The Turning Tides

CHAPTER Twenty-Three

DROWNING



~



Grinding pain hijacked my consciousness, purging all other thoughts. The four men lined up in front of the tank, watching my suffering with fascination. There wasn’t an ounce of empathy amongst them, and after my body contorted into its final form, intense anger rose in me with its familiar dizzying power. I hated them with a passion, and wished them all a terrible fate.

As the agony of the transformation subsided, I was able to gather myself together. I breathed the salty brine into my lungs, and long submerged memories of my time swimming in the sea with Kalypso flooded back into my mind. As odd as the comparison was, it really was like riding a bike. Nixie was cowering in the corner, covering her eyes.

I swam to her, gently patting her shoulder, “Nixie… it’s me…”

“Marina! You look like a sister now,” her traumatized eyes were wide with shock.

I embraced her, reassuring her that we were going to be alright. If she could tell I was lying, she didn’t let on, but from that moment on she stayed close to me, trailing behind as I inspected every corner of the tank. There was nothing but smooth, clear walls on all sides, top and bottom; nothing to hurt ourselves with, nothing to use as a weapon.

The acrylic panels were melded together seamlessly, fused at the corners. The trap door I had fallen through was closed tight, and I tried to pry it open, only succeeding in chipping my nails. Another sort of manhole-covered opening a few yards away was locked down tight. I wasn’t going to be able to break out, and I turned to glare at my captors with all the murderous hatred I felt inside.

There was a narrow pipe feeding fresh water into the tank, and a grate on the opposite side draining it out. The constant low hum of the pump was maddening, but not loud enough to keep me from hearing every word the men spoke to one another beyond its walls. My heightened sense of hearing was accompanied by ultra-clear eyesight, enabling me to see the men on the far side of the lab as clearly as if I was looking through thin air.

After conferring with the scientists about the MRI results, Edwards left. He told Paul he would be at a hotel in town for the next two days, and wanted to be notified immediately of any changes. He left Paul in charge of security, tasking the scientists to work twenty-four hour shifts until they had something to show him.

He waved goodbye to me, unable to resist one final victorious gesture.

Being human in confinement was horrible, but being a mermaid in a fish tank was sheer unmitigated torture. The relatively large tank was a hellish cage for a creature used to the space of the open ocean. Designed to swim vast distances, our powerful tails were useless in the small space. Nixie and I circled the tank to keep from going mad, pacing like zoo animals in our confinement. She reached out for my hand, seeking security, and I felt protective, maternal and helpless all at the same time.

I fought hard to think soothing thoughts for Nixie’s sake.

Jones climbed to the top of the tank with a bucket, dumping a few live fish onto the trap door and into the tank along with us. I swam to the surface, trying to pry the door back open, but once it snapped shut it was immovable. The fish schooled in the far corner, and I wondered how long it would take me to starve to death. Nixie squeezed my hand, looking more frightened than ever.

I realized that I could never leave her to face these monsters on her own, and was suddenly grateful that I hadn’t the courage to slice open my wrists. I’d do anything to help her survive captivity, even if all I could do was explain the terrible things that were going on. As hopeless as my situation was, Nixie was one thing worth staying alive for.

We tired of swimming, and went to the far side of the tank to rest. I propped myself up against the back wall, keeping an eye on the scientists as they went about their craven business. Nixie lay her head down on my lap, finally voicing her fears.

Her lower lip trembled, “I was bad. I didn’t stay away from the net.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said, stroking her forehead. Her hair floated all around, and I gathered it up to try and braid it. She curled up alongside me, turning her fin back on herself like a cat’s tail.

“I heard my Nerissa crying, and I went too close to the boat…” she looked up at me, her green eyes filled with pain and remorse. “Someone hurt Nerissa.”

At least I could clear that up, “No they didn’t. It wasn’t Nerissa you heard. It was a trick.”

“A trick?” she asked.

I wondered how to explain it to her, “They copied her voice… They were pretending to be her.”

“But…why?”

“To make you come closer, so they could catch you.”

Nixie’s seaweed green eyes sprang open wide, surprised that such subterfuge was even possible. She spoke solemnly, “They are much badder than the sisters know.”

“Yes,” I said sadly, thinking about the poor dead mermaid on cold storage in the laboratory, “They are.” The thought of them doing anything to Nixie filled me with fear.

“Are they going to cut us up too?” Nixie asked solemnly, having just been treated to the image in my memory. I was surprised she was so matter of fact about it, but it made sense; I imagined that the wild nature of the mermaid’s life at sea didn’t involve much sentimentality. Mermaids were fundamentally predators, hunters who dealt with bloody death every single day of their lives.

It only pointed out the utter ignorance and arrogance of Nathan Edward’s approach. He had no idea what they were capable of, and his false assumption that they were merely mindless creatures made his plan to use them certain to fail. They were as alien to him as he was to them– humans and mermaids were two very different species, with markedly different sets of values and morals... Not that Edwards had any morals at all.

I was unused to having to censor my thoughts, and I supposed there was no use trying to sugar-coat things, but I decided I should try and guard against conjuring up negative images for her sake.

“No Nixie, I’m afraid they want to keep us in here as long as they can.”

I tried to clear my mind about what they had planned for our future.

She sat up suddenly, her face brightening, “I know! Summon your good person! He can help us!”

I shook my head sadly. “People can’t summon each other like the sisters can,” I explained. “He doesn’t know we’re here.”

Nixie sighed, settling back down. She yawned, and I curled around her, trying to sleep. I managed to doze on and off, dreaming of Ethan.

~

We were walking through a farm field, and the smell of freshly turned soil mingled with the scent of newly mown grass in my nostrils. He took my hand and led me down a golden path to a little tent set up in a sheltered spot at the base of a slope. He stopped walking, bending to kiss me with a smile. I was so sublimely happy I could barely believe it was true.

