Chapter 32: Panic

Nora’s mind flashed through a series of images. She saw her arms flailing above her, bubbles floating to the surface. She saw her legs below her, a chain tied around her left ankle… Her hands clawed at the chain, trying to loosen it, trying to save herself from certain death.

The images flashed faster and faster, as if playing on a loop inside her brain, but each time the surrounding water got darker and darker. Finally, they were all black. Nora breathed harder and faster, turning her head this way and that. Suddenly, her eyes opened. She looked around frantically, panting hard. She felt cold sweat on her forehead. The sight that she saw didn’t help ease her fears.

She looked around and saw that she was laying inside a long glass cylinder. For a brief moment, she felt like an animal, trapped in a cage--or worse… She felt like a fish stuck in an aquarium. She once again saw the water rising up around her, felt her chest tightening. She reached up and placed a hand on the glass, trying to determine if it was really there or if it was a figment of her panicked imagination. Her breathing once again came in faster and faster puffs.

Just then, Nora heard someone faintly calling her name. She looked around, trying to see who was calling to her. She heard a loud banging sound and flinched. She turned her head and saw Tristan, sitting on a chair just outside the cylinder. Nora stared at him with wide, frightened eyes. He was looking at her with the same worried expression on his face. Nora put her hand up on the glass and he placed his over hers.

“Are you okay?” Tristan asked. Nora could only faintly hear his voice. It sounded as if he was a mile away. Nora nodded but couldn’t bring herself to speak. She was afraid of how she would sound inside this chamber.

“Do you remember what happened?” Tristan continued. Nora thought for a moment then nodded. She was at the hospital because of the diving incident… Her memory was a bit blurry because she had been fighting the desire to faint, but she vaguely remembered why she was in the cylinder.

Nora sighed deeply and looked away from Tristan. She began breathing normally again and her fear slowly slipped away. She placed her hands in her lap and sat there for a few moments, hunched over in the chamber. She tried straightening her back but realized that she was too tall for that. She sighed again then decided to lay down. Unfortunately, whatever she was laying on was not very comfortable, and all she could do to take her mind off of her uncomfortableness was count the ceiling tiles. Tristan talked for a while, but Nora could only hear bits and pieces of what he was saying. After a while, he looked away sadly and just sat there beside her.

Finally, the doctor came into the room. He immediately walked over to the chamber and stared down at Nora. He pushed some buttons on the outside of the chamber while Tristan and Nora watched him intently. Just then, the end of the cylinder by Nora’s head opened with a sound that was like a seal being removed. The doctor helped Nora out of the chamber, but he neglected to help steady her once she was on her feet. Nora held onto the outside of the chamber while blood rushed up to her head.

“Well, she seems to be doing all right,” the doctor began as he walked over to Tristan. The doctor was looking down at a clipboard as he spoke. “We’ll keep her in a room for a few hours, possibly overnight, to make sure that she’s fine. Some symptoms of decompression sickness can be late in setting in, and we just want to be certain that she’s completely healthy again, so her time of departure is…up in the air.” the doctor finished with a shrug. Tristan stood up and looked between the doctor and Nora.

“So…” Tristan began, not really knowing what to say.

“Can I change back into my clothes?” Nora asked, still holding onto the chamber for support. The doctor sighed then turned to her. He thought for a moment, a frown on his face.

“We usually ask patients to stay in their hospital gowns, but I don’t expect you to be needing any more treatment, so I suppose if you would feel more comfortable in your own clothes that would be fine.” the doctor said, still frowning. Nora smiled a little.

“Great. Now, if you’ll both just skedaddle, I’ll change and we can talk more after that. Okay? Okay.” Nora said, motioning for both of the men to leave. Tristan immediately complied but the doctor paused, evidently puzzled by Nora’s behavior.

“It’ll be better if you just do what she says.” Tristan whispered loudly from outside the room. Nora nodded.

“He speaks the truth.” she said simply. The doctor still looked confused as Tristan grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room. Tristan swung the door shut then looked at the doctor.

“So… How’s your day going?” Tristan asked awkwardly. The doctor did not respond. He just continued to look confused.

“I’ve never had a patient that was so modest…” the doctor said softly. Tristan gave him a puzzled look.

“What?” he asked, baffled.

“When she changed into the hospital gown, she made me look away. Now that she’s changing out of it, I have to leave the room. I can understand making you leave the room, but I’m the doctor…” he continued, more to himself than to Tristan. Tristan scoffed.

“Just because you’re a doctor doesn’t make you special.” he blurted out, crossing his arms over his chest. The doctor glanced up at him, apparently wondering if Tristan was crazy. Tristan glanced down at the man awkwardly.

“Let’s forget this conversation ever happened.” the doctor said softly.

“Deal.” Tristan replied quickly. The two quickly shook hands then turned away from each other, acting as if nothing had happened between the two of them. Their act was not completely convincing.

Chapter 26: Reality

Saturday morning came and Tristan found himself standing in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection. He had already gotten dressed, eaten breakfast, and brushed his teeth. However, he was now facing a dilemma about his hair… He began parting it one way, then he messed it up and tried to make it spiky. He paused and stared at himself for a moment. Finally, he leaned over the sink and groaned.

“Ugh! Why does it matter what my hair is going to look like anyways?” Tristan yelled in exasperation. He thought for a minute. “But…then again…I do want to look nice, and my hair is a big part of that…” Tristan began to brush his hair back once more. “But I am just going to get into the water, which will mess it up anyways, so it’s not like it’s going to look nice for very long.” Tristan stopped brushing his hair, leaving half of it sticking up and half of it laying neatly on his head. “But Nora will notice if it doesn’t look nice to begin with. She’ll think that I don’t care! And if I don’t care about my hair, then that’s going to lead her to believe that I don’t care about anything!” Tristan began to quickly brush his hair again. He pulled on the brush a little too hard and it caught on a knot in his hair. “Ow!” Tristan exclaimed, removing the brush. He glared at his reflection, sighing deeply.

