A/N: A special thanks goes to BreakTheWalls and Leasha Ambrose for the wonderful reviews. Onto number five, let me know what you think.

Chapter 5:

Question Everything

"Alayna…" A voice called.

I opened my eyes, seeing the oceanic world lay before me. Dolphins and colorful fish swam in harmony through the pink colored reefs of coral. This wasn't my reality; but knew that it was somehow connected to my lineage. Turning my mermaid body around, I came face to face with a woman. Another mermaid, who had long chestnut brown hair and the brightest amber colored eyes I had ever seen.

She looked to be around the same age as me; but her presence told me that she was older than she seemed. Her tail held bright shades of green and blue mixed along the scales. She was beautiful and not in the traditional model sense, genuine beauty. "Who are you?" I asked, hoping to get an answer and not a vague one like I have been getting during these episodes inside my head.

"I truly wish I could answer that. It isn't safe yet. All I can tell you, is that you must put as much distance as you can between Philip, Claire, and Elijah as you can."

She mentioned my adoptive parents by name. How did she know them? What else did she know about the things happening within that mansion? Narrowing my eyes a little at the disappointment of her responses. The secrets were starting to get to me, even if this was entirely made up inside my head.

"Alayna…" Another voice called, one that was familiar. Adam's voice.

The world in front of me was starting to crumble before my eyes. Whirling around, I could see the solemn expression on the woman's face before she faded away. Flying into an upright position, Adam's hands connected with my shoulders to steady me. Gasping for small breaths of air, I realized that I was in my own reality. "It was just a dream." He assured, sitting on the edge of the bed next to me.

"It felt so real...the ocean caressing my skin." I answered, finally getting my breathing rhythm back and touching the sides of my arms.

"Sometimes I get dreams like that. They've been coming ever since the accident. I guess it might have something to do with my lost memories of that day."

I simply stayed quiet and watched him. I've only known him for two days and somehow I felt at ease in his presence, more alive than I ever had living at home. His golden blonde locks were tangled, obviously from restless sleep. The same as me. I didn't even want to see what my hair looked like.

Adam reached across his lap for my hand. The feeling of his soft skin against mine sent a pleasant chill down my spine, awakening long forgotten emotions that I desperately try to bury deep within myself. "Chin up, we need to push forward if we want to see the light at the end of the tunnel." He encouraged.

"You're right. I never meant to drag you into this...I'm sorry."

"Like I said before, it's not a big deal. Hell, if you hadn't dragged me into this, I'd never know who you are...other than a chance meeting at a bar."

"So what I am...doesn't bother you?"

I was dreading the answer, because I felt like there was no human on earth that would not fear what I am on some level. Even if I was only half-mermaid, the fact that I didn't know who or what my biological father was left me with too many unanswered questions of my own let alone explaining it to someone else.

Adam tightened his hold on my hand a little, looking me straight in the eyes. There was no humor, no fear, no sadness, not even happiness displayed on his face. The only thing there was a serious expression that I could not read. "I'll admit, when I first saw the tail in my bathtub...I was a little cautious or maybe a little unwavering, not really understanding what I was seeing; but I also remembered how you saved my life without even thinking about it in the alley."

"I have no idea what else could happen while you stay with me...it's only going to get more dangerous from here."

"So I've seen first hand."

"This is no joke, Adam. My world could kill you."

My warning didn't seem to concern him. He continued to stare at me. His blue eyes swirling with foreign emotion. He was admiring me, I could feel it against my skin. Pulling his hand away from mine, he moved it up to touch the side of my face. "I know. We will keep moving. You don't need to be alone in this."

Never in a million years did I think that I would hear such words come out of a human's mouth directed at me. It made my heart pound against my chest beating a million miles a second.

Reaching up, I curled my fingers around the side of his palm and pulled his hand away from my cheek. Shifting my head, I placed my lips on the inside of his wrist before getting up out of bed.

"It's only going to get harder the further we go. There are so many unanswered questions about my lineage. I have no idea how I was able to create those balls of sunlight yesterday. That wasn't a mermaid power." I admitted, looking out the window to see the sunlight for myself outside the glass.

"But what else could it be really?"

Shifting my feet away from the curtain, I glanced in his direction. He was so naive to the world outside of being human. There are so many creatures out there that could have been my father. It really was hard to say what kind of power that was. "There are far too many things in this world it could be. My adoptive parents experimented on so many that I lost count growing up."

"So you're telling me that I should be prepared to see all kinds of different things other than mermaids and those crazy ass genetically created things that attacked us at the cabin."

"Yes. I have no doubt there will be a bounty on my head. I'm sure Elijah will hand out a huge amount of money to whoever can bring me back to that god forsaken mansion in Vermont."

Letting the curtain fall from my hand, I moved to start packing up our supplies for the road. I hated the fact that I had to leave my bag behind in Adam's cabin; but there was nothing I could do about it now. The place would be monitored and we'd be caught almost immediately. He moved into the bathroom to brush his hair and brush his teeth. After he was finished, I moved in to do the same things.

Looking at the mirror, the person reflecting back at me didn't seem real. There were purple bags under my eyes from countless sleepless nights and my skin was dry from all the transforming into a mermaid I've done in the last forty-eight hours. I felt almost defeated in a sense, although no one had actually defeated me physically.

"Do you want to drive?" Adam asked, holding up the keys to my car in his fingers.

"Not particularly, do you mind driving?" I answered with a question of my own.

"No, I don't mind."

He held onto the keys and we moved to walk out of the room together. The sun was warm on my bare shoulders and the birds were chirping beautifully. Smiling to myself, I got inside the car on the passenger side. Adam tossed our things in the backseat and got behind the wheel.

My thoughts were starting to run together. That dream I had just seemed so real to me. Had she been trying to tell me something before I shot awake? The woman didn't feel familiar but her magic did. It called out to my own, which was normal for a mermaid to resonate with another mermaid when it came to their magic. Just who was she?

"Since we are in this car together, we might as well get to know each other a little more." Adam suggested.

"If you want to know something, just ask."

His facial expression was absolutely adorable. His mouth was agape for a second, obviously not expecting my response. If I was honest with myself, I could look into his eyes for a lengthy period of time and not think twice about it. For a human, he was beautiful. "You said that you have lost memories, right?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Is it only one day or a period of time?"

"It's a span of three days, which I figured out to be May 1st, 2nd and 3rd of 2016."

Adam's eyes widened and his hand gripped the steering wheel tighter until his knuckles were white. We weren't even ten minutes down the road when he pulled off into an abandoned parking area. I remained quiet, unsure of what he was doing or what was going through his mind.

Sucking in my bottom lip, I clenched my hands together across my lap. I didn't want to say anything that would upset him further. "Those are the same days I can't remember. There is no way that is a coincidence…"

"I don't understand...how could you have the same days lost as me?"

"Unless it was intentional."

He wasn't wrong there. If we have the same days lost, it meant something significant happened to us on those days and someone wanted us to forget about it. There had to be answers somewhere and judging from the look on Adam's face, he wanted them just as much as I did.