Nightly Mermaids WATTPADPRIZE14 (2015)

1 • They will eat you

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***

They wouldn't eat me, would they?

I slid through the salty waves of the ocean, passing by the clingy schools of seaweed. The pungent scents arose from the deeper layers of the ocean. Water rushed in and out of my mouth. Seagulls circled above me and cried their noises. The sky was a dull grey but not yet raining. With a gulp, I followed Danny and eyed at the distance to find our needed creature.

The first word that would come to mind whenever the ocean was spoken of was peaceful. Despite the dangers of the underseas and the creatures that inhabited it, I couldn't help but define it that way. The slight ripples of the water as you would drop a single stone; the blue that glittered as they shone from the sunlight; the almost endless views of the distance; and of course, the creatures of the sea had always intrigued me.

I gasped to catch my breath, and wished I was a tad smarter to bring my snorkelling equipment. Blinking, I once again peeked beneath the water, making the scleras of my eyes sting. No sight of a wandering creature was visioned. No luck.

"Did you find anything?"

"No, keep looking." he ordered.

Danny was ahead of me; the way his actions evidently showed his dedication to our research made me extremely glad. It was great-a bit surprising-to have a friend like Danny who enjoyed the same activities as I did.

Searching for any hints of a colourful mass of scales, I widened my eyes alertly to better my chance-the water touched my eyes. I searched the seas once again, opening my eyes even wider to accept the saltiness of the water. Plants and more seaweed danced beneath. Tiny crabs with their little hind legs were digging holes. But still, there wasn't any luck.

"Danny, I told you they only come at night." I teased, treading the water as I floated with ease. I hummed a song called the Ocarina and punched his shoulders lightly.

He continued on with dunking his head down and searching the underseas. Danny didn't seem to sense the joke as he then spun around and said, "And it didn't hurt to try?" Danny snapped at me. Predictably ashamed of my mocking, I darted my eyes away and readied for an apology.

"It was a joke." Danny always had a way to give me the feeling of guilt, whilst I always had a way to bother and interrupt him. We were opposed, but both of our interests on the mermaids were all that mattered. I felt as if I have already said it many times. But I said it anyway-believing my thoughts as I said, "But I'm sorry," I paused, "I'm really sorry."

Brushing the dirty brown strands of hair from my eyes, I felt the textures that were caused by the sea waters. I sighed with the thought of disgust.

He nodded without a complaint-he usually had tens of reasons-as he swam freestyle to near the shore. He sliced his fingers through the water swiftly and pointed an elbow in alternate. In rhythm, he breathed heavily to his left side, following it with a long pause. I hurried to follow his muscular figure.

Swish.

I spun around the second I heard the sound. Scanning the water, I found no living human wandering-and I was sure it wasn't any human. In this small town of Berry Bay, there was a meager amount of bravery, and not many bothered to swim in the open sea. Even the fishermen didn't bother to bait in the vast of such sea. Because of that, seafood was rarely eaten in this town. We ate only the meat of the animals that were mostly of the poultry-our meat was a huge delicacy to the mermaids.

Swish.

Studying the sound, I had a thought that may have been crazy. It may have been lunatic, too, to think that it wasn't our swimming that created the sound. That our admired creature, out there, created the sound just a few feet away from us-signalling her presence. My heart thumped from the thought.

I knew the correct term for that said creature. A mermaid.

"Danny, I think we should leave." I yelled out to him and then realised that we were already leaving. "Like, now!"

"What?"

"It's getting. . .late?" I found a reason, and then I said, "Look." as I looked up at the skies.

"Okay." He agreed without a complaint.

Though in water, I felt the many pieces of hair behind my neck trickle as it quickly layered my skin with more goose bumps. A sudden breeze of wind brushed across my cheeks in a way it gave me the shivers. My heart started to race, and so did my swimming.

My eyebrows furrowed and curled, emphasizing my fear as my heart thumped from the anxiety. The ocean had never declared safety, but my interest in the ocean and the creatures beneath it always affected me to forget the dangers. I then started a breast-stroke style of swimming only to have the ability to see the endless currents of the water.

Swish.

Turning around again, I was finally convinced that it was just another fish. It came to the conclusion that I would simply ignore it. I started for my breast-stroke again and used my thighs to kick with force. My arms folded in and out of the water as I avoided the strong currents of the waves. I glanced up at the ominous skies. Crows flew in separate groups, and drops of water stung my cheeks. The sun blended into the sky whilst it slowly disappeared to warn us of the dark.

At least it wasn't one forty-six in the morning. That would have been a lot more terrifying.

Danny, on the other hand, focused on his strokes. He was one who was always so devoted to his interests. Finding a mermaid would give our research a huge jump, and it would answer our tens of questions of how the mermaids, in our own eyes, appeared and acted. He swam flawlessly as he kicked his feet and forwarded to the shore. Noticing the amount of space between me and him and the shore, I swam faster to near him. A finger touched a ball of his foot, and I cringed to the fact that it would make him furious. He always got furious, and so I slowed down a bit.

We arrived at the shore. No other swishes were heard. I sighed in relief and the exhaustion of swimming. Danny was quite ahead when I finished, and his expression cleared out for me that he was quickly becoming impatient.

As I knelt at the sand to stand, Danny said, "Adira, do you-" but he was interrupted by my shriek.

"What happened?" he asked.

There was a grip on my ankle. A grip that was rather weak. The touch fondled with my skin and poked it with its texture. It wasn't one to have me fall, but the wet dirt had caused me to slip and land on my back. The water behind me created a splash with my tumbling. Water rushed in my mouth and down to my system. But the touch, the one on my ankle, remained.