As the deluge drowned out the silence just outside the porch of the warehouse, I surveyed what land I could see. Luckily it was still dark out and would be for at least a while longer. I gave the mermaid a quick look of reassurance that I’m making the right move. I’m not positive that I am making the right move, but I lie to her. The thought crossed my mind to just let her loose in the ocean, though I knew she would not make it far at all. The Polite Earth Society would undoubtedly catch her before she could get even a mile out into the ocean. Around these seas, it was almost impossible to partake in any sort of leisurely swim or boating activities due to the Polite Earth Society’s underwater drones. These drones weren’t small either, they were large metal serpent-like contraptions that could outswim most man-made aquatic vehicles. The large claw-like mouth at either tip of the drone was almost guaranteed to snatch any specimen swimming by that it marked. The centipede-like legs that lined the body of the long drone were made to grip onto a large sea-dwelling creature like a whale and haul it to shore, it’s such a bizarre sight to witness but I’ve seen it happen to a rather large bass.

Even us here in Floatsam harbor who live downhill from the Polite Earth Society’s headquarters don’t really know the fate of animals dragged into the place. The HQ was somewhat a distance away in the large hills that surrounded Floatsam Harbor town. Everyone in town really just tries to forget it exists. Even Noira and her activist group wouldn't dare stage a protest at the very facility they were rallying the town to oppose. The Polite Earth society soldiers I’ve come across in town just claim to be for the betterment of all living beings on this earth. Most of the Soldiers in town are pretty chill and just stand around patrolling the divide between the town and wilderness but I don't let their outward calm veneer fool you, they are known to be ruthless to species other than human. Turning this mermaid over to the P.E.S just wasn’t an option.

The view of the road that leads uphill through Floatsam that I am used to seeing during the day was now pitch black with minimal street lights flicking here and there but were dimmed by the rain. The warehouse this mermaid was kept in was just a bit off the bottom of the main road which was right by the sea. I hit the lights off of the warehouse so that the mermaid and I could stay hidden in the dark as we stood on the porch. When I turn back around I see the mermaid sticking her hand out into the rain.

“What is this?” The mermaid asked with a very baffled look on her face..

“What? Do you mean the rain?”

“Rain? So it’s rain? It kind of looks like water.”

“Thats right, the rain is water. Just water falling from the sky.”

“The sky? it was so much brighter earlier. It was very blue. like another ocean."

Now I’m genuinely curious about how a mermaid perceives the world outside of the ocean.

“Have you never seen the sky before?” after asking, I'm wondering just how little she really knows about the surface world.

“It wasn’t until very recently that I first left the ocean. I was told there was a world above the ocean but I never wandered too far from where our group had migrated unless it was to help mother hunt for food. Even so on our hunts, we would never swim too far up.

So there are other mermaids down there.

"Ever since I was little our group had to keep moving so’s not to be caught by predators. We just kept moving to wherever we thought was safe. Just recently the few of us that were left made our resting spot in a giant Shell we found. Some time ago now the majority of our group left to find food as we were quickly running out and any food source was getting harder to find. Those that left never came back. Slowly those of us who remained would leave in groups to try to find those who were missing. Before I knew it my mother and I were the only ones left in the shell. Staying at the shell was a bad idea with nobody guarding it so we decided to go out and try to find anyone we could. we swam for a long time in every direction and found nothing. After a long time of looking everywhere, we thought they would be, we both realized we hadn’t checked in the higher waters. Before we knew what had happened we looked into a world I had only heard of in stories. A World where there wasn’t any water. When I gazed above me I just saw what looked like a clear blue ocean above. I tried my best to leap out of the water and reach it but wasn’t able to. I thought maybe it was possible the rest of my kind was up in the ocean above. I just want to see them again.”

I hate to see this lonely mermaid looking so sad but as of right now I’m not too sure how to get her past the ocean drones, I’m not sure what I’m doing at all in fact. The only thing I know is that she isn’t safe at all in Flotsam Harbor. I have to get her out of town as fast as I can. Getting past the Polite Earth Society will be impossible with how many checkpoints they have surrounding all corners of this city.

