Chapter 1

 

 

He slides inside of me. I don't love this man but I let him make love to me. I'm wet. I'm dripping wet. He likes it. He once told me that the sound is the liquid validation that he was a sex god. If he was a god...I guess that made me a demon. I push my head in the pillow and I swear at that moment I look like a demon. My golden hair covers my face. 24 inches of the stuff swallows my part of the bed until I forget where I am.

 

Smack. Smack. Smack.

 

He pushes deep inside me. Deeper. I don't know his name. I call him Mr. Tuesday. It's the day he usually cums inside of me.

 

Smack. Smack.

 

"Ah. It's so good. This is the best ass ever..."


I could never explain how I was always so wet during sex. I used to think it was normal, but the comment from all these boys are the same. He sloppy, smacking, slippery sounds my ass makes as his penis slides into me always gets him into a point. He holds me down, pushing me up against the headboard. He's never needed lube to slide into my depths of my walls. It goes right in. My ass contracts against his dick tightening and causing a friction that he doesn't understand what to do with.


He's losing himself in me. I can tell when his muscular body starts to shake. I can tell when his hands shakes, violently against the headboard. I tighten my own hands against the top of my dick knowing it's coming. His body tighten. He presses up against my prostate.

 

"I'm cumming," he warns me.


I already know. I'm having an orgasm as well. In silence I hear it. The siren song.

 

It just last for a minute this time.

 

Where can you find me? In this kingdom under the sea

Follow the water flea to the wild mango tree

Where the facts are the truest, go deeper than the deepest,

Into the blue where the blues are bluest

 

"Come lay with me..." he says.

 

He interrupts me and the song goes away. He nuts inside of me and slides out. His dick is still hard. He lays on his back and exhales. I stare at his penis. It's wet with our man sap. He enjoys it though. He lets some of our fluids seep into his bedsheets. He scoops up the stuff and slathers it all over his face...breathing it in and wincing.

 

"I couldn't possibly do that," I tell him.

 

He's married. I can see the ring on his finger. He used to take the pictures down of his wife and kids. He barely does that anymore when I come over on Tuesday.

 

"My wife is gone with the kids. It's in the middle of the morning. Come cuddle with me," he tells me.

 

"It has nothing to do with your family," I told him, "I couldn't possibly cuddle with a strange man who I don't know."

He laughs. He's surprised I say that.

 

"But you can let a strange man nut in you over and over?"

I remove my blonde hair out of my face. He asks me to cuddle with him every Tuesday. Every Tuesday I have the same reaction. I roll over and pull up my shorts. I never wear underwear. My ass is still dripping wet still. It's easier to let the stuff flood down my leg then ruin some perfectly good underwear. The heat in the Solomon Islands usually dries me off once I get outside.

 

 

"I'll see you next Tuesday," I tell him.

 

He gets excited by the thought. His dick is going hard again even thinking about it. He seems tired though. I know he has to go to work early in the morning. He grabs a wad of cash and hands it to me. I look at the money.

 

He always pays me for my services. We'd never talked about it. He'd assumed I was a prostitute when he I first gave him head in the back of his army car. Since then he'd pay me money.

 

I leave.

 

And on the way out I throw the money to the wind.

 

 

~

 

 

I walk back towards the orphanage. My sandals are so worn down that I feel bad that I didn't use that money to go buy some more. It wouldn't feel right though. Mr. Tuesday always gave me money. Mr. Wednesday and Mr. Thursday used to assume I let them fuck me for cash but they learned the truth. It had nothing to do with money. I walk past the sands to the familiar building that I hate coming to.

 

I sneak into the orphanage. I wonder if Mr. Tuesday would fuck me if he knew I was only 17 years old. It's OK though. Next year I'd be old enough to leave this orphanage and leave the Soloman Islands for good.

 

As I walk I see my reflection in the mirror. I'm not as dark as most of the people on Soloman Island but my hair is just as blond. Globally, blond hair is rare, occurring with substantial frequency only in northern Europe and in Oceania, which includes the Solomon Islands and its neighbors. My blonde hair whips across my chalky skin. It's a slight olive. I'm not as fit either. I'm not fat by any means but most of the boys on Soloman Island are surfers and have these chiseled bodies. I'm relatively thick but I like it. I think my face makes up for the fact that I don't have this perfect body. I think I'm relatively cute. I have full lips and a defined jawline. People stare at me and say I'm handsome. I tell them thank you.

