Water

Wave Twenty Seven

Leira followed Firth and Kai back to the Scout quarters meekly, afraid her act of betrayal would show on her face. Firth and Kai projected quietly back and forth, muttering angrily. Leira tried to calm herself: she owed the Scouts nothing. They didn’t want her. But she couldn’t stop the thought that nagged at the back of her mind. She had a Team now. If she left them and rejoined the Guardians, what would happen to them? She pushed the thought away and opened her mind fully to the Herd instead, immersing herself in the flow of consciousness that rushed to greet her.

          Passing through the main chamber, Leira concentrated on reaching the other end of it without drawing too much attention. She kept her eyes trained on the seabed, noticing for the first time the masses of tiles that lay upon it in a mosaic of reds, scarlets, maroons, rose – like a crowd of Scout scales interwoven across the ground. Even the floor here clashed with her tail! Sighing, Leira knew the other Scouts were gawping at her.

          Firth and Kai manoeuvred their way through the bodies of Mer who’d gathered in the main chamber. Automatically, Leira followed. After a few lengths, the pair stopped, pausing to look at Leira expectantly. Leira looked up from the tiles and saw the faces of Hali, Tal and Nerida staring back at her. They were surrounded by other young Scouts. Leira could tell from the excitement in Hali’s eyes they’d been recounting their day’s success. Tal gestured to a smooth rock that was vacant and another Scout shimmied over to make room for Leira.
(Here she is!) Nerida grinned.

            If Darya hadn't just cornered her, and if she hadn't just agreed to a deal betraying them all, Leira would've stayed. But she couldn't. Instead, Leira gave a wan smile and projected excuses of tiredness. They sounded feeble, even as she thought them. Nerida's smile faded and Hali glowered. Before Hali could project, Leira turned and bolted, heading for the antechamber. Her team's thoughts of confusion, rejection and anger chased her out of the hall. Hali's projections were especially loud, and several groups of Mer raised their heads to stare as Leira passed them.

          With a sigh of relief, Leira reached the antechamber and took a moment to relish its silence. She hesitated as she realised she’d never been alone in this section of the Nest before; she wasn’t even sure which entrance hole would take her to the dorm. Agitated, Leira swivelled on the spot, brushing her tail against the seabed. Sand swirled up and settled again as Leira scanned the rows of holes, searching for signs of familiarity. She contemplated going back into the main chamber and asking Hali for directions. The thought made her shudder. Knowing that getting lost was a safer option than facing her teammates, Leira plunged into the nearest hole and began to swim.

          She tried to remember whether the twists and turns in the tunnel were the same ones she’d taken earlier. Every once in a while, an unfamiliar entrance hole appeared and Leira’s frustration grew. The tunnel became narrower and narrower as she swam. She realised such a huge network of tunnels could only exist beneath the Nest itself, and wondered whether any of them connected to the Guardians’ quarters. The light orbs that had been strung along the tunnel at regular intervals were getting dimmer now and Leira was struck with a terrifying thought: did they go out at a certain time in the evening to save energy? Would she be left in total darkness down here? She needed to backtrack, to reach the antechamber before that happened. Gripping the tunnel wall, she turned herself around, tail rasping on the wall, to face the direction she’d come. She blinked. The orbs facing her were much brighter. She turned to look at the orbs that continued down the narrowing tunnel; they were definitely fainter. But why? Reassured that the lights weren’t going to be put out, Leira began to follow the trail of faint orbs to see where they led.

          With every length she swam, the feeling she was trespassing increased. The water began to taste sour and the light orbs became so dim she could barely see her own arms in front of her. She was forced to guide herself by touch as well as sight. Just when she decided it was pointless to explore and risk getting into trouble if she couldn’t see anything anyway, Leira stumbled across a small entrance hole. The hole was barely discernable from the tunnel wall and she guessed many Mer could easily swim past it and not notice it. She’d only found it because her grasping fingers had brushed upon it as she’d passed. Instead of her fingers meeting cold rock, Leira felt the dank slime of seaweed instead. A curtain of it was draped across the wall to blend in with the surrounding rock and cover the entranceway she’d found. Leira felt her heart quicken. She glanced around nervously. She shouldn’t be here. Gritting her teeth with resolve, Leira slowly pushed aside the oily curtain. She slithered through the hole in the wall and into the concealed chamber.

          Pale light flowed from several small free-floating orbs that bobbed around the little cavern. The water tasted musty and Leira knew Mer didn’t come here often. She scanned the room, disappointed with what she saw: it was just a store room. The ceiling was low and unremarkable. Leira saw row upon row of hollowed out boulders that had been created using Source energy. Carvers had scooped out the rock within them, leaving the tops open, so items could be stored within. Most were sealed over with nets of seaweed or strips of hide.

          Reluctant to leave, she approached the first boulder. It was filled with pearls! Pearls of every shade sat within the boulder: white, ivory, light pink, blue, even black. Leira hadn’t seen so many in one place before and they were breathtaking. She longed to touch one – she didn’t think she’d ever seen such beauty before. Why were they hidden away here? She moved on to another stone, this one filled with shells which looked, to Leira’s eyes, prehistoric. The next boulder was slightly larger than the others, and, peering in, Leira saw a gigantic undershell, greenish yellow in colour. She knew it must be the other half of the great turtle shell that hung in the main chamber. She realised what this room truly was: a treasure room. The Scouts must hoard all of their valuables here, away from the Herd. They didn’t want to share their most valuable treasures, but they couldn’t wear them or show them off either, so they brought them here. Leira thought back to the trinkets and ornaments the Scouts all wore. They were beautiful, but the most precious shells and gems had been stored here. Leira scoffed at this. She knew the Scouts were proud, but hadn’t realised they were selfish too. She wondered what Darya would make of it.

          Leira’s examination of the next boulder was cut short as the orbs in the room floated into the darkest corner, pulled there by a small current. Leira went with them and found herself staring down at another boulder. It looked as unremarkable as the rest with several other stones hemming it in, like sentries on guard. She looked closer. At first she saw only darkness, and realised her head was blocking the light. She shifted slightly to allow the light in. Something moved inside the boulder! Leira darted backward with a hiss. She stayed where she was, drawing in shallow breaths through her gills as she waited for her heart to stop fluttering. After a few long moments, she approached the boulder again. She watched for a long while, trying to make sense of what she saw.

          The boulder was empty, apart from a lone object drifting around it. It was kept inside the rock by a thin web of seaweed fibres forming a net across the top. At first, Leira thought it was a jellyfish. It certainly moved with the graceful motions of one. As she looked closer, she realised it was moving wherever the small current took it, not against it, as a jelly would. It didn’t have any tentacles either and was not transparent. Leira moved closer. What was it and why had the Scouts trapped it in here? She studied it in more detail: it was a dull white colour, almost translucent in places. It looked open at one end, with small white loops extending from it on either side. It danced inside the boulder and Leira remained mesmerised as she watched it crease and crinkle while the current toyed with it. Perhaps it was a type of shell, a flexible one, from an exotic creature found far from here. It began to rotate and she noticed it had some sort of writing on it. How could that be? It turned over fully and she saw more writing and pictures too – but she couldn’t make sense of the symbols. She reached her hand into the boulder, sweeping the netting aside, and tentatively touched the oddity. It felt smooth, yet supple and flexible. Strong. Enduring. She withdrew her hand and brought it to her nose. The scent of the – the what? She couldn’t tell. – was strong, and alien to her. It smelled unnatural, like it didn’t belong here. It frightened her. Wanting only to get away from it, Leira darted from the cavern and swam quickly to find the brighter lights of the tunnel.