Scared New World

Chapter 3

Chaos. Blood in the water. The smell of fear was almost overpowering. That's when I felt the vibrations in the water—big ones. My heart stopped as I realized what was making them—two massive bull sharks.

Then I saw something that froze me in place. A merman with black hair and grey eyes stared back at me, his expression mirroring mine. Before I could take a stroke forward, something knocked into me from behind, pitching me face-first into the seafloor.

I was so dizzy I barely felt the impact of the giant rock as I slammed into it. As I blinked away the fuzziness from my eyes and slowly regained my balance, I felt a hand graze my back and then grab mine, pulling me through the water. It was all I could do to keep up. A figure with red-gold hair was in front of me, tightly gripping my hand. Meri? I wanted to sign, but my head wouldn't stop spinning.

We finally stopped in front of a vaguely familiar house. Unconsciousness was tugging at me. The wound on my head was throbbing, making it impossible to concentrate.

That's when I woke up, barely swallowing the sob that had been building inside me. The merman's face remained ingrained in my mind for the rest of the day. The smile on my face was fake, but I kept it plastered on my face until the end of my shift.

Naia was waiting for me when I got home from my shift. "Are you okay?" She asked. I wasn't surprised that she'd picked up on my unease. The three of us had always been able to read each other really well.

I hadn't been able to concentrate on anything today, so I surprised myself when my hands started working. Fine. Wanna go for a swim? I suddenly found that I couldn't sit still. She nodded, a concerned expression appearing on her face as she followed me out of the house. I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that I didn't notice the smell until I was practically on top of it. Naia had a death grip on my arm, her eyes impossibly wide.

My thoughts were a panicked frenzy, tripping over one another in my head. Although I tried not to react, the smell quickly made Naia and I both wrinkle our noses. Sickeningly sweet and cloying. As I stared at the body, just as I did a few days ago, a copper-colored blur zoomed past us. I shook my head, then quickly put on a burst of speed, charging after the merman.

He was smart, though. He knew he was being followed. The merman sped through the water, taking us around sharp corners and through tight bends in the current. I managed to stay right on his tail for a while, until we came to a bend in the current. I tensed, ready to spring after him, but a hand suddenly wrapped around my wrist, stopping me.

I angrily whirled around, my eyes spitting fire. Naia stared back at me, her gaze a cool contrast to my angry one. What are you doing? I almost had him! My hands were moving every which way in the water as I signed.

She shook her head. "Who was that guy? Why are you so interested in him?" My heart was pounding as I tried to control my breathing. It took several minutes, but eventually all the tension drained from my body.

He was there when I found the mermaid. He knows something. I'm sure of it. I can't believe you let him get away! Anger blazed in my eyes as I finished signing.

The confusion slowly drained from Naia's body and expression, quickly replaced by worry. "What's going on? You've been acting weird ever since that night."

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. No one was taking this seriously! My own anger flared up again as I shook my head. Nothing. I'm going to bed early. See you in the morning. My thoughts were swirling around in my head; it was impossible to decipher them. Exhaustion quickly took over, turning them loose and jumbled in my head. If only I'd known what was coming.

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