Tidal Wave

by Purpleluva01

Life can be as unpredictable as the sea, with storms and typhoons waiting around each tide, rocks and reefs coming as brittle as needles or as harmless as the stranger next to you; never knowing whether or not you'll be able to just sail with the current or sink under the next tidal wave . . . AU fic; TuffXCassie, RileyXAlice(ON-HIATUS)

5. The Clashing of Waves: Act I, Part IV

Chapter 5.

The

Clashing

Of

Waves;

Act I,

Part IV

---

"There's a stranger in my bed,
There's a pounding in my head,
Glitter all over the room,
Pink flamingos in the pool,

I smell like a mini-bar,
DJ's passed out in the yard,
Barbie's on the barbeque,
This a hickey or a bruise,

Pictures of last night
Ended up online,
I'm screwed!
Oh well!

It's a blacked out blur,
But I'm pretty sure it ruled,
Damn!

Last Friday night,
Yeah, we danced on tabletops,
And we took too many shots,
Think we kissed but I forgot,

Last Friday night,
Yeah, we maxed our credit cards,
And got kicked out of the bar
So we hit the boulevard,

Last Friday night
We went streaking in the park,
Skinny dipping in the dark,
Then had a ménage à trios,

Last Friday night
Yeah I think we broke the law,
Always say we're gonna stop!
Op-oh-oh . . .

This Friday night
Do it all again!
This Friday night
Do it all again . . ."

"Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" – Katy Perry

~X~

"Strange deaths in the woods?" Tuff repeated the words of the doctor sitting next to him.

Dr. Marlin nodded, nibbling on the crackers that were opened from the package set beside him. "Mhmph, indeed . . ." His buck teeth chittered and crunched each cracker at time, never pausing as he continued, "It's quickly become a common occurrence on this island; people who go anywhere near the woods after sundown are taken, made missing for weeks on end until one day their remains are discovered, sometimes still in one piece and other times scattered and ripped apart like some poor child's doll. Whatever is behind all this clearly had a grudge to settle with these poor people, only strange thing is that the guards can't find a connection, it's almost all at random. No one can make heads or tails out of it."

Tuff and Riley looked at him, completely stunned.

The girl would be alright. Although that was debatable at first given her condition; Dr. Marlin, after some struggle and a lot of help from Tuff and Riley when asked, and almost an hour and a half later, he had almost successfully managed to disinfect, stitch and bandage her side, leaving her with three large stitches and almost three rolls of gauze wrapped around her side and respectfully hidden underneath the blanket now covering her bare chest. Her ripped shirt now lay discarded on the side of her along with the long blue and yellow-striped sleeves they found on her arms and legs and the small knife holstered of her leg that had almost shaved the side of Tuff's chin, hair and skin, earlier.

Tuff was thankful that Dr. Marlin suggested adding a curtain over the tarp so they girl would have some privacy when she woke up, Riley would never let him hear the end of it if he had been the one to do it. Fortunately, they had a spare blanket that was large enough to act as a big enough and thick enough curtain that would give her plenty of cool shade and space for her, which was then ceremoniously hung and clipped onto the top of the tarp.

Tired and exhausted from the surprisingly hard work he had completed, Dr. Marlin then asked them if they had anything he could eat before heading back to town – At my old age, you need to eat constantly just to keep from falling asleep where you're sitting! – To which, Riley immediately produced three small and totally dead birds from behind his back. Tuff and Dr. Marlin were quick to ask where he got them before he simply replied, "You don't wanna know."

They both were tempted to ask where he was even keeping them . . . But then decided they were probably better off following his advice.

Willing to take anything that wasn't suspiciously obtained, he happily accepted the saltine crackers he was now munching greedily on while Riley started to cook up the birds for him and Tuff. As he worked on his fourteenth cracker, Dr. Marlin made the strange comment about "finally being able to fix up a body that was still living for a change!"

This then sparked the rather strange and rather morbid topic of discussion that the Doctor and the Luck Brothers were having now.

"How long has this been going on?" Riley asked him from where he sat next to the now lit fire pit, now roasting three de-feathered birds that were being cooked carefully under his watch.

