Hi! Here is the second chapter of The Creature from the Blue Lagoon and also covers prompt 30 for whumptober: wound reveal and ignoring an injury. Enjoy!
Penny wandered back to her hut. She stared at her reflection in the water basin on a small table to the left of her bed. The unblemished skin of her cheek didn't change when she wiped a hand across it though she could feel the residual heat emanating from the skin. It was like she'd never been hurt and, as much as she would like to pretend so, the soreness in her scalp and limbs spoke otherwise. Penny climbed onto her cot in search of a reprieve from the day's events.
The sun broke over the sill of her window and Penny opened her eyes with a groan. She threw her arm over her eyes and curled up under the covers huddling closer to the wood wall. With a peek she noticed the discoloration on her arm around the scrapes and bruises. Her muscles protested as she rose from her cot.
First, she went over to the window and, sparing a quick glance outside, got to her knees. The floorboards she built years ago creaked under her weight. Feeling her way down the side of one of the planks she came across a notch. The plank lifted with applied pressure and Penny peered down to the hay and dust below. She reached her arm down into the hole and smiled when she felt the dry material sandwiched between the worn leather cover in her hand before pulling up the small package.
Her fingers caressed the pages with reverence. These bits of broken bindings were all she had left of her parents and she would let nothing happen to them. Illustrations lined the margins throughout and because she couldn't read all the words, especially the more advanced ones, she used the pictures to guide her search. Lead creatures stared up at her from their homes on the paper. With light fingers she filled until, finding the one she sought, her breath caught. A tail spanned from top to bottom of the page curling around the various notes. She waved her hand over it remembering how such a miracle looked in real life. The quick sight of the multicolored scales reflecting the sunset and ocean before it disappeared into the water. This was what he was.
Mermaid, it said.
Penny traced the words with her eyes wishing she could understand all of them. She almost didn't believe her sight. Maybe it was a trick of the light or leftover from her attack? Her hand traced the skin of her cheek. Nothing that beautiful and good could come from her imagination. She stared at the image again noting the water surrounding the appendage and closed the pages with a sigh. Back to its place under the floorboards it went and Penny dusted off her smock.
With some creaks in her bones she set off not caring she was still in the same clothes as yesterday. The chill of the morning soaked into the thin material but she breathed in deeply. Walking the path to the marsh dew gathered on the grass fell onto her legs and feet and although Penny shivered, she kept going. She needed to go back.
Penny inched toward the spot she saw him yesterday and when nothing leapt out of the water, she knelt where she had before. Breath stirred in her chest but she dared not exhale yet. Each passing second, she inched closer and closer to the water until her knees sunk into the wet sand. Penny reached out and placed her hand on top of the water. Ripples spread out from the point of contact but still nothing happened. The birds and crickets chirped to the morning sun and Penny stayed there, waiting.
She was halfway there to convincing herself it was all her imagination. If not for the lingering scabs and a stubborn pit of hope, Penny would have started to believe her more vocal doubts. Days went by with not a sighting to speak of and though that spot became a favorite thinking spot of hers, there were other chores that needed to be done.
Her mind wandered as she went about her tasks for the day. She woke up one rainy morning to water dripping on the bedding and her forehead. Getting into her oldest set of clothes, Penny walked toward the marsh to a spot dense with reeds. She stood at the edge of the water looking out. The tops of the reeds swayed in the breeze as the spare rainclouds from the morning grew father away. Penny tucked her smock into the front of her apron and waded into the water.
Penny used the sickle to hack the reeds from their base and then threw them on a pallet on the shore so they could dry out in the sun. All afternoon she worked, cutting and dragging the plants back to her home where she laid them out to dry over time. In the coming days when she wasn't climbing the roof or attaching the reeds in small bunches there, she was sitting by the water. She chose a spot far enough back so she could gain a better view of all the water.
Penny sat for hours sometimes even falling asleep in the afternoon sun but nothing unusual appeared. She harvested her fishing lines for kelp and saltbush, the latter being good for eating. Nothing disturbed the waters besides her and the animals who lived there and now the initial fear was gone, Penny began to feel the isolation creeping up on her.
One crisp morning weeks later found her taking the shadowed path back into the village. She could not put off resupplying any longer. This time she carried a small knife on her person. It was tucked away behind the belt of her apron and though she had hesitated bringing it before walking out the door, now with the weight pressed against her stomach, her nerves calmed some.
