Droplets (DROPLETS Trilogy Book 1) (9 page)

     “Come meet your new sister,” she invited. We all crept forward, afraid to make too much noise.

     Kaleb, who was in Derek’s arms, gave an excited gurgle and kick. It broke the silence and Caitlin and Sara rushed to the bed. They crooned over her, calling her sweet names and introducing themselves in a formidable fashion. I stayed back, not wanting to bother their happiness.

     “What’s her name?” Sean looked at Dad. Jillian gazed up at Dad and together they said with smiles, “Emly.” Emly, I thought. Emly is my new baby sister. I watched as the scene before me unfolded.

     Jillian sat there on the hospital bed, letting each of her children see Emly. Justin was on his knees beside his mother, while Aaron stood right beside her. Caitlin lay at the bottom of the bed trying to hold Kaleb, who kept crawling around. Derek was craning his neck to see Emly and Sean stood beside him with Sara propped up on his knee. Dad was leaning on the bed with his arm around his wife.

     It was like watching a scene from a movie, or looking at a picture that I was not part of. Somehow I knew I was not meant to be there. I no longer fit in. Ever since I had been changed, I was not who I used to be. A new world had been opened before my unwilling eyes, and I now knew it was where I belonged. This scene was not part of me anymore.

     I had known for quite some time this moment would arrive, and tears threatened to spill over my eyes. I had been waiting for it, anxious and unsure of where I would be. Simplicity had told me to try and be my old self, but reality had just shown me the truth. I was of a different world and it was time to leave the old world in the past.

     Before, I had been too afraid to leave. Too afraid to face this new phenomenon on my own. But that had all changed last night when I had seen Morven. For some reason, that small moment had given me the push I needed to take my future into my own hands. I could not let him control my fate.

     Instead, I would face the new path before me, a path of my own creation. Without knowing it, Morven awoke a burning courage and desire to survive within me. I would do all I could to keep myself from whatever he had planned. I was not Marina, nor would I ever become her. 

     Tears welled up in my eyes, but I blinked them back and hoped no one would notice. I looked again at my family, all huddled around the hospital bed, and wondered if it would be my last and only memory of them all together.

_______________

  Derek and Sean,

I know one of you will find this when I’m missing. I’m gone. I’m sorry, but I had to go. He came here and I didn’t want that fate. If I went with him, I would be trapped in a cage for the rest of my life.

Give everyone my love, especially Dad and Jillian
.
I’m sorry, but I had to do this. I had to get out while I still had the chance.

  All my love,

                 Lissie

    The tears were pouring down my cheeks as I wrote it, my nose running like a small child’s. I didn’t know where I was going to go, or live, or how I was going to survive.  My family was all I knew, yet I had to leave. With a heaving heart I read over the words, making sure they were enough. But I knew nothing would satisfy my family.

     I glanced at the small bag I packed which lay on the bed. I had fashioned a waterproof bag that I could strap to my stomach. It looked like a flat fanny pack. A set of clothes was tucked tightly inside it, which would be of use whenever I reached land somewhere. The thought of being naked in a strange place was not one I appreciated.

     Strapping the bag tightly against my stomach, I glanced at the clock. It was time to go.

     I inhaled deeply and looked out the window of my room. I couldn’t see the ocean, but knew it was there. I felt its pull to join the waves—a part of me wanted to be out there in the water. The desire was stronger than I had ever felt before. Maybe it was because I had finally made up my mind, or because I knew I would be in the water soon. I didn’t know what it was, but the anticipation was strong and it was time to leave.

     I lay my scribbled note on my pillow and crept across the room out into the hall. Everyone was quiet and asleep. Jillian was still in the hospital with Emly. They would be coming home in a day or two. My throat tightened knowing I would not be there to see them.

    I shook the thoughts from my mind. I could think about all of that later, right now I needed my wits about me. I tiptoed down the stairs, praying I wouldn’t make a noise. Reaching the side door of the house, I let out a sigh of relief, unlocked it, and pushed it slowly open.

     A loud squeak resounded throughout the house. I cringed and paused. My ears strained for any noise that would tell me someone was awake. A light thump sounded above my head. I heard a soft groan and swore under my breath. Of all the people in this house to wake up, it had to be one of the twins. I followed the noise of the footsteps as they padded toward the bathroom. I didn’t dare to move the door another inch, in fear that it would squeak again.