"By the end of the week, it'll be . . ." He munched on his twentieth-first, second, third cracker, sprinkling crumbs onto the handkerchief set on his knee. ". . . Two months and five weeks."

Tuff bit back a gasp. "Wha –? This has been going on for nearly three months and no one's done anything?"

"Believe me, lad, the guards' are doing everything in their power to get some sense out of things; but without any evidence, it's hard to get any decent solutions as to what's causing all of this." Dr. Marlin crunched out. "The one of the only things that they can gather, however, is whoever is doing this is clearly not human."

"How so?" Tuff asked.

Dr. Marlin polished off the last cracker and crumpled up the empty wrapper causally before tossing it into the fire. "Well, for one thing, this killer has the utter ruthlessness of an animal and no sense of humanity whatsoever. It would easy to suspect a Were-beast or a Pandorian or even a Pangolin if the incision of claw marks on the bodies matched, but this island isn't big enough to accommodate all creatures of that size, so we're not able to draw many suspects from that list." He watched the paper wrapper curl and blacken in the small flames of the fire, his expression neutral. "Another thing that they can get straight is that it's definitely no human involved with the killer; by which I mean, an animal trainer or such. There's no sense of control shown on the remains, everything's strewn about in a manic fashion . . . I remember one corpse where their heart was found in a gopher hole and their head was ripped open like a bag of grains."

Tuff and Riley paled slightly at those words. "Okay, that's kinda creepy . . . Even for me." Riley said weakly.

Dr. Marlin nodded in grim agreement. "It's not exactly favorable to me either, lad, and I'm the one who has to put the corpse back in almost decent condition afterwards for the funeral."

Tuff frowned. "Sounds like you've got a lot of problems on your hands."

Dr. Marlin nodded again. "Problems without answers, unfortunately. The truth to the matter is that the guards' will take any suspect as it comes, even a demon will do if one reared its head."

"Are you sure it's not a demon?" Riley asked. "All this definitely sounds like the work of one."

"Like I said, without evidence, it's hard to make sense of the situation." Dr. Marlin shook his head, his face growing heavy with burden. "And now with this, the outcome of all this is growing even vaguer."

"Huh?" Tuff and Riley looked at Dr. Marlin. "What do you mean?" Tuff asked, curious.

Dr. Marlin crossed his arms. "Riley," Riley hummed in response. "You said that on the way to town, you were almost bit by a wolf, right?"

Tuff jumped in shock at his words, "What?!" He then turned to Riley, hurt written in his face. "You were almost attacked by a wolf? Why didn't you tell me?"

Riley shrugged calmly, used to his instant panic. "I didn't see the need to; it didn't hurt me, all it did was just snap at me a little and run off. Hardly anything to get upset over."

"On the contrary, lad, quite the opposite." Dr. Marlin said, gaining both of their attention. "The third thing that was made clear on the murders is that the friends and relatives of the victims say that the last thing they mentioned seeing before their disappearance and death was a wolf."

Tuff and Riley's blood instantly ran cold. A wolf being the last thing they see before they die? How could that be – Wait a minute.

Riley shot to his feet, his green eyes growing wide with fear. "Wait a sec, doc, if that's the case, then . . . Then am I the next victim?"

Tuff felt his heart leap into his throat at his brother's words. No . . .

What Dr. Marlin said then surprised the both of them with a light sigh and the wave of his hand. "No, lad, it's alright, you don't have to worry. The victims are all locals, people that lived on this island all their lives, people who would give whoever's doing this plenty of time to acquire their scents; people who are just passing through would've just been a waste of time for him. You'll be fine."

A stunned Riley blinked at him for a few moments before falling on his behind, a wilted smile on his smile. He let out a breath of relief as he said, "Whew! Heh, man, for a sec, I was worried. Thought I was gonna die without at least getting any."

Tuff looked at him in confusion. "Getting what?"

Riley's face fell and he waved him off. "Ah, nevermind."

Dr. Marlin gave Riley a bemused smile. "Nice to see you can joke about it, lad. Wish I could say the same for the victims." Riley started at that then looked away in shame. "Besides, it may not be you that we need to worry about."

"What do you mean, doctor?" Tuff asked.

