In Too Deep

Slowly, Mamă recovered. After four days, her wounds weren't completely healed, but they had at least scabbed over. She said her head still hurt immensely, but she was well enough to start walking. I escorted her by the arm around the mangled wooden structures of the reservoir.

When we returned to our makeshift "home", Moreau was looking around frantically.

"Did you think we took off on you?" I asked.

"No!"

Liar.

"Ah. What's that in your hand?" I nodded to Moreau's clenched fist.

"Oh, here: this is for you."

He reached out his hand and unfurled his webbed fingers. Resting in his palm was a shiny, blue tinted stone. It was smoothed, perhaps from years of being tossed around in the water's depths. I carefully took it between my index finger and thumb of my real hand.

"Wow… it's gorgeous."

"Do you like it?"

"Yes. …Thank you, Moreau."

He smiled before wandering off.

"Are you sure we're in danger here? Lord Moreau seems to have taken a liking to you," Mamă said.

"That's the problem; I doubt he'll let us leave."

"Would that be such a bad thing?"

"You really wanna live in these conditions forever? Fish are meant to live here, Mamă, not people."

"There you go with that disrespectful tone again… Can you please just listen to me, child?"

"Not if it means being stuck in a place like this."

"I'm in no condition to go anywhere. Besides, you said it yourself; we aren't welcome in the village anymore."

And two of the Lords had already tried to kill me. That left…

I shook my head. Absolutely not. I would wait as long as possible before I considered that a viable option. After what I'd learned, I couldn't go back and pretend like nothing happened, even if my life depended on it.

I sighed. "Any ideas?"

"No… Then again, my head's still ringing."

"Right. Get some rest. I'll think about it."

I wandered out to the docks to take my own walk as I tucked Moreau's rock into my coat pocket.

Looking out at that bleak water made my mind wander to the outside. Was their water just as dirty, just as infested with monsters and disease? Was it pristine, clear as could be? Just how big was the world? Did everyone live under the same faith, the same principles? I remembered having a similar conversation with Heisenberg once:

"Do you know what's out there? Beyond the village?"

Smoke spilled from Heisenberg's nostrils. "I have an idea. But I haven't experienced it. Or if I ever did, I don't remember."

"Is it anything like here?"

"Not even close."

"What do you mean?"

But he wouldn't elaborate. He'd done about as much to answer my questions as my imagination had.

Heisenberg… infuriating. To think I'd been his pawn all along…

Honestly, what did I expect? I thought. The other Lords couldn't overcome their cruel natures even though they claimed to like me. Moreau will do the same, naturally. Heisenberg's no different than them.

Ack, the walk was worthless. I was just digging my hole deeper with no way to get out. If I'd had a way to teleport Mamă and I to the outside, I'd have taken it in a heartbeat, no matter the price. Sadly, even the outside doesn't have that kind of power.

My mind alone wouldn't come up with a solution. I would have to wait patiently until Mamă recovered.

A week passed. Moreau would occasionally ask for some company as he watched TV. He kept Mamă and I decently fed by collecting anything remotely edible he could find. Mamă's headaches became less frequent, and she could tolerate longer conversations with me. We started our escape discussions again, trying to think of any possible place we could go. Still, after all that waiting, nothing.

"…Maybe you were right. Maybe this is our only option," I said.

"Give it time, Lipa. We're not dying tomorrow."

"As far as you know."

Mamă smiled. "Ever diligent, huh?"

"I just don't like to take chances."

After all, Moreau had clearly planned something for me when I first woke up. He could have dropped those plans once I stuck around, but there was no way to know for sure. There was no point in putting my trust in anyone other than Mamă anymore. Everyone else had betrayed me in their own ways. Still, Moreau could be useful. If Heisenberg didn't know of a way out of the village, then maybe Moreau would. It was worth a shot.

I approached his usual spot, but he wasn't there. I walked the docks, thinking he might have gone out for a swim.

Clink… clink...

Was that… glass? The sound came from the building Moreau dragged me to on my first day there. I went out to investigate. Crouching below a window, I caught Moreau fiddling with some trinkets on the table, one of them being a syringe. It looked like he was preparing something… a tray, some rope…

"Oh Mother… I finally found someone who doesn't hate me… I don't want to hurt them! But you've asked me to…so I won't let you down."

Figured. It was only a matter of time… I slowly backed away and scurried back to Mamă.

"We have to go. Now."

"Did that danger you were talking about pop up?"

"Yeah."

"But where will we go?"

"I don't know, but we don't have time to think about it. We have to get as far from here as possible."

I grabbed her hand and ran for the docks.

"Wait!" Moreau called to our backs.

Don't stop… don't turn around. I ran faster.

"No… No! You can't leave! I have to give you to Mother!"

Not happening.

We weren't too far from stable land. If we could just get away from the water…

The wood beneath our feet began to shake. I stopped for a moment and gripped Mamă tighter before regaining my balance. I looked out at the water. The monstrous fish swam towards us.

I yanked Mamă back the way we came. As long as Moreau was like that, there was no way to get past. I looked around as we ran back inside, trying to find anything that could help us. The lights kept us from stumbling in the dark, but there was nothing big enough to knock Moreau out. The lights… wait… If I could knock one of them loose…

I grabbed the lowest hanging wire. "Mamă, look for something I can cut this with!"

She nodded and ran off. I examined the string of lights. They looked like they would be just long enough to reach the water. It was risky, but it was the only chance we had.

The building started to rumble. Come on, Mamă…

"Here!" Mamă rushed back, breathing heavily as she handed me a hacksaw.

"That'll work." I took it from her and set to work.

Bending the wire with my metal arm, I managed to break the armor loose to reveal the metal nestled inside. With every cut, I felt the rumbles in the building slow.

"Lipa…"

"I've almost got it."

"Lipa, hurry!"

A hissing sound spewed from the hall to my right. I turned to get a glance as I kept cutting. Mounds of mucus covered orbs started spreading.

"Fuck…" I cut faster. Closer, closer…. "Got it!"

I grabbed the wire where the armor was still intact and held Mamă's hand again. We ran back outside.

The docks were unstable, but Moreau was still in the water. Perfect. But he was too far out. I would have to wait for him to get closer.

Moreau breached the surface and swam towards us. Mamă held my arm tighter. I took a deep breath as he got closer… closer…

As Moreau emerged further, I threw the wire into the water. The water started to spark wildly, stopping Moreau in his tracks.

"Come on!" I pulled Mamă out to the gates.

Once we got out, we took a moment to catch our breath. I scanned to make sure no one else was around before taking a seat on the ground.

"So… what's your plan?" Mamă asked between breaths.

I laughed. Plan? What plan? Everything was a shitshow. Our predicament hadn't changed. Goddammit… I would have to rely on that man yet again.

"Heisenberg… he's the only I can even… remotely trust," I replied.

"You can't be serious."

I was. What else was there to do? Escape was impossible, and I was now wanted by three Lords. One slip up would mean a cruel death. Despite how I felt about him, I couldn't deny that Heisenberg was our safest (and only) option.

"Mamă, you have to come back with me. If you go back into the village, they'll kill you," I insisted.

"No. There's another way."

"Huh?"

Mamă wiped the sweat from my face and gave me a sad smile. "Be strong, Lipa. And whatever you do, don't let that man convince you he's on your side."

"I really can't persuade you, can I?"

"…I'm sorry. But I will see you again. I promise."

She hugged me one last time and stroked my cheek before standing. As I watched her make her way back toward the village, dread filled my heart. I didn't want to go back to that place… but what choice did I have?