Chapter 4: Beware of the Darkness

"This house is too empty," Riley commented as she folded her red and black shorty wetsuit and laid it on top of her surfboard. She looked around at the room with its bare walls and clean smelling air. She was glad that some furniture came with the house when they rented it with a fair bit of money, but she hated how it wasn't decorated to fir their personality.

"We can get some stuff after we get our paychecks," Crystal suggested when she noticed the look on Riley's face. She glanced at the clock on her wall. "Rhu, come on! We're going to be late!" She shouted up the stairs.

"Sorry, I was checking my e-mail," she said as she came down the stairs, tying her hair back into a ponytail.

"Did they send one?" Riley asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course," she responded. "I saved it."

"You didn't reply?"

"No. I'm not stupid; I know not to give us away."

"You could always reply and not tell them where we are," Crystal pointed out as she grabbed her keys off of the counter.

"No way. Syd will be able to trace the IP Address easily," Rhuben responded as she picked up her bag and started towards the door. Riley and Crystal rushed behind her as they went down the sidewalk towards the silver Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. Crystal was about to get in when she let out a groan of frustration.

"Australians just have to have the steering wheel on the other side!" She muttered to herself before walking around the Jeep to get in the other side. Riley and Rhuben bit their lips so they wouldn't laugh out loud as they got in: Riley in the passenger seat and Rhuben in the back. Riley slumped a little in her seat as the moving car caused the wind to lift her hair off her shoulder and blow gently behind her.

She missed how peaceful Australia was. No one was ever really mean to each other, the community was welcoming and always made people feel right at home. She hated it when she and her family just up and moved without any explanation. In short, she was glad that she was back and never wanted to leave...if she had the choice.

"When's your shift over?" Riley asked as Rhuben jumped out of the Jeep and slung her bag over her shoulder. She pulled out her cell phone and looked at it for a few seconds.

"In two and a half hours, three tops," she responded.

"All right, if you end early for some reason go to the beach. Riles will be there and I can pick something up on the way home," Crystal responded before driving off. Rhuben nodded before going into the building. She signed in and waved to Liam, a personal trainer that she had met before. He gave her a warm smile before she went straight to one of the dance studios.

As she pushed open the door the chatter in the room immediately ceased as the students in the class turned their attention to her. The class ranged from ten-year-olds to thirteen-year-olds, all at different dancing levels. Rhuben knew that she had a lot of work to do to get them ready for the competition that was coming up in two and a half months.

"How's it going?" Rhuben asked as she placed her hands on her hips and looked around the room. She smiled a little when she saw that some of the students were afraid to look her in the eye. "I'm Rhuben and I'm going to be your dancing instructor while Ms. Maxwell is on maternity leave. In the next two and a half months I'm going to whip you into shape so you'll be ready for the competition. This class will meet Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. If you're late, you'll get a punishment for it. This class is a team. If one person won't put in the work, you'll all suffer for it. Got it?" The class was silent. "Good. Now, go outside. We'll start with ten minutes of jogging."

Everyone started towards the door but one hand stuck straight into the air. Rhuben's eyes rested on a girl who had her blond hair pulled back into two braids and an annoyed look on her face. She looked to be about ten-years-old, maybe eleven. When the girl noticed that Rhuben had locked her eyes on her she spoke. "What does any of this have to do with dancing?"

"What's your name, kid?" Rhuben asked.

"Kim Sertori," she responded.

"Well, Kim, to do basic dance moves you have to have good endurance. And to get good endurance you have to build up your muscle," Rhuben explained. "This is why we're going to start each practice with a run and end with some weight lifting. Got it?" The class who was standing by the door nodded again. "Good, your ten minutes starts now."

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"Where are you off to, Nate?" Zane asked as his friend put down the cue stick and looked at his watch.

"Surfing lesson," he responded with a smile.

"You don't need a surfing lesson," Zane told him with a look of confusion on his face.

"I do when the teacher's a hot chickie," he responded with a big grin. Zane laughed a little and patted him on the shoulder. "You want to come?"

"No, mate, you know I'm with Rikki," he reminded him. "How many times must I tell you that?"

"Man, you've turned into a party pooper ever since you started dating Rikki," Nate pointed out.

"Isn't the new surf instructor Riley? That new girl?" Zane asked as he raised his eyebrow.

"The same one," Nate responded as his grin got bigger. "And by the end of the day she's going to become more than my surf teacher."

"Good luck with that, mate," Zane said with a laugh as he walked off. Nate gave a little wave before leaving the Juicenet Café. He picked up his surfboard, which was leaning against the wall of the café, and started his trek down the sidewalk. As he got closer to the beach he put a swagger in his step. He stood at the top of the small flight of stairs and looked down the beach before looking up. He eyes rested on Riley, who was standing in front of a couple of guys, her arms crossed her over chest. Nate raised a hand and quickly checked his breath.

'You can do this, Nate. Once this class is over she'll want you, just like all the others.' Once Nate felt confident with his pep-talk he made a beeline towards Riley. She was saying something to the group before jerking her thumb behind herself towards the ocean. She looked up as Nate approached. He opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off.

