There is pain. Pure unending agony screaming through every fiber of my body. I want to scream, but I find myself unable to as I swim through a black sea, thick like oil as it threatens to swallow me forever.

My body feels heavy as I slowly regain consciousness. The horrible pain I still feel devastates me as I realize it was not a nightmare. What happened? I grit my teeth and barely suppress a whimper as the hairs on the back of my neck rise. I turn to face the unknown person, instinct causing my arm to swing, spines outstretched to brush level against the person’s throat long before I’ve even processed what they look like. I find myself staring at a woman, her red hair pulled back off her face, her sea grass eyes widened slightly with shock. The strange coverings on her torso have me labeling her human, and with a slight glance around with my eyes, I discover myself to be in some sort of human structure. My eyebrows dip forward as I keep even contact with woman as I ponder whether to label her friend or foe. She maintains eye contact, but her eyes soften as her initial shock fades. She leans back, just out of striking range, and raises her hands in a would-be soothing gesture.

“You really shouldn’t move around too much or get yourself worked up, you’ll only make your injuries worse,” she whispers, her voice as soft and soothing as her eyes. Still, I curl my lip and give her a good view of my fangs. I have learned to watch my back and not to be too trusting. It is how I have survived. The woman, whether she’s stupid, brave, or both, seems to completely ignore my warnings and instead places her hand on my arm. I tense up, but, while her grip remains gentle, it is also firm as she refuses to allow me to pull away from her. “Just listen a moment,” she requests. “My name is Sophie and I promise you that no one here is going to hurt you. You’ve been injured really badly and if you don’t remember what happened, I will explain everything, but I need you to try and relax because you should be resting and staying upright has got to hurt a lot right now.”

She is right, admittedly. I am woozy and weak and tensing to stay upright is worsening the terrible pain sparking from my torso. I have been struggling to keep back tears of pain since I woke up.

“I'm going to reach over you,” Sophie says. “And I'm going to push a button on the other side of the bed. It’s going to make a noise and it’s going to move a little, but it’ll help make you a little more comfortable so try not to freak out,” she keeps her voice soft and her movements slow as she explains and carries out her intents. I keep my focus on her motions constantly, but I do not lash out. Like she said it would, the bed makes a strange noise, then begins to move. It stops when she pulls away. “Lean back,” she requests as she pushes on my shoulder so that my back hits the soft material of the bed. Now raised so that I can sit up, but relax enough to relieve some of the pain. “Better?” She asks.

I turn my head away from her, still keeping her in my peripheral vision, but refusing to acknowledge her question. Speaking to her requires trusting her, even just a little, and I am careful about who I give my trust to. Sophie lays a hand on my shoulder as she speaks. “It’s okay, you can talk to me; no one here is going to try to hurt you. Besides, you kind of already blew your chances of faking a lack of intelligence. You freaked out a little in the van while we were bringing you here for treatment, and you yelled at me a little.”

I frown, my brows furrowing. I have no memory of this or of anything that led to me waking up here. Still, if she’s right, then I suppose I am only being rude and stubborn, so I relent with a sigh that I instantly regret. Breathing is incredibly painful and I make that the first thing I voice since I cannot remember what happened. “Hurts to breathe. Why?” I manage to spit out between grit teeth.

Sophie’s expression softens. “You have some broken ribs,” she explains. “That’s what this is for.” She gently touches the strange, stiff fabric wrapped around my chest. “It’s a support belt to help keep everything in place while the bones heal. You have one for your hip as well.”

“I broke that too?”

“Yes. And you have a decent hole in your abdomen. It’s going to be a while before you can move from there,” she states.

I sigh and take a moment to take in my surroundings and appearance a little better. The belt around my waist is bigger and tighter than the one wrapping my ribs. Thick strands of white kelp… or a human equivalent, coat my waist, disappearing below the belt.

Then I notice my one hand, tucked inside some sort of material, a thin tube running into in and secured along my arm. I can feel it pricking me like a piece of broken glass. The tube runs up to a bag that is dripping liquid down inside me. Fear flares deep in my stomach at the unknown substance they are feeding into me. I move to grab the tube, tear it out, when Sophie catches my arm and holds it firmly.

“Stop. You need to leave that alone. It isn’t anything bad. You have lost a lot of blood and will probably get very dehydrated pretty fast. It’s not water, but it is to keep you hydrated. Please just promise not to play with it,” she requests as she tugs my free hand away from the tube. “Why don’t you tell me your name and what you remember? I’ll try to fill in as many blanks as possible.”

