Four days had passed and Oshana was
still smarting from Menenda's words. Worse, they were keeping her
away from Wendaro. She could not very well go back to his house
without some fresh deed to boast of or token to show. That would be
highly improper, even if there had been no danger of her getting into
a fight with Menenda. But her shoulder had only just stopped aching
from the cut she had received from the crab claw and she had no
desire to go out alone again so soon, especially with a stiff arm.
But she could hardly expect Wendaro to swim so far to see her all the
time. They had had one sweet meeting down the street from his house,
where the reef jutted out, hiding them from Menenda's view if she
came to her door or looked out of any of the ventilation holes, but
that was far from enough to satisfy her longing for him.
So she was very glad indeed when she
saw Messema hovering in the water above the main square, calling and
gesturing to gather a crowd. “Join us, Oshana,” she called out.
“We are going on a hunt today.” A few of the girls gathered
around her already had their weapons and their hunting barracuda were
circling restlessly through the water around the group.
“I would be glad to join you,”
Oshana replied eagerly, pleased indeed at something to break the
monotony of the reefnest and, while it was unlikely hunting would
impress Menenda, it was socially expected for Oshana to brag to her
about it. Spontaneous hunts like this occurred frequently among the
young women, no longer children but not yet bonded, as a way of
testing their mettle and learning the skills needed to defend and
provide for the reefnest. Sometimes even those who were recently
bonded continued to hunt with their companions as Onshal sometimes
did with them. When older women gathered to go hunting it was
usually planned and likely to have a specific purpose such as if they
were running low on meat or there was a predator or other danger at
large that needed to be driven away. Bonded women were given the
more difficult jobs thanks to their heightened senses and extra pair
of eyes. In truth, anyone could call a hunt whenever she pleased and
her reputation and social status would determine how many responded.
Messema was well known as one of the best hunt leaders so, after
acknowledging her invitation, Oshana practically flew through the
water to her house to retrieve her spear and harpoon and summon her
barracuda hunting companion.
Once a hunt was full, it would often
leave immediately and those who had delayed would be simply left
behind. Messema knew Oshana well and valued her scouting abilities,
honed while scavenging the ruins, so it was unlikely she would go
without her if she knew she was planning to come. But, if the other
women became restless enough, she might be pushed to it. With a
final burst of speed, and an angry shout from an older woman trailing
a large shell full of crabs who she almost ran into, Oshana rushed
back into the square and saw with relief that the group was still
there. Like herself, they had laid aside their jewelry and fine
garments of silk for greater ease moving in the open water and the
bare skin of their torsos flashed in the slanting light from above,
pearly white in front, darker and dappled on the back. But they were
not completely naked for their bodies were crossed by sharkskin
straps holding their weapons, their flaying knives, their supply of
food, and their sacks and pouches for carrying their catch home,
while their trained hunting fish circled restlessly through the water
around them, kept close only by the frequent clicks and calls of
their owner's voices. But something did not seem right. Expressions
were troubled and there seemed to be some sort of heated debate going
on.
“Explain that again, slowly,”
Messema was saying firmly as Oshana came within earshot.
“It's hard to describe. I feel a
darkness,” replied the other, bowing her head so her hair swirled
about in the water, hiding her face. “Like the slime of the hag
fish, the mucus that coats the bodies of the creature that live close
among the sharp edges of the coral, but black with red inside it,
blood-red, pulsing like a heart-beat.” The voice was so soft
Oshana had to swim closer to hear.
“Colors by themselves aren't
dangerous,” objected Onshal. “Certainly, some of the things out
there that are black or red are bad but others are not. Think about
the blue ringed octopus. It's about the most dangerous thing there
is but it still has the most cheerful colors and is tiny and cute as
well.”
“It's not the colors alone,”
objected the other, raising her head slightly in response so her hair
parted slightly and Oshana was able to recognize Wenesh. “When I
saw the colors I felt afraid.” Some of the other girls shifted
nervously and Oshana felt some of that unease herself. Some had
exceptional skill at hunting or preparing food, or knowing how best
to guide the coral to grow to shape the domes and chambers of houses.
