Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Anastasia felt weak and tired. Her head was throbbing hard, and she didn't have enough strength in her. But she knew she needed to get out of there. George had already escaped after seeing Cassius.

She pushed herself up from the chair, her legs trembling as she stood. As she scanned the room, her eyes fell on the mermaid in the glass tube. Anastasia felt a cold shiver run through her back. The mermaid was still breathing but barely awake; she would die soon.

Anastasia rushed over to her, pushing the glass tube open. She attempted to lift her from the tube but screamed, looking down to see her hands burned. What was in the glass tube? She observed it clearly: the tube was filled with chemicals.

She looked around; she couldn't just leave the mermaid to die here. This was her kind, and she would do anything to save her. Anastasia grabbed the metal from the table and smashed it against the glass tube. The glass shattered on the ground, and the mermaid fell.

Anastasia turned to see Cassius fighting Lucas; he was at the far end of the room. She took a deep breath before carefully lifting the mermaid from the ground. She felt so light and fragile. Anastasia could hear her loud heartbeat drumming against her chest.

She needed to do something to save her. Her mind flashed to the ocean, which wasn't far from here; she would take her there to revive herself. She took another deep breath, stepping out of the cabin with the mermaid in her arms.

The cold air brushed against her skin. Anastasia looked up at the sky, which was turning dark. She looked down at the mermaid; her eyes were tightly shut, and her breathing was ragged.

She continued walking through the woods until she came across the water and slowly slid the mermaid into the shallow side. She watched as the mermaid's body stirred before turning her head. She was slowly healing.

Her scales were growing thicker and firmer. After some time, the mermaid opened her eyes and screamed, dragging Anastasia into the water. All of a sudden, Anastasia found herself shifting into mermaid form. Her eyes widened in shock, and she looked down at her body to see herself transforming. Why was this happening? She reached for the pendant necklace, but it was gone. How come? Anastasia looked around and all she could see was the mermaid surrounding her.

Suddenly, the mermaid lunged at Anastasia, and she tried to swim away, but the mermaid grabbed her tail, dragging her and shoving her. Anastasia felt her back hit something hard. She turned around to see it was an abandoned ship at the bottom of the ocean. The mermaid threw a hot blow across her face, and Anastasia coughed water from her mouth. She struggled to escape, but the mermaid's grip was strong.

Just as she was starting to lose hope, a metal weapon appeared in her hand. But the mermaid was too quick and grabbed the metal from Anastasia, stabbing her in the stomach. Anastasia screamed, feeling pain in her stomach. 

"I don't know anything! I was only trying to help!" 

The mermaid stared at her intently. "You... you come from the vampires... they sent you to kill me." 

"No... no," Anastasia shook her head. "I'm like you. I'm a mermaid."

"Then what are you doing amongst the vampires?" she asked. "I... I..." Before Anastasia could speak up, the mermaid grabbed both sides of her head. Anastasia felt her memories slipping away with full force. She was in intense pain. She tried to fight back, but she was wounded, and the mermaid was powerful. "You are from the Aquaria colony," the mermaid said. "How do you know?" Anastasia asked.

"I read through your memories," the mermaid replied. "If you are a true Aquarian, you wouldn't betray us to the vampires," the mermaid spat. "They need to die. All of them."

"How did you find yourself in the lab?" Anastasia asked.

The mermaid stared at her. "There's a pirate on land that everyone's afraid of. He's evil and he captures our kind. He was the one who captured me. He killed my mother and sold me to a scientist."

"They tortured me and took my blood and scales," the mermaid explained.

"I'm sorry this happened to you," Anastasia said. For some odd reason, the water was strengthening her, but her wound was not healing.

"Cassius," the mermaid spoke up. "He kidnapped you, yet you haven't planned to kill him. He's going to kill you one day or the other."

"I know," Anastasia said.

 "Yet you don't fight back?" The mermaid was surprised. "You are naive. Vampires should not be taken as friends. They kill and torture us. Why are you involving yourself with them?"

Before Anastasia could open her mouth to speak, the mermaid's eyes widened, and she turned around to swim. "Wait!"

"I smell danger. I need to leave and go back to my colony. Here is not safe for me or for you," the mermaid said. 

Without sparing another glance, she turned around and swam away.

Anastasia looked down at her wound. She needed to figure out a way out of here and find her necklace. She swam to the top of the ocean, shaking her head, and scanned the place. Her eyes landed on the pendant at the shore, and she quickly swam there. Upon reaching there, she climbed out of the water, using her hands to walk towards the pendant, and she grabbed it before wearing it around her neck. All of a sudden, she was human.

"AHH!" She screamed again, upon seeing her stomach bleeding.