Marine, the Ocean CIty Part 2

Makena, distressed and crying, drags Befati to where she saw the mermaid. There’s no mermaid, only the half-eaten remains of a tourist. Befati covers her mouth.

⟡

Makena sits on the cushioned bench next to the entrance of their home, slouching forward with a downtrodden expression. An older man in a blue uniform with dark skin, curly, white hair and skin tags peppering his face approaches.

It’s Officer Dlamini, a respected policeman in their community, someone that Makena has known her entire life and always admired. He takes a deep sigh and slowly bends his knees, then takes a seat on the bench next to her.

“We don’t think it’s foul play. It’s sad, but people drown, and sometimes animals eat whatever’s left.” He says sympathetically, doing his best to explain the situation to a young teen. “There’s no killer out there.”

Makena nods slowly, not moving her eyes from her lap. Officer Dlamini looks at her, making sure she really understands. “You’re safe. Nobody’s gonna hurt you.”

She nods again, not lifting her gaze. He figures it’s anxiety from trauma. He wraps a warm arm around her and squeezes her shoulder reassuringly. Makena looks up.

“I saw a mermaid eating him. I saw it with my own eyes…” She murmurs.

“People deal with things in a lot of different ways and I’m not shaming that – “

“I saw it, too.” Says Asa, cutting him off. He stands over them, ready to back Makena up.

“Befati said they swim in front of their property all the time.” Adds Mint.

Officer Dlamini looks surprised. “Is this true, Befati?”

“It is. They’re out there every night.” She confirms. He makes a face that says “Well, I’ll be damned” and heads for the door. He opens it.

“Get some sleep, you folks. I’ll be back tomorrow for witness statements.” He says as he walks out. Befati says goodnight to the officer and he says it back, then gets in his car.

☼

After Officer Dlamini collects witness statements, Makena is sulking on the bench once again. Befati sits next to her with a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Why doesn’t he believe me?” Makena asks.

“Officer Dlamini’s the sort of person who doesn’t believe something without evidence, and we don’t have any evidence besides our word.” Befati answers.

“Then we’ll get evidence! We can’t just let more people get killed!” Says Asa, kneeling on the ground next to them.

“How?” Says Makena.

“Give me the day and I’ll have the plan done by tonight.” He says with a confident smile.

☼

Luna and Mint agree to help Makena prepare her church for the Festival of Festivals. As they enter, they see how old and run down it is.

It’s one of the older buildings on Nue and its steeple has snapped in half, hanging upside down by splintered wood. On the inside, they help her sweep.

The pulpit is severely fractured, having been pieced back together with duct tape and multiple pews are split in two, like someone body slammed them. Everytime one of her guest’s eyes land on it, Makena grows sadder. “A church is supposed to be open 24/7 to let people pray and to help those in need, but during the last Festival of Festivals, some teens snuck in and vandalised it.”

“They had traveled in from another city, so the police couldn’t find them afterwards. All the furniture in here is antique, so we want to have them professionally restored, but we don’t get many donations.”

The old priest walks out from the storage room. He has dark skin, white hair (it’s straight, a rare trait in Marine), a bushy mustache, and eyes so thin they look closed. It makes it seem like he’s sleeping and gives him a chill vibe. “Have you and your friends finished cleaning up, Makena?”

She smiles. It’s apparent how important he is to her. “Just wrapping up.”

⟡

It’s night. Mint, Makena, Asa, and Luna all stand on the beach in front of the cottage. In Asa’s hands is a trout.

“That’s your plan?” Says Luna skeptically. “A fish?”

Asa puffs his cheeks out in offense. “It has a tracker in it. I had to look at tech stores all day for one that was waterproof!”

Makena cringes with sympathy. “In Festival of Festivals traffic? I’m not jealous of you.”

Asa holds up Mimo, who has a map of Marine on his screen. “This map will show us where in Marine the tracker is.”

He points to the blinking dot. “This is us.”

“So, we’re going to lure the mermaid with a fish?” Mint says.

