Scales & Tales - The Tales of Mystic High - Book 1

Chapter 6

Aquamarine floated underwater, smoke forming in the water, turning it black. Aquamarine coughed, and she looked around worriedly. "W-what's going on!? Is this Sharkdom-!?"

She was terrified at the moment, as the smoke only grew higher and higher, thicker and thicker. Her eyes watered from the exposure, and her nose wrinkled at the horrid stink. One explosion sounded over another as she saw light going off between the smoke clouds.

Boom! Boom!

Aquamarine swam around anxiously, glancing to her sides. She eventually found a family, in a place that hadn't been bombed yet. A woman was holding her baby, the father next to the mother. They both had glossy bubbles escaping their eyes.

"I'm so sorry..." The mother's words escaped between sobs. "We love you." She planted a kiss on the baby's forehead. Aquamarine watched as the man gently grabbed the baby and strapped it to a dolphin, who seemed to want to avoid the smoke at all costs.

Aquamarine gasped, as a bomb went off just as the dolphin was out of range, covering the saddened parents in a thick layer of smoke. Aquamarine folded in on herself coughing furiously, the feeling in her lungs filling up with smoke instead of water.

The next thing Aquamarine knew was she was surrounded by pure blackness, like an empty void. Everything felt numb. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. It was a silent, empty void. Then something shone throughout the darkness. She saw the same scene again, the parents saying goodbye to their dear child. But something stuck out.

The mother had her hands around her neck, as the baby cried while leaning against the angsty dolphin. The mother unclasped something. A tiny necklace with a blue seashore chain, and a little seashell in the middle. Aquamarine's eyes widened. That was her necklace. She inspected the baby's face.

That's me as a baby... Aquamarine thought, completely flabbergasted.

She subconsciously gripped her necklace, watching carefully as the mother – who she assumed was her own mother – wrapped the seashell necklace around the tiny baby's chubby neck, then planted a kiss on its forehead.

Aquamarine gasped, and suddenly she was waking up in her bed, gasping for air, sweat beads dripping down her forehead one by one. She looked around shakily, collecting herself. "What... What was that..." She stuttered out, her arms shaking as she sat herself upright in her bed. She tried calming down, but couldn't. Something was bothering her real bad, and she couldn't shake it.

"Maybe a walk will help..." Aquamarine hummed. She quietly stepped out of bed, putting one foot into her slipper, and then the next. She carefully made sure that Electra's room was still closed, getting a tiny electrocution in the process as she touched the doorbell. Once determining ELectra was asleep, she opened the door slowly, so as to not cause any noise that could possibly disrupt Electra's slumber.

Once the coast was clear, Aquamarine started roaming the halls aimlessly in an attempt to calm down. She felt her anxiety rising more with each step, but she didn't understand it. Why couldn't she calm down? She was walking faster and faster with each and every step, her breath quickening worriedly. Aquamarine suddenly paused as she reached a window. She stared out of the clean glass window, into the lake that was right outside of Mystic High.

She immediately wanted to go there. Aquamarine couldn't explain it, but she felt drawn to it. Maybe it was her ocean loving nature, maybe it was because she was a sea creature by blood, but she needed to go down there. She quickly found the stairs, as she assumed the elevator would be too loud and cause too much of a ruckus, and quickly ran down the stairs.

Once Aquamarine reached the lobby, she dashed outside. Speed walking to the left, she rounded around the building to the exact pond she had been looking down upon in the window on the third floor. She slowly sat down on the edge, finding a perfect rock ledge that was much bigger than her, and sat down on it, bringing her knees up to her chest.

Immediately a cool breeze blew over her, causing Aquamarine's turquoise locks to sway in the wind. But the wind calmed her down, as it felt like someone was hugging her. Aquamarine leaned against the force, feeling comforted, but quickly fell onto her back as the sensation faded away from her grasp.

Aquamarine's eyes widened as she felt her back hit the cold rock underneath her. She sat back up, looking behind her longingly, where she had just felt the calming presence. "No... Don't leave me..." She mumbled under her breath with no gestation whatsoever.

She sighed, turning to face the water. She glanced around, making sure no one was nearby, before slowly raising her left hand and closing her eyes. She felt a cold feeling run through her veins to her fingertips, and opened her eyes. A soft blue faze covered her fingertips, as water from the lake slowly raised up to her hand.

Aquamarine smiled. "C'mere..." She mumbled, slowly guiding the bubble of water closer to her. It gained closer and closer, until it was mere centimeters away from her index finger. She reached out to touch it, but the bubble immediately burst, spraying water over her. She flinched, not wanting to be found in her true form, but quickly realized what her uncle had said was true. The water slowly drained into her necklace, which was glowing a soft pastel blue, keeping the water off of her.

She took a big breath of relief, "phew..." she stood up, heading back up to her dorm, as she was ready for a nap after using her powers – which she didn't use often – unaware of the boy who was watching her from room 312.