Holly

Communication

"Put them on the floor!" Ira shouts to us as Kaia and I struggle to help the two men into the rehab.

"Why are we here, of all places?" Kaia asks.

"All of my medical supplies are here."

"They are not fish."

"No, but they are mermen," she says, filling a syringe with something clear. She winces when she uses her bad arm. Ira was insistent on leaving the hospital early and left against medical advice. She fought with them about leaving and sassed them when they tried their best to convince her to stay one more day. I am terrified that she will hurt herself.

"Ira, take it easy," I say, walking towards her to help her.

"I'm fine," she mumbles as she fills a second one.

"What are those?"

"I don't want another scratch like that. If something happens, I'm going to knock them on their asses."

"I expect nothing less." I turn over my shoulder as I stuff medical supplies into a bag. Kaia is kneeling on the ground next to Atticus, whispering to him. His hand grips hers and I can hear him growl out a no as he shakes on the ground, fighting the turn. She closes her eyes in pain as she pulls the rope from her pocket and ties Atticus to a large pipe in the wall.

"Kaia!" He growls in anger. She kisses his head and runs outside to the docks next to the rehabilitation center. A few minutes later, she shouts for me with the boat ready.

I grab the rope and kneel next to Arius who has his eyes clenched shut in pain. "Holly," he reaches his hand up to touch my face and I press his palm against my cheek, careful about his claws.

"I love you, Arius."

"Don't...you...you fucking dare."

"I'm sorry." I pull out a rope and do the same thing to a weak Arius. He glares at me with a look of betrayal and my heart starts to bleed. A tear rolls down my cheek and I kiss his lips. "I love you."

"Fucking stop!"

I turn my back to him, grabbing his bag and running out the door. I jump on the boat and hand Kaia her talkie before turning mine on.

["Ira, do you hear me?"]

["Copy you loud and clear, fish lips."] I cringe at her name calling.

["That is so gross."]

["You kissed a fish, woman."]

["Let us know if anything changes with them"] Kaia interrupts.

The wind is strong and the sailboat heads in one direction at full speed.

"What do you think you will find there?" Kaia asks as she wraps a rope around a wooden peg.

"I don't know but I really hope I can figure it out when I get there."

"You said you were having those dreams? What did they tell you?"

"Just glimpses of you like a reflection when you were stranded out there."

"You think the ocean was trying to tell you things?"

"I hope so. That or I am just going crazy." Or I'm psychic.

The sailboat continues to soar through the water for about an hour. We periodically check in with Ira and she said they calmed down enough to start insulting her. Mostly, Arius threatened her to let him go. Atticus just glared at her most of the time.

The wind suddenly shifts and the sail swings over our heads before everything stops. The wind stills and we look at each other in fright as the boat slows to a stop. It feels like something stopped us, holding us here like bait.

["You guys there?"] Ira calls through the other end.

["Yeah, the wind and waves just stopped."]

We hear Atticus yell Kaia's name, fear in his voice before the radio ends and we cannot get through to them anymore. A cold sweat forms on my back as I feel eyes on me. I slowly look over my shoulder to see a pair of eyes on me and a slimy head with spikes sticking from the water. Another one bobs to the surface and then another.

Kaia and I stand up and look around the boat, a large number of wild ones circling our boat. We press our backs to each other in fear.

"How did you deal with these when you were stranded?" I whisper to Kaia, trying not to provoke an attack.

"I didn't. Atticus took care of them."

The heads start to slowly make their way towards the boat. So slow, they hardly disrupt the water.

"Duck!"

A sudden gust of wind whips through the air and the sail swings over our heads as we lay on the deck of the boat. In one quick motion, the boat jerks forward and starts heading in the direction we were going. The waves return and the wild ones dive back under water and begin to follow the boat.

The boat moves fast as if it is running from the predators. Kaia tries to take control of the ropes but fails to get a hold of it.

A wild one leaps onto the dock and hisses at us. We both scream and Kaia grabs the same spear from earlier, stabbing it into the creature. It howls and returns to the ocean, taking the spear with it.

"Was that the only spear?" I shout over the wind, rushing water, and howling of predators.

"Yeah, but I brought a machete."

"Of fucking course!"

"Duck!" The sail swings across the deck and we both drop to the ground again as the boat takes a sharp turn.

As I hit the floor, something catches my eyes. Tied to the deck is Ira's pink surfboard next to dried blood from the other night. An idea sparks in my mind and I remember watching the creatures from the cliff. The way they twisted and communicated. They managed to prevent attacks with the way they communicated.

I check to make sure the sail isn't coming again, and I grab the board. "Use the machete!"

"What are you doing? HOLLY!" Kaia gasps as I throw the board into the water and jump onto it.

Somehow, I manage to keep it going on the sailboat's wake. I expected to lose the boat quickly but somehow, something unnatural is keeping my board with the boat.

I lay on my stomach and try to rock the board, but it doesn't budge. I look at the water below me and see the outline of something massive approaching me. In one quick jerk, I switch to the other side of the boat's wake just in time to miss the wild one flying out of the water like a shark trying to get a seal. It howls in frustration.

I try to rock the board again to make the motions I need it to, but it doesn't move. I take a deep breath, knowing what I have to try to do.

I bring my knees onto the board, shaking as I prepare myself. Dad showed me how to stand when I was little. He said it is just like standing on the edge of a cliff. You decide if you fall.

"If you don't plan on falling, you never will."

Using all the strength in my legs, I push myself up. My legs stop shaking and I stand fully on the board with my legs spaced out how they should be.

I lean and the board moves with me, swaying with my legs in the rushing water. I lean again, my legs and the board obeying. I feel strong for the first time in over a year. I feel unstoppable when I look up and remain standing. The wind pushes my hair over my shoulders, making it fly in the wind. 

I see a figure in the water and know it is coming again. I jump to the other side of the wake again and it misses me like last time.

This time, I go out of the boat's wake, and I kept up with its speed. Wild ones surround us, and I twist the board just like how the wild ones at the cliff did. A coming attack pauses, and it swims next to me. I see the monster's glare.

I swing the board again, the monsters clearing a path for me and avoiding my board. One becomes bold and charges me. I twist the board and spray water behind me, causing it to have a second thought. They begin to turn their attention to Kaia, leaving me alone.

"Kaia!"

She yanks on a rope she got ahold of and the ship sways unnaturally. Every monster avoids the boat like it is a massive version of them.

"Look, Holly!"

I look up and see the outline of trees and sand in the distance. I would say I'm relieved but the burning sensation to move has never been stronger.