Exhume [H.S.]

VIII.

I should just stay here, Indy thought. Or even at the hotel. I can just drive back to the hotel.

Wide eyes trailed along the rows and rows of boats that lined the rickety dock Indy was standing on. She hated how nervous she felt just standing on the dock itself, but she didn't trust its sturdiness one bit.

Harry, on the other hand, was leaning against the counter of the boat rental stand, talking to the employee and going through the process of renting a boat and some diving gear.

It was late morning in Jamaica, on a late September day. The temperature was already nearing 80 degrees Fahrenheit, as indicated by the cotton mid-thigh length shorts that Harry was wearing. They were swimming-style type trunks that had chambray and beige vertical stripes on them. His upper body was covered by a random white graphic t-shirt. On his feet were a pair of sneakers accessorized by color coordinated socks that were bunched up at his ankles.

The outfit Harry wore, the tooth pick that dangled from his lips, and his body language as he leaned against the counter at the boat rental stand with one foot crossed over the other completely matched his mood at that moment: entirely laid back.

Alternatively, Indy was absolutely feeling the nerves. She glanced at the rows of boats yet again, seeing that all of them looked anything other than new. Materialistic was not a description that could have been accurately used for Indy, not in the slightest, but when it came to her safety in the literal ocean, then she supposed she was materialistic toward the newness of the boats. There was no way in hell that she was getting on one of the weathered, crusty boats that the rental place had to offer.

Hell, even if the place had a luxury yacht to offer, Indy would probably have still been a little bit nervous about getting on it. She just really didn't like water.

Her outfit was also somewhat laid back, but that was because that was what she was most comfortable in. Indy wasn't exactly the type of person to dress outside of her comfort zone. A pair of green, loose fitting cargo pants, a white fitted tee, and a pair of well-worn black boots that Indy wore nearly every day made up her outfit.

A group of surfers in the distance paddling out to prepare for oncoming waves caught Indy's attention as she observed the vast ocean in front of her. It was inconceivable for her to imagine being in their position, out on the water freely with nothing to support them besides a flimsy foam board that would break if bitten by a shark or folded by a heavy wave.

How are they out there laughing and smiling when imminent danger is so... imminent? Indy wondered, feeling her own stomach begin to knot when a wave approached. One of the surfers expertly stood up on their board and rode the wave with precision, until it crested over just a little too quickly for them to catch up, so it swallowed them beneath the water.

That made Indy's breath catch in her throat. Her knotted stomach flipped upside down, mimicking what she imagined the surfer was experiencing under the water in that moment. Twisting, turning, spinning, all out of their control.

Just as Indy's eyes were wide and glued to the spot in the water that the surfer had disappeared under, a large presence made itself known.

"Alright, scallywag, all aboard S.S. Soon-To-Be Millionaires," Harry said as he focused on folding up the random papers he had from the boat rental agreement.

Indy jumped slightly as Harry approached, and could not contain the slight gasp that she released at the surprise of him popping up at a time when she was incredibly anxious. The gasp caused Harry to glance up at Indy with his eyebrows furrowed, yet they shot up when he noticed her fear-stricken face.

"Hey," he said with an instinctive gentle tone, following her eye line to figure out what she was focusing on. He quickly noticed the heavy waves and some surfers furiously paddling out on their boards to a specific area in the water. That made him put two and two together, but he still looked back at Indy and calmly asked, "what's going on?"