The Turning Tides (Marina's Tales) (32 page)

“Wherever she wants me to.”

“What if she orders you to kill me?”

He paused, considering, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” The look on his face told me everything I needed to know.

I closed my eyes again, “Leave me alone.”

I heard the chair scrape and footsteps walk away. I was on my own. I knew how ruthlessly efficient Paul could be. I doubted he’d make any mistakes that I could exploit to get away, and he couldn’t be turned. He was to Olivia as Boris was to Evie; he had somehow imprinted on her, and belonged to her, body and soul.

I belonged to Ethan, and when I looked down to see my engagement ring, still sparkling on my finger, I wanted to cry. I twisted it around on my hand, protectively clenching the stones in my fist
,
a talisman against the darkness and despair that was closing in on me.

I heard footsteps, and looked up to see Doctor Neuman advancing on me with a syringe full of something, and I panicked, rattling the chair with my struggles. Paul looked up from where he was lounging on a chair with a magazine, rising to come and observe.

Once again, the doctor spoke to me as if there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary going on, “I’m a great admirer of your father’s work. He really is a brilliant scientist.”

“Then how can you do this to me?” I spat out, “He’d be
disgusted
if he knew what was going on here!”

He looked at me calmly, “Science is everything.”

“No it’s not,” I
cried.
“Science is only science.
What you’re doing is
wrong
!
”

He looked at me like I was being horribly naive, reaching for my arm with the needle in his hand.

“You don’t have to do this,” I begged, cringing as I felt the sting of the needle.

“Of course I do,” he replied, “I’m going to need you to keep perfectly still in order to get the optimum scan.”

“Goodnight, Marina,” Paul called out in the most ironic tone possible, just before I plummeted through the depths of despair into a numbing sleep.

~

C
hapter
Twenty-
O
ne

CAPT
IVITY

~

Muffled voices murmured nonsense as my mind clawed its way through a black tunnel
,
fighting back to consciousness. Confusing stamping sounds surrounded me, and I struggled to open my eyes, grasping to remember where I was. The awful memory returned before my ability to move did, and the whirring of machinery told me that I was inside the cylinder of an MRI scanner.

As my head cleared, the terrifying reality of my grim situation started to sink in. I was completely on my own, and no one was going to come looking for me. I would probably end up like the poor mermaid in cold storage, once they finished poking and prodding at me enough to satisfy their curiosity. Pangs of fresh sorrow and agony tightened my chest when I realized that I’d never see Ethan again.

My head started to ache ferociously, and I wondered if the machine was causing it. It wasn’t.

~

Nixie was swimming close to the surface, and I could see shafts of late afternoon light reaching down into the blue-green water.  She was agitated, swimming back and forth fearfully. She circled around the boat, listening to the sounds of Nerissa crying out in pain and fear. With each turn around the
vessel
she drew closer
and closer, until she was dangerously near the research vessel…

~

“
Noooo!
” I screamed, “
DON’T DO IT!
” The voices outside the machine grew louder and more excited, picking up in tempo.

“Get her out of there right now!” I heard Paul commanding. “It’s doing something to her!”

The mechanical sounds stopped, replaced by the scrape of metal
rails sliding
. I could feel the gurney I was strapped onto
moving
, and the rush of cool air on my face as I was extracted from the device.

My head ached, and my eyelids fluttered, struggling to open. I could see the outline of both scientists standing alongside Paul, looking down on me with frightened faces. I closed my eyes with a groan, waking up from one nightmare only to be plunged right back into another.

I knew enough about my visions to realize that Nixie was in trouble, and I hoped against hope that she would heed my warnings and stay away from the boat. Was Nerissa alright? She wasn’t present in the images that had flashed through my mind, but the sounds of her suffering rang through my tortured thoughts. I started to pray silently, suddenly chilled to the bone.

“Her lips are blue!” I heard Paul cry out in a panic.

I could feel hands on my wrists, taking my pulse, along with the cold shock of a stethoscope on my chest. Where was my sweater?

“She’s fine. Her vitals are good,” said Doctor Neuman, his voice relieved.

“She
just
had a spike in brain activity unlike anything we’ve ever seen,” Jones explained excitedly.

“Well, keep her the hell out of there… I can’t take a chance on those magnets messing her up,” Paul said.

“It wasn’t the machine,” Jones said
in exasperation.
“Her brain just started randomly firing off on all pistons! I’ve never seen anything like it! There
was
tremendous activity in areas I’ve never even seen
used
before!”

“I don’t give a damn what her brain looks like
!
Just keep
her body
alive
! Edwards is on his way over to see her now, and he won’t be too happy if you science geeks give him damaged goods.”

The Doctor’s voice was cold as ice, “We science geeks are more valuable to this project than your ape-man muscle will ever be.”

“I’m under orders to keep an eye on her. It’s my job to make sure she
is delivered
intact.”

Jones chimed in, whining, “You didn’t do a very g
ood job keeping an eye on her– l
ook what you let her do to our lab.”

I watched through slitted eyes as Paul grabbed the little man’s collar and lifted him off his feet, “Edwards paid for this lab, and for you along with it.”

Jones made gurgling choking sounds as he struggled to free himself.

Doctor Neuman stood by calmly, “I don’t think that he’d appreciate you harming a valuable employee.”

