Mutiny (M.E.R. Series)

by Jacqueline Gardner

  “I don’t really want to talk about that,” he answered firmly. I had found another button to push.

  “Why not?”

  “Things have changed. I’ve changed. Eric and Frankie are softies. They were weighing me down.”

  “Why support Poseidon? Why don’t you just run off and do whatever you want?” Brian looked around and didn’t open his mouth for a few seconds.

  “That’s my business,” Brian sighed. “You wouldn’t understand.”

  “Right,” I muttered. “Because I have no idea what it feels like to be stuck in a situation that sucks.”

  “Forget Eric. His thoughts are far from you, trust me. We’re trained not to care about anyone but ourselves. You’re wasting your time worrying about him.”

  “Whatever,” I replied. I could feel the submarine slowing down. We were close to our destination. It wouldn’t be long until my meeting with Poseidon.

  Time went by fast. Brian kept quiet and busy at his desk and I sat on the floor and closed my eyes. I had no idea what to do. William had been shot. He might even be dead. Eric was gone – possibly forever – and I was stuck on a submarine. I’d gone from having an annoying family to having no family.

  A lot of things I used to worry about seemed minor now. Even hanging out with Carmen felt different than usual. I had to face facts. Even if I made it out of here alive, I had no life to go back to. I’d have to start from scratch. Was that worth doing? I did have a real dad out there somewhere, but he probably had a family of his own. Telling him I existed could be a mistake.

  There were three knocks on the door and Brian looked up with a smile.

  “It’s time,” he laughed. He tilted his head toward the doorway and I stood up.

  “Where are we?”

  “Back where it all started,” Brian replied. I walked towards the door waiting for Brian to escort me out. I still couldn’t believe he’d turned his back on everyone. Brian had made a point to let me know what a traitor Eric was, but it just seemed like he was power hungry. I wasn’t that easily convinced. Brian was just a kid.

  We turned a few corners and I recognized the narrow staircase leading up to the upper level hatch. Brian nudged me up the stairs and I couldn’t wait to breathe in the fresh air.

  “How do you guys stay on this submarine for so long without getting depressed?” I muttered.

  “Easy,” Brian answered. “We don’t have a choice.” We’d reached the upper level hatch in no time. It was being guarded by a team of M.E.R. soldiers. They all scowled at me and looked disgusted I’d even been allowed aboard. I avoided eye contact and waited for the hatch to open. I didn’t care if I had to swim miles to get to shore, I wanted out!

  “Hop on,” Brian said as I stepped through the hatch and towards a small boat. There was a soft ocean breeze but the air was humid. We were back in Brazil. I was happy to see the waves but they only reminded me of Eric and the night we first met. “Move it!” Brian was getting impatient and he kicked me forward. I fell onto the boat hitting my arm against the wall.

  “Showing off for the others are we?” I said. Brian scowled and kicked me again. This time pain surged through my body, making me want to puke. Brian laughed, waiting for a few more soldiers to climb on before he drove away. I’d never been kicked that hard. I wrapped my arms around my waist and stayed quiet as waves crashed around our boat.

  My thoughts drifted off and I realized after we reached the shore, I might have a chance to get away. It would be risky but I was most likely going to my death anyway. I’d thought about dying so many times, I was strangely starting to accept it.

  The boat crashed into the sand and Brian looked proud of himself. I was pushed onto the beach and towards a coastal highway with busy traffic. There were a few crowds of people along the shore – most with tiny bathing suits.

  “I assume we’re going back to the city?” I asked. Brian just laughed ignoring me. He didn’t give me the time of day when the other soldiers were around watching. “Fine, I’ll take that as a yes.” I searched the beach like Eric used to do, looking for possible escape routes. My surroundings weren’t crowded enough. I needed a good crowd if I was going to stand a chance. What would Eric do?

  We walked quickly up the beach and towards the same bus station Eric and I had been to. This was my chance. The bus terminal would be full of people. I waited anxiously and each step we took made my stomach churn.

