Beneath the Painted Ocean Page 8

  “It hurt me more than anything in the world could have,” Callum murmured. “The worst part is that I fought with her right before she died. I thought I could apologize in the morning, but that never happened. I never got the chance.”

  “I’m sure she forgave you.”

  “I don’t know. I want to believe that she did forgive me. I want to believe that she got over it. Still, if I only knew...I would feel better. I wouldn’t be stuck with this guilt that she died thinking I was awful.” He put hands on his chin. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to talk about this. I’m not even sure what led me to start talking about it. I guess...when I saw you and your sister, it made me think about mine. After she died, my dog also died as well. She got sick and she couldn’t hang on any longer. All in all, it was a horrible time.”

  “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad,” Kai looked embarrassed. “I hope we didn’t…”

  “Oh, you didn’t!” Callum insisted. “It’s just me. You two are so close.”

  “Well, we try to be.” Kai decided to change the subject. “Can I ask you something strange?”

  “Sure.”

  “Do you mind if I touch your feet?”

  “My feet?” Normally, this would have made Callum incredibly uncomfortable. His feet weren’t in the best of shape and were dry and cracking now. Still, he knew why Kai wanted to see them. He wanted to know what human feet were like. “Give me a second then.”

  Carefully, he pulled off his shoes and put his socks inside of them. Then he rolled up his pant legs and held out his left foot. He winced at how long his toenails had become over the past few days. The cracks around his heels and sides of his foot didn’t help either. “You have to forgive me if I don’t have pretty feet.”

  “I think they look nice.” Kai gingerly touched the bottom of his foot and Callum began to laugh. “Oh, I’m sorry! Did I do something wrong?”

  “No, I’m just ticklish there. When you touch me under my foot, I laugh,” he laughed when Kai ran his finger down the bottom of his foot. He was shaking so hard from laughter that he almost slipped off the rock. “Stop it! You’re going to make me fall in the water with my clothes on!”

  “Ah, I’m sorry!” Kai moved away from the bottom of his foot and looked at his toes. Then he touched his ankles. “Your feet are strong to support you.”

  “I don’t know about that. I haven’t been taking good care of them,” he admitted. “I haven’t taken care of myself in ages.”

  “I don’t believe you. You are the most beautiful human I have ever seen.”

  “You’re saying that to make me feel better.”

  “I mean it!” Kai pouted. “I have never seen a human, up close or far away, that has eyes like yours. I haven’t seen anyone with lips like yours.”

  “Well, I have. I assure you that I’m nothing special when it comes to looks.” Callum held out his right foot and Kai touched his toes. “Your feet are smooth.”

  “They’re a little cracked actually. I need to rub lotion on them.”

  “I think they’re quite lovely.” Kai ran his fingers up and down the bottom of Callum’s foot, causing him to burst out laughing. “Did I do something wrong?!”

  “I’m glad you’re fascinated with my feet but...could you stop tickling me?” Callum tried hard not to laugh. “I should put my shoes back on.”

  “Oh, sorry.” Kai let him go. “Does it bother you?”

  “Not really, but my feet feel funny.” He pulled his shoes back and took a deep breath. “I will tell you that I won’t be here for very long. I will come down here every day if I have to. I have so much I want to ask. First, I want to show you this.” He pulled out the Hans Christian Andersen book and flipped to the page where The Little Mermaid started. “This is the first time I heard about mermaids. It was a story but I’ve always wondered if they were real. Now I know they are.” He showed him the pictures that were in the book. “Would you like me to read it to you? It’s not very long.”

  “I would love to hear it,” Kai said. “I want to know what humans think of us.”

  “Okay then.” Callum got settled in and looked at the opening paragraph. “I’m going to warn you that this is not a happy story.”

  “It’s all right. I just want to hear it.”

  Callum began to read it, keeping one eye on Kai and paying attention to his reactions. The merman wasn’t doing anything except listening to the story. Once in a while, he would get closer just so he could hear everything better. When Callum finished, he closed the book and waited to see what he thought. There was a brief moment of silence and then Kai began to speak.