All the market vendors served her with a reluctant sign but the malice she was used to was absent. The whispers she usually heard were not absent but she noted with surprise, she was again not the subject of them. They all spoke in fervent tone of a creature seen from the depths of the bay. Wilson shivered when Penny asked what happened and even the man's weariness of her wasn't enough to stop him from gossiping.
"There's a beast out in the waters disrupting the boats, and lurking in the depths. Best stay away from the waters if you know what's good for you."
His burned into her and Penny shivered. They both turned toward the mouth of the market where a crowd of people gathered. Yells erupted from the mass. Penny with Wilson beside her watched as they hurried off toward the docks. Her stomach flipped. Against her wish to go home as fast as possible Penny trailed behind them. The docks of the village were busy on a normal day but today they were packed like a barrel full of sardines. Everyone, rich and poor, were loitering on the watery planks. Even the village witch, she thought with a sour smile.
Their bodies all gravitated toward a singular central point. Two of the traders yelled at their men while motioning forward.
"Drag it to land so it doesn't escape!"
Something screeched and all the onlookers gasped. Penny's hand flew to her cheek.
It wasn't possible.
Being small had its disadvantages for Penny. People picked on her and felt superior because of her small stature. Today she thanked the stars she was short. Penny wound through the crowds mindful of the weapons and fists. She gasped in horror. There was his tail. The one she saw for only a moment but stood with her for these past weeks. She worried her lip when she spied the white patches of his scales flaking off. His greyish skin was more monotone than before and, most startling, was the net around him. The rope tore into his skin and scales digging into his throat. Penny's heart pounded in her ears.
She forced herself to relax her shoulders and remain motionless; to not run. They were dragging him down the dock and Penny knew they would kill him. Maybe not at once but some part of her knew he couldn't be separated from the water. They would hurt and main him for existing. It was absurd but, unlike his tail not something out of the realm of possibility. The rumors never said anyone was hurt so this was all because he was different than them. Just like her.
He hissed at one of the people pulling the nets and Spike stepped forward from the crowd and jabbed him with a two-tined garden fork. A whimpered screech bubbled out of his throat. Penny stepped forward and gripped the knife through her clothes.
What should she do? Should she fight?
"Get him up there, men. We need to hang him for all to see."
Damn it all. Tears gathered in her eyes. Penny took a breath and rushed forward. She threw herself in front of him and for a moment, they faced each other as they had on their first encounter. This time Penny reached forward and placed a hand on his wrist feeling the facing pulse underneath her fingers. Their eyes connected and recognition lit his eyes. She turned to face the crowd, knife out and poised to ward off any attackers. Most everyone, she noticed, looked startled. As if their wide eyes had deceived them, as if they were only just beginning to believe she was a witch.
"Stop!" She yelled and raised the knife higher. Spike clenched his hands while glaring at her. "He's done nothing to you. Just release him."
One of traders, a portly man with a resemblance to Spike stepped forward with hands raised. "Alright there, witch. You step back and we'll gut this fish like it's the lord's day. I can't be responsible for what happens if you insist on associating with the devil." He shrugged and a bunch of the men laughed at his words. Penny's face burned.
"Release him at once. He's done nothing wrong. Can't you see this is wrong?" She gestured behind her, but the silence in front of her made her turn once more. They weren't laughing anymore. The trader stepped forward a grave acceptance in his eyes. Spike was behind him. His smile made her stomach sour.
"We should have known you were in league with it. We should have known you conjured this fish monster with a spell to plague our village. We'll just have to hoist you up next to this… thing."
He stepped closer again and the creature hissed. Penny knew what she had to do.
She fought.
Penny jabbed her knife and flesh parted under its blade. Blood pooled onto the dock from his tight and he yelled in anger. The man slapped her and she fell into the puddle smearing blood on her face. He bent over her and grabbed her by her hair. She yelled as the strands pulled her scalp.
The mermaid hissed behind her. The dock boards rattled as the waves crashed underneath them. Penny's arms flung about and after failing twice, she managed to slash the trader's arm. He let her go and she fell onto the dock with a thud. Groaning, she looked up from under her hair.
The crowds grew closer. Anger clear in their harsh features. Penny tried to back away but she felt the edges of rope and scales on her skin. She moved her hand behind her back and patted the scales there hoping to bestow some small comfort, but there was only so much she could do.
On the dock, surrounded by people who hated her because she was different, Penny came up with an idea and did something she never thought she would do.
Penny pulled herself up so she was kneeling in front of him. She closed her eyes, blocking out all the people and their cruel words, and began to chant. With low guttural sounds she began to sing. Penny raised her arms above her head and the brought them behind her in a graceful motion all while continuing to make up a 'spell'.
