Song of the Sirens (16 page)

I breathed heavily. I didn’t have the
energy to get there. I wished Riley would grab my wrists and yank me up without
having to ask. I groaned and paused, sliding back into the water.

I unlatched my belt and slipped out of
the vest, allowing the tank to fall off. I didn’t care if it floated or
dropped. Removing the tank removed a weighty inconvenience from already sore
shoulders.

I clutched the grid and pulled myself
out of the water inch by sore inch.

The commotion from the deck died just a
little, but sudden outbursts and cries from the men startled me. I craned my
neck to see what the fuss was all about. They pointed at the water. They rushed
in, pulled up the dock, even though it wasn’t straightened out. The jerking
motion almost shook me free.

My hands were rigid and tight from the
cold water. My joints ached. I no longer had free range of movement. The water
rose around me as I fell deeper into the sea. I couldn’t keep a hold in my
exhaustion. My wet hands moved over the grated bars in a desperate endeavor to
hang on. At this point, I just didn’t see it happening unless Riley helped.

“Something’s in the water! Get out of
the water!” a crewman yelled.

I glanced over my shoulder. My poor
heart crashed against my ribs as a waning amount of adrenaline flowed through
my veins.

I gulped. This could be it! The siren
nipped at my heels, killing me the way I envisioned in my worst nightmares!

Through the darkness, something small
and obscure emerged from the waves. The object was but a tip of whatever moved
beneath. I assumed the sirens were similar to mermaids, to the visions in my
dreams, but I could be wrong. They could have devolved into hideous sea
monsters with a thousand tentacles, fins, and a suctioning mouth with revolving
teeth. For all I knew, I faced a behemoth, a kraken, or anything well beyond
the likes of my imagination.

“Anita!” Riley called down to me.

I lifted my head above the water, fought
to wrap my hands around the bar, and heaved myself up and out of harm’s way.

Riley dragged my father higher up,
taking his feet out of the ocean. As the dock rose out of the sea, Riley slid
down the grate and jumped into the water.

Panic consumed my actions, not that achy
and frozen joints moved fast enough to help this situation.

“Hurry up!” he hissed, irritated with my
slow and feeble efforts.

He moved around behind me, grabbed my
waist with harsh urgency, yanked me out of the water, and pushed me onto the
dock. He didn’t care enough to prevent further injury, because my cheek hit the
metal and scraped against the grate. I bit my lip and kept from screaming.

My body acted like a piece of stone,
barely moveable, far from malleable, and heavy once out of the ocean.

Riley grabbed my feet and shoved me farther
onto the dock. The grates tugged on the scrapes, cutting them open. Blood oozed
out and dripped into the water below. I stared down at the small, bloody mess.
One drop of blood in the water led to a multitude of dangers.

Riley cursed behind me. Through his
hurried actions and heightened tone, I knew something bad headed for us.

I rolled onto my back and lifted my
head. At this slanted angle, I watched the ripples in the water move out of the
beast’s way as it generated a higher speed. A dorsal fin appeared, and I knew
at that moment a hungry and excited shark sought out meat.

“Riley,” I sputtered, hoping he
possessed enough time to grab onto the end of the metal bar and hoist himself
up.

The dock continued moving up all the
while, and Dad and I were out of the water, but that didn’t mean the beast
couldn’t jump and haul our butts back in. The chains slapped the waves below as
the momentum jostled me against the bar. I gripped it with one hand, praying I
wouldn’t slip through and fall back into the water.

Riley, fearless and skilled, faced the
shark head on. The crewmen yelled at him to get out while my heart gave way to
an attack in itself.

Riley lifted his hand out, the bottom
half submersed beneath the surface. A pounding force left his palm, void of the
familiar green glow. It vibrated in the water and sent sonic ripples out. Once
the waves hit the beast, the ocean rocked.

The shark opened his massive jaw. His
flesh retracted over razor sharp teeth. He headed straight for Riley and
could’ve bit clear through. Something about the power Riley exuded stopped the
shark dead in his tracks.

The beast, with a gaping mouth ready for
a meaty treat, swam at full force. I anticipated him dragging Riley down in a
pool of his own blood.

Riley remained confident, focused, and
poised. Fear did not alter his motive.

The shark suddenly veered off to the
left mere feet from Riley. A large wave hit Riley as the shark steered clear of
the dock, barely missing impact. His massive body glided right past me. Much
too close for comfort. The light from the boat gleamed across his glossy, black
eye. He swam off and dove into the ocean.

I gripped the bar so hard it hurt. I
couldn’t pry my fingers open and release the joint pain. A near heart attack
and having witnessed such a barbaric act of nature right in front of my eyes
would’ve driven me mad.

Riley spun around and grabbed onto the
chains. He jumped out of the water and climbed up like a speedy monkey. We were
halfway up the boat by now.

I watched motionless as the dock rocked
in the wind while Riley thrashed around as he climbed up, gripped the grate,
and crawled toward me. On his knees and hunched over my father, he examined
Dad.

Without glancing at me, he asked, “Are
you all right?”

I stared wide-eyed at the young man and
his ridiculous question. “Don’t know much about human women, right?”

“Don’t freak out again.”

That was still the wrong thing to say.

“Did your people find them?” I only
hoped. I never wished for anything so bad, other than making it out of this
alive.

He shrugged.

“Not the right answer,” I grumbled, nor
was it a confident response.

The metal chains slapped against the
side of the ship and grew louder as the dock reached higher. The dock
straightened out. The smooth, metal planks with large bolts and an insignia in
white paint appeared. Then the metal cuff, the floor of the deck, and the
railing appeared.

