Chapter 30: Ends

The boat stopped at the dock and Tristan immediately stood up. “Can you stand up, Nora?” he asked, looking down at the girl. She nodded, her eyes half closed. She began standing up and tipped backwards, threatening to fall off of the boat. Tristan quickly caught her, helping her to balance. He and Ron helped Nora out of the boat and onto the dock.

“Should we take her to the hospital?” Tristan asked Ron as they walked slowly back to his little shop. Ron sighed.

“Probably. Let’s let her get this diving gear off first, though.” Ron replied softly. Nora’s oxygen tank was already off of her back, and her flippers and mask had been removed as well. She had slipped her wetsuit on over a t-shirt and shorts, so it didn’t take long for her to take it off. However, it would have taken an even shorter amount of time if Tristan didn’t have to steady her every two minutes.

Finally, Nora and Tristan were walking out of the shop, Ron following closely behind in case they needed any assistance. The two men helped Nora into Tristan’s car before Tristan walked around to the driver’s seat.

“Are you sure you’ll be all right? You don’t want me to come with you?” Ron asked, sounding concerned. Tristan shook his head.

“We’ll be fine. I’ll take her to the hospital and have them look her over and…” Tristan paused, thinking about what would come next. “Well, I guess we’ll go from there.” he said with a small smile. Ron nodded.

“If you need anything, help or information, just give me a call. You’ve got the number, right?” Ron said. Tristan nodded as he got into his car. Ron bent down so that he could see Nora. Her window was rolled down. “Nora?” Ron began gently. Nora’s sleepy eyes turned to him. “Don’t fall asleep, okay? Stay awake for as long as you can. At least until you get to the hospital.” he finished. Nora nodded weakly. Ron sighed heavily then glanced up at Tristan.

“I’ll call you with an update.” Tristan said as he turned the car on.

“Thanks. I’ve never had anything like this happen… The first lesson is always the easiest… I just can’t explain this one… I feel awful though, I really do.” Ron said sincerely.

“It wasn’t your fault, Ron. It was a freak accident or…well, I don’t know what else it could be, but none of it was your fault.” Tristan reassured him. Ron sighed again.

“Thanks, Tristan.” he said softly. “I’ll try to figure out whatever it was that grabbed her. I’ll call up a few of my friends and get their help, too. Maybe I’ll check with the police or something… See if they’ve got any information that would be helpful…” Ron said, mostly to himself, as he stood up. Tristan slowly backed the car out of the parking space while Ron watched them. Tristan knew that the man was concerned; it was evident in his expression. Ron waved a sorry goodbye as Tristan pulled out of the parking lot.

The drive to the hospital was only a few minutes long. Tristan helped Nora walk into the hospital and the two of them went straight to the emergency room. Tristan told the nurse behind the counter what had happened and she told him to have a seat and wait. He walked back over to Nora and sat down, twidling his thumbs nervously.

“Tristan?” Nora mumbled.

“Yes, Nora?” Tristan said, glancing over at her. Nora slowly reached out her hand and placed it over Tristan’s hands.

“Don’t act so nervous. You’re making me antsy.” she said softly. Tristan smiled a little then nodded. He and Nora sat there for a few minutes, not speaking to one another. Tristan was silent because he was too busy trying not to look worried, even though he was, and Nora kept quiet because speaking seemed to be incredibly hard to her for some reason.

Finally, a nurse called out Nora’s name. Tristan helped Nora stand up and slowly led her over to the nurse. The nurse led them through a door and down a hallway, into small room. “The doctor will be right with you,” the nurse said before she turned and walked out, closing the door behind her. Tristan sighed heavily, rubbing the top of Nora’s hand with his thumb. Nora rested her head on Tristan’s shoulder. Tristan closed his eyes then rotated his shoulder, pushing Nora away from him. He looked over at her sadly and shook his head.

“You can’t go to sleep.” he said softly.

“But I’m so tired…” Nora mumbled, her eyes drooping. Tristan shook his head again.

“You’ve got to stay awake, Nora.” he said, sounding a bit more firm this time. Nora didn’t respond. “Nora, stay awake.” Tristan said sternly, his eyebrows coming together to form a scowl. Nora still did not reply. “Nora,” Tristan said, panic mounting in his voice. He reached up and poked her cheek. Nora’s face contorted into a grimace. Tristan frowned. “Nora, open your eyes.” he said, sounding stern again. Nora sighed then opened her eyes halfway. She stared at Tristan for a moment, looking directly into his stern expression. Slowly, though, his stern expression melted away and was replaced by a worried one.

