Lost In Shadow
"No... No...!" Merrick gasps slight in fear as his squinted eyes can see a part of the sun disappearing into the blue sky, "I can't be... The Land Father's slumber. That's today??" Merrick clenches his eyes shut as he pushes his legs to stand, "Agghhhh," He grunts deeply as he barely made it to his feet.
"What..." Every muscle in his body is so very weak, he feels like a bag full of lazy sea slugs. "What's going on...?" He groans, "What's happening to me?" His brain is so very hazy, he can barely even think, like when Yuri comes home sometimes from the hospital, and she passes out on the couch when she's not ambitious enough for her room.
"Is the Black Sun already changing me??" Merrick asked with a spark of panic in his voice, but takes a second to look forward, "No... No, I don't believe that. It has to be in the shadow of the Land Father. This is something else. Maybe..." He huffs, and succumbs to a yawn, "Ugh, maybe it has something to do with this weird smell in the air..."
Merrick groans as he pushes through, and goes to Arnaav. He drops to his knees and puts his hands on the boy's soft arms, "Arnaav!" He can't even gather the strength to raise is voice, "Arnaav, wake up, now." He pushes and shoves him back and forth, "We need to get into the sea. Now."
"Nnngghhh," Arnaav rolls onto his back, still dozing soundly in the hot light.
"Dammit, where's all the energy kids are supposed to have?" Merrick winced. He reluctantly slapped Arnaav's face, "Arnaav! Wake up!"
"Rrrhhhh!" Arnaav growled in anger before turning to his side, and quickly calming right back down in his sleep.
"For fuck's sake, no..." Merrick cursed. He grunts as he pushes himself up, and quickly walks off.
He hisses as his feet feel the burning bite of the hot shells. From what he can imagine, he suspects that he and Arnaav are on top of pile of dead Shens – giant clams – or even the discarded homes of rare Goliath Hermits. Either way, he needs to find a way out of this mountain, and fast!
~~~
With Ebba at the very front of the pod, instead of her usual position in the center, the pod follows her lead in a faster pace than usual. Noita Vanora can feel the Land Father fading quickly into sleep, and as proof, the pod is already under the vast shadow, still safe within the sea.
"Mother, is there no way to conjure clouds from the sky?" Adra Nerissa asked, "If we can bring rain, the sun's shadow will be covered."
"If I knew how to summon a storm, I would have done so long ago," Vanora says, "I have a distinct inkling on how to call for a storm, but to figure it out, I would need time to feel and see the sky, especially during a storm itself, but during a Black Sun is far too much of a risk. Especially now, when I am not at my most powerful."
"Hmmnnn..." Samudra leers forward. He really doesn't like this feeling he has, "Do you still feel them, Razirah Ebba?"
"Yes... And I am beginning to dread the possible destination."
~~~
"Hennhh, dammit..." Merrick groans as he trots sloppily along the shell. He coughs slightly from the very strange stench in the air. It's so thick, like an invisible fog, it's like he's walking through foam that he can't see.
He stumbles onward, and plants his hands onto a large, curved shell. He squints his eyes as he looks up, and realizes that it's no where near big enough for him to soundly climb on.
"Fuck..." He mumbles as he strides sideways, and jumps up to attempt toe climb over the slant of the shell, "AHH! OwwfffUCK!" He yells as the shell burns his pecs and abs. Merrick hisses harshly as he holds himself for several seconds, before pushing himself back up.
~~~
The three leaders of the pod make haste in the sea, swimming as fast as they can to rescue the two missing boys.
"HALT!" Samudra calls out. The pod immediate complies, and stops their movement.
"No... It is just as we feared..." Ebba said.
They look upon the vast mountain of giant shells. The Sazae Graveyard.
Sazae, enormous sea snails that are large enough to be their own island if they were able to float to the surface. Though extremely sloth and docile, they are also extremely poisonous, though not in the conventional sense. While their poison will never kill anything, getting too close to one will induce a comatose state, or at the very least a deep sleep, if one were so lucky. Sazaes are attracted to the smell of their own kind, and often are seen with couplings of two or three. When they reach a great age – typically around 50-60 years, or in rare cases over 100 years – they become even more allured and keen to the scent of dead Sazaes, and eventually die just when they come to a collection of Sazae shells. While not as lethal as when they were alive, their carcasses still dissolve after death, and stain their shells and the surroundings with a sleep-inducing substance. Only merfolk with a strong constitution and metabolism, or else Tritons, Noitas, Adras, and Razirahs, can last longer than most other merfolk.
