Murky Wonderland

Based on a true story too ;) along with a little fantasy.

There’s dirt in my shoe. I peer up the dirt slide I just practically crab crawled down to join my friends. The big thin leaves surround the loose dirt and sand perfectly like a cradle to give it the slide-like look. But it’s so steep it’s like looking straight up to see the top.

            “How are we going to get back up?” I asked still looking up the dirt slope.

            “We’re not going to,” Camille replied bitterly.

            “Do you think they’ll find us here?” Genna asked already finding a huge log to sit on.

            “How could they?” I replied. “No one knows about this place but us.”

            Camille and I joined Genna on the log. It was quiet for awhile, only the sound of the tide of the bay that gulped and spit before us. My two partners in crime were probably thinking about what had just happened, just as I was. We could hear the sirens off in the distance, searching for the three criminals who had three of the most precious and rare gems in their possessions.

            The trio of precious stones had been perched beautifully on display at the local jewelry store.

            “NOT FOR SALE. DISPLAY ONLY.” I’d read the sign in front of the glass case window aloud.

            It’d only taken two looks, one to my right to Genna, and one to my left to Camille for me to shove my elbow into the display window, slicing my elbow in the process, and snatching all three gems. Camille and Genna had grabbed hold of one of their own and I’d clutched mine to my chest as we hurdled down the street, sirens seeming to come in every which direction.

            I’d run as fast as I could, with my two friends right behind me. The straight and narrow street was getting us nowhere out of sight and the grim buildings around us seemed to be flashing red and blue. Everything appeared to be lost when I’d caught sight of an opening to an alley out of the corner of my eye.

            “This way!” I’d hollered back behind me as I had dashed hard across the busy street to the darkening but safe sheltered alley.

            Camille and Genna bumped into me as I’d stopped once safely tucked into the alleyway. I had looked back at them and I could see that they still held their stolen treasures just as I had.

            “Where are we?” Camille had looked ahead of me into the fading light of the alley.

            I’d turned and looked too. “Only one way to find out.” And we had started down the amazingly long concrete passageway until we’d found the dirt slide that Genna first went down, scraping her knee along the way, then Camille, and finally me.

            “Look at those boats!” Camille exclaimed, snapping me back to the present. I looked over at her. She was pointing east where sure enough there were old and obviously dormant military ships sat docked.

            “Wow,” Genna whispered.

            “Where do you think they came from?” I asked beginning to walk and squat down to the tide to dip my still bleeding elbow into the water. It felt almost like the gem was throbbing in my pocket as I knelt down to sink my whole arm into the shallow water. “Ouch.” I winced.

            “There’s probably something on one of the ships to wrap your elbow and stop the bleeding.”

            I stood back up then, contemplating. Before the ships were a vast obstacle course of rotten and moss covered wood, wood that stuck straight up with razor sharp edges, and wood with huge chunks missing. My elbow and the gem now throbbed in the same rhythm. “Let’s go.”

            Through the big holes in the wooden docks, I looked down and saw the murky water try to fill up the hole and sprout over the rest. Luckily it failed every time, at every hole. The wood sunk in a little at every step we took and the moss seemed to be growing each second.

            We walked slowly, cautiously; Camille led the way, me in the back, and Genna in between. My foot got caught in a thick clot of moss, making me stumble a bit. Funny, I could have sworn the board was bare a second ago. A scream up ahead of me snapped my attention back in front. Genna was at a standstill, fuzzy green moss creeping up her long legs and continuing on. I ran ahead to her and Camille ran back.

            “What’s happening?!” I yelled.

            “I don’t know!” Genna squealed back. “But get it off!” She began tugging at the green veins but it didn’t help a bit.

            “What do we do?” Camille asked desperately.

            I had no idea and the moss had already collapsed my friend and was up to her stomach. Helplessly, we began ripping and tugging at the moss too, even though we already knew it would do nothing. There was a burning throb in my pocket. I shoved my hand into the pocket and pulled out the scorching gem. The big red gem was blazing bright and the golden web that scattered around it was shaking. Finally the burning got to be too much and I dropped the whole gem, straight onto the growing moss. Scared that it might burn my imprisoned Genna I stopped briefly to pick it back up. But I stopped. The gem shined and tore through the moss, breaking the grip it had on Genna and freeing her.

            Before any of us could say anything, a crackling sound started from behind us. Slowly we all turned to look. Monstrous moss had engulfed our past trail and was heading straight toward us.

            “Run!” Camille shouted.

