The Sea in our Veins
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When Virgil awoke, the waves were nearly at his feet, causing him to panic and climb further up the slope. When he was far enough away, he lay back and tried to catch his breath. But Virgil knew that he couldn’t stay on the beach for long. His stomach was rumbling and he knew that Michael was probably wondering where he was. Virgil was also terrified of Wesley replaceing him. He didn’t want to see Wesley again, not after he lied to him and the longer that Virgil stayed near the beach, the greater chance that Wesley had to replace him. In fact, he would be safe if he just went back home and maybe once he was back there, he would be able to forget about Wesley.

Virgil left the beach, walking until he reached the road, a road that Virgil recognized. The house that Michael and him were staying at was nearby. Virgil started slowly walking in that direction and sighed in relief when he spotted the house. The door was unlocked and he went inside and upstairs to his room. He grabbed his backpack and started shoving his things into it. He would probably be able to catch the train back home but he would have to hurry in order to make the next one.

As Virgil was zipping up his backpack, he heard the front door open. His stomach dropped and he quickly grabbed his backpack and hid under the bed, hoping that whoever was there would just go away. He heard the footsteps move to the kitchen and heard the fridge open. Virgil listened with bated breath as the person puttered around the kitchen, opening and closing cabinets. There was silence for a couple of minutes before the footsteps started again. Virgil’s heart raced as the footsteps moved up the stairs. They came right down the hall and stopped at his door.

“Virgil?” they asked, “Are you here?”

Virgil realized that he recognized the voice as Michael’s. He held his breath, trying desperately to figure out what to do. Michael was his friend and would help him get away from Wesley, but at the same time, Virgil didn’t know who to trust. Virgil took a deep breath before slowly slid out from under the bed, “I’m here,” Virgil said.

“What were you doing underneath the bed?” Michael asked, “And where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“Thank goodness you’re here,” Virgil replied, stumbling over his words in desperation, “I really need your help. Do you know Wesley? The guy I was hanging out with? Well, it turns out that he was some crazy guy who tried to kill me. I need to head home early.”

Michael stared at shock, “I’m sorry,” he said, “He seemed like a nice guy. You should go to the police.”

“It’s fine,” Virgil replied, “I just want to go home.”

Michael looked like he wanted to argue but he decided instead to drop it, “I’ll call my dad and see if he can drive us home early.”

“I don’t want to cut into your vacation,” Virgil replied, “This is my problem and I’ll deal with it by myself.”

“And we’re friends. We’ll deal with it together. I’ll go call my father and we’ll leave as soon as possible,” Michael replied.

Michael left to go call his family and Virgil sat down on the bed with hiss backpack beside him. He just wanted to go to sleep and forget everything. His eyes were just starting to close when Michael came back into the room, “My dad said that he would meet us at the boardwalk with his truck and would drive us back.”

“Can we meet somewhere else?” Vigil asked.

“I don’t know,” Michael replied, “I guess… if you want. I can call him and tell him to meet us here. I just thought that the boardwalk would be better because its easier for my dad and its unlikely we’ll run into Wesley there.”

“It’s alright,” Virgil replied, “We can meet your dad at the boardwalk.”

“Okay,” Michael said, “Just give me a couple of minutes to pack my things and we’ll walk to the boardwalk together.”

Virgil walked outside and waited for Michael. Michael joined Virgil in a couple of minutes later with a bulging backpack, “Are you ready?” Michael asked.

“I guess,” Virgil said, “But just to warn you, if I see Wesley I’m running the other way.”

“And I’ll help you,” Michael replied, “with running the other way.”

The two of them walked from the house down to the boardwalk. Virgil kept his eye out for Wesley, looking everywhere except where he was going, causing him to almost walk into various people and signs.

They eventually reached the boardwalk and Virgil scanned the parking lot, looking for Michael’s dad’s car. Michael glanced down at his phone, “He’s not here yet,” he said.

“I’m sorry for cutting your trip short,” Virgil replied.

“If some crazy guy tried to murder me, I know you would do the same. Besides, I was getting tired of helping my dad with his boat. There’s only so many times you can grease the engine before you get tired of it.”

Just then, Virgil heard Wesley’s voice in his ear, “There you are,” he said.

Virgil turned around and found himself face to face with Wesley. Virgil brandished his backpack, trying to appear threatening, but Wesley just smiled. Virgil felt faintly disappointed to see that Wesley didn’t seem injured but at the same time, he felt strangely relieved.

“Michael?” Virgil asked slowly, afraid to turn around.

“Yes?” Michel replied. Virgil finally dared turn back and found Michael standing there calmly. He made no move to run or attack Wesley and a pit of fear formed in Virgil’s stomach.

“You knew he was going to be here?’ Virgil asked Michael, “He tried to kill me.”

“And that was a mistake,” Michael replied.

“You believe him over me?” Virgil asked, hurt.

“He explained everything to me,” Michael replied.

“What is there even to explain?” Virgil asked. Then he realized, “Your father isn’t going to meet us here.”

“No,” Michael replied, “He doesn’t know you want to leave.”

Virgil ran his hand through his hair annoyed, “I’ll just replace my own way home,” he said, “For the last time, leave me alone.”