“I don’t mean to break this to you so harshly but there is no ocean up there, just air and clouds.” was my only response to her anecdote. I could have been more sympathetic but we are in kind of a bind here.

“Then why is there water coming from up above?” She asks me in a ‘matter-of-fact tone.

“When we aren’t in a hurry to leave I’ll explain it to you.”

“Oh, ok. Thank you.” Your welcome? For a Beast-like she's very well-spoken.

“Uhh yeah. Look, we have to get ourselves out of this place. I just need to find out where we should go.”

“Ok! Which way is the Ocean?” She asked me in such a happily eager tone. I don’t think she realizes how dire our current situation actually is.

“The ocean here is off-limits for you due to the drones I mentioned to you earlier, remember?.”

“Is there another way I can get home then?” The mermaid still seemed to have so much hope. I can’t just let her down, not after telling her I would save her.

“There is only one way I can think of but it won’t be easy. I can try to smuggle you out of town. I would just need a car." and an opposing army to face the polite earth society, simple right? Even if I were to get her out of town, where would I take her then?

Another thought I’ve been considering is telling Noira about the mermaid. Noira and her group, Creature Better, could probably find this mermaid a way out of town. It might be a bit too short notice to ask to get this mermaid out of here before sun up, I feel like my options are dwindling fast. I also doubt Noira is in any mood to talk to me. I mean she is mad about what had happened to her mermaid friend years ago thanks to my family. A surge of regret hits me every time I think about Noira or look at the mermaid on my back and think about what my family has done to the mermaid race. The more I ponder asking Noira for help, the more I’m afraid to put her in real danger of being caught by the Polite Earth Society for more than just protesting. Noira’s family runs that flower shop in town and it’s well respected too. Tarnishing her family's reputation is the last thing I would want. Pixies don’t just go to any garden, There has to be something exceedingly special about it and Noira's family garden was special. Because of the fairies and the quality of her family's flowers, their store is pretty famous even outside of Flotsam Harbor. They once got paid a very large sum of money to deliver clear across this very peninsula. That was when Noira came back with stories of the place they delivered to, Driftwood Harbor. Of course, they didn’t cut across, they drove around on the large road that lines around the Hook-Foot Peninsula. I remember Noira couldn’t stop talking about Driftwood Harbor when she came back and how it wasn’t governed by the Polite Earth Society. it still plays in my mind how cute it was when Noira went on about how their waters were clear of drones and how Driftwood Harbor…Driftwood Harbor! That’s it!

“I need to get you to Driftwood Harbor.” The way Noira described Driftwood Harbor was that it wasn’t an industrial cesspool like our Flotsam Harbor here. There weren’t drones, people patrolling the place with guns looking for Beast-likes. There were farms to raise Beast-likes but no factories to process them there. The air was clean and didn’t seem as harsh a place to live as Flotsam. They still weren’t the best to Beast-likes there but at least they weren’t hunted down. I always asked Noira why she didn't up and move there after we graduated from school. She told me unfortunately Flotsam is where the money is and Noira’s family or anyone trying to run a business would be crazy to up and leave if their goal is to make money. People don't spend money there with their merger wages but the wealthy know to come to Flotsam to find really anything.

“Is that another place close to the ocean? Oh yes! Let's go there!” Since I got her out of the tube she now has enough optimism for both of us.

“Ok let’s be a little quieter. We would get in a lot of trouble if someone finds us. I can’t think of too many people in town who would break the law and risk severe punishment just for you, be grateful.” I do say it in a bit of a joking manner, trying to make her feel more at ease, to give her a sense that I know what I’m doing... again, I don’t know what I’m doing. She looks at me a bit puzzled.

“What do you mean by break the law?” I suppose living in the ocean she wouldn’t know too much about what goes on with us land dwellers.

