And as a treat for Thanksgiving (Though I'm sure that those of you who celebrate it have already had plenty of treats), here's the aftermath of the last chapter! Enjoy, and thank you to the latest reviewer, Alexa10110. You are very welcome for the quick updates.
EDIT (11/26/15, 8:30pm): As a response to Izi Wilson's review: We finally learned more about the mysterious Steve and Max, and Liz kicked their butts with her power! I particularly enjoyed that part. And writing Max!
Chapter Ten
Aftermath
Liz picked at her bowl of cereal, her brown eyes distant. Someone called something loudly, and she jumped a mile in the air, dropping her spoon and whipping around. Her mom, Sarah Moore, was standing before her in her business clothes and brown hair in a tight bun. "Love you, honey," Her mom said, planting a kiss on her daughter's head before she hurried out the door. Liz stared after her, confused for a moment until she remembered. Her mom was going up to Tallahassee for a conference. Sarah Moore worked with various companies as an ethical hacker and worked in cybersecurity. She had been in the NSA when she was younger, but she had retired a few years after having Liz's sister, Amy. Liz dragged herself out of her thoughts, giving up on her bowl of soggy corn flakes and taking it up to the sink. She turned on the water, rinsing the bowl out carefully. The sound of the liquid running against the metal of the sink sent her back to last night…
TerrorfearpowericewaterMaxboyexperimentspecimenkidnappedMariefallingswimmingracingstreakingawayGETAWAY!- The girl jolted out of her whirlwind of memory-thought-feeling-sight, realizing that water was running on her hand. "Oh crap." She thudded to the floor, her fins flopping on the white tile with a wet squelching sound. Liz sighed, reaching for a towel when she had an idea. Calling on her power, she positioned her fingers on either side of her tail. Water floated off of her scales, forming two large bubbles in the air. Her tail tingled, shifting back into her legs. Satisfied, Liz floated the water over to the sink and let it fall. It disappeared down the drain with a satisfying gurgle, dragging more of the soggy corn flakes with it.
o0O0o
Marie sat at the wooden table, munching on a slice of toast and firmly ignoring the rest of her family. She could still feel the disapproving glares of her parents on her, but brushed them aside like flies. It was Thursday, and while her grounding wasn't over, she was allowed to leave her room at will. However, she still didn't have her phone, couldn't leave the house, and wasn't allowed to have visitors. The 'no-phone' rule had been bent last night though. She had to contact the others, find out what had happened on the night of the new moon. Ava and Jemma had answered, relief audible through their texts. But no one had been able to contact Liz. Something was going on, and Marie wasn't about to let her parent's punishment (over something she didn't even do!) stop her from finding out what was wrong with her friend.
o0O0o
Ava stood out on her small balcony, salt-scented wind toying with her hair. The sun was slowly rising, painting the sky in shades of violet and rose and tangerine. But the teenage girl didn't see the colors, nor feel the wind. Her mind was occupied, worry swirling around her thoughts. No one had seen Liz since last night, and she wasn't answering any texts or calls. Ava had called Liz's parents, but they said that Liz was already off to school. Which is where you should be, her brain whispered. The redhead rolled her eyes at herself- which was an extremely novel experience- and walked back into her room. Downstairs, her dad called, "Ava, there's someone here to see you!" "Coming dad," his daughter called back. She hurried down the staircase: maybe it was Liz!
The mermaid stopped dead at the end of the stairs, holding onto the end of the white bannister and staring at the visitor. Steve Taylor was standing in the doorway, a distinctly guilty look on his face.
o0O0o
"Why are you here?" Ava cut straight to the chase, closing the door of her room behind Steve. The brown-haired boy fidgeted, obviously nervous. "Alright. I'll tell you. Just… don't kill me? Please?" Ava raised one eyebrow, replying cautiously. "Okay…. Now spill." Steve sat down on the bed, starting to talk. "When I first met you, Liz ran off, and I caught a glimpse of blue fish fins. So I thought she was a mermaid. I told my friend, Max Edwards, after I drew this in class. I don't know how or why I drew it, but here it is." He handed Ava a folded piece of paper, the redhead unfolding it to reveal a passable drawing of Liz with a mermaid tail. The horror must have been evident on her face, because Steve quickly started talking again. "So... we wanted to know if she was actually a mermaid. Last night, after school, we went down to the cove where I saw Marie a few days ago. And… we ambushed Liz with water guns." He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that she wouldn't burn him to a crisp or suck out his soul or something equally horrible. But when he cracked his eyes open, Ava was just staring at him. "You ambushed Liz Moore, with water guns. She's terrified of water!" That was the lie that they were hoping to use if swimming came up in PE, but they hadn't had an opportunity to use it yet. "I'm sure. Good lie, though. So…. yeah. We found out that she was a mermaid, and she fainted. When she woke up, she attacked us with her powers and swam away." Ava got up from the bed, looking accusingly at him. "Well I'm going to say that you deserved what you got. Ambushing an innocent girl on the half-baked idea that she might be a mermaid? Ava was furious, and more than a little scared for her friend. Steve shrank away from her a little as the temperature started to drop. "Ava…" The boy started to say, but the mermaid silenced him with a glare. "I think it's time for you to leave." Ava's words were cold and icy as she opened the door. Steve acquiesced to her request, leaving silently. Ava watched the front door close behind him, then turned and raced up the stairs. Two texts later, all of them labeled URGENT and for the eyes of Jemma/Marie only, Ava grabbed her backpack and ran out the door.
