Sea Foam

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Kaelyn didn't want to breathe. She didn't want her heart to beat. She didn't want to live. What had she done? Al was dead. But was it actually her fault?

He was the one who threw himself in front of the shark, Kaelyn told herself, I didn't do that.

Still, as she sat in her dark prison cell, she couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Hey! Let me out! I didn't do anything!" Coral beat her fists on the bars of her cell.

Kaelyn tried to ignore Coral's screams. Kaelyn's ears hammered with Coral's pleas.

"Coral!" Kaelyn finally called, "You were there, beside me. They will hold you responsible too."

"Shut up, you- you!"

"What!?" Kaelyn bounced up from the rough cot, "What am I, Coral?"

Coral groaned in frustration and fell onto her cot. Kaelyn wandered to the stone bars surrounding her and looked down at the sleeping guard. Trial times were written on the document in his lazy hand. Kaelyn read. Her trial was to be directly after Coral's.

Perhaps they are in a great hurry to finish us off. Kaelyn thought

Kaelyn lay down with her back to the cot. She gently closed her eyes. She let her mind fool itself into thinking that she was looking up at the surface, with Al and Coral laying peaceful beside her. The sun eliminated their faces. Then the sun disappeared and the sea was black and cold. Al and Coral were gone. Kaelyn tried to call out but her voice was lodged in her throat. Out of the dark came a giant figure. The shark clamped its jaws and roared. Kaelyn felt a heavy weight around her tail. When she looked down, chains wrapped themselves around her. She couldn't swim. The shark grew closer and closer. The shark opened its mouth and lunged.

Kaelyn awoke with a start. She shivered, the horror of the dream still fresh in her mind. Kaelyn heard the jingle of keys in the distance. She glanced up. A guard stood in front of her cell. The tumblers clunked as he turned the key. He opened the stone bars and motioned for Kaelyn to come forward.

"About time you woke up," He said, "It's time for your trial."

Kaelyn said nothing as he latched the chains around her dainty wrists. Kaelyn stole a glance at Coral's cell. Kaelyn only saw darkness. She must have already been at her trial.

"Move." The guard pushed her along down the menacing hallway. 

The walls seemed to move in on her with every breath. The stone walls threatened to squeeze the life and breath out of her. Kaelyn clenched her hands into fists to prevent them from shaking. She was being escorted to her inevitable death. The Justice Council was never merciful.

The guard led her through a labyrinth of midnight black hallways, until they came upon to towering clam shell doors with the letters JC engraved into the shells. The guard shouldered the door open, allowing blinding sunlight to emerge. Kaelyn shielded her eyes from the sudden light.

The courtroom was as elegant as Kaelyn ever saw it. The benches gleamed bright, recently polished. The Justice Council sat on the other side of the room in raised pews, creating the illusion of power and importance. Coral stood in front, dwarfed by the massive pews. Her eyes were cast to the ground. A small metal cage, reaching the height of her waist surrounded her. She was shackled to the bars.

One of the councilmen cleared his throat. The room fell utterly silent.

"In the case of Coral Francis Reese, the council has come to a decision." His voice boomed in the silent room, "We find the accused guilty as charged."