Untold Truth

#6 Obstacles of Life (Part 2)

Skylar felt that something was wrong. She knew that the guys would take that long and especially with the current situation in the ocean after her last visit to the ocean, she knew that there was definitely something up. She attempted to get up to get her phone. She used her hands to maneuver herself to the dresser where Cody had left her phone. She quickly dialed the first number that crossed her mind, the moment the receiver answered she quickly blabbered out, “Elyssa, I know you are in school right now but there is an issue, I know it. I think Cody and Carson are in danger. They left, to go to Atlantis to find a potion that would reduce my pain. But it’s been half an hour and they haven’t returned yet.”

“Whoa, slow down, Skylar. So you’re telling me that they went out to sea without any backup.” Before she could finish, the teacher exclaimed from the front of the classroom. “Elyssa, what did I say about no cellphones during class? Hang up and bring it forward, you can get it back at the end of the day.”

She knew she had to act fast, “Oh but I can’t, it’s my auntie, she’s very sick and I may need to go back early. You see, she’s got this terminal illness and my mom doesn’t have the time to tend to her needs.” She tried to reason with Mr. Marcus despite knowing that most of the teachers in the school were more difficult to reason with - some more than others. “So, if you’ll excuse me, I would need to speak to my aunt as long as she is still alive.”

Elyssa continued to march out of Mr. Marcus’ class, trying not to embarrass herself anymore than she already was. All eyes were on her as she confidently marched out of the classroom. The students were surprised that Mr. Marcus didn’t send her for detention because walking out of the class was one of the rules that he had mentioned in the beginning of the year. Once Elyssa was out of the class’ view, she quickly texted Tyler about the situation that was going on. Code red; Cody and Carson might be in danger, meet you outside the school.

She avoided any form of eye contact with the disciplinary teacher who was strolling the halls of the school, making sure all the students were at their own classes. The moment she saw Mr. Clarington, she pretended that she was headed towards the girls’ bathroom to steer clear of any form of conflict. That was when she spotted Tyler who was already headed out the doors of the school. She quickly pulled him aside to the space between the lockers. “How can you just walk along the halls of the school like you own the place?”

“Speak for yourself, Elyssa.”, Tyler protested. “What’s the problem this time? A cat got stuck in the vent? Or Skylar forgot how to walk?” He continued to joke about it, because it was the only thing he could do in the state that she had gotten him to skip his favourite class; Chemistry.

Elyssa explained everything on their way to the car which Tyler had illegally driven to school. “This is no time for jokes, Ty. Remember how the other day when Skylar got her full mermaid powers and she couldn’t transform back and that sorcerer said something about her having trouble controlling all those powers that the gods had blessed her with. Well I found out the main root of all these issues and it all links back to Skylar. She is a demi-goddess and her not being in her natural element makes her a threat to humanity. There’s the reason why the people of Atlantis are having a search party to look for Skylar. I’ve also taken the liberty of checking the water currents for the past few days. There had been a usage of a new technology which had caused some of the merpeople of Atlantis to get injured or killed.” 

“You may think it’s Skylar’s fault but there has been a change in the tides long before Skylar had been given her god-like powers. There has been an increase in the ground that people have been drilling on the ocean floors. But because they can’t use the drill with the disturbance of fishes, they use a sonic cannon to drive the fishes off the area they want to dig. The sonic cannon is known for sending huge waves inside the water to cause something like a tsunami effect but inside the water. The cannon sends waves beyond the frequency that is considered safe for fishes so if the fishes were to stay in the designated area, they would be killed by the high frequencies. The King probably knew something about what the humans were doing so they had to find a way to ensure the safety of Skylar because they are unsure of her whereabouts. So if I’m correct they’re indeed in trouble. It must be because of the fishes that are rushing to safety.”

“How are you so sure about the place where they had placed the sonic cannons?” Tyler was already pulling over on the driveway of the Frost Mansion, when Sapphire popped out of nowhere and Tyler almost ran her over. He quickly freed the gear and went down to check on her. He didn’t knock her but she was already unconscious on the driveway. Tyler told Elyssa to go ahead to park the Rover while he carried Sapphire into the mansion and put her lifeless body on the couch. Never having been faced with this many problems at one time, Tyler informed Elyssa, “I’m going to go to the ocean to make sure that Cody and Carson are alright. You will take care of Sapphire and Skylar. If Sapphire doesn’t wake up, call the ambulance because it appears that she’s been faced with trauma.”