     Suddenly, the padding feet stopped. They stayed in one place for a moment, and then headed back to the twins’ room. I held my breath and waited to hear the creak of a bed. It never came. Instead I heard mumbling voices. My mind was on alert,
what had they noticed?

     My blood pounded faster as I heard two sets of feet make their way down the hall. I waited, hoping they were doing something out of the ordinary. What exactly I didn’t know.

     My hopes were dashed when I saw a foot and part of a flannelled leg appear on the stairs. That was it.

     I shoved the door open, a loud squeal emitted throughout the house.

     “Lissie?!” I heard from behind me, but didn’t look back.

     I jumped the four stairs that led to the driveway and sprinted for the path leading to town. I ran faster than I ever had before, the anticipation of hitting the water pumping through me. My ears strained to hear if anyone was following me. I heard the squeal of the side door open and I internally cursed myself for not climbing out my window.

     Pounding down the path, my bare feet hardly touched the soft dirt. I could hear my brothers behind me and I knew they could see me. Their loud grunts were getting closer. I pumped my legs faster; one of the boys groaned.

     I continued to run with speed that I had never had before. My brothers neither gained distance nor let up. I knew that if I made it to the water I would be safe. After that, they would not be able to follow me.

     I saw the restaurant up ahead, which meant my goal was getting ever closer and closer. I whizzed past Darrow’s Catch, heading straight for the ocean. The wind was cold and whipped against my face. Sean finally caught on to my plan.

     “LISSIE, NO!”  he yelled, but I couldn’t let him stop me.

     I ran as fast as I could. My feet reached the pier and I sprinted across the wooden planks. The end of the chase was in sight. I could see it, taste it, feel it. The pull from the ocean was so strong I wouldn’t have been able to resist it even if I tried. The feet that pounded on the boards behind me picked up speed. They were determined to catch me, but I wouldn’t let it happen.

     I reached the end of the pier and made an inhuman leap onto the railing. Quickly I dove into the water and a ripple ran down my spine. My clothes ripped and where my legs had been there were now fins.

     With an instinctive movement I shot forward from the pier into the unknown.

9. Refuge

I swam and swam for two days without stopping. There was no telling where I was; for all I knew I could have been swimming in circles. My body was exhausted and I was tired of trying to figure out what I should do next.

    
Where was I going to go?
This question had been running around in my mind ever since I had left home. There was no place for me to hide from Morven, but I was going to do everything within my power to stay away from him.

     These thoughts only made me feel more desperate and worn out. I needed somewhere to sleep, somewhere to eat—really just some place to be. In the back of my mind I knew what I really needed was home, but I couldn’t go back now.

     I paused. The feeling of the refreshing salt water was all around me, and it felt so
normal
. To think of being on land and breathing air seemed strange and foreign. I looked around me at the vast ocean floor. The sand rippled in soft identical mounds that went on and on for miles. The emptiness of the water made me feel lonely and desperate; I sank to the ocean floor and lost sight of the surface up above.

     I dropped my hands to my lap and stared at my fins. Though it had been two days and they felt just as normal as legs, I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by them. In reality it was one big tail that began just below the lavender cut on my hip. It was as solid and thick as my two legs put together. From its starting point at my hips, it tapered down to about two feet past where my toes should have been. At this point it split off into an elongated v-shaped fin. The tail’s color was dazzling; each individual scale, when in the sun, shined different shades of lavender. They even shimmered and danced with color when it was dark, though the colors were much paler than when in sunlight.

     The very bottom of my tail, my fins, the part which split into the v-shape, was different. It was made up of partially transparent flesh that was a paler lavender than the scales. It was lucent, sheer and appeared slightly weak. In reality it was firm and powerful, making swimming an easy task.

     I wore nothing on my upper half. Instead my chest was covered by a smooth band of lavender scales that reminded me of kelp. The faded color matched my fins perfectly and spread from under one arm to the other.

     Aside from the pack I had strapped across my stomach, my skin was completely open and free to the water pressing against it. Somehow it all felt natural, as though I was meant to be this way. The feeling both frightened and excited me at the same time.