  We entered the bus station and I was right. There were crowds of people around both sides of us. The air was heavy and it smelt like sweat and sewer. I stood in the middle of Brian’s team with Brian at the front. I spotted a corridor off to the side that looked like restrooms. I recognized the male and female symbols. This is it, Elle!

  I took a deep breath and ran for it. I must have taken Brian by surprise because I made it all the way to the bathroom door before I heard gunshots. People screamed and shouted all around me, but I refused to turn around. I tripped through the restroom doorway making it all the way to a window before I noticed the trail of blood behind me.

  I frantically pulled myself up towards the bathroom window. My leg was throbbing and the sight of blood gushing onto the floor only made it feel worse. The pain took over and I suddenly couldn’t lift my leg. My chest rose up and down and I looked around the empty restroom wondering if this was it. I pulled and scratched at the bathroom window but it was no use. I could hardly move.

  I stared at the dark red hole in my thigh. I’d never been shot before but I had always imagined the pain would be excruciating. I was right. Between the shock of seeing myself this way and the fear I’d be shot again, I couldn’t focus at all. All my body wanted to do was breathe uncontrollably and tune everything out. I felt faint from all the blood loss. My eyelids felt heavy but I shook my head. I couldn’t pass out now! There was no guarantee I would ever wake up this time.

  The bathroom door burst open and I heard screams echoing through the bus station. Brian and his team were frowning. Brian looked furious and for a second there, I thought he was going to shoot me again just to teach me a lesson. The surging pain in my leg was so intense I almost couldn’t feel it anymore. My entire body was suddenly enveloped with a numbing sensation that felt oddly calming.

  “I guess being civilized just isn’t your thing, Mariella.” Brian look pleased to see my rosy face cringing with pain. He waved at the rest of his team to shut the bathroom door. “The window. Bust it open and we’ll go out that way. Things will have to be rushed now that Mariella has made a huge fuss.” I was silent. All I could think about was my leg. I grabbed at my wound and tried to steady my breathing.

  “You were pretty silent for your first time,” Brian said in a serious voice. “My first shot was horrible. I accidentally yelled and it cost me an extra blow to the knee. You get used to it though.” He stared at my leg, waiting.

  I looked around the dirty tile floor, wondering what Brian was waiting for. He continued to stare and watched as two of his new teammates broke the glass window apart. The humid air from outside rushed in.

  “Go ahead and do it,” I muttered. “I’m tired of being used. If you’re gonna kill me, just do it already.” Brian chuckled and my shoulders sank. “You mean you’re just gonna let me sit here?” Brian kept his gaze on my leg and I finally looked down and joined him. My mouth fell open.

  “Tell no one,” Brian said to his teammates. “You understand? Those orders come straight from Poseidon.” The sound of Poseidon’s name brought an eerie feeling to the room. The numbing sensation filled my entire leg. I still couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My skin lifted itself up and turned a blinding white color. Bubbles rose up from underneath the skin almost like someone was on the other side, pushing my skin back into place. A small bullet made a clang as it fell on the tile floor and in seconds, the skin on my leg looked perfect. I was speechless.

  “Hmmm,” Brian said. He folded his arms as if he was going to give me a firm talking to. Instead, his voice was full of pity. “Yea
h, I’m not sure Eric will be too crazy about this one. Can you imagine the look on his face when he realizes the girl he risked everything to protect didn’t actually need protecting?” I suppressed my disappointment as much as I could.

  This had to be some kind of weird dream. It had to be. I couldn’t be like Eric. For one thing, I couldn’t smell someone’s armpit from miles away. This had to be some kind of joke. I was still getting over the fact that William wasn’t my father. And the fact that he might be dead. I might never find out. As Brian chuckled again pulling me up from the bathroom floor, millions of memories flashed in and out of my brain. I could hardly control them.

  There was the time at Carmen’s cousin’s house I fell from a tree. No broken bones. But that had to have been just luck. Then there was another time I tripped into a blazing fireplace at Christmas. No burns. It had to have been a Christmas miracle or something. And there was also that time when a school bus knocked me over when I was crossing the street. No injuries. Again, it had to be some kind of coincidence. Holy crap, Elle. You’re a freak!

