“I’m sorry, David, but my problems are bigger than either one of us. This is not going to happen–you and me–I can’t let it!” She ran away, leaving him behind to collect the pieces of his broken heart.
Faren ran through the crowd, ignoring David’s cries for her to stop. When she got to the beach, she looked back but didn’t see him anywhere. With tears running down her face, she ran into the surf. It felt like her world was ending, and she was powerless to stop it. No matter how much she loved David–no matter how hard it was to leave him–she knew she was doing the right thing.
* * *
For the rest of the day, David wandered around town in a fog. He didn’t know where he was going, nor did he care. He felt lost and alone without Faren. Even though hundreds of happy faces surrounded him, his existence was as dark and bleak as the stormiest day. David didn’t care about the sea demons. He didn’t care about the danger he faced. Those details were miniscule compared to losing his one true love.
As the moon came out, he stepped aboard the water taxi and walked to the back, picking the seat next to the one he and Faren had shared. Although she was gone, he could still feel her presence. David took a deep breath to keep from crying and stared out at the darkened ocean, lost in his own grief-stricken world.
* * *
As the sun went down, Faren watched David board the water taxi, his face drawn and despondent. Most of the ferry’s occupants were raving on about their day, but he sat alone.
“I wish you knew how much I love you,” she whispered. “I always will, no matter where you go.”
As the boat began its journey south, Faren cried. Her gaze lingered a few more minutes before she vanished beneath the ripples skating across the surface of the water.
Chapter 5
Decisions, Decisions
THREE DAYS LATER RYAN AND BRYCE invited David to go diving with them, but he declined their offer, opting to spend the day alone. Battling a whirlwind of conflicting emotions, he stretched out on the sofa. The darkness he saw behind his eyelids was overwhelming, as if he were plummeting into a bottomless pit he could not escape.
The longer David lay there the drowsier he got. The room began to spin, slow at first and then faster. From the deep recesses of his mind, he watched a city succumb to the sea...
It was June in Atlantis. The flowers were in full bloom, and the meadows were lush and green. Marble homes stood in neat rows, lining the busy streets. The island was alive with excited chatter.
Lisim and his wife, Undossa, played with their five-year-old daughter in the temple courtyard. All around them, the rest of the High Council celebrated the Coming of the Gods with their families; picnics and games took up most of the morning.
Coryn looked up at Lisim with the brightest blue eyes. “Father, why do we honor the gods?”
He knelt beside her and smiled. “Because they created everything you see,” he explained. “The ocean, the mountains, the animals.”
“I thought the Spirit created everything,” Coryn said, twirling a lock of blonde hair between her stubby little fingers.
Lisim cast his wife an uncomfortable look. “Where did you hear that? He’s just a legend.”
On cue, the sky grew dark and massive waves struck the island. The ground shook, collapsing the courtyard, and people scattered. Undossa grabbed Coryn, and she and Lisim ran for cover as their world toppled around them. Children cried and women screamed; their terrified shrieks barely penetrated the deafening sounds of the sinking island.
David woke up sweating; his breaths came in short gasps. The nightmare hung over his head like a storm cloud, impossible to shake. The screams of those running for their lives still rang in his ears. With the exception of the clock hanging over the entertainment center ticking away the minutes, the house was quiet.
Still groggy from sleep, David made his way downstairs to his bedroom. From the foot of his bed, he could see the ocean through the double doors. Its serenity called to him. It stirred within him a longing too intense to ignore.
He walked away from the villa to the stretch of beach where he and Faren had spent many afternoons together. If he listened close enough, David could almost hear her laughter. He saw them entangled in each other’s arms, oblivious to the world around them, and he could still feel Faren’s soft skin against his as if she were right next to him.
David sat down with his feet in the surf and watched the small waves roll inland. Like a broken record, Faren’s last words replayed in his head.
This is not going to happen–you and me–I can’t let it.
David picked up a stick, broke it in half and tossed it to the side. He gazed out at the ocean, lost somewhere between angry and devastated.
The sound of footfalls snapped him back to reality. He looked up to see Bryce walking toward him and turned away, his mind reeling with a collage of emotions he wanted to push from his mind.
“What did that stick ever do to you?”
David ignored his friend’s desperate attempt at humor. “How did you know where I was?” he asked without turning around.
“You’ve been sitting here for the last three days. It was a good guess.” Bryce sat down beside him and pulled his legs up to his chest. “I’m sorry, Dave,” he said. “I know you really liked her, but you had to have seen this coming. Long distance relationships never work out.”
“I’m not going home,” David said, shooting his friend a defiant look. “I’m staying here.”
Bryce groaned. “You haven’t known her long enough to change your whole life. What would your parents say?”
“This has nothing to do with my parents. This is about me and Faren, and I can’t leave her.”
“She told you to leave, Dave. Faren wants it to be over.”
David stared at the water quietly, too wrapped up in his own pain to give an inch.
“It’s not like you were going to marry her.”
David met his stare. “Yes, I was.” He wished he could tell his friend why they broke up, but he knew it wasn’t his secret to share. He tossed a seashell into the surf and watched it disappear when the tide dragged it back out to sea. “Where’s Ryan?”
