“I’d rather die than help you,” I said, with a fresh wave of regret that I’d failed in my first attempt.
He grinned, and his cheeks looked like they’d snap, “Oh, but you’ve already helped enormously! Until you set my mermaid free, we had no idea they could survive the reproductive process! To know that I could be that close biologically to an actual mermaid…” he sighed dreamily, “What good is producing an army of muses if I can’t live long enough to see my plans come to fruition? The scientists assure me that it’s only a matter of time before we unlock the secret.”
“But you’re running out of time, aren’t you? OLD MAN,” I taunted him. He was clearly obsessed with aging, and I planned to take every opportunity to poke at him about it, hoping that maybe I could anger him enough to kill me. Anything would beat the fate worse than death that was staring me in the face.
He looked at me with cold eyes, “That won’t work with me,” he said as though he could read my mind. “You see, it takes a special type of person to resist the… passions… that you muses can inspire. I’m never going to get angry enough to do anything rash, or follow one of you around like a lovesick puppy,” he looked over at Paul pointedly.
I let my chin drop to my chest, tired of sparring with him.
“There, there,” he said, trying his best to sound soothing, but only succeeding in making my hair stand on end. “It’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind… If we worked together, we could catch dozens of mermaids, breed an army of muses, and place them in positions of power all around the world. What a utopia we could create!”
He continued on, and I looked up to see his eyes gleaming like a madman’s, “You see, most people are stupid sheep, herd animals that unquestioningly follow the leader. With a few carefully placed muses– Just imagine the power! Once I dominate the leaders, I can re-create the world in my own image.”
He sounded like the villain in a bad movie, adding to the nightmarish quality of the whole experience. I lifted my head and curled my lips in disgust, “You are one sick puppy.”
He ignored me, lost in the fantasy world he’d created in his twisted mind, “Imagine an entire muse council under my control… I can raise them as my own children to do my bidding–”
“Like you raised Bradley? In your own image?”
I saw the tiny hitch in his eyes, and I knew I’d scored a hit. He rose from his chair and buttoned his suit jacket fastidiously. He advanced on me, and I cringed as far back in the restraint chair as I could manage. He bent down to down to press his cheek to mine, whispering hot breath in my ear, “You’ll come around eventually, especially since we’ll have all eternity.” He straightened up and stood regarding me.
I let my head drop again, tired, dizzy and miserable. Once more, I was greeted with the sight of Ethan’s ring. Time… Edwards wanted more of it going forward, while I wished I could turn the clock back to have one more chance to set things right. Realizing I’d never see Ethan again brought a fresh wave of despair that made my shoulders shake with suppressed sobs.
He patted my head and clicked his tongue in another bone-chilling display of false sympathy. I realized I was dealing with a sociopath of the highest order, and stiffened my spine, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of seeing me break down.
The trill of an insistent ringtone made me jump, and I looked up to see him pull the offending phone from an inside jacket pocket. He answered it, “Yes?”
I saw his face brighten as he listened to the voice on the other end, noticing how his cheeks pulled his ears downward when he smiled. Our eyes locked, and his were triumphant.
“Excellent news professor! Bring it here immediately, and they’ll be extra compensation for you. We have everything ready to go.” He slipped the phone back into his pocket, “It looks like my luck has changed.”
“Paul,” he called out, keeping his eyes glued to mine, “Open the bay doors and prepare the tank’s one-way hatch. We have a new guest arriving.”
I looked over at the giant aquarium and back to him in horror. Paul climbed up a ladder to the top of the huge tank, unlatching the massive bay doors on the wall behind it. The giant panels slowly began to lift with the rattling and screeching of metal on metal. I could see that it was dark outside, and realized with a shock that I’d been captive a full day. I started to shiver again.
A red light flashed into the lab, making Edwards look like the devil himself. The loud beeping sound of a truck backing up filled the room, along with the stench of diesel fumes. Paul directed the truck as it slowly backed up, signaling for it to stop with a raised palm. He stepped outside to consult with the driver.
