I am not a good swimmer. I never have been, as it was never something that Mother felt necessary to train me in. There were times as a child, Katheryn and I would run off to local ponds and dive into their murky waters, but it was all just for fun. Now, for once, I was thrusting myself through the jagged water as though my life depended on it. Because as much as I hated to admit it, it did.

I tried to think nothing of the aquatic predator, drawing closer every second as I flailed pathetically in the cold water, desperate to make an escape before becoming food, and to my surprise, I made it. I didn’t know whether to thank adrenaline or pure luck for my arrival on the rough shore. I choked up some water and took a moment to lie on the gravel beach before looking behind me to see what I was absolutely dreading.

The shark had caught up to Arlen. He let out a muffled shriek as the creatures jaws lodged into his lower right calf and pulled him deeper into the water he was so close to escaping. I screamed unsure of what else to do, until I saw pirate themed props lying around the shore. The fear and urgency allowed me to lift a metal oar off its display with ease and jump back into the water, flailing it like a blunt weapon. I came upon the two, and began hitting the shark with everything I had left in me. The water blinded me as I thrust it, and I was in such a shock I didn’t remember to breathe, until everything went black.

“Wake up,” a voice croaked. My eyes began to peel open and I saw Arlen lying to my side on the shore. “Good morning,” he offered, though the sarcasm was clear, punctuated by the dark sky. He was still drenched, and I quickly noticed that so was I. There was a thin trail of blood on the beach that lead to his calf, though he was now using his shirt as a makeshift bandage. His shirt which I noticed he was now not wearing. Though, seeing him now, it seemed a crime he wore it at all. Not that that’s anything I should be thinking. I immediately averted my eyes, fearing he would see my cheeks turn red at something so frightfully improper. He laughed, “I had to bandage it somehow,”

I began to laugh, then spit up some more water into the sand. I groaned. “What happened?”

“Your attack, though brave, was unfortunately incredibly uneffective, and put both of us in danger. However, despite that, it did offer a valuable distraction. The shark chose your oar to use as a chew toy rather than my leg, and it gave just enough of a window for me to paddle us both to safety,” He explained, twisting a lock of my soaking blonde hair that had by now all fallen from my braid.

“Thank you,” I said softly. “Sorry, to put us both in danger,”

He stared at me, “It’s alright,” he paused, “Like I said, it worked out in the end. However, I am afraid that I have more bad news,”

My stomach dropped. “What?”

“We still haven’t found the next clue, and our friend Jaws is still keeping avid watch,” He gestured to the now blood infested water where the shark was swimming in fast loops. Half of the oar I had used floated in the middle of the lake. A strange symbol that seemed to make the scene before us look all the more gloomy.

“It was hard enough without the beast,” I sighed.

He nodded in agreement. “Though,” he began, “I do have another lead. I’m not sure if it’s correct, and it will certainly be difficult to investigate, but it’s worth a shot, I think,”

“What is it?” I didn’t know if I wanted to know the answer.

He pointed to the rusty gate that had freed the creature. “What’s behind there?”

“It’s impossible,” I started immediately after he suggested it, “There’s no way, not with the shark, and what if there’s no air in that tunnel? We don’t know where it goes,”

“Exactly,” he shrugged, “could it be treasures in the form of clues behind it? Or almost certain death? It’s a gamble for sure, but I’d say the odds are in our favor,”

“You can’t go,” I stated. “Not with your leg. It’ll smell you’re blood it’ll get you in an instant,”

“So you’re suggesting you go alone?”

I gulped. I did not want to go through that tunnel. Not with Arlen, and certainly not alone, but I knew there was nothing else to be done. “If that’s what I have to do,”

“You’re more courageous than I would’ve thought, Syrup,”

“I read a lot of books. Mostly adventure,”

“Yep, that’s what I would’ve thought.” There was a playful sparkle in his eyes. I stood up.

“I’ll jump in at that side of the pool, and that should give me somewhat of a head start. What do you think are my chances of pulling the gate down once I’m on the other side?”