Others had the ability to know things that could not be perceived
with the normal senses and Wenesh was one of those. Even as a little
girl, Wenesh had foreseen the coming of the most severe storm Oshana
had ever witnessed. The ocean churned for days, preventing them from
leaving the shelter of their homes and the light had been cut off by
the clouds of debris in the water but, thanks to Wenesh's warning,
they had been able to lay in enough supplies to make it through.
Then, when the girls were first learning to hunt, she had sensed
danger one day. The small group that had ventured out despite her
warnings had had a brutal encounter with a nonseasonal group of large
sharks, far ahead of their natural migration schedule, which had led
to the first loss of life among Oshana's pod mates, so her instincts
here were not to be taken lightly.
“If it was a heart-beat,” mused
Onshal, “it might be a creature we would encounter on the hunt.”
She sounded more curious than frightened.
“How large was it? It could be a
great catch that would feed us for weeks.”
“Didn't you hear her?” another
countered. “She said it was dangerous.”
“Yes, the ocean is dangerous. Even
if it was a long, hard fight, especially if it was, it would be a
great deed and could provide us with many needful things.”
“There are things that are beyond
our ability to fight. What if it is a great whale? That would would
require an entire reefnest of many experienced hunters to bring down.
A small band of women hardly old enough to be bonded would have no
chance or, worse, it could be one of the great serpents of the deep.”
The group glanced nervously at each other and at Wenesh but no one
spoke. As brave and eager as some of them were, no one wanted to
challenge that great and ancient power, but the likelihood of them
encountering one was small and the girls' blood was up now so they
were loath to abandon the hunt. As they were standing around,
uncertain of what to do, Salandra approached. Her torso was bare
like those of the other girls, except for the straps that held a
knife, spear and sack, showing she was planning to join them.
“Go home, Salandra,” said Wenesh
crossly. “You're too young and we can't be bothered playing nurse
to you.”
“I am not.” Salandra lifted her
chin and squared her shoulders proudly “I'm not that much younger
than several of the girls here and they're already courting so I need
to start learning the skills now so I can impress my bond parents
when the time comes. I don't want to have to rely on the fact that
the mermen these days have no standards and don't expect a girl to
prove herself before bonding.” Oshana cringed. So that was why
Salandra was eager to join them. She saw several of the forms around
them stiffen, heard some growls, and saw faces pulled into snarls,
mostly from the girls who were already courting. Salandra was not
making her acceptance any easier by insulting her potential hunting
companions and Oshana was glad of that for she wanted her safe at
home.
“You don't have a harpoon, or any
'cuda,” another girl objected. “You'll just slow us down and be
in the way.” Salandra had no ready come back for this so she just
stood, staring defiantly. After a moment, the other girls shrugged
and went back to their preparations, clearly hoping she would leave
when she saw them ignoring her. Once they had turned back to the
matter at hand, the debate lasted for several more minutes before
Meseema, as hunt leader stepped in to say what was to be done.
“If there is something dangerous in
the ocean nearby,” she said firmly. “We may need knowledge of it
more than we need food. So keep your eyes open. Our mission is to
scout as much as to hunt. If we encounter a quarry, we will bring it
down but, if we encounter a foe, we will bring back something even
more valuable, a warning.” There were some scattered cries of
approval as well as a collective sigh of relief. The mood of the
entire group became lighter and more relaxed now that a decision had
been made. The talking and laughing started up again, the recalling
of past hunts, and examining each others' weapons and barracuda.
“We should go see Lowella before we
go,” Onshal said suddenly. “She would come with us if she were
able so we owe it to her.” The others agreed and so they all went
and crowded into the home of Lowella's family. Although it was not
nearly as spacious as the large dome where Salandra and Wendaro
lived, they were still able to all fit inside, if only barely. Even
though the visit had been her idea, Onshal hesitated for a moment
before entering and, once inside, stood stiffly, hands flexing
slightly with nerves, as she often did in closely crowded spaces.
