The Deep Creek Lake Creature

I remember going on a fishing trip on my dad's dinghy with my family around the age of nine. I hated it. Not because we didn't catch any fish or because I was sea sick. No, it was because my parents thought it would be a bright idea to "camp out" in the boat. Luckily, we weren't out on the ocean but rather a large lake. I would have preferred a normal camp, but my parents thought this would be more fun.
We fished all day, barely catching even small fish. We ended up eating the food we brought with us just in case we didn't catch anything. My dad said it was weird that the fish weren't biting, but I just blamed it on his bait. My parents came to this lake ever since they met. They practically lived on this lake.
After we ate, it started to get really dark. We lived in the suburbs not too far from town so we never got to see full blown stars. Out on that lake, we saw the constellations and other astronomical anomalies. It was really a sight for sore eyes. We eventually decided to go to sleep inside the boat. I remember the feeling of the slow moving waves rocking the boat. It lulled me into a deep sleep.
At some point in the night, I awoke unexpectedly. It was weird because I'm usually a sound sleeper. I looked around and noticed my parents still asleep. I looked up at the ceiling for a while before I heard a soft tapping. It was coming from under the boat. I had no idea what it was when I was a kid, so I was scared half to death. I just closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep. At some point in the night, I fell back to sleep.
The tapping persisted.
The next morning, I told my parents about the tapping. My dad admitted that it did sound creepy, but he assumed it was a fish or a piece of wood that had floated under the boat.
Reassured, I went back to fishing.
We caught one fish. It was medium-sized.
After eating, I went back outside to take a picture of the sunset before heading to sleep.
I slept soundly this time without any disturbances.
I awoke the following morning to my parents getting some stuff out of a closet. From the open door, I could see what I now know is algae. I asked my mom what happened and she said algae and dead fish ended up on board.
I asked what would've caused it, and she answered that the waves were a bit strong last night; they may have been knocked into the boat, but she was not entirely sure.
Trusting my parents' intuition, I tried my hardest to quell my fears. I used fishing to calm my nerves.
We caught three fish.
With only one day left, I did my best to brave through the night.
That night, however, was one I wouldn't forget.
I awoke to the boat rocking very harshly. The waves weren't normally like this and there wasn't a storm of any kind outside.
After a while it subsided.
I exhaled in relief and went back to sleep.
I opened my eyes again. I saw a figure hunching over by the door. It was looking around and had slow movements. I was terrified because I couldn't tell who it was. My parents' snores were still going on as this spectacle intruded in our space. It seemed like it was looking for something. It rummaged through our trash and picked out a dead fish that was on board the night before.
With four crunches, it devoured the rotting fish whole. It started walking toward my parents. Its footsteps were characterized by a sloppy, watery sound. Its short stature was nothing but a blob in the dark. I could barely make out two dark yellow dots for eyes.
As it inched over them, it raised four talon-like claws on the end of each arm.
It grabbed my mother first, then started slowly shambling toward the door. I soon decided that I had seen enough and yelled to my father. He shot up and saw the creature. My mom woke up and started screaming, disturbed by what she saw. She struggled out of its grip and went to my side. My dad stood up and was ready to fight the creature despite heavily trembling.
The creature quickly made its way out the door and struggled to get back into the lake. My dad chased after it and used his Swiss Army knife to stab it in the leg. The creature wailed and jumped into the water.
The next day, my parents and I inspected the scene. All that was left was a trail of this greenish, reddish ooze.
My parents decided to sell the boat. Unfortunately, they've gotten into normal camping now.
Category:Monsters
Category:Nature