“You scared me.” Tristan said softly. Nora looked down, a little embarrassed.

“I didn’t mean to… It’s just so hard… I’m so tired…” she mumbled.

“I know, but you can’t go to sleep. You have to see a doctor.” Tristan continued earnestly. Nora sighed then nodded slowly.

“Okay…I’ll stay awake…” she muttered. Tristan smiled a little.

“Thank you.” he said softly.

“For what?” Nora asked.

“For not dying.” Tristan replied. Nora was silent for a moment.

“You’re welcome.” she said finally. Tristan chuckled, not having expected that response. However, he was truly thankful that she was in a hospital room with him instead of on the bottom of the ocean floor with whatever it was that had tried to kill her…

Chapter 29: Grace

Nora was fighting with all of her might, trying to free herself from the hands that held her ankles. She kicked but felt nothing but water. She looked down and didn’t see anything. However, she felt something, and this something was not something she could fight against.

Nora turned her thoughts to finding the mouthpiece to her oxygen tank. Her body might not survive the depths of the water because of the pressure, but at least if she had oxygen, she had a chance of surviving. She waved her arms around behind her, trying to find the mouthpiece, but she had little success. Just then, Nora looked up and saw Tristan swimming down towards her at lightning pace.

“Tristan!” she said happily. However, all that came out was bubbles, and Nora quickly realized that that had just used up a lot of the oxygen left in her lungs. She reached over her shoulders again, feeling around for the mouthpiece as Tristan came closer. She finally found it and stuck it in her mouth as fast as she could, sucking in a deep breath of air. She inhaled some of the water that had collected in her mouthpiece and choked a little. She kicked her legs some more, trying to make contact with whatever it was that had her.

Nora stared down into the water beneath her, trying to see what was holding onto her leg. All she saw was a hand…a webbed hand… The arm led down into a swirling mass of bubbles that Nora couldn’t see through. She inhaled deeply, trying to stay calm, but the mounting pressure on her chest and abdomen was making her worry.

Nora glanced up again and saw that Tristan was directly over top of her, reaching his hands down to grab her. She raised her hands up to him and reached his fingertips. Tristan sped up slightly and the two clasped their hands together tightly. As soon as Tristan had Nora’s hands, he stopped swimming downward. He turned his body around and began swimming up, pulling at Nora’s hands. Nora felt the speed in their decent decrease, but they continued going downward. Nora kicked as hard as she could with both of her legs, trying to free herself and help Tristan at the same time. She felt the grip on her ankle tighten.

Just then, Nora realized it was getting harder and harder to take in a full breath. She could literally feel the water pressing in on her body, her chest and head especially. She knew that if she wanted to survive, she had to fight harder.

A scowl came over Nora’s face as she tightened her grip on Tristan’s hands.
Suddenly, she pulled her knees up to her chest at a surprising speed. She then kicked her free leg out, hoping to kick whatever it was that was holding on to her other leg. Much to her amazement, her foot actually hit something hard. She felt the grip around her right ankle loosen. She pulled her knees up again then kicked her left leg down and, once again, she made contact. She pulled her knees up one last time and felt the hand around her ankle release. She shot upwards, Tristan right behind her.

Unfortunately, the thing that had grabbed her was right behind them as well. A brief memory of what Ron had told them about going up through the water too fast crossed into Nora’s mind, but she decided that she would have a higher chance of surviving by swimming quickly. She pushed onward, making sure that Tristan was still at her side. She glanced up again and saw the light shining down through the water. She saw Ron, floating near the boat. She started to smile, but the world started getting darker… Nora was puzzled by the sudden change in lighting. She then started to feel woozy, and she felt warm water in her mask…

Nora felt her legs slowing down. She willed for her body to keep going, but her body had decided to stop. Just when Nora thought she was going to start sinking down again, Tristan shot past her and grabbed her under the arms, pulling her up to the surface. She felt the air surround her and she heard Tristan’s voice calling to Ron, but she still felt like she was under the water, listening to them speak above the surface. After a moment, she felt two more arms lift her onto the boat, gently laying her down on the floor. Through bleary eyes, she saw Ron gently remove her mask. She felt the warm water that had been captured inside of it trickle down her face.