 

"Krill..."

Fuck.

I was caught. I turn to see Ms. Penny standing there. She's an older lady. She doesn't have blond hair like many other people on this island. She has the dark skin though.

 

"I needed some fresh air," I lie to her.


Ms. Penny is the group home worker at night time. Her body is wrinkled and distressed. She looks at me as though trying to figure me out.


"You was out there again. With those men. Weren't you?" she asks me.

 

Sometimes I would try to lie about what I did at night. Other times I knew that everyone knew. Everyone. If you were a gay man who needed sex you come to Krill Fono. I didn't tell who my lovers were. I kept it private. Everyone knew that. So many wives had come wondering if their husbands were having sex with me. I never told. It wasn't their business. It wasn't Ms. Penny's business either.

 

"Good night Ms. Penny."

She stops me.


Ms. Penny grabs me and looks in my eyes.

 

"These men don't know your worth."

"I'm not for sale Ms. Penny."

"You might not be taking their money but it doesn't change the value. Know your value Krill. Save your love for the person who's willing to invest in you and your heart. Save yourself from anyone who doesn't have the intention to better you. Save yourself from anyone who doesn't treat you like you're a prized possession."

"Unless you haven't been aware. I'm a slut," I explain to Ms. Penny.

 

"This is not your life Krill. You are not a word. I know you. You're a story. You just haven't turned the page yet."

 

I ignore Ms. Penny, walk upstairs and go to sleep. It was none of her business. It was no one's business what I did in my life. I did it for the song. Because when I had sex I heard it. It was the only time I didn't feel alone. It was the only time I felt wanted.

 

~.

 

I can't sleep that night. I think of what Ms. Penny told me. All my life I lived in Tulagi on the Soloman Islands. I didn't know the same love as other people knew. My mother never cradled me to sleep. My father never taught me how to play football. There were many orphans around my age back then. Most of them were gone during the incident in 1990. They called it the Storm of the century. Not many adults lived.

 

I grew up in a crowded orphanage. I wake up to it now. These walls have been my prison for so many years. I know I'm late for school but I don't care. I've been doing horribly. I'd take sex over class anyday but it was something to do.

 

I climb in the shower. I jerk my dick over and over until I hear the song. I'm really late for class now but it doesn't matter.

 

I climb out of the shower and wrap a towel around my head.

 

There is a knock on the door.


"Open up."

"I'm in here."

"Open the hell up."

I open the door. I don't bother to drop a wrap a towel around me. I know who it is. Blue. He is shocked when he sees me standing there buttnaked. He turns and looks away.

"You happy?" I ask him.

 

"What the fuck man?" he asks me.

 

"I told you I was in here. I warned you," I tell Blue.


Blue is avoiding eye contact like the plague. Blue is one of the only boys that I never wanted to have sex with. It's not because he isn't attractive. Blue is very attractive. He has that island tan and blonde hair that curls up at the top of his skin. He is a surfer and I realize he is probably late to go to class because he was out surfing. I see the tan lines as his shorts hug his muscular body. He always had a baby face but always in an attractive way. His skin is the color of coffee with milk mixed in. His eyes are the color of chestnuts. He is very attractive but I'd never cross that line especially with him.

 

"You could have put a towel on. You're fucking sick, you know that?" he tells me, "Fucking sicko."

"What did you want?"

He walks past me. We rub one another for a minute. I don't think he wants to look at me but he does. He grabs his wallet that he must have left on the sink. He's rushing because he's late for school. He doesn't stop and say thank you.

 

"Sick..." is the only thing he says as he leaves.


I hear him run out of the group home. He's disgusted with me. I stare out of the window and see Blue with Reign and Marina. They are the other kids at the group home. Blue hops into Regan's car and they drive off not looking back.


He hates me. I know it.

 

They all do...


Blue, Reign and Marina used to be close to me. We all used to be friends. Then something happened that changed everything. One night changed the rest of our lives. We don't talk about it anymore but since then they don't speak to me.