“You see if a human is caught in this day and age with a mermaid, they would hand you over to some bad people.”

"Like your dad"

"he's not a bad guy he just...I don't think I can justify his actions to you in all honesty. He just doesn't treat Beast-likes such as yourself very well."

“I thought you called my kind, mermaid”

“You are a mermaid to us, but any creature that has a sense of sentience and human features we call Beast-Likes. People use to call creatures like you Man-Likes, but I think people switched it to “beast” instead so’s not to feel bad about what they did to such creatures. Either way people are somewhat nicer at Driftwood Harbor town, Which I'll take over my town here.”

Now that I know my destination, the question still stands; how to get there. Besides Noira, there is another I’ve been considering asking. It might be a bit of a long shot though.

“Alright, we are going to move now. Just be as quiet as you can and hold on to my shoulders.” The first thing I do on accident is slip off of the porch as I’m trying to leave it. As I fall off the porch I was prepared to hit the ground as the porch was a bit high up but with the mermaid’s magic, I still feel like I’m underwater and had time to catch myself and land on my feet before I hit the ground.

I haul myself and the mermaid down the ill-lit road that lines the ocean, rain pouring harder and harder. I think the rain is giving us a little bit of an edge here, so I have to thank the water gods or whoever controls the rain. Speaking of water, it’s still taking some time to get used to but I can feel the mermaid’s magic flowing in me a bit. With her magic coursing through me I still have that feeling as if I’m walking on a seafloor. It’s harder walking down this street than I had hoped and wish I could move a bit faster. The mermaid’s barrel is spilling over with rainwater now, I hope she isn’t too uncomfortable. The fact that I’m transporting her in a barrel with the three Fs from the old Fine Fin Foods logo on the side just seems a bit sad. There were other and better ways to transport mermaids when there was a surplus of them, but without mermaid livestock around anymore, I doubt you will find any of the equipment anywhere. Hell, I was lucky to find this barrel.

“How are you doing back there?” I do my best to whisper but loud enough for her to hear.

“I’m doing fine.” I am taken aback for a second. I forgot that her face was just over my shoulder and so close to mine.

After a very short time, I can now see the street where the seaside market I sold my crab a few days ago was. Of course, there weren’t any booths propped up right now but there is always a truck that never leaves that spot, Reggie’s truck. The old man slept in his vehicle and had a giant storage trailer he used to transport his fish booth. As I make my way to the truck that’s about a block away I have a clear view of the beach. A shadowy figure was patrolling with a bright white flashlight, it was a member of the Polite Earth Society. Just as I ducked behind the wall lining the beach from the street a bright light flashed in our direction. I can see the glare of the patrolling officer’s light kind of move around where we were just standing. Aside from the wall, I hit another solid object, a trash can about the size of the barrel on my back full of water. I can see the light grow as the Polite Earth Society soldier started his way toward the wall, if this P.E.S soldier caught us it was all over. I quickly placed the lid of the trash on top of the barrel. I then ran around the corner of the wall and onto the steps leading down from the street to the beach. I kind of just lay on the steps as flat as I could. A ways away parallel to the steps I lay on were the ones the guard walked up. He was poking his head toward the street and shined the light on the cans. Just as quickly as he started back to the beach I went up the stairs. My body felt so much faster when I wasn’t infused with mermaid magic.

When the guard got far enough away I quickly grabbed the makeshift harness I used to carry the barrel and tried to lift her but the barrel was too heavy. I see her head slowly emerge out of the water from the barrel. She puts her arms back around my neck and now with her skin touching mine and her magic coursing through me, we move as fast as I can carry us.

“You looked scared so I hid.” She said in a dejected tone.

“It was a good call.”

I finally reach Reggie’s small red pickup truck. I knock on his window. Reggie is one of the few people in town who seems to play by his own rules and detests the Polite Earth Society and its rules. I knock a few times and finally, I hear some rustling in the truck. I can see the window roll down a bit. Reggie begins to shout.