“I put the tracker inside. If the mermaid is like other sea animals her size, she should eat the fish in one gulp.” Asa throws the fish out into the water, and they wait.

Minutes pass as they silently watch the fish bob with the waves. The night is strangely tranquil. Makena breaks the silence. “You know… I’ve been wondering if I should keep being a Christian.” She decides to bring up this subject, which has been rolling around in her mind for years, because she felt that outsiders might give the least biased opinion.

“Why?” Asks Mint. “Don’t you love your church?”

“I do. I believe in God, too, but, throughout so much of our history, Christianity has been forced on Black people. That wasn’t the native religion in any of our indigenous communities. Christians killed and enslaved us until we adopted their religion.”

“I’ve been thinking that, maybe, the people of Marine are right to turn their backs on Christianity. My church proselytizes as non-aggressively as possible, through education and by teaching Christian values through our actions, not by forcing it on anyone, but maybe…”

“Maybe my church is rotting away for a good reason. Maybe it’s a painful, but necessary part of Black people’s healing, like killing off the very last cancer cells in a patient’s body.” She puts her head on her knees, the last part making her look like she was going to cry.

A few seconds pass, then Asa looks down at her. “Don’t think about history or what Black people as a whole want. You’re an individual, aren’t you? What do you feel?”

She returns his gaze, then thinks over his words. “I can’t stop believing in God, the Christian one. That’s something that goes to my very core.”

Asa smiles. “Then, that’s your answer.”

Makena returns her sights to the ocean, still uncertain, but more optimistic. Suddenly, there’s a giant splash near the fish and when the water calms, it’s gone!

Everyone shoots to their feet.

“The fish! She took it!” Yells Mint, pointing. Asa looks at the map. The blinking dot is swiftly moving away, 30mph at least.

“It’s heading West!” He yells. They all hop on his bike and ride after it.

☼

Makena holds onto Asa’s waist while Luna and Mint have been uncomfortably stuffed into the sidecar. It couldn’t fit the width of two sets of shoulders, so Luna’s arm juts into the air, held there by Mint’s head as he’s been awkwardly shoved under her armpit.

With each bump, Mint’s head slams directly into her ribcage. “Ow… Ow…” She whimpers, every once in a while, making sure to keep it at a polite noise level. Mint’s eyes have been squeezed shut in pain the entire time, getting hit too frequently for opening them to be worth it.

He thinks he’s getting brain damage.

“The mermaid’s gradually turning to the South. She’s going to head down the river!” Asa shouts over the engine. They cut through the forest and sure enough, the dot is moving down the river.

When they reach the river, the mermaid is ahead of them, but then slows down… and moves into a small lake. The blinking dot stops entirely. Asa pulls over.

“Did she drop the tracker?” Asks Mint.

“It’d have to leave her digestive system first.” Asa says.

Mint looks grossed out. “She pooped…?”

“No. She stopped for some reason. Let’s go!” He revs the engine.

☼

At the edge of the lake the water is still, but the dot is there. Zooming in on the map indicates that it’s moving in circles.

“She’s not leaving the lake…” Mint says.

Asa turns to him. “Mint, get the camera. This might be our only chance.”

He nods, determined. He grabs the camera and inches closer to the ledge. The mermaid swims closer to the surface.

She continues swimming in circles, only now she’s creating a ripple visible to those above. The water trembles subtly. It trembles more… And more… Until it’s splashing.

“Mint, this is it!” Asa shouts.

Mint points the camera at the splash. Then, the mermaid jumps out of the water. She grabs Mint’s ankle.

He screams as he’s pulled off the ledge and into the river.

“Mint!” Everyone yells. They jump on the hoverbike and book it.

They’re able to keep the mermaid’s pace almost perfectly and can make both her and Mint out through the surface.

“She tricked us!” Says Luna. “She was sizing up which one of us was the weakest so she could snatch ‘em!”

“But why is she only carrying him?” Says Makena. Though blurry, she can judge that his body is mostly intact and there’s no blood.

