Hey People! Here is another lovely chapter for ya'll, and it's a long one! Things are starting to move forward a bit more and we see a bit more of Lewis in this chapter. Enjoy!
As always, I do not own H2O or its characters. But I think I may have insomnia…
Lewis didn't know the day. Actually, he didn't know much of anything these days. His schedule worked according to Sir Henry Briston's and, from what he could tell, that was erratic at best. Within a few days of being in the aquarium he had lost all track of time. He simply slept when exhausted and begrudgingly ate when food appeared for him.
His resolve to not cooperate with his captor had dissolved after a meager 24 hours. Being a full merman he found that there were some instincts he now had that could not be ignored. One was a predatory nature. The fish that swam around him had suddenly started looking tasty. When he'd chased one down and held it in his webbed hands, he knew that he needed food, which meant cooperating. But what Briston wanted in return made him cringe. And now he hated himself for how he had betrayed his friends.
His stomach had been ready to eat itself when he'd heard the grate above him open again. Lewis hadn't even hesitated to swim to the surface and pull himself up onto the metal meshing that covered the aquarium top. There Briston had sat, smug in his chair in a deep blue over robe over his sleep ware and house slippers of the same color. On a table beside him sat a platter of sushi and lobster. Lewis had felt some seeming switch in his brain go off as he suddenly found he was dragging himself across the rough mesh, his tail wriggling behind him, to get to the food.
"Young man, control yourself." The harsh, deep words had been enough to stop him.
But just barely. Lewis had lain there, breathing hard as his gills flared in the open air. He was a mere two feet from the man in front of him and completely helpless. What was going on with him? It seemed that all the time in the water had started to addle his brain for sure this time. His focus remained on the platter of food as Sir Henry Briston began to speak to him.
"If you want this," he had gestured casually to the table, "you have some things to give me first."
Lewis pulled his eyes to the man's face. "What kind of things?" His voice was already becoming hoarse from overexposure to the direct oxygen intake.
The grin on Briston's face could only have been described as sinister. Lewis's stomach had clenched and immediately he'd felt the need to be back in the water and hidden among the tall plants. He'd tried to back up and yelped as the mesh pulled at his scales and fin. He'd tried to pull himself around in a U-turn but couldn't bend his waist well enough without running into Briston in the process.
"I want your secrets, Lewis. Those things you wouldn't tell Linda. We'll start simple: how did you become a merman?"
Lewis collapsed on the meshing. He couldn't tell. He wouldn't tell. If it meant drying out on the mesh, then that was the price he paid to protect his friends and their only safe place in the world. He had clamped his mouth shut and started pushing himself backwards towards the opening he'd swum from. He'd felt blood as he bit on his tongue as scales were ripped off in his efforts. He'd made it three inches when the first piece of sushi was waved in front of his nose.
Briston had knelt on the mesh in front of him, sushi pierced by a fork held in his fingers. The smell overrode all thought of escape and Lewis had lunged for the fork. He'd almost had his mouth closed around it when it had been yanked back as Briston stood. Lewis grabbled for the older man's feet, trying to trip him up to get to the fish. The man had simply taken two steps back and put the food down on the plate.
Then the shock came. From a pocket in his robe Briston had pulled out and extended some sort of cattle prod, complete with an electric current. The tip had touched Lewis's right shoulder and he'd hollered in pain as the electricity coursed through his system. He'd writhed in pain from the quick tap and felt his gills pulsing rapidly for air. He'd barely been able to breathe.
For the first time Lewis had feared for his life. He'd felt out of control of his body and behavior and of the situation he was in. Why had he let himself get so far from the water? Why had he so badly tried to go for the fish? Sobs of frustration had seeped out with the pain.
"Tell me Lewis, and the fish is yours."
Lewis had protested against his brain, but it was muddled. The words seeped from his lips before he could stop them.
"The moon pool."
He had gasped at his own words and glared up with pure hatred at the human in front of him. Briston had taken the fork with the sushi and tossed it at him. Lewis's reaction had been instant and primal as the fork was discarded and the raw fish was in his mouth before he knew what had happened. His stomach had clenched as the food made its way down his throat.
The next ten minutes had been the worst ten minutes of his life as his body and mind betrayed him. The taste of food overrode the logical part of his brain, the part that remembered that he had vowed to never tell the secrets he and his friends shared. All Briston had to do was hold up a piece of sushi, maybe give him a slight prod with the cattle rod, and he told him exactly how he and his friends had become merpeople.
