Swimsuit Edition

Sam traveled via his skateboard most days in the summer. It was the best time of year for it, even if there was no designated spot for it in Pelican Town like there was in ZuZu City. It was the one real downside to living in a small town. The blond kicked off, picking up speed to attempt a K-grind on the raised flower bed to his left. It was the perfect height for a trick like this one.

The wheels beneath him clacked on the cobblestone path, not ideal for Sam's purposes, but as an experienced skater he could manage a bit of rougher terrain. The blond rolled into an ollie once he was parallel with the garden edge and landed the nose so that the front truck gripped the wooden beam and his freshly waxed board slid across like butter on a corn on the cob. It was a balancing act, however Sam locked it in perfectly. As the plank ended, Sam popped a nollie to make sure the wheels did not catch, making a perfect landing on the grey stone walkway once again.

When he looked up to push off and continue his momentum, Mayor Lewis rounded the corner and shrieked in surprise. Reacting quickly to save the old man from being run over, Sam bailed, kicking his emerald green board backward so that it would not crash into Lewis' ankles and hopped to a stop inches from the Mayor.

The suspender-wearing old man growled with fury. "Hey!" Mayor Lewis barked. "What do you think you're doing? That's private property!" he roared furiously. The mustached man shook with rage. "Sam!"

Taken aback by the level of anger exhibited by the local bureaucrat, Sam stumbled to form a reply. "Uh… Er…" his fern green eyes widened as he saw a blood vessel in Lewis' neck throb. "I… I'm sorry, sir."

Straightening his golden tie, Mayor Lewis exhaled sharply. "The youth these days…" he muttered to himself grumpily. "Sometimes I wonder if this town isn't doomed." His dark eyes flickered toward movement behind Sam.

"You saw what happened, Violet," the local elected official insisted on bringing in a third party to discuss the matter. "What do you have to say about this?"

Sam was not sure if Violet honestly did not know or if she was playing dumb for his sake. "I always assumed all the flower beds in town were public property, Mayor Lewis," the farmer replied flatly. "I see Evelyn tending to them occasionally."

The public administrator huffed in annoyance. "I thought you were more mature than this, Violet." Either way, he was outnumbered and therefore obligated to apologize. "Sam…" he addressed the young man. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. Just please try not to damage anything in the future. Got it?"

The blond nodded. "Yes, sir," he responded agreeably. However, the instant Maybe Lewis was out of earshot, he leaned toward Violet with a wide grin. "...Did you see that trick, though?" Sam asked eagerly with a waggle of his eyebrows. "That was rad."

Violet laughed. "I would fall and break my face trying to do that," the young woman asserted confidently. She retrieved the skateboard and handed it back to its owner. "That was really impressive!"

"I've been working on it for a while without much luck," the skater informed his newest friend, accepting the board and dropping it to the ground by his feet. "Waxing the board really made a difference!" He indicated to the shiny surface on the underside of the deck and Violet whistled her approval.

His green eyes glanced toward the farmer. "So, what are you up to this evening?"

The farmer shrugged, "I'm just on my way to check my crab pots and do some fishing. I've already got my farming chores done for the day." She repeated the question to Sam out of courtesy. "How about you?"

"I'm having a casual birthday hang-out at the beach. Admission fee is a Joja cola or a pizza," Sam joked with a goofy grin. "But that's not till later. For now, I'm heading to the library to meet up with Abigail and hit up Penny for a favor before I go to work."

The newest resident in town panicked. "Oh, shit! I'm sorry, Sam. I don't have a present yet," Violet apologized quickly. With a sudden sense of urgency, the pastel-haired woman immediately excused herself. "I'll definitely find something before tonight!" Violet promised, dashing off toward the beach. "See you then!"

"Don't worry about... gifts," Sam called out to her, only to realize half-way through his sentence that Violet had already dashed well out of hearing range. The blond sighed, shaking his head as he hopped back onto his skateboard. Well, at least he knew that Violet planned on coming to the party tonight.

Penny sat at the table in the library where she usually taught the children. While school was still not in session, giving them the entire summer to forget their lessons only ensured they fell behind when things picked up again in the fall. So, the teacher opted to instead meet with the kids on a lighter schedule to give herself a break without letting Vincent and Jas' education suffer.

