Dangers of the Sea || Byler Story ||

25 - The Potion

Third Person POV:

It took a while, but soon Zia came back with all the ingredients and another pirate to help carry everything inside. Zia pulled out a random table from a bunch of the mermaid junk and set everything on it.

"Okay, now we need a mixing bowl," Max says.

Zia grabbed a bowl from the junk as well, setting it on the table and looked at Max.

"Pour the water into the bowl," Max says. Zia and the other pirate began following her instructions. "Put a spoonful of lily pad pollen in the water, and mix it until you can't see any bits." The two did so. "Then add the ground smooth root powder and bee wings at the same time. But only four bee wings." Again, the instruction was followed through. "Mix all of that up."

The mixture in the bowl became the color of the blueberries, glowing slightly.

"Um.." Max hesitates. "You have to add three drops of your blood into it," She says to the captain. "So the potion affects the victim the way you want it to."

The captain stands up and walks over to the bowl, taking out a knife and cutting open his palm.

He holds it above the mixture until three drops go in, before pulling it back and wrapping it in a bandage. The mixture bubbles and starts turning different colors before it settles on a glowing rich purple.

"It's done." Max says softly.

The captain grins, before glaring at Max. "How much needs to be digested?" He questions.

Max gulps as nerves assault her stomach. "Any amount, it doesn't matter," She whispers. The captain takes a small cup and scoops some of the mixture into it.

He walks over to Mike, crouching down as Mike tries to back away.

"Drink," The captain says, holding the cup in front of him. Mike shakes his head, staying silent. "Drink it right this instant or I will kill all of your friends." The captain threatens.

Mike glances over at Will, making eye contact.

He was terrified, to say the least. But he didn't want Will or any of his friends killed because of him. So he looked back at the captain and took the cup.

"No! Mike, don't drink it!" Will yells desperately.

Mike's hands were shaky as he held the cup, staring into the purple liquid. The captain's hand was drifting to the knife at his side.

The ravenette closed his eyes, before raising the cup and taking a few sips.

He freezes, his eyes opening wide. He drops the cup, the purple mixture spilling across the floor, and starts to shake all over. He takes gasping breaths, his vision swirling.

"It hurts." Mike mutters. "My head.." His face twists in pain and he lets out a shriek. "My head!"

He squeezes his eyes shut again, grasping at his hair. He lets out another scream, making Will flinch. Tears start falling from both Lucas's and Max's eyes, hating seeing their friend this way. Dustin and Jane were on the verge of crying, even though they barely even knew him.

Then Mike froze. Completely.

And fell forward, unconscious. The captain stares down at him, before glaring at Max.

"I-It's working," Max says through her sobs. "When he wakes up you'll-" She sobs even harder, and Lucas pulls her to his chest. "You'll be able to control him."

The captain grins. He stands up, kicking Mike in the chest.

Tears spill from Will's eyes, staring at the ravenette on the floor with terror resting in his heart.

...

An hour went by of Mike being asleep, with the captain coming in and out of the room to check.

Zia stayed next to Mike and applied more burn cream when necessary, and then once bringing in some food for the others, the same fake stuff above the good food.

Then, Mike woke up.

His eyes shot open and he jerked upward, causing a bookshelf behind him to fall. Everyone in the room gasped as Mike freaked out even more, and his tail swung out and hit another shelf, causing that to fall as well.

Zia ran forward, but Max stopped her. "He's going through the first potion hysteria," She exclaims. "Don't touch him, we need to wait for your captain to come back."

Which wasn't long, due to the crashing sounds.

The captain burst into the room, gaping at the chaos Mike was causing. Max gripped onto the cage bars.

"You have to tell him to stop," Max yells through the noise. "Tell him to stop."

"Mermaid, stop that," The captain says, and instantly Mike froze, his head slowly turned, and they saw his eyes were completely black, similar to his tail. It was incredibly unnerving, making Will freeze in shock. You could tell the captain was unnerved as well.

Max gulps. "There." She says. "He's.. He's under control now."

The captain slowly grins. "Perfect timing, mermaid," He says. "We'll set sail now," He says, before looking at the cage. "You all can come with, to watch my tool work properly."

Will glared at him. "He's not a tool," He says.

"Tell that to the mermaid," The captain says, staring at Mike with an almost insane looking grin. "He is my property, so he is my tool."

Mike's tail twitched, hitting against the wall behind him.

The captain left, and soon after multiple pirates entered the room, four of them going over to the cage and lifting it, carrying it out the door. The other two went over to Mike, one grabbing his wrist and pulling him with them while the second held a weapon next to Mike's head. The boy didn't resist.

They were brought to the large ship, and were loaded on. The pirates placed the cage down on the main deck, and dragged Mike next to it, before leaving them all alone.

Will moved over to the part of the cage closest to Mike, reaching through the bars and grabbing Mike's hand. The ravenette does react at all, blankly staring at the ground with those all black eyes. Will frowned in concern as Max moved over as well.

"That spell won't wear off for a few days," Max whispers. "Until then, he'll stay like this unless the captain orders him to do something."

"Is he conscious?" Lucas questions.

Max thought for a moment. "I'm not sure," She says. "It's different for anyone, but there is a small chance he's awake. He might be listening. But he also might not."

Will intertwines his hand in Mike's, holding it softly as the boy stays still.

His eye and tail twitch again. Max frowns at him. His tail twitches again, and then again. "Wait.." Max whispers, making Will and Lucas look at her. "Mike, if you're awake, twitch your tail twice."

His tail twitches twice.

"Uh- Okay, just to make sure, twitch your tail one time if you're awake," Max whispers. Mike twitches his tail once.

Will's eyes widen and he beams. "Oh thank god.." He whispers.

<^> To Be Continued

(1k words)

yay Mikey :D