But then Lowella came towards them slowly, her powerful tail,
trailing limply in the water and making only small, gingerly
movements, smiling wanly at them. She and Sorino had had their
bonding ceremony over three months ago and she no longer needed to
fear that a sudden motion might send him flying but the bonding was
still not as secure as it could be.
“I'm so glad to see you all,” she
said in a soft voice, “even if you have come to make me feel
left-out by showing how you're going on a hunt without me.” There
was a slight flicker of her old mischievous sparkle in her eye as she
said this accompanied by a strange staccato thrumming sound that was
Sorino laughing.
“How are you feeling?” asked
Onshal with concern.
“Better. My back is rarely sore now
and my head is usually clearer. The impressions from Sorino are
starting to become more vivid and easier to understand and he says
he's starting to faintly sense some of the things I touch and taste.”
Sorino gave a trilling cascade of happy sound in agreement at which
Lowella looked away nervously. “Stop that, it tickles,” she
muttered with embarrassment at which Sorino laughed again.
“Can we see?” asked one of the
girls eagerly.
Lowella shook her head. “The wrap
is still not ready to come off,” she said, pointing to a thick band
of sea grass fibers wrapped around her stomach. But she obligingly
turned so they could see how, in the back, the band split in two,
creating a slit through which Sorino's eyes could peer out while he
rested against the hollow of her back, held safely in place while
flesh and bone, nerve and tissue dissolved and reformed into a new,
single being. Oshana could see his eyes were a bit cloudy, meaning he
was starting to be able to withdraw them back into the body when he
wished, a sign the process was already well advanced, and she sighed
to herself, thinking longingly of her own bonding, wondering how much
longer she would have to wait, how much longer she could stand to
wait, until she was startled out of her daydreams by agitated
movement close beside her. Turning, Oshana saw that Salandra, who
they had thought safely left behind, was standing at her elbow and
looking decidedly unhappy.
“You shouldn't be here,” Oshana
scolded quietly. “Please go home before this gets more awkward.”
Salandra did not answer but shook her head fiercely while her eyes
remained fixed on Lowella. Fortunately, no one else seemed to have
noticed that she was still there. There might be a chance still to
get her away before the other girls became even more annoyed with
her, but she could not think about that now as they were preparing to
leave and Lowella turned to her.
“I'm glad you came,” she said with
a smile. “I hope we can hunt and go to the ruins together again
soon.”
“I'm sure we will.” Oshana
reached out and clasped her hand, the fingers slender, yet strong.
“You're doing so well, I'm sure you'll be fully recovered much
sooner than...” She felt the fingers laced with her own go
suddenly tense and then start to tremble.
Lowella gave a shrill, raw laugh that
made her whole body shake and then she began to speak rapidly, wild,
distorted words. “Whaa ah ah, water, fish, too much, went, now,
yes, lelelelele, fisssh, touching, it's called that, yes, went, sha
sha, she she, many words, don't know words, fisssh, sleepy sleep.”
Sorino also began to make strange bubbling sounds. The girls
exchanged worried glances. Although this was part of the bonding
process, it was one that it was more comfortable to avoid, also it
was polite to do so to minimize any embarrassment the couple might
feel after the fact. Lowella had settled to the sandy floor and was
rocking back and forth pointing at seemingly random objects. As soon
as they saw what was happening, her mother and sisters came and
gently helped her back into the hammock sling. While this was
happening, the girls all filed out of the house as quickly as
possible to leave them in peace and quiet.
“Well, that was awful,” muttered
Wenesh.
“It's not as bad as it looks,”
said Onshal patiently. “It's just a thing that happens when you
suddenly find there's another mind in yours, and you try to make
sense of all the things that are nothing like you ever experienced
before.” Her mate gave a crooning murmur of assent. “After all,
it's mostly Lenual here's fault that I get nervous in tight spaces.”
She gave a chuckle. “When he started being able to receive
impressions from my perspective, he panicked because everything
seemed so much closer to me then it did at his size and he didn't
know what to make of that. Experiencing his panic made me panic and,
well, we got stuck in a bad feedback loop.” Lenual made an
offended grumbling noise in response and they all laughed. As the
only one among them who had successfully courted so far, Oneshal was
the expert and the others were steadied by her reassurance. Then
Oshana noticed that Salandra was still with them and looking like she
had eaten spoiled fish.
