Drowning

Chapter 19

His face winced in pain. Kurt's blood floated around the water.
"Kurt!" I grabbed his arm.
I felt Kade's scaly tail slap my back. "Out of my way!" Kade whipped around in front of the shark. "That prey belongs to me." He hissed in the shark's face. This apparently made the shark mad. The two creatures started fighting.
"Let's get away from them." I whispered to Kurt. Blood was still flowing from the open wound. I tried pulling him, because Kurt had some trouble moving his tail. Cora and Garrett came over to help us, and we moved a lot faster.
"Where are we heading?" Cora asked.
"Towards the shore so Kurt can sit down on the sand." I informed.
We were heading close to the sand. It was tight over here, and our tails were pressed up against the ice.
I caught sight of Kade finishing off the shark. Our plan hadn't worked one bit. Kade began swimming fast towards Kurt.
"Kurt, watch out!" I yelled.
Kurt jerked to the side, and Kade's two razor-sharp fangs hit the spot in the ice where Kurt had been. Kade ripped his teeth from the ice. There remained a hole there, just barely big enough for one of us to go through.
Kade was racing to Kurt. Now was my chance.
I hoisted myself on the ice. The instant I touched it, my tail felt like it was on fire. It felt like a thousand nails were poking it all over. I spread out my wings and flew over the ice. I had made it all the way over when my wings gave out and I plummeted into the sand. The gun was just inches away from my fingertips, so I began to drag my body slowly towards it. I had sand all over my tail, my stomach, my hair, and some even in my mouth.
Meanwhile, Kade had seen me go out through the hole. He slithered out of the hole, and he raced to me.
Almost there. Almost there. I repeated those words in my head. I stretched out my hand and touched the weapon on my fingertips. I grasped for a hold on it. As soon as it was gripped in my hand, I spun around and shot at the approaching snake. Kade jerked his head to the side, but I hit him squarely on the side of his neck.
His eyes turned completely white. He tilted his head to the side and fell all together on top of the thick, cracked ice. Kade's entire body slowly disappeared.
"You have cursed my entire species." Wisps of his last breath blew in the air.
I was able to breathe again. Air filled my lungs, and I couldn't stop shaking from what had just happened. I saw Cora's smiling head pop out from the crack in the ice.
"Woo hoo!!!" She threw her fist in the air. I slowly smiled back. Garrett's head came up beside her. "We need to get Kurt out of here. He's unconscious now from the loss of blood."
My tail was glowing. As soon as I had legs again, I helped the others pull Kurt out of the water. He was completely wiped out. Blood was smothered all over his tail.
"What do we do?" Cora asked once we had reached sand. They also had legs back, except Kurt.
"We had better get him back in the car."
"He'll get sand everywhere!" Garrett replied.
"It's his car." Cora shrugged.
Kurt was heavier than I though he'd be. Cora and I both lifted his tail, while Garrett lifted his arms. Together we all hauled him into the car. Garrett had to drive- Cora and I had gross, sandy blood all over our hands.
I checked to see if I had my wallet.
"Yes!" I pulled it out from underneath the seat. I took out the card from it that the doctor had given me. I dialed the number on my phone.
"Hello?"
~"Hello. This is Doctor Thompson. Who may I ask is calling?"
"This is Amy. I came in a while ago with a broken leg? I am a mermaid."
~"Oh yes. How are you doing? Is there a problem?"
"My friend here got bit by a shark. He is unconscious right now, and he still has a tail. How do you suppose I bring him in?"
~"Hm... Meet me behind the hospital. I'll come up with something."
"Be there soon." I hung up. "To the hospital. Go around to the back."
Garrett stepped on the gas.
It took us around five minutes to get there. I had to hold on to the side bar every time we went around a corner. We finally arrived. Garrett drove around to the back, and we met the doctor waiting outside for us. I raced out to him.
"He's on the back seat." I open the door to show the doctor.
"He's badly injured." He said as he wheeled a bed up to it. "Help me put him on this."
Together we all lifted him up and onto the roller. The clean, white sheets were now covered with blood stains. The doctor laid a blanket over Kurt up to his chin. No one would be able to see his tail.
"Why do you think he still has his tail?"
"No idea." The doctor wheeled him down the hallways. He stepped inside a room and put the bed against a wall.
"I'm sorry, but I'll have to ask you guys to leave. Do his parents know about his secret?"
We all shook our heads.
"Then this will be hard to explain to them." He sighed as he closed the door.
"You think we should tell his parents?" Garrett asked as we turned around.
"Someone has to." I answered.
"We could just tell them he was bit by a shark- not the rest." Cora pointed out.
"We could." I agreed.
"But what will happen when his parents come to visit him?" Garrett argued.
"That's a good point." I replied.
"He would still be wearing the blanket." Cora responded.
We exited the hospital and walked towards the car.
"That's true." I agreed.
"But the parent's might take off the blanket to see the wound." Garrett continued.
"The doctor would have him back to a human by then!" Cora argued.
"The injury isn't on his legs, it's on his tail!" Garrett snapped.
"GUYS." I looked at both of them in the eye. "We will ask Kurt once he wakes up. We should go visit him tomorrow to see if there's any real problem." I slid into the car seat. It was getting dark.
"What will his parents do when they find out he isn't coming back home?" Cora asked.
"We could phone them and say he's spending the night at my house. We've done it before." Garrett suggested.
"Fine. That's what we'll do." Garrett turned on the car and we headed home.