Ex-Isle by Peter Clines (electronic reader TXT) 📕

St. George elbowed him.

The merman rolled his shoulders. “Are you telling me I wouldn’t know the Mighty Dragon if I saw him?”

“No,” said Hussein, “but I am beginning to wonder if he would know you.”

The murmurs had grown into whispers, in a range of tones. Some echoed with awe and disbelief. Others were sharp and heated.

Nautilus glared down at the Middle Eastern man. “How dare you…”

“You told everyone at the meeting you knew St. George was a fake because he could fly,” interrupted Barry.

The merman refocused his glare. “What of it?”

“So how’d you two hang out?” asked Barry. “He was in LA, you were in Hawaii, right? He couldn’t fly, so did you just swim back and forth all the time?”

Eliza’s snarl faded. Her stare lost some of its certainty as it shifted over to Nautilus.

“No one has ever seen the mainland except you,” said Hussein. “No one has seen any signs of the bombs except you. No one alive, anyway.”

The words hung in the air.

“We’ve seen it,” said St. George.

“I’ve seen most of the planet,” said Barry. “There’s only been one nuclear detonation. Honolulu. Christmas Eve 2009. That’s it. Which is kind of amazing, really, when you think about it.”

Nautilus looked at Hussein, then Devon, and his eyes settled on Eliza. “You all know what it’s like out there.”

“No,” Hussein said. “None of us do. We know what you tell us it is like. For years you have asked us to have blind faith that you are telling us the truth.” He took a deep breath. “Why don’t we just go look?”

The merman took a deep breath of his own. His barrel chest swelled up, then eased down. “Hussein,” he said, “I understand your frustration. I do. But we cannot risk lives going to shore. The journey will take days. The radiation will be dangerous.”

“But it’d be the truth,” said Devon. “We’d all know for sure.”

Nautilus looked at each of them again, then at Barry and St. George. His shoulders slumped. “Then we’ll do it,” he sighed. “If you need the assurance that badly, we’ll go to the mainland. To Los Angeles.”

Hussein breathed a sigh of relief. “Really?”

“Of course,” said Nautilus. He took another breath. “If it’s what needs to happen for you to trust me again, to believe in Lemuria, then that’s what we’ll do. We could take the Sushi Express. It’s still solid, yes?”

Eliza nodded. “It is. But how will we power it?”

“I can push,” said Nautilus. “It wouldn’t be hard.”

“The Sushi Express?” murmured St. George.

“I think it’s one of the smaller yachts,” said Barry. “I remember it from one of the flybys I did.”

“We can take as many people as you want, although…” The merman paused. His tight smile faded. “We should warn them of the risk. Perhaps people with families should not come.”

“No,” said Devon. “I’m asking the question. It’s only fair I go.” He looked at Ash in the cage. “I want to do this for my son.”

St. George cleared his throat. “And what about us?” he said. “Maybe we should go back, too?”

Nautilus ignored him. “Each mate should pick a few people to come,” the merman said. “If our goal’s to assure as many people as possible, to calm as many doubts, we should have a larger pool of witnesses. Eliza, you could pick two or three other guards.”

The doubt that had lingered on the big woman’s face was gone. She nodded and shifted her weight, leaning closer to Nautilus.

“Seriously,” said Barry, “I would love to leave.”

“There’s only one favor in return, Hussein,” said the merman.

“Yes?”

“The imaginary radiation doesn’t scare me at all,” Barry added.

“Trust me for now,” said Nautilus. “If I’m right, if what I’ve told you all these years is true, these two men are liars. Liars who brought an ex onto our home. Don’t help them escape until you’re sure you know the truth.”

Hussein’s eyes went wide. “I would never…”

Nautilus tapped his ears. “I heard you,” he said. “I hear everything. You know that.”

“You don’t hear everything,” murmured Barry, “or you would’ve smacked me a couple times now.”

“I was not—,” Hussein began.

“You’ve done nothing but talk,” said Nautilus. “I don’t blame you for wanting to know the truth. I never considered how hard it is for all of you. I…I’m sorry.” He reached out a hand, hesitated, then set it down on the Middle Eastern man’s shoulder.

Hussein nodded and let out a breath. “You have kept us safe this long,” he said. “I have my doubts, but I can trust you until I see Los Angeles with my own eyes.”

“Thank you. Once you’re all convinced, we can figure out what to do with these two.”

On the deck, Mitchel groaned and shifted his arms.

“That’s it?” St. George said. “Fifteen minutes ago he was a dictator, now you’re listening to him?”

“He has heard our concerns,” said Hussein, “and he is going to address them.” The Middle Eastern man winked at St. George.

“He’s got your kid locked in a cage,” Barry said to Devon.

“Just to keep you in,” said the bald man. “He’s tough. He can take it. Right, Ash?”

Ash didn’t look as sure, but he nodded.

“Eliza,” said Nautilus with a glance at the groaning man, “make sure the guards continue to keep a close eye on them. The cage system is still in effect. Mitchel can stay on guard duty for now, but we’ll be discussing his indiscretions in the very near future. Make sure he understands.”

“Of course.”

Hussein and Devon headed back the way they’d come as Mitchel pushed himself to his knees. Eliza slapped the man on the back of the head, a move that reminded St. George of Billie Carter, and dragged him to his feet. She prodded him back to his post.

Nautilus waited by the cage until they were gone. Then he stepped closer and looked at St. George and Barry through the cage bars. “I want you to remember,” he said, “I gave you a way out. I’m sorry it came to this. I truly am.