The Sound of a Siren's Call

15.) When the Sun Goes Down

I stared him down. I was shaking my head, but he seemed not to notice.

His hand was still outstretched, and I still hadn't moved. Why hadn't I moved? It wasn't like I was going to take his hand. I was just stunned.

I inched backward. I saw Juniper underwater. Maybe we should've been in opposite positions. She was the kind of person to run away on a limb. I wasn't.

I shook my head and slipped under the waves. I closed my eyes.

"What do we do now?" I asked Juniper.

She looked like she wasn't opposed to the thought of strangling me. In fact, she looked like she was seriously considering it.

"I don't know. You want to go back home?"

I shook my head. That was the last thing I wanted. I'd burned all my bridges and I didn't fancy trying to bridge the gap until I knew I could. My father would take me back, but I wasn't ready to face him yet.

She nodded. Something about being alone hadn't really set in until that moment. And something about that made us stay together as we found a cave to sleep in. The sun was already starting to set.

"Why does he like you?" Juniper asked.

I tried not to be offended. I knew I wasn't overwhelmingly likable, but the question still hurt. "I don't know."

"I don't get it. What did I do wrong?"

She had definitely been in love with him. I sighed. I didn't say anything.

I could've pointed out how he thought she kidnapped him. I could've pointed out how domineering she was. I didn't.

She glared at the setting sun when I didn't reply. The red of her tail glimmered with the rage brimming under her stillness.

I set about trying to get some sleep for my aching body. I don't know if she ever fell asleep.

ψψψ

I woke up to Juniper shaking me.

"I hear something. It doesn't sound good."

I blinked at her pale face practically glowing in the dark. "What is it?"

"I don't know. Its sort of a scraping sound. Wait, someone's talking."

"What are they saying?"

I was sitting up now.

"I don't know. They're not speaking English."

Juniper's eyes widened. "Do they hunt down here?"

I looked at her. Hunt?

She suddenly looked terrified. "You know..."

I raised my eyebrows. She continued."How some places hunt... mythical creatures..."

Oh. Oh, I was stupid. I'd forgotten that was a risk. South Hellendun was relatively safe, namely because my father wouldn't stand for it being anything different. As long as you weren't challenging him directly, he felt honor-bound to protect you.

The sad thing was, very few people ever realized that. Legends very rarely told the entire truth.

"I have no idea. Do you think—"

She grabbed my hand and clutched it so tightly it hurt. She pressed her finger to her lips, squeezing my hand tighter.

Then, there was a light shining in my eyes. I blinked. There was a boat on the open sea heading towards the cave.

"Arriana, look at me." I could barely see Juniper after the bright light.

"Yeah?"

"Swim away now."

"What? We don't even know that they want to hurt us." The closer they got, the more of them I could see the more I become convinced they were, but I didn't say that. "And what about you?"

"The chances of them knowing English are slim. The chances of sign slimmer. You need to go!"

"What about you?" I don't know why I cared, but that was all I could think about. Something about splitting up, especially under the circumstances, unnerved me.

"I'll be fine. I don't think we can both get out." The men on the boat were still across the entry to the cave. They blocked up the whole thing, and they were getting a net ready. I wouldn't be able to get out if I stalled. She was right. They looked prepared. One of us would need to distract them to get out.

"Thank you."

She dropped my hand and gave me a firm shove away from her.

Something in me snapped. She was risking everything to give me a chance.

"I'll come back for you. I promise."

"Go! Arriana, you have to go."

I swam with all my might, and it was barely enough.

The net dropped behind me. I was several yards by the time I looked back. I could see the red of Juniper's tail. I hovered underwater, going as deep as I could and still see the surface. I'd have to follow the boat if I wanted any hope of ever finding them again.

I followed the boat, Juniper thrashing in the net on the side. Blood flowed off her.

The rope was digging into her side. I never understood why a person would want to kill another person, even though both my parents did it and tried to explain it. Rage boiled up in me, and I wanted to try siren's song.

I didn't. For some reason, I didn't have it in me. When the boat docked, the men didn't get out. I waited until I was sure they were out.

I swam up and watched as they walked into the dark. They were hitting each other like they were having a good time.

I felt nauseous. Part of me wanted to jump on shore and try to wipe the smiles I could picture on their faces off. Instead, I watched them disappear, glaring at them the whole way.

I couldn't get to Juniper from the water, so I ended up dragging myself onto shore anyway.

Clouds covered the sky, but I didn't have anything better to stare at while I waited for legs to form.

I crawled over to Juniper and saw she was unconscious.

A light appeared out of the dark. Someone was coming...

I couldn't stay, but I didn't want to leave her. The light was getting closer.

"I'll be back in the morning," I signed, not really for anyone's benefit.

Then, I grabbed a blanket in the boat, wrapped it around myself, and left as quickly as I could.