The sea was calm and the sky radiant with the pinks and oranges of the setting sun. The little speedboat sliced through the silky water as it sprinted towards Mako Island. Kim and Elliot sat holding hands in the back seat of the boat, talking quietly amid themselves. Cleo was still annoyed at her sister, but was doing her best to hide it, for Elliot's sake at least. They had gone to a café for afternoon tea, and the silence between the sisters was deafening. Elliott had done his best to make polite chatter, as he continued to do throughout the boat ride.
"So Cleo," Elliot began, "How are Jennie and Max? Grown up much since I last saw them?"
"Ridiculously so," Cleo laughed, "Jennie's quite the little madam- she's so artistic and just loves everything and everyone in the world. Max is such an easy-going little guy- you'll love him."
"And Lewis?"
"Weird as ever!" Cleo said jokingly, "No, he's great. You know he trained as doctor last year? You two will have a lot to talk about, I reckon."
As the boat pulled up to the dock, Cleo could tell that something was wrong. A strange atmosphere hung like an invisible storm cloud over Mako Island. As Cleo helped her sister out of the boat she saw a figure come running down the path.
"Hey Bella!" Cleo said curiously, "What's going on?"
Bella looked odd. Her face was pale and her brow furrowed. She gave Cleo a glance that said a thousand words, and then turned with a smile to Kim and Elliott.
"Hey you guys, it's really nice to see you again, but I'm afraid you've caught us in a bit of a crisis," Bella said smoothly, "Would it be too awful to book you a hotel room on the mainland, just for tonight, until things have settled down here?"
Kim and Elliott exchanged a glance and shrugged. "That would be fine," Elliott said kindly, "We don't want to intrude."
"Thank you so much, I'm so sorry about this," Bella said apologetically, "Will's gonna take the boat over there now."
As she spoke, Cleo noticed for the first time that Will was standing behind Bella, holding Danielle in one arm and a duffle bag in the other.
Cleo and Bella waved as the boat pulled out of sight, smiling until it disappeared behind the trees.
"Okay, Bella, what's going on? I'm kind of freaking out," Cleo said anxiously.
"I think you should come with me," Bella said solemnly.
oOoOoOoOo
A few hours earlier
Lewis sat at his desk, engrossed in his work and not really paying attention to the time. Lewis' stomach rumbled. He was uncertain whether or not to heed his hunger or ignore it, because he really couldn't be bothered making any food.
Quite the dilemma, thought Lewis. Dilemma? Emma! Oh shoot.
Lewis remembered Cleo's earlier request to go check on Emma with a start. He felt bad, and closed his laptop quickly.
The door to the Doves' house was open- Cleo had obviously forgotten to shut it on her way out. The baby was crying, Lewis noted with chagrin. Emma was normally very quick to attend to her children's needs.
"Emma, it's Lewis," he called tentatively- he didn't want to wake her.
"Lewis?" a hoarse voice called from the bathroom.
Lewis opened the bathroom door cautiously and jumped a little at the sight that met him.
"Oh my," he gulped.
oOoOoOoOo
Bella's pace was unnaturally quick, and Cleo struggled to keep up as she cantered down the path to the mermaid village.
"Bella, talk to me, what is going on?" Cleo pleaded.
They had stopped at the front door to the Doves' house. Cleo frowned, remembering how sick Emma had been this morning.
"Just…" Bella began, "Prepare yourself."
All the preparation in the world couldn't have readied Cleo for the sight that met her as she entered the lovely little cottage. The furniture in the living room had all been pushed aside to make room for Lewis' patient table, and there, surrounded by drips and machines, lay Emma. Or at least Cleo assumed it was Emma, for the creature was unrecognizable.
Her hair was gone. That was what struck Cleo the most. But upon closer inspection, Emma's appearance worsened. Her skin was pasty, drained of all healthy colour but consumed by a strange blue-gray tinge. She was in mermaid form, her tail no longer the pretty orange it normally was but charcoal gray.
As Cleo drew closer, Emma opened her eyes. Cleo gasped. Her irises had vanished completely, leaving only little black pupils encircled by white.
Emma's breathing was unnatural, ragged and harsh, but she tried to speak to Cleo. Her words were unrecognizable, but Cleo appreciated the effort and reached out to hold her friend's hand.
It was all too much.
"Where the heck is Lewis?" Cleo muttered in a low tone to Bella, "Why isn't he here, doing something?"
Bella inhaled sharply. "Well, that's just it," she said, her voice squeaky, "It's not just Emma. Jennifer and Jacob…" Bella broke off, her eyes filling with tears.
"What?" Cleo asked, mortified.
"Lewis can't figure it out," Bella whispered, "It's not any human disease. He- he doesn't know what to do."
A tight lump had formed in Cleo's throat and she swallowed repeatedly in an attempt to dislodge it. Her brain was racing. Then she thought of it.
"Have you called Lucky?"
oOoOoOoOo
Author's Note: Hey all! Sorry it's been a bit grim and dark lately, I promise you all (well most) future storylines will be happy happy happy from now on. I'm halfway through the next chapter and it should be up within the hour, so hold on tight! Who's loving my cliffhangers? Kate x