 

The four of us were the last ones in the group home. There were many more children. They'd been adopted by parents and taken to Australia or some other province of the Soloman Islands. Blue had been adopted several times. I mean he was beautiful, even when we were kids. People wanted him to have him be part of their family. He always came back. Reign didn't get adopted because he had a health condition. He's have these seizures. It was weird. Marina never got adopted because she was the fucking devil incarnate. Blue wasn't like that though. Blue didn't have medical problems like Reign or personality problems like Marina. He was perfect. In every way. He came back because he felt like he needed to look out for Reign and Marina. I guess he was a good guy. I guess he was a good friend.


I didn't know anything about that any longer though.


I was alone. Always alone.

 

I stare out the window watching them leave. I have to admit I feel jealous. I feel jealous they have each other and I have no one. As I look across the street though I see someone. A girl. She's standing there. She looks so familiar. She stares out just standing there.


Why the hell was this girl so familiar?

 

~

 


I get to class late. The words SLUT are spray painted on my locker. I turn to my right and see Marina and her friends laughing. It has been years since I slept with her boyfriend Reign but Marina never really forgave me for it. Everyday she works to get under my skin and make me pay. Everyday I ignore her, turn and walk away. She didn't matter. None of them mattered.

 

I head to the gym. I get ready to take a swim. I joined the swimming team because I was good at it. I wasn't the best though. Reign was the best swimmer. By the time we are at the water I know that he's going to beat me.

 

Our swim coach is Mr. Bradley. He's an Australian man with a heavy accent. He's also Mr. Saturday. I watch as he walks past and stares at my ass in my speedos. He gives me a nod. I know what that means. This Saturday he wanted me to stay 'late' after swimming practice so that he could fuck me in the locker room.

 

I nod back.

 

"Ready?" Mr. Bradley starts.


I look to the right. Reign is standing there. Reign is attractive in his own way. I would fuck him...again, that is. We used to be close...not as close as Blue and I were but definitely close. I always knew he had a crush on me.


"Good luck," Reign says to me and smiles.

 

I don't respond. Marina is out in the crowd. The last thing I needed was that bitch to give me anymore drama. Reign is the only one who even attempts to be friendly to me but I know the things that happened in the past has caused so much drama that he knows we can never be friends again. Reign has a short haircut. It's blonde. He has gray eyes. His skin is the darkest out of everyone that I know. His body is slim, not as muscular as Blue. He's taller than the other boys that go to my school. He's about 6'2". He's very attractive but most people don't notice. Most of the girls in our school have a crush on Blue instead. It wasn't that Reign wasn't married, it was that Marina and Reign had been dating since they knew what dating was. She was obsessed with him and she was a flaming bitch. No one bothered them.

 

His legs are powerful looking though. Those things are dangerous looking. I stare at them and I swear I get turned on a little at that moment. I see the patch of pubic hair coming out of his speedos. The cuts in his legs.


I barely hear when they say ready.


I dive in the water.

 

The other lanes are clear on the race. Reign and I are fast. We have always been the fastest on the swimming team. I look to my left to Reign's lane. He's ahead of me. The others are so far behind that I can barely see them. It's just Reign and I. We keep stroking. Faster and faster.

 

I can't let him beat me.


Not this time!

We do the breast stroke first. The breaststroke has always been what Reign was good at. It requires simultaneous movements of the arms on the horizontal plane. The hands are pressed in front of our chests in a heart shapped pattern. I'm catching up! We both hit the wall at the same time, touching the wall at the same time. We touch it and we start making our way back.

 

Going back we must do the butterfly stroke. This was where I was good. This was my strong point. It's a more graceful stroke. In the kick I keep both legs together and flutter through the water.

 

This may be it! I may finally beat Reign.

 

That's when I hear it.

 

The song:

Where the facts are the truest, go deeper than the deepest,

Into the blue where the blues are bluest

 

I stop swimming. My head bobs out of the water. I look around. The song. This time it was louder. This time it was sharper. This time it was more clear. I look around and I realize that Reign has stopped too. He turns towards me. His eyes are watching me.


"Deepest, bluest...deepest..." I keep saying.

 

The other swimmers swim past me quickly! The song is getting louder. The voice of a woman singing in my head. I get a cramp in my leg out of no where. I look down. My legs are locking! What the fuck! My fucking legs are locking together for whatever reason. I don't understand what's going on. I feel myself losing control and being unable to wade the water.

 

I'm drowning.

