MERMAID SCAVENGERS | By @WendyyWolfe

7. Only Teenage Wasteland

[Eero]

Some unknown catalyst woke me.

Struggling from the sleeping bag I grabbed the binoculars and placed them up to my eyes. The ice cold metal shocked my senses.

An intoxicating excitement shivered my insides and ran all the way down to my feet when I saw that dim flicker of light in the window of the ghostly abandoned homestead in the clearing below.

Delta!

She had somehow made it. She was here.

I'll give her one more chance to back out, I thought as I made my way silently through the undergrowth that hugged the hillside on my way down. But why, I asked myself. Why did the thought of her walking away make my stomach churn? Secretly I knew.

Her presence intrigued me. Her eyes captivated my senses. Her determination was thrilling. I was lost in her edgy charm. Maybe it was her cool indifference to the situation that attracted me. But she also had a hidden warmth. She was like dark storm clouds brewing a tempest and a very large part of me wanted to see that storm.

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Eero reached the boundary of a decrepit and tangled fence where he squat down in the silence which marked that hour right before daylight when even the birds slept.

The dim light of the single candle had long since burned down to the end of the wick, but he knew she was in there.

The adrenalized thump of his heart in his chest told him so but still he waited, not daring to make any sudden moves. The CI had been known to use complicated ruses to draw out absconders. Though he had known Jenaro for several years, anything was possible. A quick advance of big credits could convince even the staunchest of friends to do something out of their nature.

He saw the shadowy silhouette of someone cross the window. Rain, dust and grime discolored the glass but there, there it was again. The pale contrast of a face pressed itself against the window and Eero ducked back down near the wooden fence post where he'd taken watch. It was her.

As soon as the face disappeared he shot up and over toward the front door and eased onto the porch. Careful not to make a sound, not even a creak on the tongue and groove flooring he crept to the door and his hand settled around the door knob and he turned it, hurriedly letting himself inside where he froze in trepidation.

He listened to the quiet stillness not even breathing. His heart still thump thumping in his ears.

A timorous voice reached his ear. "Eero?"

"Yes," he whispered. "Delta?"

"I'm right behind you."

Eero swung around and his face came in contact with a heavy hand.

He had no time to react much less yell. Two strong men grasped his arms and something was shoved into his mouth.

That feeling of gut clenching terror that comes with discovering something atrocious gripped his innards like a knife twisting slowly and painfully. He heard the scratch of a matchstick against brick and the aroma of burning sulfur met his nostrils as the small light penetrated the dark and his eyes opened wide in horror. Delta stood just before him holding the burning match between her fingers.

And she wasn't alone.

She blew out the light and her voice was like a ghostly spectre in the dark.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I forgot to mention that a few other people were coming."

His muffled shout through the rancid sock Soren had pushed into his mouth settled in the back of his throat. He struggled fanatically but who ever was holding him had the strength of a bull. He shouted again and again until he felt the touch of finger tips around his neck.

"Stop screaming Eero, and I'll remove the sock. It's too late to argue now. We're all here and we aren't going back. Just accept the fact that you, are still going to do this job and I promise it will go well for you. Otherwise, there's going to be a huge problem and you'll be on the losing end. I swear it, on my father's grave."

Eero went limp.

"That's a good little boy," Soren whispered.