The Flying Mermaid by Eule Grey

The Flying Mermaid by Eule Grey

Author:Eule Grey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Eule Grey
Published: 2022-05-29T00:00:00+00:00


8

Still reading? Maybe ex-leader isn’t a good name either. Too aggressive. I’m sure you’ll agree that we’ve seen enough aggression for a lifetime. I don’t want to create more. How about using the title ‘overseer’? I sincerely hope you’re seeing inside, as well as skimming the surface.

When the first mermaid left the factory, we cheered as loudly as if she was off to the moon. It was that big an occasion. The morning was bright and sunny, with birds singing and the echoes of waves in the breeze.

I wish I could say by then I’d worked out what was going on. Sadly, it wasn’t so. It was only during my last minutes in Craw that the pieces of the complex jigsaw slotted together—but I’m getting ahead of myself, dear overseer.

Adu and I had been told to go outside and get some fresh air, and so it was, we missed the preparations. We gladly legged it out the back and spent the afternoon braiding our hair into tentacles and teaching Bluebell to roll onto her back and move her paws as if riding a bike. There was a stream nearby, and some trees, and we had made a swing from some rope. A holiday mood was in the buds on branches and the sweet smell of the heathers. With my besties close, I was happy.

When the great doors at the back of the factory began rolling upwards, Adu and I screamed. Bluebell jumped into the basket and hid herself under the blanket. We’d never seen such a sight before or known the factory was capable of anything like that.

The big reveal was a noisy and slow process. Workers stepped from the factory and out into sunshine. Some with children and older relatives, others with arms linked. I noticed that some brushed tears from their eyes, but I explained it away with over-bright sunshine.

A truck appeared, towing a long carriage like a train. After a complicated set of manoeuvres, Salty-Starfish was lifted onto the carriage and securely attached. Another truck brought up the rear. Engraved on the sides of the vehicles and the carriage was my mother’s mermaid symbol as guardian of the city.

Ma jingled a set of keys. “I’ll sit up front, in case of trouble. Peta will drive behind in the car.”

Eln stepped in immediately. “No, Arker. It’s gotten too risky. Frian will drive. You need to stay here with your family. Nobody should split up now. It’s too late for that.”

My mother wouldn’t agree. “As guardian, I’m guaranteed passage, and they can’t argue with that. They’ll let us through—the fools think the money for the statues is coming to them. Once past the guards, I’ll slip out and find Peta. Then we’ll drive back.”

Except for the sky, beach, and sea, our city is surrounded by steep mountains that cannot be crossed. The sea was guarded by guard ships. There’s only one way in and out of Craw and that’s through the Gatehouse. Either by road, bridge, or by train, the passenger had to exit or enter via our ancient monument.



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