The yacht's crew and the men soon sprang into action, passing out lifejackets and warm clothing to the guests while Ruby barked fearfully and the girls ran around the deck, screaming, panicking and grabbing their things as the storm got stronger with loud thunder and fierce howling winds and heavy rains were lashing both the yacht and the partygoers.
'Stay calm, everyone!' Phil shouted over the deafening sound of the thunder and the bright lightning which made the girls scream again as they shivered in their thin dresses which were already drenched by the rain before putting on the warm clothing and their lifejackets.
He and Ben ran towards Tony, who was the captain of the yacht and was desperately trying to start it but was finding it difficult as the engine was stalling and the wind was whipping fiercely against the yacht.
'Have you got it started yet, Tony?' Phil said, 'the storm's really coming in now and we need to get to the harbour as soon as possible!'
'She's a cactus, mate!' Tony said in dismay, 'her engine is completely buggered! We may not make it back by ourselves, I'll have to send a mayday signal!' grabbing the radio and tuning it to find the channel.
'I knew we should've had the party at the local footy club,' Phil muttered to himself, 'then we wouldn't be stuck in the middle of a fierce storm, soaking wet and having fierce winds whipping our yacht but it's what Ben wanted….'
'Mayday, mayday,' the captain said, finding the channel but was only getting static before Ben intervened.
'Let me try it,' he said, remaining calm while he turned the key several times before the engine finally started and the yacht's motor purred, to Tony's relief.
'Good work, mate, we may be able to do it after all! Go back up deck with your dad and your mates and we'll get the Lara back to shore in one piece!
Strewth, what a way for your party to end, eh?' Tony said as he took the steering wheel and managed to steer the yacht as it slowly but surely made its way across the sea in spite of the terrible conditions it was battling against.
'Hang on tight, everyone, this is going to be rough and choppy but we'll make it!' he said and everyone scrambled back inside the yacht, shivering but sheltered from the storm and feeling the vicious winds rocking them back and forth but were hopeful that they would make it back to shore.
Elsewhere, Lily, who hadn't moved from the ledge, was hanging on to the railings for dear life and was not aware that Ben and the partygoers had gone back inside, as the wind whipped furiously against her, her face and hair wet from the rain and her tail was flying in the air like a flag but she still hung on tightly.
Looking down, she could see Aurora and Senna struggling against the waves as they were attempting to reach her and Sandy was also holding on to the rails but due to her having wings instead of fingers like Lily did, she was fast losing her grip but was determined not to be blown away.
'Wow, she's a real ripper tonight! Betcha you didn't see that coming, did you?' Sandy said, 'but that's what the weather is like here, it lulls you in with a false sense of security by pretending to be sunny and gorgeous but when you least expect it…'
Her sentence was then cut off as the strong winds made her lose her grip and send her flying and she squakwed, 'Lily!' as she disappeared into the stormy sky.
'Lily, what in Poseidon's name are you doing, child?' Senna shouted against the thunder and winds, as she and Aurora finally managed to reach the yacht and found Lily still gripping onto the railings.
'Don't you realise that it's dangerous to be out in a storm? You could be seriously injured or even killed! You let go of those railings and jump back into the ocean right now, young lady!
Come on, grab my claw,' as she hopped on Aurora and held out her claw for Lily to grab but both fish and crab were too short and too far away to reach the mermaid who then let go of the railings, unable to hold on to them any longer, and was sent tumbling back into the ocean before resurfacing and watching the yacht struggle against the howling waves, who were determined to swallow it up.
Tony soon realised that he was badly underestimating the storm as the yacht was fast proving to be no match for it as a monstrous wave toyed with it and its struggling engine, the captain who was losing his grip on the steering wheel and its terrified passengers who were watching from below, just as the engine stopped completely and he was unable to restart it, no matter how hard he tried, leaving them stranded in the middle of the ocean with no sign of help coming.
'Oh, strewth!' Tony said, 'she's completely buggered! And we're far away from shore so the best thing to do is to send out a mayday signal, get the lifeboats, evacuate everyone from the yacht and wait for help and hopefully someone will come at this hour.'
Calmly, he sent out a mayday signal and ordered the crew to get the lifeboats onto the water and for everyone to evacuate, which they did just as another monstrous wave hit the yacht, which sent it into the direct path of a nearby rock.
'Tony, why has the engine stopped…' Ben said, rushing to the captain's side to see what was happening only to see the rock that the yacht was about to crash into, as the terrified screams of his friends, Ruby's fearful barks and the evacuation signal could be heard from up deck.
'Look out, we're about to hit that rock!' Ben then said but the yacht miraculously missed the rock as the waves pushed it away but it was still in great danger, as Tony and Ben were forced to flee onto the deck as the waves kept thrashing against it.
'Go up on deck, Ben!' Tony said, 'we have to evacuate NOW! I've already sent a mayday and hopefully help will be on the way! It won't be much longer before we're heading for a watery grave!'
