Snippet #2493345

"You!" That sound was like an electric jolt that made them visibly jolt during their retreat. A new shock of adrenalin would boost their speed out of fear but it still wasn't enough to keep the threat at bay. This was why they stuck to the trees so often. Tex was almost at his peak advantage, seconded by his speed in the air. Just when they reached the tree line they crouched in preparation to jump up the closest tree with their payload. It was their downfall. The weight made them a few seconds too slow. Soon as their feet left the ground huge talons came down to shove them back towards the ground. "Ah!" They yelped feeling one of those talons rake their shoulder. Cans and other miscellaneous items such as dye packets, binoculars, a flare gun with extra flare cartridges flew out of the bag while they tumbled for a second time; getting sand in every place imaginable. It left them dazed, the wind knocked out of them long enough for Tex to land on top of them.

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Evan meanwhile was hard at work trying to collect the cans that had fallen into the sand. Sure he already knew that there were steady meals, so he didn't have any concern for starving. But the one thing he missed was the flavor. It was enough to make him almost as desperate as the two failed experiments to collect whatever he could carry. When he found that his arms just weren't big enough to hold what he wanted he took to pulling up the bottom of his pajama top to make a pouch. It made him clumsier but it did increase his carrying capacity.

The fight going on between the two experiments only brought to his mind that he had the opportunity to get what he could before running back to the safe confines of his room within the facility. He only looked over his shoulder to see where the two were fighting and, Violet, had gone. All the better for them to take the fight away from him. The loud sounds of creaking, groaning and cracking emanate from the ship in more frequent and louder intervals making Evan jump back a few paces. He nearly dropped what he had just picked up, including things like a small water proof flash light, swiss army knife and a spool of fishing line.

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Cool wet sand pressed up against them. It helped bring them out of their daze to assess what had just happened, and what was happening right now. Grabbing handfuls of sand they tried to fling it over their head to get them to back away. They began to squirm to get out from under Tex only to wince in pain as the movement was pulling open their wounds for more sand to get in. They didn't speak a word, only turned their head just enough so that they could look past the rim of the hood to give Tex an aggregated glare. There was no way they could get away without abandoning the bag. Therefore there was no way for them to get away from those talons.

"Leave her alone, You!" They could hear someone coming closer. It did nothing to ease the tension and desperation they felt to get away.

The long appendage that trailed behind them whipped up to wrap around the nearest part of the foul smelling man bird and began to squeeze so they could do something next. Which was, while still on their stomach, arching their back while lifting their legs up and back towards Tex with the skill of a contortionist. Their feet worked almost like hands; their long, claw tipped toes grip onto one of his scaled ankles and his tail. Whatever was closest to their reach. At the same time they reached back to grab at a wing in order to keep him from flying off.

All of this of course did nothing to help with their bleeding. It soaked into the sand and washed down stream.

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The boat couldn't hold out any longer. It slid further back into the ocean before sinking below the surface. Large bubbles rose to the surface as the last air pockets imploded from pressure. Only the most buoyant items cropped back up to the surface, like buoys. The risk of being pushed up against the rocks or pulled under the surf was high.

Evan sighed wishing that the boat didn't sink so soon. But at least he was walking away with something. He turned around to wake to the facility. "Gah! Jesus, don't sneak up on me like that!" He fumbled with his supplies in front of Crombie. He hadn't seen him before so it didn't occur to him that the guy was blind. Looking him over for a few seconds he juggled his things so he could wave his hand over Crombie's face.