“Worst hangover ever. I didn’t even drink,” Brandon mumbled, testing his voice.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Norton explained. “In all my time on the water, nothing even close.”
“St. Elmo’s gone wrong?” Brandon asked the captain.
“Nah, not possible. St. Elmo’s comes from the sky, not the sea. This burst right out of the ocean.”
“It did?” Lucy questioned. “Are you kidding?”
“One minute there was lightning. That alone was bizarre. But the next it looked like something had balled it all up and threw it back to the sky. Something down there was playing baseball with the stuff,” I said.
“I just remember seeing a bunch of little lights moving. And then that noise. Like a train hit a building. Metal on metal,” Amir added.
“Light doesn’t make noise. Not at this level,” I mentioned, although each of them knew that fact already.
After ensuring no one had lasting damage, we turned our concern to the research vessel. The Sea Star appeared unharmed physically. Her systems were a different issue. We noticed the engines wouldn’t turn over and the electrical systems were fried..
“Damn nav system is shot too, Luke,” he confirmed.
“Well, it’s not like electricity shooting from the ocean wasn’t going to screw with something,” Kate lectured. “At least we’re all fine.”
“You’re right. But how long have we been drifting?” Lucy asked with hesitation.
Amir looked to the distance. “Long enough to find land,” he said pointing into the darkness.
Nine: Anya
GREGORIO PULLED BACK from a kiss. He was still holding my hands. “Anya, I never imagined this would happen tonight,” he said, catching his breath.
“Well, this wasn’t on my agenda, really.” I leaned in hoping to feel his lush lips on mine a bit more. But as he moved forward to meet me, my attention turned to the sky beyond the bounds of the reef.
From our seat on the island, Gregorio and I could see orbs flaring upward from the sea and dancing in the darkness. They were large and nothing I’d seen before. I knew the trench contained an odd light source, and I did my best to document it. But tonight light flew from the sea. It lit the bay enough for us to see a small boat.
Gregorio pointed at the craft and asked, “Where did that come from? Has anyone reported it?”
“The light?”
“Yes, the light. Where is it coming from?”
“We know it’s coming from the ocean’s floor. But that’s about it,” I explained. I wasn’t willing to try for the details after the party and the punch.
A metallic noise broke our conversation as specks of light collided sending a vibration through the night. “Did that come from the trench? Is that what you’re saying?
“Honestly, Gregorio, I’m not sure what I’m saying at all at this point. I think I may have had a bit too much to drink tonight.”
“Think, Anya. Is that something the ocean is generating, or is it something we can contain? Why did it crash like that?”
Suddenly my research seemed important to him. He wasn’t yawning now.
I tried to focus on his questions, but the heat of the night and the noise from the impact hit me suddenly.
“I’m not sure what that was. I’ve never seen it act like that before. I’m tired and I’m drunk and it didn’t seem to do any damage. I can’t explain anything else.”
“Let’s just get you inside then. No need to discuss this nonsense any further tonight.”
He walked me to my door, opening it for me and ushering me inside. I went straight to the kitchen for a glass of water, suddenly feeling a bit woozy and overwhelmed. I wondered if it was the kiss, the collision of light I witnessed, or the rum.
“Can I get you anything?” I called to Gregorio.
I turned and ran directly into his chest.
Peering down as I wavered against him, he chuckled. I’m sure I looked foolish, but his laughter made me uncomfortable. There was something condescending about his attitude that I had brushed off before but which truly bothered me now.
He took my hand, leading me the way a father led a child who had tripped. And while I had tripped, I was not a child. In one breath he extolled my virtues as a researcher, urging me to explain what I knew. In the next, he dismissed me. While this wasn’t something I had noticed earlier, my intoxication seemed to enlighten me. I’m sure it wouldn’t make me a better researcher, but socially, it got my gears going and helped me see Gregorio’s charm for what it most likely was, a facet of his suave personality and one that wouldn’t mesh well with mine.