“Nora! Nora, are you all right?” Tristan asked, crawling into the boat. Nora moaned.

“Just take a few deep breaths, you’ll be all right…” Ron said softly, looking around for something. He pulled out a small metal box and began looking through it. He took a few tissues from the box and held them underneath Nora’s nose.

“Wha’ ‘appened…?” Nora asked, trying not to pass out.

“Your body couldn’t hold up to the pressure. It’s just a bloody nose. You’ll be fine.” Ron replied gently. Nora turned her head to look at her mask and saw that there was still some blood pooled in the bottom of it. Nora then realized that what she had thought was warm water was really her own blood. The thought made her gag.

“Is she going to be okay?” Tristan asked frantically as he knelt down next to Nora. Ron nodded, still dabbing at Nora’s bloody nose.

“She’ll be fine, but we should probably go back to shore and look her over there.” Ron replied. He glanced up at Tristan, looking for a response. Tristan glanced up, startled.

“Oh, yeah, definitely.” Tristan nodded his head furiously before he looked back down at Nora. Nora stared up at him, still fighting the urge to pass out.

“Okay, you look after her and make sure that she does not fall asleep. That is very important. She might have inhaled some water and we wouldn’t want any dry drowning going on…” Ron said as he stood up and walked over to start the boat. Tristan sighed.

“Did you hear that, Nora? Don’t fall asleep.” He repeated, a little more softly. Nora nodded slowly and reached for the tissue. She held it to her nose again. Ron started the boat and began steering it towards the shore.

“You didn’t happen to see what grabbed her, did you?” Ron asked Tristan.

“No, I didn’t.” Tristan replied. He glanced back at the water and only saw the waves.

“Well, I guess we’re going to need to send out a search party or something… Whoever or whatever it was is going to be very bad for business.” Ron said seriously. Tristan looked down at Nora again. He opened his mouth to ask her if she had seen what had grabbed her, but before he could speak, she shook her head.

“I didn’ see a thing…” she said softly. Tristan nodded.

“That’s okay. I’m just glad you’re safe.” He replied. The two of them sat quietly for a moment, Nora dabbing at her bloody nose and Tristan just staring down at her with a worried look on his face.

“Tristan?” Nora said after a moment.

“Yeah?” Tristan replied.

“I don’t think I wanna go diving for a while…” Nora mumbled. Tristan smiled pitifully.

“I completely understand.” He said quietly. Nora managed to smile, but not because she was feeling better. She just wanted Tristan to get a happy look in his eyes again.

She wondered if he realized that this was the second time he had saved her life.

Chapter 28: Jolts

“All right,” Ron began as he put on his mask. Nora and Tristan had already donned their equipment and Ron had just finished giving them their safety instructions. “We’re not going to be going down very far today because it’s your first lesson. You want your body to gradually adjust to the change in pressure. The farther down you go, the more pressure is on your body. Our bodies are accustomed to the pressure of the air at and around sea level. That’s why, when we go up on mountains or way down in valleys, our bodies don’t run as well as they normally do. Because of this, you’ve got to be very careful to not go down into the water too quickly or come up too quickly. A quick change in pressure and everything in your body goes haywire. You just want to take it nice and slow.” Ron finished explaining and Nora looked up at Tristan. He could tell that her worry was mounting.

“You two ready to go in?” Ron asked. Tristan nodded then glanced down at Nora again. She nodded slowly and took a deep breath. “Great! Now, just follow my lead.” Ron said. He sat down on the side of the boat, his back to the water. Nora and Tristan did the same. Ron placed the mouthpiece to his oxygen tank into his mouth and adjusted his mask. Nora and Tristan imitated his moves. Then, very suddenly, Ron leaned back and fell into the water. Nora’s eyes went wide as she watched him go under. He quickly popped back up and smiled at the two of them.

“Just lean back! Once you’re under the water, you do a little flip and come back up. It’s not hard at all!” Ron called up to the two of them. Nora looked over at Tristan. He smiled encouragingly, took a deep breath, then leaned back and fell into the water. Out of instinct, he closed his eyes on the way down, but he quickly opened them once he was under the water. He swam back up to the surface and popped his head out.