"When you've examined as many bodies as I've have for a while, you end up recalling details that you wished you haven't." Dr. Marlin linked his fingers together. "Such as the physical appearance of the death wounds, like the size, width and the cause of the horrid damage." Dr. Marlin paused to let this sink in before stating, "And, as much as it pains me to say it, your young lady friend has exact same injury that matches the beginning structure of each wound that I've found on the murder victims."

They both gasped sharply. WHAT?

"You're kidding/Are you positive?" Riley and Tuff both asked at once, Tuff spoke alone the next second, saying, "There's no way that can be the case! You just said yourself that this monster doesn't attack newcomers."

Dr. Marlin rubbed his hand over his face in frustration. "Believe me, I don't understand it myself, but that gash in her side resembles the one I've seen well too many times in the past two months exactly." He tried to keep his tone calm but the brothers could clearly hear the anger at the perpetrator simmering in his voice. "But I'm happy to say that this girl was lucky; aside from the visible trauma set into the muscles and veins of her side, the injury itself isn't deep enough to cause any real damage to the girl's vital organs and inner workings. Judging by the signs, despite taking enough that would cause enough blood to pool without summoning any rabid sea-beasts to finish her off, – Thank god for that! – She managed to get away by the skin of her teeth."

Tuff's eyebrows raised the tiniest bit at the expression. Teeth . . . A thought then came to him. A memory. An item of which was still resting in the pocket of his vest.

He tucked his fingers inside his pocket and pulled out the yellow, Swiss-cheese holed tooth, now nearly covered completely in dried blood. "Hey, doctor?" He held out the tooth towards Dr. Marlin, who immediately looked at it in interest. "Would it help anything if we told you that we found this lodged in that girl's side when we pulled her out of the water?"

Dr. Marlin took the tooth and examined it closely. "Hmm . . . Intriguing . . ." He muttered, turning the tooth over and over in his claws, carefully as to not to add too much pressure that would cause it to break. Looking up at Tuff, he asked, "And you're sure that you found this in that young lady's side?"

Tuff and Riley both nodded briskly in response. "Yep." Riley grunted. "Saw the thing myself and Tuff was the one who pulled it out."

Dr. Marlin hummed brightly at that. He cast another glance at the tooth before breaking out into an excited smile. "Lads, I think you've both have just given me something to work with!"

The both of them grew less rigid at Dr. Marlin's happy tone. "So, you'll be able to identify it?" Riley asked, hopefully.

"What? Me? No." Tuff and Riley instantly deflated at the simple answer. They quickly recovered when the Doctor then added, "But I know someone who can." He took the handkerchief off his lap, shook off the crumbs and delicately wrapped the tooth in it, setting it in his own pocket with an air of new-found determination. "I have a friend over in the next town who studies animal teeth and dentistry; I'll bring this over to him and see what I can find. Hopefully, maybe some sense out of this mystery.

Tuff picked up his cane from where he had set it on the ground at his feet and handed it to him, which he accepted with a kind "Thank you." While getting to his feet. "In the meantime, you two need to watch that young lady over there. Make sure that she gets back on her feet. She may've seen the killer before she lost consciousness, so make sure that you question her about it as soon as she's well enough to take them."

"How long do you think that'll be?" Tuff asked him, inwardly hoping that her condition wouldn't be as severe as he claimed it wasn't.

Dr. Marlin put a hand to his chin in thought. "Hmm, well, due to losing all that blood and her small shape, she's definitely going to need plenty of food when she wakes up. Give her light and soft foods when she does; porridge, milk, water, light bread and the like if you have it to start out with. If you give her anything much richer or heavier than that, she's lightly to throw right back up and worsen her condition. No suspicious dead birds, Riley."

Riley winced at the Doctor's stern glance. "Uh . . . Duly noted." He smiled with a little weak chuckle.

"Also, if she was in the cold water as long as earlier this morning, she's going to be running a high fever and will be burning like a torch. She'll been shaking like a leaf so give her all the spare blankets that you can and make sure that at least one of you is with her and at all times. Understand? She's important for more than just one reason, so make certain she's safe." Dr. Marlin stamped his cane against the ground, urgent and blunt in his order.

