Season 1: Episode 3
Dead In The Water
Camilla Carlton awoke that dreaded morning with a pounding headache. After a night out-which was technically just a drinking spree in her bedroom to celebrate finishing a long weeks work for her college class.
Her stomach churned nauseously as she entered the family room of her old home. Her father, Bill Carlton was seated at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper. Her brother, William Carlton had plopped himself up onto the counter, shoving spoonfuls of cereal into his mouth. And her sister, Sophie was rummaging through the refrigerator.
Letting out a yawn, Camilla approached the table, pulling out a chair. Her Father glanced up, a knowing look upon his face, "Well good morning to you, Camilla."
"Morning." She grumbled, taking a seat next to him, her aching head falling into her hands. William snickered, "On a bender, Cammers?"
The young woman rolled her eyes, "Don't call me Cammers." She snapped, lifting her head to glare at her younger brother.
Sophie approached her, a glass of water in hand, "Here ya go, sis." Camilla lifted her head, a soft smile on her lips, "Thank you, Soph." She said gratefully, taking the water from her grasp, raising the cup to her lips.
"I can make you my famous hangover-eggs if you want." William suggested, hopping down from the counter to place his dirty bowl into the sink. Camilla shook her head, "No thanks, I'd rather not contract food poisoning from raw egg."
It was well-known in the house that William was a terrible cook. Camilla remembered once that he'd somehow burnt macaroni and cheese, which caused the fire alarm to go haywire which then resulted in firefighters showing up to the house.
William had not been allowed to cook since.
Camilla glanced up at her sister, who was now handing her a granola bar. Only then did she notice the swim attire adorning Sophie's body.
"Going on a swim?" The girl nodded. "I'll join you. Need some fresh air." Camilla said, rising from her seat. Some fresh air would do her good.
"Camilla, swimming? What a rare occurrence!" The dark-haired young woman slapped her brother's arm, "I'm going for a walk, jackass!" She exclaimed.
At the table, Bill let out a laugh at his children's antics, "William, leave your sister alone."
"HA!" Camilla exclaimed. William stared blankly at his father, "She just hit me!" "I'm older, it's fine." She teased, sticking her tongue out at him in a childish way.
"Well, your adopted, so technically-"
"Doesn't matter! I'm still older!" Sophie reached for Camilla, grabbing her by the elbow before basically dragging her toward the door.
"Be safe!" Bill called.
"We will!" Sophie and Camilla replied before heading out the door.
The Carlton's were lucky enough to live right on Lake Manitoc. When they were younger, the children would spend hours out on the lake, playing mermaids and fishing. But now, Sophie was just about the only one who frequented the lake.
Camilla sat on the dock, watching Sophie swim. She reached into the pocket of her sweatshirt, retrieving a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Camilla couldn't pinpoint when she picked up smoking. Probably when their mother, Louise Carlton took her own life.
She was the one who found Louise, lying face down in the pillows of her bed, an empty bottle of prescription pills beside her. It had sent her spiraling, for this was the second time she'd lost a mother.
Camilla had been taken to therapist after therapist, and it helped for some time. But now, all that helped was the alcohol and smokes.
Camilla Carlton would pretend she was okay, when in reality, she was constantly on the verge of breaking.
But she'd never admit it.
As the cigarette dangled from her lips, curls of smoke clouding her vision, she glanced up, her dark eyes falling upon her sister.
The brunette was always proud of Sophie. One day, she believed to see the girl in the Olympics one day. Camilla watched her blonde head bob beneath the water then pop back up. She took a drag from her cigarette, blowing a cloud of smoke.
When the smoke cleared, Camilla noticed something swimming behind her sister. Concern shot through her, "Soph?!"
Suddenly, Sophie was pulled underwater.
Camilla jumped up, the cigarette falling from her lips, "Sophie??!" She exclaimed, trying not to lose her balance and fall into the waters. Her lungs felt constricted as panic took over.
"Sophie!"
The sound of a bell ringing brought the woman out of her distressing thoughts. Her gaze flickered toward the door where two men had entered.
One was overly tall and lanky, shaggy hair falling into his eyes. He seemed young, too young for a Wildlife Service ranger, but who was she to judge.
But she was fixated on the man beside him. He was tall as well, muscular. His hair was cropped short, a hazel brown. A five o'clock shadow graced his chiseled jaw. But it was his eyes that really captivated her. Those jade eyes were unlike anything she'd ever seen. They took her breath away.
