The Sea Hag -Chapter 10-

 

Sirena

I slept in the relative calm of the center of the cove, floating submerged and waking slightly every couple of hours to grab a breath from the surface. My dreams were a strange mix of elation and sadness. Filled with Micheal’s face, his voice, his soothing presence, then suddenly being ripped away. Altus Venter’s angry, leering face. Dr. Morgan’s soft, sad smile. My brother, eating his last meal and falling over dead. Me, throwing the tray of tainted food at the man who brought it. My claws sinking into his throat and tearing it out. Blood, screams, gunfire and death. I escaped out an airlock and never looked back.

Shimmering sunlight filtered through the waves, waking me with a small spasm of dream-terror. I blinked and got my bearings. I had disturbed several small fish who had found sustenance in my orbit while I slept, and they eyed me in annoyance as they swam away to find a more appreciative buffet.

I stretched, turning in a lazy circle as I did so. The sun was already fairly high, I realized. Micheal would be here soon if he wasn’t already. The thought of seeing him again made my stomach do a funny little dance. My hand went to my lips as I remembered the feel of his and shuddered in pleasure. I decided I would see if he was on the beach yet and, if not, I would forage for some breakfast mollusks while I waited. I kicked to the surface, popping high out of the water just for the fun of it, and took a deep breath as I scanned the beach.

Something shot past my rib-gills as I did so and I looked down, confused. A small metal thing glinted as it sank a few feet in front of me. Then, something else bit into my leg and I gasped sharply as I grabbed it and brought it up. A small metal dart. Dread panic made my heart hammer in my chest as I turned and submerged. I saw the diver swimming toward me, readying another shot. My leg tingled with a spreading numbness where I had been hit.

I could outswim a clumsy human with ease, but I knew they were pack-hunters. There had to be more. I sent out a series of rapid clicks through the murky water and, sure enough, at least two more human-sized shapes lurked just beyond visual range. They were between me and the open sea. I considered the shape of the darts as I dodged another one and the other two divers came into firing range. They were designed to fly through water, but were heavy enough that they might not travel as well through air. Whoever these guys were, they knew what they were dealing with. I was certain they would have cut off escape from the mouth of the cove, probably with a net. 

It looked like my only option was to find whatever trail Michael had used to get in and out, maybe hide in the brush. My camouflage ability should make me practically invisible in such conditions. I dodged another dart and turned and swam hard for the beach.

Under normal circumstances I am leagues faster than a human swimmer and, even with an increasingly uncooperative leg slowing my progress, I quickly out-paced them and their guns. The surf deposited me unceremoniously onto the sand, my leg dragging behind me. I got up and hobbled for the tree line, quickly spotting the hole in the vegetation next to an old wooden sign with faded letters proclaiming “Parking Lot” and an arrow pointing up.

The buzz of an outboard motor made me turn and see a big rubber Zodiac bearing two humans heading for the beach at top speed. Four divers with tranq guns emerged from the surf, kicking off their fins and sighting their weapons.

Small panicked sounds were coming from my throat. My skin was shimmering through sand colors, my panic keeping it from settling. I hobbled faster.

I reached the trailhead and clambered up the steep incline on all fours, my skin automatically changing to shifting mottled browns and greens. The pneumatic sound of the tranq guns firing followed from about a hundred feet. I had no idea what I was going to do. I had no real plan beyond: Hide and Hope so, when I heard the distinctive rumble of a certain diesel engine above me, I threw all caution to the wind. It no longer mattered if Michael and his brother knew about me. As long as these men, whoever they were, did not capture me.

With a wordless cry, I threw myself at the steep trail, dragging myself up hand over clawed hand until I reached asphalt. There, standing next to an enormous, growling beast of a truck, was my Micheal. I called out  his name as I stood and his face was a tangle of confused surprise as he turned and stepped forward with a hand out.

“Sirena?” he said.

“What the fuck?” said a man with long blonde hair and a long, golden beard from inside the cab. Micheal’s brother, I presumed.

Pneumatic hisses came from the forest behind me and I flinched as I was hit in the back of my right arm at the shoulder. I frantically pulled it out, but the spreading fire meant it had already delivered its narcotic payload. 

I lurched forward, the world tilting wildly beneath me. “Please,” I said, my voice going soggy, “please, Micheal. Help…” I pitched forward into him and, after a startled fraction of a second, his strong arms wrapped around me and lifted me like a baby. “Don’t…” I started to say as his face swam in my vision, but I couldn’t remember what I had been about to say, and I was so sleepy…