Matthew Mercer is an up and coming horror author that started writing as a hobby, only to find a deep interest in all aspects of storytelling. Being a lifelong fan of horror films, especially slashers, he hopes to use his knowledge of the genre to provide a fresh experience that will keep readers wanting more.
You can read more of Matthew’s work right HERE.
PERILOUS POOL PARTY
by
Matthew Mercer
My junior year in high school was off to a slow start until the Escobar family showed up; two sisters, Sofia and Camila. Sofia was the younger of the two– a freshman that kept to herself. Her hair was pitch-black, and she always wore equally black outfits. She was cute in an evil-but-harmless sort of way. On the other hand, Camila was in my grade and more outgoing and vibrant. She was the prettiest girl in school and, after a persistent couple of months, she was my girlfriend.
The rest of the year flew by; it was the most fun I ever had during school. I dreaded the upcoming summer vacation because I knew my time with Camila would be limited. She always told me about how strict her mom was when it came to boys, and she didn’t have a car, so I knew I wouldn’t likely see her again until next fall. That was why I was so surprised a month into the break when she sent me this text:
You should come to my pool party next weekend! My mom wants to meet you.
I was so excited that I drove to the mall and started shopping for swim trunks. I counted the hours and days until it was time for the party. It couldn’t have come fast enough. That morning I brushed my teeth, put on deodorant from my fresh stick, and sprayed on the cologne my mom bought me when she first heard about Camila. I put on my new swimming trunks, slipped into a black tank top, hopped into my car, and sped off to her house.
I knew where it was because Camila and I used to park down the street and make out while her mom thought she was walking home from school. It was the largest house on the block, yet it was the most unimpressive. The building itself was old and decrepit. The windows were either boarded up with cardboard or had cracked glass with falling blinds. The yard was ridden with brown, dry weeds. An old trailer sat in their driveway atop cinder blocks where the wheels should’ve been.
A girl who looked just like Camila answered the door, only she was older, prettier, and more developed–for lack of a better word. She introduced herself as Isabella, Camila’s oldest sister. She led me through the house and introduced me to their mother, Mrs. Escobar, who was brooming the kitchen floor. She looked like her daughters, but her hair was a knotted mess, and lacked their sense of fashion.
“It’s so nice to meet you, deary,” she said and told me how special of an occasion it was. She had never let any of her daughters invite a guy to their house before.
When I stepped into their backyard, Sofia was sunbathing on the concrete floor in a black two-piece swimsuit with a frilly skirt bottom. She lifted her head and locked eyes with me, only to put her head back down.
Then, like something from a movie, Camila emerged from the water, flipping her hair back. She smiled at me and climbed up the ladder, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her– scanning every inch of her body, burning it into my memory. She looked so much better than I ever imagined, and I felt like the luckiest guy in the world.
She gave me a tight, wet hug, and before I could remove my shirt, threw me in the pool. The pool felt warm and tingly as it devoured me. I wiped the water from my eyes, blew it out of my nose, and laughed it off.
“Hey, is this pool heated?” I asked.
“You could say that,” Camila walked to the water and removed the blue pool noodle that floated to the edge.
“What, you need that to swim?” I teased.
She only smiled and reached into the tight hole of the noodle and pulled out a small plastic bag with a purple powder inside. She opened the bag and sprinkled the powder into the pool water. The water developed a green color and started to bubble.
“Woah, that’s fancy,” I said, assuming it was like a bath bomb. “Are you gonna join me now?”
“Oh no, baby. That pot’s reserved just for you.”
Smoke rose from the water, and all of my submerged body felt the sensation of pins and needles. I thought my eyes played tricks on me when I pulled my hands from the water, and my skin looked like it was melting. I knew I officially lost it when I looked back up at Camila, and she sat on her pool noodle like a bench, only it was floating three feet off the ground.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Oh, I never told you? I’m a witch, darling.”
She pulled her leg around the pool noodle to straddle it like a horse and laughed in such a way that I could only describe it as a cackle. Her sisters and mother joined with an uproar of cackling laughter as they all floated beside her, riding atop random household items; Sofia on a yard rake, Isabella on a dustpan, and Mrs. Escobar on the broom she used earlier.
“Nice job with this one,” Isabella said.
“He looks delicious,” Mrs. Escobar said.
Sofia licked her lips.
“I didn’t think you’d just walk into a cauldron, so the swimming pool was the best I could do.”
I tried to swim away but could no longer feel my body. I couldn’t move my neck, so I turned my eyes downward and saw that only my head remained–the rest of me dissolved in the toxic concoction below. I took one last glance at the twisted family, their heads thrown back in laughter while I melted into their stew until I couldn’t hear them anymore.