Captive Scales

4

"Mum!" Wilbur laughed.

Oh. He was having this dream again.

A beautiful young woman turned around from where she was gazing out on the water. Her black top was tucked into her jeans, billowing sleeves fluttering in the wind. One hand rested on the big hat on her head.

She smiled at him, "Hi moonbeam. Are you having a fun birthday?"

Wilbur nodded, "yeah! The ocean is so pretty!"

The woman laughed, "I'm glad. Fourteen is a big year."

Wilbur threw his arms around her middle, "you say that every year!"

"Well it's true!" The woman hugged him back, "you're growing up before my very eyes."

"I love you." Wilbur smiled.

The woman kissed the top of his head, "I love you too Wilbur. I think we have some cake in the cabin, why don't you go see?"

No, don't go.

"Okay!" Wilbur nodded, running towards the cabin of the ship.

Wilbur reached the cabin. The cake was sitting there on the table, Happy Birthday Wilbur scrawled on it in blue icing. The boy sat down at the table. There was a loud crack. The ship pitched.

Stop it.

Wilbur didn't know exactly what happened, only that the cake was on the floor, sliding to the wall.

"Mum!?"

She's not there.

He felt his center of gravity shift. The boy started sliding down with the cake. Water engulfed him. He resurfaced.

"Mum!"

She's not there.

The ship was overturned, flames glistening on the water. Waves pushed Wilbur back down.

"MUM!"

SHES DEAD!

The tides pulled him down again. He struggled against the invisible lines. Water flooded into his lungs as the currents pulled him down. It burned. He couldn't move.

He couldn't move and it was dark. Wilbur tried to break out, screaming for help. He felt hands pull him up, breaking him out of the water.

"Wil, Wil, it's okay. I've got you, it's okay."

Wilbur grabbed at the arms around him. He sobbed into them.

"You're okay Wil, it was just a nightmare."

He felt someone crawl into his lap.

"Wilby?"

Wilbur pried his eyes open. His brothers blue eyes were staring back at him with worry. His father's arms were still holding him. He wasn't drowning in that sea anymore.

"Wil?" Phil whispered, "are you okay?"

Wilbur nodded, still holding on to his dad's arms.

"Okay." Phil sighed, "do you want breakfast? Tommy and I were starting on pancakes."

Wilbur nodded again.

Phil smiled softly, "alright Wil, come on."

Phil gently pulled Wilbur out of bed, leading him down to the kitchen. Tommy trailed behind them, gripping Wilbur's sleeve tightly.

"Here, you can mix the batter." Phil handed Wilbur a wooden spoon.

Wilbur stepped up to the bowl on the counter. The batter was half mixed, lumps of flour still floating in the bowl. The boy began to stir the batter. Memories of the nightmare began to fade into the back of his mind, like waves washing away sand.

"Wilby! It's time for the chocolate chips!" Tommy chirped, holding the bag, "I saved a handful for you!"

Wilbur smiled, nudging his brother. Tommy giggled, dumping the bag of chocolate into the batter.

"Alright boys, who wants to scoop that batter?" Phil smiled.

"I do!" Tommy gasped.

The doorbell rang. The kitchen froze for a moment. Then Phil sighed.

"Alright, Wil, help your brother, I'll see who's at the door." The father told them.

Wilbur nodded. He held Tommy's hand as the eight year old scooped out some batter. The boy strained his ears to hear who was at the door.

"Aquatic center patrol."

"Oh?"

"One of our specimens escaped last night, a creature with red scales. It will most likely be spotted along the coastline."

"Well, the closet body of water around here is the lake."

"Freshwater?"

"Yes."

"Its a saltwater creature unfortunately. It wouldn't survive long in freshwater."

Wilbur felt his blood run cold. Tommy looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Wilby..." Tommy whispered, "they're talking about the mermaid..."

Wilbur nodded slowly.

"We gotta get him to the ocean." Tommy said.

Wilbur nodded again. The mer was a saltwater being. And they just trapped him in freshwater.