15

A frown was slowly forming in Tahlia's forehead. The direction that the eagle was flying towards was nowhere near the path that is leading to the beach. In fact, the trail that the eagle was heading to was leading to the southern part of the main island. Combing through the foliage, whisking the hindering shrubs and low branches her way, she keeps an eye out for the prostitute.

She made sure that she set the markers in a way that it would circumvent back to the beach. His markers were lousy, and she changed it to be easy on the eyes. In a way that is noticeable to his untrained eyes. Why the hell is he going south?

The time it took for her to cover a mile away from the beach was only half an hour. He could not walk that far in that short time. Through the thick foliage, the sex-worker is lucky enough to be noticed by her animal. Zipping past the trees and shrubberies, she eyed her surroundings. The moss covering the stones was slippery. She might be used to the forest, but she could not help being nervous every time. After all, you cannot trust anything but yourself. Everything that you can find in a forest might be out to harm you. Take the pleasant looking moss, for instance.

It is green and lively looking but if you mistakenly step on it, you either walk upon it safely or you die a quick death hitting your head in those very same moss-covered stones. Finally, out of the moss-covered area, she looked up to see a tree canopy instead of the eagle. She trudged on, she would probably see the huge eagle appear ahead when the view of the skies was clear and had no obstruction.

Muscles aching from all the brisk walking she did, she slowed down since this part was steep. If you are not paying attention, you would mistake the overgrown plants on the side of the steep slope as a thriving shrub. There is not much indication that there's a steep slope on the right side.

She grabbed on the thick roots lining the left side of the narrow path. The trail was wider, but she is not going to be careless. The drop from the slope won't be a joke at all. You are bound to get injuries you don't want in the middle of nowhere.

Minutes ticked by and she kept striding steadily even with her muscles screaming for rest. She could not spot the prostitute at all. If the bird spotted him, and from the urgent squawks the eagle made, something must have happened to him. But if something happened to him, why can't she see him anywhere?

"Shit, this is annoying." she said, pursing her lips.

"If I had known the inconveniences of buying him, I should have run the other direction. Hell.' she added. Now, she is losing her mind and is talking to herself. Cranking her neck, she could hear the water rushing from her right.

Yes, the steep slope would lead to a river with a strong current to boot.

"Help!"

Closing her eyes in dismay, she could not help stomping her feet in annoyance.

"Damning hell!" she screamed, grabbing her hair in frustration. She would never, ever rescue anyone ever again. A few birds scattered and flew away from their branches upon hearing her scream.

"Sir Hermit?!" she heard an answering scream from below the steep slope. She could already guess where he was at the moment.

"Shit, shit, shit." she mumbled to herself and forced herself to walk forward, hair askew. The path gives way to a decline, and at the bottom of the decline, is a small gap that could lead to the bank of the river. The slope was not that steep and was easy to climb, if ever.

"Sir Hermit! I am sure that I heard you. Help me!" She heard another shout from below the steep slope, so she dragged herself to the small gap and she was right, the small slope led to the rocky bank.

"Please, help!" he continues to shout, fearless.

She rolled her eyes in annoyance. Leaving him to the natural elements is a very tempting notion. But against her better judgment, her legs move on their own and tread down the slope. Her eyes scout the area along the bank. She tried keeping a blank face, but the frustration shined through.

There he is.

Along the bank, clinging on a rock against the strong current, was the prostitute. His face was split into a wide smile as if salvation was within his reach. He was struggling but he still had the audacity to smile like a fool.

"Sir!" he waved, or he tried to as he almost slipped from the rock he was clinging on.

She grabbed the rope in her bag. The distance between the bank and the rock he was on was just a little more than a meter. Her rope was sufficient enough. She looked around her and found a sturdy root near the river. Instantaneously, she secured the other end of the rope around the root.

"I was just trying to refill the water container, but my feet slipped."

Even in the midst of danger the halfwit would not stop talking her ears off. When she made sure that the rope was tight and safe, she turned around and looked at the clinging man.

"Tie the rope around you or wrap it around your hand." she instructed calmly, and the dumb man nodded, knocking his head on the rock. He almost got swept away by the current because of it. This is a precarious situation but the way he acted made it so ridiculous.

"Heads up!" she shouted, trying to be heard over the sound of the raging current, and in one motion casted the rope in his direction. It landed on the rock, yet he was not able to hold on to it since the current swept it quickly. She glared at the water as if it was the reason for her misfortunes. Next, she glared at the man who looked at her apologetically. His smile was slowly wobbling.

"I'll catch it this time." he tried to smile but he was failing at it. Might be the situation finally dawning on him.

Pulling the rope back, she walked closer to the bank and threw the rope once again. It landed on his chest, and he quickly grasped it with both his hands and fell from the rock he was clinging on. Cold chills crawled all throughout her body as he went under the water.

A little shaken, she reeled the rope back, intending to throw it once again if he didn't catch it, but she felt resistance. Her eyes went round, and she pulled on the rope with all her might. Wrapping the rope on her right arm, feet pushing on the rock as a stopper, she heaved once more.

This time, the prostitute shot up from the water, spluttering. The rope was safely wrapped around one of his arms. He was being swept away, but thankfully, the distance was not far from the riverbank.

After a minute of reeling him in like a fish, she successfully rescued the man once again. He laid on the rocky bank wheezing. Once again, he was wet, soaked in his clothes like a shivering mutt. Above them, Mice suddenly appeared and soared in contentment before flying away with one last screech.

Once more, she was stuck with the prostitute she was trying to wash off of her hands. All Tahlia could do was breathe a deep sigh of frustration.