“Is it dark here or am I still partially blind?” Enkay panicked as he struggled to climb to his feet.
“Both! Help me out here!” Arkay frantically replied as he tried to lift the still unconscious Teekay out of the water. It was about thigh high, and Rethans weren’t exactly known for their boyancy. With Geekay’s assistance, the three of them managed to get Teekay out of the water and clinging on to Arkay’s back.
There was more splashing around them, getting closer.
“Brothers?”
It was Veekay and Itakay.
“Are you alright, brothers?” Itakay asked, inching slowly through the water. He was the shortest of the group and was struggling with the weak current.
Teekay spluttered to life, then quickly started panicking. Arkay did his best to hold on to him, but Teekay happened to knock himself out again somehow.
“No,” Arkay sighed. “We need to get moving. I can hear things moving around and I’m not sure whether said things are friendly.”
Enkay nodded in agreement but realised no one could see him. “Uh, yeah, we should. I assume we’ll follow the river down. Should take us to the sea, right?”
“Should do! Who’s leading?”
Everyone apart from Geekay sounded far less optimistic. None of them could see properly. It quickly came apparent that none of them could see well enough to lead anyone anywhere, and with the current in the water being very uneven, it would be very easy to get separated.
“We should hold hands…” Itakay suggested.
“That’s a bit hard when I’ve got Teekay on my back,” Arkay moaned. His arms were already getting tired. But he was the only one here who could feel what was going on. Finally, his enhanced senses were coming in useful.
“You can hear what’s going on, can’t you, Arkay?” Enkay asked as he lifted Teekay off his shoulders. Between Enkay and Geekay, they could more easily carry the unconscious Ksa. “Maybe you should be leading the rest if us. I’m pretty much blind here, and I doubt I’m alone.”
“I guess, but we’re all pretty much fucked, I don’t think it makes much difference…” Arkay admitted.
Everyone else had already made up their minds though, and were grabbing on to each others’ hands and tails. Enkay was right, the only being around here that could lead them in any way was Arkay, and he was relying on hearing alone. He had no idea how well anyone else could see. With everyone holding hands or tails, starting with Enkay holding his tail, Arkay took a few tentative steps forward, following the current.
As they waded through the water, Arkay was sure he could hear things moving round. There was nothing he could do about it so he kept on pushing on. Eventually, they came across an area where the water was shallower. Ahead of them was a small, elevated area, out of the water.
“We should take a break here,” Itakay puffed and panted. “I’m exhausted.”
“Me too…” Veekay muttered as he pulled himself onto the muddy bank. Everyone was tired of wading through water that didn’t seem to ever change.
“Sure. We can rest here for a bit. Maybe our vision will improve with some sleep,” Arkay suggested. “We’ll take turns keeping guard. I don’t mind staying awake for a while.”
“I’ll join you,” Enkay offered. “Two heads are better than one.”
“Alright, everyone else get some rest. We need it…”