I eye the tube wearily before sighing and returning my gaze to her. “My name is Riley,” I say. “And I do not remember much of what happened. I was on the reef, and I will admit that I had let my guard down when perhaps I should not have. I was lounging about, put in a lazy mood by the warm waters. It has been a while since I have been this far south and it had an effect...” I trail off with a frown. “But I remember nothing after that. Perhaps I fell asleep and was attacked? What would do this damage? A bull shark perhaps? I doubt a salt-water crocodile since they would leave many punctures, not one hole and several broken bones… Maybe-”

“It was an anchor,” Sophie cuts me off. “You were crushed beneath the anchor of a fishing trawler.”

I feel the color bleed from my face as horror twists its way through me. “You are joking, right?”

A toss of red hair is my response. “Sorry, but that’s what happened. The captain was bringing the boat in for repairs when the chain snapped. He pulled the anchor up and when he saw the blood, he phoned us.”

I let my head hang, my bangs falling limply into my face. “Is it going to scar?”

“Probably,” Sophie replies.

I sigh. “Another one,” I sigh. “Another scar with a pathetic story. I will never live this one down.” I feel Sophie’s eyes wander over my torso and tail. I look too despite the fact that I am well aware of most, if not all, the scars that litter my body. The marred mark on my shoulder, a souvenir from a fight with a swordfish. The swordfish won. The fishing line white mark the only evidence of the time I slit my arm open while shark wrestling. The lacerations coating my shoulder blades from a run in with a box jellyfish. I have some nasty faded marks from when I was twelve; I was thrown from a current into a reef of fire coral. A patch of crushed in scales from being whipped by a giant stingray spine. A turtle bit me a year ago and the scar on my elbow is still pretty new. And of course, the most pathetic scar in my arsenal so far still embarrasses me to think about. I see Sophie notice it too, shiver as she runs her fingers over my left tail fin where a small chunk of fin is missing from the bottom.

“What happened here?” she asks.

I turn away, feel heat rise in my cheeks. “I, uh, was bitten by a dolphin when I was little,” I admit sheepishly.

A hand flies to cover Sophie’s mouth, a barely contained snort leaving her noise as she very obviously tries to hide her amusement. “A dolphin?” she repeats. “I didn’t realize they were quite so vicious.”

“It is not funny,” I protest. “I was like eight, nine tops, and an older cousin of mine had dared me to out-swim a spinner dolphin. There was a pod nearby so I dropped down, hoping to race with them, but… well I accidentally startled them and since they had calves; one retaliated.”

Sophie nods her understanding. “Seems like you keep getting yourself into trouble,” she comments.

“It is not like I go looking for it,” I retort. “It finds me.”

Again, Sophie nods, her eyes narrowed yet unfocused as she clearly allows her mind to wander. I glance around the room again, note the creepily eerie posters of dolphin brain and seal innards that litter the walls, cringe at the strange devices and pointy looking tools left out on smooth rock surfaces. A few of them are stained with dried blood and I cannot help but wonder if it is mine.

I lift a finger to point out the tools. “What are those?”

“Huh?” Sophie twists to look in the direction I am indicating. “Oh, those are some of Lewis’s medical tools; he must have forgotten to put them away.”

“He used them on me?”

“Yes. But don’t worry, he wouldn’t do anything that would harm you, I promise. He’s a doctor.”

“A doctor?” I repeat the alien word slowly. “What is that?”

“Oh, um, well a doctor is like… like a healer,” she tries to supply. “His job is heal… does that make any sense?”

“Yes,” I reply. “I just did not know your word. My aunt is a little bit of a healer too. She is not well sought out or anything, but she knows her way around different ocean plants and remedies. I would not qualify her for this or something else as extreme, but she can certainly take the sting from a fire coral cut or jellyfish burn, and I would not want anyone else plucking urchin thorns and treating the poisons,” I say, before snapping my mouth shut. I am not normally so open with strangers.

The woman appears not to notice my hesitation, or if she does, she does not comment on it, and simply moves on. “You do have a family out there then. I assumed so and have been meaning to ask about it. Riley, will they be looking for you? Because it’s going to be a few months at least before we can think about you going back to the ocean, so we should try to get into contact with them and let them know that you’re alright so they don’t think you dead and move on without you.”

I wave a hand and shake my head. “Do not bother. I was not with them, have not been for quite some time. They do not know I am here or that I was injured. No one is looking for me or worrying about me.”

“You aren’t with your family? Why not, did you get separated from them or something?”

“Or something,” I respond. “Look, it is fine. I have been on my own since I was thirteen, by choice. I do not really get along with my mother and leaving was seen as a pretty big betrayal. I am not really welcome home anymore.”

Sympathy swells in Sophie’s eyes. “You should be with your loved ones,” she whispers. “No one should be alone, Riley.”

Her words make me bristle, feel like I am on display and being judged. “I do not need a lecture. I have been fine on my own,” I protest.

Sophie glances over me pointedly. “I can see that.”

