Shimmer Tail

Chapter Two

                                                               ~CHAPTER TWO~

The night was peaceful in the Chipettes’ hotel room. Brittany, Eleanor, and Jeanette slept quietly, with the odd toss or turn. Moonlight shone through the window directly onto Jeanette’s bed. Beneath her pillow, the comb began to shift. It slipped from under her head, as if it was being pulled by some magnetic force. The pearl-encrusted sides glowed in the moonlight. Though no-one was awake to see it, a fog of ocean spray materialized around the comb.

Jeanette’s eyes flew open. Her normally shiny, violet irises were cloudy and dull. She sat up, and slipped out of bed soundlessly. She put her glasses on, but her eyes remained dull. With one hand, she reached out and grabbed the comb. Wind whipped her hair, but didn’t touch anything else in the room. The comb glowed brighter, and, while still in her hand, began to move toward the door. Jeanette opened it slowly, and let the comb guide her outside.

o0o

Salty sea air filled Jeanette’s nose as she stepped onto the beach. The water was calm, but one or two big waves did come up once or twice. She walked along the shore, the comb pulling her all the way. She was not fully conscious; she was awake, but had no control over her body.

Jeanette walked until she came to a small cove. The only entrance appeared to be a hole a little ways up the side. The comb glowed brighter than before, its light a pale sea green. Jeanette held the comb in her mouth, and then began to climb up the side of the rocky cove. At one point she slid back down, scraping her knee. She ignored the pain and proceeded more carefully; she mustn’t lose the comb.

Eventually, Jeanette was able to clamber over the slippery rocks. Upon entering the cove, she found a beautiful lagoon, practically glowing with blue light. It was then that she came to her senses. Her eyes became the proper luster, and she spat the comb out. It was glowing immensely now, and for a split second it nearly blinded her, but the glowing quickly ceased. Jeanette examined the lagoon, and was quite confused on how she’d gotten there.

After her moment of contemplation, Jeanette decided that a little dip up to her ankles wouldn’t hurt. And after seeing the beauty of the lagoon, she wasn’t quite ready to go back to bed. So, she made her way to the water’s edge and dipped her feet in. She sighed as the cool water swirled around her ankles. She lifted her nightgown slightly higher, and stepped in deeper. She quite enjoyed the refreshing feeling – until something’s icy fingers wrapped around her right ankle.

Jeanette screamed, and the hand gripped her ankle tighter. She tried to kick it away, but it pulled hard, yanking her down into the water. Her glasses flew off her face and into a rock, the lenses shattering. Jeanette continued to kick and scream, but the hand was soon joined by another, and they both dragged her deeper into the lagoon. When she looked up, Jeanette could see a heart-shaped face staring back at her. The girl was clearly much older than her. Her hair was emerald green, and floated around in the water. Two pointy ears stuck out from behind the wet hair. Her bright green eyes glared piercingly at Jeanette.

The frightened Chipette was now being dragged out to sea, the girl’s sharp green fingernails digging in to her ankles. What she hadn’t noticed before was that the lagoon opened out to the sea on one side, allowing anything to come in it from the ocean. Jeanette’s scraped knee stung from the salt water, but it was the least of her worries. The green-haired… CREATURE pulled Jeanette further and further out, until the salty water burned her eyes. She couldn’t open her mouth to scream, because water would flow in and make her gag.

They were soon so far out that Jeanette could no longer see the rocky cove. The salt water on her face was joined by frightened tears now. The creature pulling her was sneering. With one final tug, she dragged Jeanette under.

Jeanette barely had time to take a breath. She kicked and thrashed even more, but my, this thing was strong. Her lungs screamed for air, and there was no way she could reach the surface. Her kicks grew weaker…she had to breathe…she was going to drown…with a terrible feeling of defeat, Jeanette let her breath go and took a gulp of water.

She was shocked when she didn’t gag. Suddenly, a tingling feeling spread along her legs. Her lungs burned, and her legs glowed. She felt them start to expand, and her underwear ripped. Sparkles covered her lower half as her legs merged together. She gasped as purple scales began to grow where her skin had been. Her feet merged as well, and a big violet fin replaced them.

Jeanette looked up from staring at her new, shimmery tail to see those sharp, emerald eyes. She noticed that this girl also had a tail, but she wasn’t a chipmunk. Her tail was, like her hair and eyes, a beautiful green. She seemed more elegant underwater, and seemed to carry a bigger air of importance. However, the water was slowly beginning to spin. Jeanette’s sight, which was surprisingly good in the water now, became blurry again. A single bubble rose from her mouth as her head lolled back, and Jeanette became still in the water.