Under Water

Little kids running in sprinklers. People drinking water. Everyone swimming in the ocean. Water, clean water everywhere. But not deeper, into the murky waters of the ocean, where the water is dark not only from being deep. It is polluted. Yet there are those who enjoy this…
From the mud rises a figure, somewhat resembling a mermaid. But not a beautiful Peter Pan mermaid, not in any way someone you would want to look like. Light brown skin, streaked with dirt. Dark blue, almost black hair, with aqua stripes. A long dark green scaly tail, with sea foam green fins.
“Rise. Rise, my sisters!” she whispers. She begins to laugh. Louder, and louder. Her eyes start turning from dark blue to green. When you look closely, you notice that her eyes have a strange design. A circle, with a dot in the middle, and a small line coming out of the top of the circle and the bottom.
“Rise. RISE!” Two figures begin to come out of the mud. The ocean is filled with laughter.

Under Water

John Morel looks at the Polaroid picture of his wife and daughter, in matching hot pink bathing suits at the beach. It was taken only yesterday, but it is the last picture they will ever be in. His memory drifts back to Saturday- only yesterday! - The day when it happened. Voices, splashes, music, NOISE! The smells of salt, popcorn, too sugary water ice, salt, sandwiches, salt, and salt. He was dozing in the sun, while Joanne and their 16-year-old daughter, Laura, swam under the waves. The towel was warm, and so was the sun. It was easy to relax, with the lullaby of the waves crashing onto the shore, all noises being blocked out, so quiet, so peaceful, so- “Aah!” someone screamed.
“Help!” Another girl shouted. John was up in an instant. A woman and a girl were being dragged underwater by something. There was something familiar about them, about their bright pink bathing suits that you could see part of even though they were underwater, about their sandy colored hair- but now you couldn’t see anything.
“No.” he whispered. “No. NO!” It was Joanne and Laura.

* * *
He had tried to save them. The lifeguard didn’t stop him. They went into the water at the same time, the lifeguard screaming at everyone else to get out of the water. But by the time they got to the place where Joanne and Laura had last been, they were nowhere. They looked all around, went underwater, but there were no bodies of two females in pink bathing suits. They searched and searched, staying underwater for long periods. John came up for a gulp of air, and then he saw Andy, the lifeguard, underwater, staring at something in the distance.
“What’re you looking at?” he gasped.
“Don’t know. It’s sorta like a mermaid, or big fish.”
“Mermaid?” he scoffed.
“Ah, seaweed makes strange shapes. Let’s go.” They swam back to shore.

* * *

“Ane, that was a good one. You deserve a new nickname. Katrina, Kat.”
“Thanks, Ber, but don’t forget my real name!”
“Sure, Hurricane. By the way, Tsu, that was nice, too. We’re all getting stronger. We should be. After all, we’ve been here 985 years.”
“Bermuda, we will celebrate the 1000th anniversary, right?”
“Kat, what are you, human? It will be the biggest moment of our lives! You know our plans. We will, and humans will celebrate with us. By then they will have fins, and gills, and they will be like us.”
“Soree, Ber, just making sure.”
“Bermuda, I’m starving!”
“Fine, let’s go. I know a great place. But then we’re getting straight back to work.”
“Sure. Let’s go. Yum.”

* * *

John called the lifeguard. He didn’t know who else to call. Or what else to do.
“Brian? It’s John.”
“Hey, Morel. Everything okay?”
“I guess. Have any bodies been found?”
“Sorry. Nothing. We think sharks got them.”
“But wouldn’t there be, I don’t know, a piece of bathing suit? Or skin? Or even traces of blood?”
“Well, yea. But there’s no other explanation.”
“Maybe it was something…different. Unnatural. Never heard of.” There was a pause.
“John, have you been thinking about the dark shape we saw?” The voice was a bit strict, harsh, different now. It knew what you were thinking, but trying to convince you to say otherwise. John fiddled with the cord of his phone.
“Well, yeah. It really looked like a person but with fins. Like a mermaid or something.”
“John, there’s no such thing as mermaids. It was just a shadow or something. Maybe a fish. Besides, mermaids are supposed to be good.”
“Not in Peter Pan. They tried to drown Wendy.”
“Yes, let’s believe everything we hear in Peter Pan. Quick, John! Clap your hands if you believe in faeries!”
“All right, all right, I’m sorry.” Another pause.
No, I’m sorry. I understand how it feels. You’re just...I don’t know. Well, you’re hurt, and a bit messed up. But, I’m telling you, that was no mermaid.”
“Hmm. Well, anyway, call me if you get any news.”
“Sure.” Brian raised his eyebrows skeptically, where John couldn’t see him.
“Bye.”
“Bye.”

