"What?"
She raised her eyebrows at me, but I just glared and forced myself to get between the gun and Mellac. The guy might be insanely aggressive and dangerous, but that's what she signed up for when she bought the damn mer! Putting my arms out to either side, I straightened my back and glared.
"You aren't killing him. Sell him to somewhere else, you can easily make a good amount of your money back."
Sure, I knew he needed to stay with Callem for his younger brother to even have a chance at surviving, but if Mellac was killed, then I had no idea how I was going to save Callem. Mrs. Smith thankfully seemed to think about what I said... right before her phone rang. I watched her put the safety on the gun and roll her eyes before flicking the phone open and pressing it to her ear.
"Curator Smith, how can I help you?"
"Yes, I have both right now."
"Actually, yes. One is for sale."
"It is because he is extremely aggressive and I just don't have the equipment to deal with it."
"No, I will not be responsible for transport."
Okay, this is my chance.
"I-I can take him."
She eyed me warily.
"How?"
"You have a transport crate, right? Even an older one will be fine and fit in the back of my truck."
She slowly nodded.
"Well, he's knocked out right now so we can just load him up, then I'll take him straight to wherever he needs to go... Of course a bit of help with gas would be nice, though."
"Hmm... alright. I have a lock you can use and we have a spare large long crate that should fit in your truck."
I turned and went back to lift Jay, and with a lot of effort managed to get him into my arms while she continued speaking on the phone about getting payment details and what not. I mouthed that I was taking him out to my truck first, and she just nodded before turning her back on me and continuing her conversation.
Hmph!
It took a few minutes to get Jayson into my truck in the back lot, mainly because he seriously needed to stop working out twice a week. He might not be as ripped as Mellac, but the guy was a bag of muscles none the less. When he was finally lying down in the backseat, I went around and pulled away the snap-on fabric I kept over the truck bed to keep it from retaining water when it rained. It would suck for Mellac to be back there in this heat, but at least he would get out of this place. Not that I wanted to leave Callem, but getting one out right now was better than none.
By the time I came back to the keeper area, her two guards were carrying out the crate, Mellac already loaded up inside. It was kind of a dog crate build but specifically for aquatic mammals... basically, seals. That forced him to be lying down in the crate, which really did not give him much room to move and definitely not sit up, but he'd deal. He was asleep right then anyway. Mrs. Smith walked over to me as her men loaded Mellac up in the back of my truck, then fastened the black cover over it.
Thank god I had an air conditioner installed in there with a grant from the research facility since I am the main person bringing in larger specimens... or at least transporting them if we don't have a truck available.
"He's going to Cal-Waves. They are three hours north and will be expecting you."
I nodded, mentally cursing that stupid facility out.
"Got it. Take care of Callem and call me if he stops eating again."
She nodded and turned, stalking away with her two guards on her heels.
I'm so sorry, Callem, please wait for me.
While she walked away, I climbed into the cab of my truck and got the thing started, cranking the air conditioning as well as flipping the button to signal the one in the back to start up. I forced myself to drive the speed limit out of the facility, but as soon as I was a few streets away, I stopped in a Dairy Queen parking lot and jumped out after grabbing one of my spare outfits from the backseat. When one worked around or in water for a living, he or she tended to keep plenty of clean clothes to change into.
I heard Mellac growling in the back as I moved closer, so he was obviously coming around, if not already fully awake by then. That woman really wasn't smart to shoot them again after they had already been tranquilized the previous day. The drug only worked so well when repeatedly given. Unsnapping the cover, I pulled it back a tiny bit so I could see him... glaring at me.
"Oh, don't give me that look."
He hissed and flared the gills around his neck.
"Where is my brother?"
"He's back at the park."
"What?"
I lifted my finger to my lips and shushed him quickly before whisper-shouting back.
"Don't shout. If they find you, they'll take you back."
"Good."
"No. Not good. If you're locked up, you can't help me figure out how to get Callem out."
I knew he wasn't happy, but he did finally let his gills close and stopped growling.
"Here, you need to put these on. People don't just walk around in public naked."
I slipped the clothing through the crate's bars and pursed my lips as he slowly took them.
Man, if looks could kill, I'd have been dead a while ago.
Well, at least he knew how to get dressed and was ready in a few minutes. I fished the key from my back pocket and unlocked the crate once he was done and removed the padlock so he could climb out. My body was on high alert in case he tried to attack, but all he did was stare down at me.
"How do we get my brother back?"
"I'm not sure yet, but come on, it's seriously hot out here and I need something to stay awake."