  “This isn’t possible,” I heard myself saying. Brian pushed me towards the broken window. Now that the secret was out, he was rougher with me. But I still couldn’t believe it. “I mean, it was one time. That doesn’t mean I’m like you.”

  “Think whatever you want,” Brian replied. I crawled through the window and out into the hot sun. I favored my leg and limped even though my leg was perfectly fine. I looked down expecting another surge of pain to come soaring up my spine. Nothing happened. Brian dove through the window right behind me and pointed straight ahead. I was dragged towards a busy street, bustling with people wearing everything from shorts and tube tops to fancy suits.

  “But that would mean that everything was a lie,” I continued. I must have sounded like a hallucinating drug addict. I pulled away from Brian’s grip and kept shaking my head, insisting that my smooth leg had a bullet wound.

  “So this is what happens when our genes are passed to the weaker sex,” Brian sneered. The rest of his team laughed. I ignored Brian’s comment and resorted to blinking thousands of times to try and wake myself up. “You see, she can’t even stand up straight.” There was more laughing but my head was filled with too many questions to care. My thoughts wandered to the files on William’s computer. He had known all along. My entire childhood had been a lie. I was company property, not a daughter.

  My chest felt funny again. What would Eric think of me now? Would he believe that I was a complete idiot and didn’t notice all the regenerating stuff until now? All the things he did for me. It was practically for nothing because I didn’t need saving. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Brian waving his hand. I tiny yellow taxi pulled over and Brian opened the door. I was pushed towards the middle seat with Brian sitting up front. He spoke to the taxi driver, in what sounded like gibberish, and we were off. The taxi driver swerved through traffic like a mad man ignoring almost every red light. My stomach felt a little queasy. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine myself back home in my room. Carmen would be watching TV on my bed and I would be re-applying black eye liner at my vanity.

  A beeping sound made me open my eyes. Brian held a metal device to his ear looking pleased. He nodded and put the device back into his pocket.

  “Change of plans,” he said to his teammates in the back seat. Then he smiled at me.

  “You’re going to let me go?” I answered. Brian shook his head and spoke more gibberish to the taxi driver. The driver threw his hands up in the air in protest. I cringed as I watched Brian reach down towards his hip and pull out a gun. He pointed it at the driver with a smile on his face. The taxi driver pulled over almost immediately and jumped out. Brian’s smirk was even wider as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “Um, are you even old enough to be doing that?” I knew I was on thin ice but I couldn’t help myself. Brian ignored my comment but his cheeks went fiery red.

  “I’m going to ignore that,” Brian replied. “Your time will come.”

  “Are you going to torture me or something?”

  “We found your boyfriend.” Brian looked way too excited to tell me the news. He knew I’d be worried but I wasn’t going to let him see it on my face.

  “Who Owen? We broke it off years ago.”

  “Say what you want. Pretty soon, I’ll be the one laughing.”

  “Yeah,” I muttered. “So where are we going this time, huh? An abandoned warehouse with bloody torture equipment?”

  “The falls,” Brian replied. “And we’re meeting all your buddies there.”

  ERIC

  20

  Fight. Die. Regenerate.

  My eyes stung when I opened them underwater. Through the burning I spotted the hazy outline of Frankie - he looked like he was struggling to come up for air. I pushed the pain out of my head and forced myself to focus on my friend. Now I could see he had a firm grip on Davis’s arm. Wiggling tentacles blocked the water between them and me. The octo-creature was having a melt down. Its huge, slimy limbs barely fit in the shallow pool. I had to help Frankie but being mortal meant only having one shot at a time. I couldn’t afford to get slashed by the creature’s spikes. I would be no use to Frankie if I was bleeding all over the place.

  Frankie pulled Davis away from the violent thrashing. He was waiting for a window – a clear shot at the surface so he could get more air in his lungs. Davis lifelessly floated next to him. It was horrifying to watch his limp body sway back and forth. We’d lost him once but this time was different. We couldn’t regenerate anymore. Davis wasn’t just lost. He could be dead.

