Week Fifteen - Thursday
WHO: Sumi and Jax
WHAT: A near death experience and an epiphany
WHERE: Along the Belle Fourche River between the Jackal Lodge and the Winter Camp
WHEN: Late afternoon
RATING: TBD
STATUS: Incomplete // Closed

It seemed that there really wasn't anything to do in the lodge. She'd read a whole lot of books lately and just sitting around reading was becoming rather boring. So, Sumi had just been staying out of everyone's way, watching the goings-on within the lodge and just learning new little things about her tribemates. Although, her gaze would always be searching for Jax among all the people coming and going. That day, it seemed, he would be nowhere to be seen. Still, she had faith that he wouldn't let their plans fall through. They had planned to go out swimming in the river, near the River Runners' winter camp where the water was the nicest. Yes, Jax was busy, but when was he not busy? Sumi had complete faith in him. He wouldn't forget their little outing, even if he didn't have the time to escort her himself. Someone a lot lower on the food chain had been asked to take her out to the river. And then Jax would come and swim with her. Simple as that. She and her escort left out earlier in the morning so that they could make it to the spot on the river in a timely manner. Sumi, polite and pleasant as always, followed behind the surly mechanic that led the horse she'd been allowed to take for the trip. As they walked, he made it no secret that he thought his task was pointless. And he also didn't hesitate to say that he thought Sumi was a burden on the tribe and the she herself was a pointless waste of space. She paid him no mind, not at all taking the things he said to heart. Had she had a weapon in her hands, she might have been tempted to silence his endless comments. But she was unarmed. So the princess grace came into use.

The time didn't go by too slowly despite the horrible company. Very begrudgingly, the mechanic helped her down from the horse, tying the mare up to a tree. He sat down against the tree, leaving Sumi to head to the river. She was less than inclined to actually show her body around this man. It made it a little difficult, considering that she only had one swimsuit. A white bikini. Still, she got around that problem by just keeping her dress on over the bikini. She waded into the river, loving the feel of the cool water on her skin. The current was too bad to start out with, but it picked up as she got further out into the water. But it was alright. She just let herself swim and it felt really good.

Eventually it seemed that her escort had fallen asleep. Figuring that there wasn't any harm in it, she removed her dress then, choosing to swim only in her bathing suit. She went back out into the deeper water, just swimming and wondering when Jax was going to come. Sumi dove down under the water then, but on her way back up, the current got the best of her. She couldn't swim back up too far before her leg got very caught in some sort of weed or plant at the river's bottom. She reached down, trying to get herself free of the plants, but they had her tangled up very well. Panicking now, she tried to get back to the surface of the water, but only her hands managed to make it that far, causing splashing at the surface. All the paddling in the world wasn't going to get her past the surface of the water.

Her muscles started to tire out and worse still, she was running out of air. Sumi wanted to scream for help, but she couldn't. And the mechanic who had brought her out was probably still asleep and wasn't able to hear the commotion of the splashing. She felt her lungs begin to burn for air as she thrashed and kicked. In her mind, Sumi pleaded for someone to come along. Anyone.

And then those mental pleas were focused only on Jax. Jax...please come! Please save me! She started feeling lightheaded and, inevitably, she started inhaling water. If only someone would come and save her...