Fathom L. Standage (books for 8th graders .TXT) 📖

bubbles came from my mouth as I gasped into the mouthpiece and coughed into the water. Finally, I relaxed and allowed myself to breathe. The air tank worked. I held my breath, closed my mouth, turned to looked up at Calder’s wavering form above the surface of the water, and gave him a discreet thumbs up. He backed away from the tank as I took another breath…and not a moment too soon, for on the other side of the glass, I saw the blurred outline of a man in a black tuxedo approach my tank, which sat on a stage. Wait, a stage? Weren’t they supposed to set it up under a skylight?

The man in a tuxedo spoke to Calder. I couldn’t hear what they said, nor did I care. Instead, I watched Calder hopefully, waiting for the moment Samantha would come into view. Several minutes and several covert breaths on the mouthpiece passed. Where was she? If Linnaeus lied about his end of the bargain…

At last, my apprehension and dread ended. The shapes of two men brought a slender figure with short, brunette hair in tow between them. I pressed my hands to the glass. She saw me and struggled against the men who held her. I could hear her muffled screaming as Calder held her by the shoulders and pulled her away. He faced me once before taking Samantha through a side door. I shook my head and turned away, needing another breath. But as far as the people outside the tank were concerned, I looked like a shy little mermaid hiding from view.

A few minutes passed as I continued to study the surroundings outside the tank. Round tables sat in the ballroom, with blurry centerpieces. Blurry chandeliers hung above them, the skylights around them dark. My tank sat far away from any of them. How was I going to get out?

I looked away and a soundless bubble burst from my mouth as I screamed out some of my precious air. Linnaeus startled me, his hands pressed against the glass, an expression of awe on his face. Marinus stood next to him. I hid behind the plant again and took another breath. I fluttered my tail a little bit and peeked around the plant. They stood so close that I had no trouble seeing them. Linnaeus spoke to me, but I couldn’t hear him.

Where were Uther and Eamon? Did the earpiece malfunction? Were they still getting rid of the two men from the outside of the hotel? What was I supposed to do now?

Linnaeus shouted some instructions I didn’t hear to someone I couldn’t see. Then he looked at me one last time, his manic smile visible. Marinus stared at me for a little while longer. He scowled in concentration and I heard something faint…almost like a whisper from an out-of-tune radio.

I apologize. You are a beautiful one. Had our world been a different place, I might have been your friend.

He looked away and the voice cut off. I let out a stream of air as I realized I’d just experienced merperson telepathy. I took a breath of air and when I looked back, he had gone. More men pulled an enormous, red silk drape over the tank, enclosing me in reddish darkness. I swam to the top of the tank, careful to keep quiet, and breathed.

Come on, Eamon.

I couldn’t see, but I looked down and felt where the fabric of my costume clung to my skin and pulled on it experimentally. I had to pull harder and harder before I got it to give just a bit. It stung, but I didn’t care. It would heal.

I lingered near the surface, holding on to the edge of the tank to keep my head above the water and waited, my earpiece nothing but a silent wad of rubber plugging my ear.

Where are you, Calder?

My eyes adjusted to the gloom of the water tank beneath the drape. I could see the shadows of the artificial plants swirling in the water as well as the shape of my tail as it waved below me. My skin wrinkled but the water never lost any of its warmth.

Blind to everything outside the tank, I listened with my head above the water as voices filtered into the room and a string quartet played its elegant melodies. I heard champagne glasses clink and occasional light and pompous laughter from the guests in the conference hall. I even heard a few bits of passing conversation.

“I’d bet my husband’s net worth she got that gown off the rack,” said one person.

“How’s the new sloop, Higgins?” said another.

“The wife and I are looking into a vacation home in Portugal.”

“It’s not plastic surgery anymore, it’s cosmetic dermatological rejuvenation,” said one woman.

“Doran has been very generous in his donations to the university over the years,” said another as she passed.

“What do you suppose he has under there?” someone just outside the tank asked. For kicks, I flicked the water to cause a light splash. Someone on the other side gasped at the sound.

“I’m sorry, but you need to step away from the tank,” came the voice of Marinus. He must have been standing guard.

“Ah, my friends, do not fret,” Linnaeus cooed to his guests. “All shall be revealed in due time. Have you had any hors d’oeuvres?” His voice faded as he ushered the people away. I wondered if Seidon and Cordelia were here. If they were, they would probably stay well away from the tank because of Marinus.

And still no word from my earpiece. Where were they? What was happening?

The talk and babble continued as my nerves built. My arms ached from holding myself up. I wanted to just pull off the tail, heave myself out of the tank, and make a run for it. But our task wasn’t done yet. Linnaeus needed to learn never to mess with merpeople again—or future marine biologists.

At long last, I heard applause. My anxiety shot through the red silk