Diary of a Mermaid

Trooper

I'm so scared. Every time I start to doze off, a soldier yells an order. It makes me jump. I don't know what to do. What if they never leave? We've only been down here for an hour, but it feels like years. We're not allowed to speak, only to whisper. I feel claustrophobic. I want to get out. It's driving me insane.

Steven walks in and knocks on the doorframe. I look up and see him crook his finger at me and Theo. Not knowing what's up, I climb down the ladder and sit across from Steven at the table. Theo takes the seat next to me.

"I just heard something on my radio that you need you to know," Steven says, solemnly. My heart drops to my stomach. What could it be? Theo sees me pale and grabs my hand under the table.

"What happened, Steven?" I ask, phrasing it as a sentence, not as a question.

He takes a breath. "Topaz, there was a bombing in Paradise Cove. Your parents are missing."

I start trembling and raise my hands to my mouth. I start wailing. I've never made such a sound. It's a cross between a sob, a plea, and a prayer. I feel like my heart was ripped out and has been replaced with a rock. I can't breathe. I'm trying to, but I can't. I fall to the floor, screaming bloody murder. Nothing looks the same. Everything is twisted and every sound is echoing. I feel the bedpost scrape through my leg, but I feel no pain. I feel all my weight fall on my wrist, but I don't register the ache.

I hit my head on the floor. I momentarily black out. I wake up unable to speak, seeing Theo and Steven kneeling over me. They're pushing on my stomach, giving me CPR, but I don't feel it.

It's like when your foot falls asleep. You can't feel the pressure but the limb is there. And there's that tingling sensation. But instead of only in my leg, it's taken over my entire body.

I fall unconscious again, but this time wake up unable to breathe. I choke, feel my eyes roll back, and slip back into a deep sleep.

I wake up, unable to see, speak, or hear. But I'm awake. I know that for sure.

Slowly my vision clears and I see everyone standing over me. Then I hear their voices. They still sound echoey, but at least I can register their words. "Topaz! Topaz!"

I can finally hear properly a few seconds later. "She's awake! She's awake!" Peter yells. Angel and Nemmy are crying uncontrollably. I reach out to hold their hands.

"Don't move," Theo instructs.

They hoist me onto the bottom bunk and Steven pulls a chair from the table up to my bedside. "Are you okay?"

"What happened?" I whisper.

"You had a mild heart attack." Steven tells me.

"Why couldn't I see or hear or speak?" I whisper again.

"When you collapsed, you hit your head and probably have a small concussion." He smiles meekly. "But you'll be okay, Trooper."

Trooper. I thought I knew what that word meant. I didn't until this very moment.