Of the Sea

Chapter Three

The still of the morning was shattered by the sound coming from the bathroom. Up until then, Astrid had almost forgotten yesterday's events and her new houseguest, but now she had been rudely reminded . The sound was like something out of a horror movie; a high pitched shrieking that ended in a throaty gurgle, like the victim was choking on their own saliva.

Astrid jumped out of the bed and rushed to the bathroom, her hands covering her ears. "What in God's name-" Her sentence was cut short by a gag. The stench coming from the merboy was horrific. He had ripped away the bandages to reveal the pinkish-brown flesh of his wounds that dribbled yellow pus, and that was where the stench was coming from.

"For the sake of the seas, don't just stand there!" He bared his teeth at her, his eyes begging her to do something.

"What is it? What do you need?" Astrid asked frantically. If he kept shrieking like he was, he would wake the whole town.

"Seaweed, kelp, whatever you call it, I just need some. A lot of it. Immediately." He clenched his jaw and double over the side of the bathtub like he was going to be sick. "Go!"

Astrid didn't bother changing out of her sweat pants or old baggy t-shirt, or even putting on any shoes, she simply flung the door open and ran. The black dog was on her heels, trailing her down the path that lead to the beach. Once there, she made for the surf, only to come to an abrupt halt before her feet even touched the tide.

There it was. The ocean. A vast expanse of water that could easily swallow her down. Any other day she would avoid such a situation like wading into its grasp, but today, she had no choice; It had something she needed.

"Buoy." She snapped her fingers, and the black dog was at her side, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. She grabbed a fist full of his coat, and took a step. The freezing water biting at her ankles caused her to hesitate, but she forced herself to take another step. Eventually she was knee deep in the freezing water, her knuckles white as she gripped onto the dog's fur. She reached out for a floating piece of seaweed, pinching the slimy green leaves between her fingers.

"Astrid?"

She jumped, and had her fingers not been woven into the dog's fur she would've fallen in. She turned around to face the Brumby twins, Addison and Alec. Their blonde hair and zealous nature made them definitive around town as well as in school.

"What are you doing?" Alec pointed to the seaweed that was in her hand.

Astrid bit her lip. Alec Brumby was undeniably handsome, and here Astrid stood in sweats with messy hair, smelling like a wet dog. "I...uh...dropped my watch."

"You wear a watch? Who wears watches anymore?" Addison criticized. She was the more aggressive twin, and Astrid tended to stay out of her way.

"We can help you find it, if you'd like." Alec offered.

"No." Astrid said hastily. A bit too hastily judging by the surprised looks on the twins' faces. "No, I mean, the tide has probably already dragged it out, and now it's gone. So, there's no need to look for it." She rambled.

"Well that's too bad." Addison shrugged.

"Yeah, it is, umm..." Astrid stepped out of the water, Buoy spraying her as he shook himself dry, "I have to be going." She held tight to the piece of seaweed she managed to grab.

"We didn't mean to bother you." Alec apologized.

"No, no, you're not bothering me, it's just I am...babysitting. Yes, and I was just getting some...seaweed because...because we were doing a scavenger hunt." She smiled inwardly at her clever, little lie.