Friends, Slaves, and Nightmares

30: A Swimming Surprise

"Ok, ok, ok!" Mina shouted and put her hands up in defeat. "I surrender!" She smiled. She was soaked, head to toe, from the splashing battle that she and David had sustained for roughly a half hour.

"Oh no, I don't take prisoners." David said and smirked, playfully pushing her so she fall backwards into the water.

Mina flailed her arms to no avail and landed on her butt in the shallow water. A chorus of laughter spurted from David and Mina. "Well, aren't you a jerk then?" She said and threw a scoop of water from her hands into his face.

David tried to wipe the water from his face, laughing still. "Biggest jerk of them all." He smirks and offers his hand out towards Mina's voice. "Now come on, I suppose it's time we dry off anyways."

"I don't plan on heading back to the herb shop anytime soon though." Mina clasped onto David's hand and he hefted her back up to a standing position.

"We don't have to go back yet. But we can sit in this lake all day." David smiled and hold onto Mina's hand now, glancing around blindly for the shore. He had gotten a bit lost during the splashing fight and now no longer knew where he really was. "Uh... Mina, you're gonna have to lead me out of this lake. I have no clue where we ended up and where the shore is."

Mina slipped her hand out of David's and slowly began to move towards the shore, remaing silent. If she made noise, David would hear her and be able to figure out where he was, so she refrained from talking.

"Oh come on Mina! This is cruel!" David began to whine as he reached out with his hands blindly.

There was a pause of silence. Mina used this time to move further towards the shore, a grin plastered on her face.

"Mina!!" David yelled louder and reached out again. Tentatively, he began to walk around in the shallow water, attempting to seek out his friend. "Well who's the jerk now? Letting a blind guy wander aimlessly in a lake isn't nice at all!"

After several moments of holding in and supressing giggles Mina couldn't handle it any longer. Watching him swing his arms above the water and take small baby steps in the wrong direction was just too funny to watch. He even stumbled once or twice on a rock and nearly fell into the water. As soon as the giggles were out, David's head swiveled in her direction and he smiled, hurrying towards her now.

"Oh, I got you now!" He said triumphantly.

She smiled and began to run towards the shore. "You're still the big jerk so you know!"

"Says the one picking on the blind!!" David retorted as he stumbled after Mina. He managed to catch up and clasped onto her arm with both hands. "Now please help me out of here Mina."

Mina smiled and laughed slightly, taking David's hand she led him towards the shore. "Oh fine... You did say please."

David smiled happily and held onto Mina's hand, cautiously following suit. "Well thank you."

Mina shook her head and helped David out of the lake water. They still were both soaked and the sun was continuing its arc across the sky. They had been messing around in the lake for a while, but not long enough to have the sun high in the sky. It was more around 8 o'clock, still early morning.

"What do you say we should do now then?" Mina asked as she sat on a rock. Her hands grabbed her hair and swung it around onto her shoulder, gripping it with both hands she began to wring out all the excess water.

David sat down slowly on the rock next to her. "I'm not sure. We could always head back to the shop you know. It's not like Kevin will give us the boot because we woke up to watch the sun rise." He began wringing out the corner of his shirt, attempting to dry off at least some.

"I know. I just don't want to head back yet." Water dribbled from her hands as she wrung out her hair to dry it the best she could. "It's a nice day and I don't want to deal with a lot of people... If you know what I mean?..." Mina sent and sideways glance towards David.

He nodded. "I understand. You're antisocial and shy." He joker and grinned, wringing out water from other sections of his shirt.

"Oh haha." Mina said dryly and rolled her eyes.

David just smiled and laughed happily. His laughs cut off abruptly as he turned his heads towards the woods. The sight reminded Mina of a dog who had heard something far off and was curious, yet when she stopped to listen, there was nothing there. A slightly frown crossed his face as he cocked an ear towards the woods. After several moments, his face paled and a look of fear covered his face. Dread knotted in her stomach now as she watched her friend. What could change his mood so quickly?

She stopped and listened, but heard nothing except the slight rustling that a gentle breeze caused. "Uh, David? What is it that you hear?... Is something wrong?"

He put a finger to his lips silently, motioning for her to quiet herself.

"David? What's a matter?" Mina asked him more firmly. The dread slowly melded to concern as she stood and walked over to David.

He shook his head, putting the palm of his hand towards her in a quick and silent motion to stop. "Shhh..." He slowly rose to his feet. His face was still pale as he seemed focused on the sound and his unseeing eyes flicked around slightly in a nervous way. His face revealed that he seemed to be trying to confirm to himself what the sound was. The sound easy familiar to him, but he tried to convince himself that it wasn't it to no avail.

Mina sighed and stood silently, listening. Then she heard it.

Crunch-clink... Crunch-clink... Crunch-clink...

It was the crunching heavy foot steps over grass and dirt, accompanied by the distinct clink of metal. A group of people were walking... and holding something metal? Chains maybe? It didn't make sense.

Mina didn't get a chance to debate what it was in her mind. David turned and shoved her hard, back into the water. Surprise quickly turned into fear as she landed with a splash into the deep section of the lake and was quickly engulfed by the water.