X. The Wrong Remedy

"Whoa," Zane said at last. "This was all to save her?"

Mr. Bennett nodded. "The accident nearly tore her in half—literally. She was suicidal when they brought her to the clinic; had wild fantasies about being a mermaid and returning to her ocean home. Must have been from the head trauma. Her dad couldn't pay for the groundbreaking procedure they wanted to try, so I offered. It was an extraordinary thing that they were able to do. With the prosthetic tail and a controlled environment, the suicidal tendencies have mostly subsided."

"But why is she here if she's not well? Shouldn't she be in a hospital? Or some kind of special facility?"

"She needs to be constantly surrounded by others to distract her from the incident. The problem was, how could we do that while still giving her an underwater home? The doctors suggested a marine park, but I thought this would be more comfortable for her—to be around people who care. You always seemed like you had kind of a soft spot for Rikki, so I thought you wouldn't mind helping her out." He narrowed his eyes at his son. "Unless this is too much trouble for you?"

Zane shook his head, "No, not a problem! I'd be happy to help her out, but I still don't know why she's part of the restaurant. I mean, it's a great idea by itself, but Rikki...?"

"Think logically, son. The procedure wasn't cheap. If she can make us a margin of that back just by floating around in her healing environment, it would be stupid not to let her." Zane frowned in thought. "Do you hear me, Zane?"

He nodded absently.

"Can I trust you to give her the shots? She needs them to help settle her, but she might fight you on it. She's under the delusion that it's poison. I know it's a big job, but... I can't be here all the time."

"Sure. Yeah, I can do that."

"And remember, she's not well. Don't talk to her about the mermaid thing. It might make her condition worse. Just give her the medicine, and let the tank do its job."

-x-

Zane knelt at the tank's narrow opening, contemplating how this was supposed to work. The audio guys were testing the music levels, so the atmospheric quality of the down-tempo groove and breathy voices singing wordless arias made him feel like he was on a movie set.

His dad knew what he was doing when it came to business. The restaurant was called Mermaid's Wake, and was advertised as a classy sit-down place with a live mermaid act, and a variety of high quality seafood dishes. A placard detailing the story of her rescue was positioned before the best view of her tank, in an alcove set between both staircases that led down into the centre of the dining room. It made him easier to know that people would be aware of her condition, and not ignorantly gawking.

He was told that she had to receive the shot every twenty-four hours, or her self-destructive habits wouldn't be kept in check. How he was meant to coax her to the surface when she thought her medicine was poison, he was not told.

To his surprise, she came without tricks or coaxing of any kind. The opening was so narrow she was forced to keep close to Zane in order for her head to make it out of the water. At the moment, she didn't look suicidal—she looked angry.

Zane pushed the needle behind his shoe so that she wouldn't notice it and panic. "Rikki. How are you?"

"How do you think I am?" she snapped. "Your dad's got me trapped in a tank full of props after buying me from a crazy scientist. I was in a dark room for weeks, being fed on nothing but raw fish, and poked at like a piece of meat at the market, all in the name of science. I'm not doing so hot, thanks for asking."

"My dad saved your life."

She snorted. "Is that what he told you? That's a great story. Almost as absurd as the real one. Look, can you get me out of here, or what?"

"Rikki, you're confused. You were in an accident... Ah, I don't know why I'm trying to explain this to you. He told me you weren't well."

"He's the one that's not well! Look, Zane, I'm real, okay? This tail is real. It goes away when I've dried off. I can show you! Just let me out!"

"You tried to kill yourself."

"Why would I try to kill myself when your dad's doing such a great job of it by himself?"

"Rikki, listen..."

"No, you listen! They're pumping me with something that doesn't let me use magic—"

She could tell it was a bad choice of words by his deepening frown. "Magic?"

"I know! I know it sounds stupid, but I'm telling you the truth. The moon pool on Mako Island turned us into mermaids, and Dr. Denman captured us for her freaky science lab, where your dad bought me from. When we get wet, something... something changes, and it gives us our tails. As soon as we're dry, we turn back, though!"

"Who's 'we?' And Dr. Denman? Who is that? No. Never mind," he gestured. "I'm not falling for this. You have to get over your delusions, Rikki. If you show my dad you understand reality, I can probably get you out of here. We'll build a house for you like a massive swimming pool, and waterways so you can get around with your tail."

"No," she wailed, "I have legs! I need your help to get out of here, not an underwater house!"

He took her hand, clutching it tightly in his. Rikki was almost moved by it, until she saw the syringe coming at her arm.

"What are you doing?!"

"I'm sorry, Rikki. I have to. I can't let you die."

"Please, Zane! Don't! Don't do this."

"I don't want to lose you, Rikki."

He was careful with the angle and depth of the injection, but it still went deep. Rikki could no longer feel a change from the suppressants, and she wondered if she'd ever have her powers back.

Something of the old Rikki came back and she looked him straight in the eye as she said, "You don't want to lose your investment, you mean."

Her face was wet with rebellious tears as she watched him walk away, a sad slump in his shoulders that wasn't there before. Her arm was sore from the injection, but unreasonably, the ache in her wrist where he held her was worse. The source of her tears, she knew, was from none of the physical pain.

She opened her mouth to call him back, to beg him not to leave her, to ask if they could talk. His head was just disappearing down the stairway.

She couldn't do it. It hurt too much, and she wouldn't let him see her cry.

Author's Note:

Foolish Zane, to believe the lies of his father! Someone was very thorough with their cover story. But was he thorough enough...? Raise of hands; who now is considering quitting school to become a restaurant mermaid? I'd apply for something like that if I knew how to swim. That's kind of an important skill to have for such a profession.