Project Chaos

Part 5: Insanity Creek

There were several people at the creek. A couple of adults had their children with them, but not many. Most visitors were redneck adults. Scarlett, however, was the most city girl-like person here. Even Phoenix seemed to blend in well with these folks.

The creek itself had pale sand on one shore, while the other was lined with trees. A couple of the trees had ropes and wooden planks attached to them, clearly for swinging into the water with.

Amber, Victor, and Brian immediately ran towards the water. Phoenix followed at a slightly slower pace. Scarlett, on the other hand, carefully walked. She had Bob on her shoulder, and didn't want to accidentally make him fall off. Before even touching the water, she set her glasses on top of the towels Mr. Offbrink brought.

Everyone except for Scarlett swam towards the other shore. The water was actually much deeper here, meaning that most people couldn't touch the bottom unless they were extremely close to one of the trees. One tree at this end of the creek had a rope tied to a branch, which many of the people visiting were swinging on.

There was one thing, however, that stood out.

The water was red.

Now, it wasn't a blood red. The water seemed to be more of a maroonish red, similar to Scarlett's hair in direct sunlight. But it still confused newcomers who come here, especially anyone with a constantly active imagination like Scarlett.

Amber swung from the rope as though she was the queen of the jungle. Victor wasn't as great, but he still found swinging from this rope to be rather easy. Brian decided that climbing another nearby tree was much more fun, and climbed his way to a wooden ledge nailed into the tree. He did the Tarzan yell as he jumped from at least 10 feet into the water. Phoenix climbed onto the tree that Amber and Victor swung from.

With a burst of confidence, Phoenix jumped. She held on tight to the rope as it swung out as far as it would go, and let go gracefully. It was almost as though she was a local here. Scarlett, having finally made it over, wondered if she could do the same.

I AM the one who can master pretty much anything with ease, after all.... Scarlett thought to herself with a smug look on her face. So this should be a breeze.

"That looks like fun! Can I try?" Scarlett asked with excitement and confidence.

Amber nodded. "Of course!" She responded, swimming over to let Bob sit on her shoulder while Scarlett climbed the tree.

Scarlett held the rope in her hands. Her confidence had dissapeared, and suddenly she wasn't so sure of this idea.

I dont want to look like a chicken, though.... She thought.

Scarlett jumped with the grace of a bear attempting to fly. Apparently this kind of thing required a strong grip, something Scarlett did not have. It was pretty good for a first try, though.

Of course, Phoenix did not agree. She swam over to Scarlett, who was blindly rubbing the water out of her eyes. "That was terrible." She stated.

Scarlett attempted to glare at her younger sister, still trying to get the water out of her eyes while staying afloat. "Yes, I know that. I don't need to be reminded."

Phoenix smirked. "Isn't your memory terrible, though?"

"Oh, shut up." Scarlett retorted. "I'm going to try that again."

She climbed back onto the tree, only to continue letting go too soon with every jump. Eventually she gave up and Bob climbed back on her shoulder. While the others continued with the rope swing, Scarlett made her way over to the left side of the creek, where a little boy was ignoring his mother's requests to come back to where the people were.

This part of the creek had a rather strong current. Someone like this little boy could easily be swept away if he wasn't careful. Scarlett realised this and got an idea.

"Hi there! I see you've taken an interest in my kingdom?" Scarlett said.

The boy, no older than seven or eight, turned around. "Your..... kingdom?" He questioned.

"Why, yes! I'm the queen of the Blob Nation!" Scarlett exclaimed, petting the blob on her shoulder. "The Blob army lives over there."

The boy grinned happily. "Woah!! Can I go visit them?"

Scarlett chuckled. "Not right now. They need their rest at the moment, so that they can defend my kingdom. However, Bob is with me at the moment, maybe you want to hang out with us over this way instead?" She said calmly, pointing towards where his mother was.

With excitement in his eyes, the boy nodded. "Of course!" He exclaimed.

Scarlett, Bob, and the boy went back over to where the other people were. Scarlett made sure to hold Bob out of the water, as they did not like being wet. With his mother watching the teen and her strange blob friend closely, Bob showed off their shapeshifting skills to the little boy. Afterwards, the mother thanked Scarlett and Bob for keeping her son entertained and away from that current.