Waterline

Benthesikyme

Ashley was pacing around the living room. She only had two more days to find two other people. It wouldn't be so bad if one of them wasn't the most powerful son. Not having Triton on their side was going to be a huge problem. She was glad to get Proteus on her side. Once the ritual is done, he's the only one that could seat it forever. The Rhodes were both natural fighters, they can easily fight them off. The last one was Benthesikyme, she was a complete mystery to Ashley. She knew nothing about her.

Ashley walked into Toby's bedroom. He was still asleep. She found him to be quite adorable as he sleeps. He did have a light snore but it never bothered her. Ashley walked up to the side of the bed and reached out to touch his hair. Toby's eyes fluttered open as his brown eyes stared into her dark blue ones. "Ash?" He mumbled her nickname. Ashley moves her hand to cup his cheek. "I'm going to Nelson's place, I'm going to try and get him to trust me," Ashley explained what she was planning to do.

Toby closed his eyes again, taking in the warmth of her hand. "Okay, be careful," he told her. Ashley smiled at him. It was times like this where she wished she could stay and get a peaceful moment to themselves. Her deadline is coming up and time shouldn't be wasted. Some alone time would have to wait. "I will," Ashley retracted her arm abs started heading out of the room. "Love you," Toby quickly said before she could leave.
"Love you too," Ashley smiled as she left the room.

Ashley chose to walk to Nelson's house. It wasn't too far from where Toby lives, plus, she didn't want to take Toby's only ride. Walking is a good form of exercise so she had nothing to lose. Upon arriving at Nelson's house, Ashley did stay stealthy to not get spotted by Rover. But once knocking on the door, loud barking could be heard from inside. She wondered how the neighbors take the loud noises.

Nelson opened the door, greeting Ashley with a warm smile. Rover stood behind Nelson with a nervous stance. With one glance at Ashley, he knew that they were safe. "Hey Nelson, I need to talk to you," Ashley chose to be straightforward and to not waste too much time. She wasn't sure how long it would take to try and get Nelson's trust and to not expose her plan.

Some wonder why telling the truth to one of Neptune's children is a bad idea. Ashley knew that going up to one of her friends and telling them to form a ritual to save their island would be a stretch from believable. It also does sound sketchy since Nelson doesn't know Ashley too well. She also has a reputation to not do stuff like this which makes the situation unbelievable. Ashley chose to get them to follow with what she does at the last second. It makes it much harder for them to back down.

Nelson and Ashley took a seat on the couch with Rover laying on the rug. "Alright, what's up?" Nelson asked her.
"I need you to have my back 24/7" Ashley was straightforward.
"For what?" Nelson felt shocked by the strange attitude.
"There is a lot of fighting going with me and someone else, I need to know that you won't follow them." Ashley hunted that Clare is the enemy that he shouldn't trust.
"But who?" Nelson tried to ask.
"When the time comes, I want you to listen to me, got it?" Ashley questioned him.
Nelson nods his head, he wasn't sure what was happening.
"It'll make sense once we get there, I just want to know if you'll be on my side," Ashley admitted to Nelson.
"Yes, you're my friend. I won't ever stab you in the back," Nelson told her, he was honest with his remark.

"Thank you," Ashley smiled. Before another word could be exchanged, her phone began to ring. Ashley checked the caller ID to see that it was Libby. She answered the phone.
"Hey Ashley, I was just with Eddie," Libby started the call.
"What's going on?" Ashley answered.
"Eddie needs to talk to you someday," Libby said. The only thing that came through Ashley's mind was Clare's plan. Was this a trap for Ashley to fall into? It is a risk but Ashley needs to take it during desperate moments.
"How about later tonight?" Ashley asked. There was a moment of silence where Libby was talking to someone else.
"That would do, just head to the discount bathing suit shop," Libby told her.
"Alright, bye" Ashley hung up the phone and turned her attention back to Nelson. He sat on the couch waiting patiently for her to finish the call.

"Sorry about that," Ashley lightly smiled at him. Just as she was about to set the phone down, she got another call. This time it was from Penelope. Ashley took a heavy sigh before answering the call. Instead of Penelope's voice, she got Mae's voice. It wasn't any good, she was breathing heavily. "Ashley you need to get here, something is wrong with Penelope!" Mae quickly said. In the background, there were screams of pain. Ashley knew well that those screams belonged to Penelope. It sounded horrible and painful screams, Penelope must be in some kind of pain.

"Did you call Pj?" Ashley asked her. She knew that Pj cared for her a lot and he would do anything for her. "I did, he's on his way," Mae said to her.
"Hang tight, I'm on my way," Ashley said before getting up. Mae pleaded for her to hurry before hanging up. "Something is wrong with Penelope, I have to see her," Ashley told Nelson.
"I'll go with you," Nelson urged to go along. Ashley nod and allowed him to go with her. The two of them rushed out of the house. With no vehicles, they had to run towards Penelope's house.

Ashley ran into Penelope's house, to see that Conor, Mae, and Pj were gathered around. Ashley walked up closer to them to see Penelope laying on the floor. She had her eyes squeezed shut and was clutching her right thigh. Nelson stayed close behind and tried not to make a ruckus. "There are symbols carved into Penelope's leg," Conor pointed out. The sight of it made Mae feel uneasy. She was clutching onto Conor's arm as tight as she can. That was the first that they saw Mae in a fearful state. Pj looked shocked, he didn't know how to help his beloved friend.

Ashley got a closer look at what was on Penelope's leg. It was hard to see with Penelope grabbing on to it. A pillow was propped into her head for some support. "Penelope, I need you to lay down straight and stay still" Ashley instructed her. It took Penelope a while to obey her command but she did it. She was still in a lot of pain but tried to hold it in. Mae looked up at Ashley in hopes that her friend would be safe.

Ashley glared at the encryptions that were carved into Penelope's thigh. It made her disgusted but it was important. Ashley struggled to try and interpret the symbols. But soon hope came upon her. Ashley spoke what she just read on the carving, "Benthesikyme..."