“I need help.” He said finally. He turned and left the bathroom, flipping the light off as he went. He grabbed his keys off of the small table nearby then headed out the door. He hadn’t been planning on going to work today, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

When Tristan got to the park, he walked straight to the welcome center. Once there, he told one of the girls behind the desk that he needed to find a young boy. “You mean that one that’s been following you around for the past few days?” she asked quickly.

“Um…yes…” Tristan replied slowly. The girl smiled.

“You two aren’t very sneaky, you know…” she said as she picked up a telephone. She began speaking into the telephone as Tristan laughed nervously.

“Will David Jorgensen please come to the welcome center? Tristan Motgomery is in need of your assistance.” The girl said, her voice booming from every speaker in the park. The girl put the phone down and smiled at Tristan.

“That should do it.” She said confidently.

“Thanks, Tina.” Tristan said softly. Tina just continued to smile. Tristan talked with Tina for a few minutes before David appeared. The boy dashed over to Tristan, panting.

“David! I’m so glad you’re here! I--” Tristan began, but David cut him off by holding up a finger. The boy bent over, placing his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. Tristan waited for David to catch his breath before he continued. “I thought you might not be here, but I was hoping you were, because I really need your help.” Tristan said, leading David away from Tina. Tristan waved over his shoulder at Tina, but he really didn’t want to be around the girl when he told his dilemma to David.

“Okay, what’s the problem?” David asked.

“Well… I asked Nora out on a date yesterday. After our last tour. At first she turned me down, but then I told her about all of the feelings I had felt about her and she said that she was confused by my behavior but she thought that she liked me, too, and so then she said that she would go on a date with me.” Tristan paused, taking time to breathe.

“How is that a problem?” David asked, confused.

“That part isn’t the problem. The problem is…” Tristan looked around then bent down, closer to David. He continued in a whisper. “I don’t know how I should do my hair.”

David stared at Tristan, at first with no expression in his eyes and then with a look of bewilderment. “You what?” the boy asked, practically yelling. Tristan shushed him quickly.

“I don’t know if I should make it spiky or neat or what! I mean, on the one hand, I want to look respectable, but on the other hand, it doesn’t matter because we’re going to go scuba diving anyways, so I don’t know what to do!” Tristan explained. David sighed and shook his head.

“Just do what you normally do. She likes you because you’re YOU. Don’t go changing yourself for her, or else she won’t like you anymore. And if she likes your changed self, that’s a bad thing, too. You want a girl who likes you for you, no matter how you are or what your hair is like.” David said. Tristan sighed, nodding his head.

“You’re right, you’re right… I just need to be me…” he said softly.

“Tristan, I’m always right. Whenever you have a question, just think ‘What would David do?’ and that will answer it right there.” David said, crossing his arms over his chest and smiling smugly. Tristan rolled his eyes but smiled as well. He put his hand on David’s head and messed up the boy’s hair, making David yell. Tristan laughed.

“Okay, that was all I needed. I guess I’ll go now--” Tristan began, but David cut him off.

“Wait! I’ll give you my mom’s cell phone number so that if you need to, you can call. Just tell her your Tristan from the park and she’ll know who you are.” David said, pulling a small piece of paper out of his pocket. He handed the paper to Tristan. Tristan glanced down at the paper and saw a phone number scrawled onto it. He tucked the paper into his own pocket then smiled at David.

“Thanks.” He said quietly.

“No problem. What are friends for?” David replied, beaming. Tristan chuckled then led David out of the welcome center. From there, Tristan headed to his car as David headed back towards his mother.

Tristan got into his car and started the engine, a smile still on his face. That little boy would never cease to amaze him.

Chapter 25: Wishes

Nora and Tristan completed their final tour of the day, happy smiles on their faces. The air between them was much clearer, and everyone assumed it was because they had been great friends for a long time. The truth was, they had been great enemies for a short time, but no one seemed to know that.

Nora finished the tour, as usual, by directing people into the gift shop. However, on the final tour today, she decided not to follow the tourists. Instead, she stayed behind and watched the blanket octopus swim back and forth in its tank. Tristan began walking towards the gift shop but stopped when he noticed that Nora was no longer with him. He turned back and meandered over to her once again. She didn’t seem to notice him approaching; her eyes were fixed on the blanket octopus.

“So, do you still want to be a diver?” Tristan asked softly. Nora smiled a little.

“Yeah…” she replied slowly. The two of them stood there for a moment in silence.

“You’ve really never been diving before?” Tristan asked. Nora shook her head.

“I really have never been diving before.” She replied, a small smile still on her face. Tristan thought for a moment. He slowly leaned in a little closer to Nora.

“How does your weekend look?” he asked in a whisper. Nora’s eyes flashed up at him. Tristan wasn’t sure if it was the poor lighting that made him think this, but he was sure that her eyes were sparkling.

“Busy, actually.” She replied with a teasing smile. Tristan’s heart dropped.

“Oh…” he mumbled. There was a moment of silence between them again. Finally, Tristan took a deep breath. He turned to face Nora full on. “Nora, I have something I need to tell you, or a certain friend of mine is never going to get off my back about it.” Tristan said quickly. Nora turned to him, confused.

“When I first came to the park, my only intention was to gather a lot of incriminating evidence that would get the park shut down or something. I was totally against this place and…well, you, when I first met you.” Tristan paused to take a deep breath. “But, then I started to get to know you. I mean, I don’t really know you that well now, I guess, but…there’s just something about you. Something that’s different from anyone else I’ve ever met. I don’t know if it’s the passion you have for this place or just the look of determination in your eyes, but you’re definitely not like other girls I’ve met.

