Page 34 of Away in a Tentacle Lair
Chapter twenty-four
Kai
The night finally ends, and my curse is lifted. While I stayed in the open tank all night, it did little to hinder my human body from simply stepping out. The little octopus, who had been curious about me throughout the night, slipped her arms up the glass side towards me.
“Stay there; I'll come back for you.” I don't know how, but I can't leave the poor thing here in this unsuitable habitat.
She can't possibly understand me, but her tentacles slide back into the water. “You remind me of my mother.”
There is no chance this creature is my mother, but the similarities are enough. Mum was killed in a boating accident. She was heading to the surface as a motorboat group passed. One struck her on the head, and she was knocked out. She sunk under the surface, and I couldn't help her. I was too young and convinced going to the surface would kill me, so I sat on the bottom with Mum until Uncle Frank dragged me up. It all gets blurry after that, but that moment on the seabed is so clear in my mind.
I wander from the discovery tank, leaving a water trail across the floor. It's like leaving directions behind me, but I have no other option. I need clothes, and I need the exit.
Clothes are easier to find as I slip into a staff-only area. There's a shelf of clothing labelled as spares, and I find a pair of joggers and a T-shirt that fits me.
The exit is more elusive. I must accept that I am still trapped, but if I can hide until they open for the day, I Can simply walk out of the main door.
“Hey!” A sudden yell reduces my chances of success.
The alarm cry from one of the staff brings many more men running my way. I flee away from them, but I don't know my way around. I'm boxed in and trapped before my hair dries.
“Who the hell are you?” A security guard points his torch at me like a deadly weapon. Keeping his gaze on me, he radios for assistance.
“I don't know, man, I'm just trying to leave.” I should run, but I’ve no idea where I am or how to get out.
“How did you get in?”
That is an excellent question I don't have a decent answer for, just like I'm not sure how to explain the wet hair.
I broke in naked, took a bath in the coral pool, nicked some clothes, and have nothing to do with the octopus you're going to find missing.
Four more men arrive, limiting my already non-existent options. I am in deep water, and not in the way I like.
“Get off me,” I yell as the first man reaches out to grab me. I may be a member of the notorious Briareus family, but five men still have me at a disadvantage.
I kick and punch at them until I can't move any more, pinned on my knees by the security officers.
“Well, well, who do we have here?” The voice of the Chief Scientist, Oslo Islington, precedes his arrival. “The youngestBriareus in my research centre. And where is my lovely new octopus hiding?”
Technically, that's me, but I can't tell him that.
“I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't come here for your sea animals.”
“So why did you come?”
“I-y-uh-”
“You followed us last night, didn't you?”
“Fine.” It beats admitting they carried me here in a bucket. “I was curious.”
“We found something rare and amazing in the ocean last night.”
“So your ethics told you to remove it, so now there is nothing rare and amazing in the sea. Just the trash that you throw out there.”
“Don't let him go until we find out what he did with that octopus,” Oslo orders.
“Where do you want us to keep him?” one guard asked. As relieved as I am to discover they don't have dungeons for these situations, I don't want to be tied up in a broom cupboard either.
