My Calling (AJR Metmaid Challenge)

3

"And you couldn't finish the project why again?"
     Emily's irritated voice sounded through the phone.
     "I, um... it got too hot. I sat down to rest for a minute and next thing you know. Boom. Sun's going down,"
     Adam mumbled, laughing sheepishly. That wasn't what had happened at all, and he was fully aware of that. He couldn't tell Emily about it. Nor could he talk to his brothers, who were about ready to call the police when Adam didn't come home at 3 like he said he would. He didn't answer calls, texts, they even went to the beach he was working at to look for him. They'd seen the trash bags but not their brother. Adam had to calm them both down and tell them the same story he'd told Emily.
     "Just tired from all the work. Don't worry about it, I just need to get to bed earlier. I heard you're feeling better. Are you coming tomorrow?"
     he asked with a hopeful smile. Emily rolled her eyes.
     "Of course I'm coming you dummy, we're working on this together."
Adam couldn't help but grin.

. . .

Emily and Adam worked through the burning summer heat to dig all the trash out of the sand. They were about halfway done when Adam got an uneasy feeling. If water touched his legs, he'd probably become a mermaid again. He'd seen those mermaid movies, don't judge him. Adam glanced at Emily, his closest friend and partner. She'd freak the hell out if she saw that. He didn't know what was gonna happen to him if she told someone.
"We should split up."
Emily looked up, seeming a little confused.
"The work. We'll get it done faster if we each take one side of the beach."
Emily seemed to think for a moment before smiling and walking over to Adam again. She stood up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.
"That's a great idea. You're so smart. I'll do that side, you take over here. Don't drown!"
she called as he grabbed her stuff and started walking away. Adam laughed a bit nervously. Drowning was impossible.
A few more hours passed, and Adam's back was getting sore from bending over so much. He grabbed a small piece of plastic wedged between two rocks and stuffed it in his bag. He sighed and looked around. Emily was nowhere in sight. Adam carefully set his bags down and peeled off his gloves. He rinsed them off in the water, sighing with relief as the icy liquid provided relief for his hot, sweaty hands. He dried them off on his shorts. Adam untied and took off his shoes and socks, pulling his shorts up a little as he carefully waded into the water. He wondered how deep he had to get before the transformation. Ankle deep? No. Knee deep? Not yet. Adam was afraid to go in further. He shivered at the cold of the ocean. Adam grabbed another six pack ring from the sand and tried pulling it out, huffing in annoyance when it wouldn't. He tried digging at the sand around it but it still didn't give. Adam went back to shore and grabbed a small shovel from his supplies before-
"Dammit!"
Adam was laying on his belly in the sand. He didn't even wanna look where his legs had been; he knew they weren't there anymore. He grumbled to himself. At least he wasn't still in the water. But now he was out in the open. Adam looked around for something to cover his shiny tail. Bits of sand were getting stuck in the scales and the nasty flaps on his neck were desperate for water. He groaned, tucked his arms in by his chest, held his breath and rolled down the sand until he was in the water. Adam took a deep breath, starting to cough immediately. He'd breathed out of the wrong organ again. Lungs had no purpose in water. Adam wondered how his anatomy even worked.
He figured he might as well make himself useful by pulling out the six pack ring. The transformation must've been a delayed thing. Showering was gonna be fun. And normal swimming. Adam ripped out the ring and put it up on one of the rocks emerging from the water. He slowly moved his hips side to side to move forward in the water. He was really getting the hang of it now. Adam closed his eyes and just let the silence and stillness of the water around him to fill his head. It was very peaceful.
After a moment Adam opened his eyes again. A large eye was staring back at him. Adam jerked back and nearly screamed before realizing it was just a fish. A pretty damn big fish at that. He glanced around, wondering how far he'd gone. He was pretty tired from swimming. The water was much deeper here, and a darker blue. It seemed almost black at the bottom. Adam started swimming deeper, wincing at the pressure on his ears. There seemed to be a kind of ravine at the bottom. A school of fish were swimming over it. Adam eventually adjusted to the pressure and continued swimming, deeper and deeper into the abyss.

{876 words}