“I'm here,” called the clumsy man, sliding up and over rocks as if he were a small bird with soaked wings. His wet clothing clung to his lean frame, but it didn't matter: nothing mattered until the man could find his feet submerged deep within the icy waters.
It was a type of frenetic energy that dragged him out further, even after the sharp icy sting of water splashed against his legs, soaking into flimsy shoes, making the laced items nothing more than ice-cold weights.
Closer, Hunter thought, pushing past the globs of frigid seafoam and vegetation, only to be knocked back feet at a time by the roaring waves.
How quickly could a man lose their footing in the dark? How quickly could a man slip under, colliding with submerged rocks, only to be dragged out and never seen again?
How quickly.
A voice called from behind, and only after a wave engulfed his legs could Hunter hear outside of his head.
Not for him. No. People shouldn't speak to him. Not to Hunter, not to someone as dangerous as he. Despite being as pitiful as the man looked, drenched, shaking, and quickly losing the shore, Hunter saw himself as a fearsome predator, no matter how hard he tried to keep his hands clean.
He'd kill this voice, a mortifying thought that rushed Hunter almost as quickly as the water, clumsily navigating his feet on uneven ground to turn, barely making out the stranger on the rocky beach.
"I'll kill you..." he wanted to warn, but his lips were as sealed as a beak, trembling at all the unknown that lay between them.
“Yes-” Hunter responded around chattering teeth, squinting as if that would make this stranger's intentions clear.
Could he even be heard over the waves? Miserably, Hunter took a step toward the shore, but walking back seemed a battle he would not easily win.
It was a type of frenetic energy that dragged him out further, even after the sharp icy sting of water splashed against his legs, soaking into flimsy shoes, making the laced items nothing more than ice-cold weights.
Closer, Hunter thought, pushing past the globs of frigid seafoam and vegetation, only to be knocked back feet at a time by the roaring waves.
How quickly could a man lose their footing in the dark? How quickly could a man slip under, colliding with submerged rocks, only to be dragged out and never seen again?
How quickly.
A voice called from behind, and only after a wave engulfed his legs could Hunter hear outside of his head.
Not for him. No. People shouldn't speak to him. Not to Hunter, not to someone as dangerous as he. Despite being as pitiful as the man looked, drenched, shaking, and quickly losing the shore, Hunter saw himself as a fearsome predator, no matter how hard he tried to keep his hands clean.
He'd kill this voice, a mortifying thought that rushed Hunter almost as quickly as the water, clumsily navigating his feet on uneven ground to turn, barely making out the stranger on the rocky beach.
"I'll kill you..." he wanted to warn, but his lips were as sealed as a beak, trembling at all the unknown that lay between them.
“Yes-” Hunter responded around chattering teeth, squinting as if that would make this stranger's intentions clear.
Could he even be heard over the waves? Miserably, Hunter took a step toward the shore, but walking back seemed a battle he would not easily win.