The Mermaid

by Shane Scollins

  “Looks like something.”

  “Well, it might be nothing, but it might be something.”

  “You’re talking like a broken moron. Lay it on me, Sherlock.”

  “Dr. Shepard assisted in an experimental skin grafting operation. They were trying to save a little boy who’d been burned.”

  “Did it work?”

  “Huh?”

  “Did the kid make it? Did it work?”

  He scanned the article. “No, it says the procedure was somewhat successful but the patient passed away due to complications of the procedure.”

  She toweled her hair. “What else does it say?”

  He shrugged. “Not much.”

  “And you think this is significant because…?” She dragged out the word.

  Jake threw his hands up. “I don’t know. But maybe Ariel’s existence has another explanation besides supernatural.”

  She laughed uncomfortably. “What, you think he grafted some dolphin skin onto a little girl?”

  Jake winced at both the absurdity of that concept, and the fact that it felt less absurd than the reality of an actual mermaid existing. “I don’t know. I guess that’s as stupid as a mermaid really existing.”

  Ashley issued a mock whistling noise. “Jake, you’ve gone around the bend, I think.”

  He stood. “Have I really?” He started to pace. “I mean, think about this. What’s more likely, that some crazy Dr. Frankenstein mutilated some little girl for the sake of medicine, or there really is a supernatural creature roaming the waters off the coast of North Carolina?”

  Ashley shrugged. “What do you want me to say here?”

  “I want you to say what you think.”

  “I think this whole thing is crazy.”

  Jake stepped to her. “I’ll give you that. But seriously, which of the two scenarios are more likely?”

  A sudden consternation befell her face. “Jake, I don’t know. I guess they’re both crazy in their own unique and terrifying ways.”

  “Yes, but that doesn’t answer the question. If you had to believe…if you had to give in and believe one or the other? Which would be easier?”

  “Well, before I’d seen her, I would have believed the Frankenstein thing. But now that I’ve seen her, I’m not so sure. I mean, that girl, she’s real. She doesn’t move like a person, she doesn’t move like someone who is just in a fake tail. She moves like she was born to move in the ocean. She has an ethereal quality, something unnatural to this world.”

  Jake knew exactly what she meant. He’d thought those exact things when he’d first started seeing Ariel. “I’ll give you that too, but consider that she’s been in the water her entire life. She’d be more natural in there than anyone you or I had ever seen. She’d be as natural as a dolphin, or a seal.”

  “True, but I don’t know, Jake. I really don’t know what to believe. I mean, you know me. I’m as opinionated as anyone. But in this case I have no clue.”

  He blew out an audible breath. “I have to shower.”

  As he stood under the stream of warm water, he had a hard time wrapping his head around things. It took him a long while to understand he wasn’t crazy and suffering from hallucinations. But he had to wonder if his crazy conspiracy theory was even crazier than an actual mermaid.

  After toweling off, he went back into the room. Ashley was fast asleep on the bed. He wanted to talk to her, but he didn’t want to wake her. He quietly clicked off the lights and slid into the bed next to her.

  Chapter 22

  Ariel

  Ariel didn’t want to drink the special tea Father had given her last night, but he said it would help her to relax. It had. She didn’t remember anything after the third sip. Now she was back in her bed, waiting for the sunrise.

  She didn’t feel any different, but Father said it would take several days before they knew if she’d started developing a baby. She had a vague memory of waking up in the exam room, but sometimes she had those dreams. There had been many times in her life when she’d required a medical procedure and Father had always taken care of it. That was why all mermaid guardians were doctors. That was the way it had always been, and that’s the way it will always be.

  Touching her belly, she wondered who would be the guardian of her baby. Father was too old to look after another one of her kind. It could be quite the undertaking while they were young. She was more than a handful as a child, always getting into mischief and causing Father to grow more gray hairs. He was completely gray now and she no doubt had a lot to do with that.

  After a few deep breaths, she slid out of her hammock and into the water. Her arms were feeling a bit heavy so she went over to her box of things and took out her special balm that kept her upper body from becoming too waterlogged. It was important that she always kept her body treated because it was not made of the same skin her tail was. This was something all the mermaids had to do. It was just the nature of life.

  After applying a good base, she pushed away from the rocks and headed out to swim a little. She was feeling a little dizzy as she went underwater and into her tunnel. It was a struggle to hold her breath until she popped out into the air.

  It was a good day to see the sunrise so she headed out of the river inlet and into the open sea. The water was glassy smooth. Hardly any current or waves surged at her as she sped across the surface.

  She felt something brush against her, and when she looked, two dolphins leaped out of the water to her right. “Hey guys!” she said as two more sidled up next to her.

  She knew this pod well. They had been swimming these parts for as long as she could recall. “Did you guys come to see the sunrise?”

  The lead dolphin—she called him Chester, after a character in one of her favorite books—made some quick chirps in response.

  “It’s going to be a good one today.” She pulled up when she was happy with the view. The sun was just starting to crest out of the sea. A beautiful orange glow overtook the world and spread like a beam across the horizon.