“I promise to leave you alone if you let me show you something and explain everything. After that, you never have to see me again,” Wesley promised.

“And if I refuse?” Virgil asked.

“I’ll just keep bugging you until you agree,” Wesley replied.

“You tried to kill me,” Virgil replied, “How am I supposed to trust you when you aren’t even human?”

“I’m sorry for scaring you earlier,” Wesley replied, “And I’ll keep apologizing for that. But can you at least give me a chance? You can go back home afterwards and forget about all of this.”

Virgil hesitated, “Fine,” he said, “But after this, I never want to see you again. You’ve ruined my life enough.”

Wesley seemed sad but he nodded, “Fair enough,” he said, “Follow me.”

Virgil followed Wesley as they walked through the boardwalk until they reached the beach. As they strolled up to the water, Virgil saw two people waiting for them. “What are you doing here?” Virgil asked Jack and Ivan before realizing, “Are you mer as well?”

Jack and Ivan seemed just as surprised to see him, “You think Virgil’s Rafael?”

“I don’t think he’s Rafael,” Wesley replied, “I know he is. He’s mer and looks like Callum.”

“Is everyone I know mer?” Virgil asked.

“I’m not mer,” Michael said.

Virgil turned towards Michael, “You don’t count,” he said before turning back to Wesley and asking, “What do you want to show me?”

“I want you to meet my father,” Wesley replied.

“Well, where is he?” Virgil looked around the beach, searching for any creepy people who looked faintly like Wesley.

Wesley hesitated, unsure about how to tell Virgil, “He’s at the bottom of the ocean.”

“So he’s dead?” Virgil asked, “Don’t we need a mirror or something to communicate with him?”

“I mean that he is also mer and is waiting at home to meet you.” Wesley said.

Virgil slowly realized, “And is this home, by chance, at the bottom of the ocean?”

“Maybe,” Wesley said slowly, “But you’re mer. The swim will be easy for you.”

“I don’t know what you did to me but I am not mer. I’m human,” Virgil said.

“You are mer. Your name is Rafael and you have been missing for the past thirteen years. The only thing that I did to you was reveal your true appearance. Please just give me the opportunity to explain everything,” Wesley begged.

“And why should I listen to you?” Virgil asked.

“I know I lied to you but I’m just asking you to give me a chance,” Wesley said.

Virgil hesitated before turning to Michael, “Do you trust him?” he asked.

“I do,” Michael replied.

“Okay,” Virgil turned back to Wesley, “And you promise to leave me alone after this?”

Wesley struggled for a moment, “If that’s what you really want then that’s what I’ll do,” he said.

“Okay,” Virgil replied, “I’ll do it. I’ll go with you to meet your father and hear your explanation,” he turned to Jack and Ivan, “Are you coming with us?”

“If Wesley tries to drown you, which would be impossible for him to actually succeed as you can’t actually successfully drown a mer, we’ll drown him first,” Jack said.

“Besides, we have so many things that we want to show you,” Ivan said, “Our food is so good, and you have try it.”

“And if Virgil wants to try our food, then we’d probably head out pretty soon. Swimming back in the dark wouldn’t be super nice.” Wesley said.

Together, the four of them left Michael alone on the beach as they walked into the ocean. Virgil braced himself waiting for the pain as he touched water but he didn’t feel anything. As he waded in deeper, Virgil was amazed to not feel pain. He did hear a faint melody, the same melody that he kept hearing, that grew louder as he went deeper in. The melody grew louder and louder and Virgil tried to cover his ears to drown out the sound but it didn’t help as the song rang through his head.

Wesley noticed his expression of pain and said, “Just relax. Let the music take you.”

Virgil let himself fall into the music and felt pins and needles over his body. His legs gave out from under him and when he glanced down, he saw that his legs had been replaced by the same tail he had had before. Virgil’s hands were covered in scales and his fingers were clawed. He floated in the water, with his eel tail keeping him afloat. Virgil realized he was shirtless and turned to Wesley to ask where his shirt, and his pants and socks for that matter, went when he turned into a mer. But when Virgil turned to Wesley, it took him a bit to recognize him. He still wasn’t used to Wesley’s mer form. Virgil glanced back at where Ivan and Jack were and let out a girly shriek. Instead of Ivan and Jack, there were two creatures with similar ears, scales and tails that Wesley and him had but their scales were a darker green. Virgil stared at the creatures as they stared back at him and it took him a moment to recognize the creatures as Ivan and Jack. As Virgil tried his best to look past the scales, he could recognize some of their familiar features.

Ivan’s and Jack’s stares were slightly freaking Virgil out and it took Virgil a moment to realize that they were actually staring at his back and the marks that were on it. Ivan was the one who broke the awkward silence.

“He has the mark,” Ivan said excited, “And he looks a lot like Callum.”

“Now do you believe me?” Wesley asked.

“Fine,” Jack replied, “Callum will be interested to meet him anyway,”

“Then let’s not keep him waiting,” Wesley replied before ducking under the surface. Virgil glance back onto the shore where Michael was waiting. He couldn’t make out Michael’s expression from where he was floating but Virgil knew that Michael must have an expression of disgust. Virgil ducked under the water after Wesley and followed Jack and Ivan as they swam deeper under the ocean.