All three of us stared at the Gestapo officers in fear. "Inside NOW." Father said strictly and fearfully, as he and I quietly ran back into our house, quietly closing the door and leaving Liliana behind. I saw Liliana hide underwater through the window. Father pulled out a rifle from his closet in the kitchen and sternly told me, "Get down in the basement, Rand. Now." "What about Liliana?!" I whispered fearfully. "I think those officers are after her!" "No! Look!" Father cried, pointing at the gestapo officers outside, less further. "You have to stay here or you're going to get yourself killed!" "You'll be getting yourself killed too!" I argued continuously. "If you try to drive off several armed Nazis, you'll surely die!" "I'm trying to protect you!!" Father shouted, losing his patience. "I'm doing this so you will have a better future and stay alive during the war!!" "YOU KEEP SAYING THAT, BUT I DON'T WANNA LOSE YOU!!!" I screamed. "IF YOU HAVEN'T JOINED THE MILITARY, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!!!" Before Father could scream at me, Gestapo officers burst through the back door and dozens of them poured into the kitchen, pointing rifles at us. I held my hands up in fear. "Drop the weapon!" One of the officers ordered, looking directly at Father. Father dropped his rifle and held his hands up as well. An older man walked in and faced Father. He wore an SS uniform and a peaked cap. "You must be Doug Matthews." The man said sternly. "Yes." Father said, quiet, but strict. "And, you are General Drugi, one of the commanding Generals of the Kriegsmarine in Nazi Germany, am I right?" "Yes, I am." General Drugi said sternly. "We've tracked down a newly discovered species in the Miami beach. One of our submarines' pilots spotted them in the North Atlantic Ocean. They tried to have a closer look, but they swam off. They appeared to be half-human and half-fish." I shook with fear. "Did you find out what it is called?" Father asked, hoping that General Drugi doesn't find out about Liliana. Father... I thought. "Americans call this species a mermaid." General Drugi said. "We thought that this was a unique discovery, we wanted to show it to his excellency." "That sounds like a real unusual discovery." Father said, still lying about Liliana's whereabouts. "But, why are you searching here? She couldn't have swam all the way here." "Because one of our officers saw you carry the mermaid off the shore." General Drugi said, causing fear to spread all over my body. I was losing my mind. "I'm sorry, but you two are going to have to come with us." General Drugi continued. "We're not going!" I shouted without thinking. "Father didn't carry a mermaid with him. And if he did, he wouldn't put her in the pond! It's too small for mermaids to swim in!" "Quiet, boy!" Father angrily whispered through gritted teeth. "You'll get yourself ki...!" "Did you say....her?" General asked suspiciously, interrupting Father. "Where is she? Tell us at once or both of you are going to die." I saw Liliana staring at me from the pond with her hands folded in front of her, begging me to say nothing. "I only said her because mermaids are female!" I cried. "You have to believe me! We don't know anything!" "You're still coming with us, both of you." General Drugi said, losing his patience. "Let's go!" We slowly walked out the back door with the Gestapo officers following us with their rifles pointed at us. We walked past the pond, scared out of our minds. Splash! We suddenly heard a loud splash. "What happened?!" General Drugi cried, as he, Father, and I turned around. "One of our officers fell in the pond!" One of the Gestapo officers cried fearfully while a few other officers stared at the pond in confusion. "And, their is no sign of him!" "Why not?! Was he pulled far away?!" General Drugi snapped, trying to figure this out. Splash! Another officer fell in. "What's going on?!" General Drugi shouted. "What is happening to our officers?!" "Rand." Father whispered to me quietly, but sternly. "Run straight to the house and call the Army. I'll distract the Gestapo officers." I stared at Father in fear. "Go. I won't die. I'll be fine." While General Drugi dealt with the issue, I ran past them and back into the house. I found Father's walkie-talkie on the kitchen counter next to the door.

Meanwhile (Author's POV)...

Splash! Another Gestapo officer "fell" in the pond. "I'm done arguing about this!" General Drugi shouted. "We need to leave behind those that have fallen and take our hostages to Nazi Germany...!" He turned around and saw only one hostage. "Where's the boy?!" He asked, losing his patience. "Where did he go?!" The remaining officers aimed their rifles at Doug. "Speak!" General Drugi ordered angrily. "Or you are going to die!" Doug lifted his hands up. "I don't know." He said. "I didn't see him leave." "Are. You. Lying?" General Drugi asked, heavily stern. "You're lying....aren't you?" "No. All I know is that he escaped." Doug said, a bit stern himself. "I don't know where he went." The Gestapo officers cocked their rifles. "Find him for us." General Drugi ordered sternly. "Or we'll shoot." "Okay, okay." Doug said, as he walked back towards his house. General Drugi stared at him suspiciously.

In the house (Rand's POV)

I peaked through the window and saw Father walking towards the door. He opened it, walked in, closed it lightly, and locked it. "Did you call them, son?" Father asked, quiet and strict. "Yes, Father. They're on their way." I whispered. POW!! A gunshot zipped through the window, shattering it. "IN THE BASEMENT NOW!!!" Father screamed. We crawled through the kitchen, making our way to the basement. Just as we reached the door, which was to the left of the kitchen entrance, we heard helicopters approaching. Then, we heard gunshots and General Drugi crying, "RETREAT AT ONCE!!" After hearing those words, I immediately got up, despite Father's protests, and looked through the shattered window. I saw a few dead bodies and General Drugi and the officers running off until they disappeared into the trees. The attack helicopters took off. I burst out the door, shouting, "LILIANA?! LILIANA?!!? ARE YOU THERE?!!" I stared into the pond. Nothing but floating dead officers. "She's.....gone." I said. "Did she....pull the officers into the pond to save us?" Father stood behind me. "Where's Liliana?" He asked. I told Father about what happened. "So...... Liliana pulled the officers into the pond, you say?" He asked. I nodded. "I guess I was wrong about her being a siren." Father admitted. "And, you say she's gone?" "Yes, she vanished." I said in shock. Father let out a deep sigh. "Sorry about earlier, Rand." He said. "If I could stay with you, I would. But, my job doesn't change. Ever. Do you understand?" ".....Yes, Father. I do." I admitted. "That's why I shouldn't complain. Because you love me..." Father and I hugged. Then, we both stared at the pond. I said, "Liliana... Wherever you are... Thank you."

The End.

Word count: 1201