Vincent, of course, fidgeted constantly and kept stealing glances her way in the hopes of catching his teacher off-guard so he could sneak away to play. Each time, however, Penny was sure to meet his gaze with a soft, encouraging smile. Jas, on the other hand, was a diligent student with a thirst for knowledge. Penny was confident the little girl would do well once she entered formal schooling, and while the educator did not want to crush Vincent's spirit, she worried the boy would struggle with formal education.

The brunette detected movement near the bookshelves to her right and spied Abigail settling down to read a book. Penny wondered how she and Sam were doing. Penny still spent time with the blond, they were friends after all. But their friendship had altered slightly now that Sam had someone else to whom he could share everything. Abigail might know more about him than Penny now. The thought saddened her a bit, yet at the same time her emerald eyes glimpsed the small notebook on the table in front of her. Elliott made it himself and gave it to her two weeks ago as a token of appreciation for her help. Sadly, other than a brief conversation at the Luau, Penny had hardly seen the author since. Elliott must be busy with the final draft of his book. The amateur editor wondered if she would get to read the final version before he sent it to the publisher.

"Hey, Penny!" a familiar voice jolted the teacher from her musings. Penny turned her gaze to find Sam standing at the opposite end of the table with Abigail beside him. Smiling, she greeted her friend.

"Happy birthday, Sam!"

Sam nudged Abigail's ribcage with a waggle of his eyebrows. "See? Everyone who knows it's your birthday says it when they first see you," he prodded her teasingly.

The amethyst-haired woman reddened. "I said I was sorry, okay?!"

Penny also flushed slightly out of second-hand embarrassment for Abigail and she did her best to change the subject. "How are you both today?" she queried politely, straightening the stack of books and papers before her.

Sam grinned. "I'm doing great!" he answered, squeezing Abigail in a side hug. The woman on the receiving end of the hug seemed a bit exasperated, though she softened at the gesture from the blond.

"We actually had a question for you," Abigail declared quietly, as Gunther had peered around the corner of the bookshelves to see what the noise was about. "Rumor has it you've read most of the books here in the library, even before…" she turned her head to see if Gunther was still observing them, and Abigail's light blue eyes caught a flash of a white glove disappearing behind a shelf.

The skater pursed his lips ponderously. "Maybe we should ask somewhere a little more private…"

Penny blinked, unsure of what to think. "O-okay," she agreed hesitantly. The teacher addressed her students. "I'm going to go speak to Sam and Abigail for a moment," Penny informed Vincent and Jas. "Can I trust you both to behave yourselves?"

In answer, both children smiled and bobbed their heads to indicate their intentions. "Yes, Miss Penny!" Somehow their educator doubted that they were both being genuine with her. She sighed and waved Sam and Abigail over to the museum portion of the building, to the room that did not yet house any artifacts.

"Yes?"

Abigail stepped forward, leaning on the empty display table. "You read most of the book here, even before the artifacts and a lot of the books went missing, right?"

Penny nodded in confirmation. "Some of them were a little… odd," she thought aloud. "But I do love reading and this place is my only source of reading material in town."

Sam grinned. "We were wondering if you could help us with a piece of local folklore," the young man explained, handing the teacher his phone. Confused at first, Penny accepted the device and turned it to face her. The young woman did not have a cell phone, it was an unnecessary expense for her. Penny was not sure how to navigate it, however she quickly realized that Sam had already prepared what he wanted to show her. "Is this a quilt of some sort?" the brunette questioned quietly.

"Quilt, tapestry, textile art," Abigail shrugged. "Whatever you want to call it, really."

The bibliophile squinted to make out all the details. Sam realized the issue and gently took the phone back and lay it on the table, zooming in with his fingers and swiping right to show her close-up versions of each section.

Penny's emerald eyes widened with fright. "Oh dear…" she breathed, as she came to the photos of the more gruesome scenes on the ancient tapestry.

"Do you remember if anything shown here was mentioned in any of the missing books?" Abigail inquired hopefully. "I've been coming here every week to look for answers, but I haven't had any luck."

Nibbling the fingernail on her thumb slightly, Penny thought for a moment. "I don't think so…" she admitted regretfully. Though after a moment's pause, she amended her answer. "There were some strange books with small sections about dwarves and goblins, though." The brunette giggled in amusement, "I thought they were silly, to be honest."