The crewmen and research team, each
covered in heavy raincoats, bustled in an organized manner to stabilize and
reattach the dock to the side of the boat. Riley and I remained motionless
until the men deemed it safe enough to stand and walk across.

Captain Jack took the first step onto
the grates. He grabbed the sidebar with one hand and held out the other. “Come
on, dear, let’s get you warm.”

I didn’t move.

The captain took a few more steps and
stood above us. He held a palm out to his men, indicating they stay put until
he gave command.

Riley shifted and crawled to his
haunches behind me. He placed his arms beneath my armpits and lifted as the
captain took my hands and carried the remainder of the dead weight.

A severe onslaught of chills and quivers
overtook my body as the wind picked up. I could hardly stand without
assistance. How pitiful!

Before the captain took over in
assisting me, or called for his men, Riley said, “I’ll take her.”

The captain didn’t argue with him.

Riley wrapped his left arm around my
waist and hooked my right arm around his neck. I hobbled alongside his steady
gait. We stepped over the small bridge, which opened between an empty link in
the railing. I didn’t dare take a glimpse at the angry, black waves below.
Three steps down to the deck and I was finally as safe as I could be.

“Wait,” I muttered with chattering teeth
and glanced over my shoulder.

Once we walked out of the way, the
captain and two other men picked up Dad and eased him onto the safety of the
boat.

My lower lip quivered. Dad didn’t move.
I pried my fingers open and dug my nails into Riley’s neck. He responded by
whispering, “He’ll be all right. I’ll make sure he’s all right.”

“You promise?” I sobbed.

He nodded once. “Let’s get you out of
these wet clothes and warm before hypothermia sets in.”

Riley bent down, gathered me into his
arms, and carried me across the expanse of the deck and ducked inside. The boat
rocked, but he moved with stealth. He walked down the staircase, around two
corners, and through the hallway to my quarters. I never thought I’d missed
this smelly, tiny, dark room so much.

Without lowering me, he turned the
doorknob and pushed against the door, careful not to bang any part of my body
against the doorframe.

Once inside the small sleeping quarter,
Riley kicked back. The door slammed shut. He lowered me onto a wooden chair at
my father’s desk. I crossed my arms, huddled over, and rubbed my hands against
my arms and legs. I shook.

Riley ran to the bathroom, grabbed a
towel, and draped it around my slender shoulders and back. I clung to the
corners and kept my eyes downcast. Riley squatted in front of me and rubbed my
arms, generating heat to keep hypothermia away.

“You’re going to be fine,” he said.

I refused to meet his eyes. Now that we
were out of the ocean, I couldn’t hide my tears with water.

“Have to get you warmed up and out of
these clothes. I’m going to get the shower started.”

He stood, went through the dresser, and
rummaged through the drawers until he picked out clothes. Knowing a guy dug
through my undies should’ve mortified me, but he didn’t seem to care. He took
the small stack of dry garments into the bathroom.

When Riley turned on the shower, the
mere sound of water startled me. I jerked toward the bathroom. The ocean was my
life, and now it incited fear. Perhaps I would live, but with the lasting
trauma of this night forever etched into my memories unless Riley took them.

Riley came back and helped me to my
feet. I wobbled into the bathroom.

“Your clothes are on the counter. The
water should be warm now. Take your time. I’m going to check on your father,
all right?”

My eyes lit up.

He touched my left cheek, the one free
of cuts and wounds, for a brief moment. “He’ll be okay. I will make sure of
that.”

I remained silent, unconvinced.

“I’m going to lock the front door from
the inside. Do me a favor and stay here until I come get you. Don’t leave this
room.”

That favor meant more than just a simple
inclination to stay put and rest because I went through an ordeal. It meant he
needed us locked up and secured in case something slipped onboard the vessel.
He wanted me safe so he could focus on his job, which was sort of sweet in a
bizarre way.

I parted my lips to object and sputter
out something hateful toward his people’s ways in not killing those monsters
when they had the chance centuries ago and again tonight. But, that seemed
pointless.

Riley stopped that outburst. “It’s
better this way. Let me work on your dad without having to worry about you.”

I swallowed. A new emotion brewed in my
guts, one that didn’t like this new, secret world very much. Riley would erase
my memories, but until then, I harbored resentment. The sirens deserved to die.
The sirens
had
to die.

Riley left before I expressed disdain.
He closed the bathroom door behind him. A moment later, the front door opened
and closed.

Aside from the cascading shower, I faced
quiet delirium. The warm fog called out to me. I stripped down with shaky
hands, stepped into the stall, and allowed water to ward off hypothermia.

Ah, the warm water felt so good.

I grew up without want of essential
things, and I overlooked them. Hot running water happened to be one of them.
After this near-death experience, I enjoyed the great indulgence. As I heated
back up, my mind returned to its senses.

I leaned against the cool tile wall and
stared at the faucet. While I enjoyed the luxury of such warmth, my thoughts
wandered toward my father. Worries returned. I couldn’t stand around all night
in a relaxing shower while he fought for survival.

I scrubbed the sea out of my skin and
hair until my flesh burned from tenderness. I couldn’t wait to get off this
boat and step foot on dry land. The curse of the sea wouldn’t dare follow me
there.

Chapter Eleven

The steam trapped in the enclosed
bathroom dissipated after some time. The storm intensified outside, rocked the
boat, and thrashed everything and everyone around like rats in a cage. The fact
the storm increased, and by no means subsided, meant the sirens strived to keep
the crew in place. Some evil she-beast down there wanted her meal.

I stepped into a cold room, but it was
not as cold as the night sea. I sat on the chair, faced the door, and hugged myself
to generate more warmth. A hot shower, blow-dried hair, and covered from head
to toe warmed me enough to keep my temperature up and out of the red zone.