The Clockwork Toymaker and Other Fables

The Lake

Down, he sank. The light from the sky above him dwindling into blackness. He closed his eyes. He could feel the water all around him. Swallowing him. Surrounding him.

And it was warm. Somehow it was warm.

And as he continued to sink, he found that it relaxed him, the water all around him, holding him like a blanket, soothing him with its warmth, touching him so intimately. It was almost peaceful.

But then he heard a noise. He opened his eyes. There was a dull green glow emanating from below him.

The sound of something living. Air bubbles.

And suddenly, it was upon him. The shape was blurred before him. He didn't have time to comprehend. He felt an arm? A pincher? It grabbed at him and pulled him down into the deep.

Meanwhile, back on land, the boy's father had noticed his disappearance. He scouted around the village trying to find him, becoming increasingly panic-stricken when he did not.

He wasn't sure what to do. The thought of losing another loved one filled him with terror.

What had he done to deserve this? If the boy was hiding... He searched around, even as far as the lake, but found nothing. He searched until dark and then, fretfully, he went to see the sheriff.

By the time he reached the sheriff's office, the man was an emotional wreck. He was terrified that he had lost his boy, yet angry that it might be a prank, that his son might be trying to spite him in some way. He felt impotent in the world and he took it out on the sheriff, storming up to him in a rage.

The sheriff wasn't happy. He was offended by the man's outburst and instantly disliked him. He said the man was irresponsible, a city thrill seeker, who'd come to the country without any thought to the safety of his son. He said it was the man's fault that his son was missing. He showed him a series of press cuttings, which he presumed the man had read before deciding to come to the village. The press cuttings made it plain: People had been disappearing from the town for over a year now, with a frightening regularity, and so far no-one had been found. The sheriff shook his head. There was really nothing he could do, he said.

The sheriff's nonchalance riled the man. He stormed out of his office, deriding him for his lack of initiative, annoyed by his unsympathetic manner. He was really angry now. If that was the sheriff's reaction, he said, it was small wonder so many people were missing; he would organize a search party himself and find his son and the others. He ran around town, shouting loudly, trying to shake people into action.

Underwater, the boy had been taken to the bottom of the lake, where the green glow was bright enough for him to see clearly. He had been dragged down there by a creature. A hideous, mutant monster with crab pinchers and a gnarled toad like body and eyes the size of saucers, black and empty. The boy was frightened. But the monster didn't harm him. It took him to a cave where there were a hundred other creatures all mutated and ugly. They approached the boy, staring at him with their huge, empty eyes. And they offered him kindness.

In the town, things were frenetic. The man had convinced the people to form a search party and was busily trying to get them organized. There was much shouting and aggravation as they worked as quickly as they could. The man's anger fuelled the panic, increasing the sense of urgency.

At the bottom of the lake, though, things were peaceful. The monsters were not hurtful or evil; they were simple creatures living together in harmony. Laughing and swimming and blissfully happy. The boy sensed that he'd be comfortable around them.

And that's when the transformation began. Slowly, at first, but with ever increasing rapidity, the boy began to change. His arms grew shorter and his neck grew wider, until his chin and ears were no longer separated from his body. His legs began to atrophy and his toes began to web. He developed scales and crab-like claws. And soon he was a monster just like all the others, just like all the missing people, who one by one had come to the lake and been transformed into monsters and were living together in a utopian underwater society.