In this story, Rachel meets Water Hazard.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!


A Deep Water Friend

Rachel ran into the old boathouse at the end of the docks as she paused to listen for David and Clark, the two bullies that had chased her here. She looked down when she heard a creaking sound and saw that many of the boards were old and warped, making them dangerous as they could give way at any moment.

"She went in there!" shouted one of the bullies and Rachel quickly moved away from the door, trying to step carefully on the boards so that she wouldn't go through them. The door flew open and she saw the boys come in.

"You're trapped, freak," said David as he and Clark closed in.

Rachel heard the water behind her splash, indicating that something had fallen in the water, but then she saw the bullies' astonished faces and quickly came to the conclusion something was behind her, especially when two blasts of water originated from behind her and hit the bullies hard. She took a step back.

And the rotting boards finally gave way.

Plunging feet first into the cold water, Rachel barely had time to think as the coldness began to lower her body temperature. She tried to swim upward, but more of the boards were falling into the water, causing sounds that confused her as she then realized she needed to get to the surface fast.

Kicking her legs and moving her arms in a wide circle away from her body, she managed to propel herself up to the surface. Gasping in air, she managed to stay afloat as she tried to get enough oxygen back in her lungs before trying to swim to shore.

Suddenly, something tackled her and dragged her underwater again. She struggled as two hard arms came around her and the person moved swiftly through the water. She tried to get free, but as she was slowly running out of oxygen, her struggles were futile, plus the red arms she now saw around her waist were too strong.

She felt herself beginning to fade when suddenly they were out of the water and she was thrown over her captor's shoulder as he used both hands to keep her in place as he walked down a path in the woods. Rachel coughed hard and spat out some water, filling her lungs with more oxygen as she just rested, not having the strength to fight.

She felt her captor pause and heard a door open and saw that he had walked into a sort of log cabin. She recognized it as the lone cabin that stood on the hill about thirty miles from her uncle's cabin. After the owner had passed away, the cabin was left for anyone who was camping or hiking and needed a place to stay over for a night.

Her captor adjusted his grip on her and gently flipped her down on the bed that occupied the cabin. Letting out a slight grunt, she looked up at him.

He was tall and looked very similar to a cross between a crab and a diver. His armor was red and his body black and had gray hands with claw-like fingers. There were also holes in his hands, making her wonder if they were meant for breathing, like a whale or dolphin. He looked down at her with concerned, green eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

Rachel weakly sat up and felt those strong arms come around her again to support her. She glanced up at him.

"Nothing a few moment's rest can't fix," she answered.

He nodded. "I'm sorry I had to tackle you into the water," he said. "Those boys were coming back with adults and I had to get us out of there before we were spotted."

"And seeing the damage done to the boathouse would have put the blame on us instead of them," said Rachel, smiling a little.

He nodded again. "What is your name?" he asked as he seemed to examine her arm.

"Rachel," she said. "What are you doing?"

"Checking you for injuries," he said. "It was kind of my fault you fell through the floor into the water."

"They were going to give way eventually," Rachel weakly joked. "What's your name?"

"Water Hazard," he responded, now lifting up her shirt to the bottom of her rib cage to examine her stomach, since he had tackled her there. Feeling his hands on her stomach, Rachel giggled.

"Careful," she giggled out. "I'm sensitive."

"Oh, really?" Water Hazard asked, sounding amused. He moved his hands slowly, gently tickling her.

Rachel burst out laughing and squirmed to get away from him. "No! That's my tickle spot! Stop!" she begged.

"Your tickle spot, hmm?"

Rachel didn't have time to berate herself for that slip up as she felt those evil claw-like fingers tickle her stomach faster, making her shriek with laughter.

"HAAHAAHEEHEEHEE!" she laughed out, squirming again, her actions making Water Hazard chuckle. He then stopped, chuckling again as she flopped on her side, trying to catch her breath as he gently brushed some of her wet hair away from her face. She then began to shiver and he built a fire in the fireplace, finding some blankets and bringing her closer to the fire to warm up.

Rachel felt Water Hazard bring her near the fire, which was steadily warming her up again as she felt the water alien pick her up and set her in his lap as he sat down on the floor.

"You been on Earth long?" she asked conversationally.

"Yes," he said and began to tell her of his journey from his planet to Earth while Rachel snuggled into him, enjoying the fire's warmth, the story, and the friendship she now had with her new deep-water friend.


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GoldGuardian2418