The Mermaid's Escape

by Kellie McAllen

  While Liam stares at me, pondering, different pictures flit through Avery’s head — most of them are me doing things I’m too sore to attempt. He doesn’t speak, but does he want me to do those things? He’s not even looking at me, he’s staring off into space. Finally, he thinks of something I can manage.

  “Why is she pulling on her ear? Does that mean something?” Jude asks. Avery turns around to look at me, mouth hanging open.

  “Because I just told her to.” Avery rushes to my side and stares at me.

  “Uh, dude, you didn’t say anything,” Jude replies.

  “No, but I thought it.”

  Jude quirks an eyebrow at him. “So, you think she can read minds.”

  “You said it yourself; you didn’t do anything to indicate she should say Liam’s name when you asked who was a smartass, but you thought it. And she said what you were thinking. I didn’t tell her to pull on her ear, but I was trying to think of something to ask her to do, and that’s what I came up with. But she started doing it before the words left my mouth. That’s way too random of a thing for her to start doing for no reason.”

  Jude and Gio glance back and forth between Avery and me with shock on their faces.

  Liam purses his lips. “Come on, guys. Don’t be ridiculous. There’s got to be a logical explanation; we just have to figure out what it is. Maybe she pulled on her ear to indicate she has some kind of hearing problem.”

  “You’re the science guy; why don’t you test it?” Avery says.

  Liam sighs and waves a hand. “Fine. It should be easy enough to disprove something like that. Think of a command to give her, Avery, but don’t look at her when you think it. Turn around and face the other way.”

  “Fine.” Avery huffs and spins around so that his back is to me. Everyone else stands silently. What are they doing?

  I don’t know what’s going on, but suddenly one thought is clear. I quickly pull my hair over my shoulder and fashion a simple braid. When I’m done, the others’ eyes flick back and forth between Avery and me.

  “Avery, don’t turn around yet, just tell us what you were thinking,” Liam says.

  “I told her to braid her hair.” The others gasp, and Avery whips around.

  Avery walks slowly to my side and picks up the braid, staring at me, an emotion I don’t understand reflected in his gaze.

  “Holy shit,” Gio whispers, blowing out his breath.

  Gio gapes at me, and Liam just shakes his head, and suddenly I’m worried I’ve made a mistake.

  “That was freakin’ incredible!” Jude shrieks. “Let me try, let me try!”

  I can’t tell if the others are happy, but Jude seems to be. I smile at him, but he turns around and immediately starts imagining me blowing kisses. I obey, but the others roll their eyes. I glance at them, worried. Did I do something wrong?

  “Cute, Romeo.” Gio sneers at him.

  “Did she blow me a kiss?” Jude turns around, hopeful, still picturing it. I do it again so he can see. He cracks a wide smile that melts my insides and blows a kiss back at me.

  Liam rubs his forehead and shakes his head. “This just doesn’t make any sense. There’s no such thing as telepathy. You guys have to be leading her on somehow.”

  “Just because you don’t believe in something doesn’t mean it’s not real. Try it for yourself and see.” Jude holds out his hand and nods towards me.

  “Fine.” Liam says and turns around, imagining a series of motions. I try my best to follow.

  “Did you just teach her the Macarena, dude? Cuz I swear that’s what she did.” Jude wiggles his eyebrows and glances between me and Liam, chuckling.

  Liam turns around slowly and stares at me, picturing the set of motions, and I do them again so he can see. The look on his face tells me something important is happening.

  He walks over to the side of the raft and drops to his knees, never breaking his stare. “What are you?” he whispers, his voice solemn.

  Chapter 11

  “Where are your people? Are they on this island?”

  I stare at Liam blankly, not sure what he’s asking.

  “I don’t think she can understand everything we’re thinking because she doesn’t know English.” Liam sighs after trying fruitlessly to get me to respond to a million different questions.

