I'm riding the waves right by Old Orchard Beach with a yellow surfboard. After crashing into a wave and flipping over, I pull myself back up onto the surfboard. My hands dip into the water and I paddle around to wait for the next one.

Throwing a quick glance over my shoulder, I see that Leo and Avery get their surfboards as well and swim in my direction. At the shore, Mom is resting on a beach mat with a book in her hands, waving at me. Her shades tuck into the crown of her hair.

I wave back at her. "Guys!" I exclaim in excitement. "Don't be slowpokes! Come on!"

"Coming!" Avery yells back. "Don't leave us behind!"

We squeal just as the second wave hits us. Climbing back onto my surfboard, I turn around again, hoping to tease my friends, but they are missing. Mom too.

Fear and panic grow within me. "Mom?" I search around frantically. "Avery? Leo?"

But no one responds to me. The beach is empty. I'm all alone.

Why am I left behind again?

Something splashes behind me and my surfboard wobbles on the water. Turning back, I watch in horror as a hideous baby Kraken latches onto the end of my surfboard, reaching for me with long tentacles. I flinch and retreat—

—only to realize that I've a fear of water. Since when can I swim or surf?! How is this possible?

This is when it hits me.

All of this is a dream.

I crash backwards into the sea like a hard shove out of this dimension and back to reality. In the next second, I jerk awake with a startled yell, causing water to sweep right into my mouth. I cough and splutter, flailing my hands and trying to get my feet to touch the floor.

It turns out that I'm really in the water.

An arm goes around my waist and pulls me backwards against someone. "Delia," he says and I recognize that worried voice anywhere. "I'm holding you. You're safe."

"W-what?" Disoriented, I wipe the water off my face and swivel around to meet his gaze in confusion. My wet hair sticks to my cheeks. Sunlight spills through the glass window and we're both soaked into an indoor pool that adjoins a terrace. This place clearly belongs to somebody's house. "Why am I in the water?"

His mouth sets in a grim line. His words are full of self-reproach. "It is my fault. They hurt you."

Memory of the creature that tried to kill me flashes into my mind. I feel for my wounds, but they are no longer there. Healed. The pain is gone now.

I glance up at Zarius. "No, no. It's not your fault. There were too many of them. You can't possibly protect us from everything–"

"Oh my god."

A gasp of surprise interrupts our conversation. I've almost forgotten about Maddie. She is standing on the edge of the pool, staring down at both of us. Overwhelmed with shock, she drops my things at her feet.

I'm startled to see blood staining her cheeks, her hands and the left side of her clothes, even though she looks unhurt. And then I realize that isn't her blood, but mine. From earlier.

There's a quake in her voice as she tries to gather herself. "Delia? You're...alright? How? What on earth is going on?"

Her bewildered eyes flicker between me and Zarius, whose irises are glowing in a bright blue. She stares at him, unable to take her eyes off the gills that have appeared on either side of his neck.

"Get out of the water, Delia. Now."

She thinks Zarius is dangerous. I hold up both of my hands. "Wait, listen to me. He's on our side."

Wariness reflects in her eyes. "Who is he—no—what is he?"

I exchange a look with Zarius, who has gone all quiet and thoughtful. After everything that my cousin has seen, there's no point in us hiding from her anymore.

I sigh. "How keen are you on hearing a fairy tale?"

Her brows knit together to form a frown. "We don't have all day, but I'm listening."

A sigh leaves my lips. And so, I recount everything from the beginning — Mom's secret lover, my secret, and Zarius's appearance after the mutated creatures have gone to the surface. This may be a bolt out of the blue, but Maddie seems to accept our explanation.

When I'm finished, she sinks down to the floor, leaning her back against the wall. Still staring at us in disbelief. "Merfolks," she repeats. "With the tail and all?"

I nod.

"This doesn't seem real," she admits quietly. "You were bleeding out on the floor earlier. When Zarius found us, I thought it was strange that the monsters were all dead, and he didn't have a single scratch on him. When he picked you up and insisted on finding water, I thought he had gone crazy."

I can understand where she's coming from. If I were in her shoes, I would have gotten shocked too. "Sorry."

She reaches a hand forward, and I let her pull me out of the pool. Water drips down my hair and clothes, but she pulls me into a tight hug. "You should be sorry for scaring me back there," she says with a weak smile. "But thank you for protecting me, Delia. I'm pretty much useless, am I?"

I wince. I would rather be the one who gets hurt and heals naturally instead of watching Maddie get pounced on those creatures and die from her wounds. "Don't say things like that, Maddie."

