The Deep

Chapter 12

*Arya*

I did not wait for the sunrise. I do not wait for Merida either. I run faster than any human could possibly run to Merida's den. Nothing in the world could stop me right now. My humans need help. The wreckage could've been worse, but Elin need human help.

In no time at all, I make it to the den. It appears dark. Merida had told me she would stay. It occurs to me that she doesn't know the extent of what was in the water. She wouldn't know that I would come back early for help. My hands struggle with the backdoor-the one that Merida brings me through every now and then.

The pain on my side intensifies. The scent of blood fills my nose. My blood. I slam against the door with my shoulder. My patience had begun to wear thin. If someone sees a bleeding woman breaking into another human's den, they'll call for someone that could ask way too many questions. I slam my shoulder again against the door and it breaks under my weight. I fall to the floor and groan out in pain.

The shift wasn't easy to make injured, but I had to get out of the water. Predators like me can smell blood for miles in the water. It drives us insane. I lay in the shards of glass and wood, breathing in and out. Pain is not unknown to me. Everything we do in the water is dangerous and can lead to injuries. But human pain is much more intense. They aren't as protected as we are.

"Arya?" A light turns on above me, blinding me for a moment. "What's happened? Is that blood?" She steps around the glass carefully. So, she was home. That's good. Merida grabs my arms and pulls me up. "Beast Predator was in water. He was waiting for me," I tell her in between gasps of pain.

"He wounded you?" Merida leads me to one of her soft cushions and lays me down. I shake my head. "No. I saved humans on boat. They need human help now." My head grows heavy as my vision darkens along the edges. "Mack needs them. And his friend." Merida's eyes widened in fear.

"Mackenzie Campbell and James Barr?"

Merida disappears within the darkness. I close my eyes and rest for a moment. Sleep won't come tonight, I know. My mind simply replays the hunt repeatedly. No matter how hard I try, I cannot remember ever seeing the predators face clearly. It angers me deeply that I do not have the face of my enemy.

Merida's hand shakes my shoulder. "You need to stay awake, Arya," she lifts me up to a sitting position. "I've called someone to help the boys. But I need to close this wound first. Tell me what happened?" I briefly explain the chase and what happened on Elin's boat. "Mack is your Elin? Did he see you in the water?" Merida pulls on the skin making me scream.

"No," I gasp, "but he had questions."

I feel her gentle hands clean the wound with a soft rag. The injury isn't mortal. I know I'll be okay but it's hard to think that when it feels like I have a persistent fire burning straight through my core. "What happened after, Arya? What happened to Mack and Jamie?"

"The beast predator tried to sink their boat to make me chose between chasing after him or saving the humans inside." I bare my teeth at the memory. "Which did you decide?" Merida stops tending my wound and looks me in the eyes. It's no secret that my kind never stop until their enemies are dead and dismembered. Mother and I have killed many that have tried to enter our territory before, but we never encountered a creature of the deep. What would happen to me if I followed was unknown to me. Was it the correct risk to take?

*****

The sound of metal crunching on metal is loud enough for even me to hear in the depths that I was in. By the time I made it up to the boat, water was already filling up the interior. There was no way for me to change and pull them out of there easily.

I pulled myself on board and practically slither around the floor. Elin and his friend had gone quiet. It wasn't a good sign. Half of the boat was submerged completely in sea water. It was enough to let me dive under and search for them easily. The light had gone dark after the hit. The humans wouldn't be able to see me even if I was up close. That is, if they are still alive.

My lips parted slightly as my notes slip from my tongue. They echoed through the water and bounced from the walls of the boat back to me. It wasn't long before I found them unconsciously floating in the darkest part of the room. I reached Elin first. My eyes scanned his entire body, looking for any injuries. I wasn't too bothered to think about how humans cannot breathe underwater.

It didn't occur to me until he began to tremble. His whole body began to jolt. I realized just how close to death him, and his friend were. I grabbed ahold of their arms and pulled them away from inside the boat.

They weren't like me, so I had to think quickly about what to use to keep them afloat all on their own. Or at least, make it easier for me to take them towards land. I laid Elin and his friend on a small part of the boat that had yet to submerge. It would've been a lot easier if I had my legs at the time. But I grew desperate.

I searched for anything at all that could help the humans. I didn't even know what I was searching for exactly, so I did what I needed to do. The water had nearly reached the top of a simple boat door. I found it reasonable enough to use. With a flick of my tail, I broke the door of its hinges. My hands quickly snatched it and took with me to where I left them.

The water had risen quicker than I predicted, and it almost took the humans back underwater. Elin's friend had begun to move about when I shoved Elin onto the door. I carefully did the same with him. I wish I could reassure you and tell you that he didn't see me, but I can't. When I brought them out to the ocean, he moved side to side.

I kept them safe. I constantly check our surroundings throughout the entire swim. A booming noise shook the water, hurting my head in the process. The vibrations were too loud for me to see anything else in the water for a while. If the boat kept sinking, it would've disturbed my sight all the way back. I made sure that Elin and his friend were safely floating before I went back.

The boat was sinking slower than it should, but I used it to my advantage. I dove underneath the hull of the boat; firming planting my hands on the metal boards and push up. It wasn't too heavy, trust me. The shifting inside the boat made it harder to get a grip on the bottom. But I did it anyways. I did it alone-which might've been my biggest mistake.

Once the boat made it to the surface, I had meant to back to the humans. But something came loose when I tried to ground the boat on a piece of rise land. It struck me on the side. Wounding me.

I got turned around when the anchor struck me. It took me a while to find my way back and by then, I had lost Elin and his male friend. The currents took them away from me.

*****

"I had no idea where they could be," I groan as Merida places white bandages on the wound. "Vibrations were too strong in water."

Merida visibly relaxes after I tell her the story. She doesn't voice it but I could tell that she was worried about my animalistic drive to kill the predator. Truthfully, I would've left the humans to die if Elin was on that boat. "Rest, dear." Merida tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. "Your nasty injury is patched up. You can rest now."

My eyes slowly close as her phone rings. I do my best to stay awake while she answers the call. "Hello?" Merida walks away, lowering her voice. "You found Mack? Oh, thank the lord! I'm glad they're both safe." There's a pause. "What? No, but...what do you think happened? Lost at sea! How can Jamie be lost at sea?"