Ben did so, just as he smelled smoke and when he and Tony were on deck, they saw that a fork of lightning had zapped one on the railings and set it on fire, which was quickly spreading and everyone was scrambling to the edges to get away from it.
'Everyone jump into the lifeboats NOW!' Tony said, 'it's a matter of life and death and if you swim quickly, you won't get too wet and develop hypothermia! Don't worry about your bits and bobs, just leave them behind!'
Although Anna protested since she wanted to get her belongings and not ruin her Bettina Liano dress, she and everyone jumped into the water, yelping as the waves made them bob up and down but they quickly swam towards the waiting lifeboats and boarded them, only getting slightly wet.
However Grace, who was a bit on the chubby side, was struggling across the water as she desperately tried to reach the boats but Ben and Mia helped her get on to the boat as the flames were fast consuming the yacht as it started to break up and the distant sound of a terrified bark reached Ben's ears as he realised that Ruby was still on the yacht.
'Ruby!' he yelled, jumping off the lifeboat and swam towards the burning yacht to save his beloved companion, ignoring the calls of his father and his friends.
'Ben, what are you doing, mate?' Phil desperately called out to his son, 'come back, it's too dangerous!'
'Forget about your dog, mate!' shouted Cody, but Ben wouldn't even dream of abandoning his dog and would risk his own life to save her, which was what he was doing at this very moment as he swam to the side of the yacht that hadn't been destroyed and climbed up it onto the deck to see Ruby whimpering in fright as the flames surrounded her.
Ben immediately ran to get her and held up his arms to catch her as the yacht was fast breaking up due to the fire and the fierce waves that had sent debris floating in the ocean.
'Ruby, come on girl, jump! Jump, Ruby, I know you can do it!' he said.
Ruby obeyed and leapt into her owner's arms and licked his face in gratitude for saving her. Ben then ran across the fast disappearing deck, looking for somewhere safe to jump from the yacht.
As he reached the edge, he suddenly slipped and was then hit by a flying piece of debris which knocked him unconscious and made Ruby yelp as she flew from his arms and into the ocean, hurriedly dogpaddling to the lifeboat where Phil pulled her up.
'BEN!' Phil screamed, having noticed that his son hadn't made it back and he, Des, Ben's friends and the crew could only watch in horror as the yacht, one of the precious memorials to Phil's late wife, was completely destroyed, breaking up into pieces and sending an unconscious Ben overboard and he sank like a stone into the water.
'Oh, Ben,' Phil then said, tears falling down his eyes, feeling the pain that he went through with losing Lara, as Des comforted him, 'he had his whole life ahead of him and now he's..he's..'
'I'm afraid so, mate, there was no way he could've survived that,' Des said, crestfallen.
'He's carked it for sure,' Adam said, sadly, 'and on his eighteenth birthday too.'
Everyone nodded as they were very sad to lose such a brave and beloved friend and son and that a fun and lively party had to end tragically as they waited for a rescue boat to save them, even if it was too late for Ben.
However, in the distance, Lily had witnessed the whole thing and immediately sprang into action as she saw the unconscious Ben sink into the water and dived in after him. From the little she knew about humans, they couldn't survive underwater, not even for a minute and she had to get him up on the surface as soon as possible as she swam faster towards the boy.
She grabbed him by the arms and held him close to her as she pulled him up with all her strength towards the surface and when she emerged, she looked around to see if there was any shorelines, not noticing a large boat behind her that was picking up the humans that had also been on the yacht nor did they know that Ben had been rescued by a mermaid.
'You're all right now, Ben, I'll get you to shore,' Lily whispered to him, stroking his cheek, while the boat quickly vanished and Ruby barked from a distance.
She then saw twinkling lights from high-rise buildings and she began making her way towards shore the best she could, considering that she was carrying an unconscious human boy, with Aurora and Senna following her, the latter not believing what she had just seen.
It was early morning and luckily there weren't too many people out on the beach, which was coincidentally Mermaid Beach where Ben lived, apart from a few lifeguards on their morning patrol, who didn't take notice of Lily, as she gently laid Ben on the beach and Sandy was just flying in.
Lily looked anxiously at Ben, not sure what to do or if he was alive while Sandy waddled down to Ben's feet and checked for a heartbeat…on his right foot.
'Is he…dead?' Lily said, uncertainly, although he felt warm to the touch. That had to be a good sign, although Sandy was frowning as she pressed Ben's foot to her ear, sighing and making clicking noises.
'Hmmm, I don't like the looks of this,' she said, sighing and shaking her head.
'No, I'm sorry, sweetie, I can't make out a heartbeat. He's dead as a doodoo, which is a real shame, considering you risked an arm and a fin to rescue him,' she then said.
'No, wait!' said Lily, her face lighting up as she heard Ben breathing and coughing but his eyes remained closed.
'He's breathing!' and she planted a soft kiss on his forehead and brushed some of his dark blonde hair out of his eyes as she smiled at him.