            I snatched my gem that still burned and we ran not caring about the rotting dock beneath us. We ran side by side, dodging all the holes and broken boards we came across. The moss was fast but we were faster. And the boats were close too. Real close. I could see the old but faded writing on the sides of the ancient ships. It looked like we would be able to just hop the side and be safe again. But I was sadly mistaken, I saw as we quickly approached closer. At least four yards of the old dock had vanished who knows how long ago, leaving the swelling murky water between us and safety. But there was no time to react for any of us. Without thinking I pushed with all my might with my feet to send myself flying over the edge of the moss eaten dock over the side of the boat. Making me land flat on my stomach with the wind knocked right out my already neglected lungs.  My eyes scrambled ahead of me and side to side, and thank god, Camille and Genna lay the same way as me, in one piece on the ship.

            “What just happened?” Genna asked softly.

            “The moss…” Camille was unable to finish the thought.

            “No, I mean with the jewel, back when the moss had me. Deanna, what did you do?” We all had our strength back and sat up.

            “I don’t know,” I began, picking my gem out of my pocket slowly. It still burned and vibrated. “It was burning me and shaking so I took it out of my pocket and dropped it and it just—”

            “Yours was doing that too?” Camille’s eyes got wide as she stuck her hand into her own pocket and took out her jewel. Genna did the same.

            Sure enough, the yellow gem of Genna’s and the green of Camille’s were blazing and I could see their gold webbing quiver.

            “What could that possibly—”

            But I was interrupted. “And what do you think you three lassies are doing on my ship?” A high and thick Irish accented voice shrilled from above.

            We all scrambled to our shaky feet and looked about us.

            “Up here,” the voice called angrily again.

            Atop of the steering cabin stood a small green man covered in head to toe green clovers. “You’ve got to kidding me!” I shrieked. A freakin’ leprechaun?

            “This is no joke,” the green man called down. “And this is not your ship, little one. Now get off!”

            “Little One?!” I repeated incredulously. This was ridiculous. I almost get eaten by ocean mold, my stolen gem has practically burned a hole through my hand, a little tree man is screaming at me, and to top it all off my elbow is still bleeding! I started again at the green man. “You’re the one who could be squashed by a fly swatter!”

            “Oh, so you want to play games, do you?” He smiled a frighteningly sinister smile. He jumped down from the cabin onto the deck right before me. I took half a step back. “You know what you three have found here?” he asked me, taking more steps toward me.

            I took more steps back. “N—no.”

            His smile grew as he quickened his steps and I quickened mine. “Why, you found our little Magic Haven by the Sea. Where we creatures are free to live and thrive. But,” he stopped and so did I. I turned my head slowly behind me and I could see that he moved me to the end of the boat, to the opening plank with the sea below me. “There’s only one rule here. You know what that is?”

            I shook my head, not really wanting to find out.

            The leprechaun’s smile grew to where I thought wasn’t possible. “No humans.” And without even touching me, he swung his arms back toward the wind and then at me, sending me over the edge of the ship and into the dark and deep water.

            The splash was a large thump and it hurt. Water rushed and swirled around me and filled my ears. It was so dark and murky I couldn’t see right in front of me, below me, above me. I was blinded of all my senses, except to feel. And I could feel that burning and shaking sensation again in my pocket, but this time a thousand times worse. I grabbed my gem and tried to hold out for me to see but could only make out the faint red. I had to let go of it and it just floated right before me. Suddenly, it thumped out one more time and floated down and set itself in between my hips. It thumped again against my body and then everything changed. My legs moved back and forth as one, I looked down and saw a deep red scaly, shiny fin were my legs used to be. The water began to get clearer as I blinked when finally I could see ahead of me into the sea, below to the sandy bottom and above me to the surface. I could breathe too.

            Amazed by my transformation and my new surroundings, I didn’t recognize the next sound at first. Finally, I looked where I had fallen in and saw both Genna and Camille struggling for air, struggling to see. I started to swim as fast as I could when what I next saw stopped me and I watched in awe. What had happened to me, the transformation; was happening to them. Their gems floated down on their bodies and changed Genna’s legs to yellow scales, and Camille’s to green. I waited for them to be able to see. And when they did, I was the first thing they saw. We smiled and swam to each other. We admired each other silently, not sure if we were able to speak.

            I took a deep, water-filled breath and looked around. Now that I was really looking and admiring, I could see so much. Old sunken ships that glistened at the bottom, fish, shells, and even ones like us: mermaids.

            “Wow,” I thought to myself.

            “I know,” I heard Camille’s voice.

            I spun around and looked at her. She had her mouth covered in shock, and Genna looked as if she saw a ghost.

            “Did you think something?” I asked her with my mind.

            She nodded.

            “I heard her too,” Genna thought. “And I hear you too.”

            We all looked at each other, and the same sly smile that we had outside the jewelry store crept across our faces. We bolted from our treading spot and out into the open, clear sea, our fins flapping up and down at incredible speed. Out of curiosity, I took a look at my elbow. There was no scratch, no more blood.

FIN

 

Author's Note

Always up for constructive critisism...
compliments are nice too.