“Are you all right?” she asked in
a tense whisper.
“Is that what's going to happen to
my brother?” Naturally, as Salandra had no older sisters or young
aunts she was unlikely to have seen the bonding process up close
before.
“Don't act like it's so frightful.
Would you want to make us unhappy by keeping us apart?”
Salandra shook her head in agitation
and looked away to avoid answering. Oshana was considering whether
to push the issue further when, shouldering their spears and
harpoons, the group began to move out, clicking and calling to their
barracuda. She had to put on an extra burst of speed to keep up
with them and, in her haste, she forgot about Salandra. As they
passed through the net and began to rise into the open water silence
fell around them, broken only by the swish of their tails and, in the
background, by the steady heart-beat of the ocean, the deep thrum of
vast expanses of water moving, vibrating trough the whole element in
which they lived, at once so pervasive as to barely register and
awe-inspiring in its infinite vastness. The reefnest had vanished in
the blue haze behind them and now they were surrounded on all sides
by a featureless expanse as far as the eye could see, turquoise above
them and midnight below, refracted into diamonds by the shafts of
light that came slicing down through the waves. None of the girls
spoke and the focused look in their keen eyes showed they were aware
that this was deadly serious business. The barracuda had spread out
in a protective arc around them providing another layer of warning
should danger approach. Open water was beautiful beyond words to
describe but it was also perilous for they could encounter absolutely
anything here and vigilance was the only defense against it.
Oshana felt her heart swell within
her. She knew the risks, had faced sharks, wild barracuda, morays,
and swarms of wolf fish, though usually in the company of those older
and more experienced, and once she had seen the shadowy outline of a
great serpent coiling far below, at the edge of the light-less
depths, so monstrous she could not see from end to end of it. The
sheer size alone was terrifying and the older women she had been with
had known there was nothing to be done but keep swimming steadily and
hope their natural camouflage would shield them and it would pay not
heed to such insignificant creatures as themselves. That swim had
seemed to last forever. Oshana could feel her heart hammering the
entire time and all the muscles in her tail ached from the effort it
took to not flail in fear. But, at last, the vast beast has sunk out
of sight, back into the depths and the relief had gone to her head
like the rush from chewing the fermented sea grasses that were
prepared for festivals. The ocean was perilous but it was glorious
and she thrilled to brave the danger in the boundless space far from
any solid surface to anchor her in the everyday.
After some time, they saw a vague dark
shape loom up out of the crystalline blue water, slightly above and
to the left of them. It could be a school of fish, or it could be a
single creature too large for them to effectively harvest, a harmless
whale or a predator. There was no way to tell at this distance. The
girls exchange tense glances and knew they were of a mind. Meseema
gave a single piercing call and they all turned as one, the barracuda
forming into a V ahead of them. The hunt was on. With powerful
strokes of their tails, they propelled themselves towards the
amorphous mass. After a moment, Onshal pointed and they saw a shark
traveling in the same direction as them. It was no threat at the
moment, probably wanting to eat the same thing as they did. Though,
if it could not get its prey, it might try to go after their
barracuda.
From the presence of the shark as well
as the fact that the shape before them was not getting any darker or
more solid looking, they knew it must be a school of fish and there
was a small flurry of sounds as each girl pulled her harpoon up over
her shoulder and her held it cocked, resting on one arm but there was
no slackening of their speed as their tails continued to drive them
on with a steady beat. Salandra had no harpoon but she drew her
spear and also held it ready and Oshana was pleased to see that she
held it correctly, strong and steady and there was the same grim look
of concentration on her face as on all the others. Once it came to
close quarters, there was a good chance that she would prove an
asset. Soon, they could see the flash of scales glinting out of the
dark mass as well as the shadows of various predators, sharks,
dolphins, and large fish like cod and tuna, closing in on the school
just as they were. By that time they had come close enough to see
the individual fish and identify them as herring, an excellent source
of food. These had already stopped swimming and started to form into
a great revolving ball. From time to time, the predators would dart
in and seize helpless fish from the side of the ball and then vanish,
often without even a tiny wisp of blood to show where they had been.