Looking back he guessed he'd been out of the water around 15 minutes when his gills had started to fail him. He'd gasped for air as his gills shriveled from the overdose of oxygen and black spots appeared in his vision. From out of nowhere two men had grabbed his wrists and tail and lugged him back to the water, letting him drop in through the hole unceremoniously.
The water had wrapped around him as he sunk to the substrate bottom below him. His body twitched from the shocks he had endured and his stomach had still rumbled. He'd claimed only a couple pieces of fish as his prize. His gills worked in over drive to pull oxygen from the water around them, rehydrating in the process. As the water covered him, his brain placed itself back in order and he'd felt in control again. Just in time for all the guilt to come crashing down around him.
It had been five days since that incident and Briston hadn't bothered him sense then. A cooked lobster or small baggie of sushi would sparingly be dropped into the aquarium and he would dash to grab it before one of the small sharks got to it. In those moments he would struggle to retain his rational thinking as his own predator side came to the front. He could only speculate that if he wasn't so hungry he wouldn't react in such an animalistic way. But that was a theory he wouldn't be able to figure out for a while. Briston seemed to want to keep him on edge.
Each day since then, he'd played over all that he'd told his captor. How the moon affected them, what had happened to him on the blue moon, how his girlfriend and her friends had changed… all the secrets he had vowed to never tell – and had.
And he hated himself for it. Out of all the things in his life that were no longer reversible, that was the worst. He could handle being a merman, but not betraying his friends. It made him a traitor and a coward. He now had no desire to escape, because he didn't want to go home. He could never face Cleo or the others again, knowing what he had done. If he ever did somehow, miraculously, get out, he would disappear into the ocean and never be seen again. It broke his heart knowing that what he and Cleo had was over. He just couldn't imagine facing her. The visions and the dreams he had of their future floated away from him as he swam in circles.
Endless, depressing laps around his tank became his life as he succumbed to what he was. Briston didn't bother him as he had what he wanted for the time being, and the two men who he'd seen earlier maintained the tank without bothering him. He was a fish on private display and now he felt he deserved no better.
-h-2-o-
Cleo dashed home after the eulogy, eager to tell her friends about the moon ring and the plan that was slowly forming in her mind. She pushed open her front door and stopped to see Sam and her dad talking in hushed tones on the couch. Before they stopped and looked at her, she'd heard her name.
"Hey, honey." Her dad looked at her with an awkward smile. "How are you?"
Cleo's heart dropped. Why had they been talking about her?
"I'm fine, considering." She twiddled her fingers. "What are you two talking about?" She crossed her arms over her chest in agitation.
Sam stood up, rubbing her hands on her pant legs. "Things that have been on our minds."
Cleo rolled her eyes. "You mean me and what I am."
Don looked uncomfortable as he sat forward on the couch. "We're just worried about you, Hun."
Sam nodded and took a step forward. "We love you, you know that. But we're just having a hard time processing everything."
Cleo cringed. "I didn't accept it all that easy at first either." She looked at her dad. "But it's really a good thing."
Don shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. "You're half fish and you're saying that's a good thing?" Don's voice seemed strained. "And you also told us that it's getting worse!"
Cleo stared at the floor, scuffing her foot on the carpet. She had no response to that part. It was getting worse, daily. And just because she had this moon ring from Ms. Chatam, she didn't know how that was going to help her. She could feel it pulling at her, seeming to urge her towards the water. It was going to help her find Lewis. She just didn't know if that meant giving up her humanity in the process.
Sam stepped closer and put her hand on Cleo's shoulder. "Cleo, we love you. Your father and I just don't want to lose you." She paused and took a calming breathe. "We've been doing some research, trying to find a way to help."
Cleo stepped back. "You can't help. Lewis was always doing research and he found nothing that could change what we were. This isn't science or logic – it's magic."
Don exhaled loudly in exasperation. "There is no such thing!" He stood up and walked over to his daughter. "We're going to fix this and make you better."
Cleo stepped back again, towards the stairs and the direction of her room. "I don't need to be fixed. I'm a mermaid, I've accepted that." She didn't give them the chance to respond as she dashed up the stairs and to the only safe haven she had left.
