Max looked out at the ocean from the slightly rocking and bobbing whale watching boat tour that she was on. She had hoped that doing this would improve her mood. But she was wrong. The rest of the tour group was watching a pod of whales swimming together a ways off at the front of the boat. Everyone was laughing happily, snapping off photos and talking excitedly.
But for Max there was no joy, so much so that she was by herself at the back of the large two deck boat. Her face and eyes were devoid of any emotion as she rested her chin on top of her hand that was grasping the railing. Her other hand was slowly spinning the bullets on Chloe's necklace that she was wearing. It was only a week after Chloe Prices funeral. And the heartbreak was still far too near to enjoy the tour.
Max then raised her head and sighed, "What's the point anymore..." Max thought to herself. She then climbed over the railing, stood on the outer edge of the boat and grasped onto the railing on either side of her body and began to lean forward, peering into the oceans water. The grief had finally become too much for Max to bear. She'd just let the ocean swallow her up...
Suddenly, "No! Don't do it! Don't jump!" A terrified crew member called out. Max slowly looked over at him with the same emotionless, expressionless face she'd bore for the last 7 days. Then, she let go and started to fall towards the water from the second upper deck of the ship.
"Man overboard! Man overboard!" The crew member cried out. And the ships loud rescue alarm began to blare out loudly.
Max then impacted the waters surface in a belly flop style landing. It hurt, but that wouldn't matter soon. She then began to sink. Making absolutely no effort to resist the pull of the oceans water. Her wet clothes, jeans and camera bag only helped her sink faster.
Tiny bubbles of air escaped from her eyes, nose, corners of her mouth as she continued to sink deeper and deeper into the depths. She could barely hear the rescue horn blaring on the surface anymore.
Now her lungs began to hurt, she started to feel like she was choking. "Please just let me die fast!" Max thought to herself.
Her lungs soon felt ready to burst and she was involuntarily grasping at her throat. Max couldn't tell if it was getting darker because of how deep she was getting or if it was the light of her life leaving her eyes. It wouldn't be long now. Max began to lose consciousness, she was drowning, dying... And she welcomed it.
Max grunted as something suddenly impacted her hard from the front. Then a pair of hands grasped her by the cheeks and pulled her head forward, straight into... a kiss? From another girl with her underwater? No, it wasn't a kiss. It was air? Max felt as if the water were being sucked out of her lungs with every inward breath this girl took, then felt a rush of air enter her mouth and lungs every time she breathed out. The two girls now floated parallel to one another, face to face, their lips and mouths pressed together.
Max couldn't see this girls face as she was too close to her own. But she did see one hazel coloured eye looking downward towards Max's mouth. This eye then looked up and met Max's gaze and the other girl actually winked at her! She also had long strands of blonde hair floating all around her head. But Max couldn't make out any other details than this.
Max then ran the fingers out of her left hand down the girls cheek and down towards her neck. Max gasped as she felt 4 slits running along her neck. Just then, as the girl took in another deep breath, Max felt a rush of air, bubbles and water move past her finger tips. They weren't just slits. They were gills!
When the girl breathed out, her gills closed and she sent a rush of only oxygen back into Max's mouth and lungs. This girl was breathing for Max underwater. Keeping her alive.
Max was almost fully conscious as her lungs and body began to fill with oxygen again. Her saviour then moved her head and mouth away from Max, moved her head over top of Max's right shoulder and began kicking hard for the surface. Though Max didn't even try to look at this girls face. She was shocked beyond belief to see that her rescuer wasn't kicking with feet, but a giant fish tail, connected from her waist down.
Her rescuer swam hard a few more times, then pushed Max away from her. Hoping the momentum would carry Max further on towards the surface. She then did an amazingly acrobatic 180 degree flip and swam a short distance away and then turned around, revealing herself.
"It's a mermaid?!" Max thought to herself. But that was followed up by an even more horrifying discovery as she finally saw the girls face. "It's Rachel Amber?!"
Sure enough, every feature of this girls face matched that of Rachel Amber exactly. But there was no sea shell bra top. Just a plain piece of black cloth wrapped around her chest. The mermaid girl then waved goodbye with her left hand and she even had the star tattoo on the inside of her left wrist. She then blew Max a kiss, smiled brightly, turned and kicked her tail hard and descended into the depths of the ocean. Disappearing from view soon after.
It was only Max choking and gasping for breath once again that made her kick hard for the surface a short distance away. She then broke the waters edge and gasped deeply and whipped her head and her hair back. She quickly looked around for the ship she jumped from as she treaded water. She then spotted it behind her, along with 4 rescue boats searching the area for her.
"Hey!" Max shouted as she waved her right hand and continued to tread water, "Help! I'm over here! Help!"
A crew man spotted her, "There she is!" He shouted as he pointed her out for the other boats as well. The little rescue rafts motor then sprang to life and the boat quickly whipped around and started towards Max to pull her out of the water.
"There's no mistake... That was Rachel Amber!" Max thought to herself. "She's a mermaid? I guess it's possible? If I have the power to control time, then this is just as plausible?"
The boat then plucked Max out of the water. And she was set down on the nearest seat and had a blanket wrapped around her.
"Are you alright?" One of the rescue workers asked.
Max slowly nodded, then she felt her neck and noticed that Chloe's necklace was gone! "She took it? Rachel took Chloe's necklace as she was saving me? Why? As payment for saving me? Sentimental value?"
"Hey, Kid. I said are you alright?" The man repeated.
A million questions and thoughts ran through Max's mind. But then slowly, Max smiled for the first time since Chloe's death, "Yeah... Yeah I think everything's going to be alright now, sir. Thank you for saving me!"
"No problem, kiddo."
As the rescue boat started back towards the ship, Max continued to smile, "I have to live... I have to stay alive to figure out this mystery!" And with that determination, Max's will to live and play detective once again came back to life with a vengeance. She would get to the bottom of this, if it took the rest of her life to solve!