The Dam

I walked along the river as it made its way into a deep cavern. In the dim light I continued on. I wanted to reach the end; the part that feeds into a lake through the dam. After a few minutes the cavern opened up to the dam. There it was, the huge Lake Michigan. It stretched to the horizon. I stood there at the mouth of the cavern looking down at the dam. The dam was made to blend in with the surrounding area. It was about a quarter of a mile across with a series of irregular rocky plateaus stepping down into the lake. The river wasn’t running full yet because they were restricting its flow at the top. But the water that did run made a gentle roaring sound as it made its way down to the lake. The path I was on followed the river down the steps of the dam. The path, if you still wanted to call it as such, turned into a series of small rocky ledges. I climbed down the ledges. They got narrower and narrower as I neared the bottom. The final ledge was only five inches wide and about a foot long. I stood there on my precarious perch looking at the foot of the river below. I watched the river flowing down the steps. It seemed slow enough to where I might be able to walk across one of the steps to the other side. I looked at the steps the river gently covered like silk. Tempting but probably too slippery, especially the green algae patches spotting the steps. Still it was very tempting. But knowing my luck I would slip and fall down the steps into the lake. Standing there on the ledge, thoughts of walking across the steps turned to thoughts of jumping into the lake. To feel the cool fresh water engulf me as I went down and down into the lake. But, knowing my luck, I probably wouldn’t resurface and end up at the bottom of the lake. So I decided to just stand there on my little ledge clinging to the ledges above.

But the urge to jump was strong.

My thoughts turned to where I was now and where I came from. I’m back in my home state of Michigan. I looked into the water. From here to the Pacific I have seen it all. A lot of things I’ve seen and done that could easily fill two life times. A lot of opportunities I turned my back on to come back home. What life did I want to live? What possibilities did I turn my back on? What is the right choice? The cool envelope of the lake called.

I stood there remembering the last time I was there; I was just a little boy out exploring. Now I’m a man standing there, back from my explorations. Many years and many faces I have seen.

Just then the dam shook. It’s about ready to open. I clung to the ledge ready to ride it out. Slowly the steps of the river and the steps of my ledges began to move away. It was like a doorway opening up. Below I saw the great underwater barrier swaying in the currents, thickly covered in algae and mollusks on the side towards the river. I’m glad I didn’t jump. The barrier could have pulled me under. As we began to move past the barrier, it folded down and made a deep sounding thud that shook my ledge. It must not have fully slammed shut because that would have crushed the mollusks on its sides. It must have stopped just short of that.

The ledge I was on began to move carrying me with it. We journeyed on past the banks of the river where a bunch of people were fishing with poles and nets in the tall grasses. Some were white and most were black. We journeyed past them and into the woods. Quiet, calm, the only sound was that of some insects buzzing in the air. Through the woods and back into the open we moved. I rode this out as a child many years ago, and now I’m riding it as a man. Where have the years taken me? I woke up from my daydreaming realizing we were about to near the end and hit the other side. I climbed back up away from the end. I couldn’t remember if we made full contact or stopped just short. I figured I’d rather be safe than misjudge and be sorry. Our journey out ended and there was the other side. Just short of making contact. The other side with its grassy brush covered side, and dirty, rocky top. I could have easily jumped across if I was on the bottom ledge again. But the time I made it back down, the gap would be too wide. So I clung there riding the doorway back in. Back into the woods, but this time instead of the buzzing insects I heard the sound of music coming from plantation works towards the south, music from many years ago when they were slaves. A dry, dustiness began taking over the woods. Suddenly we burst back into the opening. I had better climb back up because when it closes again the river is going to come roaring down the steps. Trying to climb back up quickly wasn’t going to cut it. Then I realized that the stairs next to the ledges were now exposed. These were access stairs used by maintenance workers. I used them to quickly climb back to the top. The stairs turned into a dirt path that lead to the top of the dam. The top of the dam was a dirt-covered area made to look as natural as the rest of the area. I walked along the top and came across two red bicycles parked by themselves. No one was around so I thought how dumb can one be to leave bicycles here and wander off not realizing the dam was about to open. I bet there are going to be two irritated, if not embarrassed, cyclists when they get back. Then I heard the cry of a little boy. It came from a hole in the ground. The hole lead to an observation deck inside the dam. I went down and there was a little boy crying by himself.

“Are you ok? Where are your parents?” I asked.

“They got stuck on the other side,” he sniffled.

Well, that explained the two abandoned bicycles.

“Stay with me and I’ll make sure you get back to your parents,” I said to the little boy.

He walked over and gave me a hug. I carried him back up to the surface.

“What’s your name?” I asked him.

“Chris,” he sniffled.

“Well, I’m Gary and I’m glad to meet you. You’re a nice young man,” I reassured him as he hugged me tighter.

We got to the top and I heard someone call out, “Is someone out there?!”

And a man in a large red and yellow jacket, kind of like a rain suit, walked around the corner. It was the dam master.

“Sorry, we got stuck when the dam opened up,” I said to the dam master.

“Oh don’t worry, it happens all the time,” he replied and smiled.

“This is Chris and his parents got stuck on the other side,” I informed him.

“Well hello Chris,” he said to the little boy, “would you like to come down and see the operation room?”

“No, my parents told me not to go with strangers,” he replied as he hugged me tighter. The dam master just smiled.

“How about if we both go Chris?” I asked and he gleefully nodded.

We went down the decks to the operations room. The dam master showed us around the room. Chris enjoyed every moment and had forgotten he was stranded without his parents. We looked out the window and watched the water outside. We were low enough to where the water was almost up to the top of the windows. As the dam master was showing something to Chris, I noticed a huge pole, larger than a telephone pole, being pulled by outside the window. It was probably part of a docking barrier I thought. A large rope was attached to it and whatever was pulling it was way ahead of it underwater. The dam master looked up and took notice.

“I don’t know what that is, but we need to find out. It’s not man made,” he said with concern.

The dam master hit a few buttons and we separated from the dam. Our boat plunged into the water chasing the dragged pole. The boat sat low enough to where the water was halfway up the windows. We followed behind trying to catch up. It was a bumpy ride. Chris was thoroughly enjoying the ride. We finally got alongside what was pulling the pole. It was a huge softly glowing fish. It’s tail wrapped up in the ropes. It was larger than our boat, way larger.

“Where’s my camera?” I asked.

The dam master pointed up.

‘By the time I went up to the next deck and back down again, the creature might be gone’ I thought. So I decided to stay and watch.

“We have to break off, it’s going into an area we cannot navigate in!” the dam master yelled out above the roar of rushing water. He punched a few more buttons and our pursuit boat began to turn away. We were right next to a residential pier area where houses and yards have been built on top of the water. It was getting dark now. As we passed by, I looked over the housing and there, among the trees, was another huge glowing creature. But this one breathed air. It had a huge body and a small head with a long, thin snout. The dam master saw it but we sped by too quickly to make a good observation. The dam master pulled us into a port. I walked up the road with Chris and reunited him with his parents. He didn’t see the last creature thank God. I didn’t say anything to anyone yet.

A jeep pulled up alongside me and a young kid stepped out wearing a yellow helmet and holding a rifle with a flashlight attached to the end.

He kicked some dirt at me, “Get down, don’t you know that there’s a creature lurking about?”

I kicked some back in return, “Get real, it was on the other side and it would be easy to spot if it was here.”

Then another vehicle pulled up with more young kids and they asked, “Are you ready to have fun?”

And the kid in the yellow helmet said yes and jumped in their vehicle and they sped away.

All images & contents copyright © G.A. Trammel 1992 - 2003