The Mermaid's curse #wattys2016

The Mermaids curse

WARNING:This book is not completely edited so please do not stop reading if you see any bad mistakes, the book in my opinion is understandable other wise. Please enjoy!!:)

Strange things happen to me when , I get so much as a drop of water on any exposed skin. I wasn't always this way. Only recently have I realized it's actually my own fault. So strange I can hardly believe it when it happens.

***

"I don't want to you guys. I can't go into that crazy witches' tent. Who knows she could be a mass murderer, waiting to slaughter us all!" I say.

" don't you remember what happened to the last person who went in there?"

"Oh come on Britt, the fortune teller is not a murderer, you're exaggerating. it's not going to hurt you. it's not going to ruin your life.And just because a girl disappeared a day after entering here dosnt mean it had anything to do with her."

"I will only come if you guys come with me."

"Ok, deal," says Miranda. She smirks, but she only said this to make me believe it, but I wasn't done with her yet.

"But ..." I start to say. I hear my friends groan, because when ever I make deal, they are usually bad. Don't even get me started on that one.

"You guys have to get your own fortunes too."my Friends shrug their shoulders over and compromise, finally, we got somewhere.

I am at the summit county carnival with my friends, Miranda, Mazzy, Natasha, Hailey and Ashley. We've been going to this place for years, but never have we, ever, gone to the "Dead Zone", which is what most people call the section of the carnival which no one ever really, goes. It's a bunch of old carnival games that you would have found when my grandma was alive, like, bear wrestling, ring tosses on bowling pins, spin the wheel, and tons of other spooky games , well these are just older versions of the newer games of the carnival, but half the lights don't even work.

The one that they were trying to get me to go in is,the fortune teller, which in my opinion is the creepiest one yet. The maroon and black striped silk Fabric of the fortune teller's tent was worn and in tatters.the colors faded you could almost see through). THE FABRIC flapped and fluttered every time the windshot past. I could smell the steak and fries in the distance.

I shivered.

"Come on you scardy cat!" Shouts Hailey, who is about ten feet in front of me, with the others.

I jog up beside them so I am shoulder and shoulder with Hailey, if we were the same height, we would have been shoulder to shoulder. Hailey is a foot taller than me. Her long blonde hair, flies widely in the wind, as the wind picks up again. I pull my jacket even closer. Its freezing, why didnt I wear a thicker jacket? My purple jacket that has a cat hood did me no good.

I pace slowly, not wanting to go in.I hold my gold shell necklace in my hand, that's what I always do when I am nervous or scared, or pretty much any other emotion.? Right now, why I'm holding it is because I'm scared. . For what everyone knows she could, just maybe, maybe be a mass murderer. And I didn't want to die I was only sixteen.

My attempt at slowing down had failed. Ashley yanked my arm, I swear she could have pulled it out of place, it's like she has super strength.She was actually on the girls wrestling team. Now Hailey and Mazzy had their arms in my arms guiding me to my last breaths of hopes of living. I had no choice not to go.

"Stop, pulling Britt, the sooner you get it over with, the sooner you can leave." Natasha says while kicking at my feet, that was her way of he trying to make me hurry up, so I did.

When we reached the entrance of the tent, there was an old sign posted into the muddy ground, that read,

"$5 for one fortune."

It was old and the paint was peeling from it, it was tilting sideways. The font that the writing was in, was cursive and purple. We all pulled out our wallets from our purses. I only had five dollars left, darn. Now there was no way out. We opened the curtain of fabric away from our faces And enetered the tent,. once we were all in, I could hear Ashley gasp. Right there right when, we walked in was, another sign that read

"Enter if you dare, at your own well being, and right of nature if state in contact"

It made me paralysed at first, I tried to get my legs to propel me forward but they didnt work. but we all just laughed, thinking it was a joke to make it more fun with the fortunes the lady would tell us.

We all hear a cough from the other side of the beaded curtain in front of us. We all, froze again and ashley whispered something to Hailey. They giggle.

We all make tense our way inside. Inside there is a table, with a pink and purple swirling crystal ball, Mazzy ohs But the crystal ball was not what was a surprise to us, along all the walls, were fish. Dead fish. Every type of fish imaginable, trout, bass, sea lion, crabs, puffer fish, eels, water snakes, shark heads, enlarged plankton. It was kind of creepy just looking at it all.

The fortune teller sits in front of the ball, chanting something in a foreign language that we couldn't understand. She snaps out of her trance and crooks her head, toward us. The fortune teller had one green eye and one blue eye, her nose was crooked, from maybe a past injury. Her hair was styled into a loose bun and you could say, she was a tad, overweight. She was Drapped in maroon, gold and silver silk and lining.

"Come here my darlings, no need to be afraid." the lady said in the creepiest way ever imaginable.

We all shuffle our feet overtoward the table, there was only one spot left at the table for all of us to fit in. So we decided that Ashley should go first because she was the one that dragged us into this in the first place.

She sat down in the old wooden chair facing the woman. The lady holds out her hand, implying for pay. Ashley set the crisp five dollar bill gently into the fortune tellers hand. She stuffs it directly into a pocket in her long draping scarf.

"Now don't be afraid my darling, put your hands in mine so I can read you my dear, this so why you came isn't it?" Her voice is car along like an old woman's, but more of a which voice.

She places manicured hands into hers, and they both closed their eyes. The fortune teller squeezes her palms, and starts to make hunting sounds, and then starts to chant words. The crystal ball explodeS with colors and scenes of grassy medows and oceans. We all gasp. She removes her hands from Ashley and cups them around the ball so no one else can see.

The lady leans over and whispers something into Ashley s ear, her face us alarmed with a smile.

It was my turn next, while Ashley was getting her fortune, the rest of us had chickened out of getting their fortunes done. So I was the last one to go. I scratch my feet over to the table and sit down I hand her the bill, and give her my hands. She starts to chant like she did with Ashley. After she is done and has looked at the crystal ball she leans over to me and, says,

"You will grow old, alone, all alone, no friend no family, no one that loves you because of your selfish ways. When you die no one will come to your funeral and cry at your grave."

I was very angry with this, and got up and stomped over to my friends.

"Come on!" I say, "I never want to see this old fish lady again,"They all give me a weird look of concern, but then it fades, we turn to leave and then I hear and chair scratch against wood.

"How dare you show disrespect to the almighty, lady Lorelei!!" The fortune teller booms.

The fortune teller gets up and pours a vial of blue liquid from a table in the back of the tent. She opens the bottle and starts to chant,

"Ou pral viv yon lavi nan refij anba dlo, ak tout moun ki renmen ou yo pral nan prizon nan sa ki pral rive ou epi pa janm pral kwè ou kounye a fè wout nou."

She rose tense her voice by the second , she then splashes it all over my head."OMG!" I start " YOU DID NOT JUST DO THAT!!!!!". I storm out not knowing what's about to happen next.