He marched on out to the ocean and dove in. The moment he was in the ocean, he felt something different, it was like the ocean was rather quiet. That was when he recalled that if he was in the ocean and it was too calm, it would only mean that something was definitely wrong. He swam towards the hideout that was the only place that they would take refuge in. That was when he heard the sound of a familiar voice shouting, “Help! Help!”

Tyler without a moment of hesitation swam towards the source. As he swam towards the source, he saw a terrifying scene of two best friends. One of them was seriously injured. 

“Any news yet?” Kai asked the guards anxiously as they swam through the portal. He had been worried about Skylar since the moment that the humans were spotted  destroying the ecosystem and killing some of his people in the process. He had never seen this many of his people get sacrificed at one time. 

“We have good news and bad news; apparently Cody and Carson had managed to bring her up to the surface but she’s been having trouble transforming to her human form. She can’t transform without having any pain. So with your permission, sire, I might need to talk to Clay about this.” Despite having been given direct orders from Carson, he preferred to be honest than to beat around the bush. 

Kai nodded and cleared a path for Arion to swim to Clay’s lair. It’s been a while since Arion has been down there. As she swam past all the dark rocks it reminded him of the day he first came to Atlantis. He was just as worried as the rest of them after hearing about the sudden death of some of his men who were just doing their nightly patrol and was killed. He wanted revenge but he couldn’t just get it just so easily. Especially without an alliance with the human world, it was much more difficult of an issue. Just then there was another three mermen who swam in through the portal. One of the mermen was seriously injured. “What happened?” Kai asked anxiously. He gestured to his men to clear a path for them to bring him to the castle infirmary. 

“Cody and Carson were out to get your guards to clear off the search for Skylar because she made it back to the surface but it was probably when they were heading back when the humans launched another shock wave sending fishes scurrying for safety.” Tyler struggled to assist Cody in carrying the unconscious Carson to the infirmary. 

“It’s my fault sir. I was busy arguing with him that he got caught in the current. He told me to keep my mouth shut but I was stubborn to not listen. I’m so sorry for all this.” Cody apologized. “He saved me. And for that I am forever in debt to him.” He continued to swim in the direction of the castle. 

Kai was speechless because there was nothing he could say. There was like a lump in his throat. He thought about the day he left Carson on the beach of Miami. He was so young then. Kai thought of the reason why he had left every thought of letting him slip through his fingers when he was barely a child. He was devastated that he missed a lot of stages of his life so he told himself, I have lost him once, I can’t lose him again. And continued to swim into the infirmary where Clay was trying all his revival spells on Carson. Nonetheless, there was no luck in reviving him. 

Cody thought of all possible ways to bring his best friend back and that was when it came to him. There is only one shot at bringing Carson back. Though it may involve risks, I think it’s worth a shot. Then blattered out, “Skylar.” As he was thinking out loud everyone turned to face him with a puzzled look. “Skylar is our only shot at bringing Carson back. Clay, you recalled talking about how she had God-like powers now? - What if one of those powers include resurrection and healing powers? She could just be the only chance we have of bringing him back.”

“How are you so sure that her powers would not spiral out of control like that time she blasted me into an iceberg? She can’t even control her powers and with you coming all this way to get an elixir from the very sorcerer who wanted her to remain in Atlantis.” Tyler protested. He already had enough with the way that Skylar literally attracts all the guys with just her charms. But the truth was harder to take in because none of the innocent guys had seen the monster hidden behind the mask of kindness and beauty. They all get fooled by her charms that never seek to surprise him. 

Clay was astonished by their beliefs because he had never expected them to take it so literally that he only wanted Skylar in Atlantis. He was only requesting it to protect them from her powers and despite having seen her powers first hand, it was surprising that they still insisted that she went back to the human world. He knew that it wasn’t up to him to decide where she belonged. “There is another way that she could fix herself to be able to go back to school with you guys. But it would involve a lot of magic and if she isn’t strong enough, she might-”

Cody in realization of what he was going to say stopped him, “Stop. Don’t finish that sentence because we will be getting her back by hook or by crook.” He argued. It was about time that Skylar learnt to control her powers and there was only one way to ensure that she remains safe and that is by bringing her back to the surface. She didn’t belong in the ocean. “I’ll go back to the surface to bring Skylar here.” Cody suggested. 

“I will go with you.” Arion offered. He knew that something bad was going to happen but he didn’t do anything about it which was his fault. “I’m not just going to sit around and mope when this was partially my fault.”

“And I will need Tyler’s expertise in the field of magic so you boys go on to the surface and quick because it is really unlikely that Carson has much time left for you to waste.”, said Clay.