"They are here." Razirah Ebba stated.
"Alright. Hurry and locate them. It is not safe for the pod even at this distance."
"Yes." Ebba closes her eyes, and focuses her mental ties to the others that are not within the current company of the pod.
~~~
Merrick pants as he tries to maintain is dying focus. The whole world looks so blurry in his exasperated eyes. His eyes are so sore, he just wants to close them so they would stop itching, but Arnaav is depending on him!
His head turns, and he lets out a shriek as he fall backwards, scooting hastily away. He was JUST an inch away from touching the enormous shadow!
"No, come one..." His voice shakes as he whimpers, "No, please no." He pleaded with his wavering voice. The humanized Piscien pushes his legs so hard to get himself up. With strained effort, he runs as best as he can on the hot shell trap that he is surrounded. From what very little he can see, it's like they're fenced in by huge white objects.
"Ah! Enngghh!" He trips over a hard protrusion on his foot. He whines in pain as he grabs and presses his foot, clenching his eyes shut to-
"NO!" Merrick rushes back up and tries with all his might to keep going. "Eyes open! Fucking... Eyes open!"
He continues to push himself forward, desperate to find a way off of this damned fortress.
~~~
Nerissa holds onto a human-made spear. Half of it is a thin but strong and smooth wooden shaft, and the other half made of polished metal.
"This is Merrick's weapon. It was found over by there," She turns and points to the shapeless mass over a large tail.
"Father," Adra Hecalt tugged on Samudra's arm, "What is that?"
"What is left of a Sazae and a Scylla." He answered, "It seems like the Scylla had somehow clashed with the Graveyard, and a dying Sazae just swallowed it down... Mostly."
"That explains where it went. It must have chased Merrick and Arnaav to the Graveyard."
"Then why would he not diverge elsewhere?" Samudra pondered, "Does he not know the dangers of the Sazae?"
"Perhaps he truly was never informed of it." Vanora said, "After all, I was not aware of the Black Sun until one or two years before I met you."
"Agghh," Samudra frets as he turns to the Amnien Razirah, "Please, Ebba, could they not be anywhere else??"
"..." Ebba's brow remains furrowed, "No. I feel their links elevated above. They are either caged within the middle of the shells, or they somehow navigated above the surface."
"By the depths..." Samudra groans.
"I might be able to rise the tide in order to engulf the whole Graveyard," Vanora says, "But I will need you help, Daughter."
"My help? But why?" Nerissa inquired, "Surely you are powerful enough for this, Mother."
"Ordinarily, yes. But the darkness from the Black Sun interferes with the abilities of Noita and Triton of any pod."
"What?" Samudra turned his head, "How does that work?"
"I do not know. But I did mention that I am not at my most powerful at this moment."
"I thought that was because you overused your healing abilities."
"No. Noitas should be able to give more power." Vanora stated, "But the Black Sun suppresses merfolk as a whole."
"Right then. Let us begin." Nerissa comes up, ready to act.
"Agreed. We are rising the tide."
The two mermaids swim up higher than the pod, and stop when they were above the median spot between the top and bottom. Closing their eyes, they summon hither the imbued blessing of the Sea Mother to bid the waters around them.
Their power feels grainy, distorted by a sense of black and yellow; such is the effects of the Black Sun imposing itself on their power. It's aggravatingly elusive to grasp at the proper amount of energy to spread control over their own surrounds.
With both of the mermaids' hands glowing a finicky aura, they raise their arms up, and the surrounding ocean pulls from its vast form, and gives a minor fraction of itself to rise the tide.
~~~
Merrick whines and huffs deeply as he can barely keep on his feet anymore. He has looked over onto every part of this God-forsaken island of blazing bleach white, but everywhere he goes shows that there is no promising lead to freedom. He doesn't have enough strength to possibly climb over any of the burning shells, let alone having to carry Arnaav away from this place.
His hands slap onto a shadow of another shell. He can barely keep himself up... Red blotches and scraps litter his feet, legs, and hands. This is just like when he was locked up in the Agency. He grits his teeth as he is reminded how he had to endure that, and God knows just how long this is going to last.
As Merrick tries with little success to gather any more promise of strength, he is far too away to hear the distant hissing of oven-roasting shells being covered by cold seawater.
~~~
Vanora and Nerissa grunt as they gracefully move their arms in Tai-Chi like movements, bidding and willing the sea to rise further up and up, but with little success. They're only able to lift the surface by about 7 ft deep put together.
