Chapter 19

It had been a few hours since I last saw Viscardi; the surrounding monsters eyed my tail and hair, their curious glances crossing my face. The water had been distilled as the clear fluid refreshed my gums and washed out my hair, it appeared as bright as a coral bed.

"She is wicked." A male voice hissed. As I found the source, I flinched back to the wall of the tank, bracing myself for the face that slithered close.

A large snake-like creature with suckers on its underbelly blinked one solemn eye atop its fist-sized head. The jarring attention I was fixated on was its fangs, which dangled a decent foot long. It must slither to a certain point on its underbelly as its delicate ivory coloured fangs would not drag along the floor. Eye the depth of the Atlantic, a washed out blue.

"Siren?" A girl chimed, and stepped into the stage light, her yellow dress coming into golden view. She was pretty, soft brown curls to her shoulder, half of her hair bundled on top of her head with a scarlet ribbon, clutching an innocent looking stuffed creature in her left hand.

The snake creature shook a vigorous no.

"Viscardi said she wasn't," The stage light was blocked out by an enormous figure in stature and rounded width. Bald head and pitted eyes, square shoulders with thick arms that wielded hooks for hands, the left double-hooked, the right single, the lights bounced off. "When she sang, I didn't feel compelled." He flashed a smile to reveal miniature sized serrated teeth.

"Maybe," The girl came over, making the snake-thing slither away, silent pops from its suckers along the floor. The girls face was beautiful, high cheekbones with freckles dotted prettily across her skin like rain against the ocean, her eyes a brilliant hazel. "But I've never seen anything like her before."

"A Loctodyte, perhaps?" Hundreds of eyes lit up to my left from behind the curtain, stepping out on crustacean-like black legs with whisker hairs, small torso yet top heavy chest. Arms shelled like its legs, meaty pincers for hands that were stained dark colours. The many eyes were a dull gold and all blinked at once on its head, a formation like a sting ray, its eyes on the top half while its mouth were pincers also, but furry and black and saliva dribbled while its spoke.

"A Loctodyte has fins for feet, not a tail for legs, stupid." The girl spoke again, and I caught sight of something in her mouth, it shined, and unnerved me slightly, even more so.

"Wh-What are you?" I whimpered, cowering into my own hair, the snake came to my left, the crab figure to my right, the girl in front and hook-hands behind me. I couldn't hide anywhere; I was engulfed by monsters apart from the little girl. However, the little girl's demeanour frightened me more than the rest of them.

Screeching that pierced my ears came from behind as the thing that had hooks for hands dragged a point down the surface of the tank, engraving it so.

"Monsters." The girl smiled sinfully. She dropped the plush toy as it gently thudded to the floor. My eyes were glued to her as she opened her mouth, but that wasn't the worst part. As she did, her head stretched, her lips stretching as if her mouth were elastic, her teeth stretched to open void after void of rotating, animalistic clicking sounds and shards for teeth and a black hole for her throat that continued rotating. The last thing I saw were her teeth coming towards the tank before I felt the light in my head pucker out and my eyes roll back into my head.

I was back at the Benbow in my room, drenched in sweat as well as my sheets and pillow. The light in my room was dim, as was the air. The window had been opened as musky air wafted in, bringing in the stench of ship fuel. As I hunched forward, I coughed involuntarily from the throb of agony in my shoulder.

"Jim…" My mother whispered. She was sitting at my side, her hair falling from her tie, her eyes hollowed out from stress and fatigue. "B.E.N said you accidently split it open and it had to be welded together again?" Her eyes searched mine pleadingly as I began to move off the bed. "Why, Jim? Are you doing this to get at me because of the girl?" She sobbed gently, tears freefalling. She peeled her hands from the glossy gold locket that hung around her neck. "I'm sorry what I said about her, but it is true!"

"Mom!" I roared. She twitched at my anger and stared helplessly into her lap.

"Your father left us-"She began the story I rarely heard. Yet, whenever she told of it, my heart hurt a little more and all I could think about was Silver.

"Mom…"

"You were in trouble every day since you learned how to rebel-"

"Mom-"

"Then you brought danger to my door and risked everyone's lives-"

"Seriously, mom, look at me-"I kneeled before her, grabbing at her limp wrists.

