What the Tide Brought...
…comes a strange, young mermaid, looking for Ryn. Following the events of 'Aftermath' Ryn has stayed away from Ben. She is living with Helen and Maddie, spending her time helping in the shop and at the research center but she is restless.
One day a teenage girl appears and displays the body language of mermaids-she is from another pod and she has come on shore looking for help. Her pod is dying, there is a sickness that causes lesions on the mermaids that leads to trouble breathing, infection, and eventually, death.
…
The late afternoon tide gently folded over the pebbly shore, again and again in it never-ending ebb and flow. The sea foam ticked her fins pleasantly but the young mermaid did not pause to relish in the sensations. She was here under unconventional circumstances.
She pushed herself slowly forward in the shallows, moving as a monk seal does out of deep water. After leaving the water, the young one twisted and slithered her body forward still, reaching and stretching, trying to get higher up. She had to move quickly, least she change her mind and retreat back to the sea. She knew this next part would be painful.
Her body was in the dry sand, just shy of the last of the water lines when it started. The first shock wave came and she gasped, feeling as if all the air was forced out of her lungs by a blow to the gut. The long sharp spine down her back sank into her flesh and she felt the fins along her sides drop off, one by one. She doubled over in pain, squeezing her fists so hard the claws drew blood on her palms. Her tail was contracting and she was shocked to see the whole thing slide off her in one piece, two human legs pulled from the gruesome, scaly mess her magnificent tail had now become.
A naked teenage human now lay on the sand. Allowing herself a few small, pitiful gasps of pain she eased herself upward with weak arms. With a surprising sense of dignity, the girl slowly stood on her feet. Her bony knees wobbled with the effort and her leg muscles strained to adjust to the sudden shift in weight. She lurched away from the waterline, walking with arms outstretched for balance. With every small step she seemed on the verge of falling but she pushed herself hard because she knew she had to learn to walk, and fast. She was on a mission.
Even without any clothes and despite the new legs her appearance was unconventional for a human. Firstly of course the eyes, a mesmerizing blue that seemed a shade too light and far too big for her small face. Then it was the soaked dark hair cascaded all the way down her back, filthy with salt and grime and much longer and thicker than a typical girl's. She was a lot smaller and thinner than a traditional land teenager, her tight pale skin slightly outlining ribs and collarbone. Adding to the irregular look was the slightly cut lips and healing bruise on her left cheek indicated she had recently been in a fight, and had lost.
With much stumbling she managed to reach the tree line bordering the thick forest that surrounded the small coastal town of Bristol Cove. She had accounted for learning the art of walking, what she did not account for was the tripping over a fallen log and sprawling face-first into the mud.
With a hiss of frustration she pushed herself up onto her knees. She glanced around, and then shrieked in terror. A furry, golden-colored four-legged creature with a tail and a snout was crouched right next to her, just adjacent to the log she had tripped on and seemingly staring right at her.
She hissed and backed off, as much as her clumsy legs and crouching on the ground as she could. The animal quickly leapt backwards, but not very far. It seemed to be intrigued by her.
She continued to crawl away as best as she could, even as a small part of her brain that was not panicking realized it was not attacking her. Had she known the proper human word it would have been "dog" but, as she was new to this world, it did not come. The animal cocked its head and continued to eye her, it expression gentle. But the mermaid was not convinced. She backed up against a fallen tree and glared at the creature, daring it to come forward.
And it did. The golden retriever leaned forward and sniffed her, gently tracing the abrasions and lesions on her shoulders and arms with its wet, warm nose. Her terror and instinct caused her to lash out with a hiss; the animal backed away but only a foot or so. Then it approached again, unthreateningly, this time with its muzzle down and its tail tucked.
The mermaid recognized the body language-it was remarkably similar to what her kind did when asking to permission to approach a stronger member of the pod. Exposing your throat, eyes downward and acknowledging their higher station, revering them almost.
She tried to back up further into the tree and there she sat, waiting to see what the animal would do. The dog continued to approach as it made a gently sound in its throat, like a soft whine. It was as though it was greeting her. The mermaid was more than ready to swipe at the animal and kill it with one blow but, oddly enough, because she recognized the body movement and what it meant, her hands stayed at her side. Her breathing was still erratic, especially as she felt the warm breath of the dog on her bruised knees when it sniffed her.
