The Night Awaits

Chapter 15 (Mermaid Tails)

"Logically speaking, seas are a lot bigger than lands so I think we should go to the docks outside," Phillip recommended. They agreed and walked to the docks. In the waters of the dock were a bunch of dead bodies floating around and a chest chained to the bottom. "There are notes attached to the dead bodies. I believe those are the numerals for the chest." Keiona observed. "Someone has to get naked and swim." Nashira joked. Without too much thinking, Rafa and Gazel volunteered to jump in the water so they took their shirts off and began swimming. Each of them took different numbers from different bodies and gathered them. "Behind these papers are lines that can form a triangle when correctly ordered. Maybe that's the order of the numbers." Rafa sneered. His idea was correct and they took the chest out from the pool. Inside was a codex with 5 letters code and a clue.

Gazel's Confessional: I was telling them that a new place on the map has been discovered: Mermaid's Lake. But of course, no one believed me because I'm a dummy and I got here by accident.

"Don't let my looks deceive you, for I sing the melody of death." they read the clue on the codex. "Mermaid? No, wait that's too long." Phillip answered. "Try siren." Bertrand corrected. The codex opened and inside is a mermaid doll. All of a sudden, the boys heard a beautiful singing from afar. They were entranced and captivated by its enchanting voice which made them unconsciously move to the source of the song. "Where are they going?" Keiona shook the boys. "How come you aren't affected by it, Bert?" Nashira asked Bertrand why he isn't hypnotized. "Take a wild guess." he joked. They decided to follow the hypnotized boys to the Mermaid's Lake. There were scary looking mermaids who had sharp teeth chained in a cage near the lake, singing for help. Bertrand and the girls held back their friends before getting too close to the flesh-eating sirens. "Shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you. What do you want?" Keiona asked as the men's strength to break loose becomes stronger. "My doll," one of the mermaids stuttered between words. "This thing? What do you want to do with it?" Nashira asked, raising the mermaid doll. "It's the only thing left of our children. Please, we need it." the mermaids cried. The ladies foolishly gave the doll to the mermaids and they evilly laughed. "Fools. This doll is the only thing that's holding us back from our true form. Let us demonstrate." the mermaids broke the chains and the cages as they grew legs, sharper claws, and teeth. They were terrorized of what they saw so Bertrand and the ladies just left the entranced men there.

Keiona's Confessional: I know I was here to save my friends in the first place, but right now it's every woman for themselves. I ain't letting any man holding me back.

They gathered back to the lounge and was surprised to see Maximus missing. "Maximus left with the others," Diana informed them. Bertrand realized that there was a scroll inside the codex. "The mermaids was once a beautiful maiden just like every one of you. However, she was cursed to a demon by Baphomet for doing the sin of lust. The Society Against Evil managed to maintain their power and turn them to a mermaid using the doll artifact. Once they get it, their true form will be unleashed and all shall be doomed. Worry not for there's a way to reverse it. To cleanse the artifact, you need to sacrifice one of the sirens in the sacrificial table. The mermaids can only be hypnotized by their song." he read it out loud. "Sounds like too much work. Should've let the men do it." Nashira groaned. Bertrand realized that the music box he had must be the way to hypnotize the sirens. As he tried to play it, they realized that it's missing a piece to create a sound. On the bottom of it, was a clue on where to find the missing piece. "They won't be laughing anymore when I murder them," it says. "Must be the clowns. I mean, who laughs when killing others?" Keiona assumed.

Bertrand's Confessional: When she said clowns, I had Vietnam flashbacks on how all of us were one step away from death. But I knew that it just means the Mary-Go-Around thing.