“Come on, Nora! The water’s fine!” he called up. He saw Nora’s fists clenching and unclenching. Suddenly, she tipped backwards and fell into the water, her eyes squeezed shut. Tristan smiled and watched her flip over under the water. He saw her open her eyes slowly. She looked around for a moment, her eyes wide, before she swam back up.>r> “It’s amazing under there!” Nora exclaimed, removing her mouthpiece. Tristan and Ron smiled.

“Gorgeous, isn’t it?” Ron said, also removing his mouthpiece. “Well, let’s start diving!” he said, putting his mouthpiece back in. “All right, so you two are going to follow my lead and go down just as far as I do. You don’t have to be at the exact same depth as me, but you don’t want to go too far down because--” All of a sudden, Ron was cut off by Nora’s scream. He and Tristan both turned to look at her just in time to see her hands go under the water.

“Nora!” Tristan yelled, staring down into the water. He saw her disappear beneath the dark depths. Something was dragging her down.

“What in the world--” Ron began, but Tristan cut him off.

“Something grabbed her! Something’s pulling her down!” Tristan yelled, putting his mouthpiece in.

“Well, did you--” Ron began again. Just then, Tristan dove under the water. Ron gasped.

“Wait!” Ron screamed, staring down at Tristan. “You haven’t been properly certified!” However, Tristan couldn’t hear Ron anymore, nor did he care about what Ron had to say. He only cared about saving Nora.

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 7: Surprises

Tristan stared at the gun and gasped. Nora stood there, frozen. Tristan saw her gulp as her eyes traveled up to look at the man holding the gun. He was a large man dressed completely in black, including the ski mask he wore over his face.

The man walked forward, shoving his gun ahead of him. Nora fell backwards. “Everybody on the floor!” the man yelled, looking around the room. The customers slowly began to get down on the ground, exchanging confused glances. The man stepped over Nora, who was laying on her back, and two other men followed after him. The two other men also had guns, and they were much larger than any gun Tristan had seen before.

Tristan stared at the scene in shock. He looked at the customers on the floor and saw little children hiding with their parents. He glanced up at the cash register and noticed that the employee behind the counter was already handing the gunman money. He looked down at Nora and saw fear in her eyes.

“Hey!” Tristan’s head snapped to the side and he saw another one of the gunman pointing his gun at him. “He said everybody on the floor! That includes you, buster!” the man yelled. Tristan stared at him for a minute then looked down at his gun. Slowly, Tristan lowered himself to the floor next to Nora.

“Nora…” Tristan whispered in a voice that he hoped the gunmen wouldn’t hear. “How often does this happen?” he asked. Nora swallowed hard before answering.

“I don’t know. This is the first time it’s happened while I’ve been here.” Nora replied softly.

“You two, on the floor! I don’t wanna hear any chatter!” the third gunman yelled at them. Nora and Tristan flinched, both of them expecting the worst. Tristan was the first to find the courage to look up. He made sure none of the gunmen were looking at him, then he slowly reached towards his pocket. Two of the gunmen were near the door, their backs facing the crowd. The last gunman was still by the cash register. Tristan pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and quickly placed it directly under his face. He tipped his head over it, trying to shield it with his hair as much as he could. He quickly dialed 911.

“We’re being robbed.” Tristan whispered into the phone after the operator answered.

“Can you tell me your location, sir?” the operator asked. Tristan shushed her.
“Yeah, it’s--”

“HEY! He’s got a phone out!” Before Tristan knew what was happening, one of the gunmen had grabbed his shirt collar and hoisted him into the air. Nora grabbed his cell phone and screamed the park’s name into the phone before another one of the gunmen wrestled it away from her. The phone fell to the floor and smashed into a multitude of pieces.

“No, no, no!” Nora yelled, fighting against the gunman. He had her arms pinned tightly behind her back. The other gunman dragged Tristan over to Nora as the third one approached them. He had a sack of money in one hand and his gun in the other. He eyed the two of them maliciously before he let out a cruel laugh.

“You know, we were gonna come in and try to get out without hurting anyone, but it looks like that’s not going to be an option now.” he said, wagging his gun around. Nora glared at him with a hatred that Tristan thought she had reserved for him.

“We’re not gonna…ya know…kill ‘em, are we?” the gunman holding Tristan asked hesitantly.

“Not yet. But since they called the police, we’re gonna need a little…leverage…” the man with the money replied.

“Are we gonna grab a kid?” the man holding Nora asked. There was a collective gasp from all of the parents in the room.

