“Yay!” Mike cheered and he and Buddy took off running, leaving the hall and heading for the APC’s. The two women and Cody followed at a slower pace.
“I’d like to sit and relax a bit,” Melly said. “But I need Mike to have as much exercise as he can get when we’re stopped. Riding in the APC isn’t ideal for a growing boy, even if he does keep himself amused pretty well.”
“You sit then and I’ll go in with him,” Tamsyn offered. “I’m a strong swimmer, grew up going for dips in the stock ponds on the ranch.”
“And I’ll stand guard and wish I was in the water with you,” Cody quipped.
A few minutes later, after changing into bathing suits, they took a leisurely walk across the campground and down the path which led to the hot springs pool. The pond was larger than Tamsyn had expected and more rustic. Mike threw a stick in the water for Buddy, who jumped in without hesitation and swam vigorously after his prize. The boy followed suit with a shallow dive and the two tussled in the water over the stick. Tamsyn was relieved to see Mike was evidently a strong swimmer. Melly kicked off her shoe and sat on the edge of the pond, dipping her toes into the water and sighing in content. “It tingles.”
Tamsyn laid her towel on a convenient chair and waded into the pond slowly, finding the water warmer than she’d expected. She had to agree with Melly—the water did make her skin tingle but whatever minerals were dissolved in the waters were soothing. She swam out past Mike and Buddy and did a few laps while they played. Cody took up a stance near the doctor, keeping his eyes on the surrounding trees.
Floating on her back, Tamsyn watched him and felt the usual tightening at her core. Even in his uniform and on guard he was so handsome in her eyes. She wondered if maybe the two of them could sneak away later when he was off duty and enjoy this amenity in private. The sky above was ablaze with sunset colors and a sense of peace stole over her. Melly was throwing the stick for Buddy so Mike could swim and laughter at the dog’s eager antics and ability to shake water from his fur all over the doctor each time he retrieved the stick made for a happy background noise.
It was effortless to drift and savor the down time so Tamsyn was surprised when she bumped into the far bank and discovered there must be a current in the pond, maybe a stream feeding it along with the springs. She treaded water and measured the distance to get back to the area where Melly and her brother and the dog were.
“That’s far enough, sweetheart,” Cody called in a good-natured tone. “Don’t get out of my sight, okay?”
“Okay,” she said, standing up as it was shallow here. She waved and took a deep breath preparing to swim closer to the others. Being this far away made her a bit tense. The forest grew right to the edge here, where there hadn’t been any attempt at landscaping or shaping nature to be more groomed. The bottom was mucky and unsteady under her feet and she swore as she tried to push off.
The dog began barking wildly. “Tamsyn, now!” Cody shouted in an urgent yell.
Fingers grabbed at her ankle and as she screamed and kicked, overcome by wild terror, a stick thin infected surfaced right next to her, dead black eyes staring at her. The infected was pale white and its skin was wrinkled and pruned into a horrible mask. Tamsyn lunged backward, managing to get her ankle free but the backwash threw the infected in her direction, like a cork bobbing on the waves. The creature made no attempt to swim but reached for her, hands hooking on her shoulders and dragging her under as it sank into the muck.
Mouth full of water, Tamsyn thrashed and fought, panicked beyond rational thought.
Suddenly she was yanked away from the creature and thrown into the water a good ten feet away as Cody slashed at the infected’s arms and then drove his knife through one of the dead eyes. Tamsyn could barely keep herself afloat but fortunately Cody swam to her in the blink of an eye, cyborg strength on display. He grabbed her and continued to swim, holding her head out of the water. She couldn’t speak. He was swimming so fast they left a big wake and it was as if he had a motor.
When they reached the other side, Mike and Buddy were out of the water, standing with Melly well away from the edge. Jeff and Zach came pounding down the trail as Cody laid her on the ground and heaved himself out of the water. “Did it bite you? Or scratch you?” he asked, desperately checking her arms and legs.
She rolled onto her side and vomited up a large quantity of water and then collapsed into his arms, crying so hard she couldn’t breathe. “I was so sc-scared.”
“I’ve got you now,” he said, holding her tight and rubbing her bare back. “But we have to make sure it didn’t mark you.”
“Get her onto the chair,” Melly said urgently, “And let me do an exam. Move, Cody.”
He picked her up and placed her on the chair where the doctor proceeded to go over every inch of her exposed skin under the light affixed to Jeff’s pulse rifle. Dimly Tamsyn was aware of a crowd gathering. “It was under the water,” she said with a hiccup. “I stood on it.” She shivered and had the dry heaves. “I think it was too affected by the water to bite me. And its skin was all pruny for being submerged for so long. I think its claws must have been softened as well.”
“Lucky. Damn lucky,” Jeff said.
“None of ours ever swan over there,” Ned told them, as if making excuses for why Tamsyn had been attacked. “We had no idea the thing was there.”
I didn’t sense it either, Cody said on the subaural link. Not until Tamsyn disturbed it and even then the signal was blotchy and weak.
“Water must affect whatever they use for a nervous system,” Melly said. She sat back on her heels. “No scratches. No bites. I’ll have to examine your skin under the bathing suit too just to be sure, but we can wait for the privacy of the cabin. There weren’t any tears in the fabric so I’m sure you’re fine.”
“Shook up,” Tamsyn said, her body wracked by tremors from the chill in the air and her close call. “Got material for nightmares the rest of my life now.” She tried to get to her feet but swayed and Cody caught her, lifting her easily, where she was pressed against his already dry body. His uniform had shed the moisture into the air as it was designed to do.
“I’ve got you,” he said, kissing the top of her head.
“To be clear, the pool is off limits now,” Jeff said, addressing the crowd of onlookers. “Show’s over, folks. You can go back to what you were doing.”
Cody carried her to the cabin they were going to stay in, along with Melly, Jeff, Mike and the dog. The other soldiers would be in the second cabin. He placed her carefully on the bed in their room and Tamsyn grabbed his hand. “Thank you for saving me,” she said.
“I couldn’t live without you,” he replied as the doctor knocked and entered.
“Let me check the rest of you for any marks and then you can go have a shower,” she said. “The plumbing here works fortunately and we’re taking a power feed from the APC to keep this cabin’s amenities functioning. Do you want Cody to step out?”
“He’s seen all of me at one time or another,” Tamsyn said with a blush. “I—I like having him close right now.”
