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GARROT
Day 20
Swimming in the ocean as a whale is surreal. My huge body glides through the water gracefully. Opening my mouth, I let out a breath, with it comes a deep, resonating sound that sends tingles down my spine. Around me, all manner of sea creatures mill about, paying me no mind. Shoals of fish avoid me, swimming away as I push deeper into the dark, foreboding ocean. An odd feeling comes over me suddenly, taking my breath away. My whole body stiffens, my fins stop moving and I start to sink. Panic sets in, I try to wiggle and turn around but all that happens is I sink further down. I manage to jerk my huge head to the side, tugging on the rope in my maw, letting my brothers above the surface know I'm in trouble. Again and again, I tug. Expecting any second, they'll drag me back up. My lungs burn, my mind races. Shit. I'm going to die, again. This is my third attempt at being an amphibious creature, each time I've drowned or nearly been killed by a predator. Last time, I was a seal. Not the Selkie kind, just a normal one. The memories of being chased by a Selkie enter my mind as water floods my lungs. Just before I go limp, Everly's face is the last thing I see. In my mind's eye, I reach out to her as she laughs heartily.
***
I COME AROUND WITH water spurting through my nose and mouth. It burns as it forces its way out.
"Oh, thank God." Karl sighs and slumps to the floor. Bits of blue skin sluicing off him and landing wetly on the deck.
Another failed attempt to get to Everly. I look over Victor's shoulder, my eyes catch sight of bright red hair, my heart constricts as a longing blooms in my chest.
Everly
Day 4 in Atlantis
The only being I've seen has been Darcy. No one else has come to my golden room, other than her. I've never been good at sitting still, so being locked up in here is driving me crazy. The tightness in my chest, the one I suffered with before I met my guys, is back with a vengeance. I can barely get a breath.
"Darcy, the days here seem so... long. What's with that?" Time ticks by on the gold clock on the gold fire mantle, it feels like years have past. Darcy looks up from the breakfast of oatmeal and honey I share with her. I've been locked in this awful room for what feels like years with nothing to do but eat and talk. She doesn't say much. Darcy mostly listens to me talk about my guys and how much I miss them already. I've counted four sunrises, or whatever it is that makes the sunshine down here. Obviously, it's not the sun, we’re too far below the water's surface for the sun to reach us. But each time I wake, the city of Atlantis is bright, and each evening, it darkens. The time between them seems to drag on and on.
"Oh, yes my Q- Everly," she wipes gloop from her dark lips and ducks her head at her slip up, "Time is different here," she pauses, tapping a long, pink finger against her chin, "I have a friend who visits above, she tells me that one of our days is six on land."
"What? Wait," I jump from my seat and pace back and forth in front of the window, "That means I've been here for nearly a month back on land?" My heart pounds in my chest. Twenty-four days? How could this be?
"Yes, that sounds right. Why? What is wrong, my Q-Everly?" Darcy's panicked voice barely registers as I pace.
Leyland, Karl, Garrot and Victor. They must be going out of their minds with worry. Shit, I bet they think I'm dead! There must be a way out of here.
"Darcy, we have less time than I thought, I'm nine weeks pregnant now," my hands rub over my slightly rounded stomach as I sit next to her, "Please, help me get out of..." at that moment the door swishes open, I jump from the bed and peek around the corner, only to see Gordon filling the space where the door was.
"Sister, come. It's time." He mutters darkly.
Oh, shit a duck up its arse. It's time? For what? For them to kill me?
"Why? I've been here for four days! That's a month above, Gordon! A month!" I scream at him, my anger bubbling over.
"Oh, is it? I don't understand earthly timekeeping." He replies offhandedly. "Now, come. Father requests your presence."
Oh, I bet he does. Reaching inside of me, I check that I can still see and feel the silver light at my core. The first chance I get, I'm going to unleash everything I've got on Poseidon. And then, I'm making a break for it.
I follow my twin out of the door, and we walk for what feels like miles through bright white halls with seemingly no doors. The walls are smooth, no indication there are rooms here. Gordon doesn't say anything as we walk side by side, even though he keeps looking at me from the corner of his eye, I feel him poking my mind, kind of like Garrot does, only Gordon's pokes are more painful. I block him as best I can, but I know in my soul if he wanted in, he'd have no trouble doing so. Eventually, we approach a set of huge colourful doors. They appear to be made from coral pieces, all different shapes and sizes. The rough edges capture the light that beams from the ceiling, highlighting all the little details. They're beautiful. He stops before them and turns to me. Our eyes lock, his are the same shade as mine, I see why Victor likes them so much.
"Sister, I warn you, father is," he pauses to think. "He's not what you've been told. Just bear that in mind today, and you may come to realise this is where you belong." Gordon warns me, his voice is robotic. Before I say anything, the coral doors open, revealing the most beautiful room I've ever seen.
The walls are made from glass, or that's my guess, behind them, is the ocean. For as far as the eye can see, creatures of all shapes and sizes, swim around in the salty water. Sharks, like the one that bumped my dome on the way here, propel themselves amongst a cacophony of colourful fish. I would have thought the ocean this deep down would be dark, inky. But an unknown light source illuminates the surrounding area. As I step into the space, I have this urge to touch the barrier between them and me, but a deep, rumbling voice pulls me back to reality.
"Daughter! Ah, and my son. Come, join us. The feast is plenty." Poseidon sits on a throne made of white and gold marble at the head of the longest table in history. It stretches from one end of the room to the other. People line either side of it, all men, all different colours. They don't look up from their feast as Poseidon yells. He is so far away; Gordon has to raise his voice so he will be heard.
"Father, I have brought you the girl. I have matters to attend to..." Gordon's hand presses on the bottom of my back and pushes me forward. I wasn't expecting him to push me, so I stumble forwards, almost falling face-first onto the pure white marble floor but I manage to catch myself. Jesus, he's strong.
"Nonsense, you're to be her guide," Poseidon answers, waving his hand dismissively, shovelling a fist full of food in his mouth with the other. He chews without trying to be polite. I vomit a little in my mouth as a piece of crab gets caught in his beard, it's claw still opening and shutting.
"But, father..." Gordon starts to complain, but is cut off like a knife through butter.
"I said, you will guide your sister. Teach her our customs," he flicks his eyes to me for the first time, a sneer on his lips. "It'll be your job to prepare her for the reason she’s here." His face twists into one of pure menace, I swallow thickly as he continues. "To take her rightful place here in Atlantis, as their Queen."