  “The story is almost accurate,” he admitted. “We do have powerful voices. We love to sing. Would you like me to sing for you? It’s a short song.”

  Kai seemed to know the answer because he began to sing. It was in a language Callum didn’t understand but it did sound intoxicating. He had to steady himself on that rock so he didn’t fall off it. It was the kind of the song that he could have drowned in. He wanted to drown it and was disappointed when Kai stopped singing.

  “Is something wrong?” He asked.

  “It’s over,” Kai said. “Plus, you looked like you were going to fall over. I didn’t want you to go into the ocean.”

  “Oh. I guess you must have a powerful voice.” Callum realized it was starting to get late now. “I should go. My family will worry about me.”

  “Come tomorrow and see me?”

  “I will.”

  Callum reached out his hand and Kai touched it. He tried to tickle him again but it didn’t work. “I’m not that ticklish on the hands.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Kai squeezed once more before diving down into the water again and disappearing for the rest of day. From that moment on, this was going to be a secret.

  Chapter 10

  Callum found it hard to keep this a secret from everyone, but he was true to his word. If Kai didn’t want anyone else to know about him, then no one else would know. Still, he couldn’t help but have that little bounce in his walk. He forgot all about his responsibilities and the hard times from his past. He remembered what it was like to have fun and enjoy himself. It was a little sad that his trip would end in about two days. Then he would have to go back to researching coral and being bored behind the desk.

  Kai did tell him one thing that made him feel better; mermaids were fast. They could swim from one end of the ocean to another in less than a day. Once Callum told him that he lived on the other side, it didn’t seem to faze Kai. He promised he could come and visit as much as he wanted to. All he needed was a meeting space.

  “The entire ocean is mine to explore,” he had said. “I know you’re feeling down, but you don’t need to. I will come visit you.”

  “Are you sure it will be all right? What about your family?” Callum wanted to know. “Won’t they get angry that you went to see a human?”

  “No, they cannot stop me from going anywhere. They go all over the ocean as well. It won’t be anything new for them. I can see you every day if you wanted that.”

  Callum blushed. “I actually do want that but I don’t want to force you into anything. I will be going back to work too. I may not be able to talk to you as much. So, if you do see me and I’m concentrating on something, it’s usually something to do with work. I promise I’m not ignoring you.”

  “Of course. I know about humans and their work. I would never bother you when you’re doing that. If you do see me, all you have to do is wave so I know you noticed me.”

  “I can do that.”

  It was soon settled that Callum would come back tomorrow and talk to his merman to give him an idea of where to go. He knew of rocks and places that would be safe for him to wait. That way, no one else could see him. He also warned him to be careful around nets as there would be a lot of fishermen out at sea in the mornings. He didn’t want to see Kai get caught in one of them. He also warned him not to go near any oil spills if he s
aw them.

  “Some humans are very irresponsible and cause a lot of harm. You don’t want to cross them.”

  “I won’t. I’m aware not all humans are like you. You are very sweet.”

  Sweet. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone called him that. He heard people call him quiet, studious, intelligent, and strange, but not sweet. It wasn’t that he was mean to anyone. He just kept to himself. Now that someone had said he was sweet, it made him blush furiously. Kai didn’t seem to realize this and just kept smiling. Now that was what Callum would have called sweet.

  As he walked alone that night, he thought about how Kai made him feel. It was already shocking that merfolk existed. At the same time, he wasn’t terrified. He knew that Kai would never do anything to hurt him. The merman was curious about him. He was also sad because the only way they could meet in the middle was in the ocean. Kai wanted to know what it was like walking on two legs.

  “It’s not that hard. I don’t know how I can describe it,” Callum admitted. “It’s something I’ve been doing since I was a baby.”

  “Did you learn to swim then too?”

  “No, I was a little older when I learned that. Humans learn how to do a lot of things over the years. We’re always changing.”