 

I go deep in the water. No one seems to notice. Maybe they think I'm just being weird ass Krill again. As I get to the bottom of the pool I notice something else though. My legs seem like they are connected. Was I imagining it?

Was I imagining that they were changing to this weird scaley texture? I attempt to swim but I can't. I can't move. The cramping in my legs is so powerful!

I'm going to drown. I realize that right now. I'm going to drown in front of all of these fucking people and no one was going to notice.


I feel myself shift into darkness at that moment.

 

I'm passing out!

There is nothing but darkness at that moment and the song.

 

~

 

"Is he OK?"

Reign's lips are pressed up against mine. He's giving me mouth to mouth resuscitation. All the swimmers and onlookers have crowded around me. They are all just watching me. Reign pushes his lips up against me and blows air hard.

 

I feel my lungs fill up and I turn to the side. I'm coughing up water. I'm coughing it up hard.


I'm screaming.

 

"My legs! MY LEGS!" I keep screaming.

 

"You're OK!" Reign responds.

 

I look down. My legs are fine. I separate them. There are no scales on them. They are normal. I am so confused at that moment.

"What happened?" I ask him.


"You tell me," Reign says, "You just stopped swimming. You were letting yourself drown. I know you can swim really well. You're the best swimmer I know, but you just stopped. I had to pull you out."

 

Reign lifts up his goggles and looks at me. His pretty eyes stare at me confused. That's when I notice the others. There are so many people just staring at me. They are just as confused as Reign. The fact that Reign called me the best swimmer when he clearly was blows my mind. None of that stuff embarrasses me as much as Blue looking at me though. He crosses his arms. He's judging me.

 

No one has ever hated me as much as Blue hates me. Not even Marina. Blue hated my fucking guts and I can see it in his eyes.

 

"Karma is a bitch," Blue says.

 

I know what he's referring to. I can see that look in his eyes. I can see the hate. I wonder if he wanted me to drown out in that pool. Maybe it would have been easier for Blue. Hell...maybe I should have drowned. Maybe it would have made me feel better.


"Blue quit," Reign states.

 

Reign defending me doesn't make this any easier. I attempt to get to my feet but I fall. It's almost like my legs are weak or something. I slip across the floor and fall in front of everyone. People start laughing. Reign and Blue are the only ones not laughing. It must be for different reasons. Reign feels bad for me and Blue probably hates me so much that nothing I can do could ever amuse him.

Reign attemps to help me to my feet.


"Get off!" I bark at him.


I pull myself up. My legs still feel like jello but I'm managing to walk away. I'm not doing it very successfully because Reign is at my side following me out.

 

"Why'd you stop swimming?" he asks me.

 

I ignore him. I heard the song. I'd never heard it when I wasn't having an orgasm before. I start drying myself out. I'm alone but I realize on the other side of the pool Reign has gotten out as well. His friends have surrounded him. He's a lot more popular than I am. Blue is one of them.

Blue looks a little annoyed that Reign allowed himself to lose, but Reign's eyes are glued on me. The entire gym turns to us. The race was one of the highlights of the school year and we both just allowed ourselves to lose.

 

"Why'd you stop?"

 

I turn. Reign is standing there. His eyes look me up and down.

 

"I don't know. Why'd you stop?" I ask him.


"To save your life," he responds.


"That's not that important," I stay, "Should have let me drown."

 

Did he stop because I did? Our eyes connect. Marina is on the other side of the gym giving me weird stares so I walk away from Reign. God forbid I talk to her boyfriend for too long.

 

It gets even more awkward though when Mr. Bradley pulls us both in the room, speedos and everything to go off on us about stopping in the middle of the race. I couldn't explain it. Reign looks over at me. He's looking for answers on my face but I can't give it to him. What the hell happened out there?

 

Reign stares at me the entire time Mr. Bradley is talking. He isn't even trying to hide it. His eyes just pierce into me. They are trying to figure something out. I can feel him watching me. That's when all of a sudden I turn. I'm annoyed he's watching me.

 

As our eyes connect I hear it again.

 

Where can you find me? In this kingdom under the sea

 

"Excuse me," I tell Mr. Bradley.


Mr. Bradley gives me a look, "Krill? Krill! Where are you going? Krill!"

Mr. Bradley reaches out to stop me but something is happening that gets his attention. It's Reign. Reign is having one of his seizures. I turn at that moment and see Reign. His eyes roll in the back of his head. His body tremors.