  Jude shrugs, gnawing on the last bite of the snake he caught for dinner. He taught me that word, and I thought it was a perfect name for the slithery creature. “So teach her English, Professor. What else have you got to do?”

  Gio gets up and grabs another log to toss on the fire, exciting the flames. “We need to build a shelter. That’s more important than anything else. We’ve been lucky so far that the weather’s been good, but a storm could come through any time.”

  “Are we really going to be here long enough that it matters?” Avery looks up from scraping the dirt out from under his nails with a tiny twig.

  Gio rubs his face with his hands like he’s trying to wash the world away then sits back down. “I don’t know. Possibly, probably. The fact that no one has come anywhere near us so far means the emergency locator beacon must not be broadcasting. Either it’s defective, or it never detached, and it’s buried underwater with the boat.”

  In his mind, Gio pictures a small device attached to the boat. I don’t understand what it is, but it’s obviously very important. Do they need this? Their boat is at the bottom of the ocean by now, and I don’t think humans can swim that deep. But I can.

  Avery wraps his arms around his legs and props his chin on his knees. “But someone will look for us eventually, right? I mean, as soon as they realize we’re missing?”

  My stomach clenches as he pictures another boat arriving and the guys sailing away.

  “Yeah, of course.” Gio stares at him for a moment before continuing. “But it’s a big ocean, and who knows how far away we are from our last known location. That storm got us way off course. It could take awhile before they find us. Or they might give up before they do.” Gio’s words sound ominous, and suddenly all the guys are imagining themselves on this island for a very long time.

  The last thing I want is for them to leave me, but the guys act like staying here is the worst possible fate. What’s it like where they’re from? Can it really be that much different? Maybe it’s just the people that they miss.

  This island seems empty compared to the shoal, and I miss my grandfather so much my chest aches every time I think about him. Same for Muriel and Maribel, and even Kai. Maybe the guys feel the same way. I see pictures in their minds sometimes of other people. They must be friends and family — people they love.

  As much as I want to keep the guys here with me, I’m sure they’re missing the people they left behind. If another boat comes, they’ll be gone. Would they take me with them? They seem to care about me, but I’m not their family, or their mate.

  Is that what I even want — to follow them back to wherever they came from? To live as a human? Or do I want to go back to the shoal and accept my original fate?

  I stare at the fire as I contemplate. A breeze flutters through my hair and chills my skin, making the flames crackle and dance. Sparks flutter from the logs like tiny, flaming insects as Liam pokes at the blackened logs, keeping the fire alive.

  I suddenly realize that coming here has stoked the fire inside of me. The tiny flame that flickered in my heart when I was a child had dimmed to barely an ember, at risk of burning out completely if I didn’t do something drastic. But this world and these humans have stirred up the flames, and every interaction with them only makes the fire inside of me brighter and stronger.

  I can’t go back, I realize. Better to endure the trials of life on land and stay ablaze than to return home and let the fire die out till there’s nothing but cold, gray ash to remind me my heart once burned for something more.

  The guys’ thoughts have turned to memories of their homes, and I watch in fascination as they think about the world they come from. Tall, shiny
buildings crowded together and small houses separated by large fields of grass. Rooms filled with people dancing and tables covered in a million different foods. So many things I’ve never seen before!

  I want to go there, I decide. I have to see everything — explore the world beyond the shoal, beyond this island. I have to help the guys get back, and I have to make them take me.

  Maybe that device is the answer. If I can recover it for them, maybe that will help somehow. I don’t understand what it’s for, but Gio can’t stop thinking about it.

  If I can get myself to the water, I can dive down to their boat and look for it. I can bring back some more fish, too. They were so excited the last time. If I can make them happy, maybe they’ll want to take me with them when they leave.

  I’d have a better chance if I could mate with one of them, though. But which one? I’m drawn to them all. Every time I think about it, my heart is torn in four directions. Maybe I should just try to get close to all of them and let them decide.

