Really Weird Removals.com (11 page)

“
Look
!
” mouths Uncle Alistair.

Two heads and two silvery tails appear and
disappear rhythmically in the black waters, swimming closer and closer to us. They are now against the concrete wall, dipping their heads into the pools of Uncle Alistair’s blue liquid, lapping it up. Their long hair floats on the water like seaweed. It’s too dark to make out their faces.

Then Sorley switches his underwater torch back on, and I see them. 

The mermaids turn towards Sorley, who's floating in the soft light of his underwater torch. Their skin has a light blue-green hue; their hair looks like seaweed and it's all tangled up. Their eyes are deep, deep black, and full of fear. They have beautiful faces – human in every way, but with elongated eyes and full lips that are vaguely fish-like.

“Don't worry,” says Sorley kindly. “We're not going 
to hurt you.” The mermaids seem to be listening intently. One of them tips her head on one side. Sorley's tone is warm and soothing: “It's dangerous here. The river is very busy. You'll end up hurt. If you come with us, we'll take you somewhere safe.”

The mermaids look at each other, and then disappear underwater. Valentina and I gasp.

“They've gone!” whispers Valentina, alarmed.

“They're just talking it over.” Mairi's tone suggests this is obvious and we don't know anything.

And indeed, after a few minutes, the mermaids re-emerge and swim near Sorley, warily. I think they're coming round.

“We'll get you up on land,” Sorley starts explaining, when a low buzzing interrupts him. I barely register the sound, but Mairi gasps softly in the darkness, and then Uncle Alistair shouts at the top of his voice:

“WATCH OUT!”

Two searing white lights are bouncing over the water at full throttle. It's a speedboat, fast and deadly, swallowing mile after mile of river – there's nothing we can do, there's nothing Sorley can do – it's upon them. It cuts through the river right where they were floating, leaving behind only darkness and the low buzzing sound fading away. Mairi is the first to shake herself.

“Sorley! SORLEY!” she screams, bending over the parapet.

“Mairi…” Uncle Alistair has a hand on her shoulder. My heart is beating so fast I think my 
chest will explode.

“Sorley!” she calls again, and her voice sounds hoarse and broken. It can't be. It can't be…

We all peer in the black waters. They're terribly, terribly still. I can hear Valentina's ragged breath, and Mairi's soft sobs.

“Uncle Alistair! What are we going to do? Surely there's something we can do…” I ask, and then, seeing his stricken expression, I realise that things are bad. Really, really bad.

Then a squeak, a strange sound – something between a dolphin's voice and the deep alien song of a whale – breaks the silence. It's a mermaid.

“I'm hurt,” she's saying.

Wait a minute.

I understand their language?

“The mermaids!” shouts Uncle Alistair.

“Sorley! Sorley!” call Mairi and Valentina, their hope rekindled.

“Stupid light! It went off!” A human voice comes from the water. It's Sorley! He's alive!

“Sorley!” I can see tears shining on Mairi's cheeks.

“I'm fine! Phew, that was close! I'm going to look for the mermaids,” he calls, waving his hand in the semi-darkness. I can barely make out his floating shape; the speedboat must have broken his torch.

“We heard one calling!” Uncle Alistair shouts in Sorley's direction. And she's hurt, I want to say, but how can I explain I actually understood her words? I look at Uncle Alistair sideways. Would he know that I might understand the mermaids? 

“
There they are!
” whispers Mairi, pointing down to the water. Two green heads are swimming towards Sorley, very close to each other.

And again, the pitiful sad cry of the injured one. “Help!” she's imploring. She's holding onto her friend, arms around her neck.

“Are you hurt?” Sorley asks. And then, louder: “Mairi! Get the first aid kit!”

“Sure!” Mairi calls back, with an edge to her voice that makes me think she's actually saying, “Thank goodness you're alive!”

“Please let us help you. Let us take you up on land and see to your wounds.” Sorley reaches out to them. “You'll still be in the water, and we'll take you somewhere with no motorboats and no human beings. Well, just a few. A few like us.”

