CHAPTER 3
The sun was beginning to dip behind the western hills as Eddy and his group of friends disbanded. He walked down the road with Jack Preston until they reached the long, dark corridor of Haxall Canal. 
 “See you tomorrow,” Eddy said, as he split off in another direction from his friend. Despite his trying to keep with his friends, Eddy never much liked the bitter taste of alcohol. It was only social for him. Worse yet, he didn’t have much of a stomach for it, and would find himself out of sorts quicker than most. He was also Keely aware of the fact that his real father -David Poe- had lost everything including his life to The Drink. 
To shake off the lasting affects of the liquor, he decided to take the long way home, meandering along the towpath of the murky canal then ran the length of the city.  
By day, the area along Haxall Canal was teaming with activity. Laborers, mules, and cargo traversed the canals and adjacent tow-road that mirrored it. All day, each day everything from bays of cotton and tobacco, to hay and tea were pushed and pulled along to market. Eddy had even seen human cargo carried along, but he didn’t like to think of that foul trade that even his foster father, half of the reputable team of Ellis & Allan had once dealt in. But at this time of day, when the canals became deserted and the last of the workers two-drinks-in at the pubs just a few blocks away, there was place more peaceful than the canal. 
A gentle breeze filled the Spring air as he listened to the tranquil clink-clank of bell buoys in the James River. The din of the white water back at the Falls fell into the distance, replaced by the slap of catfish jumping at the evening flies. Above, Eddy spotted the early bats darting here and beyond. And lower still, the odd firefly darted in the clearing. 
Eddy walked along the service road that followed the canal, which in the twilight had become a shimmering black ribbon that snaked along Richmond’s wharfs and warehouses. He breathed in the fresh air, and dreamed of a bright future for himself in an effort to forget the oppressive Allan house. 
‘I wish each night could be like this,’ he thought to himself. Such a perfect evening.’
The first cry for help was so faint, Eddy thought he’d imagined it. The second told him it was terrifyingly real. Someone in great distress, as though they were begging for their life. He swung his neck around, but saw nothing. 
“Help!” 
The third cry was painfully clear; but much weaker— not so much a cry, but a gasp. Eddy swung around again, this time spotting the most horrifying sight-- a small, boney hand, white as porcelain, reaching out from the murk of the canal. The small fingers clutched at the air before silently plunging beneath the water’s dark surface. Eddy squeezed his eyes shut, convinced he was seeing an apparition, or the lasting affects of the liquor. 
But once again, the tiny hand arose from the dark water like a phantom, only to disappear a split second later. Without so much as a thought, Eddy ripped off his jacket and shoes, and dove into the otherwise still water.
The shock of cold took him by surprise. Eddy was as good and strong a swimmer as anyone he’d ever known, but the frigid water slowed him down dramatically. The last time he had taken a dip in any part of the James it had been warmed by an August sun. Moreover, this was a manmade canal, where stagnant water retained its wintery temperature. Tiny icicles stabbed him everywhere. It took him a moment to get his bearings straight, but when he did he broke into broad strokes through the water, kicking with conviction as he went.    
He came up for air, shaking his head free in an effort to locate the drowning child. A circle of ripples targeted the spot. 
Eddy swung around, his legs kicking wildy. The canal was deep with no bank to stand on, nor handles to grasp. Thank God I can swim, he thought. From the middle of the canal he broke in to a stride towards the rippled target where the hand had been. 
The tiny fingers rose again, but this time just the fingertips. By the time they went under again, a horrible crossed Eddy’s mind. If he couldn’t get to this poor soul -and soon- it would be too late. He would lose the poor soul and no one would ever believe his outlandish take. With one final hulking breath, Eddy submerged himself entirely.
Underneath the surface Eddy opened his eyes. Using both hands, he made his way through the black water. Then by a stroke of mad luck, he caught a glimpse of a small hand highlighted in a spear of light stabbing the viridian water from above.  Eddy reached out and grabbed hold with all his might. 
His body began to betray him as he fought for air. Rejecting his instincts, he dove further down into the darkness. Surprisingly, his feet found the bottom of the canal. He planted himself there as he heaved the body above his head with all his strength, but it was futile. Almost immediately the human mass began to sink back down. This time Eddy sprung his own body forward, using the power of his legs off the canal floor. As he propelled himself to the top, he grabbed a handful of human hair, dragging it up along with him.  Eddy broke through the water’s surface with the small body in tow. Gasping for air, he worked on getting what he now confirmed was the body of a child onto dry land. He now spotted a ladder embedded along the canal wall, and towed the lifeless child to the edge. 
Heaving the child out of the canal, Eddy laid him out on the pea gravel road. He turned the figure over, searching for any sign of life. He gently pulled the matted hair away revealing a boy he recognized from school- one of the younger students at Clarke’s Academy. Eddy rolled the child’s small frame onto one side. Using his fingers, Eddy opened the boy’s mouth, and tried to pour the water out of him like a tea pot. When that failed, he slapped the child’s back, trying in vain to expel the fluid from the boy’s lungs. Finally, panic rising in his chest, Eddy stood up and folded the boy over his forearm like a rag doll, pelting the boy’s back again and again as he prayed for any sign of life. And still there was none.