Jensen pulled up in his sporty little coupe and I was already outside waiting on him, feeling cooped up for some reason when I was in the house.
“Hey,” he said with a smile as he got out, walking over to me. I admired the athletic build of his body, never seeming to get tired of looking at him. He was by no means perfect, but that just enhanced his features for me. He had wavy, chestnut hair that caught gold highlights when the sun hit it and it was always just a little messy, letting the longer locks on top fall into his eyes. He stepped close to me, and I closed the distance between us, pressing hips to hips and sliding my arms around his neck in a hug, taking in a deep breath and savoring the spicy scent.
“Hey,” I said quietly into his chest, not looking up. He chuckled quietly, the sound vibrating against my chest through him. If I was going to have a boyfriend, it would’ve been Jensen. I just don’t like being tied to one person. I always felt trapped, needing to check in with someone before doing whatever I wanted.
“So, what do you want to do?” he asked.
“Let’s go to the beach,” I said casually. I had been itching to go back each time I left, feeling sure I would miss something while I was gone. I would have to fill Jensen in on this morning’s events anyway, and if we were at the beach, then it would be that much easier to explain.
“Sure,” Jensen agreed easily. He started walking back towards his car, but I stopped him, pulling him towards my car. “Don’t want me to drive?”
“Not if you don’t want your car to get waxed,” I said, dragging him towards my car.
“Ugh, right,” he said with a sigh, and I knew without looking he was rolling his eyes and probably shaking his head. Most surfers are laid back and have a welcoming attitude—most of them—but there are others that feel like they own the beaches and breaks where they surf. If they saw a car that was obviously not a surfer’s car taking up a parking space, and in turn taking a space from a fellow surfer, they would run surfboard wax over it. It didn’t damage the paint, but it was a pain to get off. Jensen had learned this the hard way when he came to watch me surf for the first time last month, his sporty little car a dead giveaway that he wasn’t a local; it didn’t even have the soft racks many surfers put on their cars and left there even when they weren’t going surfing.
In less than ten minutes, I was pulling back into the paid parking lot, having saved my ticket stub from earlier. I drove to the far end of the parking lot. To one side, the beach fell away and around the bend of rocks, and on the other, we were parallel to the fairgrounds. I got out and waited for Jensen at the front of the car.
“Okay, you seriously look like something’s up,” he said. “Is something wrong?”
“I’d rather not say here,” I said, looking over at the nearby cars and the afternoon surfers who were working their way out of dripping wetsuits.
“Then why did we come here?” he asked.
“Come with me and I’ll explain,” I said, leading him to the sidewalk. We made our way down to the soft, dry sand that had been warmed throughout the day by the bright sun, walking around the small jetty of rocks until we had to kick off our shoes to wade through the water that connected the Rivermouth to the ocean. When we were standing on the wet, packed sand and the closest person was more than twenty yards away from us, I stopped and explained what had happened this morning with the little boy and with Steven a few hours later.
“So, you do think it’s mermaids then?” Jensen asked when I finished. I could see he was confused. I didn’t really blame him.
“No, I don’t think it’s mermaids,” I said, shaking my head.
“But you said you looked up the story, The Little Mermaid. I don’t get it; if you didn’t think it was mermaids, why look that up?”
“That was just a coincidence. We hadn’t found anything, so I figured I’d look up some fairy tales and see if anything fit the bill and that one kind of did,” I explained.
“So, the little boy said mermaids, but what you saw, you don’t think they’re mermaids.”
“Right.”
“But it looked half-human and half-fish?”
“I know!” I said, frustrated, turning away from him and looking out at the sea. High tide was coming in, so there were few waves, and the ones that tried to push at the shore were slow and lazy.
“Shay.” Jensen reached out and touched my shoulder. “I’m just trying to help you figure it out.”
“I know,” I said. “I’m sorry.”
“Well, that probably explains how I feel anyway,” he said cryptically.
“What?” I said, turning to look at him. “How do you feel?”
