Dyvon was merely a memory now, a mere speck on the horizon. Tears streamed down Sorcha's already salty cheeks, joining the rolling sea. It had taken hours for her tail to ultimately give out, until all she could do was stare after the receding form of the ship that abducted her sister. How was she meant to go home without her? She didn't even know where home was anymore. She hadn't paid any mind to where she was headed and none of her surroundings were even remotely familiar. All she'd cared about was getting Dyvon back. The first rays of morning light illuminated the sky, staining the horizon red as blood.

Red skies at night, sailors delight. Red skies in morning, sailors warning.

She remembered Adrian explaining the saying to her and the other merlings when they were young, so they would always be prepared for any flash storms that could sweep them up and carry them away from the pod. A storm was coming.

Sorcha may have found the sight of such a vibrant sky mesmerizing at any other time, but her heart was consumed by her loss and dread of what would happen to Dyvon. She knew what came after such a pretty sunrise. She had to do something, she couldn't just leave without fighting to get her sister back. But she was all alone out here. One little mermaid searching for a sister who may already be dead. If she had any hope of finding Dyvon, she had to stay focused. She needed to follow them, save her sister, and get back to the pod.

A splash sounded from behind her and on instinct, Sorcha sank into the water so that only her eyes pierced the surface. A few yards away, a tiny rowboat labored along through the choppy sea, manned by a single sailor. Sorcha scanned the rest of her surroundings, expecting to find an identical looming ship to the one that abducted Dyvon. No such thing existed. How peculiar it was to see such a small boat so far out from land without an accompanying ship. From what she had been told, the massive ships were built for being out this far, but these were only for shallow waters or emergencies. They were close enough to the mainland that she could make out the trees and rocks, but much too far away for this to be a safe mode of transportation.

As the rowboat approached, Sorcha dove beneath the surface so as not to be seen. She would be of no help to Dyvon if she too was taken by the humans. Swimming beneath the boat she resurfaced behind the single passenger. Her midnight hair pooled around her in an inky halo. She took a moment to assess the man. It was a man, that much she could tell, from the broad shoulders and muscled body to the shaggy dark hair. She couldn't see his face from here, but he seemed relatively young, judging by the way his powerful arms dragged the oars backward and the lack of gray in his hair.

Despite her good sense to stay away, she was intrigued by the sight. Such a curious thing to behold. He steered the tiny boat parallel to the shore, obviously not headed to land any time soon. She cocked her head in confusion. The gears in her mind began to turn as she watched. He was alone, unarmed as far she could see. Though, he may have something hidden at the bottom of his boat. She knew enough to count on it.

What she debated was dangerous, insane, but one thought of Dyvon, and she would swim the entire sea to get her back. She had no idea the odds of a fight between a mermaid and a human man. It most likely wasn't in her favor, but he was alone in a tiny boat, and this was her territory. If she managed to overpower him, could she use him to find Dyvon? Would he even speak the same language?

The spark of hope extinguished as she continued to observe the lone man. What was she thinking? Even if she could take him down, what would she do then? The chances of him knowing where to find Dyvon were slim to none. Sorcha sighed, a sickening feeling settling in her stomach. She was all alone out there, with no idea where to find her sister or the rest of her pod. Land was a way off, far enough that there was no fear of being spotted. There was absolutely nothing from the direction she'd come from, only an endless choppy sea.

Storm clouds had formed in the distance, creeping up behind herself and the man. It rolled towards them silently, a menacing, ghostly specter. Her brows furrowed, looking from the darkened sky to the unsuspecting rower. A twinge of concern struck her as she wondered how he would brave the storm. She knew from experience that storms like those had quite a destructive nature. She'd heard from the Sirens of ships sinking during a tempest, ships much, much, bigger and stronger than the little dingy. At that moment, she was forced to make a choice, one that would seal the fate of the stranger she watched from afar. With one deep, steadying breath, Sorcha dove beneath the surface and left him behind.

The current grew more violent the closer the wall of charcoal clouds became. If she weren't such a strong swimmer, she would've been yanked around like a piece of kelp in a whirlpool. The surrounding water tinted dark blue as she reached the line of the storm. A tingle of fear ran down her spine and the hair along her arms prickled. Maybe it was instinctual, her self-preservation kicking in. It wasn't until she spotted the practically opaque wall of swirling sand and water rushing towards her that she became truly worried. She whirled on pure instinct, pumping her tail furiously in the opposite direction.

