Emily Windsnap and the Monster From the Deep (13 page)

“And they’re — they’re green, and gray underneath, and warty . . .” My voice trailed away as I remembered the sight of it. My teeth chattered.

The captain turned to the other man. “That’s exactly what my friend at the coast guard said.”

“Sir, the newspaper report —”

The captain shook his head. “Those things weren’t in there. Come on, man. Face the facts. You saw the dials. You know we’ve been stuck here, spinning on the spot like a child’s top.”

“Yes, but you said yourself that if we made a mammoth effort, we could get out of it.”

“Exactly, and we need to do that now. There’s something going on and it’s time we faced up to it.”

He moved his chair closer to mine and leaned toward me. “Okay, then,” he said. “You’d better tell me exactly where you saw the sea monster. . . .”

I’d done it! The ship had changed direction and we were heading directly away from the island.

I sneaked along the empty deck. Every single person on the ship must have been crowded on the other side, peering into the darkness for a sight of something they thought would make their vacation. I thought of its flailing tentacles, the floor littered with bones, and I shivered. If only they knew. I hoped for their sake that they never would.

I had to get back to the island. Maybe I could confess, after all. If I told Neptune what I’d done here, how I’d stopped a whole cruise ship full of
people from discovering us, he might even forgive me.

I checked around one final time to make sure no one could see me. Then I slipped back into the water.

Moments later, the familiar warm feeling spread through my legs as they turned back into my tail. It shone bright in the moonlight.

Fish around me seemed to be dancing. I could make out their shapes in the darkness. They must have been happy for me. Maybe it was a sign. Everything was going to be all right. I swam along, lost in my hopes that I could somehow make up for everything that had happened over the last couple of weeks. Perhaps Shona and I would be best friends again and the island would be safe. The kraken might even go away and our lives in our new home could really start.

“EMILY!”

I started and looked back, twisting around in the water. Two people were leaning out over a balcony on the cruise ship, waving frantically. Why weren’t they on the other side with everyone else? I edged back toward the boat.

That’s when I saw who it was. Mom! Thin and wiry with wild hair, waving her arms. Someone was with her. Larger than life in a black cape. Millie! What the heck were —

“Emily!” Mom screamed again.

I swam closer to the ship, but it was picking up speed. I could hardly keep up.

“Watch the propellers!” Mom screeched. “Don’t come too close!”

Millie had sunk into a deck chair next to her, her head in her hands. A small yacht was moored on a buoy, near where the ship had been only moments ago. The one I’d seen coming toward us. I recognized it now: it was our old boat! They’d followed me!

“Mom! What are you doing there?”

“We came to find you, but you’d just jumped off! It was Millie’s idea. The vision, the boat. She’d seen you on it.”

“What? You never told me that.”

Millie got up and stumbled across to clutch onto the railing. “I kept it to myself,” she wailed. “I thought it would have sounded crazy. I’ve heard what people say about me.” She leaned out over the railing. “I’m sorry, Emily. I was too busy worrying about my reputation.”

“We didn’t think they’d get going again tonight.” Mom called.

Oh no. My fault again. I’d made things worse
again.
The ship was only on the move because of me. And now it was moving faster and faster away — and taking my mom with it!

“Mom!” I tried to keep up. She was shouting something, but I couldn’t hear her anymore. I could hardly even see her as the ship picked up speed.

“MOM!” I yelled again, uselessly, into the darkness.

As the ship slipped away, I let the current carry me along. No energy left. I drifted away from the ship, from the island, from everything that mattered. Tears streamed down my face as I howled in the darkness.

And then —

Noise.

Clattering — shuffling. What was happening? I mopped my cheeks with my palms.

I’d got caught in — what? Seaweed? I flapped and scratched at it.
Please, not the monster.
I looked around me.

A net! I was trapped in a net! A man was holding it, pulling at a piece of rope, dragging me through the water, propelling himself along with flippers.

Flapping my tail, I tried to push myself away, but he was too strong. I struggled and fought, biting at the net, pulling at it with my fingers, cutting my hands, scraping myself all over. It was like wire. There was no way I could get through it. I scratched and screamed as he drew me through the sea.

Soon the water grew warmer and shallower. We were at a tiny island: a little sandy bay with a few palm trees, a small boat moored to a pole, and a makeshift lantern propped on the beach. The man tied my net to the pole.

He pushed his mask and snorkel onto the top of his head. I couldn’t make out his face properly in the shadowy light. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, panting from swimming so hard. “Trust me.”

I didn’t say anything.

“Do — you — speak — English?” he asked in a very loud voice. I ignored him.

“Stay here,” he said, as though I had a choice. He disappeared up the beach as I scraped and scratched at the net, trying to get out. Moments later, he was back with someone.

“Dad, you are completely obsessed,” a girl’s voice was saying. “It’s the middle of the night!” The voice sounded familiar. But it couldn’t be.

“I said, didn’t I?” the man replied as they came closer. “I told you — I TOLD you!
Now
do you believe me?” He pointed in my direction. The other person waded toward me and peered at me in the darkness. As she came closer, I could just make out her face from the lantern’s light.