  The wind picks up, sending a chill coursing through my body, and I shiver. I’d like to snuggle up next to one of the guys. Liam is sitting the closest to me, but I’ve never cuddled with him before. The most physical contact we’ve ever had was when I said his name and he hugged me. My heart thumps as I remember the desire I saw twinkling in his eyes that day. Was it just my siren call or excitement over hearing me speak? Or could Liam be interested in me?

  As smart as he is, he’d make a good mate for me. He could teach me all the things I need to learn about living as a human. And I can’t deny I find him attractive. Although not as big or strong as the other guys, he’s very handsome, and the sharp contrast between his pale skin, dark hair, and bright green eyes is striking.

  Maybe the fact that he hasn’t shown as much physical interest in me as some of the other guys means that he’s not as affected by my siren nature. That’s what I want, anyway — someone who can love me for me. He does seem fascinated by me. Could that lead to more if I encouraged it? Maybe he’s held back because some of the others have been so forward.

  I reach out a hand and touch his shoulder. “Liam.”

  He turns and looks at me and seems pleased that I’ve called his name. I beckon him towards me with one hand and pat the raft next to me with the other.

  He scrunches his brow. “What? You want me to come sit with you?”

  I nod, smiling, and his lips lift in response. He climbs over the side of the raft and sits down in the spot I was patting, but he doesn’t put his arm around me like Gio did. The other guys watch us silently.

  “Did you want to talk more?”

  I curl up against his side, laying my head against his chest. I rest a hand on his stomach, careful not to touch anything below his waist. I still don’t understand why Gio freaked out when I did that. I was only imitating what was on his mind. I guess it’s something that’s okay to fantasize about but not to actually do.

  Liam seems surprised by my move but carefully wraps an arm around my shoulders and strokes my arm. “You just want someone to keep you warm?”

  “Warm?” I mimic, wanting to add another word to my repertoire. I’m desperate to learn their language so I can understand them, and so they can understand me. It’s not enough to base a relationship on attraction and emotions.

  “Yeah, warm. The opposite of cold.” Liam imagines the two different sensations, painting obvious pictures in his mind.

  Cold and warm are not common concepts for merfolk. The shoal feels the same almost all the time. But here, I’ve felt them both several times, and they can be good and bad. The cold water soothed my sore body, but the cold wind made me shiver.

  “Cold,” I say, rubbing my arms to imitate how I tried to warm myself earlier when the sky was dark and I was all alone. Liam nods.

  “Warm,” I say, and snuggle up to him again.

  He chuckles and pulls me closer, breathing a sigh into my hair. “Yeah, warm.”

  I hold out a hand to the fire, which is much warmer than any of the guys’ bodies. “Warm.”

  Liam nods. “Yeah, the fire can make you warm.” He moves my arm a little closer and says, “Warmer.”

  “Warmer.” I repeat, and he nods.

  Pushing my arm even closer, so close it’s uncomfortable, Liam says, “Hot.”

  “Hot,” I say, pulling my hand back as soon as he lets go.

  “Hot,” Jude says, standing up and running his hands up and down his body, grinning.

  I look at him, confused, and Liam rolls his eyes and tosses a nearby stick at him. I smirk and wish I understood the joke.

  I fall asleep in Liam’s arms and wake up later when everyone else has fallen asleep, too. They’ve crawled into the raft with us, and Avery’s hand is on my leg. I’d like to sneak into the water to look for the device they need and find some fish, but can I get up without waking them?

  I take a cue from the snake we ate for dinner and slither out of the raft, using my arms to pull myself. Once I’m out, I watch the guys carefully for a moment to make sure none of them have woken. When I’m sure they’re all asleep, I crawl to the water on my knees with my feet in the air to avoid putting any weight on my sore ankle.

  As soon as the water engulfs my legs, they fuse into a tail. I flap my fin cautiously, but there is no hint of pain, and happiness bubbles out of me as I glide through the water, flipping and diving, reveling in the water’s caress. I miss the water, but not as much as I would miss the guys if I returned. I wish that I could have both, but if they ever found out what I was, I’m sure they would reject me. I’ll just have to be satisfied with a few dips in the water when no one is watching.