In my head, I compared him to Luke. The physical differences were slight if I didn’t count the fact that one was mer and one was human. Hard, lean bodies and chiseled features were things they shared. However, the differences in their personalities, as I knew them at least, were great. Gregorio’s conversational grace was exactly what an ambassador, or his assistant, needed. He embodied the ability to speak with diplomacy and courtesy.
Luke may have the same talents, but he looked to be more comfortable, less formal. While self- aware, he didn’t look to be self-conscious or anxious. The way he addressed his crew showed that. And Luke had a bit of a drawl, not an accent, but a slower manner of speaking than Gregorio.
At that point, upon recognizing Gregorio as less than my ideal, I figured it was time to see him to the door.
“Look, Gregorio, I’m happy to tell you anything you want to know about my research, the trench, and the light, but not tonight. Come by the lab and I can explain. But I think I let things go a bit too far tonight,” I tried to explain, removing his hands from my shoulders and turning toward the door.
“Too far? Really?” he asked. “I don’t see it that way. I think we’ve just started.”
He followed me to the open door, but he didn’t leave.
“It’s still early, Anya. And there is no need to rush to the lab tomorrow if I’m already here to talk to.”
“Well, that’s not exactly my plan. I appreciate you seeing me home, but I think I made a mistake. Why don’t we just remember the night without any of that, alright?”
“You can try to forget, but I’m sure you won’t be able to. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He leaned down, kissed my forehead, and waited just outside the door while I closed it, locked it, and turned out the porch light. I needed him to understand, and while I felt rude, having him feel I was playing hard to get wasn’t an appetizing option.
Between the rum and the time spent thinking about the gorgeous human, I apparently jumped the gun and kissed the first hunk mer I came across. Not my finest moment, but by far not my worst. I was too tired to berate myself anyway. Besides, I had things to do, and dreaming about Luke was the first on the list.
Ten: Luke
THE BOAT DRIFTED closer to the island, but not close enough for us to gain any help.
“You’d think someone would see us,” Amir said. “If we see buildings, they must see us. Someone has to be out fishing at least.”
“We’re on the wrong side. I bet there’s a harbor or something on the other side,” Brandon acknowledged.
Looking over the island, Amir added, “Yeah, there must be an easier approach than that rock coast over there.”
I knew they were right. No one would purposefully use a coastline covered in rock as an exit point when there was most likely a bay and port on the other side of the island. But I also figured someone would come to our side of the island at some point.
Kate interrupted my logic with her own. “Even if they disembark from a harbor, there must be fish on this side of the island. Look at the dolphin pod.”
“Dolphin mean fish,” Lucy joined. “But those are acting a little weird.”
She was right. They dolphin didn’t appear to be hunting. There was no rounding or trapping fish in their circle in order to herd them. No, it was obvious that the animals were playing, not prepping for a meal. But their play was o
dd, too. These animals were the right size, but all we saw were their tails breach the surface. The color seemed off, too. I chalked it up to the dawning light before sunrise. I refused to consider it may be mermaids. I couldn’t jump to that conclusion for every oddity the ocean offered.
I agreed with Lucy, but brought up another concern. “There must be something keeping the locals from this side. Is there a reef, Norton?”
“Your’re guess is as good as mine, man. I can’t find the damn island, forget a harbor or reef,” the captain answered.
Norton had spent the long night with flashlights and maps, working to chart the course and keep the boat from straying too far. What he didn’t see, however, was the island. The island right in front of us was nowhere on the maps.
A reef would invite fish and dolphin, but keep strangers at bay. It could offer safety to the island dwellers, at least if the ocean depths remained shallow overhead. A reef would also make it impossible for their boats. Of course, all of that depended on whether there were island dwellers and boats.