The moment the storm overtook her, things took a turn for the worst. The current pulled and dragged her body in every direction. One strong push sent her tumbling head over fins, her hair swirling around her chaotically. She managed to right herself, though only just, hysterically searching for the right direction to take. Everything looked the same. A cloud of sand swirled, hitting her like a wave. Sorcha cried out, clutching her eyes in anguish. The tiny grains burned at her irises, she couldn't see a thing. Something slammed into her side, sending excruciating pain through her body. She flicked her tail aimlessly in an attempt to escape the assault of ocean debris. Her eyes burned, but after a moment she could peel open her lids enough to catch the clump of kelp hurtling towards her before it collided with her face.

Sorcha didn't know which way was which, nor how to even begin to get her bearings in the onslaught of sand and ocean foliage. Panic was beginning to set in. The other sea creatures had now found shelter in tiny nooks and crannies. She wasn't so lucky. Her body skimmed the ocean floor, fumbling through the sand blindly for something, anything, to secure herself. With no safety in sight, her eyes lifted towards the sky, watching the glassy surface roll by. Against her better judgment, she ascended.

The minute her head broke through the waves, she regretted it. A deafening clap of thunder vibrated through her. The roar of rain pummeling the surface of the sea was unnerving, to say the least. She couldn't even hear her thoughts over the noise. Violent gusts of wind forced the rain to fall on a diagonal. Each drop stung as it hit her skin like ice. Lightning flashed, reaching towards her with blinding fingers through the clouds.  Frantically, she whipped her head in each direction. The visibility above the surface was marginally better than below, but she feared for her safety more so in the thick of it. A minuscule dark shape could be made out in the distance, and Sorcha had to squint to fully make it out.

An involuntary gasp escaped her as she realized what it was. More accurately, who it was. The man in the tiny rowboat struggled to keep himself afloat, his boat rocked violently from side to side, lifted by the gigantic waves, which only increased in size and intensity along with the storm. Sorcha dove through an oncoming wave to avoid being knocked down. Disoriented, she broke through the other side. She tried to locate the man once more. Only when her eyes landed on the little boat, he'd disappeared.

Sorcha's heart sank, her head whipped around in every direction, scouring the surface for any sight of the stranger. Nothing, he'd been swallowed up by the rolling sea. The now-abandoned boat was not long for this world as moments later it was capsized by a ferocious wave. She didn't know when she'd decided, nor what compelled her to race towards the scene. But before she could think it through, she was abandoning all caution in search of the man.

She dove again into the chaos of the sea, swimming as fast as she could in the general direction she'd last seen him. Everything she'd been told about humanity seemed to evaporate in the heat of the moment. For this was life or death and Sorcha couldn't bring herself to stand by idly.

Amidst the carnage, a shape thrashed, struggling to break the surface. Flailing against the current and rising waves, it wasn't long before he took on water. As the rippling surface faded, so did the little hope he had left. Though he knew not the fate of his companions, of this he was certain. He was going to die.

When Sorcha reached the man, he was motionless, his body suspended in the roiling sea. She wrapped her arms under his and held him tightly around his chest. Sorcha heaved and carried them skywards as fast as she could. They pierced the surface just as another deafening crash of thunder permeated the air.

Through the rain and wind, she could just barely make out the outline of a landmass in the distance. It was much smaller than the one she'd seen before the storm hit, but it was something. That tiny piece of land may just be salvation for the man clutched in her arms. He convulsed in her arms, expelling the seawater from his lungs. When he finished, his head lulled to the side and rested against Sorcha's shoulder. Sorcha was overwhelmingly aware of the sensation of human legs against her tail as she fought towards land. With much effort, she held his head above water the whole time.

Her muscles screamed from the exertion, and when they finally reached the sandy beach, she was about ready to collapse. Sorcha dragged herself and the man across the sand as far as she could and settled them beneath a cluster of palms. With her body draped over his defensively, she could no longer keep the tears at bay. Her sobs joined the booms of thunder and crashing waves in a symphony of agony witnessed only by herself and The Drowned God.