The Secret Lives of Fish - a sequel to The Thirteenth Year

Ch 21 - Intertwined

The sun had set during the long drive and now the full cream moon sat in the night sky. A few sparse clouds did nothing to dim the brightness as the stars twinkled faintly. It was one of those nights where the magic and supernatural hung in the air. Cody thought it would have been a beautiful night for a swim with Sam. He would have held her hand, his tail easily moving them through the water, as he showed her what it was really like to be a part of the ocean.

But Sam wasn't there. Instead he sat in the shallow surf, alone, with his arms tied behind his back and his tail trapped in some sort of net. At least they hadn't drugged him again. Not that they needed to. Being in the ocean was enough to bring his charge back under his control. Breathing in deep, he couldn't help but feel calmer with the scent of the briny air filling his lungs. Did his situation suck? Definitely. But the ocean was where he belonged, and he couldn't deny it.

"Where are they, Chris?" Demanded Abigail, pacing up just out of the water's reach.

"They had fifteen minutes to get here," said Dr. May. "They still have a few minutes left to say goodbye."

Cody's small glimmer of a good mood disappeared with the receding tide.

When the van had made its final stop, he had learned all about the plan to send him home. Imagine his surprise to learn that the stop where he'd gained consciousness had been in front of his house. He had been so close to his family. He stared back down at his tail and fins. But not really that close at all. A merman didn't belong on land. It wasn't like he could have escaped from the van even if he had wanted to.

The more he mulled over the plan, he couldn't say it was what he had been expecting. Though it was the best situation he could have hoped for. How he'd been treated in the last twenty-four hours had him convince he'd be a drugged prisoner for the rest of his life. The fact that they were actually willing to let him go was a miracle. He wasn't going to argue or try anything that might tempt them to change their minds.

If he could just stop thinking about how he'd never see his family, Jess or Sam again, he would almost have been happy. But how could he be happy to return home when most of his heart was being ripped out and left behind? He would go home though, no matter how much it hurt him. He would take Sea Haven's warning back to his pod, and his family would agree to never come near land again. After Cody told them what had happened to him, his birth mom wasn't going to let him anywhere near land anyways.

Land wasn't safe for merpeople. He now deeply understood why his kind kept themselves such a secret. Cody stared down at his tail and frowned. He tried imagining his legs again, or the feeling of wiggling his toes, but nothing. He tried to imagine the feeling of his tail splitting into legs and his scales disappearing, but it made his skin crawl. No, he was a merman. He'd had his chance at life on land and he'd lost it. Saving Sean had been his own undoing.

What would Sam say? How could he say goodbye to her again? He had promised they would find a way through all of this, hadn't he? He loved her. Would he ever be able to find a love like that again? He didn't think so. Besides, what girl wanted a fish for a boyfriend?

Crunching tires on loose gravel turned everyone's attention to the approaching van. Cody looked away, his heart racing. It was his parent's van. He could only assume Jess and Mr. Wheatley were with them too, from what Dr. May had said of his encounter at the lighthouse. That meant this was it. This was where he said goodbye. To everyone, but Sam. He hunched over, his hands tied, as he felt his heart shred into pieces.

"Finally," muttered Dr. Wheatley. "I'm ready to be done with this.

For how brave she sounded, Cody could tell she was nervous. It made sense, considering she was about to see her husband again. He guessed it wasn't easy to come back from the dead.