However, her answer seemed to satisfy the two. "Hey, any lead is still a lead," the gravity-defying blond assured her. "Thanks, Penny!" Sam uttered appreciatively, taking back his phone, and tucking it away safely into his pocket.

The teacher was not quite satisfied to leave it at that, however. "Where did you find it?" Penny requested, referring to the tapestry.

Abigail spoke up. "It's Violet's actually. She found it in her house up in the ceiling, I think," the woman recollected. "We were curious what it could possibly mean. It looks like it could be old Pelican Town."

Penny had noticed a landmark or two in the photos but assumed that she had been mistaken. It was hard to tell without being able to handle the object itself. "Do you… think she would mind if I asked to see it in-person?" the shy woman inquired.

This seemed to surprise the duo. Sam raised his shoulders in a noncommittal gesture. "No harm in asking, I suppose. I'll just let her know we showed it to you, so she's not caught off-guard," he stated, pulling his phone out and tapping the screen with his thumbs. His green eyes glanced up when he finished. "There, no worries now."

The brunette's lips turned upward. "Thanks, Sam…" Penny said.

"Sure thing, Penny!" the blond replied in a friendly tone. Abigail signaled to her boyfriend and the blond dismissed himself. "Hey, we have to get going to set up for the beach party tonight," Sam explained. "Will we see you there?"

Penny's pale face blushed. "I… I'm not really comfortable with other people seeing me in my swimsuit…" she admitted bashfully.

Abigail scoffed at the excuse. "Then just wear something over it and only take it off if you decide to swim!"

"I-I suppose…"

Sam beamed. "Great! We'll see you there," he declared excitedly as the two retreated toward the museum exit. The teacher watched her friend go. Penny was glad to see that Sam still seemed to value her company, even if he had a serious relationship now. Her mind quickly went to what she would need to do to prepare for the party. "Oh, no…" she whispered aloud to herself. Will Elliott wear a swimsuit? Penny blushed at the very idea.

Gus had graciously allowed Violet to use his pizza oven for a negligible fee once she purchased all the necessary ingredients for her NuNu style pizza from the saloon proprietor. Emily had already requested shortened hours for the day and since Gus did not anticipate anyone other than Pam coming to The Stardrop Saloon that evening, he practically insisted. So, with Emily's help, Violet surprised all the beach goers that late afternoon with an enormous pizza. Abigail laughed at the sight of it and directed the pair to a small fold-out table. The steaming pizza took up the entire surface of the table and then some and the others all gathered around at the spectacle. Violet happily noted that Sam and Shane's eyes widened with delight at the sight of the glorious edible monstrosity of her hometown.

The pizza even spelled out "Happy Birthday, Sam," in pepperoni. That detail had been Emily's idea and Gus supported it with gusto.

Whether it was fantastic acting or genuine emotion, Violet could have sworn the skater teared up at the gift. "This is the most beautiful pizza I've ever seen, V," Sam praised, taking the pizza cutter from Emily, and making the ceremonial first slice.

"You've got to make them big, so you can fold them in half!" Violet ordered the local. Sam bobbed his head and followed directions well. Soon, everyone who wanted a slice used Violet's folding technique and enjoyed their over-sized pizza.

Several moans could be heard, which let Violet know her small team of pizza-makers had done well. Emily was all smiles. "I'll be sure to tell Gus it was a big hit!" she ensured the farmer, taking a bite out of her own slice. "Maybe we can make them at the saloon every once and a while."

When she finished her food, Violet noticed there was a volleyball net set up on the beach. She never played before, but the concept did not seem too difficult.

Haley smirked, "We were suggesting boys versus girls before you got here," the blonde informed the farmer, tossing her beach-waved hair over her shoulder and holding the ball in the curve of her hip.

"Battle of the sexes, let's fucking slaughter them!" Abigail shouted, raising her fist, and sprinting toward the netted court.

Sam chuckled at Abigail's competitive fire. "The ladies have spoken," the skater announced, "We've got the perfect number for teams!"

Several partygoers looked doubtful in their ability to play but decided to humor Sam for his birthday. "Just do not aim for my head, please," Elliott pleaded, removing his crisp white button-up shirt so it would not get soiled. "I am not sure my constitution could handle a bludgeon to my face."