  As she treaded water, the dolphin pod circled her, jumping and splashing as they often did. They talked to each other and maybe to her. And although she didn’t claim to understand all their words, she could feel them. They knew when she was sad and they smiled a little bigger, squeaked and chirped a little longer, and brushed into her a little more softly. If people only knew how smart, amazing, and sensitive these beings were, they’d be worshiped.

  The sun was up and the golden world above her was breathtaking. There were few things more beautiful than the sunrise over the ocean. Some people preferred the softness of the sunset, and she loved those too, but there was something about the start of a new day. Every new sunrise was like the bow on a newly wrapped gift.

  * * *

  Jake

  Jake opened his eyes when he felt someone stirring around.

  Ashley tossed some clothes at him. “G’morning.”

  He sat up, pawing at the garments on his face and cleared his eyes. He held up the black and blue board shorts and blue t-shirt with the white encircled CB on the front. “A Carolina Beach t-shirt? How touristy.”

  “I didn’t put that much thought into it. It cost four dollars.”

  “You overpaid.” He looked over her skin-tight pink stretchy shorts and curve hugging black thin-strap cotton top. He almost could not believe how beautiful she was. For several long moments, he could not gather his thoughts. Then he finally asked, “Where’d you get this stuff?”

  “Down the street at the beach shop.”

  “They’re open?”

  “Sort of. I know Willie and Dina. They let me in to get this stuff. I knew you probably had no clean clothes. They didn’t have a lot to offer.”

  Jake pulled on the shirt and shorts. They were both a perfect fit. “I do have some clothes in my car. I also have some at the storage unit.”

  “You have a storage unit?”

  “It’s mostly Cassie’s stuff that we bought for the house. But I ha
ve some clothes there I couldn’t fit into the room at Tom’s.” Jake moved his hand to his head. “Oh, shit. Tom.”

  Ashley faced him. “He doesn’t know.”

  He shook his head. “No, he doesn’t. I have to call him.”

  Ashley put her hands on her hips. “Okay, you do that. I’ll go downstairs and get some breakfast.”

  * * *

  Ashley

  Ashley exited the elevator and went to the café that faced the beach. She placed an order for two veggie omelets and went over to grab some coffee from the pot at the self-serve bar. A man with large mirrored sunglasses, a red baseball cap, and a bad Hawaiian shirt smiled at her. He creeped her out, so she didn’t want to smile back, but a little smirk came out nonetheless.

  She almost turned around but really needed that coffee. While she poured, he watched her with the same creepy smile. It wasn’t a shock, a lot of guys liked to look at her. She didn’t usually wear a lot of makeup or flashy clothes, but it didn’t matter. People always called her a natural beauty. And boys will be boys…the older ones were especially blatant.

  “It’s going to be a hot one today,” he said.

  Ashley didn’t want to piss him off by ignoring him. And it was a public place. “That’s what they’re saying.”

  He eyed her up and down. “You’re dressed for it.”

  “It’s the beach life.”

  “Was a hot one last night.”

  “Yeah.”

  “You from around here?”

  Ashley wanted to skirt the question, but didn’t want to be outwardly rude. “No,” she lied.

  “Yeah, sure was a hot night last night, huh?”

  “Yes, it was.”

  “It was like an inferno, a raging inferno.”

  “Huh?”

  He stood with his back to the counter and crossed his arms. “Some people can’t handle it when it gets that hot. That burning heat can really get to people who aren’t used to it.”

  She glanced up at him, and uncomfortably uttered, “Yeah.”

  “You have to be careful when it gets that hot. You could burn up.” He laughed oddly. “No amount of sunscreen is going to help with that kind of smoking heat.”

  Her pulse quickened to the point where she didn’t want to make eye contact and give away her nerves. Usually she was a cool customer, emotions never obvious on her face or in her moves, but right now she felt like trembles and fear were just a cat scratch below the surface.

  She finished pouring her coffee. “Okay, well…bye.” She turned away back to the café where she prayed her order would be up soon. But as she stepped toward the counter, he took a step toward her and she decided to screw the food, and broke in a hurried pace to the elevators.

  Once the door opened, she got inside and prayed he didn’t follow. He watched her, smiled, but thankfully didn’t climb in as the doors closed. She blew out a breath of sweet relief but her heart was still racing.

  She got to the room, still clearly shaken as Jake looked at her and asked, “Are you okay?”

  She fanned her face with her fingers. “That weird guy you saw at the beach that one time. What did he look like?”

  “Umm, not real tall, kinda big-ish, but that’s all I really remember. Why?”

  “I don’t know. Some weird guy down in the lobby.” She realized just then she didn’t even take the coffee with her, she left it on the counter next to the machine.

  Jake put both his hands on her shoulders. “Hey, are you okay?”

  “He said something. He said it was hot last night, like an inferno.”

  “So?”

  “So? Well, the fire, he was talking about the fire.”

  Jake made a face. “Are you sure? What exactly did he say?”

  She took a breath. It wasn’t like her to get upset or rattled, but something about that guy got to her. “He said it was going to be a hot one today. I agreed. Then he said it was a hot one last night, he said it was like an inferno, blah-blah-blah…I dunno, Jake. It was weird. He knew something. I’m telling you he knew something.”

