I awoke, unable to scream. The air was dry and heavy, and I couldn’t breathe. Panicking, I scanned the room, looking for water. Arrakis was nowhere in sight, and I was in Jessica’s room, having obviously been moved into here while I was asleep.
Pushing myself, I flopped off the bed onto the floor. Everything became blurry, drifting in and out of focus. I pulled myself along with my hands, gripping the carpet fibers with my fingertips. Slowly, I made progress to the door, but I was almost positive that I wouldn’t make it to the bathroom. Reaching up, I grabbed the doorknob, my hand sticking to it as it turned.
I crawled across the hall, reaching for the handle to Arrakis’s room. My hand missed and tapped the door. Quietly, I heard sounds of a video game, most likely Arrakis playing his Playstation 3. Again, I hit the door, harder this time.
His bed squeaked and footsteps approached the door. Quickly, I heard the door open. At first, Arrakis didn’t see me, but once he did he panicked.
“Raven,” he stumbled, “damn it! What do I do?” His eyes shifted quickly, trying to make sense of the situation.
My breath came in gasps, but I tried my best to gather enough to speak. Sand paper slid across the inside of my throat, my voice escaping as only a hoarse whisper. “Water.”
Arrakis’s eyes widened. “Water?” he thought for a second, “how much water? Like a glass of water or like throw you in the tub?”
I took a deep breath as best as I could. “Not… Sure… Lots…” Suddenly, images of the sea formed in front of my eyes, teasing me with its fierce waves.
He nodded, picking me up and running as quietly as he could down the hall and into the bathroom. An image of my head underwater flashed in my head. “Sink…” I croaked, “fill… sink…” Again, he nodded, then plugged the sink’s drain and turned the cold water on full. Black started to close in on my vision and my head became light.
The sink filled and he shut off the water. Quickly, I stuck my head into the sink. The cold shocked me awake, but I suddenly could breathe slightly better. I noticed a dryness along the sides of my neck, and I instinctively grabbed a towel and soaked it in the water, pressing the sopping cloth against my neck. I pulled out of the water gasping as I realized my breath had returned. Eyes shut, I reached for a towel off the wall and threw it on the floor, then I knelt down on it and just breathed.
I heard – quite clearly – the rustle of Arrakis’s clothes as he knelt down beside me, putting his hand on my back. Slowly, I became aware of the roughness of my skin and the moving flap-like extremities on my neck. My throat quickly moistened, but the towel soon dried. I dipped it back in the water and pressed it back to my neck.
“Holy shit,” I managed to whisper. “I didn’t know being a fish was so hard.”
Arrakis chuckled slightly. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
I nodded. “Me, too.”
I thought for a second. “How bad does it look?”
He studied me for a second. “Despite the fact that your face scares the hell out of me, I can’t really tell. But the fins on your arms look pretty epic.”
“What do you mean that my face is scary?”
Arrakis looked down for a second. “You might want to see for yourself.” He held out his hand and I grabbed it as he pulled me up off the floor. “Try not to scream. It’s the middle of the night.” I braced myself and did as best I could to convince myself that I wouldn’t scream, no matter what.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. Arrakis put his hand over my mouth as I stared into the reflection of my pure black eyes, whites and all. They gleamed like the essence of darkness itself, drawing me deep into them like a demon’s trap. After a minute, Arrakis removed his hand, revealing two rows of thorn-like teeth protruding from my own mouth.
He quickly put his hand back over my mouth, both stopping my scream and to get them out of my sight. My rough, slightly blue skin shimmered as if it were made of scales. My vision tunneled and Arrakis caught me as I fell back. Quickly, he dropped the cloth in the water and replaced it onto the back of my neck.
“God, I’m sorry babe,” he whimpered. “I shouldn’t have said anything, for if I hadn’t then this wouldn’t have happened.”
“It’s okay,” I told him, getting back on my feet. “But I can’t take the chance of your parents seeing me like this. I have to leave, at least until I can control this.”
“I’ll go with you,” Arrakis announced. “We’ll take you to the Council; maybe they know what’s going on.”
I nodded. “You’re right. The Council will probably be able to help, but there’s a problem with taking me to them…” I trailed off, my worst memories coming to light.
“What do you mean?”
“They’ll imprison me, if not kill me. I broke our law.”
“What did you do?”
I stared off into space. “I turned someone without the Council’s permission. And they went rogue, murdering a little less than a hundred people in one day.”
“What happened to them?” Arrakis asked, taking my hand.
I turned away and looked out the door. “I killed him,” I told him, all emotion drained from my voice. Silence hung in the air for several minutes. “I don’t want you to be there when I face the Council,” I looked to him, fear pushing my words. “I don’t want you to witness whatever horrors they do to me.” I paused. “I love you, Arrakis. I’m doing this for you.” I slowly let go of his hand, walking out of the bathroom and into his bedroom. I heard his gentle footsteps following echoing me. “Please don’t follow me, Arrakis. Whatever becomes of me, I will always love you.” I flung the window open and climbed out, jumping off the roof. With tears in my eyes, I looked back at him, torn apart to see him crying. Quickly, I turned and ran, feet tearing on the chunks of rock in the soil.
I kept running, constantly aware of how dry the towel was becoming. Keeping to the shadows, I ran along the outskirts of Astoria, trying to reach the Columbia. After what felt to me like hours, the first glint of water was within reach. Off of Main, I leapt the 20 feet down to the shore. I tumbled into a roll at the bottom, losing the cloth on the wood boardwalk I’d landed on. Instinctively, I tore off my shirt and pulled off my shorts, then dove into the river. An ache echoed down my spine and a tail the length of my back took shape. The fins on my arms stretched, making swimming much easier; the same with the webbing that now linked my long toes. I swam fast, arching above the water for quick breaths.
As I took a jump above the surface, a quick flash of light pierced the night air. I flinched and dove back under, moving quickly away from society. Five minutes passed and I was finally away from Astoria and safely on the shores of Washington state. I collapsed on the shore, out of breath and aching all over. The full crescent of the night shone bright, turning red in my vision as the Council heard my thoughts. I shut my eyes and let the magic take me to the Second Realm.