Both men nodded in understanding. They didn't need the doctor to tell them to keep her safe. They would never leave an injured woman alone who they couldn't help in good conscience. Especially Riley. Especially Riley. "We'll keep her safe, doc." Riley stated, seriousness totally etched in his features. "Don't worry, she's in good hands."

"Let's just hope that those "good" hands don't go anywhere not good like earlier today." Tuff quipped with arms crossed over his chest and a bland look on his face. Riley simply stuck his tongue out briefly at him.

Dr. Marlin rolled his eyes in good humor at the two and begun to walk away. "Alright. I better get going, if I can reach town before dark, I should be able to get to Little Oak Town by afternoon tomorrow."

"Do you want me to give you a ride, doc?" Riley offered to his back as the Doctor began to pick up his pace when reaching level ground.

Dr. Marlin visibly bristled at Riley's kind offer. Tuff swore he could hear him gulp nervously and see him make a cross over his heart before he called back somewhat shakily, "No thank you, lad! I'll be fine by walking!" He tried to sound composed as he added, "At my old age, I need all the exercise that I can get! Otherwise I might as well already have a foot in the grave!"

". . . . You sure you don't have one in there now?" Riley asked him humorously before Tuff could elbow him in the ribs.

Dr. Marlin simply held up a hand in response while shouting back, "Bye boys!"

The Sharkmen watched his back as he made his way down the cove, easily maneuvering around in the sand with his cane and his tail drifting silently behind him. After a couple of moments, Riley leaned over to Tuff and said, "You know what? I sort of like that old coot."

"Considering he didn't whack you again when he caught you staring at the girl's stomach while he was fixing her?" Tuff supplemented.

"You know, you're a real smart-ass, sometimes."

"Well, one of us has to be."

"If that's it, then why aren't I it?"

"Oh, you're it, but only whenever you're completely blitzed and trying to impress a cute girl by talking down to a rather rugged street thug that's three times your size."

". . . . You're still mad at me about that one time over at Cuhuy Island, aren't ya?"

"I will neither confirm nor deny that."

~X~

He watched the sight before him quietly when he felt more like cracking bones in his anger. His comrades growled lowly with him as they watched as well.

His game was just a few feet from him. She was defenseless. She was weak. She was his for the taking.

All he had to do was step out of these bushes that he was hiding in and take what was his.

His comrades were growling silently below him, almost like they heard his thoughts.

All he had to due was step forward. But he couldn't.

Not with those sharks there with her.

He had expected them to leave with the old rat. Instead they stayed.

He growled himself this time.

Those sharks were trying to take his game. They had found her and now they wanted to do what they pleased with her.

They were mocking him. Just like her. Insulting The Master.

He ground his teeth. He made no mind of the one that he was missing in his jaw.

They. Would. Pay.

But not now. Not yet.

"Patience comrades." He patted one of his comrades on the head to calm him down. The rest of them quieted at the sound of his voice. "The Hunt is still on. Good things come to those who wait."

He grinned his feral smile. Good things would indeed come soon. Very, very soon . . .

~X~

Three days went by in a blur.

At least that's what it seemed like to Tuff as he found himself at the bedside of the still unconscious girl while his brother had gone to go find some food by the cove again. Wringing water from a soaked rag, folding it and placing it carefully on the girl's forehead again. Waiting patiently for her to wake up and tell him her name again.

He just didn't know what else he could do.

Dr. Marlin had left behind medicine for him and Riley to give to the girl shivering under three thick blankets below him; they were dried out herbs and roots that were to be boiled in hot water before mixed in with tea. They had medicinal properties in them that would dull the pain from her side which they had to make her drink every five hours. They must be working because the girl hadn't shown any signs of pain and seemed to sleeping peacefully. So peacefully in fact that a few times Tuff pressed his fingers against her wrist to make sure her pulse was still going. Apparently the medicine also had some powerful sleeping properties as well.

Tuff made a mental note to ask Dr. Marlin if it was safe for insomniacs. It probably wasn't, but it never hurts to ask. Right? Right.

