Tide

Finding Out

Phaedra

The camp was not what I expected. How long had they been here? It couldn't be more than a week and a half... Right? They had settled in a clearing with a stream running through it. There were huts in the trees, with huge leaves I didn't recognize. There was a post stuck into the ground with horses tied to them. "Wow. You guys already have horses?" I asked.

"They were wild, took a little while to get used to being ridden but, yes, we tamed them." Her father said calmly. A horn sounded somewhere farther into the village. "Oh! The hunting party is back."

"Thank god," I mumbled. "I'm starving!"

My dad looked back at me and grinned. "The meat is amazing. Even better than your mother's cooking"

"Even better than mom's?!" Jolono said. " Impossible."

"Yeah! No one can cook better than her. Except maybe you..." I added quickly to my father's glare.

After the food, Jolono and I followed my dad to a small hut in a tree that Father said was his. We followed him inside and both of us gasped. Inside, there were so many wood and horn carvings someone could have filled a pool with them all.

"I have a lot of time on my hands," Father said sheepishly. He went and sat on the bed, motioning for them to do the same. "I have so many questions. What happened? Why are you here? Is your mother alright?"

I looked at Jolono and saw tears welling up. "We—'' I had to stop and clear my throat, then I tried again. "We had one of those things they do on the MainLand. A... A 'Purge,' I think. Yeah, that's it. I think it's right when you crashed, or at least soon after, because right then the man who recruited you came with a chainsaw and mask, and told us you were off the radar, right before being decapitated..." I paused at the horrified look on Father's face.

"What happened to your mother?" He asked shakily.

"We... We don't know. She told us to run so we panicked and ran to the ocean right as the tide went out. We may have been out there for, I don't know, a week maybe."

"A week? No wonder you guys are so thin. What did you eat?" Father looked extremely worried.

"We ate live fish and drank saltwater, but it's all we had, so I'm not going to complain." Jolono finally said. "Though I am glad we are on solid, not moving ground."

"Ok, well you guys should go to sleep. Don't argue. You need to sleep, as do I.'' He got up. "The bed should be big enough. Though it might be a bit cramped. I don't know." He looked at us, smiled and walked out, saying "If you need me, I'll be in the hut next to you." I lay down, looking at Phaedra.

"Goodnight," Jolono muttered.

"Night," I said. I drifted into a rugged sleep filled with nightmares of Mom left with the man with the sword.

I opened my eyes to a bright sun and immediately had to squint. When my eyes adjusted, I looked for Jolono, finding that he was gone.

"Jolono?" I called.

"Right here, loud girl." I looked again to see him in the doorway, dressed in army-style clothing. I got up, wondering: Are there any clothes other than these soaked ones? As though my father read my mind, he walked in with more clothes.

"It was a little hard to find your size, but these should fit you." Father tossed them to me. I just barely caught them, almost falling forward. Father laughed, and I tackled him out the door, laughing as well. "Go get dressed," Father said. "I'll be waiting outside." As soon as I was dressed, we went to a larger clearing.

"What are we doing?" I asked.

"You'll see." Was all Father said.

I peered ahead of us. "Why are we going to the ocean?" I asked. Jolono looked back, grinned, and ran forward.

"Follow your brother. I'm right behind you." Father smirked. He shooed her away with his hand. I looked at him, feeling something was up, but I ran ahead anyways. As I started running forward, I saw Jolono leap into the ocean. "Jolono!" I yelled, running faster. Before I knew it, I was leaping in too. As I felt the water on me, I also felt a tingling in my legs. I looked down. Deep violet scales, glimmering in the rays of the sun covered my legs. Then I noticed I wasn't drowning. I looked to the surface, struggling under the weight of the scales. Finally, I just sank and crawled back, breaking the surface with a scream. "Jolono!" I yelled.

"It's alright! It's alright!" Father said, "Now you know what we are here for."

"What do you mean?!" I practically screamed. "What is happening to me!?"

"Shh. It's ok." He murmured "You just learned you're a mermaid."