Scared New World

Chapter 2

The young mermaid's body haunted my dreams that night—when I could sleep. There was something else, though. As I stared at the body, the flash of a tail caught my eye—dark blue with silver spots. My fins prickled, but I swam closer. A merman with kind blue eyes stared back at me. I quickly recognized him from my swim earlier that day.

He looked stern, but his face quickly softened as he saw me. As he opened his mouth to speak, my vision blurred, my surroundings becoming hazy as I began to wake up. My heart was racing, my breathing quick as I swam out of bed and got dressed. Naia and Meri were already awake, worry on their faces. It quickly melted into forced happiness when they saw me.

"How'd you sleep?" Meri asked. Her smile was strained, and she couldn't stop fidgeting. Though Naia was more composed, her usually flawless complexion was wan, and I noticed dark circles under her eyes.

Good, I signed back. Where's Mom? She was usually up before us, but she never left without saying goodbye.

Naia and Meri exchanged glances before turning back to me. A subtle shake of the head from Naia in Meri's direction made my fins prickle. Now you're scaring me. Where is she? Is she okay? I was becoming animated, as I tended to do when I was nervous or excited, but I couldn't help myself.

Naia noticed my expression and shook her head again—this time directed at me. "Mom's fine. She just had to go to work early. Are you going to work today?"

Dread settled into my stomach like a stone in a pond. I wanted to stay and ask them what was going on, but I had completely forgotten about my shift. I nodded, hugging them goodbye before leaving the house, locking the door behind me. I was jumpier than normal as I swam, my eyes scanning for any threats.

I went through my shift in a daze, my body taking over for my mind. Before I knew it, my shift had ended. I hung up my apron before leaving, a chill running down my spine as I did so.

As I swam home, I couldn't stop thinking about the mermaid. A heartbeat later, a familiar scent filled the water—a very unwelcome scent, I might add. The aforementioned body stared back at me. There was someone else, too. The merman from my dream.

He looked at the body then spoke. I watched his eyes to see if they'd widen in recognition, but they stayed focused on the body. Of course, I couldn't hear him, but he didn't know that. I quickly shook my head, pointing to my throat.

He nodded, grabbing a pen and paper. As he handed them to me, a jolt of electricity went through my body. My cheeks burned as I gripped the pen, my hands trembling as I wrote. I'm deaf. I live not far from here and was going for a swim when I came across the body. Do you know what happened?

I handed the paper back, swimming backwards a foot to give him space. My heart was pounding as he read—why, I have no idea. He nodded as he finished reading, scribbling his response on the pad before handing it back to me. "It's just the latest murder from someone calling themselves Tiger Shark."

I couldn't stop the shiver that ran down my spine. I could practically see Naia and Meri's expressions in my head. You did what? Were you hurt? How many times do we have to tell you....

I shook my head, quickly silencing the voices. The merman thanked me again before asking if I needed help getting home. I thanked him for the offer, but assured him it wasn't necessary.

As I swam home, a commotion ahead of me made me flinch. Once again, I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I was so close I could feel their vibrations in the water.

My heart stopped before I even took a stroke forward. That smell was back again—stronger than ever this time. Multiple heads turned toward me, all wearing varying expressions of suspicion and concern. They all started speaking, but I couldn't hear them. All I saw was the face of the young mermaid, the terror in her eyes.

I was in a daze as I swam home. I couldn't imagine what my expression was, but Mom just swam towards me and put an arm around my shoulder, guiding me to my bedroom. I thought it would take me hours to fall asleep, but my eyes closed the minute my head hit the pillow.

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