Fic: Down by the River
Title: Down by the River
Characters/Pairings: Emma Coolidge, Claude Rains
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Spoiler alert: None
Word Count: 489
Summary: Emma is on a camping trip with her family when she finds something invisible in the river.
“Don’t wander too far,” her brother signed. “Don’t want Bigfoot to get you.”
Emma rolled her eyes. She was in high school, and much too old to believe stupid stories like that. She waved him off and headed down the path that would take her to the river. She tended to hate camping trips with her family; it was another way they attempted to pretend it didn’t matter that she’d lost her hearing.
She kicked at a rock, watching as it fell over the steep cliff to the wa- That hadn’t been water. What was that?
Curious, she descended the rest of the way. The water was eddying around... something she couldn’t see. And the rock, sure enough, was resting a couple inches above the ground. She moved forward cautiously and held out a finger to poke the rock, her hand freezing in mid-air as she saw a puddle that looked almost brown in the gathering darkness.
She was off like a shot, calling for her mom and her dad, and as soon as their heads appeared over the edge of the cliff, pointed toward the river. Her dad rushed past her, but her mom hung back a couple seconds and grasped Emma’s shoulders. “You okay?”
Emma, far from certain, nodded and set her hands on her knees. Even if she weren’t too winded to tell her mom there was something invisible down there, she would pretend she was. There was no telling what her parents would do if they thought she was going crazy.
Her mom gently pushed Emma to the side of the path to make room for her dad as he carried an unconscious, large-nosed man toward camp. Emma stared in shock. Had she just-
“Shot,” her dad said. “Call nine-one-” Then he passed them, and Emma could no longer read his lips.
She followed him to camp, watching as he set the man on her dad’s sleeping bag. He showed her how to put pressure on the wounds, and she leaned against his chest to use her upper-body strength.
When she looked to her dad, he spoke slowly so she could better read his lips. “It doesn’t look like the bullets hit anything vital, or he’d likely be dead by now. He’ll be okay, hon.”
She nodded and kept putting pressure on two of the wounds as her dad put pressure on the third. By the time the ambulance arrived, her arms were numb, but not so much that she couldn’t feel something warm take her hand.
She looked down quickly into a pair of bright blue eyes. The man winked at her, then closed his eyes again as he was carried off on a stretcher.
Emma looked back toward the river. No, the man hadn’t been invisible down there. She had sense enough to know that. After all, if she believed in invisible men, what was next? Bigfoot?
Characters/Pairings: Emma Coolidge, Claude Rains
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Spoiler alert: None
Word Count: 489
Summary: Emma is on a camping trip with her family when she finds something invisible in the river.
“Don’t wander too far,” her brother signed. “Don’t want Bigfoot to get you.”
Emma rolled her eyes. She was in high school, and much too old to believe stupid stories like that. She waved him off and headed down the path that would take her to the river. She tended to hate camping trips with her family; it was another way they attempted to pretend it didn’t matter that she’d lost her hearing.
She kicked at a rock, watching as it fell over the steep cliff to the wa- That hadn’t been water. What was that?
Curious, she descended the rest of the way. The water was eddying around... something she couldn’t see. And the rock, sure enough, was resting a couple inches above the ground. She moved forward cautiously and held out a finger to poke the rock, her hand freezing in mid-air as she saw a puddle that looked almost brown in the gathering darkness.
She was off like a shot, calling for her mom and her dad, and as soon as their heads appeared over the edge of the cliff, pointed toward the river. Her dad rushed past her, but her mom hung back a couple seconds and grasped Emma’s shoulders. “You okay?”
Emma, far from certain, nodded and set her hands on her knees. Even if she weren’t too winded to tell her mom there was something invisible down there, she would pretend she was. There was no telling what her parents would do if they thought she was going crazy.
Her mom gently pushed Emma to the side of the path to make room for her dad as he carried an unconscious, large-nosed man toward camp. Emma stared in shock. Had she just-
“Shot,” her dad said. “Call nine-one-” Then he passed them, and Emma could no longer read his lips.
She followed him to camp, watching as he set the man on her dad’s sleeping bag. He showed her how to put pressure on the wounds, and she leaned against his chest to use her upper-body strength.
When she looked to her dad, he spoke slowly so she could better read his lips. “It doesn’t look like the bullets hit anything vital, or he’d likely be dead by now. He’ll be okay, hon.”
She nodded and kept putting pressure on two of the wounds as her dad put pressure on the third. By the time the ambulance arrived, her arms were numb, but not so much that she couldn’t feel something warm take her hand.
She looked down quickly into a pair of bright blue eyes. The man winked at her, then closed his eyes again as he was carried off on a stretcher.
Emma looked back toward the river. No, the man hadn’t been invisible down there. She had sense enough to know that. After all, if she believed in invisible men, what was next? Bigfoot?