Eva swam low, following a medium-sized shipping boat as it headed into the bay. She and Viola were pulled along by its wake and used it as cover. They stayed low in the water, not wanting to risk being spotted. Surfacing for air was far more risky than Eva would have liked but what choice did they have?

 

The humm of ships reverberated through the water, the sheer number was unknown, hidden by the murky water and lack of visibility. Hiding beneath the surface had a claustrophobic feeling, the depths rising shallower and shallower, forcing them closer to the dangerous surface.

 

Eva knew a little about the Panama Canal, she had done a project in school on it years ago but she was practically as lost as Viola. She had no map, trying to wrap her mind around water rather than land. It still hadn’t entirely clicked and the world she now lived in didn't entirely translate.

 

Still, she knew the basics. The locks on either side of the massive artificial lake. The wait times for boats were extreme and judging by all the boats around them that hadn’t changed. Yet like a bicycle, they could weave their way through and hopefully slip through the locks without issue.

 

The first problem was just figuring out where the hell they were supposed to go. Following a boat seemed like the best option.

 

There was something oddly unnerving about seeing dozens of boats from the underside. Floating metal giants with spinning blades and loud noises, it was no wonder Viola had no love for human machines. Still, the Panama Canal was a wonder of engineering, and consistently falling apart. As these things went.

 

The water turned brackish as they continued to follow the boat. They passed under a large bridge and followed a fork in the river. Viola clicked nervously as two small boats approached and hooked themselves onto the larger one to help steer.

 

Eva reached out and took Viola’s hand as they swam. She didn't have the songs to explain what was going on but she could at least communicate that it was alright. Viola stuck close and held her hand tight. The end of this river came into view, the small narrow locks the gate through.

 

She missed being able to take a deep breath to calm herself, the dark small space did not look particularly inviting. Any semblance of naturalness was gone with its metal and concrete. The tall doors parted to allow the smaller boats to guide the large one in.

 

Eva did not wait to be left behind. Falling back to swim with the smaller boat as they slipped into the locks themselves. The large metal doors closed behind them with eerie silence. Once again they were trapped, this time though they just needed to get to the other side.

 

Viola whistled quietly and Eva pressed a finger to her lips, shushing her. They really couldn't risk getting noticed. Instead, she brought Viola’s hand to her lips and kissed it. Viola offered an uncomfortable smile and continued looking around.

 

The water rose too slowly for them to really notice as the next lock opened, flooding this one and raising the boat up. The water became more and more brackish, freshwater flowing down from the artificial lake and replacing the salt water. The water itself was somewhat… gross. Not necessarily polluted but this was effectively a highway but for boats, it was certainly not clean.

 

Whales couldn't really survive in fresh water mostly because of the lack of food and space, and the greater risk of infection. Eva however was beginning to feel another issue. The lack of salinity made her less buoyant, it was more work to keep herself afloat. 

 

Still, under these circumstances, none of these things were too much of a problem since they would not be sticking around. They had ensured they were full and rested before beginning this part of their trip so they had endurance to spare.

 

Still, as the boat moved to the next lock and they followed Eva couldn't help the feeling of nervous energy. Until they made it to the Pacific they would be trapped, even in a massive lake there was only so much space. If Talbot tracked them here before they could get through then they would be sitting ducks. There was probably a more accurate metaphor but sitting orcas didn't sound right and Eva was too nervous to concentrate.

 

The third lock filled with freshwater, raising the boat to lake level as the doors opened. Eva wasted no time tugging Viola forward as the boat excited the lock, there was no way in hell she would risk getting them stuck in there.

 

Swimming out into the lake was a strange relief. No longer being so enclosed was the mermaid equivalent of a breath of fresh air. Still, the freshwater was strange, to think that something so utterly important to humans was strange to her was… Eva wasn't sure but it tugged on the grief in her chest.

 

They followed the boat still though now with more distance. By the end of this, the rumbling noise was going to give her a headache. The lake itself was not a simple one, being man-made it was… weird. Islands rose from all over which the boats were forced to navigate. There was plenty of life, though neither Eva nor Viola made any effort to catch the occasional fish that swam into view.

 

They swam in silence, hand in hand, though it certainly was not silent. They noticed more and more and more boats. Dozens of them ranging from large to truly massive things. And the noise, the noise was uncomfortable, it ached at her skull. Too many vibrations that her body was not used to, nor should have to experience constantly.

 

Finally, they had crossed the lake however the ship they had been following now seemed to be waiting rather than going forward. It was an uncomfortable choice she had to make. Did they wait with this ship but spend far more time here or did they risk going forward to try and find the way themselves?

 

As much as she preferred the safer option they couldn't afford to spend more time here, especially not with how much worse the sound seemed to be affecting Viola. She was visibly uncomfortable though doing her best to hide it, wincing whenever a large boat passed.

