Sacrifice - Chapter Two

Brody's POV: 2

The pen was smudging ink onto my fingers. I didn’t like that. I rubbed my fingers together but it only smudged more. What human had invented ink anyway? What significance did they have to make it so damn messy? Focus, I could hear my father growl deeply into my ear. Just the thought of it made my heart pick up to a nervous speed. I had a job. I was eighteen now. I had a job.

A list set in front of me and on that list, the very first name was circled in red ink so many times that it was starting to bleed over onto the other side. I had done that mostly out of nerves, but also so that I wouldn’t forget the name that it read. That was an important name.

Jail Jason.

Eighteen was such an anticipated age for my kind. Mainly because it was like an upgrade. No more classes, no more pointless training and lectures. It was all put to use. At eighteen, we were all given a list and on that list were rows and rows of human names. One was ranked the highest and most useful and then down it went from there. We would go to land and take that number one and then we would convince them to come with us. See, that was all easy. Simple really. Until the…

I’m a mermaid…

…part.

The pen smeared again, more like exploded across the paper, but that time it was my fault. I was holding onto it too tightly. Nerves. An elder lady, Linda was her name, came to the table and wiped it up with a fresh white cloth. She was nervous also, which was my fault again. Not exactly a maid, considering that was a human term, but more a long of it was her duty and pleasure to serve my family and I. I was the prince and she was in my castle.

“Thank you,” I told her with a kind smile.

“Anything else I can do for you young, Brody?”

“My father…?”

“Gone on duty, sir.”

“Ahh,” I nodded and turned my attention back to the list. My father, the king, was off doing what I kept avoiding. Focus, his voice snarled again in the back of my mind.

So I did start to focus and it was for real this time. The number one name on my list was Jail Jason. It was my duty as not only a new eighteen-year old mermaid, but also as the King’s son and future leader someday, to bring Jail Jason to this part of the world.

It was a world no human even knew existed when really there were thousands of us mermaids living under there. Of course the most widely mistaken thought about our kind was that we lived in water. It wasn’t water where our world sat somewhere under the earth but it wasn’t land - only parts of it were. We had fins instead of feet, and we had glowing hair and unique eyes and faces along with all sorts of powers. There was no gravity but it wasn’t like space where you had no control. It was like swimming under water, the way we moved and could flip and float, but without the actual water. Btu most importantly, we had jobs. That’s why I needed him, you see, because we all had jobs.

There once was a time when thousands and thousands of full - blooded mermaids controlled our part of the world. Full bloods were the originals, you know, the kind that God just made so we could do our jobs right. That’s when we were the strongest. Everybody was one family - all the same, all shared a common goal. Mermaids regulated the water before any fancy filters on earth every thought about doing. We kept the sea life living, and by doing so kept the human population alive as well. Without us, all the oceans, rivers, any kind of water anywhere, would disappear which in return meant anything that required water to live would die as well. 

Our job, it was important.

The time when all the full bloods roamed around full of power was a time before I was created. Even before my father was created, too. It was when my father was growing up was when things began to change. Well you see, mermaids, we weren’t immortal. We died too. And after awhile of so many dying generations after generation, we needed more to help out. The history is long and I’d have plenty of time to explain it all to the kid later, but too make a long story very, very short I would explain to him that we changed humans and brought them for help. Why him though, he would ask. Why was he one that had to be changed?

I stopped and dropped the pen on the table. It almost rolled off but I stopped it with my index finger and flicked it back up until it came to a slow, rolling stop. There was so much I’d rather be doing right now than this. My job. My stupid job.

There were a lot of humans on the list and I wasn’t ranked high enough up yet to find out how they were made. My father was in charge of all that. I would explain to him how he would have to come with me and leave everything he knew. See that there…that was the hard part. I didn’t really get humans since I was one of the very few full bloods left. I didn’t have any kind of human instincts so I wouldn’t be able to relate or have even the slight amount of sympathy it would take. But I was sure it wouldn’t go over well. If somebody told me that, that I was going to have to turn away from the life I knew and go away forever…God I don’t even know what I would think or do.

Okay. I was mentally ready now. There was still a lot I hadn’t gone over in my head and something told me it wouldn’t go near as smooth when it actually happened. But it was time for me to get after it so I could move on and do other things with my time. I’d give him about a week to say goodbye to everybody, what he was going to say I didn’t know and I tried not to care. That wasn’t my job, to care.

I stood up from the desk, ready to be out of the human legs and back to my comfortable, natural self. Every since humans began being adopted to our world, a lot of readjusting was done and in many parts it was impossible not to be human. Not in many, but still, it wasn’t what I was familiar with because again, I was one of the rare full-blooded left. My father, my sister, and myself. That was all of us.

The paper looked messy from all the ink splattered on it. See we were all given the list because even though the number one choice is the most obvious one to choose, we do have a choice. Some mermaids, the ones that are old and have been here for a long time, know how to study the pros and cons and different situations of each individual. The only problem I saw on mine was that I had two number ones, even though the second number one was not an option in my eyes. It was a girl and I just wasn’t ready to deal with that yet. Not for my first year. At least with the boy I could let loose with the other new mermaids in his position and they could learn and adapt together. A girl would have emotions and I’d feel as if I had to babysit her through it all.

I left the stone room with the empty desk and dark walls immediately, changing out of the clumsy feet as soon as I could. Before I knew it I was coasting at ease along a silvery stream guiding me to eventually the center square if I let it take me that far. My world, once full of mazes and caves and beautiful natural creations before humans came and brought their human things like ink pens.

Who needed ink pens?

The inside of my eye sockets went black as everything around me began to shift and change. With one steady, reassuring deep breath, I tried to relax and focus on where to travel too. I was a pro at traveling, natural as breathing. I was advanced, too. You know, full-blooded advantages and all.

An island came into view. Not a very big one. It was surrounded by water completely so it would be easy to sneak into without making some sort of scene. I groaned. This stupid job I was about to do and would have to do from now on. Why did my list have two names on it? Why did I have to have some popular teenage boy?

Why was I dreading this so much?