“At first, I just wanted to annoy you and make your life here miserable. But…then something changed… I guess it was the robbery attempt. After that, there was just something that felt different inside of me. I guess it was…” Tristan paused, glancing down at his hands. He hadn’t realized it, but Nora’s hands were now in his. “The look in your eyes after the fight. You looked so…scared…so real. I hadn’t seen you like that before, and it made me think about you differently. Instead of being some big, tough monster I had to take down, you were just…human.

“And then, when those guys tried to kill me, they mentioned your name. They said they were going to come after you, and I knew I couldn’t let that happen. What they said lit some kind of fire inside of me that made me want to kill them before they could kill you. I didn’t think about me anymore, and to be honest, that’s probably the first time something like that has happened to me. I’ve never thought about someone the same way I think about you. I get all protective and…insecure, I guess. I mean, I didn’t think that I liked you or anything, but when I saw you with that Nathaniel guy I just wanted to lean over and punch him in the nose. I…I guess I wished that you liked me as much as you liked him. But…you didn’t…so I couldn’t do anything…

“Then—“

“Then you met David.” Nora finished for Tristan. He looked up at her, surprised. She was smiling.

“How did you…?” Tristan asked, a confused expression on his face.

“I’m not an idiot, Tristan. I know that you two talked about me and that he’s the only reason you started being nice to me.” Nora said, still smiling.

“Well, not the only reason… He was just the thing that prompted me to be nice, I guess.” Tristan mumbled, looking down at his feet bashfully. He stood there silently for a moment, waiting for Nora to reply. She didn’t speak. Finally, Tristan glanced up at her timidly. “You think I’m a moron, don’t you?” he said. He moaned. “I knew that was dumb. I shouldn’t have said all of that. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to--” Just then, Nora put her finger up to Tristan’s lips, silencing him.

“I don’t think you’re a moron, Tristan. To tell you the truth, when I first met you, I totally hated you. You said bad things about my second home, and it made me really mad. After the robbery attempt, I thought you were being nicer. But then I took you on that tour of the park and you got all mean again, so I got defensive and decided that you didn’t like me and you never would, so I kept my distance. Then you started acting nice, and it really confused me, and I’m still confused, but…” Nora paused, looking down at her hands, which were still holding Tristan’s. “But I’m pretty sure that…that I like you too.” She said softly. She looked back up at him, and they stared at each other, neither one knowing what to do.

“I feel like we’re supposed to kiss or something…” Tristan muttered, looking away out of embarrassment. Nora threw her head back and laughed.

“How about we take it slow?” she suggested, calming down her giggles. Tristan was blushing furiously, but he nodded. “How about…this Saturday, you, me, and a diving instructor. Does that sound all right?” Nora asked.

“I thought you said you were busy this weekend…” Tristan said, a little confused. Nora smiled mischievously.

“My weekend just cleared up.” She said softly. Tristan grinned and Nora giggled a little.

“What time do you want to meet?” Tristan asked, still beaming. Nora thought for a moment.

“Two-thirty is good for me.” She replied. Tristan frowned. He thought for a moment then sighed.

“All right, two-thirty it is.” He said with a nod.

“Does that time not work for you?” Nora asked, a puzzled expression on her face. Tristan shook his head a little.

“No…it’s just that…” he paused, looking up at Nora again. “Two-thirty is a long time to wait.” He finished with a small smile. Nora laughed, squeezing Tristan’s hands tighter. He chuckled a little, feeling lighter than air.

“All right, then,” Nora began, trying not to laugh anymore. “How does your two o’clock look?” she asked, smiling. Tristan returned the smile.

“Perfect.” He replied softly. Just then, Nora slowly stood up on her tiptoes. Tristan leaned down a little, closing his eyes. The two of them were just about to meet for a kiss when the sound of small running feet caught their attention. They immediately straightened up as a little boy ran into the room to look at the blanket octopus. Nora glanced up at Tristan from the corner of her eye and giggled. Tristan smiled back. He took her hand and the two of them walked out of the gift shop together.

Tristan’s wish had come true—Nora liked him, too.

Chapter 22: Stress

Nora sighed heavily, placing her head in her hands. Tristan had been acting even stranger than usual this morning, and she didn’t know what to make of it. He was being really polite and nice to her since he had met that David kid… She wondered if that little boy had some sort of magical powers and if he had put Tristan under a spell… To her, it was all a mystery. She wanted to ask Tristan about is sudden change in behavior, but she was worried that asking him about it would make him feel self-conscious and force him to go back to being mean. Once again, Nora sighed, wondering what she should do.

“Nora?” Tristan’s voice came from the other side of the door. “Are you okay in there?” he asked, sounding concerned. Nora had told him she needed to use the bathroom, but really she just needed a quiet place to think.

“Yeah, Tristan, I’m fine.” she said through the door. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

“You said that five minutes ago…” she heard Tristan mumble. She rolled her eyes but realized that she had been in the bathroom for a while now… No wonder he was getting worried.

Nora quickly washed her hands and face then straightened out her ponytail. She looked at herself in the mirror then frowned. She looked awful. She had huge bags under her eyes because she hadn’t slept well and then somehow she had misplaced her makeup bag, so she couldn’t even try to cover up her blemishes. Nora attempted to cover the pimple on her forehead with her bangs, but her attempt was not completely successful.

Finally, Nora turned to the door and exited the bathroom, finding Tristan waiting nearby for her. She walked over to him with her back straight and her shoulders back, trying to look confident.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Nora?” Tristan asked as he began walking beside her.

