Disclaimer: Not mine.
Helpless 20
Troubled waters
Marron woke up the next morning with a heavy heart. She'd spent most of the night wrestling with the problem, and there appeared to be only one answer.
She could no longer go on watching Trunks flaunt his women friends in front of her. She just couldn't work for him under those circumstances. The best thing she could do for both of them was to quit, before Trunks realized how much she cared for him.
She rehearsed her speech in the shower, and all the way to the River Rat. She'd decided the casual approach would work best, and had put on jeans and a white sweater under her jacket.
She needed to feel as relaxed as possible when she delivered her announcement.
Rain pelted the windshield as the car crept along the river path. The wind whipped through the trees, sending twigs and small branches spinning off into the water. Rain clouds hung ominously in the sky, and the air felt unusually warm when she finally halted and climbed out.
Trunks opened the door to her, leaning on his crutch, his face creased with concern. "I wasn't sure you were coming in today," he said, peering past her shoulder at the churning river. "That storm is getting pretty bad."
"It took me longer to get here this morning." He was probably expecting one of his girlfriends, Marron thought, closing her eyes against a fresh wave of pain. The houseboat creaked loudly as she stepped into the kitchen, and she felt a shudder go through the entire structure.
"Damn," Trunks muttered, closing the door with a thud. "The river's really wild out there."
"I heard the news on the way over," Marron said, doing her best to sound natural. "They are really getting worried about the high water. They say the river could go above flood stage this afternoon. All night long they've been asking for volunteers to help build a wall of sandbags."
She avoided looking directly at his face. For one thing, it hurt too much to look at him. For another she was afraid he'd see the misery on her face and guess her secret. Whatever happened, she could never let him know how she really felt about him.
"I know," Trunks said, looking worried. "It doesn't look good. I've never seen the river this high, or running this fast." He limped across the kitchen and went into the living room.
After taking a moment or two to calm her skittering pulse, Marron followed him into the room. He'd leaned his crutch against the couch and was standing by the window with both hands thrust into the pockets of his slacks.
He had his back to her, staring out at the turbulent water outside, his shoulders hunched as if he were cold. He seemed dejected, withdrawn, and she wondered if he'd had a fight with one of his girlfriends.
She longed to go to him, put her arms around him and hold him until he smiled again. She hardened her heart, reminding herself why she was there. "Trunks," she said quietly, "there's something I have to say."
He turned around to look at her, his face wary. "I have something I want to say to you, Marron. Perhaps I should go first."
Whatever it was, it could wait, Marron thought fiercely. If she didn't get it out now, she might break down and give away her feelings for him.
She opened her mouth to speak, but something thudded hard against the houseboat and it lurched, almost sending Trunks off balance.
Marron felt a spasm of apprehension. She was used to a certain amount of movement on the River Rat, but nothing like this. The whole house groaned in agreement with her as a strong surge of wind shifter it sideways.
"I think it might be better if you go on home," Trunks said. He turned to the window and pulled the curtains back to look out. "That wind is picking up and I'm not sure how well this old tub will hold up if it gets much worse."
"There's something I need to say first," Marron said, feeling a little desperate. "Trunks, I've given this a lot of thought. I think it would be better if I didn't finish out my contract. I really don't- "
The last word sounded more like a yelp as the lights went out, plunging the houseboat into near darkness.
Trunks swore. He dropped the curtain and turned back to face her. At the same time there was a loud crack and the River Rat groaned in agony. The roof creaked overhead, and again something crashed into the wall. Trunks' crutch slid away from him and he made a grab for it. "We'd better get off this thing," he muttered, starting toward her.
Marron was in wholehearted agreement. She could hear the wind outside pounding the rain against the windows, and the entire house seemed to be rocking like a suspension bridge.
She reached the kitchen door and started across. The coffeepot tipped back and forth on the stove, then fell with a crash, sending hot, black liquid across the floor in front of her.
She yelped, and Trunks' anxious voice rang out behind her. "Marron! Are you all right? What happened? You didn't get burned, did you?"