She did not move an inch, even when the dog raised its head and leveled its muzzle right with her face. Those golden eyes stared right at her, unflinching and friendly. The dog moved forward slowly and, oh so gently, placed its furry head on the mermaid's shoulders until its muzzle rested on her bare back. For a moment the mermaid was at a loss of how to respond. In this position the animal was exposing its neck to hers and bringing with its furry body much needed warmth. Against her better judgment, the mermaid leaned into the warm touch. She could not help it; the warm fur and slight pressure on her felt so good. As a creature of the sea she was constantly exposed to the warm, nurturing touch of the ocean but on land, well, so far nothing had touched her in such a pleasant way. She craved it, this touching of each other. The dog leaned into her, as if sensing this need for touch.
She trembled with the cold and still with a little fear. She did not speak any words out loud; she did not yet know how to speak on dry land, but somehow the animal seemed to understand her fear of it. It stepped back, gave another small whine, and licked her right cheek eagerly. The mermaid pulled away and hissed. The gesture seemed well-intended but it was a bit of an insult to her so she rubbed her face irritably.
The snapping of a twig at the top of a hummock startled both the mermaid and the dog and the two creatures glanced up. The mermaid knew she needed to move, to complete her mission.
She quickly got to her feet and then turned briefly to the dog to hiss a warning note; she did not want the creature to follow her. The humans were dangerous and the animal might be killed. It was the only thing that had shown her kindness and she was not about to be responsible for its safety.
Instead of backing off as it had done before the dog only came forward further, bumping its furry head into the mermaid's right hand gently. Out of pure instinct she gently stroked the furry head. Nothing of the kind ever happened to her in the water. She was an apex predator and not to be trifled with. But this animal was wanting to be petted and be her friend.
What could she do? Kill it?
The girl did the mermaid equivalent of a shrug and stalked off; it was no concern to her. She was on a mission to find someone and she had to do it quick. The golden retriever followed right on her heels.
Along with hikers and beach-mongers came campers to this remote part of Bristol Cove. One such campsite was not far from where the mermaid and the dog were now situated. Despite never having been on land before the mermaid knew to stay out of sight as she slowly approached. It appeared to be a group of humans, two larger and two smaller ones; the male larger one walked off deeper into the woods while the other three walked off in another direction, towards the water. There was a large colorful domed object in the middle of the clearing and it seemed to serve as a shelter of some kind; it was surrounded by strung lines of clothing.
The girl shivered in the onslaught of a cold breeze and knelt down to lean against the dog, trying to draw body warmth again. Unlike before the animal would not seem to have it. It darted forward, clasped its teeth to one of the hanging clothes and gave a gentle tug. The thick wool plaid jacket slid off easily. Trotting back over, the dog presented its purloined goods to the mermaid.
She understood and struggled with the mechanics of the material for only a second before managing to slip her arms into the sleeves and partially button the front. Instantly she felt better. The warmth generated from her body came quick. Now she wanted more.
Throwing all caution to the wind she stepped into the clearing, pulled a pair of woman's yoga pants down, and slipped them on just as quickly. She was about to take a nice woolen hat when a voice screeched out.
"What the hell are you doing?"
The mermaid hissed in fright and instantly let go of the object as if it had caught on fire. She whipped around and saw the human male staring right at her.
"Are you stealing our clothes you junkie?!"
She clutched her hands to her chest, trying to stay her pounding heart. In her fear her lips curled back and she snarled.
The camper was not intimidated at the sight of a skinny, one-hundred pound teenage girl making noises at him. His family was around and he was aware of the dangers of drug-users. His human mind quickly came to a conclusion on how to deal with this. With threats and bravado.
He raised a stick of wood in his hands; he had been gathering firewood when he came across the mermaid and was not about to let her near his family.
"Get out!" he yelled at her, brandishing his weapon. "Get away from here!"
The mermaid did not understand the words but definitely grasped his intent. She twisted and fled into the forest, the dog right at her heels.
"Mark, what's happening?" he quickly asked his wife approaching from the far side of the tent.
The assailant quickly reached over and wrapped her protectively in his left arm. "Some girl stole your jacket and pants." He quickly dropped the wood and came over to see that his daughters were alright. "We're going to have to report it when we get back into town." He glanced around. "Where's Honey?"
The woman quickly looked around too for the family pet. "She was running around earlier." Then a horrific thought occurred to her. "You don't think that girl took her?"
"Oh no," the father said under his breath. Honey was their service dog, specially trained to deal with their daughter and her physical and mental difficulties. The animal had a way with people and loved to interact in a way that helped his daughter function with the world. "If she did, Honey will come back soon." He said it, but he was not hopeful.
