The Tail of Audrey and Aryella

Audery

Dear diary,

I better explain to you what happened yesterday, even though I'm still exhausted, it seems like the more I sleep the more tired I get, anyway we had just come back from mermaid school (I'm not one to brag but we get out at noon!!!) and were settling down and we each headed to our rooms (Well Aryella did, I did after I got lunch), that's when it happened, I heard a swishing behind me, of course I turned to look and see who it was and then someone wrapped a wire behind my hand, and based off of natural instinct I pulled my hand back and put him in a headlock, then this other guy came up behind me and tied my other hand while they were close together. I knew right then and there I had made a rookie mistake, this filled me with rage! I swam around in a circle and launched the guy I was holding into the other guy, then someone blindfolded me! I Was outnumbered badly! I still put up a struggle, twisting and turning, trying to get my hands free. I guess they had enough of me and gave me this shot in my side, I screamed and then passed out.

Now I think it's time for another nap.

NO!

Must. Stay. Awake.

I think it's time for desperate measures!

Namely, I'm going to pace.

*****

I CANNOT believe it! While I was pacing I tripped over this old leather bound book, I got curious and flipped it open to the first page and I nearly dropped the book...

This Journal Belongs to...

Scott Sondra. (Sorry it's in pink it's the only pen color I have.)

Still shocked I flipped to the next page...

If you're reading this it means you're in terrible danger! Your best chance of getting out of here is if someone comes rescuing you. I sure do hope that Marina's all right, when they took me I was in the palace, it was the day after our honeymoon we were down in the palace, people weren't that sure that the princess made a good choice marrying a commoner. Of course the love of my life stood up for me, and told them that I was no longer a commoner and that the mermaids and mermen of Atlantia would have a king in their future.

When they took me and brought me to this tiny plastic cell they put me in that tiny plastic bin in the corner, I looked around and noticed that other than myself, were smers in their human form, I figured the kidnappers would have ignored me if I wasn't so special to Marina.

That was what they were doing, turning us all into human. On the twelfth day the royal guard swooped in a freed me.

I nearly dropped the book (again!) after reading this, I had found out a lot about my parents just from those 2 paragraphs...

1. Dad was kidnapped by the same organization that we were.

2. The organization preferred capturing smers (like us)

I caught my breath (which at the time felt like it was knocked right out of me) and continued reading.

I met Marina at the gate, there was no way out, the prison was like a gigantic fish trap! Luckily they thought their plan through carefully, on the other side there was Marina and half of the royal guard! She put her arms around me and pulled until I was free. We swam up onto the surface together, she put me on a boat and whispered into my ear, "Searstarbay, we'll meet at midnight." Then she dove into the water and never looked back.

I turned the page, and there was another entry, but in different handwriting, probably from a smer who had the unfortunate encounter with the kidnappers (Not that I'm judging or anything but he has bad handwriting, but right now I'm desperate.)

I don't have much to tell you about how I got here but I'm willing to tell you how I got out, since the last guy left the rest of these pages blank. I got out using the bin that they kept him in using my talent to make thunderstorms I distracted the guards before I was pure human and used all my strength that I had left and pushed the bin out and swam freely a smer for the rest of my life. But I must warn you that they take extra precautions for every escapee so they likely replaced the bin with solid wall.

Man that took me forever to write! Anyway that plan wasn't going to work so I looked at the next page I think this entry was written by a girl (whose handwriting is a little too fancy, I can barely read my sisters handwriting!)...

If you're reading my entry you've probably read the guy's entries to. I'm one of the rare mermaids that doesn't have a talent but I'd say this is the easiest cells to get out of. It has weak points all around the edges Since I had my coral knife in my pocket I simply cut around the edges and the plastic fell down and The water consumed me turning me into a mermaid so I kept my smer form.

There were other entries of how to escape this specific cell but I decided to use my own plan, using the outside water and the weak points against them, I pulled the water toward me but only 1 edge cracked, it sprayed me with water, not enough to turn me into a mermaid but it still felt good on my skin, I pulled some more the crack dependent spread, freedom was just out of reach, the crack was big enough for me to slip through, and then a guard started swimming toward me I struggled, just a little farther...

The crack wasn't big enough, he got to me and gave me another shot knocking me out.

-Audrey