Splatter

9. The Diver 3878

Dean woke to the sound of rain. The mouth of the cave was a misty silver blur as Dean rubbed the sleep from his eyes. The morning light was subdued and the cave was colder than the night before. Dean pulled Novak's trench coat tight around himself and wondered if Novak was missing it in all the downpour. Then he felt ridiculous for wondering whether a Mer would feel lost in the rain. It was an excusable lapse on Dean's part though, since Novak was the most human Mer Dean had ever met. Sure he played at being mysterious and was obviously oblique when it came to explaining his motives, plans or opinions; but Dean had seen the other side too. The snap decisions and reckless disregard for rules, the way Novak looked at Dean with blatant desire. Dean wondered how the other Mer tolerated Novak's foibles.

It might have been nice to sit in the cave, eating and waiting out the game, but Dean was a restless soul. He had arranged to meet up with Kevin by the stream, though with all the rain there was little need to collect water. The change in weather mitigated the advantage Dean had worked so hard to gain. With a good supply of water and some means of storing it, a person would survive for weeks in the wilderness. Dean could only guess what the biological requirements of the Mer were, though he knew their threshold for sustenance was much higher than humans. Not feeling much hunger himself, Dean ate a banana Novak had gifted to him. It was just a little under-ripened, with a slight bite and a fragrant scent which Dean savoured.

The stream was overflowing from the rain and Dean was thankful for the waterproof quality of Novak's trench coat. His face and his lower legs were still soaked through, the raindrops running down to seep through Dean's socks. Dean huddled beneath the canopy of a tree and waited for Kevin to appear, all the while trying to listen for footfalls through the bluster of the rain. There was no sign of Kevin and Dean grew increasingly worried. It was possible that a flare had gone up for Kevin while Dean was asleep, perhaps the strategy of splitting up to ensure everyone could hide was not effective. Dean began to question whether he should have stayed in a group with Kevin and Charlie.

"Cassie, better come up here, she's coming," Dean was startled by the hiss coming from the top of the tree.

Balthazar was lying face down on a thick branch, his limbs wrapped around the wood securely. When Dean looked up he blinked and let out a chuckle.

"Oh, it's you," Balthazar said. "Dean Winchester, why are you wearing that coat? Doesn't it belong to a certain Mer?"

Dean had reached for his shell blade but he paused at Balthazar's friendly tone.

"You're a friend of his? Prove it," Dean demanded.

"Are you a friend or foe? Can you prove it, either way?" Balthazar rolled his eyes and extended a hand. "If I was going to attack you, you'd be carried off on a stretcher by now."

Dean was shocked to see that Balthazar had a glinting silver blade in his hand, which quickly disappeared up Balthazar's sleeve.

"Do you still want to be in the game by the time the owner of that jacket joins us? If so, get climbing!"

Dean took Balthazar's hand and scaled the tree. Within moments the branches began to move in the east, revealing Kevin running full pelt. The person chasing him was familiar to Dean, Meg was holding a wicked looking spear, the very one Dean had seen Kevin fish with the day before, which she threw with all her might towards Kevin. He ducked just in time, slip sliding off a grassy hill and disappearing into the undergrowth. Meg picked up the spear without pause as she gave chase.