His biggest worries were mainly concerning her fever. Even after three days, it still had not gone down. Each time he put a hand to her forehead, it was like touching a burning hot coal. He cheeks and nose were still colored dark blue and her ears were starting to darken along with them, flicking occasionally for some reason. She begun to sweat around the afternoon of the second day and her breathing grew erratic each time she coughed which was quickly becoming frequently. Her hands were beginning to grow clammy as well and felt as cold as ice when Tuff tried carefully rubbing them to get the circulation flowing through the veins. She sometimes whispered something when she tried speaking, but her voice was so weak all Tuff could make out was ". . . Vince . . ." and/or ". . . yellow eyes . . ."

Tuff couldn't help but wonder on whether or not if Vince had yellow eyes.

He shook his head after a few moments. He doubted it. When she mentioned Vince's name back when they had just found her, she obviously sounded rather close to him. Whoever this "Vince" was to this girl, he must've been important to her.

Which means that he was most likely looking for her.

Which also means that if he were to show up right now and see this girl topless, feverish and with a huge bandage on her side with a Shark-man holding her hand, it was not going to end well. As per usual.

Tuff groaned to himself. Until then, he and Riley had to due what they could. Even if that was just feeding her roots and herbs through tea and most likely doing almost next to nothing to help bring her fever down.

Tuff sighed for probably the umpteenth time in three days.

He just hoped that this girl wouldn't be like –

Tuff's throat instantly tightened at that abruptly cut-off ugly memory. He felt his eyes watering a little, gnawing his sharp teeth on his lower lip hard enough to draw blood.

No. No! He wouldn't go down that road. Not again. Not after all these years. It was just the guilt of what was going on right now, that's all. He shoved those thoughts into the back of his mind as hard as he could. He couldn't be losing it at a time like this. He needed to focus.

He looked back down at the girl. He had hoped for at least some small sign of change while he had dealt with his near . . . Meltdown. As expected, nothing. The girl continued to shiver and sweat and cough, her tail slowly curling on its own, taking on the same shifty cloudy, river design like before. The fever was holding a tight grip on her and was refusing to let go, making Tuff want more than ever to find out who or what had done this to her so he could track it down and make it regret ever bringing this on her.

He was silent as he reached out and took her hand into his again. Her hands were still so cold . . . Lost in thought, his thumb began to rub small circles onto the back of it, hoping it would bring some good this time.

"Alright . . ." He started, looking down at her sleeping, dark blue face. ". . . The good doctor's given you some medicine and . . . And you're safe and sound here with me and Riley to protect you . . . But that all depends on your opinion of Sharkmen, I guess . . ." His grip tightened a little at his words but his hold was still gentle enough to not hurt her hand. ". . . All you need to do is just wake up. You got to fight this fever and just wake up . . . Your friend Vince is still out there, right? You got to wake up if you want to find him . . ."

She didn't respond other than giving a light, tired moan. Tuff bit back another sigh, feeling negativity scratching at the corner of his thoughts, trying hard to get in. He tried hard to push it back like certain other . . . Thoughts that he'd rather not discuss, mentally or otherwise. He had to keep up the hope. Though usually that was Riley's job and he was certainly a whole lot better at it than Tuff. Not that he was a pessimist, but still . . .

"Did you freak out earlier because you knew that Riley and I were sharks?" He asked her, feeling more like he was asking himself. "I certainly remember you nailing Riley in the face twice; the first time with your tail and the second with your fist." He gave a quiet chuckle at the said memories. "I have to say, for a tiny thing of a girl, you throw a pretty mean left hook."

He was trying to make conversation with her, in a way to try and get her to wake up. If it was working the girl didn't really comment on it. Instead, she coughed rather harshly, still suffering from the raw fire Tuff knew that she was feeling in her throat. Once that was done, she started to tremble violently again, whimpering weakly the same way as before.

With his free hand, Tuff brought it to her forehead and brushed her bangs out of her face, smoothing them back like he had done on the beach. That made Tuff think; what the heck had come over him at the beach? Why did he say what he had said to her as though he knew her? It just didn't make sense. It was like he had caught sight of her eyes just that one time and BAM! Nothing else mattered. It was just him and her. The only two in the whole Archipelago.