“I told you, I’m fine.” Nora replied quickly. She tried to avoid Tristan’s eyes, which was pretty easy, since she had been doing it all morning.

The two of them walking in silence for a few minutes, walking back to the front of the zoo. Their next tour was in fifteen minutes, so both of them were walking rather quickly. Tristan glanced down at Nora hesitantly, but she didn’t look up at him. He cleared his throat.

“Y-you look nice today, Nora.” Tristan said softly. Nora felt her face heat up. She knew he was lying. She had just looked at herself two minutes ago, and she did not look ‘nice.’

“Yeah right…” she mumbled, looking away from Tristan so that he wouldn’t see her blush.

“No, really. You look nice.” Tristan insisted. Nora glanced up at him with a skeptical look.

“Nice how?” she asked quickly. Tristan thought for a moment, studying her face nervously.

“Um…well, your ponytail is perfect, and I like how your bangs are spread over your forehead. You usually have them pushed to one side.” Tristan said. Nora was surprised he had noticed that. “That shade of lipstick looks nice on you, and your makeup looks really natural.”

“I’m not wearing makeup, Tristan.” Nora said dryly.

“Oh…that would explain why it looks so natural, then…” Tristan said with a nervous laugh. Nora couldn’t help but smile a little.

“So…you really think I look nice today?” she asked, glancing up at him quickly. Tristan nodded.

“Yeah, I do.” he replied. Nora’s smile widened a little. She looked away again, trying to hide a blush. She had no idea why Tristan was being so nice, but him being nice was much less stressful than him being mean.

Chapter 21: Exhaustion

I suddenly realized that I was still in the middle of a fight. The creature squeezed tighter on my arms, waking me from the stupor I had fallen into. I fought briefly with the beast, twisting this way and that, trying to get it to release my arms. My plan didn’t work, and I realized that twisting underwater was incredibly tiring. I was no longer concerned about using up my oxygen tank, since I apparently didn’t need it, but I was worried about how tired I was getting. I hadn’t slept in at least twenty hours, and my body wasn’t built for strenuous activity when I was tired.

Just then, I came up with another plan. The creature, for whatever reason, was trying to kill me. So, if I died, it should leave me alone…in theory. However, I did not plan on dying. Hopefully, if I just pretended, it would be enough to fool the monster.

I wound down my fighting, slowing down my movements, and I held my breath. Maybe it hadn’t noticed that I could breathe underwater yet… Soon, I was floating, completely limp and only suspended by the creature’s hands. I tilted my head down towards my chest and closed my eyes. I opened my mouth, letting air out and creating bubbles in the process. The creature held me there for a moment, moving its legs only slightly to keep itself in place. Just then, I felt its hands release my arms. I tried not to move from the surprise as I floated towards the coral reef beneath us. Once I reached the coral, I layed there quietly, trying hard not to move or breathe deeply. I kept my eyes closed, but I felt the water moving around me, which led me to believe that the monster was coming to inspect its prey.

I felt large hands rolling me over, and I quickly stopped breathing. I could practically feel the creature looking me over. It was as if its eyes were burning a hole through me, making sure that I was dead.

I had a slight moment of panic as I wondered if the creature really could burn things with its eyes, but then I remembered that I was underwater, and it was fairly difficult to start a fire down here.

Just then, I felt the water move around me once more. I waited for a moment then opened my eyes a sliver and saw the creature swimming away. I watched it go before I sighed heavily and sat up. I quickly grabbed my oxygen tank and re-entered my lair, keeping a sharp eye out for the creature. Once I was inside and had changed out of my diving gear, I flopped onto the chair in front of the window. I stared out at the dark water for a moment before I reached over and pushed a small button, closing the window. I had had enough excitement for today, and I most certainly didn’t need that creature coming back and peering through my window. I still had no idea what that thing was… It was either a strange mutant that had escaped from an illegal testing facility, a new species of sea monster, or a human that…really, really hated me… I pondered these things for a while, trying to decide which answer was the most likely. I finally decided on the last possibility, because most mutants don’t survive very long and I had only ever seen sea monsters like that in old horror movies. However, even though that shed some light on one question, it left many, many more to be asked. Why would another human attack me? Who knows me and hates me enough to try to kill me? Why would someone dress up like a sea monster? Where was their oxygen tank located? Was it a man or a woman? I thought and thought but couldn’t come up with an answer to any of these questions, either.

Finally, I sighed and rubbed my face with my hands. I was exhausted, and I needed rest. I stood up and walked to another part of my cavern then pulled a bed out from the wall. I flopped onto it, resting one arm against my forehead. I glanced over at my tank of angelfish and smiled. “Good night, my sweets…” I whispered with a small smile. The angelfish all came to one side of the tank and stared at me, sleepy smiles in their eyes. I turned away from them and closed my eyes, hoping I would be able to sleep tonight…

Chapter 20: Clues

I was sitting in front of the computer screen, staring at it intensely. I scrolled past a plethora of pictures but didn’t find what I was looking for. I sighed and leaned back, wiping my forehead with my hand. It was well over eighty degrees Fahrenheit in this cavern, and I had no idea why. I had been looking up instructions on how to fix thermostats, but nothing seemed to be what I was looking for. Through the course of my research, my mind had drifted to the strange creature I had seen the last time I was out in the water. I had begun looking for pictures of the creature online, but I had found nothing that even vaguely resembled it.

It was then that an idea hit me. I’d go out once more to see if the monster would appear again. I quickly donned my diving gear and made my way to the metal tunnel, waving goodbye to my angelfish as I went. I was outside my cavern in a matter of minutes, drifting quietly in the water.

