Chapter No. 36 Two Witnesses

As if by instinct, the mermaids began circling the dolphin tank just under water, occasionally surfacing to twist and turn in the froth of their wakes. With each new cycle they exhibited more excitement and anticipation. Their enthusiasm caused other denizens of Marineland's back lot to become excited. Dolphins leapt from the water more exuberantly, California seals barked louder, and Orcas blew air with more violence than normal.

The morning sun was doing its best to burn off a fog that hung like a crepe over the Marineland complex. The moisture-laden air was crisp but still friendly, enough so to stimulate the morning song of sparrows.

Eric strolled casually out on the covered deck that sloped into the water. He tried to remain nonplussed but a slight smile invaded his lips. He knew that this was going to be one hell of a show.

"Er-ic," the male sung. "How are you to-day?"

"I'm fine," he said, "And, how are you?"

"We are sad. We are lone-ly for Mar-ga-reet."

"And, why is that?"

"We love Mar-ga-reet," both adults sang.

"I see."

All three mermaids stared at him, as if to indicate that his last statement confused them.

Eric could wait no longer. "Well, this is your lucky day," he said with a wide grin.

When Margaret appeared at the door to the deck, the mermaids jumped out of the water with an exuberance that startled Eric.

"Mar-ga-reet! Mar-ga-reet!" they screamed in unison before they rose out of the water on their flukes and rode back in the water, squealing and clicking profusely. They submerged and then propelled out of the water, twisting and turning in the air like Spinner Dolphins before diving deep into the depths.

"I think they're excited, Love."

"God," she cried. "I thought for a while there that I would never see my buddies again." Tears formed in her eyes. One flowed down her cheek.

Eric put his arm around her and kissed her cheek. "I'm as excited as they are, but I'm no good at stunts."

She laughed a laugh of true joy.

The mermaids eventually calmed down and lined up near Margaret at the side of the tank.

"Where were you, Mar-ga-reet?" the male asked. "We missed you."

"I missed you, too. I was captured by bad men . . . like the young one."

"Did the bad men hurt you?"

Margaret sighed; her eyes radiated sadness and fatigue. "Yes. Yes, they did."

The male tilted its head. "We are sor-ry. Bad men hurt us too."

"How?" Eric asked him.

"Men kill Sea Woo-man," he answered without expression.

"But, you have killed men."

"Man is food."

The words caused a shiver to run up Eric's spine.

"Does man taste better than, say, sea lion?" Eric asked.

His question caused a prolonged series of vocalizations between the two adults. They appeared to be arguing, if the loudness of their vocalizations was any indication.

Margaret turned to her husband with an expression that indicated both confusion and disgust. "Why are you asking them this?"

"Just curious," he said, sounding clinical.

"We do not un-der-stand what you mean," the male said.

"Do you prefer the flesh of man over the flesh of a sea lion."

"We like our food to be . . . what is your word . . . plump."

"I see. Would you like a plump man to eat?"

"Yes."

"How about a plump woman?"

A new cycle of vocalizations began.

"We have never ea-ten a woo-man," the male replied. "Are they the same as man?"

"I don't know. We cook the flesh of the animals we eat. The process tends to hide sex differences."

"We pre-fer to eat the flesh of the liv-ing," the male said.

"You like your meat rare," Eric said.

"Eric!" his wife said in a chiding voice.

"I'm only trying to be honest." He turned to the male. "I have a woman that I could feed you, but you probably wouldn't like her--she's too scrawny."

"We do not un-der-stand the re-fer-ence," the male said after a few whistles and a series of clicks.

"Scrawny--not plump."

That evoked a new series of whistles and clicks.

"Give her to us," the male said. "We will eat her."

"I wish," said Eric, with a half smile.

Margaret smiled at her buddies. "Eric is joking with you. He isn't going to give you anyone."

"A joke," the male intoned. "We are hav-ing trou-ble un-der-stan-ding the con-cept."

"I guess that means you don't have comedians," Eric said.

The male shook its head. "We do not find a-muse-ment in life."

"That's too bad," Eric said. "Life needs some amusement. It brings things into proper perspective."

The three alien faces stared at Eric with blank expressions. Humor was not part of their culture. Their emotions were rooted in more primitive survival skills.

###

Margaret waited patiently while the guard went through a complicated ritual of opening a cell door that looked more like a bank vault. The guard kept his eyes on a monitor displaying the inside of the cell as he opened the last latch.

"I'll have to lock the door behind you, ma'am."

She nodded and then stepped past him to enter the cell.

The cell wasn't at all what she expected. The room was relatively large, but it was spartan; a small wooden table and two chairs sat in the middle of the floor. A single bed rested against one wall. A simple toilet and sink occupied the far-left corner. The white walls were bare.

"Mrs. Hauptman." Marian greeted from one of the chairs. "So nice to see you again."

"May I sit down?" Margaret coldly asked, not caring for the woman's imperious airs.

"Of course," Marian replied, gesturing to the other chair.

Margaret sat down but she didn't relax back. "Are they treating you well, Mrs. Stram?"

