𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒 | 𝘤. 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴

ten. the cursed fig tree

To pretend none of it had really happened.

"Shut up." Carl remarked, acknowledging the impertinent look I was giving him.

I let out a sighed laugh. "I didn't even say anything."

"Yeah," He nodded. "Let's keep it that way."

I reached for one of the figs in my pocket, chucking the thing at him before he had a chance to brace himself. Unfortunately, I hadn't realized it was rotten. The thing split apart and splattered on his shirt like a too-soft-tomato, leaving stains of deep red and purple against him.

He looked down, scoffing. When he tilted his head back up, I knew I was in deep shit. His eyes were filled with frenzy, and he adjusted his weight to charge at me. When he lurched forward, I shouted, taking off up the river.

Water splashed violently as I ran against the pull of the current, freezing droplets flying back at Carl, who desperately tried to catch up with me. Any chance of leaving the creek with the upper half of my jeans still dry, was put to an end.

"You can't run forever!" He shouted from behind, disadvantaged by my head start.

I stumbled on a moss-covered rock, set off balance as I continued, before gaining my footing again. Heavy sloshing sounded directly behind. I knew his words were right. . . running upstream was close to impossible. If I lost my balance again, I'd take a complete cold-plunge.

I gasped for air, the cold spreading up the denim I wore. "Truce! I didn't mean to. Truce!"

I pumped my arms excessively. Running through water, even shallow, felt like trying to run in a dream. Unseen forces tugged heavily at my legs as I kicked up sand, each step more of a struggle than the last.

He was crackling up at my terror. "Tell that to my damn shirt! I don't have any other clothes! We can truce when you're covered in rotten fruit, too!"

I spared a glance back. Holy fuck, he was within an arms distance. A smile was strewn across his face, as if he could already see the outcome of this advance. Inevitable collision.

"No! It was an accident! I was just trying to share!" My heart dipped, the pulsations speeding to match the rhythm of my hurried strides.

His breathing was heavy. "You're full of shit."

Ahead, the water stretched on. The terrain was slippery, and uneven. The water was more shallow here, but it cascaded down the tiered rocks in an unavoidable way. Jagged points jutted on the edge of the bank, forcing me to wade further into the depths of the river. My waist was now dipped into the cold.

Prey verses predator.

He lunged at me, and I just barely twisted out of reach. Though, when I did so, the rocks shifted beneath me. I stumbled, loosing control of myself. He was able to grab hold of me as I fell back, an echo of victory coming from him, before our collision sent us both tumbling fully into the water. We both became completely submerged in the deep as the force of the flow tilted us backward.

His weight pressed against me as I brought my head to the surface, breaths ragged as I inhaled. We were being seized by the current, not enough time to allow us to stand.

It had gotten dangerous in an instant.

Still holding onto me, he struggled against the relentless flow, fighting his way to the edge of the bank. He was able to bring us to the rocks, grappling himself, and pulling us up to the pebbled ground.

Once crawling fully out, we began into a fit of coughing. The loud chokes shortly became laughter, breathing heavy against the sounds of the rushing water. There was no malice strewn in our faces, like expected. Only lightheartedness.