Outcasts

| 5 |

"Step away from that pool. This is a dangerous area. You shouldn't be here." The bearded man gestured with his hand for them to move away from the water. Gravel crunched under his boots as he agilely made his way over the smooth boulders and loose rock and stone. He stopped within five feet of the deep water hole, his feet spread apart in a shooting stance. The surface of the pool had stilled as if it was observing the situation.

Gemma and Creed raised their hands and took a step back and away from edge of the pool.

"You're holding us at gunpoint," Creed said. "I think you're a hell of a lot more threatening than that water hole." Anger rose in his chest and made him reckless. "You're not going to shoot us. You already would have done it."

Gemma's jaw dropped as she glanced at Creed. "What are you doing?" She saw his eyes harden.

For a full minute, it was a standoff as Creed and the stranger locked eyes. Finally, as if influenced by Creed's calm demeanor, the rugged man rubbed temple and exhaled. He took three steps forward When he got a closer look at them, he frowned uneasily. "I thought you were someone else." He coughed as if embarrassed.

"Who did you think we were, Bigfoot?" Gemma glared at the him.

"Do you mind easing up on that trigger?" Creed said in a conversational tone. He pointed at the rifle.

The bearded man blinked and slowly lowered his weapon. Creed's shoulders relaxed as he breathed a sigh of relief.

The man offered a brief smile, showing his teeth. "This was all a misunderstanding. I apologize. I'm Walter Sayers. I have to ask, what are you youngsters both doing up here? Shouldn't you two be in school?"

"Youngsters?" Gemma snorted and scowled at him.

"We're doing an extra curricular assignment for our science teacher. We didn't want to dissect a living frog," Creed said. "Our teacher offered us an optional assignment. He suggested coming here and doing some geophysical experiments to fulfill the assignment."

"Who's this teacher? They sound like a reckless idiot sending a bunch of kids out into the wilderness."

"No offense, Mr. Sayers, but this isn't the wilderness. She cocked her head in a fey manner. "We're familiar with the woods, probably more than you. Creed and I grew up in them. And another thing, Mr. Kinsey's not an idiot," she exclaimed. "He's extremely smart. And he's a sensitive, like us."

Creed shot her a warning look as Walter raised an eyebrow and looked at her in surprise. He quickly resumed a neutral demeanor.

"Listen, there's a force at work here." Creed rubbed his jaw as he watched the swirling green water. "People are chatting about it on the forums. Are you doing experiments to document it?"

"People are discussing the phenomenon online?" Sayers blinked in surprise. "Damn, that's not good—I thought it wasn't common knowledge." He looked up at the sky. "I stay off cyberspace. Bastards monitor everything." He leveled his gaze on Creed. "I'm doing my own experiments outside the government's authority."

Gemma nodded towards the river. "What did you do to that rabbit? Why were you drowning it?" She raised her chin and her eyes flashed. "Have you drowned anything else?" Her small hands balled into fists.

The man exhaled. He extended his hand. "I didn't hurt the animal. There's a layer of air underwater surrounding the force. An oxygen bubble. That's why it didn't drown. After I exposed the rabbit to the force in the pool, it was young and healthy. As you saw while you were spying on me, before my test subject ran off into the woods. I'm not a sadist. I have an enclosed wooden henhouse back at the cabin. I was going to house and study it. Now, why were you spying on me?"