Skylar felt something break as Elyssa lectured her. She could feel that something was definitely up so she didn’t really pay attention to what Elyssa was saying. “Hey, you said that Sapphire is here right? I think you better check whether she is breathing or not.”

“What do you mean? She’s fine.” She continued to face the unconscious Sapphire. She wasn’t moving. Elyssa knew she better take her advice because she hasn’t moved for the past 20 minutes that Tyler had brought her in. Sapphire’s face had gone pale and all the blood was already gone from her system. She went to check if she had a pulse. To her dismay there wasn’t a pulse. She bursted to Skylar’s bathroom and told her, “Sapphire doesn’t have a pulse. I think it’s about time we called the ambulance.”

“We don’t have much time, the nearest hospital from here is still miles away. She doesn’t have much time. We need to act fast. I think Tyler should have a defibrillator in his lab. Go and get it.”, she instructed. 

“There has to be some other way. I thought you possess god-like powers right now. Can’t you resurrect her or something. Tyler’s lab is bigger than his own room and it would take me forever to find the defibrillator especially after he never tidies his lab.”

“Touche. But you’ve seen what I can do when my powers spiral out of control. I was just lucky that Tyler was part demon. Otherwise, if he was a complete human, he may not have survived. Even if I were to use my powers on her, there is no guarantee that she would make it out in one piece.” Skylar argued. 

“Maybe I can help...” came a voice from the door. It was Cody. Upon seeing Sapphire’s face which had black veins, he immediately knew what had happened to her. “Mind filling me in? As we speak, Carson is also slowly losing his life. So I think you have to go and save your sweetheart before you lose him forever.” 

Skylar looked over at Sapphire who was also slowly dying and there was no other way. She knew that Cody had handled Sapphire’s nuisance in the past before but this was serious, she had to choose. Though Cody had already made the choice for her, she knew that she had two people’s lives on the line. Seeing that Skylar couldn’t quite make up her mind, Cody told her, “Think about it, Skylar. Sapphire’s case is just lead poisoning, probably Kylie’s doing but Carson needs magic to bring him back to life.” 

“Alright, I’ll go but promise me to call the ambulance to report this. It is really unlikely that Kylie would just leave her alive.” Elyssa and Arion helped her out of the tub and carried her to the ocean entrance somewhere in the basement of the house. Once her fins touched the water, she felt more alive than ever. Arion followed her to Atlantis while Elyssa went back to help Cody with Sapphire. 

“She was already like this when we got back. She was still standing but she collapsed the moment we stopped right in front of her.”, Elyssa reported to Cody. 

“Before I do anything, I need to make sure that you aren’t scared of blood. Because this is going to get displeasing.”, Cody confronted Elyssa. “You might not want to stay for this.”

“I’m alright with blood. Why d-” Before she could even finish the sentence, Cody’s eyes turned blood red and he sank his fangs into Sapphire’s neck. As blood oozed out of her neck, he drank the blood. “You could have warned me first before you did that, you know?” Cody ignored her and continued to drain Sapphire’s blood until he had gotten all the lead out of her system. 

Elyssa tried to forget that horrific scene that she had seen. The moment Cody looked up again, she looked at him with disgust. There was blood dripping from the edges of his mouth. “Is your solution to every human problem, turning them into vampires?” She tried to look at the unconscious body but still looked away. 

Cody wiped the blood with his arm. “I tried to warn you. Oh and by the way, I’m not turning her into a vampire. I’m just draining her blood to get the lead out of her system. To turn her, would be a waste of my blood because I wouldn’t want her to know where I am every second of every day.”

“And how are you planning to replace the blood that you’ve taken from her system, genius?” Elyssa teased him. Cody flipped a switch that made the shelf move. Behind the shelf was another shelf  with bags of blood that they had gotten from the hospital from someone they knew. “Of course you have a whole stock of blood bags.” sighed Elyssa. 

Cody continued to use his vampire powers to heal the bite mark so that no one would know about it. Cody grabbed a few type-O blood bags and flipped the switch again to store all the rest back. He tossed the blood bags to Elyssa and picked up Sapphire’s lifeless body. They continued to march their way to his room where he prepared everything for a blood transfusion. “How do you even know how to set all this up anyways?” Elyssa questioned him as he didn’t even have a Phd of any sort. 

“I don’t, it’s just something I learnt overtime. I’ve seen Tyler do it a bunch of times. How difficult could it be? Mind finding the heart rate monitor instead of asking so many questions.”