I swam around for a few minutes, keeping my eyes peeled for the strange beast. A bit of coral caught my eye and I peered down at it, thinking it was damaged. It looked as though someone had broken part of it off…

Just then, a shadow loomed over me. I spun around in the water, just to see the creature’s large eyes staring down at me. I opened my mouth in shock and blew out bubbles. We stayed there for a moment, staring at each other, before the creature darted past me, floating a few feet away. I swam upwards a bit and stared at it, a little afraid of what it would do next. I swallowed hard and waved.

Hello, I said softly. The creature stared at me, not blinking. I…I don’t want to hurt you. I continued, trying to make myself sound fearless. Again, the monster just stared. I sighed as much as one can sigh while breathing through an oxygen tank, wishing it would communicate with me.

Suddenly, the creature darted towards me, ramming me in the stomach with its hard head. I shot backwards with it, letting out a bubbled “oof” as I went. I managed to swim up above the beast and I looked down at it. I could see no expression in its eyes or on its face, but it was obviously mad. The creature shot upwards at me and I narrowly escaped a collision with it. I didn’t want to fight this thing, but it looked like I wasn’t going to have a choice. So, I took a fighting stance and got ready to dodge or punch anything that came near me.

The monster flashed forward, swimming faster than most things I had seen in the water. I shot up towards the surface of the water and the creature missed me again. We carried on like this for a few minutes and I realized I was growing more and more tired, while the beast didn’t seem to loose any energy at all. I was sure that with all of the heavy breathing I was doing my oxygen tank would run out at any minute…

Just then, I got an idea. All I had to do was get back into my lair and the creature would go away. I glanced down towards the entrance of the cavern and realized it was directly beneath the creature. Apparently my plan was more easily said than done… I had to try, though. I didn’t know how much oxygen was left in my tank, and once it was gone, I was gone, too.

I scowled at the creature and shot forward through the water, angling myself downwards a little. I swam as fast as I could, but the monster was faster. He bolted downwards and grabbed my shoulders just as I went past him. I kicked and chopped with my arms, but the creature didn’t let go. Just then, I felt a weight lift off of my back. The mouthpiece to my oxygen tank slipped out of my mouth. My eyes went wide as I glanced down and saw the tank floating to the bottom of the sea. It wasn’t far down; I could still get to it. But the creature was holding me tightly, refusing to let go. I held my breath, but I didn’t even have a lungful of air in my body. I had become very good at holding my breath for extended periods of time, but that meant, at most, two minutes with a deep breath of air. I didn’t have a deep breath; I didn’t have two minutes.

I kicked, but with my flippers it didn’t do much. I tried to punch, or just move my arms, but the creature was holding them tight to my sides. It was as if this thing wanted me to die… But why? What was it and why was it after me? Was it just a nighttime predator? Was it just its instinct to kill?

I pondered these questions and so many more as my vision began to go black. I saw spots and knew that as soon as I opened my mouth I would swallow water and die. However, even with this knowledge, I could not fight against what my body wanted. I opened my mouth and sucked in water, wishing it was air. I felt the water rush through my body, and I gulped in more. I knew that in a matter of moments my life would be gone… There was so much I had yet to do, so many things I had wanted to accomplish! I gasped when I realized that I would never be able to get the blanket octopus out of that zoo… I would never see her in her natural habitat again…

Just then, I realized I wasn’t dead. I looked around and found that I was, indeed, still under the water. My brow creased in confusion. I realized at that moment that I had gasped just a few seconds before. How had that not killed me? Humans can’t inhale water…

Suddenly, a light bulb went on in my head. I took a deep breath through my nose and was stung by the salt water, but I felt like I had just taken a deep breath of air. I began taking in water through my mouth and realized that it, too, felt like deep breaths of air. I smiled as I realized the most amazing thing I had ever discovered.

I could breathe under water.

Chapter 15: Heatstroke

I leaned my chin on the palm of my hand and watched out of the giant window. The light of the full moon shone down on the water, which was shallower at this time of night. I inhaled deeply and frowned. The sea was unusually quiet tonight…

I spun around in my wheely-chair and stood up. I began wandering around my lair, slowly making my way towards my new pets. The angelfish were all in a large tank that protruded from the wall. The tank was filled with sea water and had bits of real coral in it, as well as some sand and seaweed. I was trying to get the fish accustomed with what the sea was really like before they swam off into the real thing.

I bent over in order to peer into the tank better. The angelfish were swimming around slowly, looking a little sleepy. I glanced down at the coral and noticed a shrimp peek out once before he hid again. “Hm…” I murmured to myself. “He must have come in with the coral…” I contemplated pulling the shrimp out, but decided he would be fine in there until tomorrow. That’s when I planned on releasing the fish.

I turned around and walked back over to the window, fanning myself with my hand as I walked. It seemed to be a bit warm in this large cavern… I decided it was time for a swim. I opened a drawer on the long desk beneath the window and pulled out my wetsuit, mask and flippers. My oxygen tank was sitting right below the desk, making it very convenient to collect everything. I quickly squirmed into my diving gear and walked over to the door to my lair. I opened the door and entered into a long tunnel. The tunnel was rounded along the walls and ceiling, giving the illusion of a circle. The walls were metal, as was the door behind me and the door in front of me. All in all, the tunnel was no more than twelve feet long.

I closed the door behind me and pushed a button on the tunnel wall. I heard the door behind me seal and a green light came on above the button I had pushed. I walked forward quickly and came to the other door. I pushed another button and the door in front of me opened slowly, letting water in. I hastily put on my flippers and adjusted my goggles before placing the mouthpiece of the oxygen tank in my mouth. By the time I had my mouthpiece in, the water was up to my waist. Within moments the door was completely open and the tunnel was filled with the water that rushed in. I flinched as the water poured over my head, but I quickly opened my eyes and swam out of the tunnel. Once I was out, I pushed a button on the outside of the tunnel, closing the door. The water would remain in the tunnel until I decided to go back inside.