The mermaids look at him for a long still minute, the injured one resting her head on her friend's shoulder. They confer briefly, in voices so low that I can't make out what they're saying. But they seem to decide to trust us; they float closer to Sorley.

“Yes. We'll come with you,” they say.

I heard that!

I can't help gasping.

“You ok?” Valentina nudges me.

“Yes. Yes. It's just that…”

“Shhhh!” Uncle Alistair scolds, and I have to be quiet.

Sorley waves with his outstretched arms, and Mairi and Uncle Alistair spring into action. The aquarium has wheels, so it's relatively easy to move, and they 
manage to get it to the river wall. It's secured with a thick rope to a hoist inside the van.

Then everything happens very fast. Mairi and Uncle Alistair push the aquarium over the edge and, using a pulley, gently lower it. I'm standing in the wrong place. The rope hits my arm, I lose my balance, and I fall into the black water.

Water is everywhere – in my nose, in my mouth, over and around me. It's so dark, and so cold, I can't see anything and I can't breathe. I feel like my heart has stopped.

“LUCAAAAAA!”

I hear distant voices but they're too muffled to grasp words, apart from my name. I come to the surface briefly, gasping for air, and I'm underwater again – breathing in water, suffocating… I feel a big splash, and there's someone beside me – I open my eyes underwater – it's Valentina! We'll both drown! I splash and writhe, trying to stay afloat – I can swim, but the water is so icy, so black. Panic hits me. Valentina throws her arms out to meet mine, and we hold hands… I'm running out of air. I can't see, I can't think… My lungs are full of water – will I breathe again?

And then two strong arms embrace me. They're cold, and a bit slippery. I feel seaweed on my face, on my neck, on my hands – but it's not seaweed, it's the mermaid's hair. I can make out her face, her scaly skin, her black eyes. She's singing for me. I think she's trying to reassure me. We look at each other for an instant. It's beautiful and surreal. 

“Valentina…” I try to tell them, but when I open my mouth I just swallow more water, and it all goes black. I feel the mermaid tying her arms around my waist, and holding me close to her face. She puts her lips on mine, and blows air into my waterlogged lungs. Then she lets me go… and I can breathe!

I can breathe underwater! My lungs are full of air again. Oxygen makes its way back into my system and I can see. I turn frantically left and right, looking for my sister. Why, oh why did she jump after me? She's nowhere! A few silvery fish dart in front of my face, and seaweed wraps around my arms. I try to hold the mermaid's hand, but it's so slippery, and she's not looking at me anymore, she's looking up to the surface, where a bright light is shining.

Valentina…

Suddenly I make out a small shape, emerging from the darkness right in front of me. It's her! Her eyes are closed, and her face is so white… I hold her close, and I can't feel her chest rising, I can't feel her breathing. She's
not
breathing!

“Don't worry. We'll help you,” the mermaid whispers.

I try to reply, but water enters my lungs again. The mermaid's kiss has lost its effect. I can no longer breathe underwater. I'm drifting away…

I wake up spitting water. I'm shivering violently.

“Valentina!” I splutter. “Valentina!” 

“She's fine, she's here!” A girl's voice. Mairi.

I turn my head and see Mairi, Valentina and Camilla kneeling beside me. Valentina is soaking wet, her hair falling in long fair strands over her shoulders.

“You nearly drowned, you silly beggar!” she shouts.

“So did you! You crazy girl! Why did you… why did you jump–” I cough up more water.

“Shhhh… breathe!” Mairi urges me. Her face looks softer, kinder than before.

“The mermaids saved me.” I manage to say. I sit up, spluttering more water.

“They saved me too,” whispers Valentina. “They sort of… sort of kissed me, and then I could breathe underwater. For a wee while. You were out of it for ages, Luca, I thought you were dead…” She's on the verge of tears.

“Where are they? The mermaids?”