“And why is she heading further south instead of north, to the sea? All that’s in that direction is some ruins!”

Asa pauses, then the realization hits him. “She’s taking him to a nest!”

The hoverbike dips, then starts to descend to the ground.

“Hey! What are you doing?!” Asa yells at it. Its belly scrapes along the dirt.

“Damnit!” He grabs Makena and hops off. It slams into a tree, metal crunching.

☼

I’m going to die! Thinks Mint, as the world goes dark. Time stretches on and on… I can still think. He notices.

He opens his eyes. All he can see is dim, blurry algae zooming by, but he can see. He had been expecting the mermaid to dig into him at any moment, but she hadn’t. Why?

Suddenly, she’s dragging him upward and he can breathe again. He gasps for air. His body is heavy as he adjusts to being on land again, arms shaking as he pushes himself up.

It’s dim, only weak greenish-teal lamps light the place. There’s old machinery that looks like it’s for research and big, automatic doors with yellow warning stripes taped around their frame. Beneath him is a sticky, rubber floor.

He hears little cheeping. Cheep! Cheep! It’s a clutch of baby mermaids, about 9 of them. Each is only a bit bigger than his hand and they all have chubby arms, tiny tails, and giant cheeks. Mint is confused. “She took me to her babies?”

Then one bites his finger with razor sharp teeth. He says “Ouch!” then gently pulls it off.

“No! Don’t do that!” He scolds, a tear in his eye. He looks up and sees that they’re all coming closer, with hungry looks. Am I their food? That doesn’t make sense… They’re too tiny and she didn’t even kill me first. Is it possible… she’s training them to hunt?

One baby mermaid catches his attention. It’s all the way in the back, laying on its side with closed eyes. It looks half dead. Mint stands and quickly steps over the healthy babies. “Out of the way, little guys!”

He cradles the sickly baby in his palms. Its breathing is weak and ragged and there’s a deep cut in its side. Mint sends some nanites into its body and its so small that the wound closes almost instantly. The mother climbs out of the water, eyeing him.

“I’m sorry!” He says. “I’m not hurting your baby. Here.”

He gently lies it on the floor. She examines it for a second. The baby is already doing much better. The mother then stalks closer to Mint.

He freezes. As she gets closer, he closes his eyes. Then a long, slimy tongue licks his face. Mint opens his eyes. The mermaid is licking him!

Mint is fairly sure she doesn’t lick her prey and relaxes. His shaky legs give out and he sinks to the ground. The babies crawl on his legs and nuzzle him.

The mom’s saliva marking means he’s part of the family now.

ꕤ

Asa pushes himself off the grass.

“Is everyone okay?” He calls.

“I’m okay.” Says Makena, from under his arm. She’s scratched up, but otherwise fine. The hoverbike is crumpled, wrapped around a tree.

“I – I’m okayyayy…” Says a dazed Luna. She didn’t get out of the sidecar in time and is also wrapped around a tree, like bent metal.

Asa looks at the totaled bike one last time, then sucks up his tears and continues forward. “We can’t stop! C’mon!”

☼

After a few minutes of running, they find the ruins. It’s an abandoned research facility. After centuries of water beating on it, its outer wall eroded and the river now runs through it. They slip around the damaged wall and step on the tiles behind.

The sound of their footsteps echo through the building. The river cut through multiple walls, eventually leading to a room with many warning signs. Whatever was inside must’ve been let out, because the water runs right through. Laughter comes from the hole.

“Mint?” Whispers Asa. Before anyone can think, Luna dives into the river.

“Luna!” He whisper-screams. “Shit!”

She grabs the ledge and pulls herself onto the rubber floor. Mint is there, laughing as the babies lick him.

“What are you? Some sort of carnivorous mermaid whispering fairytale princess?!” Luna whispers, shocked. The mother’s eyes fix on Luna.

She hisses and jumps on her, bearing six-inch teeth. Luna rolls back and kicks the mermaid, using her own momentum against her. She flies into the pool below, made thousands of years ago and lined with warning tape.

