To Rest, or Not To Rest - Chapter 15

Then—

“SHHHUNK!”

A long spear whistled through the cavern and buried itself deep into the beast’s exposed body, sliding past the cracked shell with brutal precision. The Brineclaw screeched, its legs convulsed before collapsing in defeat. The dark liquid pooled underneath its body from the spear's placement. I froze, wide-eyed, clutching the little crab close as the echo of the strike rang within my ears. Almost immediately after, a voice rang out.

“Chloe!”

That voice, it was familiar. It was sharp, angry even.

From the cave’s shadows emerged Luisa. Her azure eyes blazing, her breath ragged from what I could assume was her running. Beside her was Gil, he jogged forward, still gripping the haft of another spear as his face was pale with worry. Luisa stepped forward, each step of her boots resounding off of the walls. “You—what in the heavens were you thinking, Chloe!? I told you not to come out here!” Her voice cracked between relief and fury as she reached me. Her hands flew across my shoulders, arms, and legs checking for any sort of wounds. “You said nothing, you slipped away when no one was paying attention…! You—do you understand how reckless that was!?”

I opened my mouth, but the words wouldn’t come out. I could only hold the crab closer within my hands and hear her words. Gil pulled his weapon free from the beast with a grunt. Giving the boy who sat beside a quick, wary glance. “We followed your tracks,” He explained, quieter. “Your boots left marks by the sand. When Luisa noticed, she guessed you’d gone to look for some sort of crab that you’d constantly talk about…” In the moment, I realized I’d probably mumbled about it during one of my dreams.

Luisa’s grip tightened on my arm, her glare hot with hurt. “And she was right…I didn’t think it’d be something as dangerous as this!” I looked back at the leaking crab on the ground, and then back between them. My chest was heavy with guilt and relief tangled together. The boy was still swaying on his feet, silent, his golden eyes were unfocused, but alive. I kept the jeweled crab close to my chest, its soft glow being the only thing steady in this chaos.

The cavern was quiet now, except for the soft drip of seawater echoing from deeper inside. The Brinceclaw’s massive body sprawled against the caves floor, its shell cracked where Gil’s spear had pierced it. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it, the way its limbs twitched as the last of its strength bled away. Was this one of the things the fish warned me about in this journey…that’d explain the danger.

Gil stepped closer, frowning as he planted the boot against the shell and yanked his spear free from the crabs clutches. “I’ve never seen one of these this far inland,” he muttered, his brows knitted. “They usually stick to open shallows, not caves. And this one…is way bigger than any I’ve caught sight of.” His gaze shifted briefly to the boy once more. His body slumped against the stone, chest rising and falling shallowly. “And he took it down? Alone? I don’t see any weapons…” I wanted to say something, to tell him it hadn’t just been him. That I’d done something to help him in the process. My hands fidgeted around the little crab glowing in my palms, its jeweled shell flickering violet.

Luisa’s voice snapped like a whip. “Do you realize what you’ve done, Chloe?” Her hands still latched onto my shoulders, shaking lightly and refusing to let go. It didn’t hurt, but it was enough to make my eyes sting from the reprimand. “You promised…you promised you’d stay home until the winter settled in, and that you’d only go out with someone watching over you. Imagine if this boy wasn’t here, imagine if we didn’t show up. What would have become of you?” her voice sat with stern deliverance. “What would Mother and Father think if they found out we’d lost sight of you and you never returned? Huh!?” Her voice faltered, breaking against her own anger.

“I—” My throat tightened, I knew I’d be in trouble if I’d been found out. But this sort of reaction is foreign to me. I’ve never felt this much guilt before, seeing her reaction to my position, I could only imagine how worried she felt. Heat prickled at my cheeks, growing more and more red by the second. “I’m sorry…I just…the crab, the one from my dream.” I said, lifting the small tide-cradle crab up. The crab raised its one pincer with a small wave as if it was on cue. “I thought that if maybe…if maybe I could see it for myself—” Luisa’s face pinched with confusion, flicking her eyes between me, the little crab and the boy who’d been barely conscious beside the monster. “You…risked your life…for this? Why..?”

Gil stepped closer, squatting by the boy’s side. His expression was less sharp than before, but more curious than scolding. “Whatever the reason, we can’t leave him. He’s too wounded. We’ll take him back, patch him up, and find out more about why he’d be in a place like this. I should report this back to my boss as well…this is rather unexpected.” His gaze flicked toward the crab again, thoughtful. “A beast like that could probably feed half of the shoreline through winter. They’ll want to harvest it properly. “

“No!” The word burst out before I could stop it. My chest squeezed as my eyes burned again, not from Luisa’s anger this time but something deeper. An ache I couldn’t explain with words. “It’s not just food…it’s different. I can see it!” The words tumbled too quickly, and then a strain hit. My vision swam, a flash of faint light brushed across my sight. For a second, the crab’s jeweled shell shimmered with text. The information was laid bare in a way I couldn’t fully understand. My breath hitched as my knees wobbled; the strength felt as if it was slowly draining from me.

“C-Chloe? What’s wrong—” Luisa caught me, her hands firm on my small arms. She stared hard into my eyes, freezing as if she’d seen a ghost. I blinked, confused, until I realized her gaze wasn’t on me exactly. But at the faint mark glowing across my irises, a symbol that wasn’t there before. Her lips parted, her voice was faint. “...That mark…I’ve seen it before…In one of the storybooks at the school. The old tales of the god of the deep—the Fish God. It’s the same.”

The cave seemed to close in around us, the silence thick with questions I couldn’t answer. What was she talking about? What did it look like? Why is this her reaction? Did my eyes change when things started to get funky? What’s going on!? Her grip on me tightened once more. It felt as if she couldn’t bring herself to let me go.

“The Fish God…The deity that ruled over the tides before man settled on these shores. The elders and children say it’d mark chosen sailors, back before history was history. The glow in your eyes is the same…it’s the same symbol.” As her words left her mouth, the cave grew colder. My pulse thudded in my ears, caught between awe and fear. Was that what all of this was? This had to be the power that fish bestowed upon me before, right? Is it that important? Why is she reacting like this? Is that why it chose me? No—Margaret, Chloe, whoever I was now. My head spun with her words, confused as ever. Gil finally lifted the boy into his arms, grunting at the dead weight. “We shouldn’t linger. Whatever stories you’re chasing, they’ll have to wait until we’re out of this pit. The tide will flood in sooner or later, and I’d much rather not be here when it does.

Luisa didn’t argue. She gave me a long, searching look, her grip held firm in my hand as though I might’ve vanished if she dared to let go. The four…well, five of us began to walk back through the cavern, the sound of Gil’s boots heavy against the stone as he carried the boy’s limp frame. The little crab scuttled along on my shoulder. It was a faint glow, casting just enough light to guide our steps. Now and then, I’d glance at Luisa. Her lips were pressed tightly, her jaw tense. But her eyes were different; I saw something else. Worry? Yes. Anger? Yes. But also a small feeling of fear emanated from her, not just of what I’d done, but also what I’d shown. I felt it’d be best that I kept the crab close; the shell was warm, radiating some sort of heat as it sat atop my shoulder. I tried to push away the shiver crawling down my spine, thinking of the possibilities of today’s events. Two things pressed in my mind.

One was that I wasn’t afraid of becoming sick again…but more so afraid of what this ability means for me.