“What do you guys want this time. Always harassing me!...wait you aren’t with the…”

“Hey, Reggie! It’s just me Zeb.” I can see him kind of squinting his eyes, I was probably blurry due to the rain

“Zeb? Are you walking around in the rain?’ I can tell Reggie probably thinks he is sleeping still.

“Yeah man, it’s really me. I could use your help in a big way, my friend.” Reggie and I have known each other for some time. He first rolled into town when I was in high school. At first people in town really seemed to shun him. People in town also still kind of have it out for my dad so it was hard getting anyone to buy my fish. When I went to Reggie he didn't bat an eye and was happy to pay a decent price for whatever I caught from that day on.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Get out of the rain you silly boy.” He says as he reaches to the passenger side of the car to unlock it. I turn to the mermaid.

“I won’t be too long. Just hold tight.”

“Ok...Zeb.” She looks at me as if she was waiting for a response.

“Huh?”

“That’s what he just called you right?”

“Oh, right. I’ll be right back out.” I hear the rustle of the old truck door open.

“I’m kind of soaked, You don’t mind?”

“Just get your ass in here stupid.” Reggie sounds more firm than I’ve ever heard him. I see him looking around kind of paranoid. “Were you just talking with someone? You mind telling me what are you doing here so early? Or late? What time is it?”

“Look I need help, and you are the only one I could think of that could help me. It’s kind of urgent.”

“These old hands really only know how to cook and catch fish, and not much else Zeb.”

“That barrel I left outside. There’s...well there’s a mermaid inside.” I open the door and tap the barrel. The Mermaid’s tail fin pops out and uses it to feel around the barrel before poking her head out.

“Are these old eyes deceiving me or did Zeb finally catch a mermaid? You know I was sort of joking when I mentioned buying a mermaid off you” I could see the mermaid pull her tail back a bit when she heard Reggie mentioning buying her.

“Look Reggie, this mermaid and I could really use your help. Do you know of anywhere we could take refuge?” Reggie is giving me a pretty shocked look.

“You want me to help you smuggle a mermaid?”

“Sorry for asking you Reggie, it’s just that she and I have no other options”

“It seems she has already seduced you boy, probably with her siren call or with her looks, you sure you haven’t been possessed kid?” Kid? I guess too old man I'm a kid.

“I promise, no possession. I just can’t let anyone sell her or kill her. I need to get her to Driftwood Harbor.”

“Guessing your father caught her? He’s a good man, why would you do this to him, Zeb? Is stepping on your dad’s toes really such a good idea Kid?”

Trust me, I know, I know. Reggie has a point, I’m basically stealing a huge fortune from my own father. To be fair my dad was going to sell her on some black market...Yeah I know I’m a crappy son, please try not to judge me too hard. I hear Reggie let out an audible sigh.

“Listen, kid, as much as I like you and your father, I hate the Polite Earth Society even more. The way I see it, helping you would be a slap to the face of those tyrants. I would love to take you to safety myself but nobody goes in or out of town without having their cargo checked. Getting her out of here in my truck would be impossible. Though, traveling town to town I have a pretty good idea of where they have checkpoints set up. I’m not about to risk everything for a mermaid, that sounds like the sole responsibility of you Zeb. Time to decide kid, is this really what you want to do?

"ye...yeah." I feel like he was testing me.

"Go load her up in the trailer. I’ll move my grill and supply around to fit her.”

“Thanks, Reggie.” His answer is not quite the answer I wanted but I’ll take any help I can get at this point. As quietly as possible I pick up the barrel containing the mermaid and load her into the large trailer attached to Reggie's truck.

“Wow kid. I must be seeing things but did you just lift a barrel full of water containing a mermaid?”

“Give me some credit Reggie. I reel in large fish on the regular.” I don’t mention the mermaid magic, I’m not entirely sure why I felt I needed to lie but I did. I hop back in his truck and we start to drive.

