Mermaids are Menacing (Book 2) Complete

4.) Feeding Frenzy

Hunger is terrible. I had been hungry before but not like this.

Hunger makes you nauseous, dizzy, and even ill tempered but today hunger made me stupid. The sun was hanging low over the water. A dull orange haze. I found the end of the river where river meets sea, mother called it a mouth. What an odd name to call a place without teeth. Unfortunately in my sleepiness I was being pulled out into open water. Spiraling in tight circles. The water was moving rapidly. Dirt swirled from the river like a brown fan opening into the ocean. It was exactly as I had heard my mother describe it. The ocean was a water that stretched out as far as the eye could see and far beyond, but when she spoke of it it was with a hateful tone.

Imagine walking through the desert, in the cold of the night and sleeping during the heat of the sun to find more water than your family would ever need. The water was free for the taking. No need to trade or kill for it, but you can't drink even a single drop of ocean water. Water you cant drink is a cruel trick.

Salt water wets the mouth but drains the body. With each gulp I would become more thirsty untill I died from it.

It's a cautionary tale, one that I thought would never be useful. Now the information was vital to my survival. My hand stung and itched where the spikey fins had cut but I had to make a move for land. I dunked my hands in and splashed fervently. As I propelled myself towards land I felt the cut on my hand opening back up.

The ocean smelled strongly of fish. I could smell trees and my own sweat.
The current from the river pushed me away, further into the ocean but I fought it and pushed back. Struggling I climbed forward in the canoe and sat on my shins so I could use both hands in the water. I turned out of the path of the rivers current and made for the side of the river on my right. The monster was probably still stuck on what was now my left.

My loud splashes brought me closer to shore with each stroke. I felt elated the closer every inch brought me to shore. Almost there. Keep going I encouraged myself. Day light was nearly gone, the stinging in my hand and the aching of my shoulder were all more motivation to reach land where I might rest.

When I was two canoe lengths away I felt something thump under the boat.
What was that? The orange sunlights reflection was glaring off the water making it difficult to see down to the depths below. I paused listening for another sound but the tides eb and flow were to loud.

It must have been a rock, I assured myself. I stuck my hands back in the water and started propelling forward again. The light was disappearing by the second. Only one canoe length away from shore. If I got out of the boat now I might even be able to touch the oceans floor.

Thunk!

The wooden boat rocked with the force from the hit beneath it. I felt it reverberate from my feet into my finger tips. I looked over the sides suspiciously tucking my hands under my armpits. Theres something down there, I know it. To make such a hard thunk sound twice, it must be big.
I pulled a knife out from the pack. It shined a copper color and was half as long as my forearm.

When I was taught to hold a knife, my older sisters specifically told me not to hold it like this, pointed down in a fist with my thumb on top of the hilt and my pinky just above the blade. It was a great way to hold it if I wanted to stan my own leg. But knife fighting in a moving boat was never in the lesson plan. My opponent was not infront of me but under. A spear would have been nice, abyss this is probably what the wooden shovel was for. I regretted throwing it out.

Relax, I berated myself. I took even breaths. Sea monsters are not real, just made up stories. It's probably just a big fish bumping into the boat or I hit a rock. I heard the splashing of water and held my knife firmly in my hand. A large blue fish fin returned below. A very big fish.

Then I heard clicking. I turned slowly to my left and discovered a partially exposed human face floated above the waves, only a person's length away from the canoe.

I stilled.

That is not a fish.

Entirly black eyes stared up, peering up at me. The ocean waves rocked the boat lightly as I sat perfectly still, in a staring match with this unknown creature. Blue white skin without hair, large ears that flared out like fans.  I felt an overwhelming since of curiosity about these new creatures.

It could be friendly.

The half exposed face started moving closer to the boat with unobstructed ease. It was such a careful smooth motion it reminded me of the way a snake moves. I gripped the knife in a vice like fist.

When the face was at the edge of the boat it turned upwards exposing the rest of its face. long sharp needle teeth the length of my fingers protruded from its mouth. If I placed my hands together, the fingers laced together would look the same as its teeth. A clicking noise emanated from its throat again.

Then another set of clicks replied fron behind me. I whooshed around to see another creature holding itself up using the canoes rim. It was impossibly close with a mouth opened wide. It had a human like top body with a long fish like tail. I slashed at the thing with my knife and it jumped away backwards my boat pitched violently.

These things were smart. One acted as a decoy while the other snuck up from behind.

Shrill angry shrieking cries erupted from the water. I plunged my hands into the infested sea and started thrashing for shore with all my might.

There was definitely more than two. Those crazy teeth I doubt they were plant eaters.

"ABYSS!" I shouted as I jerked to the side. The water monsters rammed against the boat knocking it side to side. Each time I put my hands in the water, I half expected for it to not come out again. I felt a strong pull from the back of the boat, trying to take it back out into open water.

I was close enough to land that I decided to jump in the the knee deep water and started pulling the boat out. With a pull I catapulted the boat up onto the sandy beach. The sand under the water formed around my feet, with each step the sand was trying to suck me down. I frantically ran through the salty sea. My steps were slow and splashed loudly.

With a scream, I fell face first into the salty water. My ankle was being pulled hard by an unseen force. I dug my hands into the sand but found no hold in its shifting substance. The ocean salt water filled my mouth and stung my eyes. I swept my hands around under the water looking for my knife. The ocean worked against me, constantly pulling me and pushing me in my pursuit of a weapon. I was at the mercy of the tide.

The struggle kicked up dirt and debris making it impossible to see, I found a rock instead of my knife. I did a push up, thrusting my face out of the water and took a big gasp of air. Then twisted around bringing the rock down hard with a splash. I had intended to use more force but the water slowed down the hit. When the attack met skin I felt my ankles release.

Quickly, I made another break for land, scrambling on both hands and feet. I resurfacing with another gasping breath. Throwing myself onto the beach and rolling away from the water. The semi dry land gave me a sence of relief until I felt a blow to the back of my head. The rock made a soft pap sound as it fell on the gritty sand. 

Shocked I touched the place it hit and when my hand came away it was slick and red. The fire light caught my eye. My eyes focused on the hand holding the torch. It registerd in my mind that I was asking the fire for help but I couldn't hear the sound of my own voice. Then everything went black.