In her room she sat cross legged on her bed, her pillow clutched tightly in her lap. Her emotions were strained and there was too much going through her head. Her family wasn't as okay as she'd thought. She'd simultaneously said goodbye to Lewis while also finding a hope to find him. The day had been too much for her and she needed a break from it, and against her better judgment she knew of one way to relax.
The tub filled with warm, bubbly water as she relaxed her tired body into it. It took only seconds for her form to shimmer and change. This time she took careful stock of what had changed and how far everything was progressing. The webbing between her fingers was still up to the last knuckle and now had the same copper tint as her fin. She felt around to her back, which was pressed uncomfortably against the porcelain tub. The fin that had only been an inch high was now more rigged and prominent, stretching from the base of her neck to where her skin and tail blended together – at least three inches tall between her shoulder blades at the highest point.
And then there was the odd stretching on her ribs. She looked down and gasped to see three long scratch-like marks on each side of her chest, snuggled between where her rib bones were. Gills?! She gasped in shock and then worked to calm her breathe. They didn't move and were only surface marks, but she could only guess that would change after a few more dips in the water. She flicked her tail in the bubbles and then grabbed her phone to put her earbuds in. She was only going to stay in the water for a little bit. That's all the time she could afford.
One song played, and then her phone moved onto the next. Her heart skipped a beat at the tune – it was her and Lewis's song. As she listened the moon ring on her finger began to tingle and a dream-like vision appeared before her eyes. A scene with Lewis in an aquarium lay before her. He looked thin and sallow, like he was starving and hadn't seen the sun in a long time. The changes she could see broke her heart. His gills flared open and closed as he swam around. His movements were fluid and languid, his too long hair streaming from his face. How long had he been like that?
Her vision seemed to pull out away from the tank and she felt herself pull out of the walls so she could see where she was. The place was a mansion with wide lawns, gardens and fencing. She tried to look around to get a feel of the landscape, trying to understand what she was seeing. But no matter how hard Cleo tried, she couldn't figure it out.
The images faded and Cleo found herself still in the bathtub, her phone moving onto another song. Tears filled her eyes as she thought of how Lewis had looked. Why was he so thin? How was she supposed to find that aquarium? Or that mansion? She heard herself sob and then the bathroom door creaked open.
"Cleo, can I come in?" Sam's head poked around the door.
Nodding, Cleo pulled the ear buds out of her ears and tried to sit up a bit straighter in the tub. She squirmed a little as her fin hung over the end of the porcelain.
Sam walked in and paused for a moment as she saw Cleo. She took in the orange fish tail and Cleo placing her phone on the sink counter close by. How often had Cleo done this same thing and she and her husband had been unaware? She thought back to all that Cleo had told them. For nearly four years. She still wondered how Don hadn't noticed something earlier. At the same time she was impressed that Cleo had been able to keep such a large and strange secret for so long.
Then Sam saw Cleo's face. It was slightly red and there were tears in her eyes. She was crying! Sam walked over to the tub and knelt.
"Honey? What's wrong?" She placed a hand on her step-daughter's cheek.
Cleo gasped and sobbed again. Her heart hurt from missing Lewis and for having Sam see her so vulnerable like this.
"It's Lewis. I know he's still alive, and I know he's out there and in danger somewhere." She tried not sniffle and she struggled to stop sobbing. "But I don't know how to find him. I was supposed to be there for him always, but I can't do anything." Cleo covered her face with her hands as the tears flowed harder.
Sam's heart broke for Cleo. "Honey, calm down." She pulled back Cleo's hands and held them in her own. "Where did this come from? I thought you had accepted that he's gone."
Cleo shook her head fiercely. "I may have gone to his eulogy, but I know he's still out there."
Pausing, Sam looked at Cleo's face more carefully. She looked so determined. "How do you know?"
Cleo jerked her head up. "What?"
"You sound like you have proof." Sam squeezed Cleo's hands. "How do you know?"
Looking down at the ring on her finger, Cleo pictured what she had just seen. She had told Sam and her dad that magic existed, that it was why she and her friends were part fish and becoming more so. But judging on what she'd just heard of their conversation, they didn't believe her. How could she explain to Sam about the magic ring she now owned because of an ex-mermaid that was supposed to lead her to the other half of her heart?