I could hear the mechanical sound of a hoist straining, and Paul returned to guide a large sling attached to a boom into position over the massive tank. My blood ran cold when I saw the flapping tail poking out from the wide strap.
I strained forward in my chair, unable to suppress an agonized cry. Grief and fear made it impossible to draw another breath. Paul lowered the hoist over the top of the aquarium, and with a splash, the load was deposited in the tank.
“No,” I gasped, watching my worst nightmare realized. It was Nixie.
The men all stood before the tank, gaping in astonishment as they watched the first live mermaid they’d ever seen swim frantically around the room sized tank. She didn’t understand what the clear aquarium walls were, and she drove into them, shaking the entire room with dull thuds.
“Can the glass take it?” asked Edward.
“That’s five inch thick acrylic,” replied Doctor Neuman with confidence, “It’ll hold.”
Paul closed the giant door, climbed down the ladder, and joined them. He turned back to look at me with a gleeful grin as I sat writhing in agony, held fast, unable to escape the torturous chair. I could feel Nixie’s fear, and her jumbled terrified thoughts rang through my mind.
“Nixie! Stop swimming– you’ll hurt yourself!” I called out to her, and Edwards spun on his heel to look at me.
“Is that the one?” he asked, “What did you say to it?”
He was watching his own child suffering, and she was nothing but an animal to him, a science experiment to his employees, and a victory for Paul to taunt me with. I would have thrown up, but my stomach was concave, hollow and empty of everything but an overwhelming sense of dread.
“Let me go to her,” I begged him, “Please.”
He looked back at Nixie, who was thrashing around the tank in a blind panic, slamming hard from side to side. “Paul,” he commanded, “Release Marina.”
I was unshackled, and I raced over to the tank to try and calm her.
“Nixie… it’s me, Marina… Stop swimming and listen to me.” I pressed my hands against the glass, willing her to calm down. She stopped when she saw me, and her little frightened face broke my heart.
“Marina! Help me!” She came to me, holding her hands up to mine in desperation.
I forced my tears back.
“What is this place? Why am I in this… this…” she looked all around with terrified eyes, “hard bubble?”
Paul stood guard behind me, poised to tackle me should I try anything. Edwards stepped alongside me to get a closer look at Nixie’s webbed fingers; I fought the urge to lunge at him and claw his eyes out. I knew I’d only be strapped down again should I attack.
“Oh Nixie…” my breath caught in my throat, and I struggled to put on a brave face for her. “These are the bad people. I’m afraid that they caught both of us.”
Her face crumpled, and her eyes darted to Edwards, “That one looks bad.”
I tried to think of something to say to reassure her, groping for a few hopeful words, “I’ll do my best to make them let you go.”
Seeing Nixie suffer filled me with a powerful urge to see Edwards punished, and when I looked up at him I swore to myself that I’d make him pay. I’d see Nixie returned to freedom if it was the last thing I ever did. The will to fight rose up inside of me, resurrecting my will to l
ive along with it.
“How did you catch her?” I asked.
He was proud of himself, and couldn’t resist trumpeting the details of his success, “We recorded the sounds that the mother made when she was in my… custody. They must have meant something, because they brought it close enough for us to net.”
“What are you planning to do with her?” I asked him coldly, silently wishing him pain and suffering.
“Study her,” he said, in a voice dripping with sarcasm, “Ever since we learned about their accelerated growth, we’ve been intrigued. If we failed to catch this one, we made plans to grow one of our own.” He smiled at me, smug as the cat that ate the canary, “But now we’re able to do both.”
I closed my eyes, pulling the hospital gown tight around me, and pressing my forehead on the tank. They’d recorded my conversations with Evie regarding Nixie, so there was no use in denying anything. Once again, I was the reason my sister was in jeopardy. They wouldn’t even know she existed if I’d only kept my mouth shut. It was all my fault.