  Jake nodded. “Okay—okay.”

  “Don’t patronize me!”

  “Ashley, I’m not, I swear. I believe you.”

  “He just freaked me out, Jake. My creep-o-meter was off the charts.”

  He slid his arms around her and gave her a hug. “It’s okay.”

  “What do we do? Maybe we need to go to the police?”

  “And tell them what?”

  “Well, someone is trying to kill us. They have to care.”

  “They care, you talked to them. They know already.”

  “I know, but they have to care more than they’ve shown us.”

  “There’s nothing they can do. It’s all empty threats. They have no evidence, they have nothing. And this town doesn’t have any sort of protection program. It’s not like they’re going to sit an officer outside the hotel.”

  She knew he was right. “I guess not. I know. Maybe I’m just being paranoid.”

  “As far as they’re concerned, we’re mixed up in something, and they think we had Mike killed. Technically speaking, we’re probably still suspects.”

  Ashley slid away from him, walked over to the sliding glass doors, and sidestepped outside onto the balcony. She felt worse over Mike’s death than she had to this point. Something about it all had just caught up with her like a freight train.

  Jake was right. The cops didn’t believe them, not fully. All the questions seemed to be more accusatory than sympathetic. Especially that one old cop, he was a real douche bag. He was convinced that some hit man they’d hired to kill Mike had turned the tables on them. They had no evidence of such things, of course. But they didn’t act that way. She felt guilty until proven innocent.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Jake asked as he leaned on the railing next to her.

  “I’m fine. I’m just feeling worn down. This is getting to me. I wish this would resolve itself. I’m feeling like a caged animal backed into a corner.”

  “I know.”

  She took a deep breath. “So what can we do?”

  “We wait a few hours and we see if Ariel can help.”

  Ashley shook her head. “She can’t help, she’s a moron.”

  “Ashley, you—”

  “No, Jake, you know it. She’s too naïve to understand what’s going on. She’s like a clueless child.”

  “That doesn’t make her a moron.”

  “Yes, that is the exact definition of a moron, Jake.”

  “Hey, she d—”

  “Don’t defend her, she’s the whole damn reason we’re in this mess.”

  “I’m not defending anyone. And Ariel might be naïve, but she’s not malicious.”

  Ashley huffed. “Whatever.”

  “Hey, I’m on your side.”

  “Doesn’t feel like it.”

  Jake said nothing. He just looked away.

  Ashley knew she was being unreasonable, but she was mad. And the damn mermaid had everything to do with this mess. Her life was forever changed. Nothing was ever going to be the same again. “I didn’t ask for this.”

  “I know, and I feel like shit about it.”

  “My life wasn’t perfect but it was mine. Then you show up and now I feel like I’ve lost control of everything.”

  “Ashley, I’m sorry I got you mixed up in this. I’m really sorry.”

  She let out a long sigh. “I’m not blaming you. I’m not mad at you. I’m just scared.”

  “Me too.”

  She was scared, about more than just the madman trying to kill them. She was scared because she was in love with this man she’d already been in and out of love with once before. She’d loved him so hard and had to bury those feelings under ten tons of concrete and steel inside a time capsule for all eternity. But here she was, here he was, the capsule busted open and the contents spilled into the deep unknown pool of a murky abyss masquerading as eternity.

  Now the feelings were back
and intertwined in this mess. It was stupid, she felt stupid…mostly because a part of her felt like she was going to lose him again to a freaking mermaid.

  Chapter 23

  Jake

  Jake and Ashley waited on the rocks as the Fort Fisher breeze touched the shore. Jake could tell by the look on Ashley’s face she was angry and worried. She had every right to be.

  “You seem like you want to say something,” he said.

  “I’m just a little nervous.”

  “About anything in particular?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, maybe everything?”

  “You’ve seen her before.”

  “Doesn’t mean I’m still not freaked out.”

  “That’s fair.” The sun was on its last few minutes before it sank into the horizon at their backs. Jake looked down, and as if by some miracle he saw it, the barrel of his gun. “Holy shit!” He got up.

  “What is it?” Ashley stood at his urgency.

  “It’s my gun.”

  “What?”

  Jake got down on his knees, and then slid onto his stomach to stretch his arm down into the deep fissure between the rocks. With just the tips of his two longest fingers, he was able to hook the trigger guard and coax the black pistol back to his hand.

  He held it tight. It was more than a gun. It was a symbol of his despair. He had formed a relationship with it unlike anything he’d known before. He’d accepted that this was the device that would end his pain, his life. In a distant and hollow voice he said, “I found it.”

  “You lost it?”

  He nodded and smiled. “Yeah, the night I first met Ariel, I dropped it. I searched for hours the next day and couldn’t find it.”

  Ashley touched his arm. “It’s still hard to believe you were really going to kill yourself.”

  He looked off into the distance. “I just couldn’t get my head straight. I was really messed up.” He slid the pistol into his pocket, making sure the safety was on. “When she showed up here, all my problems just seemed so small. Even though I was positive she was a figment of my imagination. It woke me up. Just the shear idiocy of it all woke me up.”