p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="79919e4f3bd8956c2aa77aa811ecec3c"Dirk had always been a curious child. Even for a merman. His older brother, Dave, always had struggled to keep the boy out of trouble./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cff3378c5d5975f76a3f59b0db4753af"But this? This was a mess that even Dirk seemed to find too much to handle. He didn't even want to look at the ghastly sight that was presented before him, even though it had already been seen by his golden orange eyes. It was almost as if he believed that the less he saw it, the less real it was. But Dirk knew better than to think that way. He knew that this was all too real. He removed his hands from his face, which he had cupped over his eyes to hide from what horrors awaited him./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c63e7053c39c83bfeaca7a5c1464dd69"Small ocean waves gently lapped up at the tip of his tail, now tattered and turning the salt water a crimson red. Just a little higher up, his tail was tightly wrapped in rope. The fibers had dug into his orange, scaly tail, which was now dripping red onto the sand under him and staining it with his blood. Dirk tried to sit up a bit, but was greeted by a sharp pain in his chest. Two of his ribs were broken, and there was a large, dark, purplish-black bruise on the left side of his chest./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="089a512f0ce0109313cb07286cb6ce5a"Dirk let out a small whimper as his brain seemed to finally realize the extent of his injuries, and the pain kicking in. His head twisted to lay lazily with his left cheek on the sand. There was no getting out of this. Even if he somehow managed to work through his pain to somehow get back into the ocean, there was no telling if he could last long enough to swim back to his village for help./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cba9733edacb9b3f808b1f96a9dfb163"He had been out late the other night, despite Dave's warnings about an incoming storm. There was a secret grotto that he had heard about, where he had heard there was a mystical item that could... well... that didn't matter now. He had searched the wrong grotto anyway. The waves had smashed him hard into some rocks, and had knocked him out as he had washed onto shore./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7e44a9d503c94ee23ef01ec1e872ad06"Dirk's eyes closed as he gritted his teeth. His tail was throbbing badly and his head had a splitting pain on his right temple, presumably where he had been hit and knocked out. He had no clue what he was going to do, or what would happen to him./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e0db3413dedb309889af1e9ff749efab""Hey! You!" a voice shouted from a distance./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1cd14cfc580e0cc7d790ea1c3079da5c"Dirk's eyes snapped open. Just a little down the beach, there was a boy. The boy seemed to be running towards him, his green button-up shirt trailing back behind him in the breeze. Dirk panicked. It was a human, and his brother had always warned him about humans. Dirk squirmed, yelping quietly as pain spiked in his chest and tail. He did his best to try and inch closer to the water, but all he managed to do was rock slightly from side to side on his back./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="65d6feab6ed86a6e66bb4b7f21ff9eaf"The boy looked at him, a bit of surprise on his face, before kneeling down next to him. Dirk didn't see hatred in this boy's green eyes, however, looking past the boy's glasses to see them. He calmed down slightly, no longer squirming./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="51851c53f76bb4ac5d9bda388d8acbd9""Shhhhh~" the boy said soothingly, with a slight British accent. The boy placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "It's okay... I'm going to try and help you, alright?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="845f9b59eef2563592eb62b51e76799a"Dirk looked up at him curiously, not saying a word./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3f6c0f8cc131a20da3728a919ba6644f"The boy pulled out a strange, square looking device, and started talking into it. This confused Dirk a little bit, not knowing that this flat device was actually a cellphone./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2aaf87da3fb99aa60ee2f7f60217c17e""Yes hello?... Yes this is Jake English... Yes... You're going to want to bring the truck down here... no the marine truck we use for rescues..."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e6549d0b6c42cd81ac92faaa21b716c3"There was a long pause as the boy, now presumably known as Jake English, glanced down at Dirk./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b9daa6173441e0e8f36940ec208e38c5""What is it we're rescuing...? Um... sir? You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Jake said, talking to the person on the other end of the phone, biting his lip, "I-it's actually... a...um... a merman."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cff3378c5d5975f76a3f59b0db4753af"But this? This was a mess that even Dirk seemed to find too much to handle. He didn't even want to look at the ghastly sight that was presented before him, even though it had already been seen by his golden orange eyes. It was almost as if he believed that the less he saw it, the less real it was. But Dirk knew better than to think that way. He knew that this was all too real. He removed his hands from his face, which he had cupped over his eyes to hide from what horrors awaited him./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c63e7053c39c83bfeaca7a5c1464dd69"Small ocean waves gently lapped up at the tip of his tail, now tattered and turning the salt water a crimson red. Just a little higher up, his tail was tightly wrapped in rope. The fibers had dug into his orange, scaly tail, which was now dripping red onto the sand under him and staining it with his blood. Dirk tried to sit up a bit, but was greeted by a sharp pain in his chest. Two of his ribs were broken, and there was a large, dark, purplish-black bruise on the left side of his chest./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="089a512f0ce0109313cb07286cb6ce5a"Dirk let out a small whimper as his brain seemed to finally realize the extent of his injuries, and the pain kicking in. His head twisted to lay lazily with his left cheek on the sand. There was no getting out of this. Even if he somehow managed to work through his pain to somehow get back into the ocean, there was no telling if he could last long enough to swim back to his village for help./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cba9733edacb9b3f808b1f96a9dfb163"He had been out late the other night, despite Dave's warnings about an incoming storm. There was a secret grotto that he had heard about, where he had heard there was a mystical item that could... well... that didn't matter now. He had searched the wrong grotto anyway. The waves had smashed him hard into some rocks, and had knocked him out as he had washed onto shore./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7e44a9d503c94ee23ef01ec1e872ad06"Dirk's eyes closed as he gritted his teeth. His tail was throbbing badly and his head had a splitting pain on his right temple, presumably where he had been hit and knocked out. He had no clue what he was going to do, or what would happen to him./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e0db3413dedb309889af1e9ff749efab""Hey! You!" a voice shouted from a distance./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1cd14cfc580e0cc7d790ea1c3079da5c"Dirk's eyes snapped open. Just a little down the beach, there was a boy. The boy seemed to be running towards him, his green button-up shirt trailing back behind him in the breeze. Dirk panicked. It was a human, and his brother had always warned him about humans. Dirk squirmed, yelping quietly as pain spiked in his chest and tail. He did his best to try and inch closer to the water, but all he managed to do was rock slightly from side to side on his back./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="65d6feab6ed86a6e66bb4b7f21ff9eaf"The boy looked at him, a bit of surprise on his face, before kneeling down next to him. Dirk didn't see hatred in this boy's green eyes, however, looking past the boy's glasses to see them. He calmed down slightly, no longer squirming./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="51851c53f76bb4ac5d9bda388d8acbd9""Shhhhh~" the boy said soothingly, with a slight British accent. The boy placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "It's okay... I'm going to try and help you, alright?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="845f9b59eef2563592eb62b51e76799a"Dirk looked up at him curiously, not saying a word./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3f6c0f8cc131a20da3728a919ba6644f"The boy pulled out a strange, square looking device, and started talking into it. This confused Dirk a little bit, not knowing that this flat device was actually a cellphone./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2aaf87da3fb99aa60ee2f7f60217c17e""Yes hello?... Yes this is Jake English... Yes... You're going to want to bring the truck down here... no the marine truck we use for rescues..."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e6549d0b6c42cd81ac92faaa21b716c3"There was a long pause as the boy, now presumably known as Jake English, glanced down at Dirk./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b9daa6173441e0e8f36940ec208e38c5""What is it we're rescuing...? Um... sir? You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Jake said, talking to the person on the other end of the phone, biting his lip, "I-it's actually... a...um... a merman."/p