Extra Darling

Chapter 35: Drawing Blood

Once I toppled into the water I barely managed to take a breath before I was plummeting to the bottom. The weight of the anchor tied to my legs was dragging me down so fast that bubbles rushed up passed me and my ears popped. The shock of the cold water was nothing in comparison to the gut wrenching feeling of being pulled down and watching the sunlight fade above my head.

The Jolly Roger shrank as I sunk deeper, but it was all I could focus on. There was nothing else around me except the blue murkiness of the ocean and my strands of blonde hair that floated around my head.

I felt the anchor, and myself, hit the ocean floor with a speed that made me expel the only oxygen I had collected into my lungs. My feet dug into the sandy bottom, and when I looked down, I could see the sand rippling where the anchor had disturbed it's stillness.

Though my hands and legs were hopelessly tied behind my back, I struggled to get myself out. I wiggled my hands and attempted to kick my ankles free but I quickly discovered that I was getting nowhere.

Amid my futile escape, I heard a low but distinct rumble from up above. My head flew up as I squinted at the surface, and I heard the rumble again. There was a splash and a flash of orange, and I realized as it sunk steadily beside me, that a cannon ball had fallen into the the water.

No, it didn't fall. It was fired! The Jolly Roger was firing it's cannons!

The urge to swim to the surface and see what the distress was about overwhelmed me and I yanked again on the ropes, feeling that it was imperative I reached the top.

When my vision started to become blurry, and my arms moved slower then I commanded them to, I felt a burn in my lungs. They craved air, but I couldn't give it to them. I was trapped beneath a league of sea water.

I found that my thoughts were getting jumbled.

Who was on board the ship that I needed to save? Why did I have to get back up? Couldn't I just close my eyes and take a quick nap down here instead?

As my eyes drifted closed, and my lungs shriveled in my chest, a jarring jolt of electricity traveled through the water and woke me right up. The electricity tingled in my bones and made my teeth chatter. I looked at the surface, so very far away, and saw the faintest flash of green light.

Before I even had time to wonder where the jolt had came from, three figures started swimming towards me from in the distance.

I squinted at them, their shapes slowly coming into view, and had I any air in my lungs it would have been long gone by the time the three figures reached me.

To my utter disbelief it was three beautiful merpeople who swam up to me. Mermaids, to be exact. The fact that I was seeing mermaids should have alarmed me more than it did, but being in the bottom of the ocean and having no other means of surviving, I felt a small hope at seeing them.

They swam up to me cautiously, as if they weren't quite sure what to make of me. The boldest of them was a girl who, from the top half, looked no older than me. She had long, flowing silver hair that cascaded around her like a waterfall as she circled me. Her tail was a shimmering blue, and her seashell bra was a matching color. Her wide, green eyes appeased me with curiosity.

Her traveling companions were less bold but equally curious. The one with bright red hair and a yellow tail poked at my tied up legs, while the one with purple eyes and a pink tail toyed with my hair.

My hope at being rescued began to drain when my lungs screamed for air, and the mermaids made no sign of bringing me to the top. My eyes involuntarily slipped closed again, my throat closing, when I felt two soft hands on my cheeks.