Figuring I could swim for help if we drifted a bit closer, I settled in again. The team theorized about the balls of light, settling on the premise of electrical magnetic pulses associated with random tectonic plate shifts. Two potential problems with two probable solutions. To me, that was as good as no problems at all.
As day began to break, the sun filled the sky with pink light. The red that crossed the sky after the storm predicted a beautiful day for sailors and the prediction was taking shape. The water danced rather than rollicked, and the boat gently rolled with the small waves drawing it closer to the island. The dolphins had since swum away and we dozed. The Sea Star drifted a few miles closer to the island, close enough that I could swim the distance without a problem.
“Gonna go for it, Luke?” Lucy posed the question already knowing the answer.
“Yep. No reason we should sit and wait. I’ll just go find someone and head back out.”
“Okay,” she answered. “Be careful. It looks like a good five miles or so now. We’ve been drifting closer at least.”
“I’m set. No worries, Luce. No worries.”
She nodded towards me before burying her head in a book. Not one to worry, Lucy trusted me and got back to her own business. Taking her lack of interest as authorization, her version at least, I changed into a swimsuit and rash guard, and set out.
Jumping into the water freed me of my earlier anxiety. After acclimating, feeling the water caress my body, I started long, broad strokes towards the island. I crossed a third of the distance quickly. At that point, I dove below the surface, taking time to recognize various fish and coral. The water reached depths I hadn’t expected that close to the shore.
Resurfacing, I saw Amir on deck of the boat. He waved, ensuring me that they were looking out for me, literally. I waved back and dove again. I noticed a mast stretching up from the ocean floor. A shipwreck? Figuring I guessed correctly, I moved forward rather than venturing further down. It was covered with algae and not easy to make out. I could come back and look later, and I would. Now I needed to reach the island and find someone to tow the Sea Star in for repair.
The tide moved out and I drifted on the waves for a minute. I noticed the palm fronds sway in the tropical breeze which swirled through the vegetation on the beach beyond the rocks. Extending from the beach, the rocks seemed to sink into the carpet of sand. They prohibited any approach on that side, just as the crew suspected.
“That explains the shipwreck,” I figured. “Not much could cross that wreath of rock.”
The coral barrier also explained why we hadn’t seen a boat that morning. It shrouded the island, forming a protective semicircle that reached half a mile from the shore. As the water level dropped, the reef stood far taller than I imagined. Parts reached out of the water, and at low tide the rocks formed small mountains covered with coral landscaping. Wishing I could enjoy a dive among the structures, I reluctantly navigated around the spires and toward the rock-strewn beach. The waves picked up near the barrier and tossed me towards a large rock. I powered through the wave, pushed against the forceful wall of water breaking across the ridge. The next wave hit harder though, and I dove under to avoid a push into the rock rampart. Still, coral gouged my side as I rolled through the water. The burning sensation stopped me. I grabbed the fresh cut, watching a red ribbon float through the water. Bobbing back to the surface, I caught my breath, hand at my side. Trying to move beyond the barrier, I reached through the saltwater with one arm feeling the gash burn with every stroke.
Something nudged my foot. Hard. I worked through the water with one arm, kicking in smooth strokes. The second nudge shook me and the third caused panic. I looked down noticing a large shadow moving below. Another shadow came in from the right and my panic deepened. Tiger sharks weren’t known for swimming away from a waiting meal. My cut, while superficial, continued to bleed. The sharks continued to circle, swiping me as I swam closer to the beach. I felt the tip of a dorsal fin brush my stomach and saw the black eyes move past.
Should I kick at the closest predator, hoping to connect with the snout and injure it? Should I dive to swim faster? I refused both options figuring a kick through the water wouldn’t be hard or fast enough to matter. If I dove, I may move faster, but I’d also lessen the one advantage I had. The sharks may not come up to the surface for me, and I needed air.
Without another option, I swam forward as quickly as I could. I swam faster than some men who had the use of two arms, but the sharks continued to circle. Closing the distance, one shark raced towards me, breaching the surface, its mouth open and ready.