“Shut up,” I snap, watching her recoil at my words. “You do not even know me, yet you judge me like this. I made a decision for myself and-”

“Riley,” Sophie interrupts, holding up her hands in a show of mercy. “I didn’t mean to upset you, I wasn’t trying to pick a fight or make you mad. And I certainly wasn’t trying to judge you or lecture you, so if I’ve come across that way, I’m sorry. I just cannot imagine a child on her own like this. You must have to constantly be on guard, always watching your back. How you reacted when you woke up tells me that you are always willing to defend yourself first and ask questions later. I just think it must be a very taxing and lonely lifestyle is all.”

I allow my anger to leave me as I stare at my lap, processing her words. “I am sorry, I should not have snapped. But you have to understand that I chose this and I chose it because it was the only way for me to stay true to myself. My mother and I never saw eye to eye when I was younger. I have always had more energy than good for me and an unquenchable thirst to learn, explore, and try new things. I love the rush of trying something new and exciting, and I strive to the best I can in everything that I do. My mother did not agree. She believed that my behavior was inappropriate and she wanted me to be more lady-like and proper. She believed it wrong for me to enjoy wrestling, hunting, and adventure. She wanted me to learn things like healing and proper manners and she was oppressive in forcing me to follow her desires regardless of my own. I refused to believe that I should have to disregard everything I wanted; all my dreams, desires, who I am, simply to please my mother. And really that was the only way to make her happy,” I state with a shrug. “So I started sneaking out at night. I taught myself to hunt, defend myself, surf currents, and anything else I needed to know. The second I felt ready, I announce my intents and left, never looked back. I chose freedom and happiness and if never going back is the price I have to pay, then, while it hurts, then that is what I will do.” I wring my fingers and snort with an angry shake of my head. “Besides, I have done pretty well for myself and is she cannot be happy for me then that is her, ah-” I break off to clench my jaw and hug my chest as the pain flares up, burning through me and causing me to cry out.

Sophie places a hand on my shoulder and gently pushes me back against the bed. “You are still injured. Try to relax and get some rest. You’re going to need it. I’m going to get you some painkillers, if you want them, and while I do; press that button, it will lower the bed back down so you can lay down,” Sophie instructs. I glance at the button she is indicating and I press my thumb into it, marveling at how the simple action causes the whole surface to move and lower. I keep pressure on it until I am comfortably horizontal.

I watch Sophie return with something long, thin, and pointy, clutched between her fingers. Panic flares in me at the sight of it. “What is that?” I demand.

“Relax, Riley, it’s just some medication. It will take the pain away for a little while so you can try to get to sleep. You don’t have to have it, but I would recommend it.”

“Do I drink it?” I inquire.

Sophie shakes her head. “No, it’s an injection, that’s what the needle is for. All I’d do is poke it into your arm for a few seconds. It’ll pinch a little, but it shouldn’t hurt.”

I hesitate and chew on my lip. “It is safe?”

“Yes.”

“Have you had them before?”

“Yes.”

“Promise?”

“Riley,” Sophie sighs. “In the past hour or so, have I done anything that would indicate I wished you harm? If we wanted you dead, we’d have left you to bleed out on that beach.”

“I guess so,” I reply, seeing logic in her point. “Alright, but only if you think it will help.” I reluctantly offer her my arm.

Sophie leans over me and takes my arm in her hand, squeezing at the muscle near my shoulder. “You may want to look away,” she advises. “Watching a needle go in can make people woozy.” I take her advice and avert my gaze, gritting my teeth as I feel a sharp pressured sting in my arm. Seconds later it fades and Sophie’s shadow moves away from me. I look up to see her placing the needle on one of the rock-like surfaces that is level with her stomach. “It will take a few minutes to kick in and won’t last too long. I don’t know how much Lewis wants you to have, but I’ll talk to him about getting it in a drip for your I.V so that it lasts,” she says, glancing up to offer me a smile. “It’s getting a little late, so you should get to sleep. Will you be alright in here by yourself?”

I nod. “Yes.”

Sophie chews her lip. “Okay, well, do you see that,” she extends an arm to point above us. I tilt my head back and notice a strange looking rock attached to the ceiling. It has a single, large black eye fixed on us. “That’s called a camera. It’s a device that allows people to see what’s going on in a room they aren’t in. Someone will be monitoring it all night, so if you need anything at all, just wave an arm at it and someone will be in alright? Probably Lewis or his intern. You can trust them both, so don’t freak out when they come in. I’ll come back tomorrow morning, okay?”

“Alright,” I agree. I pause for a moment before adding “thank you. For everything.”

Sophie smiles as she hovers in the room’s entryway. “You're welcome. Oh and Riley?”

“Hmm?”

“I think your mother is a fool to have missed out on the chance to have a really great daughter,” she whispers. I am not given a chance to answer her before the room goes dark and she is gone.