As the duo approached the table she was seated at, the taller one spoke, "Are you Camilla Carlton?" She nodded, "That's me." The men pulled out chairs and sat down. The man with the green eyes spoke, "I'm Agent Ford, this is Agent Hamill. We're with the US Wildlife Service-"
"I know who you are."
The men had visited her home yesterday, but she was completely shut down. Seeing what she had, losing Sophie, it sent her spiraling. After the funeral, she hadn't left her room for days. William had to coax her out this morning in order for her to meet with the two gentlemen before her.
Thank God she did, or else she wouldn't have been blessed with speaking to the attractive man before her. Agent Ford nodded, "Okay.." Then Agent Hamill spoke, "Can you tell us what you saw?" Camilla let out a sigh, "Listen, I'm sure my Father and brother told you everything you need to know."
She was sick of this.
Sick and tired of being told she saw things.
Sick and tired of being told she was crazy.
Sick and tired of being told to go back to therapy.
So, so, sick of it.
"Doubt you'll believe me anyways." She mumbled, lifting her coffee cup to her pink lips. "We want to hear what you have to say." The shaggy-haired man said, sympathy swirling in his eyes. Agent Ford nodded, "We've dealt with a lot of weird, darlin'. So shoot."
Her gaze settled upon the jade-eyed man as she set her cup back down, "I was sitting on the dock, Sophie was in the water. I was having a smoke..." She paused, letting out a shaky breath. Her eyes glossed over with tears, but she quickly blinked them away, "I'm sorry.."
"Take your time." Ford said softly, sending her a sympathetic smile. That sent her reeling. She didn't need his sympathy, she didn't need anyone's sympathy. "I saw something in the water, don't know what the hell it was, but then, it grabbed her, pulled her down. Then she was gone."
"And you're sure she didn't drown?" Agent Hamill asked. The woman scoffed, "You don't believe me, do you? Goddammit, this was a mistake, just some more reasons to be told I'm crazy." She muttered, rising abruptly from her chair.
She moved past the table, but was quickly stopped as a hand caught her wrist. Camilla glanced down to see the man with the jade eyes staring up at her. "We believe you." He said simply. She let out a dry laugh, shaking her head, "No, you don't. And I don't need you to humor me."
"We're not humoring anything. Please, Camilla, sit down."
She paused. Should I stay or should I go? Camilla kept her gaze on the man for a moment, and then she made her decision. She sat back down before them. Agent Hamill cleared his throat, "We're gonna ask you a couple of questions now, okay?"
Camilla nodded. "So, you said you saw something in the water, is there anything you can tell us about it?" The woman thought for a moment, thinking. There was nothing that really stood out. It was just a shapeless figure.
"No. It was almost like a shadow. It didn't breach the surface or anything, it just grabbed her." She explained. Both men nodded, but remained silent. Camilla could tell Agent Hamill wanted to ask something, but was hesitant.
"If you want to ask something, just ask." She said, trying to refrain from sounding snarky, but considering his surprised look, it certainly had sounded that way. "I was just wondering why people are calling you crazy?"
Camilla pursed her lips. She knew this question was coming. And she would answer truthfully. "My parents were killed in a car accident, I was in the backseat. Then I found my adopted mother dead due to an overdose. I have a shitload of trauma, had a shitload of therapy, I'm the town's nutjob."
Agent Ford narrowed his eyes in confusion, "So, because you've been through, well-hell, they think you're a nutjob." Camilla shrugged, "Apparently."
"I'm sorry, we didn't mean to pry-" Agent Hamill apologized, but she waved him off, "It's whatever. I had a feeling this was going to be asked anyway." The men asked a few more questions, but sadly did not have any answers for them.
The trio rose from their seats, preparing to leave. Camilla noticed Agent Ford was jotting something down on a napkin. A smile spread across her lips as she noticed a few digits being written onto the paper.
Once he was finished, he tucked the pen in his pocket before handing her the napkin, "If you have anything else, call me." She took it from him, folding it up before placing it into her back pocket, "Will do, Agent."
"Dean is fine."
"First name basis? Is this how you are with all of the victims you talk with?" Camilla questioned. The man sent her a dazzling smile, "Only the pretty nutjobs." Normally a joke like that would irk her, it would infuriate her, but instead, she found herself laughing.
"See you around, Dean."
"See you, Camilla."