Chapter 9

For a few brief moments, he wondered if he'd passed into what lay beyond death – because to his knowledge, Skiff had never been inside a marble room. It took a while for his eyes to adjust to the dim light. His head was spinning like a top, and he half expected to see a set of pearly gates before him by the time he was able to sit up. To be confronted with a large empty cave was quite the shock. Skiff had died, hadn't he? From what he could remember, he was anchored in the middle of the ocean. He was no expert on these matters by any means, but he was fairly sure he couldn't simply have floated away. Yet the stabbing pain in his head seemed to suggest that he was very much alive, along with the feeling of being cold.

So, if he wasn't anchored to the ocean floor, where exactly was he? He cast a glance down at his ankle. The steel clamp was still attached, along with one, two, three, four chain links. And that was it. No steel weight. Ok so there was mystery number two (number one being where he was). Somehow the weight had come off, and he'd floated into a cave. Only he couldn't quite see the entrance.

Skiff was lying on a pile of soft sand, which retreated a couple of meters backwards until it hit the back of a cave. In front of him however, going all the way to the back wall, was water. Deep water too, judging by the colour. Ok. Broken chain, somehow floated up a pool of deep water and came to rest on this beach of soft sand, but wasn't dead. Alright. Skiff tilted his head, and a jolt of pain ran through the area where he'd knocked it off of Pescecorp's lamp. Instinctively, he reached up a hand to touch it, and was met by something strangely slimy. Not in a fish way, more like ...

"Seaweed?"

And not just any random piece in his hair either. It wound its way around the sailors head in a very bandage like way. Ok, there was no way this could be coincidence anymore. But then who would dump a body in a cave instead of taking it to the hospital? Unless Skiff had been out cold so long they thought he was dead.

Suddenly, the fisherman became very aware of how hungry he was. He had no idea how long he'd been out, but now that the throbbing sensation in his temple was starting to die down, he was more aware of the deep ache in his stomach. That's when he noticed a small stone lying close to him, with four strips of a large white fish, and a small wooden cup. Skiff looked around; although it was obvious there was no one nearby to share his meal. He inspected the fish carefully. Haddock, good quality too. Surprisingly fresh. Skiff somehow formed the conclusion that it must have been left especially for him, and so he ate ravenously. He had loved fish, but it had never tasted quite so good before. Then he inspected the cup, which was filled to the brim with a clear liquid. Water. And trying it, he discovered it was fresh too, not salty. A little strange, but he decided not to question it since it only added to the list of mysteries. Feeling confused but contended, Skiff lay back and cupped his hands to his mouth. He wasn't sure who, if anyone was going to hear, but he yelled loud and clearly into the cave.

"Thank you!"

His voice rebounded off of the cave walls several times, and a stalactite over head dripped a few more drops onto a rock where a heap of orange seaweed was lying.

"Never seen orange seaweed" Skiff mused to himself. Then again, he had seen that shade of amber before. Surely it couldn't be ... hmm.

"Captain?!"

The seaweed stirred, and before long a familiar hooked nose had appeared above the rock, followed by the rest of a streamlined human body, and at the base, that familiar silver and spattered tail. Skiff felt strangely warm inside. His last encounter with the merman had been months ago; to know he was still ok was a good discovery.

"It ... is you, Skiff?" The merman was eyeing him somewhat suspiciously, but the sailor nodded.

"I thought I recognised that face when I found you"

"You found me?"

The creature nodded gravely.

"I was collecting food one night when I heard a motorboat go overhead, and three human men laughing. There was no net to cut so I decided to get out of its path as quickly as possible by going in the opposite direction. I came across another human lying on the ocean floor. It's gritty stuff, and usually we're not supposed to interfere with humans due to code of secrecy. But just as I was about to leave some of your hair floated out of your face and I recognised you. You already knew me, so there was no secrecy to keep. You'd be surprised how fast we merfolk utilise tools underwater so that chain was no problem. Afterwards I had to sneak you back here before any other merfolk saw"

"Why? And where is here exactly?"

"Some merfolk make nasty habits around injured humans, and you were already hurt. This is my mercave – the bit I knew you could breathe in anyway"

"Why do you have an air pocket in your cave?"

"I chose one specially. It was useful months ago when-"

"When?"

But Captain suddenly clamped up. A little of the colour drained from his face. The he continued like he hadn't heard the question, or mentioned anything about why a sea dwelling creature needed a land pocket.

"I cleaned and bandaged your wound, and luckily you coughed up the water easily. That gag actually stopped quite a lot from getting in"

"Gee, remind me to thank Dave" Skiff muttered through gritted teeth. He wondered how the merman was so knowledgeable about wounds and lungs, and whether, for whatever reason, it had anything to do with the air pocket. He was probably reading too deep into it. But that haunted look on his friends face had not left his mind.

"You look tired" Captain said at last, following a few moments pause.

Skiff certainly was. Whether it was the fullness in his stomach, the dim lighting, the cold, or the injury he wasn't sure.

"You should rest" The merman began to slide off of his rock.

"Where are you going?"

"I'll get you some more food and water. You'll need it to build up your strength"

"How did you get fresh water inside a saltwater cave?"

"We can form air bubbles around certain objects when we need to – the salt water doesn't even touch the fresh"

"Go figure" Skiff murmured weakly, too tired to even enquire about the bubbles.

He wanted to stay talking to Captain, but the feeling was growing stronger by the minute. He was scared that if he slept, he might not wake up in the same place – if at all. But eventually weariness overcame the sailor, and he sank back on the sand, drifting into a deep slumber. Somewhere in the cave, there was a low humming sound, like the pearl had emitted, but even more melodious. The sailor smiled in his sleep, feeling strangely at peace.