Between the Land and the Sea - By Derrolyn Anderson Page 0,104
crashing in knee deep. I remembered what Ethan said and kept fighting, kicking hard and trying to stay on my feet.
I looked up to see the group of girls standing, watching. No one made a move to help me.
Thanks a lot, I thought, battling on to my last breath. I expected to feel the ice cold grip of a mermaid dragging me under any second. I kept facing land, kicking at the snarling faces the best I could. I felt a hand on my arm and I twisted around with a cry, struggling to escape.
“Marina!” yelled Ethan. He used his surfboard as a shield, putting it between us and the snapping jaws. Long and Shayla joined in, and once I was blocked from their view, the sea lions melted away into the ocean, leaving the four of us standing on the beach. I doubled over, hands on my knees, gasping to catch my breath.
“Thanks!” I panted. I looked up at Ethan, “They almost had me in the water.”
“I gotta get you out of here,” he sounded panicked. He picked me up and carried me to the blanket. He stripped out of his wetsuit quickly, and while he was changing I turned to Long and Shayla. They were standing off to the side with a few other surfers, murmuring among themselves.
“Thanks,” I said, mortified, “Thanks for helping.”
Shayla looked shocked, “What happened? I never seen them act that way.” I looked into their suspicious eyes, “There was a seal pup on the beach, they must have been protecting it.”
Shayla looked skeptical and Long hung back, his suspicions having just been confirmed. I looked down, wishing I hadn’t let Ethan talk me into coming. My feet throbbed with pain, and now they were soaking wet. The girls started back in with their snickering, but the rest of the surfers were quiet. They knew enough about the animals to realize that something truly weird had just occurred.
Ethan changed and packed up his gear, stony faced. He lifted me up without a word and carried me in silence to his truck, putting me down on the seat. He must be really tired of this, I thought.
“Don’t be angry,” I said, afraid of the look on his face, “I stayed on the beach...”
“Why didn’t you just stay with everyone else?” he asked, his eyes pained.
“I only walked down a little ways… I could still see you.” I looked down, “I didn’t want to get into it with those girls.” I started to feel stupid, “They just wouldn’t shut up.”
“Why didn’t you back off when the sea lions came at you?” he asked.
“They used bait,” I said, shaking my head at the thought. “There was a tiny little pup all alone, crying on the beach. I was trying to help it get back to the water and they circled around behind me. The little one took off, and the big ones started pushing me...”
“You should have left it alone,” he said sternly.
“Have you never seen a seal pup?” I asked him sarcastically. Our eyes met and he burst into relieved laughter.
“Can you and your bleeding heart manage to stay here while I go get my stuff?” he asked.
“Don’t worry, that trick won’t work on me twice,” I said.
When he left, I rolled up my jeans and took my soaked boots off. The dressings on my feet were wet, and some blood was starting to seep through in a few spots. I remembered how hard I was kicking and noticed fresh bruises starting to bloom on my shins and calves. My thighs were sore too, I was pretty sure their big bony heads had done a number on them as well.
Ethan got back, and I hustled to pull down my pant legs. He got in and looked at me.
“Let’s see the feet.” He motioned for me to put my feet up on his lap. The damage was done; there was no point trying to hide it. His lips tightened when he saw the blood.
“It looks worse ’cause it’s wet,” I said in a vain attempt to soothe.
He cast me a skeptical look, and peeled up my pant legs. “You’re gonna be one big bruise,” he moaned, “I was right there, and it still happened.”
“There’s no way to have seen that coming,” my voice shook a little, “I just can’t believe Lorelei would do that to me.” Now that my anger had faded I was left with only hurt feelings. I guess I was starting to think of her