"You're late," she stated in a cold tone. "I want you to run up the beach and back to me six times," she said as she turned so she was looking out at the ocean. "You'll be timed. You have to beat six minutes."

"What!?" Nate cried out as he stared at her in shock.

"You get a punishment whenever you're late," she responded as she looked at him. "That's my number one rule, don't be late. Now go." She raised an eyebrow when he didn't move from his spot; he just stood there gaping at her. "Am I speaking a foreign language? Move it!"

He dropped his surfboard and started jogging up the beach. "Man, that chick's got 'tude," he muttered to himself. "But she is hot, and I like a little attitude in a woman. I will totally get her to be my girl." He heard Riley shout something at her as he continued running. "Even if I have to wear her down."

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"Do you need any help studying for the Physics test coming up?" Lewis asked as he and Cleo walked down the docks. He was carrying his fishing rod and bait while Cleo carried his tackle box for him. "We could study at your place when I'm finished fishing."

"That would be great Lewis," Cleo said with a bright smile, her brown eyes shining. "I would really like the help, especially since I did poorly on the last test."

"I can guarantee you, that you will get an A on the next test with the Lewis McCartney Study Program."

"Thank so much Lewis, for everything," Cleo said as she took his free hand and gave it a little squeeze. He smiled back before closing the gap between them and giving her a kiss. They pulled apart, smiling to each other before Cleo broke their gaze and put the tackle box down. "I'll see you later then?"

"Later," Lewis confirmed with a nod. She gave a small wave before turning around and walking off. Lewis smiled to himself as he put his equipment into his boat, wondering how he landed himself with the perfect girl for him. He could see himself marrying her in the future, he was that sure that they would stick together no matter what happens to them. He jumped into his boat as he reached for his fishing pole but stopped when he saw Crystal walking along the docks, a somewhat troubled look on her face. "Hey," he called out, immediately grabbing her attention.

"Hi," she said with a bright smile. "It's Lewis, right?"

"Right," he confirmed. "You're in my English, Math, and History class."

"That's right."

"What're you doing out here?" Lewis asked as he squinted from the sunlight.

"I'm trying to find a way to the ocean," she responded. "I have to take pictures of fish for my first day of work," she added as she lifted the camera that was strapped around her wrist. "I was going to rent a waterski or something but the guy claims I'm too young. I mean, I'm sixteen but I look like a thirteen-year-old 'cause I'm 5"2."

"I could give you a lift," he said as he looked down at his boat before looking back up at her. "You could use my diver mask and my snorkel too. I wash it before every use, so you don't have to worry about germs."

"You're being awfully nice to someone you don't even know," she pointed out as she crossed her arms over her chest, loosely.

"Well, we can use this time to get to know each other," Lewis responded with a small smile.

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"Emma, what's wrong? You haven't said anything about me being a slacker yet," Rikki commented as she filed her nails and looked over at her blond haired friend. Emma was staring out the window.

"Emma, what's wrong?" Cleo asked as she gently shook Emma's arm.

"Hmm? What?" Emma asked as she looked at them.

"Oh, I see, she was thinking about Ash again," Rikki said with a smile as she closed her Math book. "Tell me, where' she taking you today?"

"I was thinking about Ash," she told Rikki in a firm tone. Rikki raised an eyebrow. "He's taking me to the movies," she sighed.

"Again? Don't get me wrong Em, but he always takes you to the movies. Why not a restaurant? Or a picnic? Or a walk on the beach? It's not a full moon tonight so you have nothing to worry about," Rikki said in exasperation. "He's treating you like a little kid."

"He is not!" Emma denied. "He's simply looking out for me and I like that. I have a lesser chance of getting wet at a theater than I do at a restaurant or out walking. I think it's thoughtful of him."

"Cleo, what do you think? Is he being thoughtful or is he being over protective?" Rikki demanded.

Cleo's eyes shifted as she looked back and forth between Rikki and Emma. She hated it when they fought. It wasn't because they fought almost all of the time, but it was because she was always stuck in the middle of their arguments. They even almost missed their one year mermaid anniversary because of a fight they were having and Cleo thought that would be the end of their friendship.

"Well, I think..." Cleo sighed. "I think Emma should be having this conversation with Ash, not us," she announced as she gripped her necklace.

Right as she wrapped her fingers around it everything around her turned black as Emma and Rikki disappeared. Cleo's eyes widened as she looked around, searching for them, her breath came out in shaky gasps that formed in white clouds in the cold air.

"Guys?" She called, her voice echoing in the darkness. "Where are you? Rikki? Emma?" She started to panic. "Lewis? Anyone?"

"Darkness," a voice whispered, echoing around her.

"Who...who's there?" She asked as she started to tremble. "Whoever's out there...I know how to play football...I can kick pretty hard." Her voice came out shaky so it didn't even sound like a threat to her so it couldn't have sounded like a threat to anyone else.

"Darkness," the voice repeated. "Beware the darkness. Beware the holders of the darkness. Darkness burns. Darkness drowns. Darkness consumes..."

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I hope you readers like this story so far. The next chapters are going to focus on Rikki, Cleo, Emma, and Lewis a little more, even though I needed these first four to introduce the new characters. Please read and review, I would totally appreciate it.

Constructive criticism is welcome with open arms.