As soon as they were in range, the hunters would begin to pick off
the fish with the same ease. They were closing fast, counting down
the distance.
Suddenly, with only a few yards left
to go, they were brought up short by a sharp cry from Wenesh. “It
is here,” she gasped. “I can feel it.”
“What is?” The others crowded
around her, calling the barracuda back with some difficulty, the fish
too riled to respond to their urgent clicks at first.
“The darkness. It comes from inside
the school. Deep in its heart is something rotten and the tendrils
of it are seeping out, even through the bodies of the fish.”
Almost at once debate broke out among
the hunters, everyone seemingly talking at once. Some wanted to
press on, some to search for other prey to hunt, and some to turn
back to the reefnest and report what they had found.
“But there's nothing to report,”
Oshana heard Weshene declare angrily. “We say we found a perfectly
ordinary looking school of fish that felt funny?”
“Don't question Wenesh's instincts,”
another shot back. “She's been right too many times before.” The
discussion was rapidly becoming heated, especially because Oshana
could tell a number of them were afraid and did not want to admit it,
which made them extra touchy about decisions that could, potentially,
put them in more danger.
“Let's just rush it,” cried
Voresha, the most reckless of the group, already bracing her spear
against her shoulder. “Then we'll know for sure.”
“Who cares what we know if we do not
survive to take that knowledge back to those who can use it,”
Weshene countered.
“We can take it,” Voresha replied
boastfully.
“Don't be fooled because it just
looks like fish,” said Onshal gently. As Voresha's cousin she was
more ready to call her on her bravado than the others. “If there
is something hidden inside the school we have no way of knowing what
it is. Still, your idea has some good points,” she went on without
haste, showing that she clearly thought the ideas were, in fact, good
and she was not just saying this to pacify her.
“If we rushed the school with all
those sharks and large fish around, we could trigger a feeding
frenzy,” objected a tall slender girl with dark hair who had not
spoken before.
“That is exactly why it is a good
idea,” Onshal replied. “Although it is risky and we would have
to pull away quickly, in a feeding frenzy they are likely to attack
whatever is inside, saving us the trouble.” Throughout the
discussion, Oshana hovered close to Salandra, while trying to avoid
appearing to do so. She was clearly getting more than she bargained
for in her first hunt. The simple act of entering the outskirts of a
swirling school and spearing a full sized game fish, even a
relatively docile one, could be an overwhelming experience for
someone who had never done it before. To be faced with this
mysterious peril instead must be threatening to drive her into a
panic. And she could see subtle signs in Salandra's demeanor, the
tension in her shoulders, the tightness around her mouth, that
betrayed the nerves she must be trying her best to conceal. But she
must not shame her by calling attention to her fear or letting it be
seen that she was trying to protect her. She would stay in the
background unless Salandra was in immediate danger, but would weigh
in on any decision to steer it away from the likelihood of that
happening if at all possible.
As the debate continued Meseema held
up her hand for silence. “Someone must go inside the school and
find out what it is,” she declared with a conviction that only rang
slightly hollow. The other girls exchanged nervous glances. She did
not say it but they all knew that when she said someone she meant the
person must go alone and, although the girls were certainly no
cowards, the idea of being isolated inside that close, rushing tangle
of bodies was daunting, to say nothing of the mysterious peril
waiting inside. A few voices spoke up suggesting Onshal. With her
mate, Lenual, she would have the aid of additional senses as well as
the comfort of not being alone. But then Wenesh reminded them that
Onshal became unsettled in confined spaces. The others appeared
downcast and stood for a moment, twitching their tails in agitation.
“We need someone who is a strong swimmer,” Meseema said.
“Someone who is alert and can maneuver in tight spaces.” They
frowned and were silent for a moment, considering.
