The Mermaid and the Werewolf: Adella’s Tale

Life or Death

Kai, Talia, Adella and Dover all slip into the water portal at the bottom of the air pod. Kai is ready with Talia’s camouflage for her bright tail. Adella had never seen that color before. Did she know where Talia was from?

They slid through the dark blue water toward their normal hunting grounds where there was a cliff and many places to find hiding animals. As they approached this cliff tiny fish danced around like they were trained to swim together like that. So many brilliant colors, Adella always enjoyed seeing them dance all around her. They fed off the disrupted rocks, eating things that nobody else could see.

Adella saw a big clam at the bottom. She clicked to show the group what she was seeing and they all went to get it. A giant clam was a huge catch for them.

The four of them were digging it out, moving here and there. Working as a team to loosen it from the bottom of the ocean. When suddenly Adellas hand grasped the clam as if she was hanging on for life. Kai saw her fingers fighting to keep a hold of it but like in slow motion she lost her grip.

Kai looked up and saw that a giant squid had his tentacles around Adella’s tail and was pulling her towards him. Kai took off towards the squid trying to get to a point that he could cut the tentecle. He had his knife in his hand but as he reached the right position and huge Sperm whale was charging from the other side. Pushing Kai away from the squid as it engulfed it, sending Kai spinning back to the ocean floor. The three of them watched as the whale took off with the squid and Adella. Her long blond hair waving at them with outreached hands trying to find anything to grab on to.

It was the stuff made of nightmares for the merpeople. They were not the top of the food chain, so being cautious is important.

Adella was fighting for her life, she could feel the sting of the tentacles reaching deep into her fin. As the whale took them away from her family she could barely make them out, watching herself get pulled away. Soon they were gone, just ocean darkness all around her. She used the whales cheek to try and push up but the current from the whale swimming was too strong for her. Eventually the whale slowed and started sawing the squid into pieces. As it did so, Adella was released from its grip. Adella was disoriented and dizzy feeling the ocean toss her from one place to another. All she could do for a moment was shut her eyes and drift. She must’ve passed out because the next thing she knew she was awakened by a feeling she never had before. Wind on her back and then she was sent swirling and spinning as a huge wave picked her up and pounded her back into the sea. Pain ripped through her body, she felt like she was being torn apart and her insides felt like they were going to explode having so little pressure on them.

She felt her body get sucked back up in a wave. She was spinning and spinning being heaved up into the sky. She caught a glimpse of the moon but she had no idea what it was. Then she felt something bump her and she knew that feeling. She realized that she was bleeding and bleeding in the ocean is a calling card for the most feared animal in her world. It was a shark inspecting her. Adrenaline rushed in her system as she realized the danger she was in and started swimming with the wave. Using the momentum to try to escape. Every move was painful for her but living was more important than the pain. Her powerful tail did what it could to control her direction but the waves at the top of the ocean were fierce and powerful. As the wave fell she heard this powerful roar sound and then she hit the bottom. Her shoulder cried out in pain as her body was pulled back into the ocean. Her tail was on auto pilot pushing against the pull that was trying to bring back to the ocean, back to the shark that was waiting for her. She was able to keep her position as she got swept up into another wave. As the wave peaked she pushed forward with her tail.

The cold night air surrounded her as she left the water. The roar below the wave was so loud and she started choking being out of the water. Her almost limp body surged through the air with its only goal being escape from the shark.

She landed on the rocky beach, her head hitting a rock and her body went limp. It all went dark for Adella.

If there was any luck in what was happening to Adella it was landing position on the rocks. Her head hung below her body so her lungs were able to release the water in them. If she hadn’t been able to do this she would have choked to death.

The next morning

A group of young girls were hunting for crabs the next morning and they came across a woman, her hair snarled with sand, her leg was bleeding and severely injured. Her skin was so white they were afraid to approach her. One approached her and touched her, trying to confirm if she was dead or alive. As she realized that she was in fact alive they all decided to go get the wheelbarrow to bring her back to convent. The Sisters would know what to do with her. The lady from the beach made no sounds as she was moved and the four of them wondered where she was from. The storm last night was very severe.

“Maybe she fell off a ship?” One girls said.

“Maybe, but wouldn’t we be finding other stuff from the ship, like we usually do?” Retorted another.

“She is quite pretty.” One girl commented.

“Oh, look at her head! No wonder she isn’t responding, that is a nasty cut.” The girls were even more careful as they pulled her down the road to the Abby.

“She has a bracelet on, I think it has some letters on it. It’s so dirty I can’t tell though.”

The girls were curious about her. She was naked, injured, pretty and her only thing in this world was a bracelet of pearls. They wondered if she was nice, if she was snooty. Things were never exciting at the Abby, pretty much the same everyday. They were thankful for the protection but it got tedious sometimes, especially for preteen girls.

As the girls pulled into the Abby a few Sisters noted they were coming back with a wheelbarrow and went out to meet them. They were horrified to find Adella in the wheelbarrow, naked and injured. The girls were given instructions on making a bed for her and one Sister removed part of her cloak and laid it over her. “Bring her to the bathing room first. She is filthy dirty.” The head Sister Nancy directed the other sisters. They did as they were told.

Sister Nancy then went up to her desk, wrote down a few words and sent it off with a homing pigeon to the monastery up in the mountains. The monks there were trained in medicine. And this girl was going to need them to survive. Her leg already looked infected and she never had seen anything like that type of injury in all her years. She watched the pigeon fly off and she wondered where this girl had come from. She closed her window and turned back into the room hoping she would learn soon enough. As soon as she wakes up.

The girls with a few Sisters got Adella in a tub of warm water, they slowly and gently washed her body and then they washed the sand from hair. Her hair was impossibly long and almost needed its own bathtub. The sisters encouraged a braid over the large and deep gash in her head to keep it together. As they laid her on a bed Sister Nancy was better able to inspect her. The wounds on her legs were very deep and some circular injury as well. She taught the girls to tie a sheet around the injuries to help get the skin together as she waited for the monks to get there. It would be a few days. They dressed her in a white dressing gown and covered her. Her pale skin and blue lips indicated she was very cold. Sister Nancy slid the bracelet off her hand. She had never seen such beautiful pearls. Etched in some were the letters ‘A D E L L A’ maybe that was her name. Sister Nancy put the bracelet in her pocket for safe keeping. The Monks would surely take it and this was something special. It was her only item that belonged to her in the whole world.

“Her name is Adella girls.” She interrupted the chitter chatter. “You can call her that instead of the beach lady.”

“Yes Sister.” The four of them said in unison.

“We should leave her to rest.” Sister Nancy started for the door and the four girls followed. All the them turned to look at the beautiful woman they found on the beach. “Good Night Sister Adella” They said in unison.

Adella did not move, she did not make a sound. Her breathing was even but a little raspy. She would stay like this for several days, until the Monks got there. The four girls tended to her every need. Every morning they hoped that she would open her eyes but she did not.