Chapter 6: The Song

Noah

RAIN: I guess I have to text first because you don’t have my number. But now you do.

NOAH: Took you long enough to text me. When are we meeting to dive?

RAIN: You still want to?

NOAH: Yea? I thought that’s why you’re texting me. Unless you’re texting me for a different reason?

RAIN: Oh…okay. I can dive whenever you’re free. 

NOAH: Cool. Cool. I work mornings all week. We can meet on the weekend. Maybe in the evening? I don’t like having plans too early in the morning.

RAIN: okay.

NOAH: ;)

———————————————-

Now I was sitting on the dock next to my tiny boat home, waiting for Rain’s giant boat to arrive. He mentioned that he had all the gear necessary for this diving mission, so I didn't need to bring anything to help him search for sirens. At first, I was going to entertain this idea of his. Flirt a little and see where it goes. Then he mentioned the song. My whole body went numb at that moment. The floating feeling was threatening to take over. Rain gave me something I never knew I wanted. Hope. I hoped that there were more sirens like me. To not be alone, to not feel alone. But with hope also came fear—the siren song. I didn’t want to follow it. I knew where it led. I softly placed my hand on my neck, closing my eyes. I almost felt the shadow choking me. 

I invited Maya and her coven members along for the journey. Being alone with a guy never intimidated me, but Rain wasn’t the usual chatterbox that I seemed to attract. Hell, he didn't speak at all. I wasn’t going to be stuck in awkward silence and have to overcompensate for my personality. I never knew how exhausting being myself was until I stopped sleeping well. Having to keep up appearances when I was low on energy wasn’t something I wanted to do. If I follow the song, will I be able to sleep again?

“Earth to Noah!” Someone behind me said.

I jumped out of my thoughts and focused on the person standing behind me. It was Alia, the first witch who joined Maya’s coven. She was taller than me. Her waist-length curly hair was pulled back, red sunglasses sitting on her prominent nose. There was a death metal band logo on her oversized black T-shirt.

“Sorry I was daydreaming,” I said, extending my arms offering a hug. 

“Daydreaming about marrying an Underwood?” She said, accepting my hug as she  wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

“Marriage is overrated.”

“Not to me,” she replied, pulling her smartphone out of her jean shorts pocket. “Marrying an Underwood would be nice. I think I have a chance.” 

“Good luck getting him to speak to you,” I laughed. 

“No thanks. I like men that don’t speak. Want to take a photo with me?”

I managed to put on my best smile for the photo. “Don’t put a weird caption. I don’t want people to think we're dating. Remember what happened last time?” 

“The only person that would get upset is Aiden.” 

“Jesus, fuck, does Maya tell you guys everything?” I gaped. 

“Not everything!” Someone yelled from the path that trailed from the main house to the dock where my boathouse sat.  

Alia and I turned and saw Maya walking down the path with the newest coven witch, Olivia. She had the skin tone of a starless sky at night, her kinky hair hidden by a bandana. A few months ago, she arrived at our front door, and we already knew why she was here—to form a trio. For as long as anyone knew, witches naturally found their coven, drawn to each other by their magic. Some witches spend years following the tug of their magic until they find their coven. A trio was a deadly force. Powerful things came in threes, and witches weren’t an exemption. “Remind me to start omitting certain parts of my life!” I playfully yelled back at her.

“Oh, shut up. As if you could keep secrets from me.” Maya said, waving a finger at me.

“I could try,” I smirked.

“Emphasis on the word ‘try,’” Alia giggled.

Maya jumped toward me to wrap her arms around my neck, pulling me into a tight hug. I spun her around, placing her on my right side, then proceeded to give Olivia one too. We don’t know each other well, but she treats me like family, and I do the same to her. 

“Hi Noah,” she said while accepting my hug. 

Maya and Alia exchanged a look I couldn’t place. Whatever it meant, I knew Maya would tell me eventually. Either on purpose or accidentally, it didn’t matter to me. 

I heard the distant splashes of water indicating that a boat was approaching. Seconds later, Rain appears with his luxury, tiny yacht. Seriously, how rich was his family? His boat alone cost more than our entire family home. After I left his massive fucking house a few days ago, I searched online the average cost of a boat like his. I had never felt so poor in my life. At his family dinner it seemed like his family didn’t enjoy the thought of him diving, but he still wanted to. Whatever his reason for continuing, I'll support. I love a bit of rebellion. 

Rain brought the boat up to the dock, and I saw genuine fear in his eyes. Maybe I should have told him Maya and the girls were coming with me. When we were all on the small yacht, Rain gave us a nervous wave. Immediately his hands found his hair. A nervous tick that didn’t match his appearance but was oddly endearing. 

Rain was wearing gray sweat shorts over a black, skin-tight wetsuit. He had the body of a swimmer. All necessary muscles paired with broad shoulders and chest. His long hair was tied back in a low messy bun. A few pieces fell out, framing his face elegantly. It was the first time I visibly saw his hearing aids, neatly tucked behind his ears. It was late in the day, and the sun was shining on Rain's face. His eyes were a swirl of different hues of brown. Without eyeliner, his monolid was more noticeable. He flashed his phone in my face:

Sorry I’m late. Had to wait for my mom to come and pick up my nephew. 

Maya told me that Rain’s mom was from Vietnam. She wasn’t at the dinner last week, so I assumed she lived elsewhere. “No problem. Maya took forever to get ready, so you’re right on time,” I said, holding my hand out to introduce the girls. “This is Maya, Alia, and Olivia.” I signed all their names for him. My knowledge about sign language started and ended with the alphabet. I should learn more eventually. 