“20 percent,”

“Funny, seems like that’s about the same as my odds of surviving,” I took several deep breaths and went to grab my locket, though only air found its way into my palm. I felt around my chest and neck. “My locket, it’s gone,” I started to breathe heavier, “I forgot to take it off earlier, with my corset and shoes, I went in there with it, it must have fell off.”

Alren frowned, “Swan, I can tell that locket meant a lot to you, but-”

“That locket meant everything to me,” I tried to peer into the water but I could see nothing. I knew what he was going to say. The chances of finding that locket were about the same as finding the mysterious treasure, that is to say, not good. “It’s all I have of my father,”

“That’s not true,” he tried, “You have memories,”

“It was a family keepsake! Passed down for generations!” I practically screamed, “It was given to me and I just- I just lost it…” Tears streamed from my eyes and I made no effort to hide them. This was far more important than my pride. It was more than a trinket, it was a safety blanket. It was an emblem of hope for me throughout the years. It was my father’s spirit, watching over me. And now, it was nothing more than decoration for the lonely sand at the bottom of some carnival’s pond.

Arlen stood and faltered towards me, putting his weight in his good leg. He grabbed my shoulder and wiped my tears. “Mabelle,” he begged, “that locket is why we’re here,” he paused, “It served its purpose, leading us to something much greater, the true secret of your family. I know it must be hard, but perhaps this is what’s meant to be. All you can do now is keep going and learn about the people inside,”

I nodded. “Okay.” I took a deep breath and walked to the edge of the lake. It was only a few feet away from the gate, though the fin ripping through the water made these few feet higher stakes than nearly anything previously in my life had been. Though something inside me had changed with the loss of my locket. This was no longer a game, or mystery, or adventure for me to mimic those I read about. This was my family, and it was real, far too real.

I didn’t give my brain a chance to think. The second I saw an opportunity, I leapt into the freezing water and paddled towards the gate. Against my better self, I looked to the side, and saw that too my surprise, the shark was paying no attention to me. Why? I squinted my eyes as I continued paddling. Arlen was using himself as bait, dipping his raw, bloody leg into the water and forcing the shark to glide towards him, hunger in its primal eyes. Seconds before the shark reached him, he sprinted out of the water, leaving the shark with only the scent, and the creature’s attention turned to me. I realized then, he wasn’t distracting the shark, he was delaying it to give me a head start. And I wasted it by watching.

I forced myself onto the other side of the gate and into a dark tunnel where all the walls were damp bricks. There were a few inches of air above the placid water, but I had to tilt my head back to be able to breathe. I grabbed the bottom of the gate and yanked it downwards. It barely budged, though it was moveable. I tried again. It lowered a few inches. My breaths were heavy and my adrenaline was high as the shark carved its path through the water, coming directly towards me. This was it’s terrain, and it lived in this tunnel. If I couldn’t close the gate I had no chance of living. I pushed away grim thoughts and tried again. It lowered a few more inches, and it pulled. The shark was less than twenty feet away.

Another pull. Less than ten feet. One final pull. I heard the scrape of massive jaws against metal as the gate finally shut. I stood face to face with the creature, the only thing separating us was the thick iron, though it didn’t shake the terror that it’s blood-stained teeth only inches away from my skin caused.

By some primeval instinct, I couldn’t seem to turn away from the predator, and I was locked in a staring match with it for far too long. Finally, I forced myself to turn away and began to swim through the dark tunnel, the only senses I had being the coldness of the water against my drenched skin and the sound of its mouth charging against the boundary.

The tunnel was fairly short, which didn’t give me much comfort, though at the end I found a wooden trap door replacing the brick ceiling. I shoved it upward, and by some streak of luck, it opened with ease. I climbed out of the water tunnel and found myself in a vacant room that was strong with the scent of fish, coming from rows of wooden boxes filled with the animal. Food for the shark, no doubt. Other than the food, there was nothing of interest in the room, besides the exit door. My body filled with relief at the fact that I would not have to return to the water. It was also comforting that the shark was a part of the carnival, most likely a show, and not another scheme for the fair to execute me and Arlen.

I calmly opened the door and found myself in the pirate’s tavern. The table’s were empty, though a few workers in character chatted behind the bar. When they saw my drenched body enter through the seemingly back room, one laughed. “Y’arr, lass, did ye walk the plank?” causing the others to howl with laughter.

