“Why do we have to go on this stupid walk?” asked Annabeth as she trudged along on the muddy path.

 

“Don’t get cheeky. It’ll be good exercise,” replied Mum with a sigh.

 

“I love this walk!” shouted her little brother Albie. “Ooof!” barked their dog Rufus, in agreement.

 

“You’re not even walking. You’re sitting on Dad’s shoulders.” Replied Annabeth, in a huff.

 

Annabeth and her family were going on a long walk around Mercer’s Lake. It was a freezing, damp day with lots of puddles on the path and no sun to dry them up. They were about half way through the walk and her legs were already aching and her feet were sore and cold.

 

After what seemed like hours they arrived at a café which would usually sell ice lollies and coffee. But to all their disappointment (but especially Albie who really wanted an ice lolly), the shop was closed. As soon as Albie heard the words “no lollies” he started screaming.

 

“I WANT ICE LOLLY NOW!”

 

“Still enjoying a nice family time together?” asked Annabeth with a sarcastic grin.

 

As the lake came into view, Annabeth look across its dark and misty surface to the trees on the other side. Suddenly, she saw something large and serpent-like moving in the water. “What on earth is that?” she exclaimed.

 

“What’s what?” said her mum distractedly. Annabeth looked back and all she saw was a lonely duck paddling across the lake. “I must have been imagining things” she thought, still pondering over what just happened.

 

That night she had many dreams about monsters in the lake. The monster changed every time she went back to sleep and by the next morning she was exhausted.

 

The next day she walked to school with her best friends: Jazmine and Grace. While they were walking Annabeth told them about the boring visit to Mercer’s Lake. She confided in them about the strange happenings and asked them what they thought.

 

“It could have been a big fish or – “started Jazmine.

 

“Or a duck underwater because you said you saw a duck afterwards,” interrupted Grace.

 

“I’m sure it wasn’t a duck,” Annabeth muttered under her breath and soon the subject got on to the usual hatred of PE and Liam the school bully.

 

Before she knew it, the weekend had arrived and Mum came into the kitchen with a smile on her face and announced:

 

“We’re going to Mercer’s Lake again. I think the dog needs another long walk. It does him good and it will do you good too.”

 

“Ooof!” barked Rufus in agreement again.

 

“Uuurrggghhh” groaned Annabeth; but something nagged at her to return after last week’s walk.

 

When they got there, Annabeth decided to keep her eyes peeled for anything strange in the lake.

 

They were just about half way through the walk and she hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary. All she saw was a brown, muddy lake, some ducks and a pair of swans.

 

When they got to the café (luckily open this time) she saw a fisherman sitting on the bank. He had a long brown coat over a tweed suit. He wore old patched trousers and dirty boots. On his head was a battered old flat cap over silvery grey hair. He had a kindly face as he sat puffing on a pipe. In his left hand he held a fishing rod and he sat gazing at the float bogging gently on the calm surface of the lake.

 

Mum brought out the lollies from the café and immediately everyone rushed to theirs.

 

After finishing her lolly, Annabeth once more fixed her attention to the fisherman. But to her horror all she saw was a pair of muddy boots disappearing into the murky depths of the lake. She gasped and clutched her mother’s arm, her face going from hot and sweaty to as white as a sheet.

 

“Annabeth! What on earth’s the matter?” exclaimed her Mum.

 

“A m-man disappeared under the lake,” sobbed Annabeth.

 

“Oh Annabeth, don’t be so silly He probably just went to get a cup of tea or a sandwich, “ laughed her Mum, which infuriated Annabeth.

 

“No! I know what I saw,” Annabeth cried.

 

 

“Annabeth, I’ve had enough of your tales to last a lifetime,” scolded her mum.

 

Soon they set off for home. Annabeth was desperate to get her Mum to believe her but her Mum was getting more and more annoyed with her and eventually Annabeth gave up. The only thing that made Annabeth smile before the end of the walk was that Rufus leaped about in the biggest and deepest puddle Annabeth had ever seen. Obviously, Mum and Dad weren’t too happy about that but Annabeth and Albie both thought it was hilarious.

 

When they got home they had a quick dinner, then got ready for bed, though as usual Albie was half asleep by the time they got upstairs. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, but that wasn’t the case for Annabeth. She still shuddered at the thought of the old fisherman disappearing under the lake.

 

She spent most of the night anxiously worrying about how it all happened.

 

“Did he just fall in? Did he trip on a rock? Was there something in the lake? Did it pull him in? Or did I just imagine it?” She feared to sleep in case she had nightmares.

 

A week later, after nights with no sleep, Annabeth sat pale and exhausted doing her homework. While she sat working out her maths questions she happened to glance at the Surrey Mirror lying on the table next to her. There on the front page was a picture of the old fisherman with a title in big bold letters reading,

 

MISSING