Violet noticed Penny blushing while stealing looks at Elliott, who was now clad in emerald green swim trunks. The poet was not as pale as the farmer expected for a shut-in author, but Violet supposed Elliott made sure to step outside for some exercise on a daily basis.

The woman raised her own arms to realize that she had a bit of color from the sun as well and a slight farmer's tan at that. At least she made sure to switch between tee shirts and tank tops lately, so it was not as bad as it could have been. Still, Violet never thought she would see the day in which she was not pasty white when she worked for Joja.

Shane opted for a swim shirt version of the Tunnelers' jersey, shorts, and sunglasses. Sebastian wore black swim trunks, but still kept a white t-shirt to cover his upper half. The rest of the men all shed their shirts in preparation for the game. Unsurprisingly, Alex wore a slightly shorter variety of green swim trunks while Harvey opted for a longer pair of a similar shade and Sam wore pink.

Haley sported her baby blue bikini since Violet arrived and Abigail threw her shorts to the sideline. The amethyst-haired woman wore a black bikini, which was partially visible through her white tank top. Violet had a feeling that was for Sam's benefit, but she could not be sure.

Penny remained in a white sundress, choosing not to strip down to her swimsuit just yet. Leah tossed her cotton blouse aside to reveal a cute mint green swim top underneath but kept her shorts on for now. Emily, who had already shed her outwear stood within the boundaries of the sandy court in her ruby red tankini. Maru had a magenta one-piece swimsuit on with khaki shorts over her bottom half as well. Donning prescription goggles, she deemed herself ready.

Violet quickly decided she would follow suit with the majority and keep her shorts for now but added her shirt to the pile to reveal her tangerine bikini top. She felt a little self-conscious, since she was typically the kind of girl to wear a one-piece suit, but Bex had stolen that option from her ages ago by replacing her "safe" swimwear for this more colorful, strapless garment. At the Luau, no one really wore their swimming attire, so she had kept her dress on the entire time.

Emily gasped with delight at the bright orange top. "Violet, I adore that color on you!" she complimented the farmer. "It really compliments your eyes and makes your hair color pop!"

Violet never knew how to take compliments well. "Uh… thanks, Emily. Bex picked it out," she replied with a nervous laugh. "I like your suit, too."

"Less talking, more smacking the ball!" Abigail ordered, "Now everyone get into position!" The amethyst-haired placed herself so that she would be the first to serve to the other team once it was their turn.

"We just hit the ball to the other side of the net, right?" Penny squeaked.

Haley sighed. "You can only use your arms, though you'll want to hit the ball like this if you don't want to hurt yourself." The blonde demonstrated the correct movement in front of her so that the thumbs of her clasped hands were the main target, rather than her forearms. "If you hit it elsewhere, it might sting."

She hopped up and swatted at an imaginary ball. "You can also slap it out of the air if you're at the net." Her coral pink lips pulled back into a curve. "And to set up for a spike, you can slow it down like this!" Haley showed them how to set, their fingers loose and ready to flick the ball into the air. "Each side gets three touches to get the ball back to their opponent over the net. If it goes out of bounds or hits the ground on your side, the other team scores."

The women all nodded in understanding and took up their position before Haley made an additional suggestion, "Oh, and make sure to call out if you think you can get the ball so we're not bumping into each other."

Sam hopped up and served the white orb over the net - just barely. It caught most of the women by surprise, but Leah was able to get under it and lob upward so that Emily and Haley could team up to get it back over to the other side.

Shane, who moved as if he were sore for some reason, did not quite make it to the ball in time to save it from hitting the sand near his feet. "Sorry…" he muttered to his teammates as he tossed the padded ball over to their opponents.

Abigail sneered as she slapped the white orb to the other side, but Alex and Sam were ready for it. Sam squatted to control the ball and aim it toward Alex, who then sent it back toward the blond to finish. Sam flicked his wrist to get the volleyball over the net with little time for reaction. It landed in the sand with a soft thud. A collective groan came from the girls' team and Emily gently kicked the ball to the boys to serve.

Harvey clearly had never played before and his serve fell short of the net by quite a distance. Clearing his throat and removing his sun hat, the bespectacled man adjusted his stance, but he still looked completely lost. "Try doing it underhand, if you wanna make it over, fam," Sam suggested, showing the doctor what he meant.

