"The Face at the Bottom of the Pond" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

 Steven used a long pole to maneuver his raft around the pond. In some areas he could clearly see through the water, and he was fascinated with all of the bizarre creatures that dwelled in the wetland. As he moved into the center of the pond, Steven looked down into the water and was shocked to see a face looking up at him.

The face was hideous and the red eyes looked up at him with savage fury. A floating log slammed into Steven's raft nearly tossing him into the water. The log retreated a few feet and then crashed into the raft again. Steven could see the face smiling and decided it was a good time to get out of there.

While he was on shore, Steven loaded his raft with several heavy rocks and then headed to the center of the pond once again. The face at the bottom glared at him and Steven dropped one of the rocks in the water hoping to hit the thing. The stone missed by at least a foot and Steven launched another rock. 

This time, the rock was flung away and the water around the raft began to erupt. Huge waves caused the raft to break apart, and Steven was thrown into the water. He struggled to swim though the waves and it felt like something was holding him back. 

Finally, Steven made it to the beach and immediately collapsed. He must have slept for several hours, but when he awoke the pond was completely still and the only sound was the loud mocking laughter coming from the depths.

"Bone Lake part 3" by Craig Zimmerman

Lori didn't know what to do with the strange animal she found in the woods which was apparently a victim of her Uncle Simon's experiments with inter-dimensional travel. She offered it water and food, but the creature just kept making the same pitiful bleating sound.

After much searching, Lori found her uncle's journal. In it he described the beginnings of his experiments and the accident that led to the escape of two creatures that he brought forth from other realms. This was the first time she had heard about another creature besides the worm-like animal she had found.

The journal also gave detailed instructions on how the dimensional portal worked and Lori was hopeful that she might be able to send the worm- thing back to its home.

While Lori studied her late uncle's journal, the other escaped beast watched from the woods. Its compound eyes noted every detail and its eight limbs, and sleek muscular body could race through the trees. The forest was so much better than the world it came from. The only threat was the human- creature in the large structure. She would have to be eliminated.

Three days after finding the journal, Lori felt that she was ready to send the giant worm back to its home. She carefully placed the animal in a transparent enclosed platform and keyed in the code left by her uncle. The animal slowly disappeared and Lori prayed that the lost soul had found its way home.

Lori's sense of accomplishment was short-lived as she remembered that there was another fugitive animal that had to be sent back.

"Bone Lake Part 2" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Lori Brant felt wonderfully rested as she awoke in her new home. It was so quiet in the country-no traffic-no sirens-no people. After a quick breakfast of bagels and fruit, Lori set out to explore her new surroundings.

Her Uncle's house was huge with eight rooms on two levels. Lori was surprised to find an enormous library on the top floor with hundreds of volumes. One section of the library was devoted entirely to physics. The floor below contained a well-equipped kitchen and several bedrooms.

The biggest surprise of all was found in the basement. Some kind of laboratory filled the entire space. Lori could only guess at the purposes of some of the devices. She made a note to herself to look through her Uncle Simon's papers to figure out what was going on here.

As the sun set, Lori took a seat on the wide deck overlooking the lake and sipped her coffee. A strange rhythmic sound seemed to be coming from the woods on the opposite shore. Lori had no idea what it could be, but she grabbed a flashlight and went outside.

A narrow trail wound around the lake and Lori followed it looking for the origin of the sound. As she came through a tangle of blackberry vines, a creature that couldn't possibly exist stared at her. 

The thing was about three feet long and somewhat resembled a caterpillar. It had large eyes the color of violets and the strange crying sound came from an opening in its tail. Instinctively, Lori connected the bizarre creature to her uncle's laboratory. 

The animal did not resist when Lori placed it in a blanket and took it back to the house. She offered it food and water, but the bowls remained untouched.

Lori spent the night looking through her uncle's papers and discovered that the devices in the basement were some sort of port to other dimensions. The creature she found in the woods must have come through the port and then escaped. 

From another part of the lake, a larger and more dangerous fugitive watched the house and waited.

"Matty" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Matty sat on a log and watched a large Heron spear a fish in the shallow waters of Dumas Bay. She regretted ditching school, but a sense of unease threatened to overtake her, and she had to get away.

Matty stayed at the park until the sun began to set and knew that she had to go home. As expected, her mother was angry that she had skipped school and once again Matty had to hear how irresponsible and careless she was.

The next morning, Matty loaded her clothes and other belongings into her old Corolla and headed for the interstate with a vague plan about going to California. As Matty drove through downtown she noticed a girl about her age wearing a skimpy outfit and pacing back and forth on the sidewalk. 

The hopelessness in the girl's eyes disturbed her and Matty turned her car around and headed home. Her mother was waiting for her on the porch of their tiny house. 

"I'm sorry you missed work because of me" Matty said.

Her mother smiled and held Matty close. "Everybody needs to play hooky once in a while."

 

"Bone Lake" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Lori Brant was resting her feet after a hard day of serving coffee when she heard the doorbell ring. Looking through the peephole, she saw a well-dressed older man. "Can I help you?" she said through the door.