“No, kids are a pain.” the man with the money answered. There was a pause. “We’ll take her.” he finally said, pointing to Nora with his gun. Tristan’s jaw dropped open, but Nora didn’t look surprised. She just looked like she was going to kill someone.

Tristan’s mind spun. Even though he didn’t really like Nora, he couldn’t let these guys take her. He didn’t know if the police would get here in time, though, and even if they did, that might put Nora in even more danger. These guys had weapons that could wipe out small neighborhoods; what could Tristan do to fight against that?

Just then, Tristan heard an “oof” come from his right. He looked over and noticed that the man who had been holding Nora was now on the ground, holding his stomach. Without even thinking, Tristan shot his elbow backwards and made a direct impact with the chest of the man holding him. The man’s grip loosened and Tristan spun around. He grabbed the man’s gun and hit him over the head with it. The man fell to the floor, unconscious.

Tristan turned around to see Nora give the third gunman a punch to the face. The man’s head snapped to the right and he stumbled to the side. He regained his balance and dropped the bag of money, clutching his gun with both hands. He aimed the gun at Nora and Tristan ran at him, raising the other gun over his head. He hit the gunman over the head and the gunman fell to the floor, moaning. The three gunmen lay on the floor in varying stages of consciousness.

Nora and Tristan stood in the middle of the three men, panting hard. Slowly, the tourists began to stand up. Nora looked up at Tristan, a look of fear still lingering in her eyes. Tristan smiled at her, pleased with what they had just done.

“You just saved my life.” Nora said softly. Tristan shrugged, a large grin still on his face.

“Well, you started the whole process.” he replied.

“Yeah…I’m really not sure what came over me…” Nora whispered. Just then, someone started clapping. Nora and Tristan looked up and saw that there was more than one person clapping. Soon, the entire store was applauding their bravery.

Nora laughed a little and Tristan looked down at her, bubbling with joy. The two of them exchanged delighted smiles. They heard police sirens nearby and their smiles widened. The applause died down as police officers rushed into the store. The officers almost tripped over the bodies of the men on the floor.

“I think we’re going to have some explaining to do…” Tristan whispered, leaning over to Nora. Nora laughed.

“Yeah, I think so.” she replied with a smile. Then, she did something that Tristan didn’t think would ever happen.

Nora leaned over and gave him a hug.

Spoiler Alert! Read chapter 6 before this post!

DUN DUN DUN!! I bet you didn't see that coming, did you?

To tell you the truth...neither did I...

I honestly have no idea where these things are going. They're just going. On one hand, this whole "Go wherever your characters lead you" thing is kind of fun. I don't know what's coming and even I'm surprised by what my characters do and say. On the other hand, it's kind of a weird and slightly scary feeling...not knowing what's going to happen next...not knowing if you're going to accidentally write yourself into a corner...not knowing who's going to die when... O.O

Just kidding, I don't think anyone will die.

At least...not any time soon...

See? Slightly scary stuff going on with this story. I mean, especially with that ending for chapter six... I hope Nora doesn't die in the next chapter. I like her. I'd like to keep her around for a while. She and Tristan have some interesting dialogue. I don't want to have to replace her.

Oh, well. I guess that tomorrow we'll figure out if she lives or dies.

On that note, I'll wish you all an enjoyable night. =) Sweet dreams! (Mwahahaha...)

...I need to go to bed... >.<

Chapter 6: Aggravation

Nora marched ahead of Tristan, clenching her fists at her sides. She was mentally counting to one-hundred and reminding herself to breathe deeply. She tried not to make eye contact with any of the customers, because she knew that her anger would somehow propel itself onto them.

When Nora reached the entrance to the zoo, she turned around to face Tristan. To her surprise, he was about ten feet away from her, jogging to keep up. She crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. “Our of shape?” she asked sardonically as Tristan reached her. The young man bent over and placed his hands on his knees, panting hard.

“You’re…a really…fast walker…” Tristan said between breaths. Nora smirked.
“You have to be a fast walker around here.” she said, trying not to sound too pleased with herself. She waited for Tristan to catch his breath before she spoke again.