     I floated and pondered, the events of the past two days swam through my mind. It was like an aquarium at the bottom of the ocean, one where I was allowed to get as close to marine-life as I wanted. The only problem was their fear of me. I quickly noted that I could move quicker than any of them, and I succumbed to the idea of being a predator—though I had yet to hunt. Even the one shark I had happened upon had been afraid of me; but I was scared enough for the both of us while I watched the large fish swim away in panic. It had taken a long time for my heart to return to its normal rhythm after such an encounter.

     With a loud sigh, I looked around me and returned to the present moment. I knew what I
had
to do, but I was afraid to do it. Since submerging myself in the water, I had yet to break the surface. I was too afraid I would be spotted by someone and what the consequence would be if such a thing happened. But there was nothing else I could do: I needed to figure out if there was land anywhere nearby.

     Glancing up above me, I could just barely see the sun shining down into the water, creating a dazzling image of light. I was mesmerized for a moment, but then began to move cautiously toward the surface high above me. As I got closer, the sun reached me and the lavender from my fins shone with spectacular beauty. My stomach tightened in a knot, when with one timid, final kick, I pushed myself to the surface.

     My head broke through the water and I took my first breath of air in two days. It felt the same as breathing underwater, except it was thinner and not as fulfilling. The sun shined brightly, making it difficult for my eyes to adjust, and the waves gently churned the ocean around me. With little movement from my strong fins I was able to keep my head above the water and ignore the strong undercurrent that latched at my flesh threatening to pull me into its grasp.

     I looked around and realized I was entirely alone in the middle of the ocean; there was nothing but water for miles and miles. Being underwater had felt foreign originally, but coming back to this and finding myself still alone was like a knife to my heart. I was truly on my own.

     Pressing on, I swam closer to the surface in what I hoped was the direction of land. My stomach began to grumble loudly and the thought of raw fish was beginning to sound appetizing. The only problem was every fish I came upon was already well hidden or too far away for me to find the will to chase down. My energy was dropping quickly and I knew I needed to find land as soon as possible; the idea of sleeping in the water sent chills of fear and dread down my spine.

     Coming up to the surface to check my whereabouts, I scanned the horizon in a routine manner. It took a moment for my brain to realize what the dark shadow stretching across the horizon actually was. I moved forward, disbelieving. I squinted in the light.
Could that really be land?
I was too exhausted to think otherwise, and a tired smile spread across my face as I dove beneath the surface with renewed energy.

     I reached the island in mere minutes. My head was above the water and my fins now touched the bottom.

     The island was massive, stretching out across the horizon as far as I could see on either side. There was a beautiful beach tucked into a pocket of surrounding trees gently blowing in the sea air. Behind there, appeared to be a thick forest of trees full of green leaves and branches reaching up toward the blue sky. The sand was perfectly white and the waves touched it softly. Farther down the shore there were rocks and cliffs, their gray structures protruding boldly from the ground and standing resilient to the water smashing hard against their sides. This place had a mystical feeling to it. 

     Nervously biting my lip, I moved closer to the shore. I felt my legs reappear and my feet squishing into the ocean floor as I walked toward the beach. I paused, thinking how neat it was that my body could change its own constitution, when I stumbled over a rock and plunged head first into the water. Coming back up, I tried to stable myself. My legs felt wobbly and uncertain, as if they were unsure of whether they could hold me up. Looking down at my shaky knees I gasped. I had forgotten I would be naked. My arms immediately covered my chest and I sank to my knees with waves slapping against my hips. 

     For a moment I knelt there too stunned to move, and then I broke into laughter. It may have been the exhaustion that caused me to laugh so hard, but I couldn’t stop for a long time. The situation was just too comical and the desperation and hilarity of it all only made me more aware of how strange a thing I had become. 

     Finally reality set in and I made up my mind. The small pack on my stomach contained a dry set of clothes I could change into. The problem was actually getting into the cover of the trees to change into them. Everything about this island suggested it was deserted, but I was too self-conscious to believe it. With a deep breath I worked up enough courage and made a mad dash out of the water, through the sand, and into the shady cover of the large-leafed trees.