I turned around to look at the dark, watery world around me. I unclipped a small waterproof flashlight from my oxygen tank and turned it on. The light was distorted by the movement of the water, but it still allowed me to see a bit more.

The water felt cold through my wetsuit, and it was very refreshing. I had no idea why, but my lair was a little too hot this evening… I began swimming around the coral reef, trying to see if there were any changes that would affect my cavern. I swung my flashlight here and there, hoping I didn’t wake up any fish. None popped out at me, though, so I assumed that they were nestled far enough into the reef that they didn’t notice the light.

Just then, as I was nearing the center of the reef, a large green fish swam out directly in front of me. Only, as it continued to pass me, I realized that it was not a green fish; it was much too large to be a fish. In fact, I guessed that it was about my size.

The green object darted up until it was floating above me, looking down with large, round eyes. It looked like something out of an old scary movie… It had no fins except for a dorsal fin on its back. It had arms and legs, but its fingers had webs in between them like a frog, and its feet were nothing more than large flippers. The body of the creature was scaly, but it appeared to have very thick armor on around its abdomen and legs. This appearance of armor led me to believe that the whole thing was nothing more than a costume. An incredibly detailed and intricate costume, but a costume nonetheless.

We swam around in circles, with the creature above me, eyeing me carefully. It looked like it had a helmet on that made its head appear a bit too large. It had large lips, no nose, and enormous eyes. The face really did resemble a fish, except for the fact that it was shaped more like a helmet.

What are you? I wondered to myself as I stopped circling. I wondered if I could get close to it by simply letting it come to me. The creature stopped and stared at me, making sure it was a few feet away. I wondered if there was a human underneath the helmet and armor, or if it actually was some strange new species… If it was human, then there was no indication of its gender. Its armor was too thick around its torso and legs, making it nearly impossible to guess whether it was male or female.

I slowly held out my hand, wondering if I could coax it towards me. It glanced down at my hand then looked back up at my face. There was no expression in its large eyes, so I couldn’t tell if it was angry, confused, or amused by my show of friendship. It seemed to study me for a moment. I could have sworn that its eyes narrowed. However, just when I thought it might attack me, it turned and swam off, going faster than I’ve ever seen anything travel in my life. I stared after it, stunned. I had no idea what that thing was, but I wanted to find out. Perhaps when I let the angelfish out tomorrow it would come back…

I swam back to the entrance of my lair and pushed the button to open the door. The door opened slowly and I swam into the tunnel, which was still full of water. I closed the door to the tunnel and the siphons turned on automatically, sucking the water out of the tunnel. I waited for a moment as the water drained out around me before I took the mouthpiece out of my mouth. Once all of the water was out of the tunnel, I took off my flippers and goggles and opened up the inner door, making sure I released the seal before I opened it. I entered into my cavern and changed out of my wetsuit quickly.

I noticed again how hot it was in my lair. I quickly checked the water in the angelfish’s tank to make sure it wasn’t getting too warm. I wiped my brow and sighed, walking over to the large window. I decided to close it for the night, even though it wasn’t that late… I had a feeling that the heat had something to do with that creature, and I wasn’t about to leave the window open so that it could come and spy on me in the middle of the night…

Something about that creature just seemed off, and I was going to find out what it was.

Chapter 13: Luck

Nora was up bright and early, making sure that she got to work on time. She was especially speedy today, because she was certain that she had spied a few news vans the night before. So, she left her apartment and got out on the road as sneakily as she could then drove herself to work.

Nora entered the employee’s lounge and began putting her lunchbox and purse into her locker. She looked at the mirror hanging on the locker door and put her hair up into a ponytail. She quickly pulled blush and a small brush out of her bag and puffed a little onto her face. She then applied a little lipstick before putting her purse away.

Just then, the door to the employee’s lounge burst open. Nora spun around, panic gripping her. Running through the door was none other than Tristan, looking very frazzled and frantic. He rushed over to his locker and threw the door open, shoving his lunchbox into it as fast as he could. Nora watched him with a puzzled, yet slightly amused, expression on her face. Tristan slammed the locker closed and leaned against it, panting heavily.

“Are you okay?” Nora asked slowly. Tristan glanced over at her and waited for a minute before answering.

“Yeah…just…late.” he said between pants. He cracked a grin and Nora raised an eyebrow. She glanced up at the clock to see that he was, indeed, late.

“This is your third day working here, Tristan.” Nora said, turning away from her locker and walking towards the door. “Why in the world were you late?”

“Well,” Tristan began, straightening up. “I slept through my alarm this morning, but I did everything extra fast to make up for it. But then I got into my car and it decided not to start, so I had to chase a bus for a block before it stopped for me, and then I had to run two blocks because the bus stop is two blocks away from here!” Tristan said quickly, but still panting. Nora smiled at him and laughed a little. Tristan stared at her quizzically.

“What’s so funny?” Tristan asked, walking over to Nora.

“I don’t know. I just think it’s funny that you had a hard time getting to work.” she replied with a shrug and another smile. Nora walked out the door and Tristan stood there for a moment, wondering if he should feel insulted or happy that she had laughed at his story…

That morning was a fairly normal morning. Nora and Tristan gave three tours before lunch, and Tristan was even allowed to do some of the talking. However, in the middle of the third tour, Nora stopped abruptly. The guests were looking at some of the fish, so they didn’t notice the confused expression on Nora’s face. Tristan, however, took notice of it immediately.

“What’s wrong?” Tristan asked, standing next to Nora with a look of concern on his face. Nora waited a moment before answering, studying the scene in front of her.