“Okay, the boss must think you’ve got a really good personality,” Nora paused and sighed, “so he’s made you a tour guide. Which, if you actually liked the park, would be a good thing for me. However, since you’re trying to get me laid-off, it’s not really a plus.” Nora finished, turning around to look at the entrance of the zoo.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Tristan said, holding up his hands. “I’m not trying to get you laid-off, I’m just--”

“Trying to get people to not come, therefore making the park loose money, therefore leading to lay-offs, therefore putting my position in jeopardy.” Nora finished, turning around to face Tristan again. Tristan stared at her for a moment, a little surprised, while she stared at him with an eyebrow raised accusingly. Finally, he spoke.

“Well…if that’s what you think.” he said with a shrug. Nora sighed heavily and rolled her eyes.

“Come on. You have to come on a few tours with me to see how it’s done before you can do your own, so for the next week or so you’re just going to be my shadow. You will be seen but not heard, understood?” Nora said, leading Tristan towards the entrance.

“Yes, ma’am!” Tristan said, saluting Nora. Nora replied by rolling her eyes again.

When the pair got to the entrance, they found a tour group already waiting for them. Nora smiled and clapped her hands once and everyone turned to her.

“I’m so sorry for the wait, everyone!” Nora said, managing to sound truly sorry. She stepped to the side and motioned towards Tristan. “This is our new trainee, Tristan. He’s going to be following as part of the tour to see how it goes before he begins giving his own tours.” Nora explained. Tristan stared at the group, looking very grumpy. Nora sent him a glare before she turned to the crowd.

“I also regret to inform you that my headset is on the fritz, so I’m just going to have to talk louder so you all can hear me. If at any time you can’t hear me or don’t know what I said, just let me know and I’ll try to talk louder. That being said, anyone hard of hearing needs to come to the front.” Nora finished with a smile as she eyed an elderly couple towards the back of the group. The tourists laughed as the older couple made their way towards the front, large smiles on their faces. Nora waited for everyone to get together before she turned and led the group into the zoo.

“Would it kill you to smile?” Nora hissed to Tristan as they began walking.

“Yes, I think it would. I think that if I use the muscles in my mouth to form my lips into an upward facing shape, I just might die.” Tristan replied dryly. Nora glared at him before she began smiling again, ready to begin introducing the fish in the large aquariums.

The tour went much better than Nora had thought it would. Tristan remained quiet and observant throughout the entire tour, and all of the customers seemed to enjoy the animals. Once again, the highlight of the tour was the blanket octopus. Tristan even seemed surprised by it.

“There’s nothing in that tank.” Tristan whispered to Nora when they reached the blanket octopus.

“Really? Are you sure?” Nora asked.

“Yes, I’m sure. There is no octopus in that tank.” Tristan hissed, sounding annoyed. Nora tried to hide a smile.

“Well, why don’t you go and get a closer look?” she asked, motioning towards the glass wall. Tristan sighed and took a few steps forward. Suddenly, the blanket octopus shot upward. The group watching gasped, including Tristan. Nora tried hard not to laugh. Tristan turned around to look at her and his mouth was wide open in shock. Nora also noticed that there was something different in his eyes, something she hadn’t seen before. It wasn’t hate or anger or annoyance… But she couldn’t quite tell what it was…

Once the group entered the gift shop, Tristan turned to Nora. “Okay, the octopus was pretty cool.” he said quickly. Nora smiled.

“I had a feeling that you would like it.” she said softly.

“Yeah…but I still don’t like this park. An animal like that deserves to be out in the wild.” Tristan said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…” Nora muttered, sighing. She glanced down at her watch for a moment then looked up at Tristan.

“Okay, we have to head back towards the front of the zoo now.” she said, stepping forward.

“Why? We have, like, twenty minutes until the next tour starts.” Tristan said, looking at the clock above the cash register.

“Yeah, but guests begin assembling before then. Tour guides are always early. Punctuality is something that customers count on.” Nora explained as she and Tristan walked towards the door.

“So, you really let the customers down this morning, huh?” he said. Nora thought about rolling her eyes again, but there was something different about his voice this time… His voice was less hateful and more…teasing… Instead of glaring, Nora actually smiled a little.

“Yes, and you’ll notice that I promptly apologized for it.” she said, glancing up at Tristan. Tristan nodded and stuck his hands in his pockets.

“How many things do you have to apologize for in a day?” he asked absentmindedly. Nora watched Tristan as she replied.

“Usually not a lot, but some days--” Nora stopped abruptly as the electronic doors to the gift shop opened. She swallowed hard as she found herself staring down the barrel of a gun.