"Ah, yes… I'll try that," Harvey decided aloud, adjusting his glasses on his face. Unfortunately, the mustached man hit right into the net. Alex shook his head as he relinquished the orb to the women's side but did not say anything to shame Harvey's lack of ability.

Leah sauntered over to the back of the court to serve like she owned it. Immediately, Violet noticed a shift in the way the boys held themselves, suddenly on guard. The red head tossed the ball up high and struck it with such certainty, that Violet almost missed when it landed on the men's side with a thud muffled by the fine grains of sand.

"Well, shit!" Sam exclaimed with a half-nervous, half-amused chuckle. "Leah's played before."

"Only because I had a huge crush on Larissa Fança after seeing her in the Olympics." The ginger smirked, catching the ball that was thrown to her to serve again. "But that was ages ago…"

Abigail let loose a cry of excitement as Leah served again, just a hard and fast as the first time. Sebastian raised his arms defensively, and the ball connected with the back of his forearm and collided with the net. Sam saved the white sphere from hitting the ground, but accidentally sent it flying in the opposite direction. Shane swatted at the ball on an upswing and managed to lob it over to the other side.

The ball descended on a predictable path and Haley let loose a battle cry, spiking the orb back over the net and directly at Alex's face. The jock reacted quickly, only to catch the ball rather than redirect it with his forearms. He blinked in shock at the satisfied look on Haley's face. Was she still mad at him?

"Fam, you're supposed to get it back over the net," Sam instructed spiky-haired brunet jokingly.

Alex grimaced and realized from the fire in her eyes that Haley was out for blood - specifically his. The jock stared at his team. He could work with Shane and Sam, but Sebastian, Harvey and Elliott were unlikely to be much help. The athlete sighed. As much as he wanted to win, they were basically down half a team. If only they could get back possession to stop Leah's deadly serves.

His green eyes flashed toward Sam and he made a gesture behind his hand to hide his signal from the girls. Sam winked in understanding and took position. Leah slapped the ball toward them and both spiky-haired men both attempted to stop the ball before it had a chance to enter their territory. The plan worked, but at a cost - Alex took a hit straight to his face, but the ball crashed to the ground before any of their opponents could react.

The tanned man fell backward slightly, holding his face. "DAMN, THAT STINGS!" Everyone gathered around to make sure Alex was okay. Judging from the red outline of a volleyball on the left side of his face, Alex turned in time to make sure his nose was not broken on impact.

Haley, however, laughed at her friend mercilessly. "Serves you right for doing something so stupid!" she scolded, bent in half as her sides heaved with laughter.

Alex clenched his jaw, "I took on for the team," he hissed through his teeth. "Since I messed up that last point by catching the ball."

Elliott offered a hand to help the man up. "That was an unnecessary act of bravery, Alex," the poet insisted. "We would not ask you to risk your handsome looks for a game among friends."

Sam flashed his pearly whites, "Yeah, you gotta keep it looking nice so the pros can smash it in later," the blond chuckled, patting Alex on the back. "You need to sit out for a bit, fam?" The jock shook his head.

"No, let's just finish this game," he grumbled, touching his face gingerly. The heat from the area of contact lit a competitive fire within him as well. He locked eyes with Haley. "Let's take 'em out. I'll jump in the water to cool it off when we're done."

The rest of the match was brutal, so much so that half of each team dropped out due to various "injuries" because the game had gone from a casual one between friends to a grudge match. Leah, Abigail, and Haley battled Alex, Sam, and Shane for dominance, though Shane seemed the most reluctant of the participants. The scruffy man was trapped because the match could not continue without him.

Each side had one a game and the score tied. The teams were each well over the normal number of points required to win a regular match, but neither side every got a two-point advantage to claim official victory. From the sidelines, the others snacked on the available food and quietly took bets as to which side would win. All the players were breathing heavily, sweat dripping down their bodies on the verge of collapse. Violet was shocked that none of them had fainted from heat stroke.

"Doctor Harvey, is it really safe to let them go on like this?" Violet wondered aloud, gesturing toward the sand court.

"Well, it would be difficult to stop them…" he admitted sheepishly. "Though I do worry they are overexerting themselves."

"Can't you intervene and say they're all physically unfit to continue?" Violet urged the bespectacled brunet.

Maru rose to her feet, wiping the sand off her shorts before heading to the court. "I got this," she told the bystanders with a wink as she claimed the volleyball from the ground.