Sighing and finally feeling the tears stop, she just shrugged. "I just know. If he were really gone, I would feel it. But I feel that he needs me. That he's out there somewhere and needs my help. I just don't know what to do."
Sam glanced down at the ring that Cleo was staring at. It was gorgeous and something she'd never seen her wearing before. Maybe she'd gotten it at the eulogy as a condolence gift. She looked back up at Cleo's face. Unlike her step-daughter, Sam didn't see how Lewis could be alive. He'd just vanished without a trace. The police and water patrol had found nothing. When young people went missing without a trace near water, it usually meant they were lost at sea. It was a heartbreaking story each time, and now it had become personal.
"Cleo," she paused. "I think we need to take you to see a therapist."
Cleo's hands whipped out of hers so quick she was shocked. "What?" She sounded angry.
"You're experiencing a level of grief and loss you never have before. Your father and I think that talking with a therapist would be good for you. Especially because of the stress with your unique situation." Sam looked at her pleadingly. "We don't want to keep seeing you hurt like this. Talking to someone who can help you work through it could be a really good thing."
Cleo shook her head slowly. "No."
"Cleo…"
"I said no. A therapist will just think I'm in denial, just like everyone else." Cleo reached down and pulled the plug on the drain.
They sat there as the sound of draining water swirled around them. Cleo felt cornered and angry. This day had been too long for her, and her bath had been far from relaxing. Her desire to go to the moon pool was so strong at the moment, but it just made her heart hurt more. She couldn't go there. At least, not yet.
"Please, Sam." She looked up at her step-mom. "I don't have the energy for this right now."
The bags under Cleo's eyes and the droop in her shoulders were evident as Sam stood up. "Alright. Please just think about it. We're going to schedule an appointment for the day after your revision next week." Before Cleo could protest she walked out of the bathroom, gently shutting the door behind her.
Cleo lay in the cold tub, the water making its final sucking noises as it drained completely. Swirling her hand she used her power to gather all of the water droplets from the porcelain and off her skin. The ball of water floated in the air, about the size of a basketball, and then she dropped it carefully in the sink. She'd learned how to be creative in her attempts to get dry over the years. Now the waiting game.
The minutes ticked by on the clock as she grew more tired. The exhaustion of the day seemed to hit her and she felt her muscles relax as her eyes drooped. Not even ten minutes later and she was asleep, her tail wriggling slightly in the cool bathroom air.
-h-2-o-
Ash stood outside the airport, His arms wrapped around Emma as they hugged each other tightly. It was early morning and the sun had just come up, dispelling the light fog that had been lingering.
"You promise to call me as soon as you get off the plane?" Emma sounded worried as she snuggled tighter into his arms.
"Of course."
"And you won't forget that tomorrow is a full moon." Her voice was slightly muffled.
"Em," he pulled back just enough to be able to look into her eyes. "It'll be fine."
She gazed into his hazel eyes and nodded. "I have to worry, you know that. It's only your third full moon. The last one didn't turn out so spectacular. Who knows what's going to happen this time."
He laughed a little. "Why worry when we can't control it?"
She glared at him, but with no real anger behind it. He'd always been so good at seeing everything in a more relaxed light. Like just accepting that he was a merman. He took it all so easy.
"Just promise me you'll moon proof everything. We'll open a video chat so we can keep tabs on each other." Emma stepped back and glanced down at his bags.
Ash grabbed her hand and gave it a little squeeze. "We'll be fine, Ems." He gave her a kiss on her cheek and then on her lips.
Together they loaded his bags onto a cart and then stared at each other.
"Be safe." Emma felt a tear form in her eye.
Ash pulled her in tight again and gave her a deeper kiss. "You be safe as well. I'll call in just a few hours."
And then he walked away into the main lobby of the airport.
Emma watched him go, feeling at the same time as if the ground was shifting beneath her. She never realized how much of a strength he had been to her before. But now, as she watched him leave for school, she couldn't help feel as if she was drowning slightly.
Her pocket buzzed and she pulled her phone out.
I LOVE U – Ash
She felt the tears spill over as she read his text. It was going to be so hard without him, but she had her friends to focus on. Emma, sensible as ever, wiped the quick tears away and strengthened her resolve, her shoulders straightening. Ash would be fine, now she had to get back to her friends to make sure they were all going to be okay too.