“Like I really, really want to go swimming.” He pulled his gaze away from the ocean with visible effort to look at me. “As soon as we stepped on the sand, I really wanted to get out into the water.”
“You never want to swim in the ocean,” I said, confused. Jensen had grown up mostly in New Mexico before he and his family moved out here, and more than once he complained about how cold our little beach town was, even when the temperatures outside reached the low eighties, which wasn’t often.
“I know, which is why I didn’t say anything right away; it just seemed weird,” he said, furrowing his brow and looking past me back to the ocean.
“So you feel the call then,” I said, turning to face the sea, feeling like I needed to be ready to stop him at any moment all of a sudden. “And you’re not even in the water, so there goes that theory.”
“What theory?” he asked, but I could hear in his voice he wasn’t as interested as he should be.
“We thought that maybe you had to be in the water to hear their call because Steven didn’t feel anything when he was on the beach or sitting on the rocks,” I explained. “Come to think of it, it took him a few minutes before he wanted to start walking towards it.”
“I think, if you put me in the water right now, I’d probably go to them right away,” Jensen said, sounding distracted.
“Jensen,” I said carefully. When he didn’t answer me, I reached and grabbed his chin and turned his face to look at me. “Jensen,” I repeated more firmly.
“Sorry,” he said, blinking rapidly and shaking his head. “It’s like you go into a trance; I felt like I was half asleep.”
“I think that’s enough,” I said, taking a step back and pulling him with me until we were on dry sand. He blinked again and looked down at me, and I realized his vision was much clearer all of a sudden. “Do you feel better?”
“Wow, yeah, totally different,” Jensen said, laughing a little.
“Great,” I said angrily.
“What?”
“You weren’t even in the water, but we were on wet sand,” I said, pointing to the ground and showing him our footsteps leading to the dry soft sand we were standing on now.
“Oh my god, you mean just that little bit of water can do it?”
“That’s really not a little bit of water when you think about it; the sand is saturated with it, packing it down,” I said.
“Why didn’t walking through that bother me?” Jensen asked, pointing to the narrow strait of water we waded through.
“Maybe because it’s fresh water?” I guessed, watching as the water rushed away from the river into the ocean.
“I’ll bet you’re right,” Jensen said. “I’ll bet these things only live in the ocean and can’t travel in fresh water. That would totally make sense why Steven and I could walk through that.”
“But the mermaids in the story would swim into freshwater,” I said. “But I guess that could be the part of the story he got wrong.”
“Oh, if these things are as ugly as you say and are dragging people out into the ocean, I think he got a few pieces of the story wrong,” Jensen said, and I felt a cold lump form in the bottom of my stomach, fearing what else was wrong with the story.
“I’m afraid you’re right,” I said with a sigh, and I realized it was time to leave because I suddenly wanted to put Jensen in
the shallows and see what would happen, and I didn’t like thinking I could risk someone that easily. “Let’s go,” I said, taking his hand and starting to walk, pulling him behind me, but after a few steps he stopped, causing me to stop with him.
“Where the hell did he come from?” Jensen asked. I turned to see what he was looking at and saw a teenage boy emerging from the slow rolling waves. I watched to see if he was dragging a surfboard behind him, but as he continued, I could see he wasn’t.
“Maybe he was swimming?” I said, shrugging.
“Yeah, but we’ve been here for what? Like a half hour? I didn’t see him swim this way from either direction and we’ve been standing here this whole time watching the water.” Jensen’s face was a combination of confusion and something that looked a little like anger when he spoke. The boy was in the shallows now, splashing as he walked in the knee-deep water.
“Maybe we just missed him,” I said again, a little worried about his scrutiny of the boy.
“No, Shay, he was swimming straight for the beach when I saw him, like he was out far and deep and just came up right here.” He nodded his head towards the boy who was finally out of the water. I felt an unfamiliar tingle of power crawl over my skin when the water rushed up on shore and touched the boy’s feet, swirling around them before slipping back down the sand.
