It was a very nice clear summer day and my friend Marissa and I were walking around town when Marissa's boyfriend, Mark, stopped us on the road and asked if we would like to go rod and reeling in the lakes behind Pilcher. We asked who all was going and he told us that Elizabeth and Stephen would be coming along also. So we told him we would be ready in twenty minutes and that we would be waiting below Marissa's house.

After Mark picked us up in his boat we took off. Mark said we would be checking all the lakes for fish and that we might be back there until very early in the morning. We girls were mad at him for not telling us that we would be gone all night, but we had a lot of fun anyway en route to the fishing spot.

When we finally got there we sat around talking for a long time while the guys fished. Then we went to check another lake. Everyone was fishing except Elizabeth because she didn't bring her rod. When we all caught one or more fish each we went to check another place.

By this time it was getting a little dark and the guys started getting hungry. Marissa told them we should start heading back but they said they would wait until later. They made a fire by some trees and roasted a couple of fish for us, then went back to their fishing. We stayed around the fire and kept it burning.

As we were sitting around the fire the sky started turning gray and the wind began picking up speed. We girls started to get scared because we knew something bad was going to happen. We told the boys that we should go someplace where we would be safe. Just as we spoke we heard thunder rolling in the distance. Then it started to rain lightly. But soon the rain came down faster and heavier. All of a sudden it thundered again right above us and a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. We all quickly got away from the trees, but Elizabeth moved too slowly. Another bolt of lightning hit one of the trees and struck her down instantly. She fell to the ground and didn't move. We all started to panic, but Stephen told us to shut up and think of something to do! We couldn't take her home at the moment because the Water was too rough, and we couldn't revive her because we were afraid to touch her. So we decided to wait until the wind calmed down before we took her home.

It was a very sad trip home and an experience I will never forget!