A Merman's Tail

Chapter 33

The officer holding Terry and the Guard at bay nodded at his partner who came over to see how bad my wound was and how Mitch was doing.  "I'm going to need statements from you boys once this is sorted out OK?" He asked. 

Mitch replied, "Sure Officer, but how far out are the Paramedics?"

"They'll be here as soon as they can, Kid." He said without much enthusiasm.  I knew from the look on his face, he thought I was a goner.  "What about you two?" He turned and asked Rip and Hero.  "Can you tell me what's going on?"

"You would never believe us?" Hero said softly, but he and Rip looked at each other and then the open gate to the ocean beyond.  They asked, "Is it OK if we wait over there on that bench Officer?"  It was directly in front of the aquarium and the viewing area.  There was a short ladder to the top of the glass wall and if there was opportunity... escape.

They looked at Mitch and he nodded.  I could see him mouth the words 'Go Home' to his brothers and I knew if the opportunity arose, they would take the quickest route out of the building.  The Officer moved back towards his partner and the other two people in the room.  They got out their notebooks and began asking questions.

"What are your names and what are you doing on the premises after hours?" The first Officer asked.

While Terry and the Guard were distracted with the officers, Rip and Hero carefully removed their shoes and socks.  They stripped off their pants with as little movement as possible and then their shirts.  While the Officers were engrossed in their investigation, they quietly and quickly slipped up the ladder and put one leg, then the other over the glass wall and slid into the water.  They waved at Mitch and I watched as their legs fused together and their tails appeared. 

They swam faster than I'd seen anything move on land through the gate and out to freedom.  I smiled up at Mitch and nodded towards freedom for him too.

"No Scotty." He said with a determined expression.  "I'm not leaving you."

One officer glanced back as Mitch spoke and then his expression changed to one of incredulity as he noticed the absence of the other two boys.

"Where did they go?" He asked. 

He stepped towards us and Mitch just looked up with tear filled eyes and said, "What?  Where did who go?"

"The other boys?"  The Officer indicated the bench and the discarded clothing.  Are they in the aquarium?" He asked when he put two and two together.  He shone his flashlight into the water and all he could see were fish.

"Did you lose our suspects?" His partner called from the other side of the room.

"I don't know Larry." The other one answered.  I laughed and coughed up more blood as his name struck my funny bone.  They only needed one more officer for it to become a Stooges Farce, even more than it already was with disappearing suspects and whatever explanation Terry was trying to sell for our being there.  I knew it wouldn't be the truth.

The second officer cuffed Terry and the Guard to each other, standing on either side of a structural pillar where they couldn't escape their position.  Then he told us to wait for the paramedics before joining his partner in a search for the 'missing' boys.

Mitch let out an agonized breath as soon as they left the room, but he gathered up his considerable strength and told me to get up while forcing me to my feet. 

"Doing my best..." I managed as he draped my arm around his neck and helped me up, then began to step determinedly towards the ladder.

"Stop!" Terry shouted, "What are you doing?"

Mitch ignored her and concentrated on getting me to the side of the aquarium.  It was a short ladder, but every step looked like the side of a skyscraper to me.  I had little strength left and I slumped against Mitch before trying to get him to go on.  "Leave....me..." I managed, and coughed again.

"No." Mitch said and hoisted me up another step.  One to go.  "Come on Scotty, give it everything you've got." He begged.  I closed my eyes and flashed back to that morning on the beach, when Mitch's shadow fell across my face and I saw him smile down on me again.  The last of my strength went into getting my foot up on the next step and he lifted us to the top of the glass wall and over into the water.

The cops rushed back into the room as Terry screamed, "They're escaping!"

Mitch held me up and kissed me as my sight began to fade. 

It was hard enough breathing air, let alone water and I thought that moment was finally my last. 

I was surprisingly calm about the prospect of dying, but then I was back in the water with the love of my life, and... well... it was the best way to go I'd ever imagined.  Floating in the cool water with Mitch's lips on mine.

But Mitch had got me into his environment in time. My lungs took very little to readjust to the water and I found myself breathing again, and breathing easier.  The buoyancy of the salt water and the feeling of weightlessness added to my belief that it was finally the end, but as I blinked, I found my breathing came a little easier with each breath as Mitch stripped out of his clothing and his legs changed before the watching yet disbelieving Officers.

I watched a red line of blood escape my mouth into the water and wondered at the colour before Mitch's family reappeared and helped me to swim to the gate and out into the waiting ocean. I didn't know how much time I had left, but it would be worth every second with my Love.

Behind us Terry and the other men began shouting excitedly as they were joined by the no longer required Paramedics.  I didn't care what story they told or what happened to them after we left.

It was no longer my concern.