"And you too? A half-merfolk? Are you sure?" she asks doubtfully. "I've watched you grow up, Delia. I noticed nothing. Maybe Waterboy here is the one who healed your wounds instead?"

This time, Zarius cuts in on our conversation. "It is because her abilities are sleeping. And her fear of water," he explains. "No one was there to teach her, but I will."

"And how exactly are you going to do that? Do your people have superpowers?"

Zarius raises a brow. He swims over to the edge of the pool and lifts himself out. As he holds his hand out, the water from our hair and clothes gets sucked into the center of his palm, leaving us completely warm and dry.

My jaw hangs in sheer amazement. "Whoa! You gotta teach me that trick."

He gives me a small smile. "Of course. Put out your hand like this. Imagine yourself calling for the water that is soaked in your human clothes. Pick a focal point. Coalesce it."

He lets the sphere of water in his palm hit the ground and form a puddle. Remembering the words from his lesson, I try to replicate his action and focus on the center of my palm.

But nothing happens.

After a couple more times of failed attempts, Zarius places a hand on my shoulder. "Do not overwhelm yourself. Constant practice is the key."

I nod in agreement, just as Maddie continues to watch us in pure disbelief. I can tell his magical trick is enough to convince her once more about the existence of merfolk and pique her interest.

"Zarius, can I see your tail?"

His tone comes out flat. "No."

"Hm, but..." Dissatisfied, Maddie scans his legs; from his feet to his calf muscles to his spine. This stirs up a possessiveness within me, which I never knew before, and I stand in between them to block her view.

"Can we have this talk later?" I plead. "Daylight doesn't last forever."

Zarius throws the hood over his head and picks up my backpack and dagger. "Where to now, Delia?"

The dream that I had earlier continues to unsettle my mind. "Let's go," I announce. "To my house."

***

After a change of clothes, we head out. Street after street, we put up posters about the rescue party that's coming for us at school. We even grab a red spray paint from a nearby mart and leave messages on the walls. If we have seen no survivors on the street now, does this mean everybody else has perished, or are they still hiding? Exactly how high is the death rate from this attack?

I wish the internet was working right now to give us answers. A place where survivors can communicate.

I slow my pace so that I'm walking beside Maddie. "How much do you know about my father?"

She ponders about it for a moment. "Not much. We never knew who your father is, because Aunt Roxie never talks about it to us. Including Gramps. All she said was one-night stand, and you will be her full responsibility. But to have a merfolk father? This definitely explains why she refuses to say anything. I wonder how they met. That would be interesting to know."

Retelling my parents' love story can be pretty embarrassing, but I'm glad I don't have to hide my secret from Maddie anymore. "Apparently, it was because Mom was kayaking," I explain. "The rough waves swept her away from the group and, well, Dad helped her out."

"That's...unexpectedly sweet. In fact, it sounds almost right out of a movie!"

She leans into me, looking right into my eyes, and I stumble away. "What?" I ask.

"Now that I think about it, you and him share the same eye color. Blue," she points out, before turning to Zarius. "Is this a merfolk thing too?"

He nods quietly at the same time as I shrug. "I got my eyes from Dad, after all."

Up ahead, a familiar street corner leads to a row of houses. Front yards belonging to my neighbors are littered with claw marks and soil dirt. My heart sinks as each step takes me closer to my house, which I can now barely recognize. The front door is hanging off the hinges, the windows are all smashed. Mom would be pissed to know that her favorite assortment of garden pots is ruined.

Inside, it's worse. The furniture is a mess; overturned chairs and objects that are thrown off the shelves, including my family pictures.

There are holes in the walls and they remind me of something that I've seen in the movies. "Maddie, is this...?"

"Bullet holes," she finishes for me. "Someone has broken into your house."

An icy chill infiltrates my skin and digs into my bones. There is a momentary pause before we check the corners of the house in a silent movement. Zarius draws closer to my side protectively, high on alert.

He taps me on the shoulder once and whispers into my ear. "Upstairs."

I lead the way up the second floor and then we hear it—a muffled sob. We follow the sound and it clearly comes from the last room down the hallway, which turns out to be my bedroom.

There's no one on my bed, but the crying is coming from the crack in the wardrobe. I pull the door open without hesitation, knowing that we've potentially found our first survivor on this trip.

There is a child hiding in the cocoon of my clothes. Her loose, brown hair covers her face, but I would recognize that familiar tiny figure anywhere. After all, I was the last person who had seen her before she ran out of the Black Rose Bar.

"Mia?"

😂