Receeding Tides (mcyt)

Chapter 21

Wading in a small tide pool, and Tommy was easily distracted by its contents. Thankful for the activity, he poked at the minnows with a stick. Wilbur and Niki pointed out cool looking rocks to him, but Tommy interrupted often flicking water at the pair. Thank god Philza was actually gathering wood and supplies. Tommy, Wilbur, and Niki certainly weren't gathering much. Phil wouldn't have been okay with an acidic water fight anyways.

The colourless rocks surrounding the pool of seawater were slick with who knows what, but the water itself retained its translucency from pre-apocalypse Earth. Somehow, it wasn't as acidic either. Tommy guessed it was due to whatever slime coated the rocks. Dozens of fish-like creatures wiggled their way to and from opposite sides of the tide pool.

"Hello little guy," he picked out a fish that looked like the others. "I'm going to name you- wait, where'd Clarence go? Fuck."

There was much Tommy could've fixated on after losing track of Clarence the fish, but a floating strip of white cloth caught his eye. He dangled it away from his face not yet knowing what it was. A knot tied it into a maybe belt. No wonder it was discarded. The cloth wouldn't hold up a pair of pants. As familiar as the cloth seemed, it reeked of sweat, old detergent and seawater. Gross. Disgusted, Tommy tossed it to one of the tide pool's outer rocks.

"Tommy, did you just forget the water's acidic?" Wilbur asked returning Tommy's antics.

"It's not even that acidic, though."

"That's because there's a film of stuff that makes you not feel pain," Wilbur explained splashing Tommy with more water.

"A couple of droplets won't burn your skin, Wilby."

Wilbur blew a raspberry at the boy, and Nikki smiled from the rock above the brothers. She hadn't known Tommy as long as Wilbur and Philza, but she still felt a sense of responsibility for him. A want to make him happy. Maybe it was just the instinct to protect the young. Even though Tommy was only a few years younger. Just like the boy said though, he and Wilbur really were like brothers.

Tommy crouched staring at his reflection in the water lost in thought. The last time he'd seen his reflection was two winters ago distorted in a broken icicle. He couldn't tell if he looked badass or disgusting. Probably both. As of now, his hair had grown into an awkward mullet, and it was the first thing Tommy swore to change. The scar on the side of his face was rugged enough, but his braces hadn't come off either. A walking contradiction between that of an adult and a child. Tommy wondered if he could remove the metal brackets himself. Glue or no glue, he'd be glad to have a metal-free mouth.

His skin suffered from acne several times over the years, and the ones he popped out of frustration and boredom ended up scarring. Cursed puberty. Thankfully, they were largely hidden by sunburn and non-acne scars. Tommy smiled at himself. He didn't recognise his reflection in the water, but the boy staring back at him seemed friendly enough. Blinking for only a moment, the tide receded taking with it the reflection. The sound of Philza hollering caught his attention, and a black mask appeared beside him making Tommy jumped.

"Ah! Jesus, you scared me."

"Sorry, Tommy," Nikki smiled from behind her mask. "We're going back to our campsite now. Let's go."

Tommy climbed out of the tide pool and hurried to find Philza. They waited for him to catch his breath before jogging back to their campsite. With newfound energy, Tommy sprint-jogged to where he thought their camp was, but he somehow landed himself in city streets.

He really didn't have a sense of direction. Tommy must have gone a decent distance away from his friends. The sun painted the sky above him a pretty tangerine and a midnight zone blue, and the cotton clouds became a blackened white. What an eyesore in the sky.