Diary of a Mermaid

Room Five

Ray came home today!

And the sleeping arrangements are screwed up again.

I'm sharing my room with Angel and Nemmy (my floor is covered in pillows and blankets, Theo is sharing the office room with Finn and Ray (Finn and Ray are on Angel and Nemmy's old bunk bed and Theo gets his own new IKEA bed), Cat and Peter get Angel and Nemmy's old room (another trip to IKEA!), and Steven and Jaclyn are in the master bedroom.

Ray is almost completely better, except for his rib and his knee (he's walking with a cane).

I'm fidgeting with my camera in the living room when I just happen to look out the window into the street.

Oh, my gosh.

Oh, my gosh.

It's them. It's the black cars.

I scream and run straight into Steven, just like I did all those days ago.

"What's wrong?"

"They're here!" He knows exactly what I mean.

"Theo!" Steven yells. He comes running down the stairs. "Get everyone who's upstairs into the basement! Now!" Theo nods and dashes back upstairs.

Steven shoves me towards the stairs leading to the basement and shouts, "Go!"

I comply and bolt downstairs. I see the filing cabinet. I know what to do. I frantically search for the drawer containing the magnet. Finally I find it. I wave it over the floor until I hear a humming sound. Convinced that this is the special tile, I slam down the magnet and pull up. The tile comes up with it. I use the magnet to remove the rest.

Just as I open the wooden door, everyone comes running down the stairs, Steven, Peter, and Theo bringing up the rear.

"Everybody in!" I instruct. They climb down the ladder one by one.

We're all inside a minute later. Steven slams the door shut and puts all the tiles back into place via remote control.

He flicks on a light switch. We're in a small room with a stocked shelf, a dressed bunk bed, and a table with checkered tablecloth. A closed door is beside the shelf.

Then a sudden noise makes me jump. The front door has been broken down. I hear many pairs of heavy feet walking, make that running, around upstairs. Nemmy starts crying so Jaclyn picks her up and starts walking around to soothe her. I sit down on the bottom bunk of the bunk bed and put my head in my hands. I feel the mattress shift and I know that someone has sat down beside me.

I glance up and see Theo looking at me. "Are you okay?" he asks.

"I'm okay. Just shocked, really." I admit.

"Me too," he says quietly.

I look up at him. He looks really scared.

I reach over and give him a hug. "We'll be okay. They can't find us down here."

He nods.

"Okay," Steven says. "Who knows how long we'll be down here so we'll need to assign sleeping mates and room numbers." He scans the group. "Um, Jaclyn and I in Room One, Cathrin and Peter in Room Two, Angel and Nemmy in Room Three, Finn and Ray in Room Four, and Topaz and Theo in Room Five. Please go to your assigned rooms and wait there until further notice." He walks over to the door beside the shelf and opens it. Another room identical to the one we're in is on the other side.

I walk through a few more doors until I get to the last one: mine.

I climb up onto the top bunk and turn to face the wall. Then I replay what just happened.

Wow.