Put That Kid Down

Chapter One

"...Did you just gain five levels of competence in the last minute and a half?" Adam asked finally in an awed tone of voice which David took as an affirmative.

"Head out, trooper, we've a sad Sally to find," he declared, and set off himself. Now that it was clear she wasn't just sick in her tent, there was a chill creeping into David's blood that told him it could be something more serious. ...He'd just really prefer to find her moping on the dock, or something.

"I'm going to grab Janette to check the bathrooms," Adam called before he was out of sight.

Right, David had forgotten about the whole man-in-a-girl's-bathroom issue. Always good to know Adam was on top of things, though, when they were searching for a missing camper. His first stop at the storage shed yielded nothing, but as he ran along the beach, he could see Georgio out in the water, holding a small figure in his arms.

"Georgio!" He waved as he shouted, making the swim instructor jump a little and look at him, "Is that Sally? Is she okay?" He just knew they should have signs up on the beach. Look what happened if there weren't any signs around to warn kids against swimming without a chaperone! Good thing Georgio had passed by!

"She'll be fine," Georgio called back, but when he didn't start making his way back in, David realized he must be in shock. Well, he'd have to prompt him.

"Come back in, we need to get her dry and warm!"

"Good idea," Georgio replied, "You can go back to the campfire and I'll take care of it!"

Now, that sounded nice, but... not nice at the same time. David couldn't quite put his finger on it. After all, his coworker was trying to do the right thing without inconveniencing anyone, right? But then, why was he still out there? Was he still in shock that a camper had almost died on his watch?

It was then Sally woke up. And she woke up frightened. Clearly unprepared for the sudden kicking and scratching, Georgio let her drop and she surfaced, sputtering and wide-eyed, black hair spilling over the water as she swam frantically for shore.

"David!" she exclaimed on seeing him, "Help!"

Well, that was more Georgio's job, but since he'd been sort of off... David waded in after her just as Georgio started in her direction.

"It's fine," David soothed them both, reaching out for the girl and waving back Georgio at the same time, "I got this." Georgio was in no state to deal with saving her again. That was obvious from how he was agitatedly fidgeting even now.

Of course, then Georgio made an inarticulate noise of rage and grabbed Sally's leg. He yanked her under, pulling her out into the lake as he ranted, "Oh for the love of everything, David, can't you tell there's something wrong with her? She needs to be saved! I've been trying and trying but I just can't get a cleansing to stick! Her soul won't scrub clean and we're running out of time!"

"What are you talking about? She's under the water! Let her go!" David cried, splashing after them and grabbing just inches into the trail left by Sally's hand. His fists clenched in frustration, "Georgio!" The swim instructor was rambling now, more of the same, and David could tell he wasn't listening. Diving forward and swimming, he sacrificed a clear line of sight for speed. They stopped up ahead, on the shores of Spooky Island, and Georgio pulled Sally out of the water, above his head, as if to offer her to something. David's heart jumped into his throat and pounded the inside.

"Put that kid down!" He lunged, tackling Georgio sideways into the water so Sally wouldn't hit the ground, and scrambled over him to her. "Sally, there's a house straight that way," he said when she stopped coughing, and he pushed the sand-encrusted wet hair out of her face to meet her wide eyes, "Run right down that path and don't stop, do you understand? Go into the house and scream for the Quartermaster but don't- don't look for him. He will come right out and make sure you're safe-" Georgio was wading towards them now, and David pulled Sally to her feet, pushing her maybe a little forcefully towards the path, "GO!"