…
It had been a few months since the mermaid street fight, Donna's death, and Ben almost drowning chasing a phantom. Despite the passage of such time Maddie could tell Ryn still mourned for what had happened to her sister and the loss of Ben in her life. She and Helen had reassured the mermaid that things would get better but so far, well…perhaps mermaids grieve longer than humans do.
That had concerned Maddie but in the past few weeks something else had changed about the mermaid. Ryn had become increasingly restless, not able to stand still for very long, pacing and hissing frequently. Though she was learning how to read and write, helping out in Helen's shop, and at the research center, her mind was distracted. Maddie knew Ryn was impatient to see things return to 'normal', to be in the ocean, and to be with her and Ben again.
But it was still not safe.
True to her word, Ryn had not seen nor tried to contact Ben for the past few months. She stayed at Helen's house, sleeping on the couch and occasionally at Maddie's, platonically sharing the other woman's bed. And still she fretted. The two human women had come to the conclusion that Ryn needed something more; that how things were going now was not good for her.
"She needs to be engaged with something," Helen had insisted to Maddie that morning. The two of them were in Helen's apartment discussing Ryn over hot cups of tea at the kitchen table. "She's as impatient as hell."
"I know," replied Maddie. "I know."
She glanced over at Ryn. The mermaid was in the living room gazing out the window into surrounding waters of the bay, an expression of raw longing on her face.
"It's not healthy for her to be cooped up in here, not seeing anyone but you or me," Helen continued. "They're social creatures, they do not do well on their own." She eyed Maddie critically. "Have you and Ben worked out—whatever it is that you seem to be disagreeing on?"
Maddie shot Helen a look. The old mermaid/human woman could be very forthright sometimes. "No, we…still need a little time."
"But what about her?" Helen nodded towards Ryn. "Whatever is going on she's right in the middle of it."
"It's not her fault," Maddie quickly insisted. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to believe the worst of Ryn. "But it's still best that she stay away from Ben as much as possible."
Helen leaned forward. "That is not good for her you know; she needs you, the both of you." Maddie glanced up and was about to retort against that statement when Helen beat her to it. "They're communal and you two are a part of her pod now. She considers you to be one of her mates."
Maddie quickly grabbed her mug and took a long, hot sip to prevent her from having to answer that. She had long ago come to a similar conclusion but, to have someone voice it out loud…well it's still a little weird. Before Ryn came along Maddie had never thought of herself in that manner, to be with more than one person at a time. Hell, I've never even been with more than one guy at a time in my entire life or considered being with a woman. Now, she had a mermaid partially living with her that not only cared for her but Ben as well. In a manner that was more than she cared for Helen or her sister. If she thinks of me as one of her…mates does that mean we are, something other than friends?
Helen just smirked at the troubled thought process that she could clearly see going on in Maddie's head. "Humans are so embarrassed about these sort of things. You shouldn't be surprised, most creatures on this planet engage in similar relationships."
"But I'm not a creature!" Maddie almost snapped, her discomfort at the conversation causing her voice to be stronger than she intended. " I'm not a freakin' animal!"
"Maddie is angry?"
Both Helen and Maddie looked up and saw Ryn had approached the table, her huge blue-orbs wrought with concern.
"No Ryn, I'm fine," Maddie quickly reassured her, touching her slightly on the arm. "We were just talking about…something."
"Okay," Ryn answered, having complete faith in Maddie. It touched the human girl that the mermaid was able to take what she said and immediately trust her, not probing, not questioning, just reassured that Maddie was telling her the truth.
The mermaid spoke up again. "Ben is…better?" Ryn asked, her face still troubled.
"I don't know Ryn," Maddie replied gently. "I haven't seen him."
Ryn's forehead wrinkled, as it often did when she came to a human concept that she could not fully understand. "But Ryn is gone," she said quickly. "Ryn is not being with Ben. Now Maddie and Ben can get better together."
"It's not that simple Ryn," Maddie said, "I left Ben because he did something bad that night and—" she struggled to find the words, to make the mermaid understand when she herself almost did not "—and I cannot trust him anymore, especially around you."
Ryn's brow smoothed at the familiar word. "Trust," she repeated, as she had those months ago in the Siren Song motel. "This is hard." Maddie smiled at the mermaid, recalling when she had made that revelation herself. "Trust some people, do not trust others."
Ryn stepped closer to Maddie and placed a hand on her right cheek. At one point in her life Maddie would have been shocked at the intimacy of the gesture but now, after months of having a mermaid around, she accepted and even relished it. "Ryn trust Maddie. Ryn trust Ben too," the mermaid said quietly.
Maddie expected more but nothing came. It's as simple as that to her she thought. She trusts us.
