Atlantean Doctrine Book 2 - The Crystal Cave (TG/TF Story)

Trouble At Suncoast High

Ari

Dad and I sat on the deck as I wished that I had kept my darn mouth shut about asking about mermaids -- I certainly opened a can of worms just by asking -- jumping at every sound, and fearful that the mermaids might eventually come looking for me.

I had the worst timing!

My father had much on his mind about a powerful freak storm appearing over the South Pacific, the Dying Gull running aground on Rabbit Island, the ship's loyal captain struck dead by lightning, and I being swept out to sea and then washed ashore, almost five hundred miles back to Main Beach.

Dad was deep in damage control mode; as his business' reputation was on the line. And with me now asking about mermaids...well, that most certainly did not help calm the situation down. Yet, dad remained respectful as he wondered just what would have compelled me to ask such a silly thing.

"Did you see a mermaid, son?" he asked, smirking as I realized that he was mocking me.

"I am not sure..." I answered as a part of me still did not believe in the existence of mermaids "...it was quite dark with the storm."

"Well, there are stories of mermaids summoning storms if you are getting far too close to one of their sacred sites." I gawked at my father, wondering if he was actually hinting at my recent visit to Repulse Island "Do not worry about it! I have been sailing for well over thirty years to know that the tales of mermaids are the result of nothing more than lonely sailors, long at sea."

"The manatee myth." I remarked, staring at the green grass as I began having flashes of lost memories of Repulse Island and the Crystal Cave at its core. "Hungry?" he then asked me, standing back up and heading inside.

"I am starving!" I say as I follow him back into the house. He was already cracking two chicken eggs in a frypan, and slicing thick slabs of bacon.

"I was going to come and see you at the hospital today." he babbles as he cooks on the stove "I am certainly surprised that they did not call me about your discharge! How did you make the commute?"

"I was transferred to a local clinic, here in town." I explained, setting the table for two.

"Transferred?" he asked me, shocked to hear that "Why didn't they call me before your transfer?! Your mother would have gone absolutely mental if you were not at the hospital!"

"They said that they would call the house in the morning." I replied, filling the glasses with water. "I do not think that they really have a phone; well at least they did not have one in the room."

"Strange!" Dad scoffs, wrinkling his nose in frustration "Must have been an aborigine hospital!"

"You might be right!" I answered with a giggle, not sure how to explain Mermaid Waters Hospital to him "I didn't even know that we had a hospital here in town! At least the staff were somewhat friendly."

'Although also quite mental!' I thought, privately. The staff there seemed to believe that they were actually mermaids; although they looked quite human to me. I dread to wonder what they would have done if I hadn't escaped!

With bacon and eggs set before me, I took a large bite of the eggs and felt immediately sick to the stomach. I quickly got up, hurrying off to the restroom to vomit up the few eggs I just ate, into the toilet.

"Are you okay!?" I hear dad's voice from the dining room.

I expelled the eggs, and then a gallon's worth of salty brine as I knelt there, queasy! With nothing left to vomit, I dry heaved a few times and then flushed it all down the drain.