“Some of the angelfish are missing…” she murmured. Tristan gave her a puzzled look.

“What?” he asked, turning to look at the aquarium. Nora stood next to him, counting the fish in the tank.

“I’m sure there aren’t as many in there as there were yesterday…” Nora mumbled to herself. Tristan glanced down at her, wondering how she could notice something so insignificant as the number of fish in a tank.

“Maybe they were moved…?” Tristan suggested. He wasn’t sure how likely that idea was, but it didn’t hurt to put it out there. Nora shook her head.

“I don’t think they would just randomly move fish around…” she said slowly. The two of them stared at the aquarium for a moment longer before Nora shook her head and put on a smile, continuing on with the tour.

After their three morning tours, Nora and Tristan took a break for lunch. They took their lunchboxes to a round table that was sitting underneath a large shade tree. Nora sat one chair away from Tristan once they reached the table. Tristan wondered why she didn’t just sit next to him, but he shrugged the matter off and opened his lunch box.

The two of them ate in silence for a few moments, neither one focused on anything besides their lunches. Tristan chomped on his sandwich happily while Nora picked at a salad. Nora was the first to look up and speak.

“Do you know what I think would be a really fun job?” Nora asked, not expecting an answer. Tristan glanced up at her, a large bite of sandwich in his mouth.

“What?” he asked, even though his mouth was full.

“Being a diver.” Nora replied simply. She stared off past Tristan wistfully, leaning her chin on one hand while still poking her fork into her salad with the other.

“A diver?” Tristan repeated, his mouth still full of sandwich. Nora nodded.

“I think it would be fun to be able to go into the tanks with the animals and swim around with them in their natural habitat.” Nora continued, still not looking at Tristan.

“Natural? There’s nothing natural about their habitat here.” Tristan said, finally swallowing his food. Nora flicked her eyes towards Tristan as he spoke. “The plants are fake, the water isn’t salt water from the ocean, and the fish are all enclosed in tiny little boxes by glass and cement, both man-made materials.” Tristan finished and gave Nora a pointed look. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Okay, so it’s not their ‘natural habitat.’ I still think it would be cool to swim with them, though.” Nora said, slightly exasperated. Tristan thought for a moment then nodded.

“So, how does one become a diver?” he asked, taking another bite of his sandwich.

“Well, you have to have experience and apply for a job as one, instead of having no experience at all and applying for a job as a tour guide…” Nora mumbled the last part more to herself than to Tristan.

“Wait--you’ve never gone diving before?” Tristan asked, shocked. Nora shook her head slowly. Tristan stared at her, his eyes wide with surprise. There was just something about Nora that made it impossible for him to believe that she had never gone diving before.

“I’ve always wanted to, but I can never find the time…” Nora said with a shrug.

“I think we’re going to have to make time for that.” Tristan said, nodding his head.

“We?” Nora asked, glancing up at him. Tristan stopped chewing his sandwich and looked up at Nora, realizing what he had said.

“Well, I mean, you and I could go diving together, or just you could go and I could help you pencil it in, or just I could go and you could help me pencil it in, or…” Nora giggled and Tristan stopped talking. She was looking at him with a teasing, but understanding, smile on her face.

“Do you always talk like this around girls?” she asked, a sparkle in her eyes. Tristan laughed nervously then looked down at his food, trying not to blush.

“Well, if you pencil it in, maybe we will go diving sometime.” Nora said softly. She began eating her salad again and Tristan felt his heart beat a little harder.

He suddenly felt like the luckiest man in the world.

News

Just so you all know, I am writing chapter thirty-two tonight.

I have finished the thirty day challenge.

And I am no where near being finished with the book. Which means...

I get to keep going! Whoo!

My deepest apologies to all of you who have (not) been reading this story. I wanted to post one chapter each day, but then life got complicated and my access to a computer was cut short. I have been writing chapters in the late hours of the night (and, I will admit, sometimes in the wee hours of the morning), and by the time I finish a chapter I've been too tired to post it. However, I will make my best effort to get back in the habit of posting these chapters. I really, really like how this story is coming along, and I really want to share it with everyone.

So, that being said, I am off to post another chapter. Hold on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen! This is when the fun begins! (And by "fun" I really mean fighting, hatred, little boys who know a lot about life, and much more! Stay tuned! The best is yet to come!)

Chapter 12: Schemes

It was a dark and stormy night. I crept along the large wall that surrounded the park. I glanced around at my surroundings to make sure that the coast was clear before I pulled a grappling hook out of my backpack. I took a step away from the wall and looked around once more before I swung the hook around my head and threw it upwards towards the top of the wall. The rope attached to the hook fluttered in the wind as the hook sailed upwards. The grappling hook caught the wall and stuck, giving me a way to get into the park, like it had so many times before.

I climbed up the wall quickly, having become accustomed to the act years ago. Once I was at the top of the wall, I held my arms out to balance myself. I slowly brought up the rope from my grappling hook then put the hook back into my backpack. Very carefully, I walked along the high wall, forcing myself not to look down. I had made this trip many a time, but I was still very aware that the smallest misstep could cost me my life.

I finally came to the tree branch that reached up to and over the wall. I climbed up on it and began crawling out of the tree. I was much more comfortable when I was surrounded by branches than when I was out in the open on top of a wall.

Before I hopped down to the ground, I looked around again to make sure that none of the night guards were around. Seeing that the coast was clear, I got down from the tree and began heading towards the zoo.

I ran across the ground, and my padded soles hardly made any sound at all. The zoo was on the other side of the park, so I had quite a ways to run before I reached my destination. I stopped suddenly and listened closely. I heard slow footsteps making their way towards me. I looked around frantically and saw a bench nearby. I ran and dove under the bench, making myself as small as possible. I was dressed completely in black, so the guard would have to be looking for me to actually see me. But the guards were usually equipped with flashlights, and under the glare of one of those, I was completely visible.

