Neverland's Angel

Chapter 13

The minute she looked around, Emily instantly knew she were lost. The dirt path from before had been pretty open and clear with the forest only just creeping up on both sides. The path she were standing on now however had overgrown weeds and exotic plants bursting out at the sides. The tropical looking trees loomed above her with their large leaves creating a canopy that completely blocked out the night sky that was above it. Panicking now she spun herself around towards the direction she had come from. She saw that there too, for as far as her eyes could see, the path she had been on was overtaken by the ruthless forest floor. There was no way of knowing how far she had walked before she turned on the wrong path. She were just about to start re-tracing her steps when the cold night wind carried a faint, but hauntingly beautiful melody to her ears. Though it was hard to make out it sounded like a choir of angels singing. Sheclosed her eyes and cocked her head to the side to try and hear better; sure that it was probably just her imagination, but then she heard it again softly calling in the distance. Despite all logic she suddenly found herself following the phantom music. She trampled through building high weeds and angrily swatted away any other forbidding vegetation that got in her way. She stubbornly pushed them aside; the entrancing serenade beckoned her on further. With each step the wondrous melody grew louder and all the more majestic. She pushed past some large leafy bush and finally came to a shoreline on a beach that was oval shaped with huge rocks in the middle of the reservoir. Off to the side was an impossibly high cliff that had a small waterfall that steadily spit forth gushing water into the small enclosed ocean pool below. But what was most astonishing of all was what was in that pool. Mermaids! Real live mermaids where singing and splashing about under the night sky right in front of her! Some reclined effortlessly on the flat white-washed rocks, their pale skin gleaming beneath the moonlight while their shining tails flicked the water playfully. Others admired their own radiant reflections on the dark water's surface while they continued with their enchanting melody. One mermaid sat on a rock directly underneath the small waterfall and she bathed her fiery red locks that reached all the way to her mid-back in the pouring water. One of them beckoned her closer, arms opened as if wanting to hug her. But instead without warning or sound cold slim hands clutched her body and with unbelievable strength pushed her headfirst under the water. She had only had enough time to take one desperate gulp of air before she was completely submerged into the biting ocean waves. She immediately threw open her eyes that began to sting from the sea salt. It didn't help though because her vision was blurry and all she could see was moving blackness. She kicked furiously to try and keep herself afloat as she began to thrash and twist her body in an attempt to throw off her attacker. She clawed mercilessly at the hands that were holding her down and she felt a fierce bolt of satisfaction as she heard a muffled cry of pain and outrage. She had managed to hurt her! With herr determination renewed at her little victory she began scraping her nails even harder down the once flawless skin of the mermaid's hands. With an outraged shriek that made her eardrums want to split she finally released her grasp to cradle her injured hands. She kicked her legs with all of her might to finally reach the surface. Her face broke the surface and she hungrily gulped for fresh air. It filled her screaming lungs in a glorious rush, but no sooner than she had time to feel relief, a large grasping hand snaked up her ankle and pulled her below with a fierce yank. She struggled even more than before, lashing out blindly with every inch of her body and every last ounce of her strength, but it wasn't just Titania she was up against now. Shining scaled tails darted past her blurred underwater vision and pale arms came out of the darkness of the ocean depths to scratch, punch, and pull her all over. Her lungs began to burn and scream for the need of oxygen, but no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't seem to be bouyant. They kept holding her down, just enough to where she could see the light of the surface not too far away. Yet it might as well have been miles away. Her strength began to fade, and her lungs now felt as if they were beginning to burst. And all the while the mermaids swam past you in circles while lashing out randomly like a demented game of water tag. A numb peaceful feeling started spreading throughout her entire body and when her limbs stopped moving the mermaids all began to sing their haunting melody again. They stopped attacking her and were content to just swim around her and sing. Her tiny body began to float downwards and she watched above shr as the light on the surface slowly began to fade away into blackness. I'm gonna die... A small part of her recognized this truth, but there was no panic to it. She had already digressed into a calm blissful state of peacefulness. She could no longer see anything but darkness, nor could she feel anything but numbness. The only sense she had left was the sound of the mermaid's song, happily singing her final requiem.