“What do they eat?” Doctor Neuman asked, watching Nixie feel the walls of the aquarium, desperately looking for a way out. I glared at him with angry eyes, imagining him suffering alongside of Edwards. Jones called Edwards aside, and the two of them started discussing something with their heads together.
Paul stepped up to look at Nixie, “It’s really only a few months old?”
I was living inside a nightmare, and I had a feeling it was going to get worse. I was right.
Edwards returned to my side, “I’ve just had some disappointing news about you. Whatever are we going to do with you now? It will be months before we can put you to use…” He tapped his index finger to his lips, smiling, “I know!” he said, mocking me, “I think your little friend here could use some company.”
“No,” I gasped, stepping back only to have my arms clamped behind my back in Paul’s iron grip.
“Does it hurt terribly?” Edwards asked, his eyes widening. “I can only imagine.” He was toying with me cruelly, clearly enjoying my fear. I added sadist to the long list of his psychological disorders.
“I could kill you,” I told him, strange echoes of the time I spoke those words to Peter reverberating in my mind. I knew he’d show me no mercy, so I straightened up and tried to let go of my fear for Nixie’s sake. The worst had already happened; Olivia and Edwards had their revenge. They’d managed to drive a wedge between me and Ethan, and proven that I was incapable of protecting my sisters. All that was left for me to do was try to comfort Nixie in her captivity.
“Do your worst,” I said, surrendering myself to fate.
“I try,” Nathan Edwards smirked.
He nodded to Paul, who forced me up the ladder to the top of the tank. I could look down and see Nixie through the clear top; it was as solid as the sides, and had been designed without any airspace on the surface. There was a submarine style hatch with a wheel by the steps, but he led me over to the trap door Nixie had slid in through. It was marked “danger”, and painted with bright orange stripes.
“I’ll need the gown off her,” called Doctor Neuman, “She might try and block the pump with it.” He looked to Edwards for approval, as if to show he’d considered every detail.
“Take it off, or I’ll do it for you,” Paul growled in my ear.
I held my head up high, trying to hold onto my dignity as I was being robbed of my humanity. I untied the shift with trembling fingers and shed it, folding my arms across my chest protectively. I began to shake against my own will, my body unable to mask its own fear of the pain that was certain to come.
“Off you go,” Paul gave my back a shove, “Down the hatch.”
I took one last shuddering breath and stepped onto the trapdoor.
~
Chapter Twenty-Three
DROWNING
~
Grinding pain hijacked my consciousness, purging all other thoughts. The four men lined up in front of the tank, watching my suffering with fascination. There wasn’t an ounce of empathy amongst them, and after my body contorted into its final form, intense anger rose in me with its familiar dizzying power. I hated them with a passion, and wished them all a terrible fate.
As the agony of the transformation subsided, I was able to gather myself together. I breathed the salty brine into my lungs, and long submerged memories of my time swimming in the sea with Kalypso flooded back into my mind. As odd as the comparison was, it really was like riding a bike. Nixie was cowering in the corner, covering her eyes.
I swam to her, gently patting her shoulder, “Nixie… it’s me…”
“Marina! You look like a sister now,” her traumatized eyes were wide with shock.
I embraced her, reassuring her that we were going to be alright. If she could tell I was lying, she didn’t let on, but from that moment on she stayed close to me, trailing behind as I inspected every corner of the tank. There was nothing but smooth, clear walls on all sides, top and bottom; nothing to hurt ourselves with, nothing to use as a weapon.
The acrylic panels were melded together seamlessly, fused at the corners. The trap door I had fallen through was closed tight, and I tried to pry it open, only succeeding in chipping my nails. Another sort of manhole-covered opening a few yards away was locked down tight. I wasn’t going to be able to break out, and I turned to glare at my captors with all the murderous hatred I felt inside.
