The old spring was across the road and up the hill a ways. Silas had been so excited when they first found it. It looked like a pond on the side of the hill, coming out of a small cave. Someone had put some stones around the opening of the cave like bricks. Silas couldn’t tell how old it was. Their house was new and there were only a few other houses on the road. The stones were definitely older than the houses, but no one else had lived around here before their neighborhood was built. In fact, none of the neighbors seemed to know the spring was there. Silas and his brothers were the only ones who ever went up the hill, and they found the spring by accident. Michael, the oldest, saw it first and wisely took everyone home to tell their parents.
The spring was the best thing that had happened to Silas since his family moved to Culleoka. The family had moved to Tennessee a couple of years earlier. Silas was too young to remember much of it, but they had started off in a small apartment in Columbia. It had been cramped and Mama and Daddy wanted space for the “boys to be boys.” Silas heard his parents repeat that every once in awhile, but he wasn’t sure what they meant. He was already a boy, and so were Michael and Steven.
Michael had told Silas once that the reason they moved out of town was that something bad had happened to Mama. He said that a man had sneaked up behind her when she was getting groceries out of the car. Steven had been in the backseat and he yelled when the man grabbed Mama’s arm. That was enough to scare the man away. Mama and Daddy thought it would be safer out in the country, probably because there were barely any people out here. Silas thought that sounded better than living where dangerous strangers might hurt Mama again.
Their road felt like it led to the middle of nowhere. Right next door to their house, there was a cow pasture. Silas and his brothers slipped through the barbed wire sometimes to look at old cow bones under a tree. He didn’t like seeing the ones with the horns, and he really didn’t like it when Steven told him the cows had been eaten by a monster. Their road went past the cow pasture, up a hill, and into the small town of Culleoka. It wasn’t much of a town. Silas knew that Michael and Steven went to school there, but Silas was still too young and stayed home with Mama. He had been to the post office to mail a letter to grandma and grandpa, but they always went back to Columbia for groceries or for restaurants or for church.
Every now and then, Silas would ride with Daddy to a small country store for chicken biscuits or bottled Cokes. The morning they found the spring, Daddy told the boys they would all go see the spring but he wanted to get some breakfast first. Silas rode along, hoping to get a treat at the to calm his excitement. He fidgeted while Daddy slowly made his way up and down the aisles. Daddy was taking too long and Silas was getting bored. Daddy offered Silas a purple drink called Nehi, but it burned Silas’ nose when he tried it and he spat it out. Daddy laughed and set the bottle along with some potato chips and some biscuits on the counter.
The old man behind the counter asked how they were doing on this fine morning. Daddy explained they were about to set out on an adventure, mentioning the boys’ discovery. The old man perked up. He asked if their family lived down Covey Hollow Road in the new development off Highway 31. Daddy nodded and the old man mumbled something about “yankees.” Silas didn’t know what a “yankee” was but it didn’t sound nice. The old man asked if the boys had gone to the spring by themselves and then warned Daddy not to go back up there. Silas remembered a word Mama had taught him: agitated. He thought that’s what the old man was. There were snakes and coyotes, the man huffed, and caves that the boys might fall into. Daddy assured the old man that they would be careful and guided Silas by his shoulders out of the store. Silas was crushed. He thought they were the only ones who knew about the spring. Now he was worried Daddy would listen to the old man and they wouldn’t be able to go back to explore. They had just found their new treasure and now they wouldn’t even be able to enjoy it. Once they were back in the car, Daddy laughed and snickered something about “hillbillies.” Silas didn’t think that sounded nice either.
#
After lunch, the whole family went up the hill. Mama found some blackberry bushes on the way up and stopped to pick some. Silas thought it was funny how she kicked at them and then scurried away to see if any snakes slithered out. Mama hated snakes. Silas didn’t care for them either, but he hated the thorns on the bushes more. Plus, he was in a hurry to explore the spring. The blackberries could wait.
When they got to the spring, Silas was excited to see what Daddy thought. It was Daddy who told them it was called a spring. Silas didn’t know what it meant, but it sounded special. How could it not be special? He’d never seen anything like it before and it was just sitting here, right up the hill from their house. Daddy peered into the opening where the water came from. He had brought a flashlight and he shined it into the darkness. That’s when Silas thought he had first seen it.