Paul slowly lowered him down, growling, “If anything happens to her, you’ll be answering to me.” Jones doubled over in a spasm of coughing.

“I think we’re all on the same page,” Doctor Neuman calmly interjected, “Why don’t you leave us to our work?”

After a last glance at me, Paul stomped off. The doctor did something to my arm and I felt myself floating away again, back to my dreams of despair and pain.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a hospital bed,
dizzy and lightheaded. Curtains were drawn all around me, and I was immobilized, my arms at my sides. I struggled to sit up, but a strap across my chest held me firmly against the mattress. My clothes had been removed, and replaced by a flimsy hospital gown that tied in the front. I tried to wiggle out of my restraints, but I couldn’t free myself.

I looked up to see the duct work, pipes and electrical conduits of the lab, and realized I was still in my own personal torture chamber. There was an IV bag hanging over the bed, and I looked down at my arm to see it dripping some kind of fluid into me. I gagged, and my mouth tasted sour.

I could hear footsteps approaching, and the two scientist’s voices as they drew near.

“The plasma analysis is in… I have bad news.”

“What is it?” Doctor Neuman asked, his voice tense.

“Her bloodwork indicates that she’s had a recent injection of Progestogens.”

“She’s on contraceptives?”

“Yes. We’ll need to wait for it to clear her system. It will be several months before we can inseminate.”

My eyes flew open wide in shock.

“Edwards is not going to like hearing that,” the doctor said
.
“He was most eager to start the process.”

“I’m afraid there’s nothing to be done for it.”

“He’s not a man that takes disappointment very well,” he replied ominously
.
“He’s already lost one… and apparently it was
her
that let it get away.”

Their voices faded as they wandered away from my enclosure. I was
doubly
horrified, for now I knew what they had in mind. Failing to capture another live mermaid, or to re-capture Nixie, they were going to use me to replace her. I shuddered in revulsion and sobbed aloud, unable to contain my grief and horror.

The curtains moved, and I looked up with pained eyes to see Paul. All he cared about was keeping me in good enough condition long enough for them to carry out their depraved plans.
The sting of betrayal was still fresh, but I forced myself to speak to him.

“I need water,” I said pitifully.

He left, returning with a water bottle. He raised the bed so I was sitting up, bringing it to my lips. I drank greedily, making a show of coughing and sputtering. I fought to suppress the urge to spit in his face.

“Thank you… I know you’re only doing your job…
Tell me, h
ow on earth did you ever get Evie to hire you?”

He looked proud of himself, “I come very highly recommended. Olivia still has many friends on the council, and not all of them admire the famous Evie.”

I thought about the faces of all the women sitting around the table
at the council meeting
, wondering how many of them were in league with Olivia.

“You killed Peter’s mother too.”

He raised his eyebrows at me, “You really are very clever, aren’t you? Edwards is a valuable patron,
and Olivia wanted him for herself. Whatever she wants, she gets– I make sure of it. Edwards also happens to be obsessed by what you have to offer.”

“And
exactly
what do I have to offer?” I asked.

He laughed, “Don’t play dumb with me, Marina. Olivia isn’t the only one on the council who’s interested in this little experiment. They all want to live forever, and they seem to think you hold the key.”

“The key to what?”

“The fountain of youth.”

I scoffed, “And you believe them?” I asked.

“I didn’t at first… but then I saw you surfing with the mermaid.” He shook his head with a smile, “Truly a supernatural creature… I’m dying to see if you can really turn into one.”

My eyes filled with tears. This just kept getting worse and worse, and it was all my fault. If I could have only learned how to control my impulses and stay away from my sisters I might not be in this situation. I had a feeling there would be no escape this time.

“It’s not so bad,” he
sounded as insane as the doctor,
“We made a nice tank for you.”

I turned my head away, and all the fight drained out of me
.
“Go away,” I whispered.

He pulled the curtains aside and left, barking at the scientists not to let me get dehydrated again. Jones came into my bedside, checking the IV drip and muttering under his breath, “That
Neanderthal thinks he’s in charge.”

“What are you going to do with me once you’ve run all your tests?” I asked,
glaring into his cruel little eyes,
“Are you going to let Edwards make you a murderer?”

He
looked taken aback,
“We have no plans to kill you.”

“Then let me go,” I pleaded
.
“I can get you more money than you could ever spend.”

“I was warned you’d try to bribe me,” he
shook his head.
“Don’t waste your breath.”

“My father could advance your career,” I offered.

“So can Edwards.”

My heart sank
.
Edwards and Olivia had chosen well this time. Both scientists were clearl
y remorseless and dispassionate,
so invested in their research they had completely forfeited their humanity.

“Can you really turn into one?” he asked, “Because your brain is completely unlike that of the specimen.”

“How?” I asked, “Structurally or functionally?”

Like every scientist I’d ever met, he couldn’t resist talking about his field of expertise, and it didn’t take much coaxing to get him to launch into his theory excitedly.

“The brain structures are quite similar, but I believe the activity levels will prove to be very different. You see, I think a lack of complex brain function and memory retention in the mermaid mind allows the tissue to continuously regenerate. They seem to have sacrificed higher brain function in exchange for immortality. We plan to do a thorough brain scan both before… and after.” He stopped himself, as if he suddenly realized who he was talking to.