Surface…part 5

Aaaaaand here is another chapter! Once again in Mile's perspective. I hope this time I didn't make people wait too long… and I hope the writing's ok… but anyway, thanx for the reviews and enjoy! warning: another cliff hanger coming

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The water above me grew brighter. I was close enough to the surface now that I could see the movement of shadows and light waves on the surface. My strokes quickened. I couldn't wait to breathe the fresh air above this stifling ghost town of an ocean.

Then my body froze mid-paddle.

An enemy…not one of us. One of them. Destroy…

Their thoughts, now an almost familiar tendril of feeling, invaded my head before I was prepared to fend them off. They weren't words, exactly, but the force behind them was irresistible. For a second, I couldn't see anything but the distorted image of the thing coming our way. It was a small, streamlined thing, shiny and foreign. It didn't belong here.

Instinct.

I had no choice. I had to listen, had to obey, as one of them. All other thoughts, human thoughts, were being pushed aside by a wave of community emotion.

Invader. A danger to us. Humans.

I struggled to keep my head, still drifting halfway between surface and submerged houses. It wasn't what they thought. It was a… It took me a few seconds to find the word for it. I had to flounder past the same force that had claimed me that night at the beach, when the threat of the human guns made us—them—attack. I had to fight it…like I had then. This wasn't a danger we should fight. It wasn't even a real danger this time. It was a submarine, I realized; it was help! The help we needed!

Nim! I called silently. I felt him coming, the connection between us clearer than ever. Even more clear than my connection to the other Nims. I also sensed the submarine draw closer. It was quick, but I didn't think it was going to be quick enough. We were faster. Much faster.

The water vibrated with their voices, shaking me along with the angry sound. A part of me felt that same anger, and the urge to attack in any way I could. I pushed back, halfway succeeding.

There were only a few here at the moment, but they were ridiculously huge. I could see some of them dimly through the murky haze of ocean. Shapes so big I couldn't see their entire outlines without moving my head. Would Nimrod get this big? A whale wouldn't stand a chance against these things, even if the Nims decided not to use their zap powers. Which, it seemed, they were going to use on the approaching sub.

A tension was building that sent tingles through my body. The electricity coursing through me responded, along with an excitement that wasn't mine.

Attack! Attack soon!

No!!

I fought their grip on my mind with all I had when I realized the target had come to a stop. When I realized it had come to a stop directly underneath the tower where everyone was trapped. The hatch was open. We knew it. We could feel the enemy's vulnerability. The others circled slowly, beginning to close in on the sub, blocking all ways of escape, though there wasn't a need for that. The prey was trapped, helpless, and most likely unsuspecting. The charge in the water intensified. The hunt was begun, and would end quickly.

I still felt Nim nearby, still approaching, just as excited as the rest of them, but holding back. For me, I realized. I felt his desire to join in with the rest. It was stronger than mine, but somehow he sensed the friend I saw in the enemy, and he wouldn't attack unless I did.

I heard voices. They sounded garbled, like they were coming from the inside of a blender, miles away. I moved toward them, unconsciously following those hunting the sounds. To the Nim side of me they sounded alien, a threat. The urge to attack grew stronger, but so did my resistance to the call. The human side recognized some of them. They were friends. Not enemies. My friends. And they were about to be attacked by eight man-eating monsters.

Nimrod—myNim—brushed against me, his much smaller rumbling purr distinct against those of the adults around us. His stocky body curled around me and in a second, his face was inches from mine. Our eyes met, and a rush of his thoughts connected with mine.

Miles. Attack? His yellow slitted eyes burned with an animal intensity, but also intelligence. They bored into me and our connection became something almost solid.

No, Nim. These are friends. No attack.

Others attacking, Nim countered. Friends will be food. Though not tasty as fish.

As if in response to Nim's thoughts, the others began to move in. The electricity in the water seemed to sizzle, building to a physical buzz. Turbulence split the ocean into booming waves. I had to do something! Some of the voices above the water rose in pitch. Now they knew they were about to be killed.

In a panic, I reached out to the other Nims, grasping for their minds, trying to communicate to them. Stop! I yelled to them silently. They're friends! No!

They wouldn't listen to me. What could I do? They were like a pack of wolves, or lions—dinosaurs or something—intent on their prey. And I was just a human who happened to have a few of Nim's powers. They wouldn't listen to a human. But would they listen to one of their own?

Nim, stop them!

Nim turned away from me for a second to look at the others of his kind. He still yearned to join them. Nim! The water was roiling. It was only a matter of time before the first bolt of electricity was sent out. It would be too late then.

Can't, said Nim. But Miles can. Leader can. Miles led us away before. Led us. Was one with us.

Led them? What was he talking about? "Leader"? Who was that, me? But I…

A sudden mental image from Nim's direction hit me hard. A memory from Nim's point of view, as real as anything I'd ever experienced. A boy with my face but a creature's eyes walking past the beach and out to sea, into the water, and followed by almost a hundred little sea creatures. Fragments of images of that same guy reaching out a hand to a fearful, angry Nimrod, offering salt, swimming alongside him and so many others, glowing with energy, leading them all…

I found myself holding my head hard in my hands. I didn't want to remember that. I didn't want to see myself like that! It wasn't me. I didn't have a choice. I was human, not that!

Miles is one of us now. Leader.

No… I tried to deny it. But my heart wasn't in it anymore. I surfaced, the air engulfing my face like a cold fire. A sickening light darted around me, thrown up by radioactive looking waves and a burning orange sun. Dimly, I heard my name. But my mind didn't register it. I couldn't be human and pull this off. I couldn't do anything, the way I was now. People were in danger again. Caitlin was in danger. And time was out.

Together, the large Nims built up a final charge of energy. Together they would strike. And together, everyone on that building would be burned to a crisp.

I let go. My fears retreated to a distant part of my brain along with what was left of my resistance. My own name disappeared somewhere. I was Leader. And they would not kill what I loved.

The water around me crackled and I reached out to every one of the gigantic creatures' minds with my own thoughts and a single command, forcing all of my will and energy into it. For a moment, I was connected to them all, one with them all. They understood me and I understood them.

Then the ocean shattered into green light.