you mentioned since the 1600’s. Listen, if you want I can fly out there. It would make me feel a lot better knowing that I can keep you out of trouble. Please get back to me soon Mary, I have a very important meeting soon.” *MESSAGE END*

*BEEP* “Mary, are you at your house? -wailing noise- Listen I don’t know where I am and I lost your car on the way back. My engine is dead and there was an old man who lived nearby that’s how I am calling you. -sounds of glass breaking- Shit! Listen Mary there is someone after me -screams of an elderly man- I gotta get out of here.. meet me by Bullrock Crossing. I think you were right about th- “ *MESSAGE END*

The Sullivans look at each other very concerned. It seems that something bad has happened to Mary and another man named Scott. Mr. Sullivan looks around some more while Mrs. Sullivan rushes over to her house and calls the cops. “9-1-1 what is your emergency?””Yes this is Amy Sullivan from 1347 Rosewind Avenue, Mary Dockinns was our neighbor and we believe we have information on where she is.””Ok hang on we will send police and an investigation crew your way””Thank you”

Mrs. Sullivan hears her husband call out to her. When she gets back next door she goes to where Mr. Sullivan is standing. He immediately closes the door to the room he was looking in and grabs his wife, almost running to get out of the door. When the police arrive Mrs. Sullivan is inside making tea and Mr. Sullivan is waiting out on the porch. The police walk up to Mr. Sullivan and ask him what is going on. He tells his wife to stay in the house while he walks next door with the cops. They go inside and he directs them over to the bathroom.

Mr. Sullivan is holding his mouth at this point as police slowly make their way to the bathroom door. They smell something coming from inside and they open the door. Inside is the mutilated, beaten, burned, and scarred body of Mary Dockinns. She has symbols carved into her chest, legs, and arms. Her head is completely gone and in its place is the skull of an elk. Blood is covering the walls and floor and on the mirror is a note, written in blood. It reads, reunited with her parents. 

Within the hour there are already multiple police teams outside of the Dockinns house. They are searching the home for anything else they can find. They search the backyard and there is a terrifying sight. Nailed to the tree is the corpse of a man, later identified as Scott Harrison. In blood another note said, had fun with this one. The story goes viral all over Deadwater and by the next week, no more is heard of it. 

The Sullivans are sitting in their living room chairs, newspapers in their laps while the news plays over the television. “Seven more missing people in Deadwater. The following names are-” A knock comes from the front door. “Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan? You haven’t collected your mail in days? Is everything ok?” a voice calls from outside. “John Sullivan and his wife Amy Sullivan. May God watch over these souls, and help bring them out of the dark.” Just another day in Deadwater.