'He's so beautiful,' she whispered, 'if only we can be together, then it would be a dream come true.'
For now she had another reason for wanting to be part of the human world, a very important one and it was to be with Ben and she didn't care that they were from two different worlds and that she was a mermaid.
If only it would happen, as Lily sighed and then sang softly to Ben, 'What would I give to live where you are?'
What would I pay to stay here beside you? What would I do to see you, smiling at me?'
Senna, who was resting in the shallow water with Aurora as both of them were exhausted from last night, looked at Lily and her worst fears were confirmed as all her efforts to keep Lily out of trouble had been for naught, as she realised that the mer-princess was in love with a human!
It was more than she could bear and she shuddered at what the consequences were if the queen were to find out about this!
'Where would we walk, where would we run, if we could stay all day in the sun?' Lily continued singing, her voice barely a whisper.
Ben then regained consciousness and looked up at the mysterious yet beautiful girl with a heavenly voice who had saved him from drowning and she was illuminated by the morning sun. He smiled, as he thought he was looking at an angel.
An angel who had the most beautiful sapphire blue eyes, very like his and her shiny, long blonde hair was draped behind her like a veil, shimmering in the sunlight and he reached up and placed a hand on her cheek, instantly falling in love with the girl who rescued him.
'Just you and me and I could be…' Lily sang sweetly in a voice that Ben knew he would remember forever, 'Part of your world,'
Just as Lily finished her melody and before Ben was fully conscious, Ruby's barks could be heard and realising that she would be discovered, Lily planted a quick soft kiss on Ben's head and hurriedly dove back into the ocean, her tail flashing briefly just as Ruby appeared and licked her owner on the face, along with the voices of Phil, Cody and Adam calling out,
'There he is, on the beach!'
'Oh, it's a miracle, he's alive!'
'Ben, mate, are you alright?'
Ben sat up, quite groggily as he saw his father and his friends looking at him, relieved that he was alive and well, although his clothes were worse for the wear as his shirt was torn to pieces and the bottoms of his trousers were torn off but that didn't matter as Ruby jumped up and down excitedly and Phil hurriedly went over to his son.
'Ben, you're alive, mate!' Cody said, 'We thought that you carked it when the yacht was destroyed or that the sharks had got you! This is one birthday that you won't be forgetting in a hurry, that's for sure!'
'We were worried sick about you and you were on the news this morning, mate!' Adam said, 'and on the front page in the papers and news websites, so there's your fifteen minutes of fame extended!'
'That'll be right,' Ben said.
'Oh, Ben, thank God you're alright!' Phil said, as he helped Ben to his feet, 'you certainly do enjoy making my blood pressure rise, don't you?
I was afraid that I had lost you but somehow, you managed to swim back to shore! How did you do it?'
'I didn't, Dad,' Ben said, 'a girl rescued me. She brought me here and…she was singing to me, with the most beautiful voice I have ever heard, like an angel.
She truly did, Dad, otherwise how could I've swum back here by myself in that storm?'
Ben then felt faint and stumbled backwards, as Phil caught him while Adam and Cody looked around the beach sceptically, thinking that Ben was still feeling the effects of being knocked out and nearly drowning.
'I don't see a girl around here, mate,' Cody said, 'are you sure that she rescued you and sang to you, because I think that you're hallucinating. If there are any girls here, we would've have seen them.'
'Yes, it's the seawater and having flying debris hit you that's done it,' said Phil, 'and I think that you have swallowed too much of it and are still concussed from your head knock. We better take you to the hospital to have you checked out.
Come on, let's go, mate,' he then said, leading Ben back to their home, 'come along, Ruby,' he said to Ruby, who was leaping around in the waves and barking happily to the ocean and made her way towards her owner and his friends and father.
Lily, who was bobbing up on the surface from a distance, watched them while not paying attention to Senna, who was explaining to her and Aurora how they were going to keep this a secret from Daisy and not to arouse any suspicions.
'So it's agreed that we don't say a word about this or draw any attention to ourselves in anyway. We don't arouse any suspicions and we'll just pretend that this little escapade never happened.
The queen will never know, not as long as anyone of us doesn't tell her and I won't be tomorrow night's entrée! We've got to keep calm and carry on,' Senna said.
Lily kept watching Ben, as he faded from her sight and she started to sing again,
'I don't know when, I don't know how, but I know something's starting right now!
Watch and you'll see.. someday I'll be
Part of your world!'
Lily blew a kiss to Ben, even though he was now too far away for her to see him and neither he nor Phil or his friends could hear her sing but Ruby did and she barked happily at the ocean, knowing that she was indeed the one who saved her dear owner from drowning.
'And that is a promise, Ben,' Lily whispered in the breeze, 'no matter what it takes.'
She then dived back into the ocean as Teale and Neale watched her from the shadows of the kelp bushes and they cackled with delight at what they were about to show their mistress…
Phew, that was epic! And looks like trouble is brewing around the corner!
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