 

They couldn’t wait around.

 

Eva whistled for them to go and Viola eagerly nodded. The only problem was where the hell were they supposed to go?

 

She faintly heard Viola’s clicks over the rumble of engines but Viola just shook her head. It was too loud for her to echolocate properly.

 

Eva pointed to the surface. If they couldn't see underwater then they would have to surface, they did need to take a breath soon anyway.

 

Viola reluctantly nodded and they swam towards the surface. Staying close to the boat for cover and keeping their heads low, just enough to breathe and look.

 

“Where?” Viola asked.

 

The ships were far more impressive above water. Hundreds of large colourful crates covered many decks. There was far more variety above the water than below.

 

The layout of the lake was just as confusing above water. Too many loops and passages to easily determine where to go next. Their only option was… 

 

“There!” Eva exclaimed, pointing to where a large ship was turning around a bend.

 

Viola bit back a smile as Eva’s eyes went wide with how loud she had been.

 

“Shit, let's go,” she grumbled, sucking in a breath and diving deeper, a faint chuckle reaching her before she submerged.

 

Eva swam, her eyes peeled for any sign of where to go. The sounds of engines grew louder, a sign she was probably going in the right direction.

 

Viola whistled in alarm and Eva glanced back to see the bow of a ship quickly approaching from behind. Viola shot forward with a burst of speed and collided with her, sending them tumbling out of the way of a collision. 

 

Eva clung to Viola, her heart pounding with adrenaline. She had almost been hit by a boat. It took her a second to realize why Viola was pulling them after the boat, their guide to the next locks.

 

Eva whistled quietly and nuzzled against Viola, doing her best to show her thanks as she shakily began to swim. 

 

The boat turned around an island and soon the lake narrowed into a passage to the locks beyond. The river snaked along, eventually passing a small town as another river from the north merged with the one they followed.

 

The river straightened out as they continued. Following this massive boat, Eva tried to calm her heart down.

 

They passed under a bridge and followed a fork in the river. Around a bend, they arrived at the next locks. These ones were far bigger than the previous ones. Eva vaguely remembered something about new locks having been built, that explained the forks in the rivers.

 

The massive boat slowed and the ritual repeated, two small tug boats attaching themselves and leading the boat into the lock itself as Eva and Viola followed. The locks were just as dank and dirty as the previous ones. She wished for the view at the surface, it would have been far more interesting than dark cloudy water.

 

They waited as the water drained and they swam to the next lock. No one noticed them, no shouts were heard. Everyone was too preoccupied with their work to be searching the lock for mermaids.

 

Eva was practically vibrating with excitement. They were almost there. Sure the journey on the other side would be far longer but it would be closer to familiar territory for Viola and eventually for her. Even if she could never really go home she needed to at least see it from the sea.

 

They swam to the other end ahead of the ship, one more lock, the only thing blocking them from the home stretch. The culmination of over two weeks of swimming on top of everything else they had faced. Of course it couldn’t be so easy.

 

Eva only realized that the ship wasn’t following too late as the locks closed on the side they had swam through trapping them in. For a moment Eva simply willed herself to believe that everything was fine, that it was just a simple malfunction. But as the rapid gunshots erupted that delusion was shattered, there was no question it was Talbot.

 

Viola whistled with panic, clutching her hands to her ears to drown out the noise. Eva did the same, the noise reverberating through the lock. It was massive but it was still enclosed with concrete and metal.

 

They had swam right into some kind of trap. Stuck in a reinforced pool and between two other reinforced pools. Yet Talbot wasn’t shooting at them. No bullets hit the water and if he wanted them dead guns certainly wouldn’t have been the choice with them in the water.

 

Talbot had caught them. Simply waiting for them to follow the path they had no choice but to follow. How the hell had he known? What could they do now?

 

Eva surfaced. Not bothering to conceal herself. They needed to move fast while Talbot was… doing whatever. Above the surface, she could hear the gunshots more clearly along with cries of alarm. Several dead workers lay around the docks, Talbot was massacring them.

 

Soldiers dressed in all black moved with precision. Familiar unfriendly uniforms that Eva would have been more than happy to never see again. Others wore large robes, their faces covered by hoods.

 

“Talbot,” Villa growled beside her.

 

Leading the small procession of robed figures was Trent Talbot himself. He limped onto the lock gates, using the rail to support himself. He was… thinner than the last time Eva had seen him… and the eyepatch was new.

 

“Viola, Ms. Diaz. You’re gonna give me what I want,” he snarled. His voice was hollow, a mad glint in his eye. As scary as Talbot had been before he had at least worn a mask of sanity. The man they were facing now was far far worse.