by Garry Hicks
DAY 6
Sean and Chiron sit next to each other on wooden benches. A camp fire burns in front of them, it snaps and pops.
Chiron says, "I have made a decision."
"A decision about what?" Sean asks.
"Having a child, becoming, uhh, changed. I no longer want to...but, I’m confused."
"Confused about what?"
"Human men. I’ve decided I don’t like men, human ones or any other kind."
"I’m gettin' excited...women?"
Chiron smiles. "You are so predictable. Right now, I don’t like men, women, and I do not want a child."
"So, what do you want? You're running out of options here."
"I want to leave this island, leave my mother. I want to be in the world, away from, from...all this."
Sean, cocky, folds his arms. "Well, you’re going to need some help out in the real world. We may be able to work this out."
"I do not need help from a robber of banks." she pauses. "I will make plans to get you away."
"No me, no child."
"Mother is right, you are different Sean."
Sean grins. "So, you do like me."
Chiron laughs. "But so is a three-eyed toad."
"Says the fish out of water."
She looks away to a thick patch of trees.
Nemeritias, hidden, watches Sean and Chiron.
Chiron smiles, pulls Sean to her.
"I knew you liked me."
"Quiet, mothers watching. Shut up and kiss me."
Quick, they kiss. They stare at each other, Sean pulls her close, they do it again, but this time it's pure passion.
Later, Sean lies on his cot. He sits up, surveys the area, gets up, darts into the dark. The moon lights his way as he slithers behind, around and over rocks, bushes and trees. He enters an area of thick bushes, they snag and tug on his clothes as he fights his way through. He falls and sits, frustrated. He struggles up, trudges on. He finally reaches the edge of a forty-foot high cliff above the cove. He eases his way down a path to the water.
He wades into the water, stares across the sea to the moonlit island of Ataractic.
"This isn’t so bad." he murmurs as he wades into the water, now knee high.
Almost instantly, moonlight reflects off two huge shark fins as they move toward him. He panics, turns and darts back to the shore as the shark's gain. As the water laps his shins, he turns as the sharks surface with giant, snapping teeth. Both slither back under. He shakes his head and begins the hike back to his hut.
He enters his hut, Trey sits, waits. Sean enters, sits.
"You've been waiting for me?" asks Sean.
Trey sighs. "Well, I guess you found out."
"Found out what?"
"Don't play dumb Sean, we've all thought about it. A man tried to escape, about, I think, three years ago."
"I take he didn’t make it."
"They took all of us outside. All that was left was his shoulders and head."
"Well, I guess things could be worse than having to sleep with a beautiful woman, right Trey?"
Trey pauses, looks down, then, slow, back up at Sean.
"Right...Trey?"
"Not exactly Sean. Their tradition is, once the daughter of the queen becomes pregnant...you die."
Sean's mouth drops open. "I die? Seriously, I die?"
"Unfortunately, you're in a pretty bad position."
"So I'm screwed either way. If I give her a child, I die...if I don’t, I die?"
"Yes, you’ll be killed so you can never sleep with another siren. They know men are weak, they can’t have you ‘tainting’ their ‘royal’ bloodline." Trey pauses, then says, apologetically, "I’m sorry Sean."
"Yeah, thanks, but not quite as sorry as I am."
Brandon lies on his cot, fidgety, bored. After turning over several times, he gets up, ambles down the path to the berries. He strolls over, holds several different bunches in his hand, inspecting each group. He finally picks a blue one, inspects it again. Satisfied, he checks the area, then downs half the berries, around eight berries. He grins, grabs a yellow one, pops another eight in his mouth. He struts back to his hut, lies back on his cot.
He stares straight up as his mind drifts. He mumbles to no one in particular, "I don't see what the big deal is."
After he lays on his cot for what seems like an hour, he gets antsy, hops up. He digs in old clothes, finds an old pair of pirate pants, cut off at the knees. He slides them on, walks down the path toward the lagoon.
The closer he gets, the faster he walks. He arrives at the main dining area, stops, looks around. "Is anyone here?"
No one responds so he wades into the lagoon and dives under. He opens his eyes, everything is bright and clear. Small fish dart about as Brandon swims around the lagoon. Tall grasses grow from the bottom, partially hiding small crabs and fish that scurry about and hide when he passes over them.
He reaches the far side of the lagoon, spots a small opening around three feet high. He peers inside to a mostly dark cave. He more he swims into the cave, still cautious and slow, the darker it becomes. As his eyes adjust to the dark, he spots two round, yellow, saucer like glowing balls, around thirty feet in front of him.
He stops and floats in the center of the cave as they get larger. Instantly, a large set of glowing, sharp teeth appear below the eyes, connected to a large eel like spiny creature.
The creature snarls, snaps its teeth. Brandon doesn't move. The creature sniffs him in several spots. Apparently satisfied, the creature slithers back into the darkness.
Brandon breathes a sigh of relief as he swims back to the lagoon beach. His head slips above water, he stands and ambles out. Arianna sits at the dining table.
"I watched you when you went into the lagoon. You've been underneath the water for thirty minutes. How are you doing it Brandon?"
"I've always been good at holding my breath."
"Humans do not hold that kind of lung capacity. Has that happened to you before?"
"Once, when I was twelve, but I figured it was just a one time thing."
"No Brandon, there's something about you...something different than the others."
"It's probably the berries I ate before I came down."
"No, the berries do not help you breathe and see better underwater."
"I guess I can just hold my breath for a long time."
"Unlikely."
"Then what the hell is it? Some beast in a cave..."
"Where?"
"Just on the other side of the lagoon, in a cave."
"So you saw Demoni? And you still live?"
"Demoni? You have a name for him?"
"Yes, he was a dragon but his wings were pierced by many pirate spears. He fell into the water and became an underwater serpent, out to kill anything that comes near him. Yet..."
"Yet, he only sniffed me and didn't eat me for lunch. That is weird."
"In your dreams, do you ever see yourself in another life?"
"Look, I play video games."
"And what are video games?"
"They are like, pretend, even like your dreams. You can see them, in front of you, on a screen. So, my point is, I play a lot of these games and sometimes, in my dreams, I see myself as the person that was on the video game."
"So you watch this, this, video game, then when you dream, you are that person. Is that right?"
"You know, I never thought about it like that but, you're right, I dream I am the person in the video game. I wonder what that means."
"In our world, dreams are meant to reveal the future. At times, they are right, others, not so right. But when you become what your dreams reveal, that means you have powers from another life, a past life. Do you remember anything about a past life?"
"No. But why would the serpent you called, uhh, demon, demona..."
"Demoni."
"Right. Why would he sniff me and not eat me like you said he does."
"Has this ever
happened before?"
"No." he looks down, thinks. "Wait a minute. Yes, when I was twelve, it happened with what I now know was a merman. He tore my mask off and acted like he was going to kill me, but then, he sniffed me and swam away so fast he was gone instantly. What does this mean Arianna?"
"I'm not sure but I think you must have been a very powerful person in your past life. If you can tap into that, you will be able to use the power you once had. But you must mentally go back and become that person. If you can do that, you can regain that power."
"Tap into that? What does that mean, how can I go back to see what I was?"
"It's very complicated but you risk death to find out."
"Okay, great, I think, uhh, I think I'll be very happy being me. As long as mermen and giant serpents won't bite me." he pauses, smiles. "I'm good."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN