DISCLAIMER: I -sadly- do NOT own any of the original characters nor anything that belongs to Surface's creators.
Confusion.
For a brief moment was the only thing he could actually feel.
And then the thoughts started to fill his emptied mind like a hurricane stroke against a helpless island.
Little sea creatures following him underwater... bright lights glowing in the dephts below his feet... the pleasant feeling of the water rushing past him at every stroke... tiny bubbles escaping his lips while the last trace of air abandoned his lungs...
And the whispers.
lots of powerful, strange and annoying whispers brushing at the bottom of his mind.
Swim.
Hunt.
Eat.
Come with us, they told him.
And the instinct to follow them, an instinct stronger than anything he had ever felt, even stronger than his own will...
Miles was still swimming when he managed to burst out of his confusion.
His heart was pounding in his ears and electricity strongly pushed its way through his nerves when he realized his body had just followed a path in auto-pilot while his mind had allowed those powerful thoughts to trick him once more into following them toward the ocean depths.
The slow humming of the ferry still ringed in the thick atmosphere around him. He was a few feet below the surface, it was dark, but there was still enough light to let him see clearly through the seemingly nothingness spreading out in apparently every direction
That situation -the fact he was actually staying in that particular kind of gloomy darkness, the murky darkness of the underwater world, while in the meantime he could still breathe- should have scared him... as should have done the strange voices that weren't actually voices but that he could somehow understand.
And for an instant he had felt scared: what he was doing, the place where he was standing... what it was risking to be like if he'd loose focus again... were all more than good reasons to be scared.
Back then, the strange night his memories had brought him just a few seconds earlier - the night he managed to lead those creatures away from Compton Marsh - his mind had completely blacked-out. He could only remember confused feelings, confused fragments of places and events... but the constant presence of the thoughts he was hearing even now was persistent in every single one of those memories, as clear and vivid as the world outside his traumatized mind.
That night they had somehow suppressed his identity, making him do and think whatever was what they wanted... and what had happened then could have happened again if he hadn't managed to burst out into reality as he did.
Their voice -was that even the right definition?- was still there, looming in the darkness, waiting for something... or someone.
Yes, for a moment he had felt scared. Because, even if he had loved the idea of having an instinct helping him surve underwater, he hadn't loved at all waking up on a beach without the slightest idea of when or how he had gotten there in the first place. And he was almost sure this had been the result of those thoughts' doing, those same thoughts trying to control him even now.
The only difference was that this time he had a more than good reason to don't let them take over: he needed to reach her, to know she was alright... because time was running short.
Miles didn't know -again- how he was doing it, why he was so sure about the way he was heading being the right one to follow. That, in an ordinary basis should have terrorized him of course, but with all the things his mind had already been processing, the only feelings he allowed hiself to feel were the pleasure of the gusts of water brushing against his skin and the constant fury that kept him focused on his destination.
And, speaking of that... as strange as it sounded, it was like he was drawn there by a magnetic force, like his own body was a sort of compass knowing were the north was -in that case his house- without needing a map to find it.
He didn't need to concentrate -well, excluding of course the concentration he was already spending in fighting the thoughts' nuisance- but he simply let his body do its thing automatically... and for now he decided it was fine not to ask how or why it was even possible.
The strange magnetic string he had started to feel since his contact with the water faltered too at the sound of the other ones calling from further away. Their call was so powerful... even the thin line guiding him, despite its apparently better experience, squinted at their insistence... but the bond between him and that string was way more powerful and familiar than their presence and for now it was more than enough for him to focus.
However Miles knew that if that string surrendered, nothing else would have given him the strength to fight them.
Anyhow, now that he was closer, he was finally able to think straighter.
A familiar shape started to grow out of the darkness and after a few more strokes he even started to recognize it: wooden pillars supporting a flat structure... also known as the pier behind his house. He could even see the underside of his parent's little boat from were he was swimming now.
His heart leaped with joy and anxiety.
Finally, he thought.
He surfaced quietly, climbing out of the water without noticing the fact he had just swam all the way from the other side of the island without breaking a sweat nor even bithering about the fact it hadn't exactly been air the substance from were he had taken all the oxygen he needed in the process.
Only a strange tingle in his air-ways reminded him that maybe there was something strange happenung there, but he couldn't have lingered on the thought even if caring: in fact, now that he was there, now that he was out of the water and it couldn't lull him anymore, all the danger of the situation fell on his shoulders like a mountain. A wave of pain and fear made his cheeks flare up in frustration. He was home, were her was seen the last time... but was she really still there?
This fear almost made him freeze in panic... but then something helped him pulling himself togetger: his determination.
Finding her was more important, even more important than the tsunami dangerously heading his way.
He could almost feel it in the breeze and between the thin lines of air brushing against his wet skin. It felt like danger and his survival instinct slowly buzzing into life only gave him another reason to convince himself he had to move.
Without hesitation he walked past the wooden pier.
《Caitlin!》 He cried starting to run.
He was in the lounge now. The TV was still on, flashing news of the tsunami like his family had left it, while a reporter was announcing that the wave was about to hit the city in 22 minutes.
That made him feel even worse: he had to find her and only then they had to reach a shelter... and he wasn't so sure if they still had the time for both.
A familiar presence pulled at the bottom of his mind, reminding him of the little help he had during his swim. Like a faint buzz in his ears, it made him aware that his friend was really close... actually, in the same room he was now in.
《Nim》 he whispered turning left. Said creature glanced at him, purred in greeting and then raced toward the door.
In the boy's mind, the word-less sentence "follow me" was clearer than anything else. Without thinking about it twice, he obeyed running straight behind his friend, who was clearly heading toward the garage.
《Caitlyn!》 he called while running, only to freeze on the spot at the sight of a familiar something abandoned on the floor: a helmet. Her grey helmet.
A wave of rage and fear pierced his heart while he inspected it. If that boy with the black sweater hadn't stolen his scooter in the first plavr, she wouldn't have been in danger . She would've been at the ferry with him and all the people they cared about, heading for safety, instead of being stuck there with a giant wave on its way to hit the coast.
Where are you?
Again, he started to run.
heading for the street, right behind his scaly friend. His heart pounded painfully in his ears, while panic starting to take over his lucid sense... was she alright? Had she already left searching for a shelter? What would have happened if she was in danger and he couldn't find her in time?
The more he thought about it, the more his nervousness grew with familiar electricity. Plus, making the situation even more distressing, his surviving instinct had fully kicked on, urging him to rather save himself and making even more difficult maintaining his self control.
But somehow, he managed to pull all that aside.
He was there now and he would find her. No other options.
《Caitlin!》 he called for what seemed like the hundredth time. He was following the path in front of his house and Nim was at the other end waiting for him. But as the boy was about to turn the corner...
《Caitlin?!》
The girl was lying on the grass, unconscious, while Nim had just halted and was sniffing at her.
Miles petrified on the spot, his gaze filled with terror. What had happened to her? Why was she like this?
The boy at the ferry's words ringed instantly in his brain.
I've only took her machine, dude, that's all
And what did that mean, then? Why was Caitlin in that state?
Was she...
He dind't want to think about it, instead he forced himself to move, even if his heart menaced to leap out of his chest.
Esitantly, he finally leaned beside her and -so pale he seemed ready to pass out at any moment- he took all his courage and tried to understand if she was still alive... or not.
《Caitlin?》 he whispered, gently placing a hand over her right shoulder.
She was still breathing... and that was enough for him to collect more courage.
《Caitlin! Wake up! he gently touched her cheek 《C'mon Caitlin... there's not much time》
The girl lightly squeezed her eyes.
《Caitlin?》
And then opened them up.
《Miles》
A tired but joyfull smile started to spread from her features as she realized it was really him and Miles couldn't help but smile back at her as he felt the painful weight looming over his chest disappear once for all.
She was allright and for now that was all that mattered.
A.n:
Hello Surface fans! I know what are you thinking right now...Why on earth I started writing a fic on that old, unfinished tv show almost nobody remembers...
well here's the reason:
I am an old unaware fan of the series, in fact when the series actually came out -i was a kid- I only watched a few episodes -the last ones I think, 'cos i've curiously waited for the rest and it never showed up.
so I practically didn't know anything about the show, neither the characters or the title... the only things I remembered where that there was this cute little lizard and that boy named Miles.
After a few years (well, more than a few xD) on the internet, I accidentally found out the series' name, the plot and by curiosity I started watching it from the beginning... only to find out I LIKED it a LOT, LOVED so much Nim and Miles' bond and deeply HATED the fact it didn't have a continuation.
So here I am.
Yep, as you're probabily guessing this is the story of how it would've been if the series hadn't stopped with that huge, hideous, TERRIBLY UNNERVING cliffhanger. I was tempted to call it a what-if (and for a short period of time it was) but since I didn't like a thing or two about previous version... and don't actually know how the authors were going to develope the plot, I like to think of this as my ideal season 2 (xD)
Hope you'll like it, though
I'll apologize for eventual grammatical mistakes. I've no beta and my first language's not engish, soooo... I Hope it won't be too messy to read.
Anyway, let's try with this adventure!
Ps: FOR THE ONES WHO ARE NOT NEW WITH THIS STORY, you're not imagining things, there are a few changes in the plot. If you want an explanation I suggest you to take a quick glance at chapter 4.
Sorry for the inconvenience,I'm gonna hit the author for you if you ask me :3
Hope to hear ya!
- foggy