"Zac, help me with him." Cam commanded the dark haired merman. Zac managed to tear his gaze away from David, who he was still shocked to find in the moon pool while it was active. They hauled David by his armpits to the ledge of the pool, trying to lift him from the water before it was too late. They both knew that their efforts were in vain, it only took a second of being exposed to the activated moon pool water for it to take effect.
The moon above them disappeared from the opening above the pool, causing the bubbles around them to cease. David blinked a few times and looked curiously around at his surroundings; only having been to the moon pool a few times it was hard for him to get his bearings at first.
Then he noticed his fish tailed companions hovering in the water near him. "What happened?" he asked the pair groggily.
Zac opened his mouth to respond but never got the chance because that was when David blacked out.
It took a lot of effort for the two mermen to drag their unconscious friend back to the mainland. They didn't know if it was safe to bring him through the underwater entrance to Rita's so they settled on a seclude stretch of beach adjacent to her house. After the two mermen dragged themselves and David from the surf, they dried everyone off as best as they could and completed the climb up the hill to Rita's house.
At this point it was late at night, probably close to two in the morning, so nobody was around to question the two boys carrying their unconscious friend. Once they reached the beach house, Zac produced the spare key that Rita gave him in any case of emergency. The lock clicked and the door swung open, Cam and Zac dragged David the last few meters and laid him down on the couch. The two mermen sat for a moment, breathing heavily.
Behind them a lamp clicked on and Rita stood their rapped in a house robe and wearing fluffy slippers on her feet. Dark circles framed underneath her eyes and worry lines framed her face, it didn't look like she had gotten any sleep that night. "What's going on?" Rita asked the boys.
Zac chewed on his lip nervously before answering, "It was David. He was next on the dragon's list. Cam escaped to the moon pool and when we got there he was in the pool while it was active."
"Oh dear," Rita said, putting her hand to her mouth. She couldn't bear to see another one of her students be affected by magic. She knew the dangers of living an enchanted life and didn't want to burden yet another person, especially, one that was so young and had much more to amount to like David. She knew how much potential he held and knew having a tail would hold him back in many ways.
"What do we do now?" Cam asked, nodding his head toward their curly haired friend who was now obliviously gently snoring on the couch.
"Well, it will be several hours before David recovers from the aftershock of the moon pool. He'll be unable to awaken before then. You two can return home in the meantime, but just be sure to be back early tomorrow morning. We'll need to explain what happened to him so he can wrap his head around it before telling Sirena. I'm not sure how she'll take it." Rita elaborated.
Zac and Cam nodded and said their goodbyes, promising to be back in a few hours. The two couldn't help but feel sick to their stomachs not only for David but Sirena as well. She was a very sympathetic person and if David were to struggle with growing a tail then Sirena would, not doubt, take the brunt of it.
Zac jolted awake when he heard a rapt knock at the door of his bungalow. He stretched a moment then rolled out of bed and crossed the room to greet whoever was at the door. Cam groggily sat up in the futon that he'd slept on and peered into the doorway when Zac opened it.
"Have you guys seen David?" Zac's mom, Lauren, asked them hurriedly. Zac's stomach sunk slightly, what could she possibly know? It wasn't like David had a chance to be exposed or tell anyone about what happened. Zac hoped that there was a very human explanation for his mom's worry.
She looked between the two teenage boys in the room, daring them to answer, "I just spoke to his mother on the phone. David never came back home last night after closing the café. She was hoping that he was with the two of you."
"Sorry, he haven't seen him Mrs. B," Cam lied. They knew that they needed to get to Rita's and very quickly brief David on his recent developments before his mother sent out a search party for him. She was always known to be a bit eccentric.
Lauren sighed and smoothed her hair down worriedly, "Okay, but you boys call me if you find out anything."
"Will do, mom." Zac said, planting a kiss on her forehead. She then left, closing the door behind her.
The mermen quickly dressed and hurried out to the dock behind the house and gracefully dove into the sea. They kicked on the speed and made to Rita's house in record time. The older mermaid was already waiting for them at the edge of the pool when they surfaced.
"Good, you're finally here. He is already starting to stir," She informed them.
By the time the two of them dried off and made their way up the stairs, David was already sitting up on the couch and looking around the room. As soon as his eyes lay upon Rita, Zac and Cam, he asked them, "What am I doing here? What happened last night?"
Zac and Cam crossed the room and sat on the coffee table across from David, and for once Rita didn't scold them about not sitting in a chair. Instead, she said, "I'll just brew us some tea."
"Did something happen to me last night?" David asked again.
Zac and Cam shared a nervous look before launching into the story of the previous night's events, including some details on the water dragon. David listened intently and nodded along until they reached the point where the mermen found David in the moon pool. From then, he just stared at them wide eyed.
By the time they had finished recounting their story, Rita had returned with everyone's mugs of tea.
David looked at the three of them, "So this means that I'm a…" He almost couldn't believe what he was saying.
"Merman." Cam finished for him
It seemed so impossible to David that he was now going to be a part of the secret that so many of his friends shared. Like the ocean belonged to them and now he was going to barge in.
There was a splash from downstairs followed by female voices and a few moments later, five mermaids emerged from the grotto entrance. They were confused being greeted from the three boys.
Evie made her way over to her boyfriend and after kissing him on the cheek, asked, "Everything was smooth on our end. How did things go with you boys last night?"
Zac couldn't form the words in his mouth and all he managed was: "Uhhhh."
Fortunately for Zac, Rita took charge. "Why don't we all go back downstairs and give David and Sirena some time privately." She quickly ushered all of the teenagers back downstairs, leaving the couple alone in the living room.
Sirena scooted close to David on the couch, and he protectively put his arm around her. "Is everything okay?" She asked him.
David sat, thinking for a moment. Was everything okay? Truthfully, being a merman wasn't the worst thing in the world (save for it being a little unbelievable); it would bring him closer to Sirena and the world she came from.
He sighed, finally deciding on his answer, "I'm okay, but something incredible happened last night. Honestly, I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it. But," he hesitated, "Zac and Cam found me in the moon pool last night and, well, it looks like I'm going to be a merman."
Sirena sat straight up, tears brimming in her eyes, "No! This is all my fault!" She buried her face into David's chest while he rubbed her back reassuringly. "If it wasn't for me then the dragon wouldn't have picked you."
David shushed her quietly and lightly lifted her chin with his fingers, "Sirena. I'm okay. Honestly, it makes me a little excited."
Sirena laughed and leaned in and kissed him. When their lips met, she couldn't help but feel fireworks exploding in her chest. Being with the man she loved made her feel tingly all over and warm inside.
"I hate to interrupt," said Rita from behind the couple, "but David you might want to make an appearance at home. Your mother is worried sick."
Hi everyone! I hope you are all enjoying these updates, I just wanted to warn everyone that I will be starting school soon and between that, sports and work I might not be getting chapters out as fast. I promise I will try my best!
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Much love!