I really do feel unworthy of those around me. My father, Noira and now you can add old Reggie to the list of people I’m letting down, he is putting himself in jeopardy per my own selfish request. As we drive up the hill on the main path through Flotsam Harbor town, I can see the sky starting to light up just a tiny bit. The sun will be up soon. I can’t help but think of my poor dad who could have really used the money this mermaid would have made him. But I also keep thinking of the mermaid’s life. What am I doing? We are about to hit the main road that leads out of town.

“You said you wanted to get her to Driftwood yeah?”

“Yeah. I’m just not sure how to go about that.”

“The roads out in every direction for miles are swarming with P.E.S Soldiers, I promise you won’t make it very far should you take the main road. So my not so highly recommended approach but honestly, your best bet for saving her is...to walk through the Peninsula.” The very words I’ve been dreading to hear but was beginning to think was my only option finally reared its ugly head.

“You can’t think of any other way Reggie?” I begin to feel a nervous pain in my gut.

“The only thing I can do now is set you up with supply for your journey. How does that sound?”

“I appreciate it Reggie thank you.” Before he hit the main road he pulls over and hands me a decently sized leather satchel bag.

“Go back there and fit anything you can into the bag.”

“Are you sure Reggie? Anything off-limits?

“Just the grill which you won’t be able to carry in there anyway. Try to be quick. I’m basically going to swing up to the gate and you get out there. You can use the ladder in my truck to try and climb over that spiky monstrosity of a wall. When you are over the wall and in the woods, run. You don’t want to be spotted on the other side.” As I rustle the door open. He stops me.

“One last thing. Take this too.” He pulls a necklace off of his neck and hands it to me. “My love still lives out there inside the HookFoot Peninsula. We had a fight ages ago when I was young and I eventually made my way out of the wilderness and found myself in this town where I was taught to fish. I abandon my magic lessons and learned to fish in leisure instead, I wasn’t meant for the training of a mage like my family.”

“You came from out there in the wilds of HookFoot? I didn’t think humans lived out there.” I’m genuinely shocked, I’ve never heard of humans living out there. That’s when Reggie pulls off the old hat he’s always wearing and shows me his sharp dark ears that match his dark complexion.

“Woodland elf, not human.” He says triumphantly with a big smile. I always thought he was just short because of how old he was, I had no idea he was a woodland elf. The unexplored wilds of HookFoot Peninsula really do house some interesting things from the very little I’ve seen.

“Now load that bag up. Take anything you want. Material possessions can be replaced. You and the mermaid can’t.” I’m glad he didn’t just see her as a Beast-like and saw her for the living being she was. If Reggie wasn’t so laidback, old, and sold fish I’m sure he would make a fine addition to Noira’s activist group. Now that I’ve got Noira on the brain I’m half tempted to ask Reggie to pull up to her house so I could say bye. I know it’s not possible in my current situation. I wouldn’t want Noira to become an accessory to my evil doings. I just hope I get the chance to see her again someday.

“How dangerous is it out there Reggie? Do I have an actual chance of making it to the other side?” The fear of walking across uncharted land is really setting in.

“I can’t think of anywhere more dangerous in the world if I’m going to be honest with you Zeb. Your chances of actually making it aren’t that good but they aren’t zero like hers if she stays here. Tell me about your adventures when you get back though yeah?”

“If I get back..”

“Yeah. If you get back.” I know he wanted to say something a bit more encouraging but could see that he wasn’t able to lie about the dangers of the HookFoot wilds that lie beyond the wall of black spikes.

“You know. I take back what I said to you last time, you know about you lacking fire and drive. You have it in spades, my friend”

“Thanks, kid. The way I see it, you have something of a fire in your heart yourself. And Zeb?”

“Yeah?”

“If you see a woman with a matching necklace, tell her Reggilious still loves her and misses her.”