 

Mr. Bradley screams something. I think he's telling me to go get some help or something. I run out of the room and go to the nurse's office.

 

I call the doctor.

 

Luckily they seem well aware of Reign's little seizures and they are never anything to serious. I walk outside of the building and that's when I see the girl again. It's the same girl I saw this morning. She is about my age. She has on a white dress.


"Yara..."

I know her.

 

"Hey Krill...long time no see..."


I'm confused when I see her. Yara and I used to be friendly a long time ago. She used to live in the group home with me. Seeing her was weird though. As we stand outside looking at one another I notice Marina and Blue. The terrible trio was helping Reign into his car. I look over at them. Reign looks at me. He says something to Blue. Blue gives me this stare that is cold enough to freeze hell. I don't even think they notice Yara...or maybe they don't remember her.

 

"Is that Blue?" Yara asks, "Still sexy as all hell..."

"Still hates me more than anything."

Yara shakes her head, "Now, we all know why..."

Yara feels uncomfortable talking about why Blue hates me so much. She crosses her arms. It's a touchy subject. Everyone remembers that day. Blue and I were best friends once. That was no longer. He hated my guts and a part of me couldn't blame him. A part of me wondered how he was able to look at me without wanting to buy a gun and blow my head off.

 

"Let's not talk about the past," I tell her realizing how heavy the past was especially between Blue and I.

 

"You're right. How have you been?" she asks me.

 

I could tell Yara about my day. I could tell her about the fact that I almost drowned. I could tell her about Reign's seizure. The seizure wouldn't surprise her. Reign had them all the time. Still the timing of this seizure was weird. Why did it happen right when we looked at one another? Did I cause the seizure to happen somehow?

"I'm good," I respond.

"Still a slut?" she asks me.

 

"Still a slut," I respond with a slight shrug, "What are you doing back here? Didn't some family take you away or something?"

Yara was in the group home for a few years. She was on the girl's side. Yara was always a weirdo like me. Maybe that's why we got along. She was a nerd. She spent so much time in her books. She was adopted at the age of 7 but came back at 14 after the lady who adopted her died of cancer. Sure enough at 16 another family adopted her. She was one of the lucky ones. She'd been adopted twice and no one even bothered to take me once. I wasn't shocked by it. Yara was smart as all hell and a sweetheart. No one wanted someone like me.

 

Who would want to adopt a slut?

"Yeah. I live in Australia now," she explains, "Just got a ticket and came back."

"To visit or..."

Yara shakes her head.


"No. Not exactly. I'm not sure why I'm here," Yara explains.

 

She stares out. She stares out in a direction. It's odd how she does it. She just stares out into the direction of something. It's almost like Yara is looking for something. She still looks the same. Yara has brown hair with streaks of blonde. She still has these big eyes that stare out almost as though trying to figure something out. She always looks like she's thinking. Right now it seems like she is more than thinking though. It seems like she is searching.

 

"Are you OK, Yara?" I ask.

 

She shakes her head, "No. God. That sound is so annoying. Do you hear that?"

She looks around. I look around too. Right now I didn't hear anything.


Could it be?

"Do you hear a song?" I ask.

 

She shakes her head, "No. No wings. Tiny insect wings. Almost like a flea."


I listen.

"No. I don't hear anything."

Yara smiles at me, "I think I'm losing it. Well. I'll see you later."

~

 

I can't get how weird my day was out of my head. I decide it's best to probably just stay inside. That night I wake up out of my sleep. I wake up and for whatever reason I feel...dry. My skin feels so fucking dry. The skin on my legs are irritating the fuck out of me.

 

I run a bath.

I look in the mirror. I'd go see Mr. Wednesday today. The heat from the water clogs up the mirror. I wipe away the fog. I look at my reflection. This was it. This was me. Sometimes I would smile at the reflection. I would pretend like everything in my life was good, but I knew better. This couldn't be it. This couldn't be what I found in life.

 

I get in the bathtub. I lean my back up against the tub. Normally I would jerk off. When I jerked off I would hear the song. I'd first heard the song when I was 13. It was the first time that Wade sung it to me. We'd been swimming. He was the love of my life even though I was so young that I didn't know what love was. It was puppy love. It was the first time I felt love and it was the last time I felt it. I'd never forget how he would pull me close to him and he sing to me.