He tilted his head but followed me around to the passenger's side, and when I opened the door, gesturing him inside, he actually did exactly as asked.
"Here, you need to put this across your chest."
I hopped up onto the step-bar, which was there to help short peopleâGo ahead and laughâget inside, then reached for the seat belt. He wasn't a fan, but when was he ever a fan of anything? Exactly. When I snapped the belt in, he growled, but I just ignored it and hopped down, shutting the door before running over to my side and climbing in.
"Okay, we're just gonna stop here so I can getâ"
"Why is the other human here?"
Rude much?
"He's here because he took a dart for you and is nowhere near as strong as you in terms of resistance to the drug."
Mellac actually looked surprised when he turned to me.
"He... took a dart?"
"Yes, as in, when you got shot the first time, he moved in front of it and stopped you from being put to sleep. Don't you remember?"
He rested back in his seat slowly and licked his lips in thought.
"I... do not remember exactly."
"Well, he did. You got shot with a dart a few minutes later anyways, but at least he tried."
Mellac nodded, though he didn't seem to have really been focusing on what I had been saying.
Oh well, at least he isn't attacking him.
I moved the car toward the drive-thru of the Baskin-Robbins and rolled down my window, glancing sideways at Mellac as we waited in line.
"Don't say anything when I talk to this guy, okay?"
His gaze was glued to his window so I figured that meant he wasn't interested in what I was going to do, good.
"What can I get you, sir?"
My attention turned back to the now-open serving window to the drive-thru.
"Uhm, can I just have a vanilla ice cream cone please?"
The guy smiled and nodded as I reached up to hand him my money. Not a moment later, I had my ice cream and change.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. Have a good day, sir."
I nodded and rolled up my window as I pulled forward into a parking space to eat. It had been a seriously long time since I'd had an ice cream cone so I was definitely going to savor this one before we went back for Callem. I needed the sugar pretty badly anyway, so might as well enjoy it. I lapped at it hungrily as Mellac finally turned to look at what I was doing.
"Why are you licking mating fluid, human?"
"Pfft!"
Awwwww, damn it! I just spit ice cream all over my dashboard!
Pouting, I snapped my attention to Mellac while trying to lick off some of the ice cream dribbling down my chin.
"What the hell was that?"
His eyes were wide as he replied calmly.
"I... just wondered why you were licking mating fluid. Surely it does not taste very good. Are you unable to obtain real food?"
My eyebrow twitched as I held out the ice cream to him and he quickly shied away.
"It's milk from a cow."
"A... cow?"
"Yes, they go moo and squirt out white liquid we humans like to drink."
He looked quite disgusted as I nudged the thing closer.
"Do not touch me with that weird fluid."
"Oh come on, you'll like it, I bet."
A grunt from the back made us both forget about my taunting and look toward a slowly awakening Jay.
"Hey, man, welcome back."
He moaned and pushed an arm over his eyes, no doubt bothered by the afternoon sun. Mellac seemed busy staring so I smirked and sat back in my seat, swiping a finger into the ice cream before reaching over and shoving it into Mellac's mouth. On a smarter note, I realize now that shoving random 'mating fluid' into a very emotionally unstable merman's mouth wasn't the best idea, but the response was just priceless. Well, at first he snarled and lunged, but that beautiful seat belt kept me from getting hurt by him.
Always wear your seat belt, kids. Or strap in any merman who rides along with you.
When he realized he wasn't getting me, he began opening and closing his mouth and running his tongue along his lips like a dog would who had peanut butter stuck to the roof of its mouth. His actions slowed after a minute, a look on his face that I couldn't quite read. Well, that wasn't exactly true. It just had so many emotions mixed together that it was obvious he didn't understand what he wanted to say just yet. Leaving him to his thoughts, I turned back to Jay and grinned.
"So, ideas on breaking Callem out?"
He let one eye peek out from beneath his arm and grumbled, "Sleep."
"I wish. But no, we need a plan, and fast. Callem isn't going to recover in that stupid park."
"Yeah. Bah, my head hurts, and it feels like someone bit my arm."
About that... how do I tell him that Mellac got annoyed and hungry, thus wanting a snack?
"Oh yeah, we uh, have less than three hours before Mellac is expected at Cal-Wave."
"Oh, perfect. So three hours to get Callem out and disappear then."
"Uh, yeah, sounds about right."
Feeling something slip from my hand, I looked over to see Mellac nudging his nose into my ice cream cone. I thought he would just give it back when he felt the chill of it on his skin, but instead, he flared his gills and lunged... right at my poor treat. The attack splattered ice cream all over the seat and armrest, though most of it was now on his face and mouth.
