Just a quick note before the story starts :) All of my stories are in a program on WP that generates ads between some chapters in the phone app. If you would take a moment to glance at them, I would greatly, greatly appreciate it. These chapters take 3-5 hours of my time, so please lend me a few seconds of yours as you enjoy the series :) 

Trying something a little different, let's see how this goes :D

Fri-

"Please, Hice. I don't want to stay here again." I begged as I was set down helplessly on the small beach we often frequented before being caught. It had a lot of garbage mixed within its beautiful sand because I had been gone so long and no one else would clean it.

Hice used to help me, but now...

He stalked toward the water as I sat still, needing to wait for my tail to start reforming into legs. I still wasn't feeling that well, but each day I spent being free, I got a little better. Hice had fished for me, beginning almost immediately after we had left the human's small pool of water. I greatly appreciated having my belly full, when I could stomach food, but after he finished retrieving a meal for me, he would always disappear for a span of time.

It didn't bother me, at first, but as the sun rose, then set, then rose again, and Hice's trips became longer and longer, I began asking to be allowed to join him, but he never agreed and would always tell me that I was safer not following him. Also, he started making me stay away from the water unless I needed to wet my skin or drink, as he didn't think I could swim well enough if I got caught in the high tide.

"You will be safer here." He said, restating what he always told me.

But what does safety matter if I am practically caged on this island?

I knew that he likely didn't understand why I wanted to follow him, even if it meant harm to me. I had yet to meet a mer who could understand my way of thinking. Granted, there aren't many of us left in general.

Yet the few I have met always tell me that I think too much like a human. That I know too much useless information.

Sighing, I lay back down in the sand and stretched my aching legs as they finally appeared from amongst my tail. Curling up on the warm surface, my eyes followed Hice's form as he walked into the waves. I thought he would leave again without another word, but he stopped when he was knee-deep in the water and turned to look at me over his shoulder.

I couldn't help my response. I perked up, pushing my upper half up off the sand as a faint inkling of hope welled in my belly. Would he allow me to come with him today? Would he decide not to leave and possibly stay a short time with me?

My hope was dashed like the waves upon the small rocky portion of the island as he turned back around and dove into the water. Not a few moments later, I saw his fin appear above the surf, then slowly descend beneath the waves.

I sank back down into the sand, defeated. This is not where I want to spend my time. Frustration crept into my mind at my body's inability to heal faster. Wait. That man. The doctor.

I knew what a doctor was in general for humans, but my knowledge on them wasn't much. But he helps people. He helped me. The thought that he could possibly speed up the healing process or figure out why I wasn't doing well anymore, brought me back to a sitting position.

"Alright. Gotta get up now." I told myself, knowing that actually doing so was going to be a lot harder than saying it.

Pushing off of the warm sand once I was on my hands and knees had me stumbling forward. A strong pain shot through my weak legs, dropping my weight before I even managed to get halfway up.

I'm not going to let this stop me. I want to be strong enough to go with Hice.

Clenching my fists in the hot sand, I blew out a breath of frustration and carefully got myself back up onto my hands and knees, then began crawling toward the waves. I knew that Hice didn't want me to leave the island and that I likely wasn't strong enough yet, but sitting around waiting for things to happen wasn't going to work this time.

I need more help.

Determined, I made the grueling trip to the water. The sun was already high in the sky by the time I felt the ocean's sweet relief on my tired body. My tail and dorsal fin painfully reformed as I allowed the cool saltwater to wash over me.

He's going to be really mad... but I just can't stay here.

I would come back to him as soon as I could, of course, but I didn't doubt that Hice would find me long before then. He always came back. Always kept me safe. I want to be able to keep him safe too, though.

Narrowing my eyes on the water, I slowly began to roll myself into the surf. I could have forced my tail not to form just yet, but I didn't want to waste the energy it would have taken to do so. As soon as I got deep enough beneath the waves, I gave a few strong side-to-side strokes with my tail and darted off into the depths of the ocean.

Callem-

Wading into the shallows, my eyes saw several things happening at once. Little fish darted around my legs, nibbling randomly out of curiosity. A small sting ray moved along the bottom, hunting atop the sand in the relatively calm waters. My eyes rose slightly and a smile spread across my lips as they found him.

"What are you looking at, Cal?" Parker said with a hint of sarcasm to his voice.

It had taken me quite a while to understand how sarcasm worked, especially when different people used it. The words always sounded the same. Slightly extended with a bored tone to them. When my brother uses it, he's usually mad at Jason for not having sex with him... or he's going to try and kill you. When Parker uses it, he wants positive attention. I didn't use it, because I wanted what I said to be understood. Both the words, and their inflection.

"Callllem." He drawled, making my smile grow on my lips as I made my way toward him where he lay on the large main fishing pier, looking down at me.

The water wasn't deep where I was, and I could have gone around, but I decided to just climb the worn wood until I was sitting beside him with my legs kicked over the edge. As soon as I was settled, Parker dropped his head into my lap and settled one hand on my leg as his eyes closed and he sighed.

"Not going well?" I asked, already knowing that the phone call likely hadn't.

Parker shook his head slightly and I gently pressed my hand against his soft hair.

"No. Oliver is trying his best, but the judge refused the retrial request, again."

I wasn't surprised, but I didn't know too much about the human's justice system to be able to input more than an, "I'm sorry."

Parker pushed himself up, only to lean against my shoulder and settle his head there. "It's alright. At least they're keeping their word and not harassing him to be studied or anything. He's doing a few things this month, but besides that, he's just being kept locked up."

I knew Parker was upset that they had decided not to keep Ocar at his facility, but considering Parker's history with us, it made sense that the humans would be wary of him possibly letting Ocar go.

"It just hurts to see one of my only good friends exhausting himself so badly. I mean, I would do it in a heartbeat for you, but it still doesn't make me happy to see him so tired and stressed all the time."

Nodding, I wrapped him in a quick hug and pressed a kiss to his hair.

"I understand, Parker. I would never let someone take you away from me, either. We must stand by Oliver during his hardship, and hope that things can turn out differently soon."

Parker straightened and nodded, sniffling once. Always wearing your emotions. He rubbed at his eyes for a moment, then grinned over at me. "You're right. Oliver knows what he's doing, and we just need to stand by him when he needs us."

I returned his smile, then chuckled. "And when he doesn't want us."

Laughing, Parker got himself up and began walking toward the deeper section of the pier. I hurried to follow and took his hand in mine when I caught up.

"He certainly does get annoyed when we randomly come over with dinner or a movie to try and distract him from worrying so much." Parker said.

"Yes, but he always seems to relax a little when we do. After he throws a fit." I add.

Parker smirked sideways at me, a mischievous look in his eyes that I knew all too well now. When he stopped abruptly and began to turn toward me, I stepped back, then around him just fast enough to dodge his shove.

"Going to send me into the water, Parker?" I asked with a chuckle as I grabbed him a second before he stumbled right off the dock, then tugged him back and into my arms. "You are trouble, little human."

The sly look he gave me when he looked up to meet my eyes was definitely trouble, but before I could react, my attention was taken by a slight splash a few hundred yards out. When I didn't respond and instead stared off into the distance, Parker turned in my arms, no doubt to follow my gaze.

"What is that...?" He wondered aloud as I began hurrying toward the far end of the pier.

At first, I thought it could be a wounded shark, but as I got closer, I recognized the dorsal fin. I'd only seen it a few times, but I had quite a good memory. "It's Fri." I said before lunging off the edge of the pier and diving into the cold water.