Deep Trouble (4 page)

I couldn’t let it scare me. I couldn’t let it stop me from finding that
mermaid.

Was anyone up? Had I yelled out loud in my sleep?

I listened carefully. I could hear only the creaking of the boat, the splash
of waves against its side.

The pink morning sunlight cheered me. The dark water looked inviting.

I slipped into my bathing suit and crept out of my cabin as quietly as I
could. I didn’t want anyone to hear me.

In the galley I saw a half-empty pot of coffee sitting on the warmer. That
meant Dr. D. was already up.

I tiptoed down the passageway and listened. I could hear him puttering around
in the main lab.

I grabbed my snorkel, flippers, and mask and went up on deck. Nobody up
there.

The coast was clear.

Silently, I climbed down the ladder, slipped into the water, and snorkeled
toward the lagoon.

I know it was crazy to sneak away like that. But you can’t imagine how
excited I was. Even in my wildest daydreams as William Deep, Jr., undersea explorer, I never thought I would see a real, live mermaid!

As I snorkeled toward the lagoon, I tried to imagine what she would look
like.

Mr. Showalter had said she looked like a young girl with long, blond hair and
a green fish tail.

Weird, I thought.

Half-human, half-fish.

I tried to imagine my own legs replaced by a fish tail.

I’d be the greatest swimmer on Earth if I had a fish tail, I thought. I could
win the Olympics without even practicing.

I wonder if she’s pretty? I thought. And I wonder if she can talk! I hope she
can. She can tell me all kinds of secrets of the oceans.

I wonder how she breathes underwater?

I wonder if she thinks like a human or like a fish?

So many questions.

This is going to be the greatest adventure of my life, I thought. After I’m
famous, I’ll write a book about my undersea adventures. I’ll call it
Courage
of the Deep,
by William Deep, Jr. Maybe someone will even turn it into a
movie.

I raised my head and saw that I was nearing the reef. I concentrated on
keeping away from it. I didn’t want to touch that fire coral again.

I couldn’t wait to explore the lagoon. I was so excited, I forgot all about the terrifying dream I had had the night before.

I kicked my legs carefully, watching out for red coral.

I was nearly past the reef when I felt something brush my leg.

“Oh!” I cried out and swallowed a mouthful of salty water.

Sputtering and choking, I felt something wrap around my ankle.

As it grabbed at me, it scratched my ankle.

This time I knew for sure it wasn’t seaweed.

Seaweed doesn’t have claws!

Ignoring the panic that nearly froze me, I kicked and thrashed with all my
strength.

“Stop it! Stop kicking me!” a voice screamed.

The mermaid?

“Hey—!” I cried out angrily as Sheena’s head appeared beside me.

She pulled up her snorkeling mask. “I didn’t scratch you
that
hard!”
she snapped. “You don’t have to go crazy!”

“What are
you
doing here?” I cried.

“What are
you
doing here?” she demanded nastily. “You know Dr. D. told
us not to swim here.”

“Then you shouldn’t be here—
should
you?” I shouted.

“I knew you were up to something, so I followed you,” Sheena replied,
adjusting her mask.

“I’m not up to anything,” I lied. “I’m just snorkeling.”

“Sure, Billy. You’re just snorkeling at six-thirty in the morning exactly
where you’re not supposed to—
and
where you burned your foot on that fire coral yesterday.
You’re either up to something, or you’re totally crazy!” She squinted at me,
waiting for a response.

What a choice! I was either up to something, or crazy. Which should I admit
to?

If I admitted I was up to something, I’d have to tell her about the mermaid—and I couldn’t do that.

“Okay,” I said with a casual shrug. “I guess I’m crazy.”

“Well, big news,” she muttered sarcastically. “Come on back to the boat,
Billy,” said Sheena. “Dr. D. will be looking for us.”

“You go back. I’ll be there in a little while.”

“Billy,” said Sheena. “Dr. D. is going to be very mad. He’s probably ready to
hop in the dinghy and search for us right now.”