"My name is William Phillips, and I need to speak with Lori Brant." the man said. Lori cautiously opened the door. "I'm Lori Brant. What's this all about?" The older man produced a business card which read: "William Phillips: Attorney at Law." 

Mr. Phillips sensed Lori's confusion and began to explain. "I served as your great Uncle Simon Brant's attorney for many years and after he passed it was my duty to find an heir for his estate." Now Lori was really confused. "I have never heard of an Uncle Simon" she told the attorney.

Mr. Phillips shrugged. "Unfortunately, Simon was a little eccentric and had no contact with his family for years. It took me several weeks of research to find you."  "Are you saying that I'm the heir to my Uncle Simon's estate?" Lori asked. The attorney nodded. 

Lori motioned the lawyer to her tiny kitchen table, and he brought out a sheaf of papers. "To begin with, Simon left approximately $2.5 million dollars in cash and securities, several real estate holdings amounting to about $9 million dollars and his personal estate at Bone Lake which has been appraised at $4.3 million dollars.

Lori's eyes grew wide as Mr. Phillips recounted the amounts. Her family had never had that kind of money. "Are you sure that I'm the person you're looking for?" she asked doubtfully. "I'm positive" he said. "It will take some time to transfer ownership of the various accounts and properties into your name."

"What kind of place is Bone Lake?" Lori asked after Mr. Phillips had finished his presentation. For a moment, Phillips hesitated. "Simon liked his privacy and he built his home deep in the forest. The nearest town is twenty miles away and the roads are very difficult in the winter."

Lori considered her position. She had no close friends in Seattle so why not? A few weeks later, Lori quit her miserable job and packed up everything she had into her ancient Chevy and hit the road.

Finding Bone Lake was a lot more difficult than she imagined. The property was in the northeast corner of Washington and even the GPS on her cell couldn't find it. After much trial and error, her tired old car pulled into the driveway of her new home. The house was more impressive than Lori imagined it would be. The log cabin design seemed to blend in with the forest and Bone Lake could be seen about a quarter mile away.

After taking a nap, Lori walked down to the lake and took a seat on a large boulder. Feeling a weird sensation, she noticed a pair of eyes staring at her from the forest. The eyes seemed to hold a deep hatred of something and then they just vanished.

"Knock Softly" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Susan Long sat on her porch with a cup of tea and watched the sun set behind the distant mountains. Her dog Debbie lay beside her quietly watching the desert that surrounded Susan's home. The dog was usually out chasing a rabbit or a lizard but lately she just lay on the porch surveying the wasteland beyond.

The next day, Susan had to be at work early so she watched a little TV and then hit the sack. Sometime, in the middle of the night, she was awakened by a tremendous crash as if someone was trying to break down her door.

Susan grabbed a shotgun that she kept on a rack and raced to the living room. Debbie was barking furiously while the door buckled from hammer blows. Susan aimed her shotgun and whatever came through was going to get a double dose of buckshot. 

One final blow and the door gave way. Susan was expecting something massive, but the intruder was a small rat-like creature that stared at her with multiple black eyes. Susan pulled the trigger of her 12 gauge, and the heavy pellets disintegrated the horrible thing. 

After the ordeal was over, Susan considered that the creature may have been an alien visitor with no intent to harm, but it wasn't her fault that the beast didn't know how to properly knock on a door.

"Summer of Woodstock" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Haley was looking at old photos with her grandma Rachel when they came upon the picture of a young girl with a flower garland in her hair. Who's that grandma?" Hayley asked pointing at the photo. 

"That's me at Woodstock" her grandma answered. Hayley's eyes got big. "My history teacher talks about the Woodstock festival all the time." "Now I do feel old" her grandma joked.

 Haley was full of questions, but it was getting late and she had to call her mom in the morning. Haley drifted off to sleep almost immediately and then the honking of a car horn woke her up and instead of a bed she was laying in the grass on the side of a busy road.

Dozens of old-fashioned cars formed a line that seemed to stretch for miles. Haley had no idea what was going on, but a truck painted all sorts of strange colors stopped and motioned for her to get in. Haley hesitated and then accepted the ride.

"Are you going to the festival?" a young woman with a toddler on her lap asked. Haley nodded unsure of what was going on. The woman introduced herself as Felicia, her two kids were George and Wendy and her husband who was driving the truck was Larry.

Felicia made silver jewelry and was hoping to sell some at the music festival where everyone seemed to be going. The line of cars moved slowly, and they arrived in early evening. Haley was shocked at how many people were there. Before Felicia left to set up her booth, she gave Haley a small silver and turquoise ring.

Somewhere in the distance, Haley could see a stage and she walked towards it. A band called "The Who" was playing a song and at the end smashed their instruments. Haley watched a couple of other bands and then started to get tired. She moved through the crowd and for a few seconds she shared a glance with a girl who kind of looked like her and had a flower garland in her hair.

Haley found a place under a tree and gradually went to sleep. She was awakened by her grandmother telling her that breakfast was ready. The festival and all the people she met had been some kind of weird dream, but then she noticed the silver and turquoise ring that was still on her finger.