Insatiable Thirst Page 2

needed to find a place where there was an ample supply of water. His eyes dodged back and forth, not wanting to miss an opportunity. The windows were rolled down and the breeze that came in whispered through his hair. The cool breeze didn’t help, though, as sweat continued to drip down his forehead. Licking his lips, the salty moisture did little to appease him.

  Hearing kids screaming nearby, his mind narrowed in on the community swimming pool. As long as he had lived in this town, he forgot that such a place existed. Abruptly he pulled into the vast, yet crowded, parking lot. He waited as patiently as he could as a car was reversing out of its spot. He wasted no time parking and raced to the pool.

  As inconspicuously as he could, he made sure no one was watching him. Taking off his shirt, shoes, and socks, he began to immerse himself into the water, wearing only his slacks and his watch. Swimming to the bottom, he let the water absorb itself into every crevice of his body. Sitting on the bottom, he let his body go to work. Opening wide, the water began to evaporate into his being.

  Within minutes, children were crying and parents were confused. All of the water in the Olympic sized swimming pool was gone! It was bizarre and unexplainable. The young lifeguard noticed the man, lying on the bottom of the large empty pool, with both his arms and legs outstretched. Thinking the man drowned, he climbed down the ladder into the empty pool crypt and raced to him. Checking his pulse, his fingers stuck to the damp man’s skin. Ripping them away, he looked at his fingers disgustingly. A clear slime coated his fingers but soon disappeared.

  Refreshed, Larry stood up. Smiling at the lifeguard, he then climbed out of the drained pool and drove away in his car. His thoughts were clear and he felt like his old self again. His thirst was finally quenched. He smiled as wide as his lips would let him. Suddenly his lips hurt and he realized they split with his smile. Instantly they became parched again. His tongue wagged inside his mouth, begging for more. His sore throat painfully warned him of its desire.

  He realized his needs were far greater and he would need to find contentment with a much larger water source. Driving to the edge of town, veering off on a long, curvy road, the large water reservoir sparkled ahead of him. It seemed to be winking at him, teasing him to come and drink from its watery confine.

  Seeing no one around, he parked his car. His slacks were already dry as his body absorbed all of the moisture. Walking to the edge of the reservoir, tall, curved cement walls were the only obstruction separating him from the clear, blue water. Jumping over the edge, he dived into the watery masses.

  Opening up the hatch to the roof, Guss instantly felt the heat from the burning sun on his balding head. Wiping his sweaty brow with the sleeve of his shirt, he ventured toward the meter to read the gauges. A loud splash caught his attention. Peering over the rooftop, he imagined it was a large bird preying on the trout in the water. He continued to watch out over the horizon, when he noticed the figure of a man swimming in the reservoir. He immediately ran back inside the building.

  Larry’s ears perked up at the sound of sirens in the distance. His body jerked his mind awake and he swam to the edge of the reservoir. Feet sticky from the quick absorption of water, he was able to climb the wall. Running to his car, he sped off.

  Guss met the officers at the edge of the reservoir. The police wrote their report and a few cars chased after the quickly disappearing vandal. Guss quietly observed the reservoir, which was now only a third full.

  So his insatiable thirst could not be tamed. There had to be a place where he could go to satisfy his craving. Not stopping at home to retrieve clothes or stocking up on food, which he apparently had no need for, he drove. Days and nights passed, and he continued to drive, nonstop. It was remarkable how the amount of water that was consumed within his small frame, didn’t need a release.

  The hot, humid days turned cooler. Traffic became more congested but then as he drove further north, died down. Songs from crickets filled the silence of the night while moonlight and twinkling stars romanced the dancing trees.

  Approaching his destination, the roar of thunderous waterfalls was louder than a freight train in a wind tunnel. Approaching the bridge, he pulled over to the side of the road. Glowing mist was all he could see. His headlights only perceived a substantially soggy cloud of fog. His body absorbed the mist on his skin and he was somewhat refreshed.

  Climbing through some rough foliage that fed off of the water, he stood before the fluidly, streaming water. The edge of the falls was within his reach. Through the darkness, he couldn’t see where the water fell to the next level, but his senses knew he was only a mere few feet away.

  Moist water droplets tickled his nostrils. In response, his mouth became watery and his drooling was uncontrollable. The rushing water around his legs threatened to carry him away, to free fall within the watery damnation. But his legs held firm, planted like an ancient tree’s roots.

  Sirens blaring, fog lights cleared the path for the racing law enforcement vehicles. Tires squealed as all three vehicles rapidly halted as they streamed past the parked vehicle. Parked on the bridge, they could openly view a dark figure standing in the water. The details of the figure were unclear but they questioned their vision and blinked their eyes several times.

  Moonlight streamed down unobstructed, creating an illusion that water was actually coursing towards the figure, in the opposite direction from the falls! He was standing with his mouth inhumanly open wide and appeared to be sucking in a massive load of water.

  The officers all stood dazed and confused. They had never seen such an unrealistic sight. Preparing for defense, they stood firm, both hands gripped on their handguns, with their fingers resting near the trigger. They watched in awe as they waited for a command.

  At the rate that the monster absorbed the water, Niagara Falls would eventually dry up, just like the water treatment facility. This weird phenomenon was draining their resources for water. He had to be stopped. At the leading officer’s command, the officers fired.

  Larry took no notice at the law enforcement lined up, watching him. His thirsty body controlled his mind, thoughts, and actions. When in this state, he was an object, unable to think or act humanly. Bullets ripped through his body, releasing its watery contents. His drained body floated down the path of the rushing water, which began to take its natural course. His remains were never found.