"I know Ryn, I know," she put her own hand over Ryn's. "We just need some time."
…
She was looking for someone. She was desperate to find her.
Bristol Cove had seen more than its fair share of land-bound mermaids over the past few months but luckily none of the inhabitants, save a precious few, had caught on to the consistency of the sightings. This was fortunate for the young stranger as even her odd appearance did not warrant a second glance as she came into the more populated area of town. A few strangers glanced at her unusual choice of clothing and lack of shoes but then moved on.
It was the dog who had found the town; the mermaid had been wandering the woods far longer than she had expect until finally her four-legged companion seemed to hit upon her destination and nudged her legs into a certain direction. Ultimately, it led her right to it. At the town line the dog had disappeared back into the forest, whining anxiously at the sight of the urban area. The mermaid did not try to follow; her goal was in the human world.
The young mermaid was on a mission but wandering the streets for hours had caused her hunger to grown, her steps became more erratic and her head dizzier. She rasped for breath as she tried to avoid tumbling, yet again, on a street curb. Her hiss of frustration caused a couple passing by to gaze at her in confusion. The hard glare she gave them made them keep going. She stalked off, determined not to stop until she found whom she sought.
But then she sniffed out the garbage bins behind the seafood restaurant.
She paused and glanced around, afraid she had lost the scent. Then she heard a garbage bin crash to its side in the alley. Glancing over she saw a feline furry head was buried in the effluence, snapping up a morsel or two.
At the familiar smell of fish the mermaid hurried over. Food! She scared off the scrawny scavenger with a hiss and grabbed at the remains of an Alaskan cod that had been part of someone else's three-course meal, ripping into it with teeth that were much sharper and stronger than a normal human girl.
Food! After finishing the cod she shoved a greasy trout head into her mouth and chewed fast. She hadn't eaten this well in months. There was still so little to hunt.
She was ravaging the remnants of a crab's husk when the backdoor to the restaurant opened and a young kitchen hand stepped out. The human girl shrieked at the sight of the mermaid, dropping the trash bag in her hand, causing its contents to spill out.
"What the f#%$#?" she said out loud, not as a means to scare the other girl but simply reflexively.
The mermaid backed off, hissing and putting herself in a defensive stance.
"Whoa whoa calm down!" The other teenager said quickly. "I'm not going to hurt you." The small magnetic clip on her shirt read "Allison" but the tiny black letters meant nothing to the mermaid. She only knew that the human was preventing her from eating more of the fish and that made her mad. She rocked back and forth on her heels between where she was at and the trash bin, uncertain if she should risk darting forward and snatching more food.
Allison's dark eyes saw the remains of the trash bin and made a quick conclusion. "Were you just…never mind. Are you hungry?" She glanced at the other girl. To her untrained eye it appeared that the stranger was about her age and clearly homeless. This caused compassion in her heart. "Do you need help?"
The mermaid did not answer, just glared at her.
Allison slowly reached down and picked up the now-empty trash bag she had been carrying earlier. She was about to go back inside and report the vagrant to her supervisor when she thought better of it. He'll just call the cops and chase her off. Maybe I can get her something to eat.
Allison raised her hand in a gesture of friendship. "Wait right here, I'll be back." Then she turned and disappeared back into the kitchen.
The mermaid was completely confused. She had thought the human was going to drive her away, take the food for herself even, but now it was gone? And that gesture. It was familiar. It meant compassion. She was torn between wanting to finish the remains of the trash bin and wanting to flee; her hesitation and uncertainty caused her to remain standing in the alley for a moment until the backdoor opened again.
The mermaid saw it was the same human girl as before but this time, she was carrying a plate laden with fish. Not just the skins, tails, or heads but whole fish!
"Here," Allison held out the plate. "It's just leftovers from yesterday's catch that the chef didn't want but you can have it."
The mermaid's stomach rumbled, her mouth was salivating, and her heart rate spiked at the sight of the fish. Should she trust the human? Would it attack her if she reached for the food? Something in the back of her vastly intelligent mind reasoned that the human was genuinely trying to help and wanted her to have the food.
With the carefully movement of a cornered animal, never letting her eyes stray from the human, the mermaid crept forward and snatched the plate out of Allison's hands. She backed off a few paces until she felt relatively safe. Still keeping her eyes on Allison, the mermaid grabbed at the fish and shoved chunks of flesh into her mouth. She almost spat it out because the texture threw her off; she had never had cooked fish in her entire life, but then she managed to swallow and continued to eat.
Allison was shocked to the core. Never in her 17-years of life had she seen someone eat like that. Had the teenager been more cautious the warnings of her parents regarding strangers might have crossed her mind but, right now, all she saw was another girl her age that was starving.