"Time out!" Maru proclaimed. While the remaining players were confused, they did not entirely object to a quick breather. The scientist squeezed the white orb firmly in her grip and it gave way significantly under the pressure. "This ball is too deflated to be regulation," she informed the six. "You can't really expect to play a fair game with the equipment in this condition. This is clearly why neither side has one yet."

Each team sized the other up. "So, you're enforcing a tie?" Shane confirmed hopefully. Maru grinned.

"Exactly," she stated. "Now let's all enjoy ourselves with a swim!" Maru declared, tossing the ball behind her, and heading toward the water. The other spectators hopped up and followed Maru, all except Sebastian, who actively hated swimming. The programmer opted to instead sit on the beach and enjoy the view of the ocean.

On her way toward the water, Emily quickly realized that Shane had collapsed where he stood and knelt beside him. "Are you alright?" she asked her friend.

"I'm… so… sore and… exhausted from all this… exercise lately," he panted miserably. Shane groaned, accepting the water that Emily generously offered him. "Thanks," the chicken farmer responded earnestly.

"I've never seen your aura so bright and happy, though," the sapphire-haired woman informed Shane as she settled down to sit.

His dark eyes gazed up at her. "You mean that? I look happier to you?" he tilted his head up slightly to better see Emily's face.

"Yes." Emily nodded giddily, her red lips parting with a wide smile to express her delight. "It's wonderful to see you like this Shane!"

"Sweaty and collapsed from exhaustion?"

She nudged his shoulder in reply. "No, silly. You're not closing yourself off like you used to." Emily took a handful of sand and let it slip between her fingers onto Shane's torso.

"I'm making an effort, like I promised…" Shane admitted, his breath finally starting to even out again. "It turns out there are a lot more people who give a damn about me than I realized. I don't want to disappoint them again."

Emily continued to gently shovel sand on top of Shane with her hands as she spoke. "I'm proud of you, I hope you know that."

The sand tickled a bit as it shifted down the path of least resistance, but Shane did not mind that Emily was hanging out with him one-on-one. "It... means a lot to hear you say that Emily."

"I only say it because it's true," the sapphire-haired woman countered in a sing-song voice, booping his nose playfully with her finger. Before Shane knew it, he was mostly covered in sand. The weight of the sand was somewhat relaxing and the sand beneath the initial layer was cool to the touch. It was ideal, until Shane realized that the sand would stick to his sweat when he did eventually get up. That left him with an idea...

Emily sensed something was wrong, "What is it, Shane?" He looked troubled and the barkeep wanted to help.

A grin flashed across his face as he sat up, displacing the sand she buried him under. Shane lowered his shoulder as he stood up, sweeping Emily up in a fireman's carry. "The sand shark ambushes his prey and drags her to the open ocean!" he cackled, doing his best not to jostle Emily as he jogged toward the water.

Once she realized what was going on, Emily shouted theatrically and tapped her fists against his back. "Oh, no! Shark attack!" she giggled, "someone help!"

The others turned to see what was going on and laughed at the show as Shane waded into the water to join them. Everyone in the ocean stood to about chest-height deep in the water, bobbing with the waves as they passed by. The vicious sand beast plopped Emily down into the surf gently and the rest of the cluster smiled to greet them.

"It's about time, you two!" Sam greeted the couple while floating on his back as Abigail tangles her fingers in his hair. "I was worried we would have to send the doc back to shore to revive Shane!"

Emily grinned. "He just needed some alternative medicine," she answered with a sagely nod. "Sand is a highly therapeutic substance," the brown-eyed woman informed everyone with a wink to Shane in particular. His lips curved upward in a smile at her.

The spiritualist knew that Doctor Harvey frowned upon some of her own methods. He did not believe in the healing power of crystals, meditation, and communing with nature. But the man with the green aura was a good sport about her joke. He only coughed slightly this time as he replied, "I suppose it can be…"

Their group played in the surf, dove for sand dollars to see who could find the largest, and simply enjoyed swimming in the buoyant salt water, letting their cares melt away for the time being. It was not until the sun began to set that the gang decided to leave the water and gather around the campfire instead for some gossip and spooky stories. As they headed back toward shore, Violet could have sworn she spied the shadow of something lurking under the water's surface close behind them.