Swim Away

Hunted

Summary: Eddward Vincent, a wanted man with a secret, finds himself injured while on his escape from hunters. Kevin, a nerdy boy with not much good in his life, finds this wounded stranger by the creek and helps him. But these innocent actions have it's consequences when this shark suddenly drags Kevin into deeper waters, involving him in a game Edd knew would drown Kevin one way or another before he got out of it. If he was lucky enough. (Monster!AU)

Disclaimer: R!Edd & R!Kevin belongs to Asphyxion. I do not own any characters used nor the urban legend used in this story.

Swim Away

Many Navajos believe firmly in the existence of skinwalkers and refuse to discuss them publicly for fear of retribution.

There had to be at least a dozen men on his heels. Thier damned dogs barked menacingly as their jaws clashed against the other over and over with each bark. They drew dangerously close, and Edd knew they would catch up to him soon, it was simply inevitable. His feet, burning with the need for a moment of rest, dug and kicked into the dirt. His heels were numb and dull pain was beginning to subside as exhaustion kicked in. A thick fog of dust rose to the sky and mixed with his visible breaths of warm swirling clouds of air with the cold around him. His breathing was cut short and sharp as he inhaled the autumn wind that blasted through his clothes like bullets. The fugitive heaved, small cries broke through his lungs as they ached to breath properly. His long legs fumbled through the thick foliage and his hands were covered in scrapes and small cuts as a result of tearing through the bushes and shrubbery around him. Shouts and commands rung through the night sky and intertwined within the trees as his pursuers closed the distance between them. He felt like he was drowning, the fear of death yanking at his thoughts and the desperation to climb back to the surface, to pull through and dart away into safer, calmer waters. Of course, moments like that didn't happen often to a shark, but even then it was the one, stomach clenching thought that struck a rod of fear through him the most.

They believe skinwalkers transform and walk freely, in secrecy, under the cover of night.

A barking hound sprinted beside him, hideously large and coming too close with those clashing canines for Edd's comfort. The beast compressed and stretched his body like an accordion, getting the longest distance and building up his strength to make the strongest kicks to the ground in order to keep up with it's prey. The shark grimaced, knowing he would now have to make an even stronger effort and more of his dwindling energy to lose the canine hell bent on retrieving it's kill for his master. Edd kicked the ground with immense force and made a hard right, shifting his body weight to the side in one sharp movement of his upper torso. His lower body had a moment of trouble keeping up with his forced movement, causing Edd to suddenly feel the force of gravity take him under.

The world seemed to slow as it finally hit the shark that he was falling to the moist, cold ground, to his capture if he didn't act fast. His heart sunk and his blood ran cold at the thought. He shot his piercing cyan irises away from the dirt below him and to the path ahead of him. One chance, he would either catch himself now and break away, or fall to his demise. His hands shot out if their clenched position and towards the ground, hoping on everything he had in him that he would be able to beat gravity. His soft fingertips crunched into the dirt and sunk in deep as he struggled to push his muscles to their limit once more and lift his body weight in only a second. His shoulders hunched and his back muscles compressed as he shook in fear and exhaustion. One chance. Everything seemed to stop, every barking dog braking to a halt, every sprinting hunter slowing to a sudden stop. He could have sworn his jacket just grazed the soil beneath him. His legs fell behind clumsily as he leaned forward, balance hopelessly failing. His knee slammed and sunk into the dirt as he momentarily fell to a start position. One chance. Finally, bringing his leg forward, he groaned in determination and frustration as he pushed every muscle, every ounce of strength he had in him and launched off in a new direction.