Ancient Secrets of the Wilds: Merida and Tayo's Momentous Discovery

"The sun will be down soon."

"I know." Merida was hunched over a pile of paper at her desk, scribbling furiously. She glanced up and caught her students gaze. "We've got plenty of light right now. We'll finish up this report and then head out to the site to see what we can find."

Tayo watched his mentor carefully. He knew better than to interrupt her when she was on a roll. He had seen her immerse herself in her work before, losing track of time as she went. He was just glad that she seemed to be more relaxed in their new home of Sudan. The past few weeks had been hard for both of them, but she seemed to be opening up more, trusting him more. He had seen her in the field, always running off and getting into trouble. He knew she was driven and focused, but he also knew she needed someone to keep her grounded.

"It's an amazing thing, don't you think?" Merida asked suddenly.

"What is?"

"These ancient places." She waved her hand around, indicating their home base of Niokolo-Koba National Park. "They were built by people who lived before us. They were able to create things that are still amazing today."

Tayo paused, thinking of his own people. "It's really something," he said softly.

"You're not impressed?" She asked with a smile.

"I guess so." He scratched his head. "My people aren't nearly as good at making things. We're hunters, not builders."

"Oh." Merida frowned. "So when you look at me, you don't think 'wow, she's a genius! She's such an important scientist!' but instead you think 'wow, she's such a weirdo. She eats bugs'."

Tayo laughed a little. "I never said that."

"No, you didn't. It's my own fault for assuming you thought I was some sort of brainiac."

"Why did you think that?"

"Well, you know, the way you follow me around is kind of creepy." Merida grinned at him. "I'm joking. You remind me of myself when I was young. You see things that no one else does. That's why I chose you to be my assistant."

"I don't want to be creepy, Dr. Kaba."

"Please, call me Merida. Otherwise I might end up giving you detention."

"Merida. I don't want to be creepy." Tayo looked down at the ground and rubbed his head. "Even if you are the smartest person that I have ever met."

"That's sweet." Merida stood up and walked over to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently. "Let's finish this report, and then we can get going."

A few hours later, Tayo and Merida were standing on top of a raised stone platform. The sky was a brilliant orange and purple as the sun set on the horizon. The two of them stared down at a deep pit in the ground.

"This is where you saw the puddle?" Merida asked.

"Yes." Tayo peered down into the pit. "There was a puddle at the bottom of this pit. I have never seen anything like it."

Merida peered down into the pit. A small stream of water bubbled up from the bottom. "This is a natural spring. What made you think it was anything else?"

"There was writing on the wall next to the pit. It just said 'the puddle'."

Merida stared at him incredulously. "Were you high?"

Tayo shook his head. "No, I swear I wasn't. I was sitting on the rocks when I saw the puddle."

Merida sighed. "Honestly, I don't know how you manage to stay so level headed sometimes. Let's go see what we can find." She took a step back and ran towards the edge of the pit. "Wheeeee!" She yelled as she jumped off the platform and flew into the air.

Tayo's jaw dropped as he watched her. "Merida!" He yelled. He ran to the edge of the pit and looked down. She had landed in the middle of the stream, which turned out to be much deeper than he had anticipated. "Merida!"

She stood up, flicking water off her clothes. "What?" She called up to him.

"Don't move!"

"Why? Is there something in the water?"

"NO!" He yelled. "Don't move! You're sinking!"

"What? What do you mean I'm sinking?" She looked down at her feet. They were slowly disappearing into the water. "Oh shit!" She yelled.

Tayo watched in horror as Merida fell under the water. He knew he couldn't jump in after her. What would he even be able to do? He turned and ran as fast as he could back to the camp.

"Dr. Kaba!" He yelled as he burst through camp.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Merida. She's in trouble!" He said between gasps. "We need to get to the pit right away."

"Why?"

"Just hurry."

Dr. Kaba grabbed her backpack and hurried back out. She ran to the pit and saw that Tayo was already there, staring down into the pit. "Is she okay?"

"No." Tayo shook his head. He pointed down into the pit.

Merida floated up out of the water. She had a dazed expression on her face as she floated towards them. Her arms and legs were motionless as she drifted towards the surface. It was almost as if she were lifeless.

"Was that water acting strangely?" Tayo asked.

"No, I don't think so." Merida replied. "I noticed that the water was warmer than the surrounding air, but I didn't think much of it. I guess I thought it was a natural phenomenon."

"But you didn't think that the puddle was anything but a puddle, right? You didn't think you'd found something?" Tayo asked.

"No. I think that's what makes all of this so scary." Merida replied. "I don't know what happened."

"Maybe the puddle is what did this to her. Maybe it's the same puddle I saw."

"Then why did you make it out?"

"I don't know. Maybe it didn't like me."

"Yeah, that's probably it."

"Is there any way we can get her out of the water?"