Mermaids and Vampires

51: On the Dock

~~~DYLAN~~~

I run up to the dock. It's mid morning, and the place is mostly deserted. There's only a few guys out working on docked ships. It does get my heart rate up. I had almost forgotten I would be seeing other people here.

It's been weeks since I last showed up at work, and, not knowing the story I'm sure my boss and co-workers think I just blew them off. I feel a little bad about coming back here. But I'm on a mission, and if I'm going to find an old, decrepit boat to steal that nobody will miss, I'm going to find it here.

As I jog passed my boss's building, I keep my gaze straight ahead, holding my breath that he doesn't see me.

Coming around the corner just as I walk past, there's a man. We come face to face.

"Dad?!"

"Dylan!" He hugs me. "Are you alright? I got a call saying you were in the hospital."

"Dad I'm fine. Dad, I thought you were dead!"

He pulls back his lips, revealing a set of fangs. "They thought so too. But they were worng. What happened to your sister? Is she okay?" He asks.

"She's fine." I state. "But she's not my sister. You lied to me." I say, with mounting anger.

Something changes in his eyes.

"It was the only way to protect you."

"All that time you put me in boarding school, it was to keep me away from the water - to keep me away from the truth. You lied to me all my life."

"You were just a boy, Dylan. You couldn't have handled it."

I shake my head, unimpressed. "Get out of my way, I don't have time for this." I say, pushing past him.

He doesn't protest.

From a distance I turn around. "And how do you think your daughter feels?" I call.

His face melts into grief. "My daughter." He mouths, as if remembering for the first time after a long period of forget.

I turn my back on him and power forward.

At the far end of the dock I hop into a small, wooden row boat that's attached to a bigger vessel as it's dingy. Both are old and decrepit. Clearly no one has used them in a long time and no one will mind if I borrow the smaller boat for a while.

I untie it from it's counterpart and begin rowing as fast as I can.

The open ocean awaits.

Once I'm far enough from shore, I stick my hand into the blue. I know it's risk. If any other mermaids pick up on my presence they could try to drive me out.

Fortunately, Cordelia shows up right on que. I toss her the rope.

"Pull me in the right direction."

She smiles. "You'd better hold on. I'm fast."

I grip the sides of the boat, bracing myself.

"Cordelia," I say before she dips back underwater, "Your father's alive. You should probably know that."

"He is?" She asks, her eyes gleaming with hope.

I nod. "He's also a vampire."