FAKE Fic: Off The Charts - Part 5
Title: Off The Charts - Part 5
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1590
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Running from a monstrous snake is not how Dee and Ryo were expecting to spend their vacation.
Written For: spook_me 2023.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
A/N: Set after Like Like Love.
Previous Part
Time lost all meaning as Ryo and Dee floundered their way through water that dragged at their tired legs with every step, the mud beneath sucking at their feet as if trying to prevent them from leaving. With every passing moment they expected to hear the snake pursuing them, or to see it loom up ahead, blocking their escape, but the only sounds were those they themselves were making as they fled, the splashing of water and their heavy, laboured breathing, while all they saw between the trees were shadows.
Gradually, almost without them noticing, the water grew shallower, and they were able to travel faster, mouths dry, and breath rasping in their throats. After what felt like an eternity, they were at last able to drag themselves out of the water onto ground that, while not exactly firm, was at least an improvement over wading. Still they kept going, leaping the pools of water that appeared in their path without any thought to whether there was solid ground on the other side.
They didn’t so much as pause for breath until they reached the stretch of beach where they’d moored up earlier, finding themselves somehow on the opposite bank of the stream. Panting heavily, they waded through the cool, surprisingly clear water and ran across the sand. Without saying a word to each other, moving as one with the ease and surety that came from more than ten years as work partners, they untied the mooring line from the tree, dumped everything they were carrying into the bottom of the dinghy, and pushed off from the shore, tumbling into the small boat as soon as they had it floating.
Dee got the engine started, and with Ryo once more in the bow, steered them out onto the ocean, around the curve of the island, and towards the reassuring shape of their cabin cruiser, bobbing gently right where they’d left it. Looking back over his shoulder as he steered, Dee scanned the shoreline for any sign of danger, but nothing seemed to be stirring; it looked as deserted and unthreatening as when they’d first seen it. After a few moments, he focused forward again, guiding the dinghy around to the rear of the boat, then slowing as he brought them in close.
Ryo grabbed for the aft ladder as Dee cut the engine, snatched the backpack up and tossed it onto the deck, followed by the coil of rope, then clambered up himself and tied the mooring line securely to the nearest cleat. Dee followed, one hand holding the ladder, the other once again gripping the hilt of the cutlass. As soon as he was aboard though, he tossed the weapon to one side, out of the way.
“Gimme a hand haulin’ the dinghy up?”
“It’s tied on, so just leave it. We can deal with it later.” Ryo was bent over, hands on knees, still breathing a bit heavily as the adrenaline wore off, but he kept looking in the direction of the island. Dee glanced that way too, but there was nothing unusual to be seen. It appeared peaceful, even serene, bathed in silvery moonlight.
“Don’t look like the snake’s followin’ us. Guess that means we’re safe, unless the frickin’ thing can swim.” Dee turned to his lover. “What d’we do now?”
Drawing a deep breath, Ryo straightened up. “We leave.”
Dee frowned, pointing to starboard, where the fogbank still lingered, a thick white barrier stretching as far as the eye could see in both directions. “You sure ya wanna do that? What about the fog?”
“Screw the fog!” Ryo snarled. “We got through it once; we can get through it again. All I know is, we’re not staying here. What if that thing changes its mind and comes after us? I know you hurt it, but was that enough to make it back off, or did you just make it mad?”
“Dunno. First try made it mad, for sure, probably gave it toothache and a sore snout, but the second time, reckon I did enough damage to make it think twice. Lopped off part of its tongue.”
“Seriously?” Ryo sounded impressed.
“Yep, when it tried to follow us through the trees.” Dee grinned, proud of himself. “Told ya I’d defend ya, and that sword I found’s damned sharp, sliced that sucker clean off. Pretty sure it could’a cut right through the whole damned snake just as easily, but I wasn’t about to get close enough to try. Still, glad I held onto it.”
