The Thing Under the Canal

As what the farmers of the village told us. ‘The Thing Under the Canal’ was undeniably horrific when explained into words. They agreed to lead us to the beginning of the man-made river when we demanded our beginning of the project. When we arrived, we set up camp beside the cursed canal and recover for the night. At nightfall, we gathered around the campfire. It was quite chilly on that time. They began telling us about what they’ve seen on the day that they were repairing the broken bridge last week. The bridge over the river was destroyed by the willing presence of the Thing, they said. Its body was slick and long. The gigantic viscid scales were tightly attached to its narrow self. Among the scales were sharp venomous thorns, like dragon teeth. The large thin spikes were sharp enough to easily slice through meat like panthers’ claws. The tiny Luring Bulb, as they called it, was similar to the angler’s prey catcher setting itself beneath the oceanic floors. It was an easy eye catcher for preys, mangled on its slithering figure. Its jaw was made for mass murder but a good feast. The farmer’s smartest described it like that, but I can only assume that he wasn’t sure enough to see it roam around realistically.

Our project was far more intense and dangerous comparing to the seniors at school. I thought it was common, but this was something new to this cursed subject that the minister has managed to acquire. That night, I slept later than the other students and professors. It was better to say that I haven’t slept at all. It was dark, dry and freezing outside, but I couldn’t handle the boredom long enough. I didn’t wake up my tentmate and I decided to have a walk outside. I sat beside the fire and thought about what the villagers had said. I watched the skies settle and focused on observing the beautiful atmosphere. The swamplands were cold but scattered with mosquitos. I began counting the amount of times I flattened one. About an hour of silence later, I heard bubbling sounds coming from near the shore. The fire’s light was too dimmed for me to see. I just saw fog and blackness. Suddenly, the cold air became even colder as it got deeper into the night. It was so cold, I thought I was suffering from hypothermia. My lips and fingers got all numb and stiff. The main fire was swept into smoke, and the light vanished, leaving only the little lantern I brought. Things got all strange when I heard sounds of crawling and heavy breathing. It was obvious that something wasn’t right, and those sounds weren’t coming from us. I panicked but stayed calm as I thought the Thing will later tear me into flesh pieces or eat me whole. Each crunch on the wet soil approached me slowly as I made out a tactical plan. I blew out the last trace of protection that I could find. It was the light of the lantern. I thought I made a bad decision, but I found out that it was a truly diabolical one. The steps got closer and I began laying myself on the ground behind the log bench to replicate the surroundings. What I saw was a behemoth of a reptile. It stood high above all else with its strong giant legs on the log. I thought its eyes scanned across my proximity, but my prediction wasn’t correct as it seemed to be. Then, I got on with the escape plan to the tent. In a moment, I accidentally kicked a small branch. I knew that that wasn’t good a sign. The Thing’s red glowing pupils locked on my living presence and after that, everything went white.