There was a narrow pipe feeding fresh water into the tank, and a grate on the opposite side draining it out. The constant low hum of the pump was maddening, but not loud enough to keep me from hearing every word the men spoke to one another beyond its walls. My heightened sense of hearing was accompanied by ultra-clear eyesight, enabling me to see the men on the far side of the lab as clearly as if I was looking through thin air.
After conferring with the scientists about the MRI results, Edwards left. He told Paul he would be at a hotel in town for the next two days, and wanted to be notified immediately of any changes. He left Paul in charge of security, tasking the scientists to work twenty-four hour shifts until they had something to show him.
He waved goodbye to me, unable to resist one final victorious gesture.
Being human in confinement was horrible, but being a mermaid in a fish tank was sheer unmitigated torture. The relatively large tank was a hellish cage for a creature used to the space of the open ocean. Designed to swim vast distances, our powerful tails were useless in the small space. Nixie and I circled the tank to keep from going mad, pacing like zoo animals in our confinement. She reached out for my hand, seeking security, and I felt protective, maternal and helpless all at the same time.
I fought hard to think soothing thoughts for Nixie’s sake.
Jones climbed to the top of the tank with a bucket, dumping a few live fish onto the trap door and into the tank along with us. I swam to the surface, trying to pry the door back open, but once it snapped shut it was immovable. The fish schooled in the far corner, and I wondered how long it would take me to starve to death. Nixie squeezed my hand, looking more frightened than ever.
I realized that I could never leave her to face these monsters on her own, and was suddenly grateful that I hadn’t the courage to slice open my wrists. I’d do anything to help her survive captivity, even if all I could do was explain the terrible things that were going on. As hopeless as my situation was, Nixie was one thing worth staying alive for.
We tired of swimming, and went to the far side of the tank to rest. I propped myself up against the back wall, keeping an eye on the scientists as they went about their craven business. Nixie lay her head down on my lap, finally voicing her fears.
Her lower lip trembled, “I was bad. I didn’t stay away from the net.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said, stroking her forehead. Her hair floated all around, and I gathered it up to try and braid it. She curled up alongside me, turning her fin back on herself like a cat’s tail.
“I heard my Nerissa crying, and I went t
oo close to the boat…” she looked up at me, her green eyes filled with pain and remorse. “Someone hurt Nerissa.”
At least I could clear that up, “No they didn’t. It wasn’t Nerissa you heard. It was a trick.”
“A trick?” she asked.
I wondered how to explain it to her, “They copied her voice… They were pretending to be her.”
“But…why?”
“To make you come closer, so they could catch you.”
Nixie’s seaweed green eyes sprang open wide, surprised that such subterfuge was even possible. She spoke solemnly, “They are much badder than the sisters know.”
“Yes,” I said sadly, thinking about the poor dead mermaid on cold storage in the laboratory, “They are.” The thought of them doing anything to Nixie filled me with fear.
“Are they going to cut us up too?” Nixie asked solemnly, having just been treated to the image in my memory. I was surprised she was so matter of fact about it, but it made sense; I imagined that the wild nature of the mermaid’s life at sea didn’t involve much sentimentality. Mermaids were fundamentally predators, hunters who dealt with bloody death every single day of their lives.
It only pointed out the utter ignorance and arrogance of Nathan Edward’s approach. He had no idea what they were capable of, and his false assumption that they were merely mindless creatures made his plan to use them certain to fail. They were as alien to him as he was to them– humans and mermaids were two very different species, with markedly different sets of values and morals... Not that Edwards had any morals at all.
I was unused to having to censor my thoughts, and I supposed there was no use trying to sugar-coat things, but I decided I should try and guard against conjuring up negative images for her sake.
“No Nixie, I’m afraid they want to keep us in here as long as they can.”
I tried to clear my mind about what they had planned for our future.
She sat up suddenly, her face brightening, “I know! Summon your good person! He can help us!”
The Turning Tides (Marina's Tales) Page 22