Tanked

7

Chpt 7: The Swim

(Ascal’s pov)

I think it’s been about three days since I started teaching Rinus, and boy have they been chock full of teaching. He’s really smart and was taking to English very well. He could already say the full English alphabet, count to 100, knew every English name for everything inside his tank; knew all his colors and shapes, and so much more. Yesterday night, I had been working with him on putting sentences together and that’s what we were working on now.

“Good evening, sir. How are you today?” Rinus said and I clapped as I smiled happily at him.

“Very good job, Rinus!” He smiled happily at me. I liked to teach him. Huh, maybe I should become a teacher if I ever escape from this place.

 (Rinus’s pov)

“Two fish swam in the tank.”I said in English, making Ascal smile.

“Good, now try a longer sentence.” He urged me on and I thought for a second. Learning English was fun. Heck, just spending time with Ascal was fun. We didn’t do much but work on my English or talk about whatever; but it was better than being alone. Other than my mother, Ascal was the only person I’ve talked to in my life. The ocean was a pretty lonely place. I’m starting to think that this tank isn’t so bad. It’s not as big as the ocean, and it was getting kind of boring looking at the same things every day; but I had Ascal with me to keep me company. I’d take that any day then being alone in the ocean.

Other than Ascal, I also saw those twin humans every once in a while. They would bring food to Ascal and sometimes, cloths. One was very friendly and he would talk to me for a minute or so before he’d leave. The other wasn’t so friendly and would glare at us. I never knew which was which until they spoke. They looked the same, but their voices where different. The mean one had a deeper voice then the nice one. I also hadn’t seen that other human that hurt Ascal yet. I hoped I never did. There was this one person that stood outside my tank and would watch me, or even come and sit with Ascal as we talked. He never said anything to us; he would just sit there and watch, writing stuff on the flat thing he carried around with him. Ascal had called that man a scientist.

“There were nine sea-horses that swam in the ocean and would play in the seaweed on nice days.” I said and Ascal clapped.

“Very good. I think that’s your longest sentence so far.” I smiled and then thought of something. Ascal didn’t ever leave the platform we sat on; except when he had to change clothes or got to the bathroom, whatever that was. I smiled at him and grabbed his hand, pulling him to the tank’s edge. He seemed puzzled and I let go of his hand as I dived into the water and swam back to the surface to look up at him.

“Come swim in the tank with me, Ascal.” I said in English as I smiled at him. He smiled down at me and stood up.

“Ok, just give me a moment.” He disappeared out of my sight for a few minutes before he came back wearing shorts and things on his feet and face. Startled, I looked up at him. He pointed to the thing on his face that covered his eyes. “These are called goggles, and they help me see in the water. The things on my feet are called fins and they help me swim.”

“Are they like my fins?” I asked as I looked at the blue fins that coved his feet.

“Yes they are.” He said as he sat down at the edge of the tank, and then slid in, taking in a sharp breath.

“Did the water hurt you?” I asked, confused and worried at the same time.

“N-no, it’s just c-cold.” He stuttered and I grew even more confused. The water felt fine to me. Actually, it felt a lot warmer to me than ocean water.

“But the water is warm.” I said and he gave a small, breathy chuckle.

“T-to you it might feel warm, b-but to me it’s cold. My body is different than yours, which is used to cold water, making it feel warm. Mine on the other hand is used to being in really warm water. J-just give me a moment to get used to it.” I nodded and waited. Ascal dunked his head under the water a few times before he then dived under and started to swim down. I smiled and fallowed him. He was a really slow swimmer and I giggled, taking his hand and pulling him with me as I swam around the tank. I felt him squeeze my hand and looked back to see him pointing upward. Confused, I swam back up and Ascal took a deep breath of air, before he started to pant slightly.

“Why did you need to come back up?” I asked.

“I can’t breathe under water like you can.” He told me as he gave me a small smile. “I need air to live.”

“Oh, I see.” I said and asked, “Would you like to go back down now?”

He smiled at me before nodding. I smiled and turned around, telling him to grab onto my shoulders. He did and I heard him take a deep breath of air before I dived back under.

(Ascal’s pov)

Saying swimming with Rinus was just amazing was an understatement. It was fantastic to watch him swim around. He was so graceful and wonderful, his scales sparkling in the light of the fish tank. Then again, I expected no less from a merman like himself. I on the other hand probably looked like a kid swimming for the first time. I haven’t swum in forever and was just starting to get used to it again.

I noticed out of the corner of my eyes that the scientist was watching us through the glass. He was the same scientist that had watched and studied me. I still don’t know his name. I ignored him and played with Rinus under the water. I had to go back up for air every minute or so for a while, but soon I was able to stay under water longer; almost up to three minutes. Being under the water was so much different than just looking down into the water. It was brighter and seeing all the fish was amazing. They all seemed to flock around Rinus, which I found amazing. A sea turtle passed by me and I smiled as I ran my fingers over its shell.

Rinus smiled at me as he reached out and took my hand in his. I was careful not to push my fingers into the thin webbing between his long fingers. He pulled me around a little bit before pulling me up for air. “Do you like to swim Ascal?” He asked me and I nodded.

“I love to swim. I used to swim all the time before I was captured and put in this god for shaken place.” I said as I scowled a bit. Rinus tilted his head to the side looking a little puzzled.

“What’s so bad about here?  I get fed, the water is warm, and there are no sharks, boats or nets that I can get tangled in.  Not only that but I get to talk to you.” He smiled at me and I gave him a small smile back even though what was running through my head made me want to sigh and frown. He wasn’t going to like it here so much once lord D came back.