Page 39 of Whispers of the Deep

Right, get a hold of yourself, she thought.

Sitting up, she wrapped her arms around her knees to hold all the puzzle pieces of herself together. “You need to talk so the robot can translate your language for me.”

He stubbornly remained silent. The only sound in the cave was the slight dripping of water that tumbled out of his... not hair. What did he call it on top of his head?

“I really wish I could understand you,” she muttered. “It would make all this easier.”

And still, he just stared.

“Right. Well, the other thing I thought I would ask you about is fresh water. I can’t drink salt water.” She pointed to what he was in, as if he wouldn’t understand her. “Humans need water with no salt. Do you understand that? I’ve been boiling salt water and collecting the condensation, but it isn’t enough. Not really. I’m going to get sick, or worse, and?—”

He sank underneath the surface. Just like that. Like he was done listening to her, and didn’t care at all what the little human had to say. He wasn’t even going to speak, so the robot could record his language.

Her father’s voice echoed in her mind as she launched into movement. “Mira, girl. You think with your gut, not with your head. You’ve never been all that good at thinking a plan through before you’ve already started doing it.”

Lifting her hands over her head, body arcing, she dove into the water with an embarrassingly loud splash as she tried to swim after him. But she didn’t have her flippers. She didn’t have her rebreather. And he was so damned fast. All she saw was the tip of his dark tail before he disappeared into the darkness.

Brightly colored glowing plants brushed against her sides, trailing along her skin as she struggled to reach the mouth of the cave. Once there, she held onto the side of the wall and stared out into the abyss.

There was nothing out there. She knew it was because her eyes hadn’t adjusted, and the bright light behind her made it even more difficult to see into the distance. But it looked like she stared out into a black wall of nothing. There could be anything out there. A hundred sharks. Killer whales. Monsters from the depths that she couldn’t imagine or even dream up.

Her heart thundered in her chest, racing faster and faster until she was forced to turn around. She kicked her feet a little faster, moved her arms quicker, because her very soul screamed that something was following her up from the depths.

Breaking the surface, she gasped and slapped at the surface before dragging herself out of the water. Scuttling back, she slammed her back against the stone wall and watched the rioting waves.

Her mind conjured up all manner of sea creatures. A giant squid that had followed her up, hungry and desiring only to devour. Its long tentacles would hit the stones any minute before it pulled its gelatinous body up to consume her.

“Mira?” Byte asked, the tinny voice cutting through her fear.

She struggled to even speak. But eventually, she licked her lips and said, “Yes?”

“You’re going to get sick.”

Right. Her suit. She’d gotten it wet and there was water inside it, considering she’d recklessly dove in without even putting her hood on. The cold speared through her, and she realized how icy her toes and hands were. Even her face felt a little numb, making it difficult to speak.

Was her hair crunchy with ice? No, thank goodness. But as she wrenched the wet strands away from her face and tried to wring out the water, she chastised herself for the dangers of what she’d done.

“Stupid,” she muttered. “So fucking stupid.”

Peeling off the wetsuit exhausted her. She hadn’t eaten well lately, nor had she been sleeping regularly. Not to mention the dehydration and if she kept going down this thought spiral, then she would hit that wall of depression again.

“Damn it,” she said, her voice a little watery as she kicked the wetsuit away. “Damn it, this was so... so...”

Mira didn’t finish the sentence. No one was listening to her whining, anyway. Wrapping herself in the one blanket that had somehow survived the mold and algae, she turned back to the water to find dark eyes watching her.

He’d come back.

Quickly, this time. Even though she knew he didn’t like to come back at all.

“Oh,” she said, standing there in the middle of the room like an idiot. “I... uh... How much of that did you see?”

A long, drawn out song was her response. He didn’t stop talking for a while, and she had no idea what he was saying. Not an ounce of it.

Glancing over at Byte, she asked, “How much of his language do you think you have a hold of?”

“Two point seven percent,” the robot replied, and then sealed itself shut again.

Apparently, it would not help her get the undine to speak. So it was up to her to figure out how the hell she was going to get out of this mess. Sighing, she started back toward the water.

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