I just nod with a determined face as Reggie stopped the car. I then hop out of the truck and make my way to the back of the trailer where the door is. I unlatch the lock and slide it open, The rustling of the metal and the sound of the rain were the only sounds to be heard in the early morning dark. The mermaid’s barrel is right where I had fastened it. I shut the trailer door and bang on the wall to let Reggie know to continue driving. This trailer had a lot more in it than I thought. Most noticeable was the large freezer to transport fish and grill laying against the left wall. I kind of just brush past the mermaid in a hurry and make my way to where he kept his living stuff. I grab a couple of extra changes of clothes, some cans of food, a rather large knife, and some matches though I do know a little bit on how to start one should I need to. My dad always had this odd paranoia about getting washed up on an abandoned island so he learned some survival tactics that he passed on to me like he did his fishing skills. I grabbed a coat and tossed it on even though I was soaked. Luckily the weather outside was pretty warm despite the rain. I took a few bottles of water that I’m sure I could try to refill at some point.

All of a sudden I’m jolted forward and lost my footing. The truck stopped suddenly. The mermaid looked freaked out and started to move about. I quickly shushed her. I hear another car pull up to us. I hear someone get out of that car and talk to Reggie.

“What are you doing out here at this time Reggie?” I hear the man’s voice ask Reggie.

“Hey, Mr. Polite Society. I’m just out and about. I’m not trying to...hide...anything, promise.”

“It’s always something with you fish man. Anyone driving at this hour would seem suspicious, don’t you dare lie to me, Reggie. You still remember how badly we busted you up a few years ago right?”

“Sure Mitch. But like every other time you pulled me over, there’s nothing to see here.”

“Can you crack open your trailer for me?”

“Umm, I really don’t want to Mitch.”

“Open the damn trailer, Reggie.” I hear a large smack and Reggie let out a bit of a yelp. I can now hear the two men walking toward the opening of the trailer. I hear Reggie come to the door

“Go on! Hide! We are coming in!” I of course hide. And the mermaid sinks into the barrel. The door opens and a flashlight shines in the trailer. “Haha, I’m just messing with you, Mitch. There isn’t anything back here.” As the Soldier begins to step into the trailer Reggie gets his attention.

“Ok well I know I said I wouldn’t have any more contraband fish on bored but...well If I give you this specimen, Will you let me go?” What is Reggie doing? He wouldn’t, would he?

“What are you hiding this time Reggie?”

“Well, it isn’t in here. It’s in the cooler I keep on the passenger side.” The two men walk away. As Reggie walked he kicked the trailer rather hard. Without hesitation, I pull the mermaid up out of the water and whisper.

“Hey, mermaid we have to go now!” As quickly but as quietly as I can I put the barrel containing a mermaid on my back.” I take one last thing before I leave the back of the trailer, a dark burgundy Ivy cap that I pop on my head. I take one look on both sides of the trailer and decided to run out the same side as the trucks driver’s side. I figure with the soldier looking toward the truck I can maneuver out of his line of sight longer. With my body feeling like it’s underwater I still try to sneak off as quietly as possible. Reggie is keeping the Soldier distracted with something upfront in his car. I can’t thank you enough old friend.

I manage to make my way between two buildings. If it wasn’t for the rain I’m not sure how I would have faired this night. We are hiding behind the building closest to the gate of black spikes. The spikes are about five or so cars away from the building we are hiding behind. The giant rusty ladder that is the fire escape lines the side of this four-story building all the way to the top. I do my best to surreptitiously climbs the steps of the fire escape, with my buoyant state of being I make it to the top pretty easily.

With the dark rain clouds outside I’m just barely able to make out the sun that is beginning to shine. With the dark still on my side for a bit longer, I have to make a choice. I know I’ve come this far. The instant I’m over that jagged wall of nails and into the wilderness, there isn’t any way to turn back. The mermaid nudges me because she notices I’m just standing there. I’m about to leave my life behind. But what am I really leaving behind? I have no job. The girl I love hates me. My dad will never want to speak to me again for stealing away his chance at a fortune. For a moment I still hesitate but I look back at the mermaid and get that same invincible feeling I got when asking Noira to have dinner with me.

