Fantasy Tales Series: Rise of The Merfolk

Chapter Thirty-Eight

I was trying to hard to repress my jittery nerves. Sophia was stone faced. I wasn't surprised, Sophia was a tough person. When this was over, I would do everything I could to help her make sense of all of this. It wasn't easy for me at first either, finding out I was a mermaid. My nerves skyrocketed when I saw the black car pull up behind us and Kalum slammed the door shut. He had his gun in his hand and a wild look in his eyes. He violently banged on the window. I opened the window for him.

'I'm going to enjoy killing you.' He grinned. I briefly wondered what went on in his twisted, sick little mind.

'Get in.' I sighed.

He paused, his finger on the trigger of the gun. 'What?' His jaw clenched.

'You win- we can't out run you. You're better at controlling water, I can't defeat you. I'll show you where the shell is.'

He beamed an insane smile and jumped in without hesitation, still holding the gun. 'About time you gave up. I'm glad you realise it's not worth your lives and that handing me the artefact is better for everyone.'

We passed the shops; I knew we were coming up to a local park soon. He reeked of arrogance and I gritted my teeth. It hurt, but we had to keep him happy until Sophia gave the signal. If we angered him and he shot at us, we would die instantly.

It disgusted me to be this close to him. 'What does it do?' I questioned airily.

He smirked triumphantly. 'It's part of a set. I spent years researching them. They're an ancient power that was split into several pieces and when reunited,' he chuckled. 'You don't need to know the rest.'

Fuck sake- of course I get stuck with the one villain who was smart enough not to give up his plans. He told me enough to keep me curious and, on the hook, but would never say his motivations.

Silence enveloped the car. I was antsy, with my hand on the car door ready to spring forward and propel myself out of the car.

Then, after what felt like forever, Sophia used her indicator. I immediately opened the car door, the car going at least eighty kilometres an hour. I felt the air rush though my hair, ears and face. It was cold and chilled me to the bone. I heard Kalum swearing from the backseat but before he could do anything damaging, I jumped out, colliding with the pavement and rolling, I absorbed most of the shock that way but I still felt my head swim with pain and my eyesight grow spotty. I gave myself a moment, and heaved myself upwards back onto my feet, adrenaline pumping through me. Nothing seemed to be broken but I was limping, a bruise forming. I turned just in time to see the little green car speed off the road wildly and crash into the rock-climbing wall of the playground we were passing.

The top part of the rock wall broke in half and smashed onto the roof of the car, sparks flying everywhere. People screamed and ran away, since not many people were out today no one else was caught in the chaos. I watched in sick fascination as the car was crushed, rubble flying everywhere and the car igniting in flames. There was no way Kalum could have survived- surely?

'Sophia!' I called. My voice was throaty and my ears ringing. I had gravel in my skin and it was stinging. I gazed around. Where was she?

It took me few moments to realise. I could hear the faint ringing of firetruck engines and police cars- someone had called them. 'Sophia?' I called again. An ambulance pulled up as well.

I couldn't see her anywhere. Panic swelled inside of me. 'Sophia!' My call became desperate. I limped across the street, trying to spot her. A bad thought nagged at me; Sophia hadn't made it out. I couldn't accept it, she had to be alive! When I found her, I would hug her hard and tell her how much I appreciated her. I would tell all my friends about what I was- set things right. I would do everything to make it up to them all for putting them in danger.

'Sophia!' I screamed. People looked at me like I was a crazy person, my whole body ached. I was in so much pain. My anxiety broke free and I cried, hard. 'Where are you?! Please!' My voice was hoarse. She had to be alive!

My eyes landed on the car crash. By now the firemen had arrived. I looked on in horror as the police backed people away and rolled out their yellow tape. My breathing got shallow. I wanted to vomit. I limped up to them, the firemen putting the fire out with a hose.

One of the policemen saw me and raised an eyebrow at me. 'Miss, you do need a hospital?'

'Was there anyone in the car?' I croaked.

He looked at me confused. 'Ma'am, this is under investigation now we can't-,'

'Please.' I begged.

He put two and two together. 'Were you in the car ma'am?'

'I got out in time- she was meant to jump with me!' I babbled incoherently. He mumbled something into his walkie talkie.

'Tell me!' I insisted. He tried to calm me down, but I shoved him aside and caught sight of a body bag. The policeman grabbed my shoulders and talked to me, but I couldn't hear him. My ears were ringing. Sophia had died in the crash; she hadn't got out in time. I collapsed onto the pavement and sobbed hysterically.

'Medic!' The policeman called. I was rushed over to the ambulance. Everything around me was a blur. I didn't care. Sophia was dead. How would I tell the others?

~

Eventually, I was driven in a police car back to the house. I felt numb. The medics had given me a once over and some pain medication while another policewoman took my statement on what happened. They gave me numbers for therapists and grief counselling and informed me that only Sophia was in the car. Nobody else.

Kalum got away. The son of a bitch got away. Sophia had died for nothing.

What was I to tell the others? The truth I suppose. I made up my mind in the car. I couldn't expose my species to mortals. If Sophia had lived, I would have had too. She hadn't though and everyone would go home after I gave the sad, terrible news. The holiday was over. They didn't need the grief and paranoia that Immortals were real, and dangerous. I was going to go back to the sea for a while. I would keep my small home, pay it off with treasures I found and alternate between on land and water. Sophia's death would not be in vain either, I vowed to develop my magic and sever Kalum's head from his shoulders.

When I entered the house, everyone bombarded me. I stayed silent until they all realised something was wrong and Sophia was missing. I robotically told them what I told the police- Kalum was bent on revenge after Naomi dumped him. He got us to pull over, got in and threatened us to take him to our house. Sophia and I agreed to jump out, to escape, but she didn't get out in time and died on impact.

It was awful. Everyone was in tears, and hugging. No one said anything for a while. We ate dinner in silence, mourning our beloved friend. Now there four of us. After dinner it was decided we would all pack up and cut the holiday short. No one wanted to keep pretending to smile after everything that had happened. The police notified Sophia's parents who rang us and asked for our story. It was painful to have to tell them. We all cried together and they told us to come around in a few weeks and see if there was anything of hers we wanted as a memento. They also told us we would be welcome at the funeral.

We all packed rather quickly, Lila hired us all an uber to drop us off at our homes. No one talked on the way home, all of us still in shock.

When I entered my small one-bedroom home, I went straight to bed and cried myself to sleep. My thoughts were consumed with grief, I had never dealt with death. My family were all still alive. It suddenly occurred to me that I had a lineage I was never told about. I wasn't sure if my parents knew the truth about our family, but I was going to find out. Eventually.

For now, I let my thoughts fill of remembrance for Sophia.