“So am I, it was the only weapon we had.” Ryo wiped one grimy hand over his face and sighed, looking towards the island again. “We have to chance the fog, Dee. I don’t see that we have any other choice. I know for sure I’m not gonna feel safe until we’ve left that place far behind us. I wish we’d never found it.”
“Same here,” Dee agreed. “Sorry, babe; I should’a never suggested goin’ ashore. Me and my big mouth. I’m way too good at landin’ us in hot water.”
“Wasn’t your fault, you couldn’t have known what we’d run into. Anyway, despite what I said before, I guess I was kinda curious too. It’s not every day we find an island that’s not on our charts.”
Dee smiled ruefully. “One of these days our curiosity’s gonna get us into more trouble than we can handle. Just not today.” He was exhausted, thirsty, his legs ached like crazy from trying to run through water, and he would have loved to just fall onto the bed in their cabin and sleep for a week, but not while they were still so close to the giant snake. Ryo was right; for all they knew, it could be lurking amongst the trees at the island’s edge, watching them, just waiting for them to drop their guard. “Okay, let’s get goin’. You start the engine, and I’ll raise the anchor.”
Nodding, Ryo scooped up the backpack and made his way forward to the helm. Dee followed, picking up the jackets and shirts they’d shed earlier, remembering how cold it had been when they’d passed through the fogbank the first time; wet as they now were, this time it was going to feel even colder. Closing the door behind him, he walked over to his partner, who was standing at the wheel with his hand hovering over the ignition key.
“You okay, babe?”
“I don’t know. What if the engine doesn’t start, Dee? What if we’re stuck here, dead in the water? What if we can’t get away?”
“The dinghy’s outboard started first try,” Dee reminded him.
“Yeah, it did.” Some of the tension eased from Ryo’s shoulders. “You’re right, I’m being stupid. It’ll be fine.” He turned the key, pressed the starter, and the engine gave a cough. Biting his lip, he tried again; this time it roared to life, and he let out a relieved breath. “Okay, so far, so good.”
Dee pulled the lever to raise anchor, the chain rattling and clanking as the mechanism reeled it in. With a last glance towards the island, Ryo eased forward on the throttle, turned the wheel, aiming their bows directly at the fogbank, and opened her up all the way. Within a few minutes, the swirling greyness enveloped them, cutting them off completely from the world outside.
“Shit!” Dee muttered, staring past his lover. “We forgot to turn the frickin’ lights on again.”
“Nothing we can do about that now,” Ryo muttered, leaning forward and squinting through the glass in front of him, unable to see more than two or three feet. “We’ll just have to hope for the best.” He hunched his shoulders, shivering. “Damn, it’s cold!”
“Here.” Dee handed Ryo his shirt and jacket before pulling his own on. Spotting the thermos, still where they’d left it earlier, he picked it up and shook it, but as he’d already known, it was empty. “Wish we hadn’t drank all the soup; a hot drink would’a been good right about now. Hell, any kinda drink would be good after that little escapade. I’m parched.”
“Me too, but we’ll have to make do with cold water. There’s some in the backpack.” Ryo gestured to where he’d dropped it on one of the bench seats, finished buttoning his shirt, then shrugged into his jacket. Since visibility was down to a matter of feet there was no point looking out the windows, so he kept his eyes fixed on the radar, ready to steer around any obstacles that might show on its screen. Although it was lit up, he wasn’t entirely sure it was working, but right now it was all they had to warn them of danger so all he could do was hope.
He spared a moment to try the boat’s GPS, just in case, but wasn’t surprised to find it still wasn’t working. Dee tried the radio, but no matter what he did, all he got from it was static, so after a few minutes he gave up. Slowly sipping from bottles of water, the two men stood close together at the helm, wrapped in their blankets once more. Their wet pants clinging to their legs, and the sodden sneakers on their feet, made them feel even colder than they had been during their first trip through the fogbank, and their boat hardly seemed to be moving, although they could feel the reassuring throb of the engines through their feet. Once again, time seemed to stand still.
