“Hang on,” she interrupted. “Can I speak?” I sighed and let her say something. “First of all, you should have just said something.” She frowned at me. “And second of all, what exactly is going on here? What kind of guy sneaks around at night and travels by submarine?”
“Finished?” I asked.
“No I’m not finished! You were so crazy about that freakin’ flash drive so I swam like a thousand miles to bring it to you, and now everything is my fault? Explain to me how that works?” Brian kept staring and rubbing his eyes. He acted like he was still dreaming.
“Hang on,” I replied. “I warned you to go back, did I not? Don’t get all mad at me.” Mariella put her hands on her hips.
“How was I supposed to know you lived on a submarine with a gang of . . . lost boys?”
“Keep your voice down,” I muttered. Mariella looked like she wanted to slap me.
“Eric, do you know what the Commander would do if he found her in here?” Brian asked. “He’d kill us all! Then he’d wait, and kill us again!”
“I know but what am I supposed to do? She has to hide somewhere until we surface again.”
“Well, we have an extra bunk,” Anchovy added. Brian turned to look at Anchovy again.
“I thought I told you to zip it,” Brian responded. I looked at the stack of bags under my bed.
“You’ll have to hide there,” I said pointing to the tiny space under my bunk.
“I’m not crawling under there with these wet clothes,” Mariella answered. I’d almost forgotten about our soaking clothes. How was I going to sneak Mariella into the showers and dry her clothes at the same time?
“Listen girl, you got yourself into this mess,” Frankie said. “You have no choice but to cooperate or you’re as good as dead.”
“I want an explanation!” Mariella demanded. Frankie chuckled. I didn’t know what to say to her. I’d already dug myself into such a deep hole, I didn’t know if I would ever find a way out.
“Okay here’s what we’ll do,” I answered calmly. “We’ll get ourselves cleaned up and if we’re both still alive by then, I’ll tell you what you want to know.”
“But,” Brian began.
“That’s it,” I interrupted. Brian didn’t say anything else. Frankie sat still in his bunk. His head faced the wall. I walked closer to his bed and thought of what else I could say. “Frankie?”
“Don’t even go there,” Frankie responded. “I’m not gonna keep watch for you so don’t even ask.”
“Frankie, come on. I had no choice.”
“She’s your problem, not mine. What makes you think Commander Z doesn’t already know she’s here, huh? This could be his sick way of testing your loyalty.”
“He’s doesn’t know. I’m sure of it. And I can’t just feed her to the dogs.” I whispered so Mariella couldn’t hear. “Please, I trust you.” There was a long pause and Frankie sighed.
“Fine but if she gets caught, don’t expect me to care. What’s your plan?”
“No one will be in the showers. We’ll let her . . . do whatever girls do, and make sure no one sees.”
“Wow, that’s brilliant.”
“Hey, you got any better ideas?” I looked back at Mariella who was shivering in her wet jeans and t-shirt.
“Not on the spot. You think she’d go for that?” I shrugged. “She seems like a complicated chick.” I grinned and nodded. Frankie had already figured her out.
“Okay, Elle, you don’t have a lot of time.”
“Story of my life,” she replied.
“Let’s go Frankie, and grab some of my clothes will you?”
“What’s going on now?” Mariella asked. She looked around uncomfortably.
“We’re going to the showers,” I said. She rolled her eyes.
“And what, you two don’t want to come along?” She looked at Brian and Anchovy.
“If anyone asks, we’re in the kitchen,” I said to Brian. He nodded and looked at Anchovy.
Mariella followed Frankie and me into the hallway with a smirk on her face.
“The showers with two guys?” she joked. Her voice was shaky and her lips were pale, but still she insisted on lightening the mood. “This is a first for me.”
MARIELLA
6
M.E.R. Men Don’t Have Tails
I didn’t expect what I got, nor was I prepared for it. There was something different about Eric. That was obvious when he fell out my window. I owed him one, which is why I followed him. I’d never run that fast before and I don’t know how I did it. And when he plunged into the ocean, my only thought was that he must have lived on a boat or something. I never imagined I’d swim right into a mini-submarine.