Marian smiled. "Why, Mrs. Hauptman, I'm surprised that you would care about me after what I did to you."

"I'm surprised too. I still have a slight limp from that damn Boot thing."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Hauptman. I get carried away, sometimes."

Sometimes is an understatement.

"Be that as it may, I gave them specific instructions that you were to be given proper treatment--clean clothes, showers, proper food, and fresh air."

"Why are you doing this for me?"

Margaret averted her eyes for a several seconds and then looked Marian directly in the eyes. "Would you have allowed Dr. Meckler to skin me?"

"In a heartbeat."

The quick answer startled Margaret. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened in shock. "Do you hate me that much?"

"Why, Mrs. Hauptman. I don't hate you one bit. As a matter of fact, I admire you. You're a very capable scientist and you are courageous. But watching you being skinned would have been most exciting. We could have prolonged your agony for hours. It would have been magnificent!" Her eyes glistened with emotion.

Margaret swallowed hard. She continued staring at Marian but she was too overcome to talk. A tic developed in her left eye.

Marian tilted her head and flashed a brief smile. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Hauptman. I didn't mean to upset you."

Margaret leaned on the table so that she could be closer. "Let me ask you this, Mrs. Stram; did you enjoy torturing me?"

"It was a great pleasure, Mrs. Hauptman. Would you like to return the favor?"

"I'm not here to get even with you, Mrs. Stram," Margaret said with disgust showing in her eyes. "I don't derive pleasure from hurting people."

"That's unfortunate. I was looking forward to having you abuse me."

"Is that what you want: for me to abuse you?"

"It would be more exciting than what's happening to me here. I find this place impossibly boring. I would welcome physical suffering. At least it would remind me that I'm alive."

"Well," Margaret said. "If you really . . . I'll see what I can do."

"I would be in your debt, Mrs. Hauptman."

Margaret shook her head in disgust. She had no intention of making good on her promise, but she felt that it could loosen Marian up.

The two women stared at each other for several minutes. Margaret's stare revealed both disgust and amazement. Marian's had elements of amusement and superiority.

"You wasted your time trying to extract information about the creatures from me," Margaret said to break the silence.

"How is that, Mrs. Hauptman?"

"I tried to tell you the truth, but you wouldn't believe me. You hurt me instead. Now, I can tell you the truth. The creatures are not mammals; in fact they are unlike any known species. They have a larval stage. The males are identical to the females and both possess breasts. I know it sounds strange, but it's true. The creatures propagate with their tongues. In fact, the tongue is the only way you can tell them apart."

"Surely, Mrs. Hauptman, you can't be serious?"

Anger swept over Margaret. She sprang up. "I am serious! Why would I lie? I don't owe you anything."

Marian grinned and tilted her head. "No need to get upset, Mrs. Hauptman. I can see that you are telling me the truth; although, I still find it hard to accept. But, why are you giving me this information?"

"Because I want to know why you and your husband are going out of you way to capture the creatures. What value are they to you?"

Marian grinned again. "If you had me hanging by my heels, I might be inclined to tell you what you want to know."

"I don't have time for this," Margaret said with anger flashing in her eyes. "I told you that I don't want to hurt you."

"Wouldn't you like to pay me back for hurting you?"

"Look, damn it, I told you that I didn't. Why do you keep trying to anger me?"

"I'm not trying to anger you, Mrs. Hauptman. I'm trying to offer my body to you to do with as you wish."

Margaret stood up, pulled on her jacket to straighten it, calmly walked to the door, and knocked. She continued to stare at Marian with her jaw set hard. "Good day, Mrs. Stram."

Marian smiled a smile that mocked. "I will tell you this, Mrs. Hauptman: My husband and I biologically engineered those creatures. They are a marvelous example of transgenic research, wouldn't you say?"

Margaret's eyes flashed both surprise and doubt. "I find that hard to believe. What did you use as the host species?"

"We used an amphibian egg. It was a brilliant piece of work. Don't you agree?"

"If you did create those creatures, why are you so ignorant of their characteristics?"

"We lost them while they were still in the larval stage. We were unable to retrieve them."

Margaret shook her head and knocked on the cell door again. The door opened and she left. She wasted no time in walking to the Blazer, which was parked near the door to what appeared to be a small suburban office building.

"Well, Love," her husband greeted her as she slipped in the passenger seat. "How'd it go?"

She stared at her husband with a frown. "That woman is totally insane. I'm not sure, but I think her husband is too. If they get their hands on one of the creatures, they will subject it to a fate worse than death. I will fight like hell to prevent that from happening."

"That bad?"

"Listen to me! This is serious."

"I know it is, Love. I'm with you all the way on this one."

"She told me that she and her husband created those creatures from an amphibian egg using transgenic procedures."

"I seriously doubt it. Stram may be good, but he's not that good. Do you know how hard it would be to create a creature with characteristics matching . . . I can't even imagine."

She lowered her eyes. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Eric turned the ignition key and placed the Blazer in gear. He pulled out of the parking lot slowly. He knew that his wife was upset and he didn't want to exacerbate her emotional instability at this point.