Definitely not the Little Mermaid

The Problem with Sharks

Chapter Twenty One

Rachel and I ended up going out despite my protests. We went to Rachel's house and just sat, talking about everything in general. I managed to tell Rachel about everything that had happened since Laiken arrived and Rachel reluctantly admitted that she thought it was pretty cool. I accepted that with a small smile since it was the closest thing I was going to get to Rachel fully accepting Laiken.

Eventually I realised that I needed to get home and Rachel automatically offered to take me. I hurriedly turned her down, claiming that I needed to think, which was mostly true. I partially just wanted to be alone to recharge; hanging out with Rachel always left me exhausted.

I walked back slowly, taking the time to think about what I was going to down when summer ended. I was going to be in my last year of high school so there was no doubt that my parents would want to know what my future plans were. I think I even surprised myself when I realised that I didn't have any.

I slowed my pace when I reached the house, not exactly feeling up to having to deal with Laiken and the twins. As I got nearer, I realized that the front door was open.

"The twins and Laiken must be back," I voiced aloud as I walked up the path to the door. A small tug of irritation passed through me at the thought of them being careless enough to leave the door open. I entered the house, pulled the door shut behind me and took off my shoes. They were dropped by the wall and I padded into the kitchen. The house was eerily silent.

"Laiken!" I called, opening the fridge and grabbing two bottles of water. I nudged the fridge close with my shoulder and waited for the merman's reply.

When no reply came, I frowned. I left the kitchen and peered into the lounge, half-expecting to see Laiken asleep on the couch or something. I was disappointed to find the couch empty and in the exact same state as it had been in when I left.

Fear crept into me. I bit my lip uneasily and ventured up the stairs, to the bathroom. The bathroom door was ajar. Holding my breath, I pushed the door open further and peeked in.

A scream lodged itself in my throat.

Standing in front of the bathtub, unaware of my presence, was the Shark Toothed Man. He was examining scales; Laiken's scales. The merman probably forgot to clean them out of the bath after his soak.

I backed away from the door hurriedly. Keeping my eyes locked on the door, I edged towards my room. I just needed to get into the room and then I'd call the police or animal control or whatever it was that you called for evil merpeople.

Shark Man stepped out of the bathroom. His eyes immediately slid over to me and a terrifying smile curved onto his face.

"Little girl," he said.

I felt my blood freeze. I spun around and bolted for my room. I got inside before he could grab me and slammed the door shut. I locked it as well and backed away, eyeing it uneasily.

The door began to shake as the man started to pound on it.

I stifled my alarmed squeak and looked around frantically for someplace to hide. Underneath the bed was out of question; that was the first place people looked. As was the closet. I let out a whine of frustration and twisted around, eyes darting wildly over everything.

They stopped on my window.

The door splintered.

I darted over to my window, yanked it open and glanced out. The ground seemed much further down now. I scanned the ground, trying to find anything that might break my fall. There was nothing but scraggy grass underneath the window. That wouldn't do much to cushion my fall if I jumped.