 

When Wade died things changed.

 

I became cold. I looked so hard trying to find that love again. I found it in the orgasm. I had hit puberty and my body was changing. I woke up in a bed dripping wet and I heard a song. There was no radio on. There was no television on. I just heard someone singing. Sometimes it sounded like Wade sometimes it sounded like a woman. Sometimes it was me singing.

 

I heard the song ever since. Every time I felt an orgasm I'd hear the song. It comforted me. It made me not feel so alone. Somewhere I imagined someone cared enough about me to sing to me. I was wrong though. No one ever cared about me. Ever.


It wasn't always like that. Someone cared about me once.


A long time ago.

 

Wade...

 

Wade was long gone though.


I sing the song.

 

Then I open my eyes and my legs have cramped up again. They are heavier. They are harder to move. I see why when I open my eyes.

I had a tail!

I had a fucking tail like a fish. The single tail is longer than my legs. The tail is silky and smooth to the touch. It glimmers wet magnified by the clear glassy water. It looks like polished glass. The fragile scales seem molded together almost like dragon scales. It begins at my waist. Everything underneath my waist has been replaced by this golden tail. I touch it running my hands over the tail...wondering if my legs are underneath them. It feels like they are somewhere buried beneath along with my privates but the tail acts almost like layered coating over my legs. My legs have not really changed...they've just been covered by this tail. The thing was beautiful golden hue. My blonde hair has become golden as well and washes over me.

 

And then it becomes clear as I touch my tail that this isn't human.

I'm not human.

 

There is a knock on the door.


"Hey! Hey Krill, can I talk to you?"

It's Reign. I avoided Reign like a plague. The problem with living in a group home though is it's hard to avoid people. I am panicking at that moment, realizing I have this shelled tail over my legs. I close my eyes concentrating as hard as I can. I don't know why I know that this will work but it feels right. I am wishing this tail away. I close my eyes.

 

I reopen them.


Sure enough the tail is gone. My legs are showing. My dick is showing. My legs are still stuck together a little bit but they are slowly separating on their own.


"One minute!"

I struggle to rip my legs apart. The ripping of the skin burns my legs. I struggle to the door at that moment wrapping a towel around my waist. I open it.

 

I'm so weak that I'm using the door to stand. He looks at me squints. I don't get this boy. What the fuck did he want?

"Are you ok?" he asks me.


"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," Reign asks.


"Is there something you want?" I ask Reign, "Marina might be around here somewhere. You don't want her thinking anything."

Reign gets quiet. He doesn't like bringing up what happened between us. That's usually the fastest way for me to get him out of my face. Usually. This time it doesn't work though. Reign doesn't run away trying to hide from his sexuality and the awkwardness of being reminded of that day we had sex.

 

"It happened to you, didn't it?" Reign asks.


I raise my eyebrow.


"What?"

"You know what I'm talking about," Reign said, "It happened to you. I saw it under the water. I saw your legs lock. That's why I stopped swimming."

My mouth gets dry. I walk over to the faucet. I open the tab and drink some water. I'm confused at what is going on but I'm even more confused that Reign is standing next to me right now asking me about it. He's staring at me wanting me to say something.

 

How does he know what's going on with me? A part of me wants to talk to him about it. A part of me feels good that maybe I can talk to someone about it.

 

Instead I do what I always do. I withdraw.


"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You aren't the only one it's happening to," Reign said, "All those kids that we knew...all the kids from the storm...they are coming back here. They are hearing the calls."

"What calls?"


"The signs. Everyone's sign is different. My sign is my seizure. Marina sees the signs in the sky. I think you hear a sign too."

I look over at him. Could he be talking about the song? Reign crosses his arms. He sees right through me. I can sit here and pretend all night long but I know that he sees right through my facade. A part of me knows that something weird is happening to me. I just had a fucking tail for godsakes.


I'm not human.


A part of me knows that I never was.


I nod, "It's a song."

"Oh my god! Yes! It is true! You're one of us!"

Reign reaches forward. He pulls me close. He hugs me. I don't get it. I don't get why he's so emotional right now. Why is he so excited? How long has this been happening to him? There are so many questions I have but instead of asking any of them I just push Reign off of me as hard as possible.


I couldn't possibly let him show me comfort and emotion. Not ever.

 

"Don't touch me," I respond.

