Today was supposed to be different, it was supposed to be her chance to finally earn the affection of Jake Abernackle and cap off the summer with a win. It was not supposed to be...be...

Like this.

The beach was in shambles. The changing tents had somehow caught fire, sending smoke in every direction. Umbrellas and beach chairs lay torn in the sand. The screams of innocents rang across the air--or at least they sounded like innocents. For all she knew it could have been more of them.

She was hobbling toward the city's shorefront, attempting to escape this sandy nightmare. Her ankle had been twisted, possibly dislocated. She was not a doctor, she could not tell the difference. She assumed that they would stay closer to the water, swarming around those foolish enough not to run. A haunting cry from above told her she was wrong.

She dove under a nearby fallen umbrella, praying that she was not seen. Her luck must have been out, as she heard something approaching her hiding place almost immediately. It was too late to run, even if she could. She decided to just close her eyes tight and accept her fate.

Jax pulled away the umbrella, exposing a hurt swimmer to the open air. The swimmer flinched, and Jax was quick to try and put her at ease. "Whoa hey now, it's alright. I'm a ranger, would you mind if I take a look at that ankle?"

Her injury stood out like a sore thumb, or based off of the positioning a broken thumb. She seemed confused and guarded, but never the less nodded in agreement. Jax smiled, putting down the medical bag he held in his hand and gently examining the ankle. "While I look at this, would you mind sharing what happened here?"

The swimmer choked back tears as she told her story, "I-I honestly don't know. One minute everything was fine, and the next the beach was swarming with--with--Wingulls! They were taking everyone's stuff, pooping everywhere, landing on people's heads and slapping them with their wings--it was chaos! I twisted my ankle trying to get away."

Jax nodded, pulling a popsicle stick out of his bag. "Where did they appear? Closer to the water?" The girl nodded, looking perplexed as Jax shoved the stick long-ways toward her face. "Bite on this please." The swimmer opened her mouth to question him but Jax beat her to the punch with a sing-song "Dooooo iiiiiit."

She did so, he seemed trustworthy enough. He had a nice smile at least. A second later Jax grabbed the ankle and casually snapped it back into place. The girl screamed through the popsicle stick, pain arching up her leg before quickly being replaced by relief. Jax raised his hands, "Hooray! Good job, now stay here." Once again before she could say anything, Jax got up with his medical bag in hand and re-covered the swimmer with the umbrella.

Jax looked toward the sea, certain of the danger that awaited him as shapes swooped too and fro in the distance. He shall probably need backup--luckily there should be no shortage nearby.

Hailee Jacobs