Poseidon's Academy

Chapter 7. Nemertes

Something called to Hailey, forcing her down the stairs and into the entryway. But it wasn't a voice; it was a... pull, and it was drawing her outside, where the usual light that illuminated the grounds had been turned off to imitate night. The only light came from the coral and sea-anemones in the gardens, which glowed fluorescent pink, blue, green, and purple.

Hailey stopped a short distance from the force field. Someone stood in front of her, their eyes fixed on the sea, which was fluorescent blue. Hailey's fingertips tingled, alerting her to danger. She ignored her body's warning to run as the invisible force that had called her outside pushed her forward.

Hailey took a deep breath and stepped beside the motionless figure. She gazed at their face and gasped. 'Demi?'

Demi's eyes remained on the sea. 'Can you hear it?' she said in a vacant voice that blew chills down Hailey's spine.

Hailey listened to the silence around her. 'Hear what?'

'It's coming.'

Hailey studied the glowing sea, the tingling in her fingertips reaching a crescendo as tendrils of fear wrapped around her chest. She didn't want to find out what it was. 'Let's go inside.'

Demi whirled around, eyes wide. 'It's here!'

A tentacle dotted with spikes whipped out of the sea and snaked around Hailey's leg. She screamed as the spikes dug into her flesh and the monster yanked, knocking her to the ground.

She clawed her fingers around a piece of glowing green coral, keeping the monster from wrenching her into the sea. 'HELP!' she yelled, her fingers starting to slip.

A tiny sliver of relief cut through her terror when Demi appeared in front of her. 'Grab my hand!' Hailey cried, hoping her best friend was strong enough to pull her free.

Demi stared at her. 'You should have heard it. It's too late now.'

The tentacle tightened around Hailey's leg, its spikes digging in deeper as the monster yanked again, tearing the coral from Hailey's grasp and dragging her into the water.

Hailey's eyes flew open, and she shot up in bed. A scream filled her, but she strangled it when she realised she was safe in her dorm. Her heart, however, continued to pound, pumping fresh terror through her body.

A glance at Demi's bed helped calm her. She was sound asleep under the covers, not slinking around the grounds with a monster lurking in the sea. It was just a nightmare, she told herself, absentmindedly reaching for her heart pendant and freezing.

Her neck was bare.

'No, no, no, no, no.' Hailey leapt out of bed, tearing off the sea-silk sheets and duvet. But her necklace wasn't buried in them. She crouched down on her hands and knees to peer under her bed before searching the rest of the floor, and then finally throwing all the papers off her desk. 'It's not here.' She bit her lip, starting to hyperventilate. She needed her necklace. It was the last thing her dad had given her. She couldn't lose it!

Where is it? She remembered back to yesterday afternoon when some of her hair had gotten caught in the necklace's clasp during her Ancient History class. That was the last time she remembered having it. Maybe it fell off there.

She glanced at the seashell and mother-of-pearl clock on the wall. It was 6am—the conch shell wouldn't sound for another hour, and Hailey couldn't wait that long. She needed her necklace back right now.

She didn't bother changing out of her pyjamas or putting shoes on. She raced straight past Demi, who'd managed to sleep through her ransacking the dorm, and into the hallway, moving through the deserted common room and down the stairs, keeping her eyes transfixed on the floor, hoping to spot her necklace.