 

Not in that way. If he wanted to fuck we could fuck. We could fuck all night long. Reign was as sexy as ever. But the comfort is what scares me. The comfort is what makes me uncomfortable. That level of intimacy is something that I did not want.


"I'm sorry," he replies, pulling away, "I just got excited. I think something's calling us."

"What?" I ask, "What is calling us?"

He offers me his hand.


"I think it's about time we go find out."

 

I don't take his hand but I go with him. I walk outside. It's the middle of the night. Marina is sitting at the driver's seat of her boyfriends jeep. Reign gets into the passenger side. That leaves me to get in the back. As I get in the back I realize who I'm back there with. Blue.

 

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Blue asks, "He's coming too, Reign?"

"He sees the signs. He's one of us," Reign states.

 

"I fucking doubt that," Marina responds.

 

"I can go back in the house. I don't have to go anywhere with you guys," I state.

 

I don't want to care. Truthfully deep inside it hurts like shit. There was a time that Blue wouldn't go anywhere without me and now things had completely changed. Blue hated my fucking guts. He despised me. He would probably rather die then spend any time with me at all.

 

Reign stops me, "You're not going anywhere. You hear the signs. They are calling to you too. It's tonight. You can feel it. We call can feel it."

"It's him or me," Blue says.


Blue gets out of the car. He is pissed.

 

"Blue don't be like this," Reign states.

 

"You KNOW what he did," Blue told me, "I'm not going anywhere with him. Reign. I'll die first."

 

Reign shakes his head, "Blue. This is about all of us."


"Leave me here."

"Blue..."

"I'm not going anywhere with him..." Blue responds, " Everyone that goes into his life is destroyed. Everything Krill touches is destroyed. Reign if you want to go with him then fine. Go. But I'll stay here."

Blue walks away. He walks back into place.

 

I look over at Reign.


"You don't have to choose your friend over me," I tell Reign.

"He's right," Marina responds rolling her eyes.


It's clear Marina doesn't want me here either. She's doesn't like me and she might even hate me but it's not the same as Blue. Blue had a darkness in him towards me that I'll never be able to counter. He had a darkness in him that I'd never be able to really get past. He could barely sit in the same room with me I new that he wasn't going to want to go anywhere with me.

 

Reign shakes his head, "Drive Marina."

"What?" she asks confused.


"Blue made his choice. Drive."

We start driving at that moment. I don't know how we know where to go but I know. I know where Marina is going to turn before she makes each turn. I can hear it. It's so slight but it's the sound of a voice. It's singing for me. Someone calling out to me. It's slow. It's low. It's slight and it's fucking beautiful.

 

Reign is quiet the entire time. The excitement he had is gone. Maybe it's because we are leaving Blue. That's the only thing I can think about honestly.

 

"Stop the car," I state.


"What?" Marina asks.

 

"Stop. Yara! Yara!"

As we are driving we see Yara. She is walking as well. Yara doesn't have a car. God knows how long she's been walking but sure enough she is walking. It's the middle of the night. It has to be about 4am. The fact that she is up right now says it all.


Yara has a smile on her face, "You all are getting the signs too?"

It's Reign that smiles back at her the widest, "You're in it with us. You're one of us."

The way he helps her into the jeep makes my heart heavy. It almost feels like this feeling of community. When Yara gets into that truck for the first time I have a feeling that I'm not completely alone.

Reign has these hopeful eyes. He thinks we are in this together. Whatever remarkable thing that is happening in my life isn't happening to me alone. It's happening to other people.

We drive to the coast.

 

As we drive to the coast I see others. I don't recognize the majority of them but I do recognize a few. They are all walking towards the coast. It seems like we are the last ones to arrive. A part of me feels bad that Blue isn't here. He isn't here because of me. He belongs here. This is happening to him as well. He's one of us as well.

 

"There's so many people..." Marina states.


"They are all around the same age as us," Reign explains, "Orphans from the storm that happened years ago. They must have been called here too."

"By who?" I ask.

 

Marina pulls over. Reign gives me a smile. God this boy is so fucking sexy. It's hard to stare back at him. He seems so welcoming too. The way he looks at me makes me feel this sense of wonder.

 

"I think we should go find out. Don't you agree?" Reign asks.