“He hooked up with a girl at the marina this morning, Kim something or other,” Bryce said with a wave of his hand. “You met her at the beach party the other night.”
“Yeah, I remember her.” The psycho.
“Well, anyway, she and a couple of her roommates are staying at the Sea Crest Hotel on the north island, and they invited us to party with them for the next couple of days. ‘You know how the ladies love me’,” he imitated Ryan.
David gave him a pity laugh.
“The girls are here,” Ryan called from down the beach. “Are you coming or not?”
Bryce stood and waved him off. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Hurry up, man.” Ryan shook his head and walked away.
“That was another reason I came to talk to you,” Bryce said, dusting the loose sand from his clothes. “I was hoping you’d join us. Being around other people might help get your mind off things.”
The idea of laughing and having a good time without Faren seemed impossible. “No, I don’t think so,” David mumbled.
He felt guilty for abandoning his friends, but to suffer this kind of heartache was hard enough. The last thing he wanted was Bryce and Ryan witnessing his descent into madness firsthand.
“Listen to me,” Bryce said in a harsher voice. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but you need to move on. You can’t go on like this day in and day out.”
Blah, blah, blah.
“I know Bethany did a real number on you, but you’ve only known Faren for a week. Has it ever occurred to you that she could be the classic rebound?”
Bryce’s harsh words stung to the core. “You have no idea how I feel about Faren, so please don’t try to give me advice,” David said, hurling another seashell as far as he could. “I love her more than I ever did Bethany.” He hoped that hi
s glare warned Bryce that he was infringing on dangerous territory.
“I’m just trying to help,” Bryce said. “I’m only thinking of you.”
“Yeah… well, don’t.”
Bryce threw his hands in the air and backed up. “Fine,” he relented. “If you change your mind, we’ll be staying in room ten.”
David could hear him walking away, but he didn’t look back. As he watched the water, his pain threatened to devour him without mercy. How could he carry on as if he had never met Faren? His heart was no longer his own.
* * *
One thousand feet beneath the surface of the Gulf Stream, Furia’s elected guardians watched over her lair. They swam back and forth outside the entrance, chasing the migrating sea monkeys.
Suri ducked into the hundred-foot opening carved from the side of the bluff. She swam through the first room, passing dozens of human corpses and into the cavern where Furia slept.
Jutting from a deep hole in the wall of the cave, the queen’s slumber cocoon lifted and fell with each breath she took. Suri could see sporadic patches of her massive form inside the encasement. Furia basked in a natural glow, lighting up the clear, thick liquid flowing through her veins.
Suri swam over to the giant sea demon and reached out to her. The cocoon felt slick under her fingertips. The surface dented wherever she touched it.
“The time is near,” she told the sleeping form. “We will finish what we started so many years ago. All mers will die.”
When Furia’s eyes fluttered, Suri grinned and hurried off to alert the others of the impending awakening.
* * *
David walked along the beach with his head down, deep in thought. He was finally coming to terms with the fact that Faren wasn’t coming back. Although it felt like a part of him died when she left, he knew he had to find a way to live without her.
“Dave!”
David looked back to see Bryce jogging toward him. He groaned and kicked a seashell lying in his path. “I thought you went to the north island,” he told his friend when he caught up with him.
“Don’t worry. I come in peace. I just felt bad about leaving you alone.”
“What about Ryan?”
“Ryan’s a big boy. I think he can handle a room full of girls for one night. He’s probably happier I’m not there.”
David smiled for the first time in three days. “Yeah, I’m sure he’s miserable.”
“So, what are you up for?” Bryce asked. “We could go snorkeling, hiking, TP’ing–you choose.”
David chuckled at his last suggestion. “Come on, man, we’re not kids anymo…”
A commotion down the beach stopped him. Police were erecting barricades to keep the gathering crowd at bay. The shocked bystanders talked over one another. Some girls cried and others covered their open mouths with both hands, unable to speak.
Two boys ran past David and Bryce on their way to the scene, chatting back and forth about an accident.
“What’s going on?” Bryce hollered at them.
The shorter boy looked back. “They found another body,” he called back. “The police aren’t sure if she’s local or a tourist.”
Those words sent David’s mind spiraling out of control. Before he knew it, he was racing toward the growing mob. He could hear his own labored breaths, and his heart threatened to leap from his chest.
Bryce chased after him. “Dave, you don’t know that it’s her.” he yelled. “David, stop!”
David fought his way through the spectators. When he tried to get past the police, one of them stopped him.
“I can’t let you get any closer,” the man said, pushing him back. He tried to wedge himself between the distraught teenager and the corpse, but David could still see past him.
“Do you know the victim?” the officer asked, holding him back. When David didn’t answer, he repeated the question.
Bryce ran up and pulled David from his grasp. He tried to lead him away from the scene, but David stood steadfast staring at the dead girl. “No, he doesn’t,” Bryce answered, still trying to pull him away.