"Then you come back, and go off the rails again! You bunked the cadet military and started to get in trouble and here you are again," She stood outraged, knocking back her chair and forcing me to land on my bum, sparked eyes firing at me. "Bringing trouble at our door, our new future we built, to risk it all again! You think I want you to go through that again? You think I want every day to worry if you'll come back walking or in a box or…" Her lips trembled tremendously. "Or at all…?"

We stood, face to face yet steps apart, barely breathing. The air dripped with tension and misery and pain and I felt it in every nerve, and it wasn't the pain residing in my shoulder. It was the pain of my childhood, of years at the hand of the law and months at galaxy in immediate danger. But the thrill of it all…Could I risk it again? My mother wouldn't be able to take all the grief again, this time she may not make it.

I compressed the space between us and embraced her, her frame shook silently and eyes limp to meet mine.

"Mom," I peeled back and attempted to look into her emotionless eyes. "You know I do what is right, and I go with my heart. I always have, and I always will. This isn't like last time, and it won't be the same result. But in the time we briefly met, she has changed my entire perspective on living. She's been taken, mom, and I want to get her back home, where she belongs, and I know I can do it. But these people…They're wild, and I don't fully understand them or where they hide or what they do." I held her tight as she hacked a cry that rocked her back. "Please, believe me when I tell you I'm doing the right thing."

Vacantly looking into my yearning eyes it made no connection, no breakthrough and I felt my heart hook like and anchor and it fell to the bottom of my being.

She was a few inches shorter than me, and I felt as if she kept shrinking. Always strong for me, for her business, for her friends, when inside she panicked and strained and wanted. I believed when we reopened the Benbow she was better.

All of a sudden, a flash erupted in her eyes and it was as if she were looking at me under a new light. Her once frail hands clamped down on my own, with such a grip I had to wince.

"Then there's only one thing I can do," She gave a brief hug, stared into my face. "I'm coming with you."

"What!" I was nearly swept off of my feet, as if the gravity within this room vanished for a millisecond.

Even more to my surprise she smiled and giggled, like a girl learning gossip from her girlfriends. If the look of pure determination never left her eye, I would have believed she'd truly lost it.

"Mom, you can't-it's too dangerous-"I waved my arms at her, but she levelled them with her own. It was me shaking, not her.

"If you can do it, so can I." She nodded, taking off her apron to reveal a stained dressed beneath.

"What about the Inn?" I questioned, walking around the cluttered room.

"I'll ask Amelia and Delbert," She was headed towards the door, ready to pack no doubt. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind. I'd put them in the family suite at no cost. I mean we have just installed the new levitating child's play area, so the kids would love that!"

There was no way a stickler like my mother would endure the atrociousness and vulgarity that is the galaxy. To face constant danger and to then be as subtle as the wind was not in her attributes. To bear the sickness on board a ship, to learn the skill to be a part of the crew (well, I guess she could opt for cooking), be one with the brutes, and killers that are the enemy, to then learn how to fight! I do not think she has ever fired a laser pistol before!

"James." She uttered my name as she limply smiled at me, cocking her head to the side. "I can see the cogs moving." Worry crossed her face, but when her mind is made up, it is like a mask she can never remove.

"Ha-ha," Plonking on my mattress, I heaved my head into my hands. They were warm and sticky with sweat, unease from her sudden eureka. "I'm just scared; this doesn't seem like the best solution."

Delicate footsteps approached, and I saw the tips of her light brown and dirty flats. The bones in her feet resembled that of a bird. Calm hands rested under my chin, and she brought my face to meet hers.

Focus and firm resolution resided in her blue eyes. "This is the right solution. It wasn't fair the way I treated her, but I was scared for my son. Now I have to do what is right, just as you are." She smiled sweetly and watched as I rose from my bed, let out a heavy sigh and pinched my nose from the swell of emotion. This was not going to be easy, but I cannot shake her off when she's this pumped.

"We'll leave tonight-"

She clapped her hands in victory and shouted yes multiple times. I had not seen her express this much since I had come off the RLS Legacy.

"Do we pack?"

"No, you're not taking your apron."