 

The four of us hop out of the jeep. The sand below our feet is warm. I look around at the faces of kids like us. I count 28 of us in total. There should be 29 though. Blue should be here. I wonder if Marina and Reign blame me for their friend not experiencing whatever we were experiencing together. I can't tell. They are all looking around. They all have this curious expression on their face. Something was calling us in here.

And it was magic.

 

"What am I doing here?" a boy asks.

 

He's a chubby boy. He looks over at me with this confused look with his chubby cheeks. He seems so lost and confused. He has this big glasses on.

"We don't know..." a girl standing next to him responds.

 

"Everyone! Everyone calm down! We are meant to be here," Reign says.


"Who the hell are you?" some guy asks Reign.

 

A lot of people are wondering the same thing. I'm not surprised that Reign is taking control of this situation. He seems like the kind of person who is a leader.

 

"My name is Reign. Some of you might recognize me. Some of you won't. I believe we all grew up in the same orphanage. Some of you were taken when you were younger. They say our parents died in a storm. I don't think that's the truth."

"What?" someone asks.


"I think we are...different..."

Chaos seems to break out. Reign is trying to make sure no one starts panicking. A bunch of strangers show up on a beach at 4am in the morning. That seems like reason enough to panic. I look around. I see a boy walk up to me. He's attractive. He has long brown hair which is different from the blonde that a lot of the other kids have. It goes down to his shoulders. It's straight but very matted probably intentionally like some sort of handsome hippie. Unlike Reign though his skin is only slightly tan. It looks like his hair could naturally have been blonde. His eyes are blue. He flashes me a white smile.


"That guy is really fucking optimistic about this huh?" he asks me.

 

I laugh, "That's pretty much Reign."

"You know him?" he asks.

 

I nod. I don't know this guy but it's clear that a lot of us don't know each other. I offer him my hand. I mean he is kind of sexy to say the least.


"I'm Krill."

"I'm Sebastian," he introduces himself to me, "Was adopted when I was 4. Grew up in New York. Maybe that's why I don't remember any of this. All I know is that I kept having dreams. One day I just woke up, emptied my trust fund to get a ticket here. I couldn't help it. It was so weird."

"Damn. All the states?" I ask shaking my head, "Long way to go for no reason."

 

He laughs, "Yeah. Seems like I probably came the longest way. Regardless, had to come introduce myself because you're the only one who isn't smiling like you just took a shot of fucking coke. Why the fuck is everyone so happy?"

 

I feel the happiness inside of me. It's just hard to really show it.

 

I shrug, "I don't know."

 

Yara is standing next to me and Sebastian. She is waving her hands back and forth. I don't know at first why she's she's doing it but then I realize something is annoying her.

 

"Goddam fleas. The goddam fleas are everywhere," Yara states.

 

She's right. There are fleas everywhere. They fly up to a tree in the distance. Yara shoos them away but I realize that the fleas aren't actually fleas. They are fireflies. I watch as they glow up the darkness of the beach. There is something so beautiful all around us. A couple people are laughing. A couple people are smiling.

 

"There it is. The wild mango tree," I state.

 

There is a feeling that I have in my stomach. It's a feeling that lets me know that I've been waiting for this moment all my life. Magic is in there air. I am not the only one who feels it too. Magic is in there all around us. The fireflies dance around us.

 

They fly out into the water.


"It's almost like they are trying to tell us something," Yara states.


I nod, "They are telling us where to go."

 

Sebastian and Yara look at me. They are confused. I'm not though. I know what is happening here somehow. I take a few steps towards the water. The others are looking at me. Reign has even stopped talking and has started paying attention to what I'm doing.

 

I lay on the shore. I take off my shirt. I take off my pants. I'm completely naked in front of everyone. I'm not shy about it though. I know what I'm doing.

 

It's Reign that comes up to me.


"What are you doing?" he asks me, "Where are you going?"

I look into the water.


My legs are beginning to lock together. Soon the scales will form around them. The golden tail will begin to form. I will become the merman once again. It will be my true form. It will be who I am. It will be who I always was.

 

I can feel it. I can feel the calling. I can hear the song. It's never been so loud.

Where can you find me? In this kingdom under the sea

Follow the water flea to the wild mango tree

Where the facts are the truest, go deeper than the deepest,

Into the blue where the blues are bluest

 

I look towards the others, "I'm going Home..."

 

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