"Look," Scarlet responded. "This building just showed up out of nowhere and if it weren't for you opening up the door we wouldn't be here right now. How would I know what it means?"

Silver shrugged, holding the note up in his hand. "I don't know, maybe those sunglasses have some sort of special power I don't know about. Maybe you do know and you just won't tell me."

"You're such an idiot. Why wouldn't I tell you? Give me that." She reached up on her toes trying to grab the note. He held it above his head as if it was sacred. Wiggling her fingers, Scarlet attempted once more. It was no use. All he did was laugh. Hopefully whatever this clue meant wasn't important or time sensitive. At this rate, they'd never get out of this place.

Then, he lowered his arm and their fingers touched for a brief moment before she snatched the letter from his hand. The slight touch lingered for a few seconds on her palm. She brushed it away quickly. Clearing her throat, she spoke, "Now, let's think about this. You know Smoky Meadows better than anyone else. Help me."

"Uh." Silver tapped one finger against his chin. "Well, drowning would probably mean water. But I don't think it means a pool."

Getting tired of staring at all the grey, Scarlet focused on her best friend. Her favorite thing about him was his eyes, but she was disappointed that she wouldn't be able to look at him without these sunglasses on anymore. Oh well, at least she could still see him. She jumped, realizing Silver jabbed her in her side with his finger. He must've caught her looking at him.

"Are you paying attention?" he asked, his face one-hundred-percent serious.

"Mhm, yes of course I am. You were talking about where the water would be."

He laughed, the wide smile reaching his eyes. "Lucky guess. Next time, actually listen."

"I was!" she exclaimed, grinning. They couldn't actually be upset with each other. It'd be too weird.

The serious look on Silver's face only made Scarlet burst out laughing. Serious was never something the two of them got used to. Even still, he continued to pressure her.

"So, since you were listening, as you said, why don't you tell me where you think it's at? It's probably about you anyways. Especially since brand new sunglasses came your way and it's your birthday. I'm only here to keep you in line."

She rolled her eyes, shoving him just enough to make him lose balance. "I can be 'kept in line' without you, thank you very much. But back to the clue. I'd think the ocean. You know, your favorite one. Where you learned to surf."

"Triumphant Tides? That's not even that far from here! You think we should go check it out?"

Still curious on whether this was about her parents or even the sunglasses she received from her mother, she opened the door and walked outside. The trees around the building barely had color now. Maybe the loss of color only followed her around. If she stayed in one spot, would the color stop draining? She stood on the other side of the door waiting for Silver, watching the green and the way it moved. It continued its way down the trunk, grey replacing what once was a beautiful bouncy shade. A sigh left her lips right as her best friend walked out the door.

"Why'd you leave without answering me?" He smiled at her while placing a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

She wanted to smile, but couldn't. His grin was always so infectious, but the color leaving started to scare her. The amazing shades that had been there for as long as she could remember were going so fast it was like they were never there. "I just...I miss my parents. You know them. There's no way they'd leave without saying something, anything to us. Right?"

He sighed, pulling her into a hug. "I know, Scar. We'll find them. Don't worry."

"Should we go to Triumphant Tides? I haven't been there in a while."

"Yes!" He threw his fist in the air. "Maybe we could surf?"

"No," she said immediately. "You know how I feel about water."

"Then how'd you end up being best friends with me?"

Her face lit up as she started to giggle. "Don't ask me. Our parents forced us together."

Silver wrapped his arms around hers as they moved away from the building on their way toward the ocean. "And look how well that turned out. We're amazing."

After quite a bit of walking, the bright neon sign popped into Scarlet's view. 'Triumphant Tides Beach' was in white letters with an arrow pointing to the left. Luckily, all the colors were still here. For now, at least. She could barely keep up with Silver as he zoomed onto the sand, every bit of it getting all over her shoes. The beach was never the first place she'd choose to be. A jacuzzi maybe, but not here. With the sand and the cool water, she just couldn't handle it. Nevertheless, she followed Silver onto the shore, the large waves just barely making their way to her feet. Kids were screaming with their surfboards heading towards the ocean, while others built sandcastles.

They both walked next to each other, looking out for any possible information related to the clue. As Silver moved a little deeper into the water, a peck of white stood out.

Scarlet nudged him. "What is that?"

"You mean way out there? That's a sign." He smiled. "It says 'Watch Out For Mermaids'."

"Aren't mermaids a good thing?"

Silver huffed, shaking his head. "Don't you know anything about water?"

"Think again, dummy. Look who you're talking to. I trained in fire. What does that tell you?" She laughed.

"Right right," he said. "Anyways, no. Here, mermaids are not your friends."

"Yet you surf here."

"Duh. Who doesn't love a little danger?"

Scarlet smiled. Being Silver's best friend was tough sometimes, but she loved it anyway. "You're right, but you're still dumb. Back to the point. You should go see if there's anything in the wa—"

Before she could finish the words, Silver was pulling his shirt and his flip-flops off running towards the ocean. He swam until he got right to the sign, lifting his head up. "Scar! I think I found something!"

At this moment, she wanted nothing more than to have a pair of binoculars. It wasn't fair that only he could see what was found, but there was no way she'd jump into that water. The waiting game was never a fun one. He'd be back soon and could tell her all about it. But when she turned, the sand started changing from tan to grey and people were screaming. Standing still, she tried to listen to what they were saying. Eventually, she figured it out. And the only thing she could think of was her best friend as the echoes got louder.

"Get out of the water!"