Becoming Chaos

IV - Ebbing Tides Part 3

There’s a mermaid in East River? I thought as I saw mental pictures of floating trash and sewage waste. Gross.

I turned my eyes back to the flash flood in front of us. The muddy water of the East River drowned everything in its path, except us. The waves continued to flow from the river and surged forward like an endless torrent, avoiding me and Michael as it wreaked havoc. Most of the biker wolf- men managed to hop on their motorcycles and speed away, others were unlucky.

As the last of the wolf- men escaped, the melodious singing of the mermaid stopped. I watched with a gaping mouth as the brown water receded, leaving everything it drowned scattered on the road. Motionless wolf men, big bikes, trash bins and garbage were strewn across the cemented street.

“Are they dead?” I asked to no one in particular.

“No,” Michael replied. “They are just unconscious. Their bodies will heal, give or take an hour or two. I’m afraid I can’t say the same for their motorcycles. What a waste of precious engines,” he said, and for a moment I felt there was a tinge of sadness in his voice. He sounded like a kid who just broke his toy.

Seriously? He’s worried about the bikes, I thought. Ugh, boys.

Clearing my thoughts, I looked around as the spectacle ended. After such a huge splash of water, I expected to see wetness. My eyes widened as I stared around. I bent down on my knees and touched the ground. “It’s dry,” I said.

“Yes, hunny bunch. Of course it is,” said a high pitched and enthusiastic voice.

I turned around and saw the mermaid descend from her river fountain to the road. She landed with controlled grace on her bare feet. Her eyes were no longer glowing. Up close, I saw that her dark, wavy locks were dyed. The roots of her hair were bright pink, showing through the fake black color. Her skimpy yellow top showed more skin than what was acceptable and her denim shorts were way too short for my taste. Silver metal hoops encircled both of her earlobes. Where is her sparkling fishtail?

“I called every single drop of water back into the river,” said the mermaid. “I’m Aeriella, and you are?” she asked, smiling, her hand extended.

“You don’t look like a mermaid,” I said. Really, Kay? “Oh, I’m sorry that was rude. Forget that I said that. I’m Kaylene Summers.” I took her hand and shook it twice. I was a bit surprised that her hands were as dry as bone and not slimy as a fish. I really should stop stereotyping people.

Aeriella chuckled, her face blushing. “Sorry if I don’t have starfishes to cover these babies,” she said jiggling her bountiful breasts. She giggled.

Yeah. I see why she didn’t lend me her bra, I thought as I averted my eyes. It would just fall off. “So, how did you know we needed help and that we were here? Are you telepathic?”

“Oh, hunny,” Aeriella remarked, shoulders slumping. “Baby Michael texted me,” she said and tittered like a high-strung cheerleader. She made tiny kisses in the air toward Michael’s general direction.

Baby Michael? I wondered as I repressed the urge to raise my eyebrow. So that’s who he was texting back in my apartment.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Michael asked me, his lips frowning.

“I’m not looking at you,” I said, lowering my eyes. Oh goodness. Focus, Kay. You have more pressing problems. “So, are we going to the island or what?”

“Aren’t you gonna thank me for saving your asses, my hunnies?” asked fish-woman, her eyes on Michael.

“Thank you, Aeriella,” said Angel boy. “ I appreciate you showing up.”

“That’s it? No kiss for your ex-girlfriend?” she asked in a higher pitch than what I’d like. She giggled. AGAIN. “I didn’t swim all the way from Orchard Beach to here for nothing. Not to mention I had to dive through this filthy river. Blech.”

I had a sudden craving for sushi. Or anything raw that’s made of fish as I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt. Turning around, I walked to the edge of the road, leaving Michael and whatever-her-name-was behind me. I focused my hearing and let fish woman’s and big bird’s words fade away. The waves made by the East River as it flowed along the side of the road calmed my raging heart. Under the silvery light, the waters still looked dark, despite the pearly luminescence of the moon.

The freaking moon!

Looking up, panic rose to my throat. The moon had already risen, its light dimmed by a slow-passing mass of thick clouds. My heart raced again and my breathing became fast and shallow. I spun on my heels and I wasn’t sure why I was relieved to see Michael not kissing fish-face. A shake of my head cleared my cobwebbed thoughts. “Michael! The moon!”

He stood into attention, like a hunting dog on point. His eyes went wide as he looked up the sky. A plethora of cussing poured from his mouth. “We need to go now!”

No, you should just stay here and flirt with your ex-girlfriend. I’ll be fine, as if I am not about to grow fur any second, I wanted to say, but I didn’t. “How are we going to cross the river? I cannot swim!”

“No worries, hunny bunch,” Aeriella winked at me. If I wasn’t panicking, she’d already be at the fresh section of the supermarket. She walked toward me, leaving Michael a few steps behind. “Are you Baby's new girlfriend?” she asked as she stood beside me.

Needless to say, I was horrified. All the blood in my body rushed to my face, and my already struggling breathing got harder. “No. No. I’m not his girlfriend. We just met. H-he saved me from Vladimir. I’m sorry, are you guys still a thing?”