     Feeling more like myself once my clothes were on, I began to trudge my way along the outer rim of the island. I was afraid to go too far into the trees, not knowing what I would find there. The ocean was my shelter and comfort; it provided an escape from any walking creature, and I wanted to keep it in my sight at all times.

    As I walked around the large piece of land, my stomach grumbled and I searched for food. After hiking for about a mile, I arrived at the large cliff I had seen from the water. Huge, with sharp edges, and points protruding along its enormous gray form, it daunted the eye and made me shiver in amazement.

     The spot became my land marker and I used it as I walked around the island looking for food. After passing a slight curve in the land, I came upon small pools filled with all sorts of living creatures. My stomach growled in response to the sight of fish and small crabs sitting just beneath the tantalizing surface.

     Feeling like a shipwrecked soul, I found a stick and sharpened it with a rock to make a poorly fashioned spear to catch the fish. After I managed to catch three fish on the stick, and wrap up some of the small crabs in the pack I had, I proceeded back toward the cliff.

     Approaching the gargantuan rock from this different angle showed a jagged collection of boulders naturally stacked upon each other. Their existence provided a pathway to the top of the large gray structure. My only thought was for safety from whatever might live on the island; I thought the top of the cliff might give me the reassurance I needed to fall asleep.

     The climb was easier than it looked, and I reached the top with fish and crabs in hand. My stomach clenched in anticipation as I set my raw dinner down and went to find sticks to make a fire. My heart went out to my father, thanking him for training me and my brothers in survival, “just in case.” At the time it had seemed silly, but now I was glad for having paid attention to everything he had taught me.

     Walking back through the trees with a pile of sticks in my arms, I spotted something I had not seen before. There in the rock wall was a small opening, a cave of sorts, but not so small that a person couldn’t fit inside. I bit my lip, wondering if I dared to enter. For a fraction of a second I wondered if a human could live inside and decided to check it out later, but not at the moment. Right then my stomach was controlling my mind and its insistence was all I would listen to.

     It took some time to get a good fire started to roast the fish and crabs, but the wait was worth it. Finally, with a satisfied stomach, I lay down to rest my tired eyes.

     The top of the cliff was unbelievably large and flat, creating an excellent viewpoint of the ocean and horizon. Soft grass covered the surface and blew in the sea air as though trying to imitate the crashing waves below. I lay down in the grass with nothing but the darkening sky for shelter. Somehow I felt lucky, and slowly closed my eyes, drifting off into a much desired sleep.

_______________

The smell of charred wood reached my nose and tickled my brain awake.  I pulled my eyelids open lazily and blinked at the bright red sky. My mind moved slowly as I tried to figure out where I was. Turning my head to the side, I saw the small extinguished pile of burned wood that had cooked the delicious meal the night before.

     Looking up at the light sky, I wondered what time it was. I sat up with a soft groan. The sight which met my eyes was unbelievable. Bright streaks of pink were jumbled with blurs of deep red and swirling orange clouds grazed the horizon. The breathtaking canvas of colors was reflected perfectly in the churning waves, making the sight transcendent. It was a moment before I realized that the sun was resting on the horizon in the same place as the night before. It was sunset again. I had slept the day away.

     Casting my thoughts aside, I deeply breathed the crisp ocean air. The sight and the smell reminded me so much of home. Pressure built behind my eyes, but I pushed it back. I knew there was nothing that could be done about it.

     Determination penetrated my soul. I slowly unfolded my legs to stand, and grimaced at the aches and pains along my spine that came from sleeping on the unforgiving ground.  I took one last look at the sky, which was slowly deepening in color and leading to another night of darkness, and turned around.

     Alarm shot straight through every nerve in my body. There was a man facing me not even ten feet away. I had obviously caught him in mid-movement since he stood frozen, with one foot stepping toward me and a look of utter surprise on his face. His face was calm, but in one hand he held a knife, the large blade glinting in the setting sun. My eyes widened at the sight of the object, and, thinking quickly, I whipped around intending to jump off the cliff. I sprinted for the edge knowing it was my only refuge. A sound escaped the man behind me, and I heard something fall to the ground, but I did not turn back to look. Safety was only a few more steps away—if I could only reach it.

     A strong hand clasped around my wrist with a firm grasp, ruining my escape.