"No, it missed me. It just scared me, that's all." She grabbed a tea towel and threw it on the floor, then leaped over to reach the outside door.
Grasping hold of the handle, she tugged with all her strength, but the door didn't seem to want to open.
"Here," Trunks muttered, reaching her side, "let me open it."
He hauled on it with his free hand and the door flew open, tearing half of the overhead frame with it.
Trunks lurched backward, and Marron grabbed hold of his arm to steady him. "Be careful of your foot," she said anxiously. "It's not healed yet. You could hurt it again."
"You're not telling me anything I don't know," Trunks said grimly. "But I think we have a little more than my ankle to worry about right now."
Marron followed his gaze, and blinked. Something was very wrong. Instead of trees and shrubs overhanging the balcony, there was now a wide expanse of muddy, churning water between the River Rat and the bank.
Not only that, the houseboat seemed to be moving, rapidly and somewhat erratically, down the river.
"We're afloat!" Marron exclaimed in astonishment.
"We are indeed," Trunks said, lurching over to the balcony. "Along with a good many other interesting items."
Marron looked up the river and gulped. Following close to their heels and bearing down on them fast was a tangled assortment of tree limbs, massive rolling kegs, cardboard boxes and what looked like the remains of a broken rocking chair. "What happened?" She asked nervously. "Can we get back to the bank?"
"It's too late for that. She must have broken her moorings." Hanging on with one hand, Trunks leaned out to take a look down the river. "The water must be well above flood stage by now."
Without warning, a huge log smacked into the balcony with a thunderous roar, tearing up the floorboards as it plowed toward them.
"Look out!" Trunks gave Marron an almighty shove and sent her flying back into the kitchen. He fell in with her and slammed the door behind him.
She gasped, and grabbed hold of the stove when the floor suddenly sloped away from her. "Are we sinking?"
"Not yet," Trunks said, pulling open the cupboard doors one by one. "But it's only a matter of time. We have to find something that will float."
Horrified, Trunks watched him search. He had to be joking. They couldn't possibly swim in that raging torrent with all that debris. How on earth would Trunks manage hampered by his injured ankle?
"I know there's something in here somewhere," Trunks muttered, squatting down to look in the lower cupboards.
Marron was about to point out that the only items in the cupboards likely to float were barely big enough to support a cat, let alone two adults, when Trunks let out a deep grunt of satisfaction. "Ah, here it is."
"It," apparently, was a box about the size of a twenty-four pack of beer. Marron eyed it with terrified skepticism. Whatever was in there wasn't likely to be much use out on those treacherous-looking rapids.
Trunks opened the box and pulled out a lump of muddy-looking orange plastic. "All we have to do is blow this up with a blow dryer," he announced, looking pleased with himself.
"How are we going to do that," Marron asked, "when we have no electricity?"
"Ah, that's the good thing about being a constant traveler." He stood the box in his hands. "Battery-powered appliances. The hair dryer's in the bathroom. I'll get it."
"I'll go. I'm a little bit more mobile than you." She was already out of the kitchen as she spoke.
"Watch your step," Trunks called after her. "This thing is breaking up fast."
She didn't need him to tell her that, Marron thought as she clawed her way through the living room to the bedroom. The floor tilted at a steep angle, and one of the chairs overturned as she reached the bedroom door.
"Are you okay?" Trunks shouted, peering at her from the kitchen doorway.
"Fine. Stay there in the kitchen. I won't be a minute." Something cracked in the wall next to her and she leaped for the bathroom. She grabbed up the hair dryer and Trunks' cordless razor, snatched a couple of towels from the racks and fled back to the living room.
The computer landed with a hefty smack on the floor and she winced. She leaned over to pick it up, but Trunks' urgent voice stopped her. "Come on, don't waste time on that. Let's get this thing blown up before we go down."
Making a desperate grab for the computer anyway, Marron straightened and clambered back into the kitchen. Trunks had the dinghy spread out on the floor, and was blowing into the tube, his cheeks puffed out with his effort.