“You should relax, ya know,” Aeriella giggled. “We were though, but I’m over it. I’ve got my Forest Prince already.” She winked again.

“Aeriella,” Michael started as he walked toward us. “That’s enough talking. We need to go now.”

“See? That’s why I dumped his ass,” said the mermaid, rolling her eyes. “He’s too bossy,” she whispered to my ear and snickered like a child. She walked to the edge and dived into the polluted waters of the East River. For a second, I was worried that she wouldn’t resurface because of toxic poisoning, but she did in a way so fabulous that it screamed Disney Princess.

I watched as a jet of water rose to the air. Inside the torrent was Aeriella, but she looked different. Her body was glowing a faint cerulean blue light. She was no longer dressed in her skimpy clothes. Her legs were gone and were replaced by a single mass that resembled the bottom half of a fish, its entirety covered with large overlapping scales. A spiky dorsal fin ran along the tail’s length and on its end was a fluke, a large fin. The scales seemed to change colors as she swam inside the fountain. So that’s what a mermaid tail looked like. Her cropped top blouse was gone and her bountiful breasts were covered with what looked like sea grass. In a graceful breaststroke, she rose out of the water and floated in the air, her weight supported by the geyser-like water formation. Her long spill of dyed wavy hair was dry for some reason.

“Jump,” Aeriella said, her voice sounding like a song. Her eyes were glowing as she spoke. “Don’t worry, you won’t get wet.” She smiled. “You will fall first though hunny, then you’ll float.”

I felt a tug at my heart as I realized that Aeriella was not as bad as I first thought. I took a deep breath and looked at Michael. “Is this safe?”

He nodded. “You ready, Summers?” he asked. “You can hold my hand if you want.”

“No,” I replied to which he just shrugged. I turned away from him and ran to the edge. Without second thoughts, I jumped.

The jump took a second, but I felt like I was falling for an eternity. I closed my eyes and waited to crash butt-first into the water. Surprise caught me when the sensation of falling ended and turned into a feeling of floating just like what the mermaid said. Opening my eyes, I saw a pink-colored glassy shimmer all around me.

“Water bubbles,” chimed Aeriella. “Don’t you love them? They will keep you from getting touched by the East River’s filth. Poseidon knows what these humans dump in here,” she explained. “And don’t move around too much, the bubble will pop if poked from the inside.”

“Wow,” I remarked, too amazed that I barely heard the mermaid, but I nodded. I’m pretty sure that I sounded like a four-year old. To my left, Michael was floating inside a big sphere of pink bubble. He did not look amused.

“Hurry up, Aeriella!” ordered Michael. “We only have time until all the clouds clear away.”

Aeriella rolled her eyes and turned around, flipping her hair like a diva. She began to sing. The night air was filled with an eerie melody. Aeriella’s voice was ethereal and sweet at the same time. It was the kind of singing that lulled you to sleep. Already, I could feel my eyes closing and I fought hard to keep the wave of sleepiness at bay.

Without much ceremony, Aeriella dived into the depths of the river, the jet of water following her. I watched as she blurred into the current with only a faint glowing, marking where she was. Her cerulean light stayed still for a moment. In a split second, it dashed forward like a harpoon.

The bubbles moved across the surface of the water while I floated inside, weightless. It seemed that the water bubbles were tethered to Aeriella. They glided against the river as the mermaid swam under the current. I looked down. The bubble vessel allowed me to see what was in the river much like the way goggles worked. Dead fish and trash and endless muddy water. There was not much to see, so I averted my eyes. As I turned to look up, I noticed that I had my duffel bag strapped against my waist. I almost forgot that I had it by my side. Clutching the bag, I moved it in front of me. A zipper was open so I put my fingers over, meaning to close it shut without looking at it since my eyes were focused on the island in the distance.

“Stay still, K,” warned a voice.

It was Michael, but I didn’t bother to look at him. I was channeling my focus on closing the zipper that got stuck midway. I figured that it was better to worry about mundane things than eat my brain with my upcoming turning. Son of a beach, why won’t you zip shut? Stupid Walmart bag.

“Summers!” shouted the Soul Dealer. “Your phone charger! Look!”

“What?” I asked as I looked down at the bag. At first, I did not know what to look at, but then I figured it out. The white cord of my smart phone charger was dangling outside the pocket that I was trying to close. The zipper caught at its length. I pulled the zipper back, releasing the cord free. Somehow, I wasn’t able to control my strength. I jerked at the zip too hard that I broke the zipper’s handle.

It went flying.

You will fall first though hunny, then you’ll float, I remembered what Aeriella said with the beginnings of terror. I swallowed as I felt a pit in my stomach.

Shit.

I watched as the broken zipper handle fell down. It gleamed under the moonlight poking through the clouds. I tried to catch it with my hands, but it was too small. My eyes widened as it touched the inner wall of Aeriella’s water bubble. And don’t move around too much, the bubble will pop if poked from the inside.

I looked at Angel boy just in time to see his mouth gape open in shock. “Michael,” I whispered as the bubble that protected me from the water burst open. s**t, I thought again as I plunged into the flowing filth and darkness that was the East River.