I was about to give up and go with her. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I
saw a big splash on the other side of the reef.

The mermaid! I thought. That’s got to be her! If I don’t go look for her now,
I might miss her!

I turned away from Sheena and started swimming very fast, straight for the
reef.

I could hear Sheena screaming, “Billy! Come back!
Billy!”

I thought I heard an extra note of panic in her voice, but I ignored it. Just
Sheena trying to scare me again, I thought.

“Billy!”
she screamed again.
“Billy!”
I kept on swimming. No way I
was going to stop now. But as it turned out, I should have listened to her.

Swimming fast, I raised my head, searching for a good place to swim safely
over the fire coral.

I saw another splash. Across the lagoon. Near the shore.

That’s
got
to be the mermaid! I thought excitedly.

I stared hard, trying to catch a glimpse of her.

I thought I saw some kind of fin.

I made my way past the reef into the deep, still waters of the lagoon. I
strained to see the mermaid, but my mask had fogged.

Rats! I thought. What a time for my mask to start leaking!

I came up for air and pulled off the mask. I hoped I wouldn’t lose sight of
the mermaid because of this.

I wiped the water from my eyes and, leaving the mask wrapped around my wrist,
stared toward the lagoon.

That’s when I saw it. A few hundred yards away.

Not the green fish tail of a mermaid.

The fin I saw was a gray-white triangle sticking straight up in the water.

The fin of a hammerhead shark.

As I stared in horror, the fin turned in the water, and then ripped toward
me, moving steady and straight as a torpedo.

Where was Sheena?

Was she still behind me?

I glanced back. I could see her in the distance, splashing back to the boat.

I was forced to forget about Sheena as the gray fin swiftly moved closer.

I thrashed my arms in the water, trying to swim away.

When the shark swam right past me, I stopped thrashing.

Would it go away? Would it leave me alone?

My heart in my throat, I started swimming in the other direction, toward the
reef. Away from the shark.

I kept my eyes on that fin.

It began to turn. The shark’s fin streamed toward me in a wide arc.

“Ohhh.” I let out a terrified groan as I realized it was circling me.

Now I didn’t know which way to go. The shark swam between me and the boat. If
I could turn around and climb on to the reef, maybe I would be safe.

The huge fin slid closer.

I plunged toward the reef. I knew I had to keep distance between me and the
shark.

Suddenly, the fin shot up in front of me—between me and the reef.

The shark kept circling, closing in, swimming faster and faster, making the
circle smaller as he swam.

I was trapped. But I couldn’t stay still. I couldn’t just float there,
waiting for the shark to eat me.

I had to fight. I kicked my legs in a panic as I swam toward the reef.

I was nearer to the reef now. But the shark’s circles grew smaller, smaller.

I breathed in quick, shallow gasps. I couldn’t think clearly. I was too
terrified. The same two words echoed in my brain:
The shark. The shark.

Over and over again.
The shark. The shark.

The shark swam around me in a tight circle. His tail swished, sending up
waves of water over me.

The shark. The shark.

I stared at the monster in wide-eyed horror. He swam so close, I could see
him clearly. He was big—at least ten feet long. His head was wide and hideous, long like the
head of a hammer, with an eye on each end.

I heard my voice quivering, “No… no…”

Something cold brushed my leg.

The shark. The shark.

My stomach lurched. I threw my head back and let out a howl of sheer terror.

“Aaaaaiiii!”

Pain jolted down my spine.

The shark had bumped me with its snout. My body rose out of the water, then
hit the surface with a
smack.

I froze.

The shark was hungry.

It wanted to fight.

It circled me again, then zoomed straight for me.

Its jaws opened. I saw rows and rows of sharp teeth.

I screamed out a hoarse, “NO!” I thrashed, panicked. I kicked with all my
strength.

The razor teeth brushed by, just missing my leg.

The reef. I had to get to the reef. It was my only chance.

