The Thorpeness Monster (standard:adventure, 1271 words)
Author: Brian Cross	Added: Aug 18 2008	Views/Reads: 4136/2322	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A tourist encounters a monster of a problem in a quiet Suffolk backwater.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story


He sighed, rapped loudly on the open kiosk door although there was
patently nobody inside – catching the guy's attention was priority 
right now. What was it they said about British villages – that they 
were sleepy. You could sure say that again; even the swans seemed 
comatose – and with a monster in the lake, who'd believe it?' 

Finally there was activity but it was the tall woman who invoked it. She
actually dived into the lake and began ploughing through the water 
towards him. Teddy was appalled, ‘No – don't do that...' he shouted, 
‘the monster...' 

But either she wasn't listening or couldn't hear as she cut across with
surprising speed to where he stood gesticulating wildly. She levered 
herself out and stood in front of him, water draining from her long 
dark hair, vest and trunks. She was tanned, broad and muscular – but 
she'd be no match for the monster. 

‘You really shouldn't be swimming in there like that,' he remonstrated,
‘not with the monster...' 

‘What monster?' She frowned, gave him an odd look like he was from
another planet, maybe it was his Yankee accent, ‘Do you want to hire a 
boat or not?' 

‘Yeah, sure do. Listen dame, wave to that guy and get him over here, bad
business approach that's for sure. Sloppy, particularly when the 
monster's...' 

‘Now look, I'm the attendant, not him, I'd hardly have swam across now,
would I?' She had one of those posh British accents, ‘and what nonsense 
are you talking about, monster?' 

‘Don't play the dull dame with me lady – I may not be a Brit but I know
all about the Thorpeness monster. I've read about it.' Teddy felt his 
temperature rising like a high speed lift in a New York commerce block, 
what sort of idiot was she making him out to be? 

‘Thorpeness monster eh?' She said, her expression bland now, ‘Right.'
She placed her hands on hips, looked down on him from at least a four 
inch height advantage, ‘I think somebody's been telling you porkies, 
either that or you're a little off course...' 

‘Don't feed me any crap, please lady, ‘ now Teddy was irate, ‘just fix
me up with a boat like you're paid to do.' 

‘Fine, if that's what you want,' the tall woman went inside, marked up a
third notch on the board, then returned and with two powerful-looking 
arms stretched down to the padlock before releasing it.. She rose and 
held a hand out, ‘That'll be two pounds please, for one hour as the 
sign says.' 

Teddy fumbled in his pocket, forked out and she deposited the change
before diving back into the lake. As she looked back she said, ‘ Have 
fun with your monster.' 

The last thing Teddy saw was the tall woman raise herself back onto the
lake's perimeter walkway where she resumed her conversation with the 
small man. 

The original Amazon Queen, he was thinking as his eyes locked on hers
and she stared right into him; he didn't see the dark, oily scaly thing 
that reared up and snatched him low into the Thorpeness waters. 

The tall woman looked at the small man and shook her head, ‘Third one
this week, they never learn do they? I'll go and reel the boat in. You 
know what to do now.' 

‘I sure do,' the small man made his way to the kiosk, took the marker
pen and added a broad black stroke to the two on the board. 

‘Three up to the monster,' he mumbled. 


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