Silas had been looking at the pond. There were tiny green specks floating on the surface of the water. He thought they looked like miniature lily pads, and there were lots of frogs around, so that made sense. The frogs hopped from the edges of the cattails that surrounded the pond into the water as Silas disturbed them. He was walking to the far side of the pond, ignoring Mama as she told him to stay next to her. Daddy finally shouted at him, which startled Silas and made him look up. There, behind Daddy, in the hole, Silas caught just a glimpse. Daddy stood up and the light moved away, so Silas wasn’t sure.
After being threatened with a spanking, Silas moved back to stand next to Mama. Michael had started to crawl into the hole, crouched down and walking like a duck. The hole was big enough that Silas probably could have walked into it without bending over, but Mama wouldn’t let him. Daddy pulled up one of the dry cattail stalks and pushed it down into the water. The little green specks rippled away as Daddy drove it down. Daddy’s hand dipped just into the water before he declared he touched the bottom. That made the pond deeper than a swimming pool. Silas didn’t really want to swim with all the green specks anyway, but now he knew it was over his head. He didn’t think Mama and Daddy would let him swim, but maybe they could go fishing sometime.
Michael was sitting in the hole about three feet from the entrance. The little stream that ran into the pond curved back to the left and out of sight. Michael told Daddy it smelled musty in there and maybe it was connected to the caves on the other side of the hill. Silas didn’t know what musty meant, and he had no idea there were caves around. The old man at the country store had mentioned some, and now it seemed Michael knew about them, too. They had spent the night in a cave one time with their church group. Silas remembered getting his shoes stuck in the mud and then someone telling a scary story about the devil chasing someone in the dark. He did not like caves and hoped the spring had nothing to do with them.
Silas suddenly had a bad feeling. Since they discovered the spring, all Silas could think about was getting back to it. He had worried it would somehow be taken away from him, but remembering the scary story from the cave and seeing the strange thing in the back made him worry. Now he wanted to get far away. He wanted Michael to get out of the hole. He started crying for Michael and even surprised himself about how worked up he was. Mama tried to calm him down and Michael just stared at him. Daddy snapped at Michael to move and said it was time for everyone to go home. Mama picked Silas up and as he sniffled, he knew his brothers were mad that he made them all leave. They walked away single file, Daddy in the front and Mama in the back carrying Silas. She cooed softly and brushed the back of his head, which always made him feel better. He peered over her shoulder as they walked. He saw it again. There was a something looking out from the back of the hole. Silas could see the eyes.
#
Silas knew Mama and Daddy would be mad. They had told him was never to go to the spring by himself, but he had to get another look. It was only for a minute, but Silas was sure he had seen eyes. When Daddy’s flashlight moved toward the back, the eyes had shined back at them. Like a cat’s, but different. The neighbors had a cat and Silas saw it under the car when they pulled in the driveway at night. These eyes looked bigger, though. Silas had thought about those eyes for the rest of the day. He couldn’t imagine what sort of thing had eyes like that, even after trying to draw them with his crayons. The color wasn’t right. Neither was the shape. The more he thought about them, the more he had to know. He had to see those eyes. He couldn’t help it. He couldn’t think about anything else. Silas was pretty sure those eyes had seen him.
Silas had asked Mama to take him back to the spring, but she had told him they could go again tomorrow. The eyes might be gone by them. Of course, Silas didn’t tell Mama about the eyes. He didn’t tell anyone. He had a special feeling about them. He couldn’t really describe it. He needed to see them. He had a burning feeling in his chest and he knew seeing the eyes again was the only way to make it stop. Still, sneaking out in the middle of the night was sure to get him a whoopin’ when Mama and Daddy found out. They always found out, too. Silas wasn’t even allowed to cross the road, but no one saw him this time.
It was hot outside, and the crickets were making a racket. Silas hated sleeping with the windows open because of the crickets, but they were even louder outside. He ignored them. Silas walked through the grass instead of the driveway, worried that the gravel would make too much noise and wake up Mama and Daddy. When he got to the ditch, he looked both ways like Mama taught him. No headlights. No cars. He crossed to the ditch on the other side of the road and started up the hill. The moon wasn’t full, but it was bright enough to see their path from earlier. Silas made sure to take a wide berth around the blackberry bushes so he didn’t wake up the snakes.
Silas looked back over his shoulder and saw a light come on in the house. Someone was up. Soon more lights flicked on. He was caught, but he still had a few minutes before they figured out where he was. He walked faster until he reached the cluster of cattails around the spring. He pulled the flashlight out of his pocket and jumped as heard the screen door slam in the distance. Silas’ flashlight was not as big as Daddy’s, but it fit his small hands better. He turned the light on and heard Mama yelling for him. Daddy’s voice joined hers and Silas knew he had to hurry.