Part 6
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1590
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Running from a monstrous snake is not how Dee and Ryo were expecting to spend their vacation.
Written For: spook_me 2023.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
A/N: Set after Like Like Love.
Previous Part
Time lost all meaning as Ryo and Dee floundered their way through water that dragged at their tired legs with every step, the mud beneath sucking at their feet as if trying to prevent them from leaving. With every passing moment they expected to hear the snake pursuing them, or to see it loom up ahead, blocking their escape, but the only sounds were those they themselves were making as they fled, the splashing of water and their heavy, laboured breathing, while all they saw between the trees were shadows.
Gradually, almost without them noticing, the water grew shallower, and they were able to travel faster, mouths dry, and breath rasping in their throats. After what felt like an eternity, they were at last able to drag themselves out of the water onto ground that, while not exactly firm, was at least an improvement over wading. Still they kept going, leaping the pools of water that appeared in their path without any thought to whether there was solid ground on the other side.
They didn’t so much as pause for breath until they reached the stretch of beach where they’d moored up earlier, finding themselves somehow on the opposite bank of the stream. Panting heavily, they waded through the cool, surprisingly clear water and ran across the sand. Without saying a word to each other, moving as one with the ease and surety that came from more than ten years as work partners, they untied the mooring line from the tree, dumped everything they were carrying into the bottom of the dinghy, and pushed off from the shore, tumbling into the small boat as soon as they had it floating.
Dee got the engine started, and with Ryo once more in the bow, steered them out onto the ocean, around the curve of the island, and towards the reassuring shape of their cabin cruiser, bobbing gently right where they’d left it. Looking back over his shoulder as he steered, Dee scanned the shoreline for any sign of danger, but nothing seemed to be stirring; it looked as deserted and unthreatening as when they’d first seen it. After a few moments, he focused forward again, guiding the dinghy around to the rear of the boat, then slowing as he brought them in close.
Ryo grabbed for the aft ladder as Dee cut the engine, snatched the backpack up and tossed it onto the deck, followed by the coil of rope, then clambered up himself and tied the mooring line securely to the nearest cleat. Dee followed, one hand holding the ladder, the other once again gripping the hilt of the cutlass. As soon as he was aboard though, he tossed the weapon to one side, out of the way.
“Gimme a hand haulin’ the dinghy up?”
“It’s tied on, so just leave it. We can deal with it later.” Ryo was bent over, hands on knees, still breathing a bit heavily as the adrenaline wore off, but he kept looking in the direction of the island. Dee glanced that way too, but there was nothing unusual to be seen. It appeared peaceful, even serene, bathed in silvery moonlight.
“Don’t look like the snake’s followin’ us. Guess that means we’re safe, unless the frickin’ thing can swim.” Dee turned to his lover. “What d’we do now?”
Drawing a deep breath, Ryo straightened up. “We leave.”
Dee frowned, pointing to starboard, where the fogbank still lingered, a thick white barrier stretching as far as the eye could see in both directions. “You sure ya wanna do that? What about the fog?”
“Screw the fog!” Ryo snarled. “We got through it once; we can get through it again. All I know is, we’re not staying here. What if that thing changes its mind and comes after us? I know you hurt it, but was that enough to make it back off, or did you just make it mad?”
“Dunno. First try made it mad, for sure, probably gave it toothache and a sore snout, but the second time, reckon I did enough damage to make it think twice. Lopped off part of its tongue.”
“Seriously?” Ryo sounded impressed.
“Yep, when it tried to follow us through the trees.” Dee grinned, proud of himself. “Told ya I’d defend ya, and that sword I found’s damned sharp, sliced that sucker clean off. Pretty sure it could’a cut right through the whole damned snake just as easily, but I wasn’t about to get close enough to try. Still, glad I held onto it.”
