The narrator relays the small town folklore of how the Middle Ground Lighthouse came to have its nickname. While boating with his older brother and his brother's friends, a young teen name Charles climbs to the top of a lighthouse on a ...See moreThe narrator relays the small town folklore of how the Middle Ground Lighthouse came to have its nickname. While boating with his older brother and his brother's friends, a young teen name Charles climbs to the top of a lighthouse on a dare and dives into the Chesapeake Bay one night. As the teens frantically search for Charles across the dark water, a barge enters the commercial channel. The teens, desperate and unable to locate Charles begin to panic but Charles's brother quiets the crew and calls out to his brother. Hearing his brother's voice, the young man risks the swelling wake of the barge to race from the safety of the lighthouse mooring to save the drowning teen. As the group of teens approaches the area where Charles' voice was last heard, they realize the undercurrent has tugged the boy further from shore to deeper waters and -- terrifyingly -- right into the path of the maneuvering train of barge. As the tugboat draws closer, the string of barges tightens like a noose around both Charles and the boat full of teens. Charles' brother realizes the situation has become critical for everyone and makes the difficult choice to abandon his brother and throttle his friends and himself to safety. As he pilots the boat out of harm's way, his friends finally catch sight of the young daredevil Charles... just in time to see him slurped beneath the surface by the suction caused by the enormous ship's propeller. The group of teens -- with the exception of the heroic brother -- watch as Charles re-emerges from beneath the surface of the bay. The teens gape in horror as the blended sludge of a boy they had seen gasping for air a moment before gurgles to the surface. Fortunately for the young boat Captain, he doesn't see the state Charles is in when he returns. However, he experiences the worst part of all... the stench of what was once his brother's body turned into chum. The story concludes as the narrator waxes philosophical, confessing that the nickname they gave to the lighthouse was heartless. The narrator postulates that the heartlessness of youth might be the thing which prevents life from feeling altogether pointless. Written by
FrolickingAlone
See less