Waters Edge

Chapter Thirteen: Lies Brought to the Light.

Please Patrick if there is anyway you can hear me I hope you got far, far away. I can feel something is off and I know that obviously I am being left here to die but I can feel something else. Its another set of footsteps coming into the room, a second set of lights comes on these ones much dimmer more spaced around. I squint to see who it is.

It is Andy again.

"Pete listen. I can make you a deal. Just tell us where you got the scale and where the fish you got it off of is now and you will be free I promise." He smiles and I glare at him, he leans down and unties the ropes I try to stand but my muscles are too weak, they shake with the effort of holding my body weight and I collapse to the ground before trying again. How long have I been down here?

I try to crawl away and just end up getting a foot to my back causing me to sprawl out on the floor. I cry out as he puts his weight onto my back. I can do nothing but lay there and take it too weak to move.

"I want to show you something. See I figured I would just see if you would tell me then when you didn't I was fully prepared to leave you here to die but honestly before you do I would love for you to see this. You see I found the one you got the scale from. He actually came here looking for you, can you believe it? Poor thing lets go pay him a visit, shall we?" Terror runs in my veins like ice as Andy snaps his fingers and two men haul me to my feet and drag me out into a long hallway.

Andy is all but skipping down the hall clearly much too pleased with himself. We pass by many doors and I hear voices behind some and weird noises behind others. What kind of ship is this?

We descend a flight of stairs and I still can't get my legs to function, my feet drag limply on the ground banging into the steps an I feel more useless than a wet noodle at this point. We stop at a set of double doors that has many padlocks across it. We stand there as Andy begins the process of unlocking them all, they slowly bang to the floor one by one and I cringe every time. When the last one falls he swings open the door. I squint into the room, it is so dark but all along the walls, reflections come off a lit-up pool. They dance up and down the wall and my heart begins to race when I see the large fish tank in the middle of the room.

If I could cry I feel like tears are streaming down my face, but nothing comes. I let out a weak cry as I see inside the tank is Patrick. He isn't moving he just is hovering in the middle of the tank arms spread out. Blood slowly trickles from his nose before diluting with the water. The men drop me to the ground and I crawl over the dirty floor and press myself against the side of the tank.

Patrick looks unbelievably pale, almost translucent. He has cut up and down his arms and some of his scales are missing. I press my forehead to the glass and twist my hands into fists.

"Why?" I want to scream at Andy as he walks up to the side of the tank with his arms clasped behind his back a grin on his face as he puts a hand down on my shoulder.

"Just imagine it, Pete, I will be the man who proved the existence of mermaids, the existence of Atlantis itself! I will be the richest man on Earth and I can pay to hunt down every single one of these creatures and put them on display all around the world," he smiles and places a hand on the glass with a small sigh "and all I had to do was cast out a net and wait for lover boy to come running, or should I say swimming?" He laughs and takes his hand off my shoulder spinning around to face away from the tank. "What a shame too, I was hoping it would put u more of a fight. Considering the last ones, I tried to catch killed themselves before I could get to them." His nose crinkles in distaste he walks away from the tank but I can't be bothered to watch where he goes. I have to find a way to get Patrick out of here. This is all my fault and he never would have come here if it wasn't for me. Soon they tie me up again in a chair this time so I have to sit here and watch Patrick's limp body floating in the tank.