Suddenly, amid my concerns and decisions, a pulse oscillated through the water and the sharks turned. Without looking towards me, they glided away, leaving me alone. I looked around. Only one thing caused a turn and burn in the shark world, a bigger threat. If a larger predator coiled through the sea at that moment, I didn’t want to know.
As I contemplated what else could be in the reef, lurking, a new shadow emerged beneath me. It was long, lean, and gave off a metallic green cast rather than the dull gray of the sharks. It moved elegantly as its tail swirled in the current. I looked harder and noticed more. Hair. Arms. It swam towards me. The glow from the tail wasn’t a glow exactly, but a shimmer, a shine. The tail shown with glints of green and blue. I knew when the sunshine caught the scales that it was her. I wouldn’t forget the color of her scales, how they matched her eyes.
And now I was hurt and possibly hallucinating mermaids.
But I knew different. Hallucinations weren’t the issue. She existed. She swam the seas with dolphins and controlled sharks. I saw her not once, but twice, and I knew she existed.
Eleven: Anya
HE SPOTTED ME and stopped swimming. He hung there looking around as I rolled over in the water and looked up at him. He must have seen me when I approached his ship a day ago. He had probably seen me swimming with Phoebe beyond the reef earlier that morning, too.
In a moment of awareness, I saw him come to terms with sudden recognition. He knew I sent the sharks away. The thoughts crossed his face, and he realized there could be no other reason he wasn’t chum at the moment.
I caught sight of his cut, thought a moment, and swam away. He floated there, treading water and wondering what would happen next. At that point, his face conveyed the pain in his side. I watched an intense sting replace what I knew of the original burning sensation of a coral abrasion, and the open wound spilled into the ocean at a steady pace.
Conceivably, I had underestimated the severity of the cut. Maybe the coral cut deeper than I thought. The blood clouded the water surrounding him, and now the problem remained of how to take the injured man across the reef without doing further damage. We still needed to cross at least two miles and climb a rocky beach. Or did we?
Before he had time to contemplate any other option, I approached him from below. I swam up to him slowly, and he did nothing. He didn’t dive to mee
t me or attempt to swim away. He hung vertically in the water, waiting.
He must have felt me before he could clearly see me. The water shifted as I neared, my physicality changing the flow of the ocean around me. He knew I was there, but he didn’t dive below. Was he afraid? Too hurt to move? Instead, he stayed still, moving as little as possible, allowing my approach, and keeping the blood loss at a minimum.
I moved below him and then up, along his body, until my head emerged from the inky blue water and he stared into my eyes. He let out a fast gasp and quickly sank below the surface.
I dove down and drew him up, my arms across his chest. We reached the surface and he breathed deeply, taking as much air into his lungs as he could and wincing in pain.
He asked questions, but I said nothing. I merely palpated the injured area ensuring the condition of his ribs. Finding him in one piece, I wrapped my arms around him from behind to keep him afloat and allow him to rest. Then I explained.
“You have questions. I understand. But for now, trust me.”
His face conveyed his obvious confusion and surprise. Prepared for both, I responded. “I promise to explain after. I can only keep the sharks away for so long, and you’re bleeding. I can’t control all of the ocean’s predators, so we need to go.”
Luke nodded in agreement, ready to be on land and wondering how I could get him there.
“We’re going to swim to that cave,” I announced, pointing to the southeast end of the island, away from the jetty, and leaving no room for his refusal. “It looks like a big rock, but there is a cave. It has an air chamber, so you’ll be fine once we get there.”
I gave him exactly one minute to prepare, then I swam with him the same way lifeguards swim with victims. Knowing what happened when victims fought, he remained placid. We cut through the surf quickly and silently. I carved our path with strong strokes, my fluid movements working against waves and wind. We crossed the open water in minutes.
Falling in Deep Collection Box Set Page 37