Chapter 14

August 5, 10:30 pm

Well, none of the girls had made it to the moonpool yet. The thunderstorm had soon turned into a mini hurricane, torturing the tiny island for the next eight days. Now, Rikki was going stir crazy from being locked up in the sleeping cave, Emma was trying out theories about Ashley, and Cleo and Natalie had just dragged themselves up to the fruit trees as mermaids to gather food.

All of a sudden, Emma thought she saw a faint light out in the sea. The rain had let up, leaving only wind in its place. Just then, all four girls heard the sound of a foghorn! "It's a ship!" Natalie screamed as she jumped up.

"Great deduction, Nancy Drew." Rikki said sarcastically.

Natalie gave her a look before running out the door. "Come on guys, this is rescue!" Cleo was right behind her, carrying a flashlight. Emma ran out as well, waving her arms and screaming frantically. Rikki finally walked out the door and yelled a little bit.

"Just don't expect me to do crazy Indian dances." Rikki yelled.

Cleo started to do SOS on the flashlight while Natalie shrieked, "Hey! Come back! We're over here!" Just then, Emma went and splashed into the ocean, heading for the ship!

"They'll never see us out here." Emma said over the wind. "I'll try to get them to come to the island." She flicked her turquoise tail quickly, trying to make up for lost time. I have to get to this ship. I have to be rescued, no matter what the risk.

"Emma, come back! Someone might see you!" Natalie tried to yell to the blond girl. Emma couldn't hear her, so she kept swimming towards the ship, which strangely wasn't moving…

~*O*~

Meanwhile, ten year old Andrea Wilkens was standing on the deck of the cruise liner Siren of the Pacific. People were running and screaming on the decks because the ship had crashed into a coral reef. Water had already started to pour in. She stood on her tiptoes, trying to spot her brother Alex in the throngs of scared people. He was a steward on this ship and Andrea traveled with him when he worked.

The reason was that their parents had died two years ago in a car accident, making then twenty two year old Alex guardian of Andrea. So, Andrea got a half price ticket and was able to take tons of cruises. She basically lived on the ship and Alex homeschooled her. The trips were usually pretty awesome, until this one when the captain couldn't see through the storm and crashed into a coral reef.

Crew members were herding passengers to lifeboats, trying to stay calm. "Don't worry! Another ship is on the way. The lifeboats are just a precaution!" they yelled to the terrified people.

I personally think that if another ship is on the way, why not wait for it to get here? Andrea thought as she fiddled with the zipper on her windbreaker. Again, she looked for her brother. Where is he? He only had to get a few things out his cabin. (room)She shifted her backpack on her shoulder and leaned against the rail.

Just then, the ship scraped even more against the coral reef, driving it under. Because of that, Andrea's side of the deck tilted, knocking her over the rail and into the churning sea. She screamed as she went under, choking on a mouthful of seawater. Wiping the salty spray out of her eyes, Andrea started yelling; hoping that one of the lifeboats could hear her. "Help! Somebody help me!" Fog had come after the storm, making the majestic ship no longer visible.

A hand touched Andrea's shoulder. She screamed and another hand clapped over her mouth. "Be quiet. I'm here to help you. Where's the ship?" Andrea turned around to look at the voice's face. It belonged to a blond girl with light blue eyes.

"I don't know. It just vanished into the fog," she said quietly, nervous about this rescuer. "Who are you?"

"I'm Emma." The girl began to cry in frustration. "We were so close to being rescued! We could've been saved from that island!" She looked at Andrea and sighed. "I guess you're coming with me."

"Wait, what about my brother? He works on that ship. I can't just leave him!" A tear ran down the younger girl's face.

"There's no way we'll be able to catch up with it." At least not while I'm trying to act like a human.

"But, the ship is wrecked. The lifeboats are in the water right now. Maybe there's one near us." Andrea stared into the fog, hoping to catch a glimpse of a lifeboat heading towards her. She almost wanted to cry when she saw none. Then, her backpack slipped off her shoulder, heading into a patch of coral. Andrea dove under after it, accidentally knocking her head against a sharp piece. She began to sink.

Emma gasped and swam to the girl, supporting her and grabbing the backpack in the process. As she surfaced, the first night came into her mind.

Flashback

June 18, 11:20 pm

Emma knelt over Bella's limp figure. "Bella! Wake up, Bella!" She looked around the fiery inferno, searching for Rikki or Cleo. "Help! I need help!" Seeing no one, and the fire getting closer to her, Emma dragged Bella to the rail and threw her into the sea. Then, Emma jumped in after her. As she hit the water, she caught sight of an unconscious Bella sinking out of sight. Emma grabbed her and pulled them both up to the surface.

"Rikki! Cleo! Where are you?" The sea was bright with lightning and the burning ship, but there was no sign of either of her friends. Then, the boat turned into a flaming explosion, throwing debris that threatened to hit Emma and Bella. Emma was forced to get further away from the light and into the night, hoping for a miracle that would let her find her friends…

End of Flashback

By the time the memory had faded away, Emma saw the island coming into view. Cleo, Rikki, and Natalie were watching for her, scared looks on their faces. Natalie saw her first. "Emma, you're okay! We thought you'd be revealed for sure!" The redhead ran into the surf, her tail forming and causing her to fall face first into the water.

Rikki meanwhile was staring at Emma's passenger. "Aw, Em, you didn't."

"Rikki, she was sinking! What was I supposed to do, let her drown? She looks like she's around Elliot's age!"

Cleo looked at the younger girl, compassion in her eyes. "Rikki, this is what happened with Natalie. It was either help her or let her die. What did we choose then?"

The blond girl shrugged her shoulders. "And then what happened? Natalie found out our secret, found the moonpool, and became a mermaid. Do we want a repeat?"

"No, but we'll have to be even more careful. Absolutely no swimming, nothing that has to do with water at all. We can't let this one become a mermaid, even if it's really hard. Okay?" Rikki, Emma, and Natalie nodded solemnly.

"I agree." They all said at the same time.

The foursome then carried the new girl to the cave where they left her to sleep off her injury. Then, everyone else went to sleep, letting the wind lull them to the peaceful darkness…

Okay, a new girl thrown into the midst of Emma, Rikki, Cleo, and Natalie's lives! Why has fate brought her to the island? You'll have to see! Also, I have an important announcement. So, please pay attention! I am thinking about writing a sequel to this story once this one is finished! (I already have a basic plot set up.) But, before I make a final decision, I need my lovely reviewers' feedback! If you say, "Oh yeah, I want a sequel! Bring it on!" or something like that, I will put a sneak peek in the end of this story! (I'd like more than one person to say yes though before I do it.) So, keep on reading and reviewing! :)