  A spiky limb made huge waves right in front of my face. I waited for the screeching creature to bring its tentacle back up before I glided to Frankie. My legs ached as I forced myself to kick hard, and the cuts in my side stung like I’d shoved a hot branding iron right into my spleen. I wasn’t used to hurting for this long. It was starting to get to me. I pushed the haze of pain down again. I dove deep and did the best I could to avoid any more close calls. Frankie’s eyes lit up when he saw me coming. I swam towards the back of the cave and Frankie followed, dragging Davis behind him.

  I kicked to the surface and gasped as I finally rose out of the water in front of the hidden tunnel. Frankie came bursting up right after me. His eyes lit up even more when he saw our way out. Water was being tossed in our faces. The creature was making an attempt to turn around. The waves were strong and I found myself constantly coughing. Frankie did his best to tread water while keeping Davis’ head afloat. Davis’ body was still limp and his eyes were closed.

  “Frankie! Get up now!” I yelled pointing towards the tunnel. Frankie frantically swam towards the opening and I followed. The monster screeched, splashing behind us. We didn’t have much time now. Any second we would be bombarded with slimy tentacles.

  I grabbed Davis’ wrists and gripped the tunnel’s rocky ground. Frankie pulled himself up, and then grabbed Davis’ hands. He pulled Davis out of the water and as he went up, I could see blood seeping through his ripped shirt. Red water drops dripped into the pool. I grabbed the tunnel as tight as I could and used all my upper body strength to pull myself up. The waves covered my face and I didn’t have to turn around to know the crazy octo creature was close behind. I could feel it hitting the rock wall next to me.

  Frankie pulled me to safety just in time. The creature howled again but the three of us were out of reach. Frankie and I dragged Davis farther down the tunnel until we couldn’t hear the creature’s screams anymore.

  “I’m not sure I want to go any farther,” Frankie said in a low voice. His expression was beyond worried. He looked like he wanted to give up.

  “We can’t exactly go back,” I commented. I hit Davis’ shoulders and yelled his name but his eyes stayed shut.

  “He’s still got a pulse,” Frankie said. I pressed my hands against the bones in his arms and legs. I could feel a clear break in Davis’s upper arm next to his bloody shoulder.

  “His arm is broken
. He must have been knocked unconscious.” Davis’ chest still rose up and down but only slightly. Frankie squeezed the water from his clothes and wiped his head.

  “We’ll have to carry him and hope we get the Triton soon,” Frankie said. “I’ll take the first shift.” I nodded.

  “I’ll keep a lookout.” I stepped in front of Frankie and examined our next tunnel. It was narrow and dark just like the last. This time we’d lost all our items. A dim light could be seen at the end. But we were empty handed and weak. Davis was dying, Frankie was starting to lose steam, and I was experiencing real fear for the first time in my life. I didn’t want to die before knowing the truth. I had to know if Mariella was still alive.

  I spotted a sharp rock next to my foot and picked it up. It felt heavy in my hand. The two of us walked slowly. Frankie had Davis on his back. With each step down the tunnel I felt more and more fatigued. And I didn’t need super senses to smell the rotting decay on the walls. My stomach rumbled with hunger as we walked towards the light. This time my eyes shifted back and forth every few seconds. I felt something scurry across my path and I barely managed to suppress my shudder. If we could just make it to the light, I was sure things would be okay.

  I gulped as the light ahead shut off. I couldn’t think of any explanation as to why. Something must have been blocking our way. I could hear Frankie’s footsteps cease behind me.

  “Was that you?” he asked quietly.

  “I’m afraid not.” I proceeded, taking tiny steps.

  “What happened to the light?”

  “Something is blocking it,” I whispered. “Just keep calm.” I could tell by his breathing Frankie was scared. We both were. “Melora! Is that you?” I was hoping to hear her whisper or at least see her ghostly face, but nothing happened.

  I felt we were being watched again. But it wasn’t Melora. Last time I could feel her presence in the wind. I heard Frankie clear his throat and the sudden noise made me jump.