"Wow," she could not help but say out loud. "You really needed that."
The other girl did not answer, just kept shoveling the fish into her mouth.
Allison knelt down. The movement startled the mermaid that she hissed but Allison held her hand up. "It's okay," she quickly said. "I'm just going to clean up the mess." She started picking up the remnants of trash that had been in the spilled bag from earlier. The mermaid watched, her eyes narrowed with suspicion, before turning back to her fish.
Then her head whipped back around. When the human girl had knelt her necklace come into view as it dangled over her chest and underneath the dark curls of her hair. With a movement too swift and silent for a normal human she darted next to Allison and snatched at the mermaid-figurine.
"What the hell?!" Allison was so startled she tried to pull away but her neck was held fast. The other girl had a vice-like grip on her necklace and was not letting go.
Oh my God, oh my God she had never been this close to a homeless person before and it terrified her to no end. She could smell the grime and filth on the other girl, could see right into those amazingly-huge blue eyes, and felt the calloused hands as they brushed at her neck, examining the chain her necklace hung on.
"What? Do you want it?" Allison stammered out. She was afraid now, afraid she had made a big mistake being kind to this stranger. Now all the warnings her parents had ever told her about crazy homeless people came back to her head. Should I scream? Call for help? What do I do? For now, fear paralyzed her.
The other girl made no further hostile movement, she was still examining the jeweled trinket with fascination.
"Umm…it's a mermaid. This is a mermaid. I— uh, like mermaids," Allison spluttered out. It was all she could think to say. "'The Little Mermaid' was my favorite movie when I was a kid."
The stranger looked up her, eyes squinting as if processing the words being said to her. She was amazingly close, her nose practically next to Alison's cheek.
"I got it at Helen's shop on main street," Allison further explained, not really sure why but it seemed the right thing to do, explaining the necklace further. "You know—the shop? Her place?"
The mermaid eyes lit up; there was a place with her kind in this human world? She needed to find it. But how could she get the human girl to tell her?
She pointed to the trinket in her hand, then to herself, then gestured widely with jerking hand movements. She was trying to ask where.
"Uh, sorry what?"
Hissing with frustration, the mermaid tugged hard at the necklace.
"Ow! Please that hurts!"
Immediately the mermaid stopped. She did not mean to cause the human harm; she was not here to hurt anyone but she needed to find her leader and fast.
Maybe it would work if she used their words? Did she know enough?
"Ttthhhiisss," she managed to get out.
"W—what?"
"Thisssss!?" she got it out while holding up the necklace.
Allison was still confused. "I got it at Helen's. Helen's. You know?" The other girl shook her head to show she did not understand. "On Main Street. Just in the middle of town."
With another hiss the girl finally let go of the necklace. Allison leaned forward rasping for breath; she hadn't realized it had been hard to breathe with the necklace pulled so taunt. The moment had been so tense when the other girl had her by the neck that she had forgotten to concentrate on her breathing. She touched her neck and winced; it was tender. No cuts but her dark skin would likely show some scratches and bruising.
The mermaid had been unaware she was pulling so tight and was sorrowful. The human had been kind, gave her food and she had hurt her. She did not yet know the human words but she wanted to show her apology. She tried to reach out and stroke the other girl's neck, to make sure she was not injured and to show empathy and sorrow by the physical contact like she would with a member of her pod but Allison jerked away.
"Leave me alone!" she said loudly. "I helped you!"
The mermaid backed away, her eyes wild.
Allison got to her feet quickly, determined not to let the other girl see her eyes watering up. She did not want to appear weak but just a moment ago she had been scared for her life. What if she had a gun or a knife? Her heart was still pounding. What if she wanted to rob me?
The mermaid also rose to her feet; she kept her hands to her side but she still wanted to touch the other girl, show her sorrow. The human was looking daggers at her so she backed up, keeping her head down.
"What? Now you're sorry?" Allison demanded, still rubbing her sore neck. "Just leave me alone!"
The mermaid glanced up. Her intense blue eyes squinting as she mulled the new words over in her head.
Allison was confounded. Does she not speak English? She stared at the other girl for a second before speaking up. "Yeah, whatever." She bent and picked up the trash bag. "I have to get back to work." Still looking perplexed at the other girl she opened the backdoor and quickly disappeared into the kitchen.
The mermaid watched the door longingly for a minute and then turned away. She stumbled out of the alley, her thoughts a torrent. She had a location now and she was going to risk it. The fate of her pod depended on it.