~

I woke with a start to the sound of men’s voices rising in anger. I turned to see Paul arguing with the doctor about shift rotations. Doctor Neuman wanted to send Jones for some plumbing parts, but Paul was forbidding him to go, “I want two men here at all times,” he said arrogantly, “And I’m due for a break.”

Doctor Neuman glared at Paul, “Thanks to your carelessness, we need to make some repairs.”

Paul stepped closer to the doctor, looking down on him menacingly. “It can wait,” Paul growled, “Until I get back.”

Jones and the doctor exchanged a glance, “Have it your way,” Neuman hissed, watching as Paul turned to leave. When the two scientists were alone they started griping about having to deal with Paul, planning on complaining to Edwards about his hotheaded incompetence.

“The man’s a Troglodyte,” Neuman complained, glancing up at us in the tank. “They’re not going anywhere. Go ahead and take a break. Pick up what you need, and you can take over here in the morning. He’ll be none the wiser.”

Jones left, and I sat up to watch Doctor Neuman working. I swam in slow circles around the tank while Nixie slept, watching the fish swim to avoid me. Something winked at me from the bottom of the tank, and I swam over to look down at my engagement ring. I held my hand before my eyes. Fine shimmering webbing had formed on it, rising halfway up my fingers to terminate just past the knuckles; it must have forced the ring from my finger.

I picked it up, thinking of Ethan once again. The ring was a symbol of his sacrifice, and I remembered how hard he had worked to get it for me. He’d picked a beautiful white diamond, the hardest substance on earth, symbolic of eternal love. It was flanked by two blue-green aquamarines he had chosen just for me, and I remembered how sweet he could be with a twinge of heartache. Then it struck me.

The hardest substance on earth.

I swam to the corner of the tank, taking the ring firmly between my fingers and scraping it across the spot where the two acrylic plates were joined. Flakes of acrylic shaved away, fluttering to the floor of the tank. It might be a futile gesture, and it could take hours or even days to cut a hole, but at least I had something to do other than sit and await my ultimate fate. I went to work with single minded determination.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

Nixie woke up and swam alongside me, hovering above me to watch what I was doing with curiosity. “Can I try?” she asked. We took turns shaving the acrylic panel down millimeter by millimeter, and soon, so many little flakes floated in the water that the corner started to look like a snow globe.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

Doctor Neuman looked up from his microscope, scowling in our direction. He got up reluctantly, setting his work aside meticulously before pulling out his stool. When he got close enough to see what was going on his eyes flew open wide.

“What are you doing?” he banged his fists on the aquarium, “Stop it at once!”

I glanced up at him with a smile.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

He pressed his face close, and I could see his bloodshot eye roll down to see the ring. It rolled back up to meet mine. Now he really started to panic.

I started back in with glee, amused at the way he paced back and forth with his hands on his head. I knew what he was thinking; Paul would be back soon, and his mistake would be revealed. Edwards would be livid when he learned that his genius scientists overlooked my ring, and I smiled up at him again.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

“Stop it!” he screeched, “Give me that ring at once!”

I bit my lip, smiling broadly. I was enjoying his distress.

I handed the ring to Nixie, first waving it back and forth in front of Neuman to taunt him. His eyes bulged, and his face grew red. He shook with anger, practically jumping up and down. If he was a cartoon character, I’m sure that steam would be pouring out of his ears.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

Nixie looked at him, and back at me in surprise, “Why is he so mad?”

I hugged her, smiling as she went back to single-mindedly scraping away at the acrylic. Doctor Neuman started banging his fists on the glass and cursing us, spittle flying. I stuck my tongue out at him, driving him into a blind rage. After a few more minutes, the groove we had carved breached the seam, and I saw a few drops of water roll out, trickle down the side of the tank, and pool on the ground.

Neuman saw it too, and in a fit of panic he climbed up the ladder, looking frantically through a rack of tools mounted on the wall next to the big door. I could see his feet from my vantage beneath him, stalking across the top of the tank purposefully. He brandished a long, flexible rod, feeding it down into the water pipe until the tip of it poked out. There was a hook on the end.

“Give me that ring!” Neuman screamed down at us, his face contorted.

I made a great show of taking the ring from Nixie, holding it up to see it sparkle, then starting right back in on the wall of the tank.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

The doctor went berserk, running back across the top of the tank towards the ladder. He slipped on the smooth surface in his haste, nearly sliding off the side and down to the hard concrete floor below. He caught himself at the last possible moment, reversing his momentum. He would have been better off if he had fallen.

Doctor Neuman stumbled backwards, stepping square in the middle of the trap door, and plunging straight down into the tank. Our eyes locked in horror.

I swam to the trapdoor, helping him as he desperately tried to pry it open. It was as immovable as before, and when our eyes met, we both knew that he was going to drown. He grabbed me, clenching my wrist in a death-grip while still clawing frantically at the seam with one hand. When he ran out of air, his body convulsed, shuddering and shaking. Finally, after what seemed like a very long time, he was still.

I floated there, shrinking back in abject horror as I watched the light go out of his eyes. He went limp, drifting around in a circle while I peeled his hand off my wrist, finger by finger. I swam to Nixie, who was again cowering in the corner, quivering in terror.

She looked up at me in misery, “What is he going to do to us?”

“He can’t hurt us anymore,” I told her in a shaky voice, “He’s dead.”

She looked around me to where the doctor’s corpse was floating, starting back to hide from it. “Come on,” I took her hand, leading her back over to the corner. It may not get us very far, but Nixie needed something to focus on besides the dead man. I picked up the ring and handed it to her, “Let’s get back to work.”

Scratching sounds filled the tank for the rest of the night.





~