o0O0o
Hannah Jackson picked up Marie's phone as it buzzed, her sharp eyes scanning the text. Mrs. Jackson, I really really really have to talk with Marie. It's urgent. Please, just let her read this and reply. Hannah knew that Ava Harris was not one to exaggerate things, so she turned to Marie. "Marie, Ava has something to say to you. She says it's urgent. You can reply to her, but after that I expect you to be off." The black-haired girl's head shot up, and she took the outstretched phone. Marie, Steve and his friend ambushed Liz with water guns last night. We've got a problem. Marie's eyes shot extremely wide, and her fingers fairly flew over the small keys of the phone. Got it. I'll see you 9/5. The teenager obediently handed the phone back to her mother, rising from her chair and returning to her room. Hannah Jackson watched her daughter go, slightly suspicious. She opened the text, only reading her answer. 9/5. September 5th. Okay then. There were no plans of sneaking out. But what Mrs. Jackson didn't know, was that Marie was well-versed in trickery and knew exactly what code to use. 9/5 stood for 9:50pm.
o0O0o
Jemma and Ava sat on a bench near the entrance to the school, waiting for Liz. When class was only a few moments from starting, the girls finally just went to their classes. There was no point in trying to force Liz to talk to them before she was ready. But Ava had filled Jemma in on what had happened. Both of the mermaids were worried for their friend.
Max sat beside Steve on the grass. The two boys were silently eating their lunch, neither of them wanting to break the silence first. Guilt weighted heavy on their minds, especially Max's. "Steve, my powers are back," The black-haired boy said finally. His friend turned to him slowly. "Are you serious? But I thought that they had been stolen last summer, when you got on the wrong side of Abby Striga. When you almost died." Max winced, remembering what had happened. "Yeah. I thought so too. But I had a dream- more like a nightmare, really- and in it, Marie, Ava, and Jemma were evil. I was back on the beach with you and Liz. She was just waking up with her tail, and she was obviously terrified of both me and her friends. They had solid black eyes, Steve. Then they combined their powers to create this massive sea serpent, and in my dream…. it killed Liz." Steve stared at him. "Are you sure that it wasn't a nightmare?" The brown-haired boy asked. "Why would I have a nightmare about those three girls turning evil and killing one of their friends?" Max looked at him quizzically. Steve sighed, a glint of mischief in his brown eyes. "Max, sometimes you can be really stupid. You like Liz! You defended her at the beach, you had a nightmare about her dying, and the entire school has seen how you look like a lovesick puppy when she is around." The black-haired boy's eyebrows shot up. "Seriously? You think I like Liz Moore? Even if I did like her, it would never happen! We ambushed her and forced her to show her tail. She's probably terrified of us." "Speaking of…" Steve looked across the green, where a certain blue-scaled mermaid was sitting down behind a slim tree. Max followed his gaze, a faint blush rising on his pale cheeks. Steve glanced at his friend, who had the exact lovesick puppy expression on his face. Max's best friend hooted in glee. "Told you so!" Max broke away from gazing at Liz to look at his friend with a bright red face and a raised eyebrow that conveyed a scathing retort. "I'm going to head off to Chemistry," The black-haired boy picked up his backpack and the rest of his lunch, stalking off while muttering unflattering comments under his breath. Steve grinned, pulling out his phone. Max & Liz sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then a baby in a baby carriage! The mischievous boy texted. Almost instantly, a reply arrived. Drop it, Steve. Even if I do like her- which I don't- it. Will. Never. Happen. Get that through your thick skull. Liz probably hates me, so drop it. Steve sighed, typing a response. Fine. But… do you like her? After a seemingly eternal wait, his phone buzzed, the text comprised of only a few letters. Yes.
o0O0o
Seven Minutes Previous…
Liz Moore sighed, dropping to the grass behind the small tree. She had been hiding from Ava and Jemma for the entire day, not wishing to talk with anyone. Once again, her life had gotten more complicated. Now, two boys that she had barely met knew her secret. Liz sighed again, unzipping her backpack to pull out a turkey and cheese sandwich. She was allergic to peanuts, so PB&Js weren't an option. Once again, the mermaid's phone buzzed. She pulled it out: Ava again. Liz, Steve came by my house this morning and told me what happened. Please, please text me back. I just have to know if you are okay. Liz's fingers hovered over the reply button, the girl silently warring with herself. Finally, she typed, I am okay. Immediately, Ava replied. That's good to hear. Jemma's with me. We're on the green, on the opposite side from the soda machine, if you want to come over. Liz's response was only two words. Not yet. Evidently, Ava acquiesced to her wishes, and there were no more messages. Liz put her phone away, leaning back against the tree to eat, completely unaware of the two boys looking at her from the other side of the grass.
Alright. To clear a few questions that the user 'October Autumn', who has been PMing me about their interest in the story, brought up:
Max and Steve are NOT mermaid hunters! They are similar to Benny and Ethan from My Babysitter's a Vampire in the sense that they defend the town from supernatural threats. And Max is my version of Ethan, while Steve is a more responsible Benny.
I do know that in Greek Mythology, Sirens are bird women (Kind of like Harpies). In this fic, since it is FICTION, I have expanded the word Siren to apply to evil mermaids.
Jemma can control any type of plant, whether it be marine or land or whatever.
I will explain later why Max lost his powers during that encounter with 'Abby Striga' and why he can tell the future. As for if and maybe what Steve can do? You'll have to wait and see. If he does have a power, I was thinking Technopathy (Can control electronics). If you've got an idea, drop me a review!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving! And enjoy all the pumpkin pie you can eat. My family is eating it for breakfast tomorrow :)