River of Dirt

"Sunken City - That is where we should go!" Tilly exclaimed. Tilly and her friends had just left the tattoo shop in town and they still had an entire summer day ahead of them. Tilly and her friends all thought that they wanted to get their first tattoo that summer, but once they got to the shop and met the guy giving tattoos, they all changed their minds.

Tilly, Charlie, Clay, and June all piled into Clays truck and started driving. "Okay guys, I don't know where to go so someone has to come up with something." Clay said. That was when Tilly brought up the idea of Sunken City. "My dad took me there once when I was little and used to tell me these great stories! Before he was even born the townspeople used to call it 'The River of Dirt'. I guess it used to be a bustling town until a flood came through and wiped it out. My dad said that at the beginning of summer the river is full of dirt and mud, but then towards the end it dries out and you can actually see remnants of the city. You can really see houses and a church and stuff!" Everyone was looking at Tilly strange because she was getting so excited over this place. "Well, sounds boring to me. Just standing around looking a some river" June said. Tilly got a little upset because no one liked her idea. "Yes, but before you get to the bridge that goes over the river, you have to pass a cemetary. Now this isn't just any cemetary, I heard this is where they filmed "Night of the Living Dead"!" Clay sighed as he made a turn in the direction of Sunken City, "Alright, lets go check it out."

The truck was just approaching the entrance to the bridge when they stalled on the railroad tracks. "Hey, what is going on!", yelled Charlie. Clay was stunned. Just as he went to get out of the truck to see what happened, it started back up again. "Okay lets get this over with" he sounded a little annoyed. "Look", June said, "There is the cemetary." She was pointing at a sign above a gate. Clay parked the truck and they all got out, but when they got to the gate it was locked. "How do the relatives come to visit if it is locked?" Tilly wondered. "Come on, this way. I see the bridge!" and with that she ran off. They finally caught up to her and were surprised at the size of the bridge. It was a little spooky with all of the overgrown weeds and brush growing along the sides. "Hey guys, watch your step. There isn't any kind of railing or anything" Charlie yelled. He was already looking over the side. "Hey, I thought you said we could see a town?" They looked over the side expecting to see an entire city but all that they saw was a river full of mud. "Eww, that is gross!" Cried June. Tilly ignored her and yelled for everyone to follow her to the caves.

They all started off towards the end of the bridge where the caves were when they heard screams. "ahhh - Help me!!" Charlie, Clay, and Tilly looked back but June was gone. "Oh my god guys where is she!" "Look I think she went over, I see the edge of the bridge has broken off!" Yelled Charlie. They all started to panic. No matter how hard they tried there was no way to see a person in that muddy water. "We gotta get outta here and go for help!"Clay screamed. With that, they all turned to run back to the truck. When they turned to head back, though they realized they were running in the wrong direction. They were headed to the caves instead. They turned again but the caves seemed to be on both sides of them now. "Guys, what is happening?" Tilly asked. She was crying now and starting to shake. She thought it was just her shaking, but it was the entire bridge. "Hold on to me I think it is collapsing!" Charlie grabbed Tilly and Clay was still searching for June.

Tilly was out of breath. She couldn't hold it any longer and she was scared to open her eyes in all of that muddy water. 'Come on Tilly you have find a way out" She said to herself. She opened her eyes with a jolt. Right in front her was small bicycle. She looked to her left to find a mailbox still in the ground next to the tiny house that it served. She gasped and started kicking her way to the surface of the water. "I can make it! Just a little more" she thought and then it was black.

"Tilly, you have to stop telling these stories!" the man in the uniform yelled at her. She was wrapped in a wool blanket, shivering from being wet. "I am telling you that the river ate my friends! Why won't you believe me!!" Tilly screamed. She was shaking and her teeth were chattering. "Take her to state, let them deal with her there. I can't make out anything that she is saying." the man in the uniform told his partner. Tillys parents finally arrived. Her father spoke first "Where are you taking my daughter? How did she get here?" The man in the uniform explained that she swore she came here with friends, however there is no sign of a vehicle and no sign that anyone ever entered Sunken City. Her father replied "I don't understand it. Why would she lie? We used to come here all of the time when she was a child to go fishing." As Tilly was being escorted into the police vehicle she spotted her father. "Daddy! I knew you would come for me! They don't believe but you do right? Tell them how we used to go down to the city under the river when I was a kid and you lived at home. Tell them daddy!" She was screaming.

Her father went to visit her a few months later at the State Mental Hospital. Tilly's docter approached her father. "I think it is better if she doesn't see you." He said. "What? But she is my daughter" Her father exclaimed. Tilly's docter explained that her father was the reason of her voices in her head and of her insanity. "The only thing she remembers when you were at home is when you took her fishing there. By going back to that place she was hoping that if she could finally prove that there was a city underneath that water then you would finally come back to her"