The boy looked up at us, standing up straight and stretching his back. I saw the sun glinting in his eyes and felt another chill run up my arm that had nothing to do with that unfamiliar power. He stared at us for a few moments more, his eyes flicking back and forth between Jensen and me, seeming to linger on Jensen a little longer before he turned and made his way down the beach towards the parking lot.
“Come on,” Jensen said, tightening his hand around mine and taking the lead suddenly. We hurried down the beach and up to the sidewalk, but didn’t see the boy right away; this was a popular place for walkers, joggers, and bicyclists alike, and in the late afternoon, it was crowded with people.
“What is the big deal?” I asked as we weaved in and out of the people, feeling like we were fighting our way against the flow of traffic.
“Just call it a hunch,” he said, sidestepping a powerwalking mom and her baby stroller. “Where the hell did he go?”
“There,” I said. Spotting him back down on the beach, I pointed him out for Jensen. “See him with that group of guys?”
“How did he get down there so quickly?” Jensen swore quietly. We slipped and slid down the soft sand until we made it to the leveled part of the beach, just yards away from the shore. Even though the waves weren’t charging, we still weren’t within hearing distance of the group of boys. Jensen led us dangerously close to the edge of dry sand where it met the wet and turned and started strolling casually down the beach. Just another young couple going for a walk on the beach.
“Dude, let it go!” One of the boys’ voices drifted back towards us as we got closer and, from his tone, it appeared we were going to witness an argument.
“Seriously, Dale, we’ve been out of the water for over an hour now, chill,” another boy said, frustration clear in his voice.
“But, Mark, I’m not ready to leave yet,” Dale, the boy we had spotted coming out of the water, complained.
“So go,” Mark said, waving a hand towards the ocean. “Just because we’re done doesn’t mean you can’t go. Grow up, damn! C’mon, Benny, Matt, let’s go,” he said, shaking his head and turning to make his way back up the beach.
“Yeah, man,” the second boy, Benny, said, pushing Matt on the shoulder as he started to follow Mark. We slowed, not wanting to pass the boy until we knew what was going to happen and thank goodness we did, because just as the boys’ backs were turned on Dale, his face became a terrible mask and he lunged at them. His fingers were crooked into claws and he landed on Benny’s back, wrapping an arm around his neck and pulling him backwards towards the water.
“Hey!” Matt yelled. “What are you doing, man?” He scrambled after his two friends, grabbing at his arm, trying to release Benny, who was fighting against him. Jensen let go of my hand and went charging towards the boys to help. I wriggled my feet deeper into the sand until I felt resistance, grounded myself into the Earth, and started drawing up power into me, readying myself in case they couldn’t subdue Dale by physical means.
“Damnit, Dale, what are you doing?” Mark cursed and came running back to help his two friends and Jensen, but amazingly, Dale was still making progress getting the group of boys closer to the water.
“Jensen!” I yelled, realizing almost too late that Dale didn’t need to get Benny fully in the water to get him to change his mind. “The water!” Jensen looked up and saw they were only feet away from the shore and stopped trying to get Benny free of Dale’s arm. Jensen just balled up his fist, drew it back, and fired at Dale’s face. I cringed at the sound of flesh hitting flesh and closed my eyes against the sight of spraying blood, but his goal was accomplished. Dale crumpled and released Benny, who fell backwards with the weight of his friends and the odd angle at which he had been dragged.
I heard Benny taking in huge, burning lungful’s of air as I ran forward. I staggered a little under the force of his rioting emotions, anger, shock, and fear all trying to overpower the others. I fed that extra energy I had called up into my shields to block him out.
Benny gasped as he rubbed his throat, untangling himself from his friends. “What the hell, man!” Jensen was holding Dale down, but he didn’t seem to be fighting against Jensen, just staring daggers at him.
“Dale, you son of a bitch! Don’t you ever try something like that again!” Benny yelled, pointing his finger at the boy.
