Read Online Kira's Secret by Orysia Dawydiak - Free Book Online Page B

wet suits.
Underwater, subject has no trouble breathing. In fact, she does not remember holding her breath, or taking any breaths in or out.
On land, subject requires strong lenses to see clearly. Her underwater vision is excellent, even at great distances.
Underwater, subject’s hearing is far more acute than on land. From one kilometre she can hear the tied-up boats bumping into the side of the wharf.
With her tail, subject can move incredibly fast, make sharp turns and twists, and leap out of the water like a dolphin.
Subject feels much stronger in water than on land. She can move boulders on the sea bottom that would be impossible for even a fit adult male scuba diver. To prove this, subject measured the circumference of large boulders with a tape, and then the distance she pushed them, and rated the effort required. She also carried a huge rock to the surface, which she tossed up on shore. Two of us together were barely able to lift the rock on land.
    Cody told Kira that she could probably deal with almost anything in the sea. But there were a few nasty animals to watch for. “You know, things like sharks and killer whales,” he suggested. “You can swim and turn fast enough so you should be able to avoid them, or hide from them. If you’re close to shore you can always get out of the water.”
    Kira nodded her head. They had also discussed giant squid, but most of those were caught in deeper waters, far out to sea. They calculated, from Captain Doyle’s notes, that his boat had been far offshore when it was attacked by the squid. Kira wasn’t sure how far or where she would travel just yet.
    â€œAren’t you scared, Kira? Even just a little?” Cody asked.
    â€œNot really. I’ve got the knife you gave me,” she said, patting the waterproof belt and sheath around her waist. “I’ll probably stay pretty close to shore, for a while anyway, until I see something interesting.”
    â€œLike what?”
    Kira shrugged. They both knew she hoped to run into other merrows. It was obvious from Kira’s extraordinary features that she was a mermaid. They both hoped that she would not run into any of the nasty finfolk types. That is, if such creatures existed.
    The other concern they had was how Kira would be able to disappear for a while without alarming her parents. She was too young to go anywhere by herself, and she had no distant family or friends to visit. It was unlikely she could discover much in one day, they thought. Then again, she had never tried to stay undersea all day.
    They decided a day-long field trip should be her next test. That coming Saturday, Kira’s parents planned to attend a fishermen’s conference in a town four hours away. They were staying overnight and returning Sunday afternoon. Kira told them she preferred to remain at home. She suggested that she could hang out with Cody during the day, and their closest neighbours could check on her in the evening. To Kira’s amazement, they agreed. They liked Cody, and apparently trusted him.
    Her parents left before daybreak on Saturday—fishermen’s hours. Kira wasted no time getting ready for her own trip. She and Cody had a plan to fool the neighbours into thinking she was safely at home all night. Earlier in the week they recorded a message by Kira on a digital recorder. She addressed it to her neighbours, saying she’d had a busy day and was tired, had locked the doors, and was going to bed early. The neighbours had already told her they were planning to be away most of Saturday, and they knew she was going to spend the day with Cody. After Kira left, he would watch their house to make sure they were not at home when he called them and played Kira’s recording that evening. Their answering machine would record the message from Kira, and they hoped the neighbours wouldn’t bother checking on her that night.
    Twenty minutes after Kira’s parents had left, she and