“What about her?” asked one of
the girls, unexpectedly turning and pointing at Salandra. Oshana
looked over and saw the younger girl had gone so pale that even the
dark areas on her back looked ashen.
“Why would we trust such an
important task to someone we know nothing about?” snapped Voresha.
“How could we know if she has any of the qualities they required,
let alone all of them?” There was a moment of uncomfortable
silence. It was an easy guess that Voresha was edging to put herself
forward and no-one would want her to go as she was too hot-headed.
Back and forth they argued as Salandra became more and more
unsettled. As no conclusion was reached it became increasingly
likely that they would select Salandra simply as a possibly better
alternative to the known liability of Voresha.
“I'll go,” said Oshana grimly,
taking her harpoon off her shoulder and holding it ready in her
hands. Then she was off, sprinting up towards the roiling mass of
bodies, not giving the others, or herself, a chance to think better
of offer. Thankfully, the fish were not yet so close together that
she had difficulty fitting between them. They seemed barely aware of
her, swimming frantically in their blind rotations, as she slipped
into the ball. Many of them actually ran into her or, at least,
glanced off the undulations of her tail as she passed by. She could
feel the cool slickness of the bodies grazing her all over, with
brief moments of more sustained contact. But the fish continued
doggedly on their preset course and, with a few hard strokes, she was
deep enough inside that there was no danger of them trying to reform
the ball with her outside of it. For a few moments, she could see
nothing at all, her eyes dazzled by the silver flashing of scales and
hopelessly confused by the constant motion of the myriad bodies so
close at hand. But she pressed forward, trying to focus on anything
beyond the rapid flicker of the swimming fish.
The view became no clearer and
gradually, she grew aware that the press of bodies around her was
squeezing even closer. There were fewer fleeting brushes and more
prolonged contact, where a fish would swim, its body pressed against
her for several breaths, pounding her with its tail at every stroke.
There was no way of knowing if the ball was being drawn tighter or if
it was simply more dense nearer to the center. In any case, Oshana
was soon obliged to put away her harpoon and use her hands to help
make a path through the swirling mass of fish. Nor did she wish to
risk pricking them with the point and drawing the predators outside
into a feeding frenzy exactly where she was. The fish squeezed
closer and closer around her until she was swimming through a tunnel
of undulating bodies. Thankfully, the herring had relatively soft
fins or she would have soon been scratched raw all over. Still, from
time to time, a spine or rough scale pricked into her out of the soft
squirming against her skin.
It was almost completely dark now and,
when any light did pierce so deeply into the ball, all she could see
was silver gray of the scales inches from her face. But she did not
need to see to know where she had to go. All she had to do was
remember the angle of her swim when she had entered the ball and hold
to that course until she reached the center. Still, this was no easy
task. Although she was much larger than the herring, it became
increasingly difficult to swim at even a slight angle to their
relentless circles and, as the press became tighter and her movements
more restricted, it became harder and harder to summon the necessary
power from her tail. She made a ragged sweep but trying to push
through the weight of the fish around her was like trying to swim
against the most violent of storm surges. Time after time, she was
forced off course, and flailed desperately to correct herself. But
this was not always fully possible, nor in the constantly moving dark
was it possible to know if she fully succeeded or not. With no
stable point of reference she could have changed her trajectory
enough that she would expend all her energy fighting the school only
to pass straight through the ball and out the other side, none the
wiser for all her work.
The muscles in her sides, arms, and
tail had begun to ache and her breath was starting to sob in her
throat, to hiss and gurgle as it expelled under her shoulder blades.
She had opened her mouth and was taking great gasps of the water,
washing as much of it as possible over her gills, insensible to its
putrid, fishy odor. Would the ball get so tight she would be crushed
inside it? She could not think that. Panic and it might be the end.
Grimly, she made her mind a blank, empty of all except the will to
keep forcing her way through the ever tightening press of bodies
around her. Every time the fear leaped again in her heart, she
forced it down. Nothing mattered but the hands in front of her face,
the next move and then the next.