"Heh."
Hearing Jay snicker made me grin, but I didn't dare laugh out loud at the mer in fear of my life ending. Mellac looked like he was trying to attack the ice cream on his face as he tilted his head back and bared his teeth, biting at the air.
That's not how you eat anything, Mellac.
"Here, watch."
I reached for the cone, but he quickly yanked it away and hissed.
"Geez. I was just gonna show you how to eat it. Look, use your tongue and lick it like I was, then you can eat the cone in your hand."
He began to lick awkwardly at the ice cream still left, nuzzling his nose against it several times while ignoring what was all over his face for now.
Okay, I'm done trying to teach him. He can do whatever he wants. Enjoy my mating fluid.
I turned my attention back to Jay, who was now sitting up and buckling himself into a seat belt.
"I honestly don't think we're going to be able to get in there again, especially if we don't show up with Mellac at Cal-Wave soon."
That's not what I wanted to hear.
"However, I think Mellac can."
Oh sure, send the homicidal merman into the lion's den. Hint, the lions will die.
"Um... I just barely managed to get him out of there with his life."
"Yeah, but if you put a hat on him, they won't think anything of him. He looks much more normal not butt-naked and snarling."
True.
"Okay. So we just need to tell him what to do. They probably aren't going to lock the keeper area since Callem isn't doing well. People will likely be going in and out," I replied, a slight dash of hope making its way into my voice.
"Yeah, okay. And that lock on the door was unlocked, too."
"Oh hey."
I reached into my pocket for the cage key and held it up.
"I think she gave me a master key for the padlocks. It has an M on it. So, wanna hope and pray that it is?"
Jayson smirked and nodded, grabbing the key before offering it to Mellac, who was rather busy crunching through the ice cream cone with content hums.
"Mellac. Have you been listening to us?" I questioned calmly.
He paused after finishing the last of the cone and licked his lips.
"Yes."
"Alright, good. We are going to drop you off at the front of the park. The place you were held is to the right, just keep walking the path until you come to it."
He nodded, much more attentive now that he wasn't inhaling my treat.
"Once there, hop over the rope when no one is looking and go to the back of the gray building. The door should be open, if not..."
I grabbed the key back from Jay and held it out to Mellac.
"You can use this. You put it in the lock and turn it to the right, then pull. It should open just like how I let you out of the cage in the back. If it doesn't work, I suppose just try to break in."
He nodded again while licking his right wrist and rubbing it along his ice cream-smudged face.
Cat much?
"Okay. Once you're inside, just use the key on the other lock, if it's on. If not, just open the cage by pushing the bars, hard. After that, it's all you in getting Callem out."
"Here."
Jayson tossed my beach bag from the back into Mellac's lap that held my other spare set of clothing.
"Ah, good idea. Get Callem dressed and calmly make your way back to the entrance where I dropped you off."
Mellac grabbed the bag and glanced inside, then back up at me.
"I understand."
Getting my truck back onto the road, I sped toward the park with my heart beating overtime with nerves.
"There are no more chances after this, Mellac. For your brother's sake, please be careful."
He grunted, remaining quiet otherwise until I pulled my truck into the very busy parking lot. Hopefully, they didn't have Callem on display right then, he was in no condition to be. Considering the amount of disappointed people I saw walking out of the main gates, I'd bet that he wasn't.
"Alright, it's all up to you now. Err, wait a second..."
He was just getting out when he paused and looked back at me.
"Here."
Grabbing a bottle of water, I kept on the floor, I quickly opened it after pulling my shirt off and soaked the fabric, then leaned forward, holding the shirt out to him.
"Clean off your face, it's all white from the ice cream."
He seemed annoyed but did as told, tossing my shirt on the floor when finished.
"Okay, and here, put these on."
His patience was definitely running thin, but I ignored the nasty glare he was now giving me while handing him my shoes and a spare hat I left on my dashboard.
"The shoes will feel weird, but they should be tight enough to not make you trip or anything."
Mellac put everything on, looking none-too-happy, but at least he looked like an angry tourist instead of an angry murderous merman.
"Okay. Good luck, Mellac. We'll be right here when you get back with your brother."
Jayson nodded behind me.
"Yeah, man, come back safe."
I saw Mellac eye Jay in confusion for a moment, but then he was slamming the truck door shut and stalking toward the water park.
"God help him."
"God help them if they try to stop him."
"Touché."