“Sorley and Alistair are sorting them out. Securing the aquarium for the journey, and all that,” Mairi reassures us.

“You'll catch your death in these wet clothes. But I didn't think to bring a change. I never thought you'd be in the water!” Uncle Alistair is striding towards us.

“Sorry…” I murmur.

“And your sister, jumping after you! So we had not one, but
two
children to save! Terrible, terrible. But you're alright now.”

“I'm not a child,” grunts Valentina.

“Uncle Alistair…” Maybe I should tell him about 
the way I could understand the mermaids' language.

“Later, Luca. We'd better get you safely back to the hotel.”

“Ok.”

Maybe I won't tell him at all. Maybe I dreamt it?

“See you guys soon, then. Thanks for helping,” says Sorley to my uncle.

“You'll certainly see us again soon. I have to show Luca and Vally what you do up there in Loch Glas.”

Loch Glas? Is that where the mermaids are going?

“Can I say goodbye to the mermaids?” I ask.

“Be quick, Luca.”

They are sitting in the aquarium, arms around each other. One of them has a nasty bruise down her side, and a long strip of missing scales down her tail. It looks painful, but it could have been much worse.

“Don't worry. If Uncle Alistair trusts Sorley and Mairi, you can too.” This is what I want to say, but something strange comes out of my lips. A singing sound, an undersea sound. The mermaid language.

How on earth do I know it? When did I learn it?

One of the mermaids puts her hand against the glass. It's webbed, and blue-grey like the rest of her body. I lift my arm, and put my hand against hers on the other side of the glass. We stay like that for a moment.

“
Thank you
,” I whisper, and a strange sound of foamy waves, windswept rocks and cold depths comes out.

“I hope to see you again,” she replies.

“Me too.”

The van sways gently. Mairi has come up, and she's standing at my shoulder, her thoughtful face tipped on one side.

“You're cool, Luca Grant,” she says without looking at me.

I climb down, and the van drives away, taking Mairi, Sorley and the mermaids out of the city.

I'm lost in thought as we drive back to the hotel. I can't believe what just happened. I can't believe I can
speak mermaid!

I think I'll keep it to myself, for now.

It's nearly dawn as we step into the hotel. We sneak into our room. It's such a relief to get out of my wet clothes. Valentina and I shiver together.

“I'm starving,” she says.

“So am I.”

Only a couple of hours until Mum and Nonna wake up, then we can have the biggest breakfast on the menu.

Besides my hunger, I feel so much better. The freezing cold leaves me. We fall asleep, exhausted.

“Wakey wakey! Time to go and explore Glasgow!”

My mum sounds horribly cheery. It's half past seven. I'm shattered. Valentina is still dead to the world.

“Come on you two. Get dressed. We'll see you in the restaurant in ten minutes.”

I'm so tired I feel sick. I drag myself out of bed… 
and then I see wet muddy clothes still lying on the floor! My mum can't have noticed them. I hang them over chairs. Hopefully they'll dry a little.

Valentina has purple shadows under her eyes. We drag ourselves out.

“CHILDREN! HELLO! DID YOU SLEEP WELL?” booms Uncle Alistair as we walk into the restaurant.

He's
loud
. Too loud for someone who had two hours' sleep.

Valentina is about to attack the bacon and eggs, when my mum gasps.

“Luca!”

“Yes!” I exclaim, jolted. My nerves are a bit frayed.

“What's that?” She lifts my arm. There's a
nasty-looking
purple bruise running from my elbow to my wrist.

Valentina stops chewing.

“Oh, that. I bumped into the wardrobe.”

“That's some bump, Luca. And you're all scratched…”

She touches my neck. Uh oh. I hadn't noticed that.

“What happened?”

“I had left my diary in the van…” I scramble. “I wanted to write before sleeping. So I went down to get it. It wasn't dark or anything, it was just past nine o'clock. I lost my footing and fell.”

“Poor you! We'll get you some arnica cream. Come on, everybody. Glasgow awaits us!”