All of it was just too confusing. What was even more confusing was that it felt kind of . . . Nice. More than nice, actually, if anything it was . . . It was . . . Wonderful.

Completely unlike anything he had ever known before in his life. Which made it all the more confusing.

Tuff shushed her silently as she gave two short coughs, her hand clenching in his grip. "Hey, hey, shh, take it easy, it's okay." He adjusted the rag on her forehead again and gave her a small smile, despite knowing she wouldn't see it. "Take it easy . . . Don't let this fever get to you. All you need to do is get better so you can wake up and tell us who the world you are." He chuckled silently once again. "Seriously, if we keep calling you the girl, I think I'm going to lose it."

He was horrible at jokes, Riley had told him a million times over the years that they've been traveling together that he could never tell one if he meant to. But it never stopped him from at least trying.

Feeling his smile fall, he begun to stare at her. All he wanted was a sign. A sign saying that she was listening. He would take anything at the point. Anything at all . . . "Please . . ." He whispered sadly to her. ". . . Please wake up . . . Show me those pretty orange eyes of yours again . . ."

He would take anything. Anything at all . . .

A rustling came from behind him. He turned his head and met with Riley's sheepish grin. He was kneeling on one knee and trying hard to look as though he wasn't just eavesdropping, even thought they both knew he was; that was all to easy to tell by him rubbing the back of his neck and refusing to meet his eyes. Tuff chose to ignore it, however, shaking his head lightly and simply asking, "How's it coming?"

Riley drawled out as he scratched his cheek, "Ehhh . . . Could be going better. Apparently fish can smell a shark coming from a mile away." Tuff gave a small smile at that. "I wanted to just dive in and just catch the little suckers but first I had to try and get your fishing pole back from that turtle."

Tuff's smile immediately fell. "What turtle?"

"This pretty fat and lazy turtle further down the cove who took your fishing pole when we met sleeping beauty over here." Riley gestured briefly to the girl whose hand Tuff was still holding.

He quickly let it go and fully turned around to face Riley, "What do you mean it took my fishing pole?"

"I told you something took it days ago but you forgot all about it!" Riley clarified.

"You never said anything about a turtle." Tuff stated with a frown. Riley simply rolled his eyes at him. "Oh, you know, what, never-mind about that, did you get it back?"

Riley gnawed at his lip a little before he said, "Well, I did but, uh . . ." He reached back behind him and revealed something that made Tuff's heart drop; a giant jumbled mess of tangled and dripping fishing wire hanging from a bit of obviously chewed on wood and a hook bent into a deranged loop. It stuck heavily of fish and seaweed and Tuff had a bad feeling that whatever was dripping from it was not supposed to be edible. "I don't think the warranty's gonna cover this."

Tuff's head fell with a groan.

This was going to be a long day.

~X~

Howls sounding her –

Branches snapping as she broke through them –

Her screaming as she felt him coming closer –

He was so close now –

His teeth –

His eyes –

He was going to get her –

He was going to get her! –

No!

GASP!

She jack-hammered out of the bed, her heart beating madly. She took in breathes of air and let them out like she was drowning . . . . But didn't she already?

Her hands flew to her face, making sure she was still solid. She was. Her head then began to spin around as she tried to take in her surroundings. It was dark and cool in here. Oh maker, she wasn't dead, was she?

. . . . . . Well, she was in pain, so she guessed she wasn't. Unless she was in hell. She shook at that horrid thought.

She saw a sliver of light from out of the corner of her eye. Turning towards it, she put a hand out and reached for it. Her finger tips touched fabric. A curtain, maybe? Yes.

Impulsively, she raised it up and peeked out . . . Only to immediately bring it back down after realizing two things; one, those two sharks that she . . . Almost certainly remembered were out there, and two . . . She was without her shirt.

Looking down and seeing the one, two, three(?) blankets piled at her waist, she snatched them up and brought almost all of them over her shoulders and chest. When she was sure no skin was exposed other than on her face and hands, her mind begun ringing with one simple question.

'WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?'

---

ME: HURRAY, ONCE MORE! SHE FINALLY AWAKES! Unfortunately, we'll have to end things here for now, so until next time! XD