“Whatever you do. Do not let go of my neck you hear me? Or we fall to our deaths, no worries.” I know that didn’t sound the most reassuring but we are out of time. This place could be surrounded by Polite Earth Society members at any moment knowing Reggie’s streak with them.

“I promise I’ll hang on.”

“...Then...Here we go.”

I noticed when I fell off of the porch earlier that I still float when jumping or falling. I’ll use that to clear the wall of bent nails and get to the wilderness. I’m doing my best not to choke up, but running off a building wasn’t something I was planning on doing today. I get the best running start I possibly can and just before I reach the end of the building I stop in fear but the momentum of the water in the barrel pushes me forward so I have no choice but to jump toward the spikes. While leaping ahead in the air everything that the mermaid and myself are touching is floating down with me. I thought I had made the jump far enough but I barely make it to the spikes. I grabbed on and held tight to one of the jagged nails protruding from the ground. As I'm dangling I look behind and see the mermaid losing focus. If she takes her hand off of me, we are both going to fall to our deaths.

"Just keep holding on to me ok?" The scared mermaid nods.

I searched around for maybe an opening that could fit the barrel but no luck. With all my strength I pull myself up and launch myself like I did when I got out of the tube that was holding the mermaid captive in the warehouse. Some spikes were pointing toward the forest just beyond this wall but some were facing up. If I land wrong I could impale us. One of the large spikes pointing toward the forest made a nice step for me to jump the rest of the way.

I land in the harsh mud that has formed right outside spikes. I slip and instantly slid toward the spikes. I almost land face-first on one of the spikes but I push the mermaid off of my neck so the barrel could drop its full weight in the mud. The weight of the barrel stopped me from sliding and it threw me to the ground.

“Sorry I didn't mean to just toss you off of me like that, it just..." The mermaid seem to catch on to what I was doing by tossing her off of me.

"It was a smart move." The mermaid just smiles and then seems to look curiously at the mud.

When I look up I see a vast forest just now glowing with the sunrise and clearing rain. I turn to make sure nobody saw us clear the gate.

Before I knew it I just started running into the forest before anyone saw us and tried to pull us back. I noticed that running felt awkward in this floaty underwater state the mermaid put me in so I started to hop. It was the most surreal feeling, jumping about and clearing several feet of ground with each bound. I felt free. Every fallen log on the ground that I flew over with a single leap was like taking a sip of hard liquor, it hit just right. The floor was rather muddy but I couldn’t be bothered to slow down. Every time I slipped I was able to stop myself from falling as I did on the porch earlier and just keep on jumping about.

Now being far enough as to not be seen by anyone in town I look back once more. The glimmer coming from the wet town just now hidden in the trees is the last look I’ll get of Flotsam Harbor town, my town. As my head is turned behind me though the sight of my home is blurry, all I can focus on now is the mermaid’s sandy-colored eyes that were staring back at me.

“Thank you again, Zeb.” The mermaid says with tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry you had to leave your people to save me.”

“Eh, was nothing there for me anyway. You ready mermaid? This could be a long trip.” She looks down then looks back up with a bit of a shy expression.

“Mariana. You can call me Mariana.”

“So you do have a name. I’m glad to meet you, Mari.”

“Mari?”

“Yeah haha. I’m Zebbidia, but you can just call me Zeb. It’s nice to meet you.”

“I’m glad to have met you too Zeb. Yes, call me Mari” She gives a small giggle. The rising sun in front of us just now fully casts on her smiling face. Her smile quickly turns to confusion as she shields her eyes.

“Hey, Zeb?”

“Yeah?”

“What’s that light?” She lived so far beneath the ocean, I’m guessing she’s used to it always being pretty dark. I can’t help but smile back at her and answer.

“That’s the sun, Mari.”