-h-2-o-
It was the dreaded week of revisions and the gang was slowly falling apart. The full moon had come and gone with nothing out of order. This was a fact that relieved and worried them all simultaneously. While the girls had gotten over the effects of the moon a couple years back, they didn't think that it would be that quick for the guys. Even Ash had been completely fine over their video chat.
Cleo had told them all that night about the moon ring that Ms. Chatam had given her. Bella had been excited and wanted to look at it. Emma had been wary, of course, wondering what kind of effect that was going to have on everything.
Cleo had also told them about the vision she'd seen of Lewis and how he'd looked. She described his appearance and how she'd seen where he was but didn't actually know how to find it.
Will had been the first one to come up with the beginnings of a plan.
"You said that you've been feeling the moon ring pull you towards the water?" Will had looked around at his friends. "Maybe it can lead us in the right direction. If we follow it, you'll recognize when we get to the right place."
"You want to trust the magic to get us there?" Rikki had sounded skeptical. "Maybe it's not the moon ring leading her to the water but all the craziness that is already going on."
"I think we should trust the ring." Bella had handed it back to Cleo. "We're mermaids." She'd glanced back at Will and gave him a shushing look at his protest. "Magic is in our blood. If that ring operates on moon magic, then it's the best shot we've got."
So they'd all decided that they were going to jump off the ledge, so to speak.
Cleo, Bella and Will confirmed that their changes from mer back to human were almost up to an hour. Both Will and Bella had developed the webbing on their hands and the fins on their backs. Bella's gills were almost functional and she was starting to have panic attacks where she felt like she couldn't breathe.
Emma had pointed out that this was probably going to be it for the three of them. If they went to find Lewis, they weren't coming back as human. Only she and Rikki were going to able to really return home.
The five of them had decided that Emma and Rikki were going to be essential in this plan. They were still free to move about on land as they needed to. Cleo didn't know if she, Will and Bella would be able to get out of the water once they reached where Lewis was being held captive. Emma and Rikki were going to be the ones who would have to break him out. Somehow.
Bella apologized to Cleo as they were leaving, feeling guilty that she'd ever doubted that Lewis was still alive. She was ready and willing to help however she could.
Even with their plan formed, it seemed that the world was going to do everything possible to keep them from executing it. It was their last day of testing and then they would leave that night. Bella was having a hard time breathing and her skin was unbelievably itchy. Will wasn't much better, but he kept his worry and panic under control for his fiancé.
Will still hadn't seen Sophie around for at least a week, and none of them had seen Zane. Rikki couldn't shake the feeling that they were planning something. But she had bigger fish to worry about. She'd already told her dad that she was spending the weekend with her friends to celebrate the end of school. Whether she passed her revisions or not, she had the café, which she had managed to keep in business even without Zane. Barely. Her life was going to keep moving on. It was her friends that she was worried about.
Everyone sat in their seats as their last test was administered. All five of them sat near each other, keeping an eye out for anything unusual. Zane was there too, but he kept his distance on the other side of the room. No matter how many times Rikki tried to catch his eye, he never looked at her.
Half way through the test Bella felt herself panic. She was trying her hardest to focus on the paper in front of her, working to fill out the answers. Then her breath started coming out in short gasps. She tried sucking more air into her lungs, but it was like they were deflated. She gasped again and held a hand to her chest. Her lungs were working, but barely. She kept gasping as she tried to concentrate on her test. This had been happening on and off for the last few days. Bella knew the sensation would pass, but it was terrifying while it happened.
Will heard Bella and looked to his left at her. Her eyes were wide and mouth hung open. She was having problems breathing again. Glancing up at the teacher first, who had his head down at his desk, Will reached over and grabbed her hand under her desk. He squeezed it tightly, drawing her attention.
'Are you okay?' He mouthed to her, trying to not react to the panic clearly on her face.
She paused, searching his face and then gasped again, this time seemingly a bit easier. After a moment Bella nodded and gave him a stretched smile. She squeezed his hand and then let go. Will turned back to his own test, now nowhere near focused on what he was supposed to be doing. Just a few more hours, he told himself. And then he and Bella would go with Cleo to find Lewis. He and Bella, he knew for certain, would not be coming back human.
Zane watched Will and Bella out of the corner of his eye. She'd had some sort of panic attack. Personally he thought that Bella simply didn't look well at all. Her skin was thin and flaky, and she looked too thin and bony as she sat in her chair. What was happening to them? Will and Cleo looked to be in a similar state, though not nearly as wan or frail looking. Rikki and Emma seemed completely fine, if not worried by their constant glances over at Bella.
