Follow The Current

Chapter 8

Kin walked around Iron Islands, hands in his pockets. The adults were off doing things they wanted to do while leaving him to do whatever he wanted. As he walked he saw some guys near his age playing basketball. The ball was shot to the hoop and bounced off the rim. The ball bounced and rolled to Kin, stopping at his feet. "Can you toss it back," one of the guys asked him. Kin picked it up and tossed it to him. "You must be one of them tourist," another said. "I never saw you here before." Kin nodded, "I guess you could say that."

"Wanna play," they offered and Kin smiled before nodding. They had played a couple of rounds before Kin noticed Laya and Sunny running from the guards of the island, a bag of loot in their hands. "Come on Kin," Sunny said as they passed, grabbing his arm. "Wait, what," Kin asked completely confused with no choice to follow them. Laya giggled, "So we got caught. Now we're making a run for it." "But how did I get mixed up in this," Kin asked loudly. "You two are gonna get me killed!" The women laughed as they turned the corner. Kin quickly knocked some barrels over that they passed to slow the guards down.

"Get ready to jump," Sunny said before making the ground gummy, allowing them to bounce over a wall. The women landed gracefully, ready to continue running while Kin landed in a heap on the ground. Sunny and Laya ran off while giggling while Kin groaned as he pushed himself to his feet. "There he is," he heard from the guards. Kin got to his feet and saw the women were long gone. "Damn it," he said before he began running. Those women were the very definition of evil, he declared as he tried to loose the guards.

Pince was walking through the city with Brian and Dio, taking supplies back to the ship when they saw Sunny and Laya getting on the ship with a big bag. "Enjoy yourselves ladies," Dio asked with a chuckle. "We just couldn't leave without some souveniers," Sunny said with a smile. "We would have gotten more had it not been for the trip wire we didn't see," Laya commented. "How did you manage to get away," Pince asked them. "Well we made a run for it," Sunny began. "Then we saw Kin," Laya added in.

Dio couldn't help his smile as he sighed, "You got him mixed up in your mess didn't you?" "Yeah kind of," Laya said with a sheepish smile. "What happened next," Brian asked them. "Well we were running and got to an alley that had a dead end so I made the ground into gummy candy, allowing us to jump over it," Sunny told them. "And Kin didn't land on his feet and we left him behind," Laya finished. "So we don't know where he is or what happened to him." Pince sighed as he sat the stuff down, "Let's go find him."

Kin leaned against a barn, trying to catch his breath. Those guards are presistent, he thought to himself. What the hell did they steal to make the guards chase them like that? He ran a hand through his sweaty hair. "I should have taken Pince, Dio, and Brian up on their offer," he grumbled. "Or hell, gone with Trish to go look at art stuff she. It would be better than being a damn scapegoat." He then made the conclusion that those witches owed him some of what they stole for all the trouble they put him through.

"There he is," he heard and looked to his right. He let out a groan of protest, "Not again." He then started running once more. He ran through the crop field, ears of corn smacking him in the face as he pushed his way through it. He couldn't help the various 'ows' as he was assualted by the corn. When he got out of the corn field, he saw he was at the top of a steep hill and fell down it. Rolling and tumbling till he landed at the bottom on his stomach. He staggered as he got up, the world spinning, "Those evil witches owe me big time." When he noticed the guards trying to make their way down the hill safely, Kin staggered off, almost like a drunk till he got his balance back and could properly run.

Trish was carrying a bag that had her new sketch book and pencils in it when she saw Brian and Pince come out of an alley. "Everything okay," she asked them. "We're looking for Kin," Brian told her. He then explained the trouble Sunny and Laya got him into and how they were trying to find him. She shook her head, "The poor kid is either hiding or is arrested." "We already checked the jail," Pince told her. "So far they're still chasing him." "I'm gonna get my stuff back to the ship," she said to them. "Good luck in your search."

Trish got back to the ship and saw Sunny and Laya on the upper deck. "Why aren't you looking for Kin," she asked them. "Dio thought it best we wait here since the guards are still looking for us as well," Laya answered. Trish saw Dio's point. It's easier to help one run from the guards than it is to help three. "Couldn't you girls have waited till the day we planned to leave the island," Trish asked them. Sunny shrugged, "We got bored." "The guards should give up soon and then Kin will be free to come back to the ship," Laya said with a shrug. "Unless he gets arrested and then we'll have to break him out." "Let's pray he doesn't have a grudge against you," Trish said before going below deck.

"If I were to be asked," Kin said to himself angrily as he made his way through the dense forest. "What's it like being part of the Shadow Pirare crew? I wouldn't know what to tell them.  On the one hand, you've got some bad ass crew members who saved you. On the other hand, two of those said crew members got my ass into some deep shit and now I'm running all over this damned island, avoiding getting arrested. How did a simple ball game turn into an extreme game of hide and go seek?" He went to push a tree branch back but his hand slipped, releasing the branch which swung and slammed into his forehead.

"Mother fucker," he yelled while bending over, hands on his forehead. "That's it," he said as he stood up straight. "I'm fucking done with today. The sooner I can get back to the ship, the soonet I can go to sleep, and the sooner this day will be over." He then looked around the forest. "Which way is the ship again?"

Scarlet and Lux got back to the ship after sundown and saw everyone was gathered on the deck, except for Kin. "What's up," Lux asked them. Dio explained that they have been looking for Kin all day and why. "I've checked the prison repeatedly for him in case they arrested him while we were looking, but so far they haven't caught him," Pince told him. "Let's wait to see if he turns up now that the sun is down," Lux suggested. "Maybe he has been hiding."

"Hey guys," Scarlet said when she looked up at the cliff where the forest was. They all looked up and saw Kin running from some hungry jaguars. They then watched as he leaped from the cliff, limbs flailing before he body slammed the water. They all winced at the smack sound he made when he hit the water. He came up spitting out water. He then flipped off the jaguars, "Fuck you, you over grown house cats!" He then same to the beach.

They watched as he got on the ship. He pointed at Laya and Sunny, "You two owe me some of what you stole." The girls looked at each other before nodding. "We can do that," Laya told him. "I have been chased by guards, assaulted by a field of corn as I ran through it, fallen down a steep hill, got lost in the forest, then chased by hungry jaguars. I'm done with today," Kin declared before stomping to his room for a change of clothes before going to take a much needed shower.

Lux chuckled, "He seems to have had one hell of an adventure today." They all laughed before they decided to relax now that their crew member has returned safe and sound.