  Once I’ve had a little fun, I head for the spot where the boat sank and dive down into the darkness. My eyes are designed for life underwater, so the lack of light doesn’t bother me. It’s easy to spot the small, white ship sitting at the bottom. It’s already become home to a school of fish who dart away en masse as I approach the vessel.

  I scan the deck, looking for the device Gio pictured, but it’s not where he thought it was. I don’t have to search long, though, before I spot it, caught under the cabin’s overhang. I grab it and am about to swim back but decide to check out the cabin instead. Is there anything else in there the guys might want?

  I find four different bags with handles. They’re heavy, but I don’t know how to open them to see what’s inside. I decide to grab one. Outside the cabin, lots of equipment litters the deck and the ground around it, but I have no idea what any of it is or if it’s important. The bag and the device are all I can carry for now, anyway, so I propel myself back up to the surface and deposit them on the land.

  The guys are still sleeping, so I risk another trip into the ocean to catch some fish for them, wrapping them up in Gio’s shirt like before. Once I’m done, I quickly dry myself off with sand and wait for my legs to reappear.

  Tiptoeing back to the raft, I climb in between Liam and Avery and close my eyes, hoping to get a little more rest before the day begins. I wake to Gio bellowing.

  Chapter 12

  “Where the hell did this come from?” Gio holds the longed-for device in his hands and stares at it like he’s never seen it before. When he looks around, the other guys shrug, just as clueless.

  “Coral? Did you find this?”

  I nod, smiling, but Gio shakes his head slowly, his mouth hanging open. Did I do something bad? I thought he wanted that.

  “What is that?” Jude asks.

  “This is the emergency beacon. Coral, where did you find this?”

  I point to the water, and all four of the guys’ heads swivel that way.

  Gio grabs my shoulders and stares into my eyes. “Where in the water did you find this? Was it floating?”

  He pictures the beacon bobbing on top of the water, and I shake my head.

  Jude holds up the duffel bag, and water drips from the soggy fabric. “Look, Gio, she brought back my duffel bag, too. This was in the cabin of the boat. Do you think
she dived down to the wreck?”

  “Coral, did you get this off the boat?” Gio asks, and I nod.

  Liam shakes his head and puts his hands on his hips. “The boat is probably hundreds of feet underwater; there’s no way she dove that far without gear, or at least without decompression.”

  “She can read minds, would it be such a surprise if she had other special talents, as well?” Gio glances at Liam then turns back to me.

  “Coral, where was this at on the boat? Was it in the harness?” He pictures the same spot as before, and I shake my head.

  I kneel on the ground and draw a crude outline of a boat in the sand then point to the spot where I found the device, under the overhang.

  “This isn’t supposed to be there; did it get caught?” I nod, and Gio stares at me for a moment before focusing on the beacon again.

  “So, what does that mean?” Avery asks.

  Gio sighs and runs a hand over his face. “It means it was stuck underwater when it was supposed to be floating on the surface, broadcasting. I’m not sure how long the signal transmits or if it can broadcast through deep water like that. Plus, there’s a crack in it.”

  Gio pours water out of the body of the device, and the guys stare at the beacon silently. They clearly aren’t as excited about my find as I hoped they’d be. I drop my head and stare at the ground, feeling like I’ve failed them.

  Avery notices and comes to my side, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. “Hey, Coral, it’s okay. You did great finding this for us. How did you even know to look for this?”

  “She must’ve seen it in my mind yesterday when I was talking about it,” Gio explains.

  “Were you thinking about the duffel, too?” Jude asks.

  Gio shakes his head “No, I guess she just thought we might want it.”

  “Well, at least we’ve got some more clothes.” Jude kneels down and pulls a small, silver tab along the length of the bag. It makes a strange sound as it slides, and the bag opens up.