I dove for the coral. The shark plunged toward me. I dodged it once more.

I grabbed the red coral. Pain shot through my hand. The fire coral.

I didn’t care.

The top of the reef sat just above the surface of the water. I tried to pull
myself up. My whole body stung.

I had almost made it. Soon I’d be safe.

With a mighty kick, I hoisted myself onto the reef—and was yanked back into
the water.

My stomach slammed against the side of the reef. I felt a sharp stab of pain
in my leg.

I tried to pull my leg away. I couldn’t.

It was caught in the jaws of the shark.

My mind screamed with terror.

The shark. The shark.

It’s got me!

My entire body burned with pain. I slipped heavily into the water.

The shark knew he had me. I had no strength left to fight.

Then something splashed nearby.

The shark released my leg and jerked toward the splash.

I had no time to catch my breath. The shark circled back. It charged at me.

The gaping jaws moved in for the kill.

I shut my eyes and let out a shrill scream of terror.

A second passed. Then another.

Nothing happened.

I heard a loud thump.

I opened my eyes.

Something had come between me and the shark, a few feet in front of me.

I stared. The water churned white. A long, shiny green fish tail rose out of the water and splashed back down.

Another fish was fighting the shark!

The shark rolled over, then attacked. The green fish tail smacked the shark
hard. The shark went under.

I couldn’t see what was happening. The water rocked higher, tossing up
frothy, white waves.

All around me the water bubbled and churned, white with foam. Over the crash
of the water, I heard shrill animal squeals.

Sharks don’t squeal, do they? I thought. What is making that sound?

The shark surfaced, its toothy jaws gaping. It snapped them at something,
once, twice. Snapping at air.

The long, green fish tail rose out of the water and smacked the shark hard. A
direct hit on its broad hammerhead.

The shark shut its jaws and sank below the surface.

Then I heard a loud
bump!
The water stopped churning.

A second later, the huge gray fin surfaced a few yards away, speeding off in
the other direction.

The shark was swimming away!

I stared at the green fish tail as it arced over the dark, swelling water.

As the waters calmed, I heard a low, musical sound. It was beautiful and slightly sad. Whistling and humming at the same
time.

It sounded something like a whale. But this creature was much smaller than a
whale.

The green tail swung around. Then the creature lifted its head.

A head with long, blond hair.

The mermaid!

Bobbing in the water, I forgot my burning pain as I gaped at her.

To my amazement, the mermaid looked just as the zoo people had said she
would.

Her head and shoulders were smaller than mine, but her flashing green tail
stretched out, long and powerful. Her wide, sea-green eyes sparkled. Her skin
gave off a pale pink glow.

I stared at her, unable to speak.

She’s real! I thought. And she’s so beautiful!

At last I found my voice. “You—you saved me,” I stammered. “You saved my
life. Thank you!”

She shyly lowered her eyes and cooed at me through shell-pink lips. What was
she trying to say?

“What can I do in return?” I asked her. “I’ll do anything I can.”

She smiled, and uttered that haunting low hum.

She was trying to talk to me. I wished I could understand her.

She reached for my hand and examined it, frowning over the red burns from the
fire coral. Her hand felt cool. She passed it over the palm of my hand, and the
pain from the burns began to fade away.

“Wow!” I exclaimed. I must have sounded pretty stupid, but I didn’t know what
else to say. Her touch was like magic. When she held my hand, I could float
without treading water. Just as she did.

Was this another dream?

I closed my eyes and opened them again.

I was still floating in the sea, staring at a blond-haired mermaid.

No. Not a dream.

She smiled again and shook her head, making those low singing sounds.

I could hardly believe that only a few minutes before I’d been frantically
fighting off a hungry shark.

I raised my head and searched the waters. The shark had vanished. The water
had calmed, shimmering like gold now under the morning sunlight. And there I
was, floating in the sea off a deserted island with a real mermaid.

Sheena will never believe this, I thought. Not in a million years.