David couldn’t find his voice; he couldn’t move. He couldn’t take his eyes off the young woman floating face up. Red whelps streaked across her chest and arms, and she was missing her right leg. Her blonde hair framed her face, waving around in the surf, and her eyes stared straight ahead. Her open mouth screamed silent cries.
To David’s horror, Faren’s face appeared to him swollen and deformed from the attack. He clenched his eyes shut to block out the gristly sight and started counting to ten in his head.
Bryce’s voice intruded when he got to five. “Dave, let’s go.”
When David opened his eyes, Faren was gone. He took a deep, trembling breath and let it out slowly. From a distant place in his mind, he could hear the reporter talking about the deceased. The victim was a Jane Doe. All they could estimate was that she was in her late teens to early twenties. The rest of the speech went unheard.
“It’s not her,” Bryce said again, tugging him away from the police officer. “It isn’t Faren.”
David and Bryce left the crowd behind and started back to the villa. Through his relief, David was still panicking inside. Even though this poor girl had turned out to be someone else’s loved one, he knew time wasn’t on his side. Each day without Faren brought with it an intense foreboding of future events. As far as he was concerned, she could easily be the next victim.
“I just wish I knew where she was,” David said, leaving Bryce behind.
* * *
As Faren and Luna strolled along the shore, Faren told her about her relationship with David.
“What are you thinking?” Luna cried. “You could end up spending the rest of your life in prison if you’re exposed. The High Council could execute you.”
“I can’t help it. I love him.”
Luna shook her head. “Faren, what’s gotten into you? What are you... you need to forget David.”
“How can I just forget him?”
Luna stopped her from walking. “It could never work out,” she scolded her. “He’s a human, or have you forgotten that little detail? We’ve always stuck to our own kind for good reason.”
“And what reason is that?” Faren begged for an answer that her broken heart could accept.
“You need to ask yourself something,” Luna reminded her. “Would he accept you, if he knew the truth? Would his family accept you? You already know ours won’t welcome him with open arms, so that question is irrelevant.”
Faren left Luna behind and continued walking along the shore. Her heart was breaking. She had counted on her best friend for support, but now that she knew she was on her own, she felt more alone than ever.
“Faren,” Luna called out, catching up to her, “listen to me, please–”
“You’ve already let me know, loud and clear, you’re not on my side. What else could you possibly say that you haven’t already, something that might make a difference?”
Luna cringed at the sharpness in her voice. “Tristan loves you. I don’t see what the problem is,” she said, pleading her brother’s case for the umpteenth time. “He’s handsome, kind, and I think he’d take a fisherman’s net for you, Faren.”
“I know you want him to be happy, but he isn’t the one.” Faren took a deep breath and looked away. It was hard to watch the light leave her friend’s eyes. “He deserves someone who’s in love with only him. Don’t you want that for Tristan?” Faren looked back at Luna, her wounded heart begging her to understand the ramblings of a lovesick friend.
Luna let go of Faren’s arm and stepped back. “Of course I do. I guess I always hoped you would learn to love him.”
Faren felt bad for what she was about to say, but Luna needed to hear the truth. “I’m sorry,” she said, “but I could never love him–not like that. My heart belongs to David.”
Luna shook her head in disapproval. “I think you’re making a big mistake if you go back to this human, and
it kills me that I can’t change your mind.”
Faren knew Luna was hurting, but it was difficult for her to get past her own pain. She felt like she was dying without David. “What would you do?”
Luna inhaled sharply. “It doesn’t matter what I would do,” she said. “What are you going to do? You’re the one who has to face the aftermath of your decision.”
* * *
David watched the orange and purple colors blend into one as the sun set over the horizon; within the beautiful hues floated the girl of his dreams. He snatched his towel off the bed and took off down the deserted beach.
As he inched farther away from shore, the slight ripples of water stroked his body. The night sky wrapped him in tranquility, and the sea promised to whisk him away from his pain and suffering.
David lay back and stared up at the darkened sky. Back and forth he floated, drifting into a world where he was weightless, a place he could run to when life became too much to bear.
David began counting stars. One, two, three, four... oomph!
He grabbed his side and groaned, scanning the surface of the water. His mind went blank and he froze. The heavy animal rammed his legs again from behind, knocking him forward. Its rough skin scraped the flesh from David’s calves. The scarlet pain shot through him like an out of control forest fire.
When he ducked beneath the surface, he could clearly see the shark circling him. The moonlight cast an eerie glow rippling across its stripes, and its blank stare seemed to look right through him.
David came up sputtering. He fought to get away, his heart pounding with every frantic stroke. The shore wasn’t far–a mere twenty or thirty feet. However, with a hungry shark after him, it might as well have been a mile.
When he looked back and saw an empty ocean, he prayed for the fish to resurface. He didn’t have to wait long. The shark flipped into the air, fighting a creature David couldn’t see. Moments later, an eerie calm settled over the water.
With his mind reeling from the attack, David focused on the coastline. Twenty-five feet, twenty-four feet–just a little more. Fifteen feet… ten feet. Now he could stand with his head above the surface. David swam as fast as he could, his eyes never faltering from the beach. When he made it back to dry land, he picked up his towel and jogged back to his room to check his wounds.
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