I held my breath as the guard entered the area I was in. I recognized this guard as being one of the more lazy ones, so my worry eased a bit. The guard walked towards the bench and sighed heavily. I closed my eyes, hoping he wouldn’t point his flashlight at the bench. Fortunately, the guard turned his flashlight off. Unfortunately, he turned around and sat down on the bench. I flinched as the bench moved under his weight.

The guard yawned then decided it was a good time for a nap. He lifted his legs up and tipped to the side, laying down on the bench. I refrained from cursing as I waited for a moment to make sure he wouldn’t get up. I very slowly rolled out from under the bench and got up on my hands and knees. I crawled a few feet away from the bench, watching the guard carefully as I went. After establishing that he wouldn’t be getting up for a while, I got to my feet and dashed away as silently as I could.

I made it to the zoo without any further complications. I sneaked around to the back of the zoo and found an employee’s only entrance. I glanced down at the keypad on the door handle and quickly pushed the correct numbers. The light on the keypad turned green and I heard the click of the door unlocking. I turned the handle and quickly slipped inside.

The inside of the zoo was dimly lit by small lights along the walls. I had entered into a part of the zoo that was nothing more than a small hallway without any windows. I followed it down to a set of stairs that went up. I climbed the stairs and found myself in a room full of diving gear. I began gathering the equipment I would need, and the process went very quickly. I had memorized where everything was kept, so the few times the equipment had been rearranged, it had certainly confused me.

I found a wetsuit in my size and quickly slipped it on over my own clothes. I grabbed a mask and an oxygen tank and put both of them on as well. I then picked up a pair of flippers and began walking out of the room. I stopped, having the feeling that I was forgetting something. I quickly rushed back over to my backpack, which I had left tucked in a corner of the room. I unzipped the backpack and pulled out a handful of small plastic bags before I stood up and walked out of the room.

I walked down a narrow corridor that was lit by overhead florescent lights. There were two walls on either side of me, but the floor was not as wide as the walls were apart. In between the floor and the wall to my left was a long opening that led down into the aquariums below me. There were signs along the left wall that told me what fish were in which aquariums. I carefully watched my step while still glancing up at the signs every once and a while to make sure I did not pass the tank I was looking for.

After a few minutes of walking, I came to a sign that had “Angelfish” written on it in large letters. I quickly slipped on my flippers and adjusted the mask over my eyes and nose. I placed the mouthpiece to the oxygen tank in my mouth then got down on my hands and knees in the tight space. I peeked out under the wall to make sure none of the guards were in this area of the zoo before I got into the water. I knew that once I got in, I had to be fast. I couldn’t get caught, not now…

I dove into the water and shivered a bit, not expecting it to be this chilly. I quickly glanced around and noticed that all of the fish were swimming around sleepily, which would make catching them a whole lot easier. I slowly swam over to the nearest angelfish. It glanced over at me lazily but made no motion to move away from me. I reached towards the fish with one of my plastic bags and very slowly placed the bag around the fish. I tied the open end of the bag into a small knot then moved onto the next fish. I repeated this process with three other fish, and none of them fought back. I made my way towards one final fish and was by now feeling very confident in my fish catching capabilities. However, something about the look in that fish’s eyes made my feelings of confidence wither.

As I swam towards the fish, it darted to the right, towards the glass wall of the tank. I followed after it, making sure I didn’t loose my grip on the fish I had already caught. I got closer to the fish and it began swimming downwards, towards the fake plants in the water below. I sped after it, determined not to let it get away. The fish wove through the artificial seaweed and around plastic rocks and logs. I scowled at it and swam faster, rising up over the seaweed and other debris. The fish rose up out of the seaweed and darted to the left. I followed it, making sure I didn’t smash into the brick wall. The fish swam down the length of the aquarium then made a sharp right turn. I smiled around the mouthpiece to my oxygen tank as I got closer to the fish. Suddenly, the fish rocketed upwards. I glanced up but did not follow it fast enough. I smashed into the glass of the tank with a loud thud, and the sound reverberated off of the glass. I moaned and rubbed my head, no longer wanting to help the fish. At this point I was ready to kill the fish. I spun around and saw the fish swimming around playfully, a smile in its eyes.

I was trying to help you! I yelled, glaring at it.

I don’t want your help, human. it replied, turning away haughtily.

Then you can stay here and rot, fish. I snarled, swimming up to the walkway above the tank. I heard the fish huff, but I was too angry to feel even a little pleased that my remark had angered him. I crawled out of the tank with the other fish secured tightly in their bags. I pulled my flippers off and carried them, along with the fish, back to the room with the diving gear. As I took off my wetsuit and grabbed my backpack, I hoped that pesky fish remembered one thing:

No other human had ever communicated with him before.

So...tired...

I really need to go to bed, but I feel like I need to explain a little bit now or else I'll forget to explain later.

I have been writing a chapter a day, I just haven't been posting them because of the Fourth of July (yay for fireworks!) and a lot of other busy-ness that has led me to write my chapters really late at night. Because it's been so late, I have not posted any of the chapters on this blog. But I have not stopped writing them! In fact, I finished chapter eleven just a few minutes ago.

I don't know when I'll be able to post another chapter on here, because my life is really busy right now. Who knows? Maybe you'll be left on a cliff hanger for another week. (Mwahahaha...) But I will post another chapter eventually... Well, I'm planning on posting another chapter eventually...

Augh, I need to go get some sleep now. >.<

Oh, just so you all know, I am aware of the fact that I come up with horrible chapter titles. (If you think they're bad now, they'll only get worse.)