“You’re Dale, I take it?” Jensen asked a little sarcastically, looking at the boy under his hand, but Dale didn’t answer. I saw the anger and determination in his face slipping away to dawning horror.
“Man, I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me,” Dale said, his shoulders slumping.
“Mark, let go of me,” Benny said to the boy still holding on to him. Mark let his hands fall away, but he didn’t take a step away from him. The tension singing through his body snapped at my skin like fire ants.
“Dale, what the hell?” Matt demanded.
“You keep your brother away from me, Matt,” Benny said. “Jerk is just lucky I don’t kick his ass for trying to drown me,” he finished, rubbing his neck for emphasis.
“What is your problem?” Matt demanded of Dale, who still on the ground.
“I wasn’t trying to drown him,” Dale argued weakly, but he wasn’t looking at anyone when he spoke.
“Dude, you grabbed me around the neck and tried to drag me into the water. Uncool, man, uncool,” Benny said, turning away from his friends and walking up the beach towards the parking lot.
“Dale, what the hell?” Matt said, spreading his hands wide.
“I was just messing around,” Dale mumbled.
“Oh, that didn’t look like a joke to me,” Mark said, shaking his head.
“You gonna behave?” Jensen asked, lifting his hand off of Dale’s chest slowly. “Can I let you up now?”
“Yeah, man, back off,” Dale said irritated. He propped himself up on his elbows and rolled over to his knees before he stood up. At the angle I was standing, I could see Dale’s face. As he looked back out to sea, that same angry, determined look flashed over his face momentarily. I stepped forward, realizing just how close he was to Jensen.
“Let’s go,” Mark said. “Hey, man, thanks for your help.” He held out a hand to Jensen, who took it and shook hands briefly.
“No worries, man,” Jensen said, releasing Mark’s hand.
“Dale?” Matt said his name as a question, trying to get his attention as Dale still hadn’t turned away from the ocean.
“Bro?” Jensen asked, putting a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. Dale’s head snapped around to look at Jensen, and I could have sworn for a moment his lips were curled back like a dog growling
at an intruder, but before any of us could say anything, he blinked and his face was clear again.
“Yeah, man, fine, I’m coming,” Dale said, turning around and walking towards the parking lot after his other friends.
“Um, yeah, like Mark said, thanks, man,” Matt said awkwardly, holding out his hand in the same way. The two shook hands before Matt turned to go.
“Does he always get that emotional?” I asked quickly before Matt passed me.
“What?” Matt turned a confused face to me.
“Your brother, Dale, he seems really emotional; is he always like that?”
“No, actually, he’s really quiet most of the time,” Matt said, but he wasn’t looking at me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw that he was watching the retreating figure of his brother as he made his way up to the sidewalk before the parking lot.
“Don’t ride him too hard about this,” I said quietly, touching Matt’s arm as I spoke. He nodded slowly, finally looking at me. I broke his trance by looking away from him so he could follow his friends and brother back to their car.
“What are you thinking?” Jensen asked as he approached me. I was staring out at the ocean, half expecting to see the outline of a head and shoulders far in the distance.
“He was entranced or something,” I said, never taking my eyes off of the water.
“Like hypnotized?”
“Yeah, like hypnotized,” I said with a nod. I reached a hand out without looking and found Jensen’s, twining our fingers together and letting the heat of him warm me against the sudden chill that was stealing over me, despite the sun hanging high and heavy in the sky.
“So you think he was trying to get someone into the water to help the creatures?” Jensen asked, turning to look out at the water as well.
“Anything’s possible at this point.”
“But there are plenty of guys already out in the water,” he said, waving his free hand in the direction of the crowd of surfers floating in the calm water, waiting for a wave.
“Even if you come out to the water on your own, every surfer out here watches out for all the other surfers around him; it’s just the way surfers are,” I explained. “So if one doesn’t come up from a wipe out or if some crazy person swam up and tried to drag him off, there’d be ten other guys charging to the rescue.”
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