“Are you finished yet?” a worried voice yelled from around the corner. I rinsed off as quickly as possible before turning off the shower faucet. The cold water washed away the smell of fish and seaweed, but my body was shivering. I grabbed a towel and some baggy pajamas belonging to Eric. I dried myself off and hurriedly got dressed.
“Okay,” I whispered. “I’m done. Now what?” Eric peeked around the corner. He had his hands over his eyes. I laughed. “Seriously, I’m finished.”
“That fast? You owe me two rations, Frankie!” I shook my head so my hair would dry faster.
“You guys made a bet?” I smiled, picking up my wet clothes.
“We’ll have to hang those in our room somewhere.” Eric’s continued concern for my safety was starting to worry me. Was I really in that much danger? Whatever. I was already in a huge mess back home anyway. A windowless room full of strange boys was better than my crazy stepmom.
“We’re clear,” Frankie called. Eric touched my arm and I followed him back to his room. The hallway was dark and I didn’t see why we had to keep stopping and watching for other people. Clearly, everyone was asleep.
“So what now?” I asked. Eric looked oblivious. He’d promised me an explanation and I wasn’t going to let him get out of it. “You said you would explain all this.” I looked around the room. All the boys did nothing but stare. Frankie was tall and fit, just like Eric, but he had super tan skin and black hair. The other two boys looked younger than me. The littlest one was skinny and kind of awkward, but I hadn’t caught his name yet. Everyone just called him Anchovy.
Eric’s clothes were still damp and he smelt like seawater. He dug through a bag of clothes and headed towards the door.
“I’m going to wash off. Then we’ll talk.”
“Fine,” I replied. “I’ll just hang around here.”
“I’ll be quick.” He left the room and I turned around to see three pairs of eyes fixed on my face.
“Uh, is there anywhere I can hang these?” The smallest boy pointed to an empty bunk. The bed was neatly made and a zipped duffel bag sat at the foot. I walked over and hung my jeans and t-shirt on a metal bar. “Whose bed is this?” All three boys were silent. Maybe that was the wrong question to ask, but it would be helpful to know if I’d have to eventually convince another kid not to rat me out.
“How old are you?” Anchovy asked. He was the only one who seemed friendly. The others acted like I had something contagious.
“Sixteen.” Anchovy stared as if he’d never seen a sixteen year old girl before. “What type of place is this? Where are all the parents?”
“We don’t have any of those.”
“So you guys are orphans?” I frowned. The little boy nodded.
“We are M.E.R. soldiers.” I raised my eyebrows and looked around the room.
“Shush man!” Brian muttered. I thought about the fairy tale story books I used to read when I was little. Merpeople were supposed to have fish tails and live in under water cities. Maybe he was making some kind of joke at my expense, but he looked totally serious.
“Mer? You mean like fish people?” I asked teasingly. “How can you wear pants then?” The boy laughed but Frankie and Brian looked annoyed.
“We aren’t fish. Those stories are just make believe. Th
e truth is . . .”
“I think you’ve said enough, fish boy.” Brian cleared his throat and gave Anchovy a fierce look.
“Look, we promised Eric we’d let you hang here, but that doesn’t mean we’re all friends.” I liked Brian. He reminded me of the brother I’d always wanted – rude, sarcastic, and always keeping Cynthia on her toes.
“What about you?” I said to Brian. “What happened to your family?” He looked confused.
“What did I just say, lady?” Brian replied. He did his best to sound tough but I wasn’t buying it. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’ll have to introduce you to my stepmom sometime,” I muttered. “So what’s the deal? You guys aren’t allowed to talk to girls or something?”
“Not that it’s your business,” Brian protested. “But I’ve talked with plenty of girls.”
“You can’t count the lunch lady.”
“I’ve been to Europe more than once okay, and girls love me over there!”