“This is a nice boat,” Alia said with too much enthusiasm.

“Classified as a small yacht, to be exact,” Olivia whispered to Alia.

“Whatever it classifies as, I still think it’s nice,” replied Alia, taking her phone out to take pictures of herself.

“Where can we put our stuff, Rain?” Maya asked.

His ears turned bright red when the girls crowded around him as he typed:

You can put your things in the kitchenette. If it’s not enough room, put it in the lower deck rooms. 

As the girls walked to put their things away and take photos on the boat, Rain and I remained in the cabin alone. He was still smoothing his hair repeatedly. I reached over and pulled the hair from his fingers. “Remember what I said about your hair? It would be a shame if you accidentally pulled it all out,” I said. 

Rain nodded once, his face almost as red as his ears. I wondered how he felt with me this close to him. His eyes were studying my face, dashing back and forth. I couldn’t help but laugh at how nervous he gets with the tiniest interactions. “So, where are we going first?”

He almost nervously dropped his phone: 

Harmony Island. We can anchor the boat near the island and swim from there. Your scuba gear is in the lower deck. 

“Okay Captain,” I mocked, while saluting him. Rain rolled his eyes and stepped away to the cockpit. 

The ride over to the island only lasted about 30 minutes. The girls made the yacht their own, playing music loudly and chatting among themselves out on the deck. I was in the cabin trying not to be so obvious that I was watching Rain, wondering if he heard the same siren song as me. Did he dream of it too? My pulse quickened when the island was in sight. What if I heard it again? I hadn’t slept in three days, so I felt slightly on edge. Staring out at the waves calmed me. I took a long deep breath and closed my eyes. 

Shy hands tapped my shoulder, and my eyes sprung open. Through hazy vision, I saw Rain, covered in his scuba gear. He was ready to jump into the water. Already wearing my wetsuit and weight belt, I pulled on my buoyancy compensator and grabbed my regulator. I didn't need any of this gear since I could breathe perfectly underwater, but I needed to make it believable for Rain. When I finished, we both jumped into the water.

It was colder than I thought it was going to be. Ever since I started having nightmares, I avoided open water like the plague. Whenever I needed to shift, I would go to the deep end of the pool after work. Or in my shower at home. Maya gave me a thumbs up from the deck, but I saw the worry on her face. I wished I could reassure her that all was well, but I couldn’t lie to her. I was worried too. Rain was checking if his regulator was working, then checked his buoyancy. When he finished those tasks, he made an ‘ok’ gesture then we started descending.

10 feet. 20 feet. 30 feet.

The fins felt unnatural on my feet. 

40 feet.

Life felt calmer down here. A pair of wolffish were hiding under some rocks. All the other fish swam away from me because they knew what I was— a predator.

50 feet. 

I saw the steady stream of bubbles coming from Rain’s regulator. He made hand gestures to let me know that his mask had condensation that needed cleaning.

60 feet.

The water was a dusty blue. Even though I was wearing heavy gear, I felt free. I hadn’t felt this way in months. The water engulfed me, and I desperately wanted to feel it against my skin, my tail, my fins. Taking a deep breath of compressed air, I closed my eyes. I was floating. All my problems washed away.

Follow me.

My eyes shot open. Did Rain hear that too? I found him still searching among the rocks. I steadied my pulse. My nightmares can’t hurt me here. 

I swam over to Rain to see if he found anything. He was looking with purpose. Searching for any evidence of what he thought he saw.

You could have stopped this.

Now I heard it perfectly well. I covered my ears to stop it. I looked left. Right. I shook my head violently, trying to get the song out. My claws ripped the gloves I was wearing, scratching the sides of my face. My blood was rapidly mixing with the water. Feeling the fusing of my leg bones, I panicked. Breathe Noah. I needed to get to the surface. The inevitable shift was slowly taking over my entire being while I desperately tried to fight it. 

Follow me. Follow me. Follow me.

Someone—something grabbed me. My body reacted violently. The only thing I could think of was the shadow with its claws around my throat. I screamed. At least, I think I did. Was this real? Was I dreaming again? Please tell me what I was supposed to stop!

50 feet.

I was being pulled back to the surface, but by who? No one ever saved me in my nightmares. 

40 feet. 

The fins near my ears were free. Gliding through the water like they meant to. 

30 feet.

The wetsuit ripped as the bones in my lower body fused to create my tail. I bit down on my lip as pain shot up my spine.

20 feet.

I was struggling against the arms wrapped around my body. I reached up to pry the shadowed claws off my throat, and the water started turning red.

10 feet.

I started to lose consciousness. All I saw was blood. The deafening ring of the song was all I heard. I must be dreaming, again. I knew all the pain would stop when the song ended, and I would awake safely in my bed.

I felt the dim warmth from the setting sun. I desperately held onto the arms around my body, afraid that I would be dragged back underwater by the shadow. There was shouting. Was it coming from me? Peeling my eyes open, I forced myself to locate the owner of the voice. I saw slick black hair clinging to a face filled with fear. They were calling for help—Rain. 

I focused on his voice. It was a lot deeper than I imagined, baritone. More importantly, I heard how scared he was calling for Maya to help bring me back on the boat. I heard Rain whispering to me as blackness clouded my vision. It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.

Moments passed, I didn't know where I was, but it was warmer now. There were many voices now. No words made sense. I struggled to keep my eyes open, afraid that if I closed them, I would never open them again. I thought I spoke, but I didn't know what I was saying. Arms wrapped around my body again—It’s okay. You’re okay— the voice told me repeatedly. 

 I wouldn’t mind if that voice were the last thing I heard before I died. 

Then everything went black.