"Here," Marron slid down beside him and handed him the blow dryer. "I brought your razor too."
He gave her a disparaging look. "I don't think anyone will notice if I've shaved or not."
"I thought you might need it later on."
His face softened into a smile. "Practical as ever. Thanks, Marron."
"You're welcome." To get her attention off that smile, she reached for the computer and wrapped it in towels.
"Let's hope the battery holds out long enough to fill this thing up with air," Trunks muttered, fitting the adapter over the dinghy's nozzle. "If not, our lungs are in for a real good workout."
She watched anxiously while Trunks switched on the appliance. The folds of the dinghy gradually spread out and puffed up, while agonizing seconds crept by.
The houseboat lurched again, taking Marron's stomach with it. She felt something cold and clammy beneath her and looked down. She was sitting in a dark, muddy puddle.
"I think we're taking on water," she said, feeling deadly calm all of a sudden.
"Come on, dammit," Trunks demanded, shaking the hair dryer as if that would make it fill up the dinghy faster.
The door flew open with a loud smack, groaning as the hinges were pulled from the frame. The house lurched again, and something crashed in the living room. "She's going." Trunks yelled. "Come on." Abandoning his crutch, he hobbled across the floor, dragging the dinghy.
Marron struggled along behind him carrying the computer, and did her best to help as he struggled to turn the cumbersome craft sideways to get it through the door.
She felt sick when she looked out. The balcony had gone. So had half the wall of the bedroom. The roof hung down in shreds, chunks of it letting go in the force of the wind and flying off to join the rest of the debris bobbing and twisting along in the wild current.
"Come on," Trunks shouted, "I'll hold the dinghy while you climb in."
"No," Marron yelled back. "I can mange easier than you. "I'll hold and you go first."
"Ladies first," Trunks said, "and don't argue or we'll both go down with the River Rat."
Another heartrending groan from the houseboat emphasized the truth of his words. Gingerly holding her breath, Marron threw the computer into the dinghy and stepped after it.
The fragile craft tossed and turned on the water, bobbing up and down like a Halloween apple in a bucket. Kneeling at the edge of the dinghy, Marron held out her arms to help Trunks climb inside.
Without anything to hold on to, he staggered as he stepped off the houseboat, and for a heart-stopping moment she thought he would fall into the water, but with a deft hop he landed squarely beside her.
Marron wasn't sure she felt any safer than she had on the River Rat. The houseboat loomed closer, and for a moment she thought it would collide with them and capsize the dinghy. In a desperate move she leaned over and placed her hands on the edge of the broken balcony to give it an almighty shove.
Just at that moment the current caught them, and the dinghy shot away from the River Rat, a little faster than Marron had anticipated.
Trunks sprawled forward on his knees. She felt his hands brush her shoulders as he made a grab for her, and then as if in slow motion, she felt herself falling.
The water came up to meet her, and she closed her eyes as she smacked the surface, then sank into the cold, dark depths of the river.
I'm so glad you like the fic! I just realized that we're sorta near the end now. But don't worry. If you "facking love this," to quote Bloodlust night, you'll adore the next one. No, it's not the one that I still have to do research on the clothes, but another one. I'm sure that LL will love that. I can't stop laughing evilly when I type it. (grins and rubs hands, baddie-style)
From next chapter on, my goddess, Kinomi, will beta for me. Oh, I'm so honored that she has chosen to impart a fragment of her powers on me. All hail Kinomi-sama. (kowtows to Kinomi).
One more thing. No one seemed to notice that all Trunks' women here are also anime characters. We have Ranko, Ranma's supposed female side; Ako, from Project A-ko; and Reena, from Slayers. Well, I only borrowed their names so rest assured that Ranko is really female there and doesn't change with hot water :) .
I don't have anything against redheads. It's just that most "bimbos" are usually portrayed as blonde. Now, that won't do because our heroine here is a blonde. Trust me, I'm not prejudiced against people no matter what hair color they have. Just take a look at my obsession, he has lilac hair.
Thank you for the reviews! Mata ne!