“Wow, no kidding,” I said sarcastically. Brian looked even more annoyed.
“Shut up,” Brian replied. I smiled and sat next to Anchovy.
“Fine,” I agreed. “I’ll keep my mouth shut until Eric gets back. You got any games?” Anchovy’s face lit up and he reached under his bed.
“I’m getting pretty good at this one.” He handed me a cardboard box with lots of playing pieces sliding around inside.
“Chess?” Anchovy grabbed the box and pulled out a checkered board. “I wasn’t expecting that. I just assumed you all did . . . well, guy stuff.”
“What’s guy stuff?” Anchovy asked, looking intrigued.
“You know, like play video games and things like that.”
“Does it look like we have time for things like that?” Brian muttered.
“What are video games?” Anchovy pulled out chess pieces and started setting up the board.
“Just a bunch of nonsense you play on the computer, stupid.” Brian was quietly playing cards on his bed with a scowl on his face.
“Oh,” Anchovy replied with his head down.
“Don’t mind them,” I whispered. “Video games are over rated. So, how do you play this?” Anchovy’s face lit up again. He grabbed one piece at a time and began explaining the rules. I listened as best I could, but I was already forgetting the rules. I felt a little sorry for Anchovy. He was small and Brian constantly picked on him.
The door swung open and everybody froze. I could hear Anchovy gulp and he looked frightened. I didn’t know what to do or where to hide.
“Relax guys.” Eric’s face looked around the door. He was dry and dressed in clean clothes. He ran his finger through his blond hair and sat on his bed.
“Alright, I’m ready when you are.” I sat up, staring at Eric. It was time for him to explain. “I’m not going to sleep until you tell me what’s going on.”
“I’m not really sure what you want to know.”
“You can’t be serious,” I laughed. “Why don’t you start with why we’re on a freakin’ submarine headed for South America?”
“This is how we travel.” Eric was going to be stubborn about this. I didn’t get what the big deal was. If they were all part of some kind of crime family, I’d get off at the next stop and keep my mouth shut. I pointed to Anchovy.
“He said you guys were like merpeople or something? What’s that about?” Eric looked shock for minute but he quickly composed himself.
“M.E.R. is a description of what we are.”
“Huh?” I just wanted a straight answer. The truth would make this whole situation seem less confusing. Did I regret running away? No. Did I regret following Eric and jumping into an unmarked submarine that I knew nothing about? A little.
“Remember when I fell out your window?” Eric asked.
“How could I forget? You sat up like nothing happened.”
“Exactly. Metasensory Endo Regenerative, M-E-R. Okay. That’s all I’m saying.” The room was quiet. I could tell Eric had just divulged information he shouldn’t have.
“Meta endo what?” I repeated. No one spoke. There was tension in the room, but I didn’t care. I had to know what was going on.
“We heal . . . from the inside out,” Anchovy responded.
“Shhh,” came Brian’s voice. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or act serious. People can’t heal from back-breaking falls. Things like that don’t happen.
“So you expect me to believe that your body healed itself after you fell?” I stared at Eric. He stayed quiet.
“Are you all M-E-R whatevers? Sailing around doing whatever you want?”
“Not whatever we want,” Frankie interrupted. His eyes were wild and his face was hot. “We fight other people’s battles.” He looked me up and down like it was my fault. I gulped.
“Then leave.”
“We can’t,” Frankie replied. “We need the serum. Without it, we’ll all die.”
“Serum?”
“That’s enough,” Brian interrupted. “Geez Frankie, what are you trying to do? Get us all killed a few times?” Frankie shot him an angry look, and Brian shut his mouth.
“Who runs this show anyway?” I asked in a quiet voice. Eric and Frankie looked at each other and laughed.
“The government,” they said together in unison.
None of it made sense. If these guys were for real, not that I believed a word they said, then what else existed in this world that I didn’t know about? I laughed nervously, reassuring myself this had to be some kind of prank.
“So the government has secret teams of regenerating humans that call themselves M.E.R. . . . guys?” I chuckled. No one in the room joined in.
