Russa: ...
Urchin floated up to the surface when he spotted Sara climbing up the ladder. She clutched a big, heavy key in her hand.
She called, "I stole it from my father's safe. He doesn't know I know the combination!" When Urchin's head came above the water, Sara was already waiting on the rock.
The merboy swam easily over and sat on the ledge. The heavy iron chain clanked as he settled. Sara fingered the collar until she found the keyhole. She inserted the key and gave it a twist.
The heavy chain fell away, drifting down to the bottom of the pool. Urchin turned to Sara, "Now what?" Sara grinned, "I have a plan."
She went over to the ladder and pulled up the end of a very long tube, "It leads to a little portable tank at the bottom. It's already filled with seawater, and I can wheel it down to the beach."
Urchin nodded and Sara put the end of the tube in the water. It sucked in water slowly, and Urchin allowed himself to be pulled in. He swam along with the water into a small, dark space.
There were metal walls all around, but plenty of room was left for Urchin to settle on the bottom. He faintly heard Sara's voice, "Are you okay in there, Urchin?" "I'm fine." he answered.
The merboy braced himself against the walls as the compartment began to move. It made a rattling sound as it rolled. Soon, the rattling was joined by a high-speed, high powered drumming.
After what seemed like hours of endless noise, the lid of the tank was lifted off. Urchin peeked out into the torrential rain to find that the beach started just a few feet away.
Suddenly, two arms went under him and lifted him up carefully. Urchin whirled his head around to find that the arms belonged to Sara. She headed cautiously down the beach.
The girl made her way out onto a little outcropping of rock. Sara set Urchin down on the slick stone. He grabbed one of her hands and held on.
Their eyes met, and Urchin called over the pounding rain, "Wait for me here. I will come back and visit, I promise."
Sara nodded, tears mingling with the rainwater on her cheeks. Urchin released her hand and allowed the waves to carry him away.