He carefully made his way around the pond, the way Michael had done earlier, and over to the opening of the hole. Silas was nervous, but he didn’t feel scared like he had before. He shined the light on the stones around the opening. He wondered who else knew about the spring, who would have put the stones there like that. Silas shook his head. He wasn’t here to look at the stones. He crouched down like Michael had, then remembered he could probably fit. He stood back up, keeping the light pointed at his feet. The hole was in front of him, just darkness. No eyes. Mama and Daddy were getting louder, closer.
Silas took a big breath and slowly raised the flashlight as he stepped forward. There was the little stream bringing the water. There was a frog, splashing into the water to avoid the harshness of the light. There was wet rock at the back of the hole, and Silas remembered the curve of the hole. He moved his light slowly, following the curve, further and further.
Nothing.
There was nothing there. Silas started shaking with fear. Not fear of the eyes or the darkness. He was scared about what was going to happen when Mama and Daddy got there. It wouldn’t be long now. He shouldn’t have sneaked out. He was too little to be here by himself, especially in the middle of the night. His brothers would be mad, too, because now none of them would be allowed to visit the spring ever again.
Silas was almost to the back of the hole when he heard Mama. This was further into the hole than Michael had gone, so at least he had that. Mama yelled his name, and Silas whipped around.
The eyes.
It was between Silas and the opening. Between him and Mama. He couldn’t even see Mama, but he could hear her. He yelled, shrieked for her to help. The eyes didn’t move. Silas shuddered as he heard Mama ask where he was. She called for him over and over again. He yelled back, he was in the hole, he waved the light to show her. But she didn’t see him. Mama couldn’t hear him. The eyes didn’t move, but Silas could hear Mama’s voice getting further away. She was leaving.
Silas yelled and yelled for Mama to help him. He couldn’t move, though, not with those eyes in front of him. He backed up, feeling the damp rock behind him. He slipped in the little stream and fell down on his butt. The back of his pants were wet now, and he realized he’d also wet his front. Silas was heaving, not sure what to do. That’s when his flashlight flickered.
In the flash of darkness, he could still see the eyes. He could make out a little of the rest of it, too. It looked tall, somehow, but everything looked tall to Silas. It looked taller than Daddy, but then it wouldn’t be able to stand up in the hole. It had pointy ears, Silas could see them outlined by the moonlight behind it, but they looked like they were on the top of its head like the horns on the cow bones. And Silas could see something else, too. A smile. It was smiling at him.
Silas shook the flashlight and raised the beam. But it was gone. There was nothing in front of him this time. He whimpered, mostly out of surprise. Silas jumped up and ran from the hole, yelling for Mama and Daddy. He ran as fast as he could away from that place. He ran, falling over and over again as he caught his feet on the weeds and the rocks down the hill. He crashed into a blackberry bush, slowing down just enough to rip the thorns from his skin and his clothes. His arms and face stung with pain and oozed streaks of blood. Silas could see the blur of the lights at his house through his tears.
The flashlight tumbled onto the ground when it grabbed him. Silas thrashed and howled, tried to get free. Daddy shook him. Daddy told him it was okay, to calm down. Silas buried his face in Daddy’s chest and sobbed. Daddy stroked his head, but pulled his face away. Daddy stooped and held Silas’ cheeks in his hands. Daddy wanted to know where Mama was. Did Silas know what happened to her, Daddy kept asking.
#
Michael wouldn’t talk to Silas. He wouldn’t even look at him. The whole time the deputies were there, talking to Daddy, Silas wanted someone to sit with him. Michael would get up and move every time Silas got close. Eventually, he gave up. Instead, Silas sat on his knees on the couch, looking over the back and out the window toward the hill.
Daddy had spent all night looking for Mama. The neighbors had helped or stayed with the boys in the house. It was morning now, light, and the deputies were talking to Daddy about what happened. They were talking about the caves now. Silas thought they must be talking about the caves Michael knew about. They said something about a web and the caves being used during the war. Silas didn’t know which war or why they were talking about it. Maybe they thought Mama was there. There were so many people in the house and outside in the yard that Silas had no idea how long the old man from the gas station had been there. He was leaning against his truck at the end of the driveway, staring back at Silas.
Silas knew Mama wasn’t outside or in the caves. Now he knew why it had looked at him with those eyes. He knew why it had smiled. And he knew he would never see Mama again.
C. S. Perkins is an instructional designer, historian, and former teacher. He lives in East Lansing, Michigan with his wife and son.
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