Suddenly, the mass of herrings in
front of her vanished and Oshana found herself looking into a hollow
space at the center of the ball. So little warning did she get of
this that she found herself about to be ejected into the opening
almost before she knew it was there and had to thrash violently to
remain concealed behind the fish. It was impossible to resist being
pushed inward while simultaneously resisting being pushed forwards,
so Oshana let herself be swept forward with the rush of the fish,
round and round the ever more tightly packed circuit, hidden, if only
barely so, by the innermost ring of scaly bodies, peering into the
hollow through the chinks between their thrashing fins and tails.
The pressure of the herring around her was unbelievable for she was,
in essence, at the very center of the mass. Some invisible force
kept the fish from moving any further inwards and so the full weight
of the vast ball was concentrated exactly where she was. She felt
the breath being squeezed from the hollow inside her chest, the water
spurting out her back too quickly for her gills to extract air from
it, like on the rare occasions when she had dived so deep the light
of the sun grew dim and the world faded to an ominous gray twilight,
with only infinite blackness below her, out of which the kraken or
the serpent might rise to seize her.
Oshana swallowed hard, keeping herself
calm and still with difficulty. Panicking now would not help her and
would likely reveal her to whatever lay beyond the thin wall of
silver scales. She forced herself to breathe slowly, despite her
pounding heart and, as with breathing at depth, the slow, deep
inhales and exhales actually made the breathing easier. The water
washed over the gills inside her throat, cool and calming and, with
the rejuvenating flood of oxygen, she felt steady enough to look more
closely into the open space at the center of the ball.
A long pale shape glided there, a
great pillar of flesh easily her own equal in length and more, dull,
pallid pink, flaring at one end into a spade-shaped point. At the
other end, she could see the round black saucer of an eye and behind
it trailed the writhing mass of tendrils. Oshana watched it with
puzzlement. Although squids of this size did come to the surface to
feed on occasion, how could one have gotten into the very center of
the herring ball and, considering its good fortune to have arrived
there, why was it resting quietly, instead of feasting on the bounty
of fish around it? Then, as she watched, the squid's color began to
change. Scarlet blotches began to appear on its skin, vivid as fresh
blood, pulsing in an eager, relentless rhythm and gradually expanding
until they covered its entire body and she felt a chill over her skin
as she realized she must be looking at one of the infamous red
devils.
These were among the worst enemies of
the mer-people due to both their size and ferocity as they would
readily attack things their own size or smaller that happened to hunt
in the same area as they. Even sharks were seldom so aggressive
unless they were very hungry and the red devil required little
provocation, often attacking from behind suddenly when the victim was
not even aware of its presence. And then, the groping mass of
tentacles, each of which they could move independently, made it like
fighting several opponents at once. Certainly it was a deadly
prospect for one alone, as she was now. But even when a group went
out to hunt the red devil it was a serious undertaking and one that
always included some of the most experienced hunters.
Oshana tried to shrink back away from
the inner ring of fish, the only flimsy barrier between her and the
monster resting there, but the fish swimming beyond them crashed into
her with such force that she was thrown forward again, almost
bursting through the wall of bodies into the open space beyond. Only
a wild swishing of her tail managed to stop her just in time, or
almost. One of her fins slipped through the barrier for a split
second before she pulled it back to safety. The creature within
continued to float placidly and did not appear to have seen her,
though the increasing rapidity of its flashing indicated it could
move soon. She had to get away and warn the others. There was no
time to ponder why, at least up until now, it had been lying still at
the center of a huge mass of food. If getting into the ball had been
hard, it was far more difficult now getting out. She had to push the
fish aside with her hands almost like pushing through sand or through
huge tangles of floating kelp. Every muscle in her body burned from
the exertion but, no longer even thinking, she kept blindly moving
her arms and tail again and again. Nothing mattered anymore but to
make it out to take the news to her companions. Her back vents
jetted wildly as she gasped for air, but she could not allow herself
to rest, keeping her focus entirely on her hands in front of her face
of the precise motion they needed to make to open a way, narrow
though it was, through the wall of living bodies.
©Amanda RR Hamlin 2025