Just looking at them made him sure in his resolve to carry out the plan that he and Sophie had come up with. And that they now had some surprising help with carrying it out. Some small, guilty part of his conscience told him he should just leave them alone – let destiny do whatever it wanted with them. But then he looked at Rikki and his heart hurt. He almost had her. He knew that she had loved him once, but destiny had not been kind to him.
Now he had Sophie. And while she wasn't Rikki, Zane was okay with that. Sophie was ambitious like him. They made a good pair. Rikki may have gotten the café, but he at least had gotten his humanity back. In the last couple of weeks he'd started interning at his father's business. Life was moving forward and looking pretty amazing for him. But he had unfinished business. He couldn't completely move on until he helped his old friends do the same. He and Sophie had gotten some recent, enlightening information. It was time, in his mind and Sophie's, to help the five of his former friends get back to what was really called normal.
-h-2-o-
Will helped Bella walk out of the room as they turned in their tests. A sense of finality hung about them as they stepped into the hallway, soon joined by Cleo, Emma and Rikki. Their classmates streamed around them as they huddled by the drinking fountain. Bella was leaning on Will, trying to stand up straight but feeling her strength faltering.
Will gripped onto her tightly and made his decision. "We'll meet the three of you at Mako. Bella can't do this anymore. We'll see you there at sun down."
The three others solemnly nodded as they watched them go. Cleo felt a sense of dread as she watched them walk down the stairs. This was probably the last time she would see those two as human. Rikki turned to her two best friends and frowned.
"Zane kept giving me odd looks during the test." She folded her arms over her chest. "I can't help shake the feeling that something is up."
Emma nodded. "He's been weird for a while now. Do you think he's been hanging out with Sophie?"
Cleo shook her head. "We can't think about that right now." She played with the ring on her finger. During the test it had grown warm and she'd almost been ready to jump out of her seat to follow it to the water. "We have to go. We can deal with Zane when we get back."
Though Rikki felt that wasn't the wisest, she didn't argue. They finally had some sort of chance to go and find Lewis. That wasn't something they could give up now because Zane might be up to something.
The three of them headed down the hallway, each going to their own houses. There were a couple loose ends they all needed to tie up before they left.
A solemn walk later and Cleo stood outside her dad and step-mom's room. The moon ring was tucked onto the pointer finger of her right hand. She fiddled with the silver band as she tried to work up the courage she needed to confront them. She hadn't mentioned the plan to them. As far as they knew she was still planning on going to the therapist in the morning. In reality, Cleo had no such intention and never had.
Quickly, before she could chicken out, she knocked on their door. It was just getting dusk outside and she needed to get going. She'd already put her bag and pillow by the door, her proof to them that she was going to a sleepover celebration for finishing the exams.
"Come in." Her dad's voice echoed through the wood to her.
Gingerly she swung open the door and smiled at her parents. They were curled up on top of their bed, some cheesy romance film playing on their TV across the room from them.
"I just wanted to remind you that I'm headed to Emma's for our little party." Cleo gulped at the lie.
Sam looked up at her. "There aren't going to be any boys there, right?"
Cleo's heart clenched. "No." She looked down and Sam frowned.
"I'll be back in the morning so we can go to that appointment." She tugged at the ring again. The pull was starting to get strong and she was having a hard time concentrating.
Don gave her a tentative smile. "Okay sweetie. Thank you for being mature about this. Have fun at Emma's."
Cleo looked up and smiled. "Thanks. Love you both." And then she shut the door.
She paused slightly outside Kim's room as she continued down the hallway. She thought of saying goodbye to her too, but knew that Kim would see that as suspicious. Cleo couldn't tell her sister goodbye, and it hurt. Maybe, at some point in the future, they would be able to talk to each other again.
With a determined resolve Cleo walked down the stairs, grabbed her things, and then left her house. This was it. She was finally off to find Lewis.
What did ya think? Again, I love getting reviews as they help me to keep going. I have officially planned out the rest of the story and I've got some crazy stuff in store for ya'll. I don't know how many chapters to the end at this point, but I promise the ending will not disappoint. Let me know if there is anything you want to see before the end. Happy Swimming!