A green forcefield goes up around it, blocking all four sides. Asa stands on the other side of the laboratory, across the river.

He’s out of breath and his hand is on an ancient switch, teal-green tendrils running through his arm. He had found an opening on that side. Makena cautiously walks through it.

“Nice one!” Luna cheers with a thumbs up. Asa runs over to them with a relieved smile.

“The scientists, who once worked here, must have made it so the forcefield can go up and down for when they needed access to the mermaids.” He says, barely restraining his excitement over the ruins.

Luna kneels down, checking Mint over with a worried face. “Are you okay?”

He nods. There’s the sound of cheeps. It’s sad sounding, like the babies are crying. They put their tiny hands on the forcefield. On the other side, the mom does too.

Makena frowns. “The babies got separated from their mom…”

☼

The busted hoverbike hangs from the garage ceiling on chains.

“How long will it take to fix it?” Asa cries in desperation.

The mechanic crosses his arms. “24 hours, at the soonest, but realistically? At least two whole business days.”

Asa goes crazy and pulls all his hair out at once, then quickly pulls it together. He braces himself. “And how much will it cost?”

“12,500g.” He states.

Asa starts screaming and grows his hair back to pull it out again. The mechanic walks away with a shrug. “Sorry. I’m not the one who makes the prices.”

Outside of the auto repair shop, Asa stares into his empty coin purse, looking like a lifeless, dried-out husk of a mummified raisin (from stress). Luna looks over his shoulder.

“We can’t be out of money! Try and look around in there! Maybe there’s some hidden in the folds!” She says, panicked.

Asa narrows his eyes. “Oh yes, you’re right. Maybe if I look around I can find a 0.0001g yingium particulate.”

He enunciates “particulate” to let her know that he’s being sarcastic. Her demeanor brightens. “That’s good, right?”

Asa turns to her. “Okay, funny guy. You’re a full grown adult. Did you bring money, by any chance?”

She smiles cheerfully. “Nope!”

“Okaaay!” He says with fake, passive aggressive cheer. “Then, no more food and we camp out FOREVER.”

Luna and Mint start crying. “N- NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

☼

Asa, Luna, and Mint had to stay at Befati’s house again, but because the hoverbike repairs were going to take multiple days (nearly every part needed maintenance even before the crash) they were able to stay for the Festival of Festivals.

Befati gave them some money so they could eat and play games. Early in the night, Makena left them. “I’m going to sell my shells. Have fun guys!”

And have fun, they did. Everyone wore masks and the lanterns were amazing. It was like being in a fantasy world. They were giant and shaped like creatures.

It was like walking through a parade of magic animals. They learned about lots of new music and traditions, and Makena’s shells sold out!

She started asking for donations outright and made 50,000g in one night! The turnout was so massive, that even a small portion of people donating would have still added up to a lot.

She had plenty of time to take breaks and enjoy the festival too. Police blocked off the ocean, in case there were more man-eating mermaids, so the fishing competition was canceled this year. Animal control dealt with the captured mermaids.

It’s not a perfect situation, but the mermaid was getting a lot of food and the babies would be receiving the best mermaid healthcare humans could provide. Litorian officials would eventually seize the mermaids and investigate the ruins, but they would first have to wait several days for the tourists to leave and the roads to clear.

☼

Months later, Makena proudly looks up at her church. Everything’s been fixed and it’s practically sparkling. She enters.

In the restored nave, she thinks to herself. Our ancestors’ goal was for us to be able to be normal people, meaning we’d be free to make our own decisions, and if I can choose to be a Christian instead of being forced, that means they succeeded.

She looks up at the statue of Jesus. Although his word has been twisted by those who want to hurt us, I believe that God has been an important guide for Black people. He loves us like anybody else and wants the best for us.

The priest walks into the nave. “Makena, how about you come have some popsicles with me? I don’t want you getting heatstroke!”

“Yes, Father!” She joins him and they talk for a long time.