The Crocodile God

Part 15.

Hadassah is the one who was shaking her, though Mirasol needs a few blinks to get her bearings. Itak watches the guard at the door, though he just swings it open and waves them all out.

Outside their cells, different iron bars and plainer doors start getting opened down the hallway; The three of them try to keep together in the horde of people, but there comes a wave of three panicked teenaged boys and Mirasol is swept off along with their cries.

"Hey!" Hadassah reaches for her, but the hall's been too quickly filled; her hand flung out is too late. "Mirasol!"

"Quit that!" A sour-faced guard shoves through the crowd and steers Mirasol back to her group, then yanks the boys back to where they were. "Fucking kids--it's not like we're hurting them."

It doesn't matter how "nice" you are, Mirasol seethes, though she does grab Hadassah's elbow. You're working for the government.

DON'T WORRY TOO MUCH, the Great Turtle says to her. THEY HAVE TO TAKE YOU BACK TO SHORE FIRST TO GET EVERYONE RECORDED. AND HALF OF THESE ARE MY PEOPLE--WE MAY GO SOUTH FIRST.

They have computers, don't they? Mirasol wonders. The officers took her phone, so they must have taken one from everyone else who had them, too.

THE SHIP'S COMPUTER GOT FRIED, the Turtle laughs. THAT FIREFIGHT OUTSIDE THE CONTROL ROOM WASN'T A GOOD IDEA. STUPID GRINGOS.

Yes, terribly stupid. Mirasol remembers the wave of bullets, wondering if she should laugh. Turtle, do you know where Haik is? She asks, unable to see above the others.

YOUR INDIO MAN WILL BE FINE, SIRENITA, the Turtle says. HE'LL MEET BACK UP WITH YOU SOON.

'Little mermaid?' Mirasol wonders, squeezing through a particularly thick crowd.

IT'S A PET NAME. BOYS USE IT FOR THEIR GIRLFRIENDS, the Turtle explains. YOUR HUSBAND IS A SEA-GOD, AFTER ALL.

Filipino mermaids are cannibals, Mirasol muses. They look beautiful, but they drown you and eat you. Or they sacrifice you to the water-gods.

AY, THEY SOUND LIKE RIVER-DOLPHINS. EVEN BETTER, the Turtle chuckles, and the ripple of her laughter is hardly felt under the waves of people.

That's the most common lore, but Mirasol's older relatives shy away from deep water; they can't swim like they used to, and fear that merfolk will drag their aged bodies into the abyss. Some fret that a sea-storm or a flooded river, especially one that drowned people, is from a rogue sirena--for while most became "tame" after hearing the Bible, content with hunting fish and the animals who can't speak, there are some holdouts who do not curb their appetites. It seems that the people-of-the-water are a scapegoat for any water-related misfortune, like the diwat are why people go missing in the forests or have accidents on lonely, rural roads.

But as they file out in a passing attempt at order, Mirasol does not see Haik or Banog.

They're crammed with a few dozen more people into a room with a handful of computers, but no chairs. Mirasol thinks that this isn't too bad after getting her prints, name, and age filed off--at least until she sees the guns on all the ICE officers' hips.

When they're safely in the hallway, Hadassah and Itak share a look with her.

"Maybe they want someone to start arguing," Hadassah whispers, ill at ease.

Mirasol wants Haik here; she thinks she could do that, if he was there to fret about her.

---

Back on the ship, their cell has been packed with many more people--where were they all before? But now in the corner are Haik and Banog, and Haik finally comes alive again.