Ed Krieger's Arc

Chapter 1 of 4

Ed Krieger waited in the dark water where memory goes to rot. He had been patient for years. He listened for a voice to speak his name and crack the door open again. He wanted to be feared. He wanted the children of his killers to know his face. Above the lake, a small boy knelt in the sand near a bright wooden playground. Tommy Jones pushed a blue shovel into the soft ground. His sneakers were dusty. His shirt was wrinkled from play. The shovel hit something hard. Tommy dug faster. He pulled out a rusted box with red stains crusted along the seams. A strip of tape ran across the lid. Two words were written in faded ink. Tommy sounded them out slowly. "Ed... Krieger." His lips shaped the name twice before he understood he had spoken it. Far below, in cold water, something opened its eyes. A gloved hand flexed. Fishhook claws clicked together. The name had been spoken by a child, and a name was a door. Ed Krieger smiled through his ruined mouth. The door was open. He knew where to walk in.