The Raft (short story)
| "The Raft" | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen King |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Horror short story |
| Published in |
Gallery (1st release), Skeleton Crew |
| Publication type | Magazine |
| Media type | Print (Periodical & Paperback) |
| Publication date | 1982 |
The Raft is a horror short story by Stephen King first published as a booklet included with Gallery in November 1982, and collected in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew.
Four college students named Randy, Deke, Rachel, and LaVerne decide to swim to a wooden raft on a remote Pennsylvania lake to celebrate the end of summer.
While swimming out to the raft in the middle of the lake, Randy notices a mysterious oil slick-like substance floating on the surface that appears to go after the girls as they reach the raft. Deke and LaVerne ridicule Randy's suspicions that the oil slick was chasing the girls until Rachel remarks on the beautiful bands of colors on the slick's surface and touches it. The oil slick instantly coats her finger and pulls her into the water, where it covers her with itself and dissolves her alive. The horrified trio are helplessly forced to watch her die.
After the initial panic, the three remaining friends contemplate their next course of action. They realize they are trapped by what is apparently some unknown blob creature that is waiting to devour whoever enters the water. Swimming past the creature is not an option, as it moves too fast. The group has driven eight miles off the nearest back road without having told anyone where they were going, making rescue impossible. Their only hope is to wait and see if it goes away. The iridescent surface of the creature hypnotizes and disorients them into almost falling off the raft, but they realize that it can be avoided if you look away in enough time. After a while, the creature squeezes under the raft. Deke decides he could make a swim to the shore, but as he prepares to jump into the lake the creature oozes up through two boards and grabs him by his foot. Unable to free their friend, Randy and LaVerne watch helplessly as Deke is slowly pulled through the crack by the creature and devoured. LaVerne faints from the sight; Randy fights to maintain his sanity and contemplates swimming to shore while the creature is busy eating Deke, but finds he cannot do so, as laying her down would cause her to suffer the same fate as Deke.
After LaVerne regains consciousness, Randy and LaVerne take turns watching the creature. They also take turns sitting and standing, allowing brief moments of rest for one while the other watches for when it goes under the raft. During the course of the night, LaVerne convinces Randy that they should sit and watch it together and keep each other warm, LaVerne's hair falls over the side of the raft. Before Randy can pull LaVerne up, the creature manages to tangle itself in her hair and flows over her head, melting her face. Unable to save LaVerne, he kicks her over the side of the raft in a panic, quickening her death.
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