The people looked at each other and with unity began to back away with weary eyes. She raised her voice higher and began to saw the ropes with the knife behind her, praying he could help break the threads; praying this plan would work. One by one she cut and chanted. The crowd's eyes were fixated on her in horror and a small part of her couldn't help but enjoy the pwer over them.
The ropes gave from their combined efforts and Penny threw her hands forward. She could feel him rising up behind her and smiled when he screamed. His hands came to rest on her shoulders and the large tail wrapped around them, separating them from the villagers. It was so large she had to strain up to peer around the fin.
With one last hiss at his captures he wrapped his hands around her and they were in the air. She yelped in surprised and tried to jerk away but his arms were strongholds. Water rushed around them. They spun up and down, left and right. She lost track of gravity as they fled. Penny held her breath as they dived underwater but as her lungs began to protest they reached the surface again. Over and under they went. Penny's eyes closed against the onslaught of water. It was wonderful and she finally knew what it felt like to fly. She laughed loudly. The arms around her tightened.
His tail stopped moving in such ferocious swishes. The water running around them went from the pressure of a waterfall to a small brook. They were stopping. Her eyes fluttered open but they were heavy. Gentle arms carried her.
Her bottom touched land first and then the rest followed. She felt sand underneath her hands. Penny opened one of her eyes and found herself staring at him. His gills moved and she smiled.
"Thank you." Penny muttered.
"I should thank you, young mortal. For you've done me a great service."
She was too tired to even be shocked. Sleep was taking her but she managed to shake her head before she fell under.
Her eyes opened to the sound of the birds screeching. This was not a description she would use on a normal day but the pounding in her head made it all the more fitting. Everything filtered back at once. Penny groaned and tried to roll away from the sounds but they followed her escape. Light poured in from every angle and she was aware she was outside.
Her back hit something. She opened her eyes. He was still here, half emerged in the water. She could see his tail floating amount the grass but his upper body was landed beside her. His eyes resided on the forest and like his tail on the dock he was positioned between her and the menacing trees.
Her eyes trailed the patches of scales not quite the color she remembered when he was in full health. The sand beneath him was stained dark maroon. She crawled the space between them and sucked in a breath at the wound in his side.
"Wake up." She whispered and repeated the words more urgingly when nothing happened. She shook his shoulder. His eyelids, both the outer and inner sets, blinked before he closed them again with a sigh. The blood dribbled down his side creating its own pool inland.
Penny staggered up. "I'll be right back. I'm getting some herbs to help heal this."
Her legs were foreign underneath her. They wobbled and weakened the further away she got from the marsh. Her head pounded where the trader had grabbed her. Her hut was so ordinary, so strange in its commonplace appearance. Penny grimaced at the rows of weathered jars of herbs. There! She grabbed anything she thought would be of use in her shaking fingers and hurried back.
Eons had passed by the time she made it back. The armor guarding his vulnerable skin was ripped and broken in pieces so it was easy to push aside. It revealed a deep gash under his ribs. Scales were broken off at the root. Skin was torn.
She wanted to cry.
"Why didn't you say anything?" She said shaking her head. "Why didn't I notice?"
Woolgathering would have no benefit and there would be time for regret later. Penny mixed the herbs together and packed them into the wound, careful of any welling or fever. Other than a weak groan he didn't move as she tried to heal him.
She sat in vigil at his side through the night. The water he was half submerged in kept his total body temperature down, though she suspected his normal temperature was more akin to the waters anyway than what a human temperature would be. The answers could be in the book beneath her floorboards.
All throughout her thoughts raged. Would his body accept the medicine? There could be better, more potent, combination she was missing. Not the least of reasons the term witch was deceitful was she lacked the real knowledge she assumed a witch would possess. Everything she knew was self-taught from her years away from the village. Living by herself, under less than the best circumstances, was difficult for an adult. But for a child barely on the cusp of young adulthood, it was almost impossible. Despite it all she was okay.
Now, he had to be okay. He must be okay.
She thought of the aged pages and the beautiful drawing that did not do the real tail justice. Mermaid. The drawing had water surrounded it. Penny remembered how dry his scales were when she saw him on the dock. Because of this she poured the water over his skin and scales, hoping to all hopes he would heal. That what she was doing was enough.
Water fed her, sustained her, and healed her. It was as much her source of life as his. What would it like to be a part of the water – for it to be home?
After two days of worrying her lip he opened his eyes.
Thank you!
Please let me know what you think.