“So am I, it was the only weapon we had.” Ryo wiped one grimy hand over his face and sighed, looking towards the island again. “We have to chance the fog, Dee. I don’t see that we have any other choice. I know for sure I’m not gonna feel safe until we’ve left that place far behind us. I wish we’d never found it.”
“Same here,” Dee agreed. “Sorry, babe; I should’a never suggested goin’ ashore. Me and my big mouth. I’m way too good at landin’ us in hot water.”
“Wasn’t your fault, you couldn’t have known what we’d run into. Anyway, despite what I said before, I guess I was kinda curious too. It’s not every day we find an island that’s not on our charts.”
Dee smiled ruefully. “One of these days our curiosity’s gonna get us into more trouble than we can handle. Just not today.” He was exhausted, thirsty, his legs ached like crazy from trying to run through water, and he would have loved to just fall onto the bed in their cabin and sleep for a week, but not while they were still so close to the giant snake. Ryo was right; for all they knew, it could be lurking amongst the trees at the island’s edge, watching them, just waiting for them to drop their guard. “Okay, let’s get goin’. You start the engine, and I’ll raise the anchor.”
Nodding, Ryo scooped up the backpack and made his way forward to the helm. Dee followed, picking up the jackets and shirts they’d shed earlier, remembering how cold it had been when they’d passed through the fogbank the first time; wet as they now were, this time it was going to feel even colder. Closing the door behind him, he walked over to his partner, who was standing at the wheel with his hand hovering over the ignition key.
“You okay, babe?”
“I don’t know. What if the engine doesn’t start, Dee? What if we’re stuck here, dead in the water? What if we can’t get away?”
“The dinghy’s outboard started first try,” Dee reminded him.
“Yeah, it did.” Some of the tension eased from Ryo’s shoulders. “You’re right, I’m being stupid. It’ll be fine.” He turned the key, pressed the starter, and the engine gave a cough. Biting his lip, he tried again; this time it roared to life, and he let out a relieved breath. “Okay, so far, so good.”
Dee pulled the lever to raise anchor, the chain rattling and clanking as the mechanism reeled it in. With a last glance towards the island, Ryo eased forward on the throttle, turned the wheel, aiming their bows directly at the fogbank, and opened her up all the way. Within a few minutes, the swirling greyness enveloped them, cutting them off completely from the world outside.
“Shit!” Dee muttered, staring past his lover. “We forgot to turn the frickin’ lights on again.”
“Nothing we can do about that now,” Ryo muttered, leaning forward and squinting through the glass in front of him, unable to see more than two or three feet. “We’ll just have to hope for the best.” He hunched his shoulders, shivering. “Damn, it’s cold!”
“Here.” Dee handed Ryo his shirt and jacket before pulling his own on. Spotting the thermos, still where they’d left it earlier, he picked it up and shook it, but as he’d already known, it was empty. “Wish we hadn’t drank all the soup; a hot drink would’a been good right about now. Hell, any kinda drink would be good after that little escapade. I’m parched.”
“Me too, but we’ll have to make do with cold water. There’s some in the backpack.” Ryo gestured to where he’d dropped it on one of the bench seats, finished buttoning his shirt, then shrugged into his jacket. Since visibility was down to a matter of feet there was no point looking out the windows, so he kept his eyes fixed on the radar, ready to steer around any obstacles that might show on its screen. Although it was lit up, he wasn’t entirely sure it was working, but right now it was all they had to warn them of danger so all he could do was hope.
He spared a moment to try the boat’s GPS, just in case, but wasn’t surprised to find it still wasn’t working. Dee tried the radio, but no matter what he did, all he got from it was static, so after a few minutes he gave up. Slowly sipping from bottles of water, the two men stood close together at the helm, wrapped in their blankets once more. Their wet pants clinging to their legs, and the sodden sneakers on their feet, made them feel even colder than they had been during their first trip through the fogbank, and their boat hardly seemed to be moving, although they could feel the reassuring throb of the engines through their feet. Once again, time seemed to stand still.
Part 6