I said nothing as I exited and crossed the bridge to return to Arlen, who was still lying by the shore. He leaned back his head upon my return. “I told you you would live,” he smiled. “What did you find?”

“Nothing.” I shivered, “the tunnel just leads to a room where there’s food and stuff for the shark. It’s part of some show, I guess.” Arlen frowned. “It’s kind of a relief. It means this carnival isn’t just trying to kill us,”

“I wouldn’t go that far. I doubt anyone is putting on shows at this hour.” I crossed my arms. He was right. He stood up. “Well, unless you’re interested in some more shark infested diving, we might have to come up with a back up plan,”

“Are you saying you were wrong?”

“I wouldn’t go that far,”

“Admit it,” I turned to him, “There was nothing there, you were just wrong,”

“Maybe there wasn’t, but now, there is a very nice locket and a few pieces of my leg,” Arlen turned to me with a wide smile as he limped alongside me. “So yeah, I was very wrong,”

I returned his smile, though I felt far from happy. “We should probably find some clothes, before we get frostbite,” I suggested, “Maybe the gift shop will have some?”

Arlen shivered. “Lead the way.”

We walked in a cold silence through the morbidly empty carnival. All the people who I had earlier seen running along its dirt path had disappeared seemingly into thin air. Arlen seemed to make the same observation. “I guess it’s after hours.”

We passed many games, and attractions, all of them less striking without the crowds. There were many unattended games with stuffed animals and various prizes nailed to the stands. Most required throwing of some kind, whether it was into a basket, or hitting a bright red and white target to dunk some poor employee into three feet of water.

The clear water sitting calmly at the bottom of the dunk tank looked almost refreshing compared to the horrors of the pirates cove. How I wish it had been that water. I stopped in my tracks. Arlen kept walking a few feet, then stopped and turned to me. “What is it?”

I raised my arm with my finger extended towards the dunk tank. He immediately understood. “You don’t think-”

I pulled out the note. “We missed something. Water is implied, treasure, could be prizes, but look at this,” I smiled, “curveball,” I pointed to the basket of large balls intended to throw at the target. “This has to be it!”

“God, I hope I sustain less injury than last time,” he smiled, looking at the tank.

“Not it!” I yelled, “for going in,”

He shook his head and started walking towards the game. “Only because you went in the tunnel,” he opened the glass entrance on the back and sat on the plate, holding him above the water. He looked down, “No sharks this time,”

“Not yet anyway,” I teased. I grabbed a handful of balls from the basket and stood a short distance away from the target. I threw the first one, and it hit easily. The plate lowered and he flopped into the water. I laughed playfully as he flailed in the water, and readjusted to sit back on the plate.

“Okay, you just dunked me and there’s no clue,”

“Am I doing something wrong?” I yelled to him, holding the ball.

“You’re just throwing normally, try an actual curve ball!” He returned.

“How do I do that?”

He rested a hand on his forehead and shook his head, forcing water to fall out of his hair like a mop. “Just- twist your hand while throwing it!”

“Okay,” I yelled, and did as he said, only this time I didn’t have that much luck with the target.

“Try again!” he yelled. I held my last ball and threw it with a twisted hand, and it bounced off the glass of the tank. “You’re supposed to aim for the target!” he teased, “It’s right there!” I walked back to get the balls. “Yeah, maybe standing closer will help! You throw like a girl.”

Making eye contact with him through the glass, I extended my hand and pushed down the target. Sure it wasn’t exactly how to play the game, but watching him fall into the water made it worth it. “What was that about throwing like a girl?” I said as he scrambled back up.”

“You did it!” he yelled, holding something in his hand. “What you just did, I don’t know why, but it worked!”

“What?! Is this a joke?”

“No! Look!” he held a small bottle with rolled paper inside up to the glass. “A little compartment in the floor opened up when you did that, you were right, this is it!”

I squealed with joy. “Well, get out, get out!” He pushed the glass door in the back, but it remained closed. “Is this a trick? Like a mime thing?”

He shook his head and although it was subtle, the water level at his knees began to rise.