Brooke, Gil, Charlie, and Thad saw the food at the same time.
Charlie was the first to speak. “Don’t do it, guys…Thad. As tempting as it looks, don’t do it. It’s not worth the risk. You should know that by now.”
“Come on, Charlie. That’s old school,” Thad said. “No risk, no reward, Baby.”
“Thad, that’s the kind of talk that’ll get you in serious trouble,” said Gil. “Charlie knows what he’s talking about. Look at him. He’s old, and in our environment, old is not only good, but it’s great.”
“Oops, there’s another and another,” Brooke said. “Don’t do it, Thad,” “Charlie’s right, you know.”
“Oh, man. How am I gonna survive then?” said Thad. “Huh? Can you tell me that, Charlie?”
More food dropped in front of them.
“I can’t answer that,” Charlie said. “You do know what happened to your daddy, don’t you? Here today, Boom, snatched away. He took it hook, line and sin…”
Brooke and Gil turned their bodies sharply towards Charlie.
“Sorry, poor choice of words. Please forgive me,” Charlie said.
More food dropped, this time in back of them.
“Ah, I know what’s going on now,” Brooke said as he watched three more pieces of food drop in front of them, one of them right on top of him.
“Yeah, happens every year,” said Gil.
“What? What happens every year?” Thad asked.
“Oh, this is your first year with us, isn’t it?” Charlie said. “Come close, let me tell you a little story with the scars to prove it.”
Thad scooted closer.
“Six years ago about this time, the exact same kinds of food kept dropping in. Lots of them. Probably 40 or 50 at one time. I was new to the game, too, so I went after the biggest I saw. Before I knew it, I was being drug along the water with the metal thing in my cheek. After about a minute, I was pulled out of the water, grabbed by someone, and tossed back into the water, and I landed smack dab on my belly too. But whoever picked me up couldn’t get that metal thing out so I let it in there and eventually swallowed it.”
Charlie turned to the side.
“See that here? They call it a hook,” Charlie said showing off the hook-shaped bulge in his stomach. “Almost dissolved now from my stomach juices, but the protrusion’s been there ever since. Those pieces of food you see? The AboveWater Folks are having some kind of contest to see how many of us they can pull out. Or maybe the biggest one of us they catch wins. Who knows?”
“So, all of those food pieces are just waiting for us to grab them?”
“Go up to one of ‘em and look, but don’t touch! Do NOT touch. You’ll see metal sticking out. You don’t want that in you, trust me,” said Charlie.
Thad approached one of the pieces of food dangling in front of him and sniffed.
“Doesn’t smell like food,” said Thad.
“It’s not food,” Gil said. “It’s just something to make us think it’s food. Looks like food but doesn’t smell or taste like it.”
Ok, I’ll try to keep that in mind. How will I know what’s real food and what’s fake?
“Sniffs and nibbles, my friend, sniffs and nibbles. No large gulps,” said Charlie. “Don’t be greedy. And don’t go chasing the mosquitoes on top of the water. You’re not going to win on those. Guaranteed. Not worth it.”
*******