  I didn’t lie to him. People do change. Callum thought as he turned the corner, bags in hand. For tonight, he wanted to go out and do some shopping. His little sisters kept asking him if he found any pearls or buried treasure that he could split with the family. In their minds, whatever he found could be shared with everyone and they would be richer. He told them that he was still searching but he would buy them something nice in the meantime. He found a pair of pearl necklaces that would suffice for now along with other souvenirs. He got enough for everyone in the family and all his coworkers. He wasn’t going back to work empty-handed.

  The excitement about Kai and merfolk only last for a few seconds. As Callum took the shortcut toward home, he realized he had done something wrong. There were no lights in this area. He could barely see what was in front of him and nearly jumped when a stray cat crossed his path. It darted out so fast that he almost screamed at the sight of it. He slowed down when he realized what it was and began to breathe normally. The island was said to be haunted but he had no idea how much truth was behind those stories. Not that he didn’t believe them or want to see this himself. He wanted to meet a ghost someday. After all, if merfolk existed, a ghost could easily exist. He just didn’t want to meet one right now.

  It’s a cat. It’s just a cat. He told himself, gathering up his bags. Home was only a few feet away. If he walked fast enough, he would be there in five minutes. Just keep moving, Cal, and you’re going to be fine. You’ll be safe.

  Those were the wrong things to tell himself. As he took his next step, he felt someone put something hard between his shoulder blades and a hand clasped over his mouth. He tried to fight back and run but someone had bound his wrists together. The only thing he could do was kick the ground and let out a few whimpers from the back of his throat.

  “You keep quiet and I won’t have to hurt you.” A voice whispered from behind. He could feel the man’s breath seeping down his neck. He found himself down on his knees with that hard thing moving from his shoulders to the back of his head. “Just give us what you’ve got, Dr. Caldwell, and we’ll let you go.”

  “What I have?” Callum tried to say but it came out completely muffled. The man moved his hand away and he began to breathe. He wanted to scream but he feared the gun pressing at the back of his head. One wrong move and that was it. Finding his voice, he went on. “If you want my wallet, it’s in my back pocket. My iPhone is in my jacket pocket. Hell, take everything I just bought! Don’t hurt me!”

  He felt the gun dig back into his shoulder blades and he wanted to cry. The men took his bags and began searching his pockets. The leader, however, wasn’t pleased with this. “I want your research, Dr. Caldwell!”

  “My research? It’s about coral! I don’t have it with me! I’m on vacation!” He gasped out. Tears were welling up in his eyes and he tried to force them back. He couldn’t cry, no matter how scared he was. He wanted them to take everything and leave him alone. “Please, I don’t know what you want, but don’t hurt me! Take everything and go! I won’t tell anyone!”

  “You know damn well that’s not what we’re talking about, you eco-terrorist! Where did you hide it?!” He felt someone strike him across the face and he fell over. Blood began to trickle out of his nostrils and down his chin. His jaw was aching and he could hear the men walking around him. Closing his eyes, he pretended that he had been knocked unconscious. He just wanted them to go away. The one good thing was that they didn’t tie up his legs so he could run home. In addition, the ropes around his wrists weren’t as tight as he thought.

  “Damn, he’s out cold!” Someone complained. “I knew you shouldn’t have hit him! He’s weak!”

  “He’s a piece of shit anyway. Just take whatever he’s got in his wallets and the necklaces. We don’t need anything else.”

  Callum kept counting and listening as they rustled around him. He opened his eyes slightly just to get a sight of them. He wanted to describe them as best as possible. Judging from their voices, they were all male and had to be no older than their mid-thirties. He could count three different voices and one of them was wearing blue sneakers. All three had on ripped jeans and they clearly knew who he was. They spoke English perfectly and without accents. He was beginning to suspect that they had been hired to attack him. These men wouldn’t call him by name or ask about his research if all they wanted to do was rob him. One knelt down by him and he saw the man had on a mask. So much for trying to identify his face. Still, he had a few clues that could help narrow suspects down.