“M.E.R. soldiers,” Anchovy corrected.
“Wait until Carmen hears about this.” I smiled.
“Mariella,” Eric responded. His voice was so startling it made me shudder. “You won’t tell a soul, understand?” My heart thudded as I continued to pretend our whole conversation wasn’t a big deal.
“Whatever.”
“Knife!” Eric shouted to Frankie. I jumped at the sound of his voice. Frankie nodded and pulled a long steel blade from his hip pocket.
“Wait. Okay, I promise I won’t tell. What are you doing with that thing?” Now I was even more nervous. Frankie got up with his scary blade and I flinched.
“I’m proving a point,” Eric stated. He grabbed the knife from Frankie and handed it to me. “Cut me.”
“What?” I exclaimed. “No, I’m not gonna do that!”
“Just do it,” he insisted. “You won’t hurt me.” I put my hands up and refused to touch the blade.
“I’ll do it,” Frankie chimed in. Eric bit his lip.
“No way, Frankie. You’ll slice my whole arm off.” Eric held out his forearm and pressed the blade to his skin.
“Stop!” I cried. I couldn’t help but yell as Eric made a huge gash in his arm. The cut was deep. Dark, crimson blood rushed out of his wound and onto the floor. I was horrified.
“Wait a second,” Eric said quietly. He acted as if his new wound was only a scratch. He didn’t even wince. I’d never been sliced open like that before. A cut like that must have felt extremely painful.
“But.” I watched as something strange happened to Eric’s arm. A thick row of skin started to rise from the gash. All the crimson blood faded as if it was non-existent. The skin rose up above the cut then settled back down leaving his arm fresh and smooth like nothing ever happened.
It was real. My eyes couldn’t have been fooling me. I’d just watched a guy give himself a nasty cut. And seconds later, the cut was gone as if Frankie’s blade had never touched him. This couldn’t be happening.
“Say something,” Eric muttered. He looked a little worried.
“I’m just shocked,” I admitted. “Why doesn’t anyone know about you guys?”
“Easy, people are stupid,” Frankie replied.
“And the M.E.R. program keeps out identities a secret,” Eric interrupted. “
Once every year, a regenerator is born - always October 10th. The M.E.R. program somehow figures out where we are and we’re taken from our families when we’re little.”
“But your parents? The government can’t just steal away random kids!” It was appalling to think that a tiny baby could be snatched from his mother without any explanation. Then again, someone like Cynthia would give me up in a heartbeat.
“My parents took the money,” Anchovy said quietly. “I guess they needed it.”
“And if they don’t take the money?”
“We’re taken by force.” Eric’s voice was firm, sounding a little resentful. That must have been what had happened to him. I’d learned more than I wished to know. Now I saw why Eric was so keen on hiding me. I now knew something that the rest of the world didn’t.
“So if anyone finds out I’m here, what will happen?”
“Bad things,” Anchovy answered.
“What do you think?” Eric asked. “We’re a bunch of guys that can’t get hurt, but we do feel pain.” My mind raced. I couldn’t imagine the torturous things that might await them. And this was all my doing.
“Sorry. If I’d have known . . .”
“Well it’s too late now, princess.” Brian cut in. “You have no idea the trouble you’ve caused!”
“Look, I needed to get away and I thought Eric was swimming out to a boat or something. I just wanted my dad and stepmom to worry for a while. That’s all.”
“At least you know your parents,” Brian said angrily.
“Well, one of them,” I added.
Brian crashed against his bunk, looking up at the ceiling. I was still exhausted from my swim. It had been a long day. I wasn’t looking forward to sleeping on the floor under Eric’s bed but my eyes felt heavy.
“We get woken up at 5AM. You’ll have to stay hidden until we get back from breakfast.” I nodded as Eric handed me a blanket. I crawled underneath his bed and covered myself. A duffel bag hid my face and the rest of me was camouflaged among Eric’s things.
Mutiny (M.E.R. Series) Page 5
