Chapter 9: Friends In Blue Places
Adam sighed as he walked along the pier. Not one of his favorite days; he got Canned today.
He smiled as he remembers the first time he heard that from Captain, telling him he's getting Canned. Worst part is, the old salty cogger STILL pulls that one on new guys and trainees.
Getting 'Canned' is a bit of a sick and twisted joke the Captain made up for canning duty of the job. It's a long and tedious session of packaging sardines, game fish, bait tackle, hooks, pretty much just boxing and bagging merchandise of the Fish-House.
Now he's off work, and it's sunset. He usually likes to hang out at around the pier before going home.
Adam blinked as he turned around, and looking at the rocks lined along into the sea to form a type of crescent. His eyes lead to the far-off buoy, bobbing and rocking on the water's surface. He dug into his pocket for a pair of quarters, and went to a nearby binocular telescope. He inserted the two quarters in, and peered into the eyeholes to gaze onto the buoy.
There's... A couple of seals... And... A naked couple – a man and a woman. Adam grinned as watched, the two of them kissing and cuddling as their small vessel waved back and forth. A few of the seals slipped off of the buoy and into the water.
As he watched, the two people snuggled for a few more seconds before picking up what looked like dark, wet blankets. They placed the sopping blankets on top of themselves, and seem to put them on like cloaks. Adam narrowed his eyes until the orange sunlight outlined the image of two seals instead of the people he was just seeing. The two aquatic canines nuzzled each other before slipping into the water, leaving the buoy bare empty
Adam blinked, and opened his mouth as he soon realized what those people... Did? Adam dug in his pocket for his iPhone, and logged onto the Internet. He brought up the Google app, and typed on the screen:
[people turning into seals]
SEARCH
The first link of the page is entitled 'Selkie – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia'. He tapped on it, and scanned through the first paragraph,
Selkies (also known as silkies or selchies) are mythological creatures found in Scottish, Irish, and Faroese folklore.[1] Similar creatures are described in the Icelandic traditions.[2] The word derives from earlier Scots selich, (from Old English seolh meaning seal).[3] Selkies are said to live as seals in the sea but shed their skin to become human on land. The legend is apparently most common in Orkney and Shetland[4] and is very similar to those of swan maidens.[5]
He scrolled down, and continued to scan through the text. He's not totally sure, only going by the supposed myths on the site, but from what he takes it, Selkies are people who have seal skins, and are seals when they put them on. Dang it, he wishes Merrick was here to explain this, he probably knows. For all Adam knows, those two... Creatures could've been merfolk.
Merrick would be REALLY helpful in this topic right now...
... Or maybe someone else... If she's even around right now.
Adam looked around, and then walked off...
---4 Years Ago---
"Wh-What???" Adam said, his whole body almost going numb from the shock as the statement hung in the air.
"Ya heard me, boy," Captain said in his gruff, rusty voice, "Yur Canned today," He then turned and started to walk off. Adam stumbled as he quickly ran up to in front of Captain.
"W-W-Wait, what do you mean?!" He asked frantically, "You JUST hired me a week ago! You can't just drop me off the dock like that!"
"I think I can, boy. Not git goin," He said with a growl as he stepped around him. Adam just stopped in front of him.
"W-Wait, stop!" Adam persisted, "I NEED this job! Please, I've ALWAYS wanted to work here, and I need the money!"
"Tough," Captain said, "Now outta the way b'fore I REALLY throw ya off the damn dock." Adam gapped and starred up in disbelief.
"What the hell is your problem?!" Adam yelled, getting very bold at the drop of a hat. The much larger, salty man glared down at Adam as he exhaled through his nostrils. All of a sudden, Adam feels like a sea horse trying to conquer a shark.
"Ya wanna know what MY problem is?!?" Captain said, "I got a fuckin hut out next to the FishHouse, full of tiny fish, tin containers, plastic boxes, hooks that'll butcher yur fingers if ya grab'm wrong! The fish are reeking in the heat, and the sun is fallin down every second I waste talkin to a yabby lil bitch like you. Now fer fucks sake, stop bitchin at me, and get yur skinny ass into the HUT!!" He bellowed.
Adam felt like is legs will break into dust if he even moved an inch, but that fat old yeller looks like he's about slam down on him like a beached whale. "... Y-Y-Yessir..." He managed to meep out. He then stepped around the Captain, and made his way to the main doorway. The open doors seem to be getting farther and farther away as he walked, as if trying to delay him long enough to invoke the wrath of the Captain.
"Hey, boy!" Came the call of the sea-crusted man.
"Y-Yessir- CAPtain???" Adam quipped at a higher pitch than he would have wanted anyone to hear, turning about – more like jumping – to face his boss.
"Ya talk ta me like that again," He said in a threatening tone, "And I'll string ya up like a bloody marlin." Adam nodded, shaking head-to-foot.
"Yes Captain..." With that, he strode out of the FishHouse before the damn doors can go any farther.
The Captain then walked across the FishHouse, and went into his office, and slammed then heavy, wooden door with the round glass dome of a window. If one would really press their ear onto the door, they could faintly hear Captain laughing his ass off.
Adam panted as he walked towards the small hut Captain indicated. God, that was terrifying, the way Captain yelled at him... He made him think that he was fired, for God's sake, and the way he talked to him... Dammit, how is he still on the job NOW??? He's almost too scared to even be here! Regardless, he trembled as he stepped onto the sand-vested wooden planks along the ground.
As he reached for the doorknob, he heard a rustling. He looked curiously as the rustling persisted. "Huh?" He looked aside, and walked over to the rocky crag next to the hut that lead to the beach.
He climbed down the sand-dusty rocks, stepped onto the sand itself. He blinked as he heard a light crunch noise. "Hm?" He looked down, and saw a large pile of thin, transparent, dried out sheet. "That the?" He squatted down and picked up the some of weird crusty object. It broke off lightly from itself, "... It looks like a snake shed its skin..." He took a step back, and examined the riddled membrane, "But what kind of snake is THIS?" He wondered, "This is a beach, not a rainforest... What would a snake THIS big be doing in a place like this?"
He looked around the sand for any tracks, and found a shallow trail from the pile. He stood up and followed the trail. He walked along the trail, and followed it to under the tall docks.
Adam spotted a large mound of kelp, and an elongated, white tail. "There it is!" Adam whispered to himself. He crept closer to the serpentine appendage, and crouched down to touch the scaled tail. Before he could touch it, the tail slithered into the pile of seaweed. Adam quickly started scooping up the bunches of kelp, throwing it aside, and seeing the snake's body slither away from him.
