Fisherman's Luck

A Fisherman's Most Important Possession (V)

"No questions," said Oren, voice taking on a strange air of command. "I need you to row us to somewhere stable. Now."

"But..."

"Now!"

Luc tilted his head up to see San scrambling to work with a couple of wooden planks. Oren was leaning over River, using both hands to pump at her chest and occasionally pinching her nose and breathing into her mouth. It looked kind of wrong, but judging by the intense look on his face, the homeless bum actually knew what he was doing.

"Another wave is coming!" San shouted frantically. "What do we do?"
"Keep rowing!" Oren snapped. "The exit is right there!"

"How do you know?"

"Just row!"

Luc finally found the energy to drag himself up off his back. Wordlessly, he grabbed one of the planks from San and began dragging it through the water. Sure enough, the next wave, somehow even bigger than the last, was rolling towards them at a frightening speed.

"We're not going to make it!" San shouted, nearly in tears.

"Oh yes we are!" Oren Tao roared.

Luc didn't know who he should believe. San's belief was the practical one, but as evidenced before, the practical thing didn't always come to fruition. But Luc did know who he wanted to believe, even though it wasn't practical to do so.

"JUMP!" Oren shouted.

Luc grabbed San around the waist and leaped forward blindly just as the wave smashed into the chunk of trash they were floating on. After hanging in the air for a moment, he crashed into the stony floor of the cavern's bank, close to where he and River had entered.

He lay on the ground for a long moment, thanking the Holy Dragon for sparing his life. Then he rolled onto his side and looked around groggily. Where was River? Had she and Oren made it out alive?

"I wish I wasn't born," Oren groaned from his spot on the floor, all bravado apparently lost.

River was lying by Oren's side, a limp, soggy, unmoving form. Luc forced himself to his feet and hurried over to her. He flipped her onto her back and waited. She made no move. She just lay there, eyes closed and mouth slightly agape.

"My apologies," said Oren Tao, placing a hand on Luc's shoulder. "I should just go kill myself."

For some reason, Luc found it difficult to respond. There seemed to be some sort of obstacle in his throat, preventing him from speaking clearly. And what was this? His eyes seemed to be starting to sweat. Peculiar that it would happen to coincide with a moment such as this.

"Did I fool you?" River asked, opening her bright golden eyes, mouth splitting open into a wide smile.

Luc dropped her roughly on her back and stood, muttering deranged things under his breath.

"You were about to cry again!" River laughed.

"No I wasn't!" Luc snapped back, trying to speak over the lump in his throat. "I was about to jump in joy because I wouldn't have to look after you anymore!"

"Are you okay?" San asked, rushing to River's side. He removed his soaked tunic and offered it to River. "Here. This will keep you warm."

"That soggy piece of trash won't do anything," Luc said. "And let's get the frick out of here before the next wave comes in."

He turned and began heading towards the wooden staircase leading up and out of the Trash Cove. River followed Luc, escorted by San. Oren Tao remained standing on the edge of the rocky bank, staring into the depths of the murky water.