* * *

“Ber, it’s not fair! Five more minutes! I need to get someone!”
“Tsunami, it is not safe! Come! Now! These are the first humans, and they are enough!”
“They are not the first humans we’ve killed!”
Bermuda spoke in a low, dark voice. “Number one, these humans are not dead. Number two, you know what I mean.” The female humans in the arms of Bermuda and Katrina shuddered even while almost unconscious at the voice. But Tsunami was not going to give up that easily. Even when Bermuda and Hurricane began to swim away with the humans she resisted.
“Ber, they’re coming! Just one!”
“There is more than one, and no one must see you and live to tell the tale! Come, or you are not with me!”
Tsunami swam after them, maybe a bit slower than the situation called for. It wasn’t fair. She deserved to snag a human just as much as Bermuda, definitely as much as Katrina. She grimaced at the two humans, but they didn’t react. After all, they were unconscious. Suddenly, she heard distant voices.
“Tsu, hurry! It’s the humans! I think they’ve seen you” Bermuda shouted. Tsunami turned around, scared. Two men. Red. Loud. Blue. White. Noise. Green. Twirling around, she saw one point to her.
“Tsu!” Bermuda hissed. She tugged on Tsunami’s arm.
While this was going on, Katrina watched the human males, her eyes wide open with curiosity and fear. A mild scratch from the smaller human turned away her attention.

* * *

Laura woke up. She looked around, confused. Joanne was sitting beside her, staring at something. “Mom?” Laura asked cautiously.
“It’s okay, honey. Everything’s all right.” Laura began to try to find what her mom was looking at, but a realization of something stopped her. She was underwater. She was breathing. What was going on? Was she dead? What was that? A person? No, not according to that tail and fins. A mermaid? But different. Creepier. Darker. Laura shook her head. Of course. She was dreaming. The only explanation for what was going on. But it feels so real, she thought as she faded away again, floating into unconsciousness. So real…so real…

* * *

“Ber, she blacked out again!”
“Well, then wake her up!”

* * *

“Ow!” Laura awoke with a start. She sat straight up. Her mom smiled sadly at her.
“It’s okay.” She said.
“Hello.” Said…something.
“Who – no, what are you?”
“I would think it is obvious as to what I am. As to who I am, I am Tsunami. Tsunami Wave. Sometimes known as Tsu.” Joanne and Laura were silent.
“I am Hurricane Twist. AKA Ane. Now also known as Katrina, or Kat.”
“Hurricane? Katrina?” Joanne was scared now.
“Hurricane Twist?” Laura laughed shrilly. “You sound like a fruit snack! You are pathetic! Stupid! Dumb!” She began to laugh, but then burst into silent tears. Not tears of laughter. Tears of anger and frustration and everything she was feeling.
“Laura, please stop! It’s okay! Just listen to them!” Joanne tried to comfort her. Laura sat still, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Another figure floated into the cave. Darker than the rest, scarier than the rest. “I am Bermuda Triangle. Also known as Ber, sometimes. The leader of this clan. You, well, you are our prisoners.” She laughed a soft, low, sinister laugh.
“Let us go.” Joanne was standing now. “Let us go. We are not your prisoners.
“Oh, really?” Katrina smiled. “You think there is no one to stop you from swimming away?”
“Swimming away?” asked Joanne.
“Look around yourself.” Said Katrina. “Think you can run quickly in a place like this?”
“It’s water.” Joanne whispered. “I’m underwater. Unbelievable. What a dream.”
“I assure you, THIS IS NOT A DREAM!” Tsunami screamed hysterically.
“Tsu! Quiet!” Bermuda shouted. “They are humans! They do not know any better!”
“Well, I’m in a bad mood! And I’m hungry! We didn’t eat yesterday! Today- nada. I’m starving! Please!”
“Me, too! Ane is right! We didn’t eat yesterday or today, and I want food!”
“All right, girls. Bermuda spoke to Joanne and Laura. “We’re going to eat now.”
“It’ll be delicious.” Katrina said dreamily.
“Yum!” said Tsunami.
Joanne and Laura shuddered with fear. They huddled close together. “Please. Please.” They whispered quietly.
“What? You want food, too?” Tsunami said. “Well, duh, we’re going to ring you some, we can’t let you die! Bye!” She swam away with the others, while Joanne and Laura stared in the dark blue distance.

* * *

“There was almost no food!” Katrina said.
“Most likely because someone ate it all.” Bermuda said pointedly.
“What, me? No way!” Tsunami said. “It’s just that we had to take food for the humans.”
“Tsunami, you believe that eating more than me and depriving me of the necessary nutrition will make you leader.” Bermuda said.
“What?” Tsunami