It was —

It was —

I gasped and jerked backward against the net, my mouth stupidly open. It couldn’t be! How —?

It was someone I knew. Someone I knew well. Someone I’d thought I would never
ever
have to see again.

Dad’s caught a fish at last.

Hallelujah.

He’s screaming and yelling at me to come and see it. You’d think no one had ever caught a fish in the sea before.

But it’s not a fish. He’s got someone with him.

“I told you! I told you!” he’s yelling. “I said I’d catch a mermaid, didn’t I? Do you believe me now?”

I get closer, and I notice a tail. No! It can’t be!

He has! He’s actually caught a mermaid!

It turns around. I see its face, its mousy hair, skinny little arms. It
can’t
be! It’s impossible! But it is. It is. I grab the lamp and bring it closer as I stare at her.

It’s Emily Windsnap!

And then I remember. I remember everything! The pool, the swimming lessons. She came to us once before she left, showing off as usual. She had a tail! She swam in front of us all, swirling it around. Grinning at me as if to say she’d won. It wasn’t
enough for her that everyone thought she was
so
wonderful. Julia, the swimming instructor — they all liked her more than they liked me, all thought she was better than me. She had to rub it in, didn’t she? Had to prove they were right. As if I didn’t already know it.

How could I have forgotten?

There was something afterward — they gave us doughnuts. That was when it all faded. The doughnuts! Had they drugged us or something? And what the heck is she doing
here
?

Our eyes meet. She’s as shocked as I am.

“Mandy!” she says.

I pull myself together quickly. “Oh, hi, Emily,” I say, nice and calm. I sniff and turn to Dad. “Why are you bothering with
her,
Dad?”

Dad pulls off his mask and snorkel. “What are you talking about, Mandy? It’s a mermaid!”

“Dad, have you actually looked at her face?”

He gawks at me for a second before turning to Emily and then back to me. I can almost see the realization crawling into his mind. He points at Emily. “But that’s, that looks like —”

“Yeah, Dad,” I say, trying to sound bored, or at least as if I’ve got a
clue
what’s going on here, “it’s Emily Windsnap.”

“But how . . . but she’s a . . .” His voice trails away. He looks at her again, then at me. “Don’t be
stupid, Mandy,” he says suddenly. “Of course it’s not Emily Windsnap. It just looks a little like her. This is a mermaid!”

Mom joins us on the beach. “What’s the fuss, Jack?”

Dad runs toward her, ignoring me, and ignoring reality, it seems. “No time now, Maureen,” he says. “We need to get ready. Where’s all our stuff?”

“What stuff?”

“Everything. Everything we need. Get it in the boat. We’re off as soon as it’s light.”

“Off?” I follow Dad out of the water. “What d’you mean ‘off’? Where are we going?”

Dad stops and turns back to me. “We’re going home, Mandy. With our mermaid. We’re going to save the pier. Just like I said.”

He runs over toward the boat.

“But it’s broken!” I say, following after him. “We capsized, remember?”

“I’ve been working day and night on this boat,” he calls back. “I think she’s ready to sail again. Pack your things, and then get some more sleep. First light of dawn and we’re off.”

“Mom?”

Her eyes are vacant. She looks as if she’s already given up hope. “I haven’t got a clue what’s going on,” she says. “What’s that he’s got in the net?”

I leave her to find out for herself as I follow Dad
to the boat. Maybe we can sort everything out. Maybe he’s right. It’s worth a try, I suppose. Anything’s better than rotting on this stupid island for the rest of our lives. Even if it does mean sailing home with
fish girl.

The boat seems to be just about holding up. It would be better if Dad had the slightest idea how to sail it. We’re buffeting about all over the place. He keeps staring at the navigation dials and then yelling things at Mom, like “Get over onto starboard!” and “We need to tack! Watch the boom! Hard alee!”

She yells things back, but her words are washed away by the wind and by the seawater spraying us on the back deck. Just as well. Judging by her expression, it’s probably best if neither of us can hear what she’s actually saying.

Anyway, I’m busy with Emily. I’ve got to keep an eye on the net, make sure it doesn’t come loose. Can’t have her escaping.

“Comfy down there, are you?” I call down to her. She’s being pulled along like a water-skier. “Enjoying your little trip?”

“What are you going to do with me?” she whimpers. She’s scared. I swallow my guilt. Why shouldn’t she suffer? Why shouldn’t she understand how
I
feel most of the time? Would it hurt for someone to understand?

“Oh, didn’t Dad tell you? We’re taking you back to Brightport,” I say.

The boat swerves and surges, so I don’t hear her reply. Just a kind of yelp from inside the net.

“Yeah, we’re going to put you on display,” I continue when she bobs above the surface again, her hair plastered across her face with seawater. I smile down at her. “Hey, maybe all your old school friends will come and visit. That’d be nice for you, wouldn’t it? We were thinking maybe five dollars a visit. What d’you think?”