We get a couple canned fruit and some bottles of water, but don't take that much. For some reason, the fact that they are allowing us to take the food makes me even more reluctant to take it. Arthur and Nick aren't big fans of me. They're buddies with Charlie, though.
"So, how'd you... meet him?" I hear Arthur ask Charlie when he thinks I'm not listening. He thinks I kidnapped Charlie.
"Bill? He saved my life," Charlie says. His answer surprises Arthur. It surprises me too. I hadn't really thought about it, but I guess he's right. I did save his life.
We're ready to leave now, and I face Arthur and Chris. I'm trying to think of the right words to say to express my gratitude.
"Thanks for... everything," I say.
"If you're ever in the area or need anything, feel free to stop by," Chris says. He hands us each a candy bar.
"Yes sir, we will," Charlie says, "We really appreciate it." Chris gives us a hug. Arthur, a firm hand shake.
"Nice meeting you two," Arthur says.
"You too," Charlie says. We part ways.
~~~
It's been a few days since we met Arthur and Chris, and we're being a lot more careful. Next time, they might not be so understanding. Last night, we couldn't find a hotel, so we slept on the ground. I've done this before, but it was a new expirience for Charlie. He said it was like camping.
We're making our way along some highway. The driver drops us off by some river.
"Thanks for the ride," Charlie says.
"Your welcome," the driver says, "Good luck getting wherever you're going," and drives off.
"Hey Bilbo, weren't you saying how good you were at swimming?" Charlie asks.
"Yeah... so?"
"Well my watch has a stopwatch on it, and we could time how fast you really are."
"Fine," I say, "How far do you want me to go?"
He thinks about this.
"You see that tree up there? The one that's in the middle of the river on that island that's too small for it?"
"Yes."
"Swim there and back." It's about a hundred meters, there and back. I nod. I can swim that far. I take my shirt off, but keep my shorts on.
"We'll have to find a town after this though, so I can dry off," I say. Charlie nods. I jump in the water. It's cold, but not as cold as the ocean, and I savor the feeling. I glance up at Charlie.
"Ready... set... go!" he says, and I take off. I reach the tree sooner than I expected. I turn around and swim back.
Charlie stares at me.
"What?" I say, "What was my time?"
"What do you think your time was?" he says.
"I don't know."
"Just take a guess."
"a couple minutes," I say. But I know that's wrong. It didn't feel that long.
"It was twenty seconds," Charlie says. I shake my head.
"That can't be possible," I say, "Let me see the timer." It says twenty seconds. Well, it says 19.8 seconds.
"The timer has to be broken," I say. There's no way I can swim that fast. Charlie shakes his head.
"It was the coolest," he says, "I could barely see you, you were so fast." I shake my head again. He has to be exaggerating.
"The timer's broken. I'll prove it. Run down that way, to that yeild sign right there, and back. I'll time it, and count at the same time. You'll see," I say. The yeild sign is about a hundred meters away.
"Okay," Charlie says. he gets in a runner's position.
"Ready, set, go," I say. I start the timer.
It's the craziest thing I've ever seen. He's back in eight seconds. I forget to stop the timer, I'm so stunned.
"Woah," I say. I tell him his time. He's as stunned as me.
"There's no way..." he says. I sigh.
"So... I guess we have super speed or something," I say.
"Weird..." Charlie says.
"We definitely have to think this over," I say, "Let's get out of here."
Gender:
Points: 1147
Reviews: 374