  “All right, we got what we need! Let’s go!”

  They were leaving him but Callum didn’t open his eyes until he was sure no one was there. He could hear the feet running away. After two minutes, he opened his eyes and realized he was alone. Blood was dried under his nose and lip but he was alive. The ropes were almost loose now so he got out of them and looked around. His wallet was lying on the ground and they had taken all his cash and cards. The gifts for the girls were also gone but they left the iPhone behind. It hurt but he could always buy them something else. He could always get more money and a new credit card. Being robbed was a far worse feeling.

  “What was all that about?” He asked no one in particular as he stood up. His knees had been scratched from resting on the pavement for too long. Aside from the fear and the punch across his face, he was very much alive. All he wanted now was to go home.

  They wanted my research and I can’t figure out why. What’s so exciting about coral? He pulled himself off the ground and started heading for home. Although he had been to this island before, he had no idea where the nearest police station was. He was aware of a station that was on the other side of the island. It would take too long to get there on foot. He didn’t know if 911 was the number to call over here or they needed another number. He also knew that cases didn’t get solved that quickly. His best bet was to go home and then call authorities. Out here, he was still in danger.

  Then he remembered what they called him. Eco-terrorist. While he was for protecting the environment, he was the last thing from an eco-terrorist. The last stint had him rethinking his actions and going about things the other way. He didn’t want to get in trouble with the law nor did he want to look like bad guy. He just wanted to do the right thing.

  He knew for a fact that they were definitely hired to attack him. Someone knew that he was going to be out here tonight and they knew that he took the shortcut when he went home. This was not a coincidence. There were plenty of people out here tonight wearing tons of jewelry and expensive clothes. Why attack him and not them?

  When he finally made it home, his mother immediately knew something was wrong. She looked at the dried blood, his messy clothes, and the bruise on his lip. “Cal
, what happened?! Who did this?!”

  “I got mugged,” he muttered, throwing his wallet onto the table. “I need to call my credit card companies and cancel my cards. I...I...” He sat down on the couch and tried to think about how this happened. His mother sat next to him with some tissues to wipe his face.

  “I’ll call the police.” His father said. “Son, why didn’t you get help after this happened?”

  “I don’t know where to go. I have no idea if 911 is the number you call over here or not.” Callum buried his face into his hands. “Besides, they had a gun in my face. I...I wasn’t thinking straight. I just wanted to get out alive. They took my money and the gifts I got the girls.”

  “Shhh, it’s okay.” His mother stroked his back and ran her fingers through his hair. “We can always get more money and buy more gifts. You can always get another credit card. As long as you’re alive, that’s all I care about.”

  “Here’s the thing, Mom. They didn’t want my money. They wanted my research,” he explained. “I asked why because there’s nothing interesting about what I’m doing. I’m studying coral. I can’t see why they’d care unless they wanted to harm the coral reefs. Something tells me that’s not their intention though.”

  “Do you need to see a doctor for anything?” She asked, dabbing at his lip with a napkin. “It doesn’t look like your injuries are deep but just in case…”

  He shook his head. “I just want to be home now. I can give the police what I know but I can’t do anything else. I don’t want to do anything else.”

  Elizabeth knew she didn’t need to say anything. All she had to do was be there and hold him. Callum’s entire body was still shaking, but he hadn’t broken down yet. He was more angry with himself than anything else. He looked down at his wrists where the ropes had been. They were turning purple now but at least he could move them. His nose had stopped bleeding and his lip would heal. He knew everything physical would heal. It was everything else that wouldn’t.

  He finally got his chance to tell the police everything that happened. They arrived at the house in five minutes so he gave his side of the story. He mentioned what he had been doing and what they truly wanted. As he recounted everything, he wondered why they had referred to him as an eco-terrorist. He hadn’t done anything to warrant that title. Even if they knew of his research, he still hadn’t done anything to harm anyone’s business. He might have been mulling over Knoll and the things he said but he didn’t do anything.