Chapter Text
June 13th, 2006.
After an agonizing last months of the school semester, June finally breathed its life into the town of Hawkins.
Warm, sticky, muggy air tucked itself into the streets as schools opened their doors and released the kids for the few months that felt like an eternity and too fast at the same time. It was a time for friends to come together, relishing the laxed supervision of their parents to run rampant through the streets hand in hand, side by side. The days stretched out the longest they could go, leaving the night to the wee hours when they'd all be asleep. The usually lifeless trees finally shone evergreen in the horizon littering the town's border, promising this year it would finally stay that way forever even though they knew it wouldn't. Fireflies danced through the fields and bushes, emulating the stars gleaming above the world's heads.
Soon sparklers would be out decorating the streets in their brief but unforgettable glow, the mechanical clanking of sprinklers popping on as children played in their front yards, the jingle of ice cream trucks passing through would begin soon enough.
It was the time when anything was possible. Where rules didn't seem to exist and everything just stayed the same. Nothing mattered during the summer. You could be a kid and not have to worry about all the things at inevitably at the end.
Summer was a burning memory; bright, unreal, and impossible to forget but always short lived at the end of the day. It was only a couple months before the real world broke the magic over the town as summer bled into autumn which gave way to winter. Darkness always replaced the light, even if they knew it would come back it was still deeply missed.
This year however, the Party intended to make it last.
For this was the summer before their senior year. The college plans were all set, the scholarships applied for, and the anxiety had really set in. This was the last summer they could really spend it together, let alone as kids free from the responsibilities of an adult.
Adults would not have summer in the same way. They would not get to stay up until five am and see the sunrise over their dreary town and sleep until noon. They would get to bike to each others houses every day or play dnd until nightfall bled into the golden sunset. Fun would exist but it'd be different. It'd have to be planned, precise and to the point. It couldn't be spontaneous or carefree.
Not when they would be leaving to go to colleges in different states.
It'd be the first time in years that the group would be apart. They still planned on calling, writing letters, and doing as much as they could to stay in contact, but each one of them knew that The Party as it existed right now could not last. Not in the same way it does now.
It was a unspoken rule among the Party not to talk about what they'd do after high school. But they knew each other well enough to guess. Dustin wanted to go to some kind of Ivy League like Harvard or Yale for marine biology, Lucas was going to either become some sort of physical therapist and probably an athlete of some kind, Max wanted to be a child's psychologist to help kids just like her, and Mike… Well he didn't know what he wanted to do.
That was the great thing about summer, he didn't have to think about how much he didn't know what he could do as a career. He thought about the idea of becoming a writer, or something along that caliber. But he wasn't any Stephen King or prodigy like Brandon Sanderson. All he had was a long list of successful DND campaigns he'd written and DMed, handful of followers on Fanfiction.Net, poor grammar skills despite English being his first language, and a knack for angsty fics that left him feeling slightly less numb than before. But was that something he could make a career out of?
"I don't know, man." Lucas said after Mike's latest vent about the lack of career prospects. This time it was on the docks of Hawkins' Harbor as Dustin, Max, and Steve loaded the boat Steve 'borrowed' from his dad.
Lucas was the one he went to with all of it, the only one he trusted to listen. Dustin was great but he sometimes wanted to fix the issue rather than listen. Max approached issues differently, despite their bickering she mostly just met him at his level and sat by his side until he felt better. Sometimes she'd fill the silence with tidbits about her day, sometimes he'd do the same. But they never really talked about the things that were going on in their heads.
"But I think you have time to think about it. A lot of people don't have it figured out right away."
Mike huffed, placing his head into his knees. "I know, I know-" He groaned. "That's what everyone says."
"Well there's gotta be a reason everyone says it, then."
"Yeah, to torture me."
"Yes, because everyone in our lives wants you to suffer,"
"Exactly," Mike perked up, "You get it."
Lucas shook his head, not saying anything but resting his hand on his back. They sat in silence for awhile, just watching waves lap against the boat rocking it and making the people in the boat more and more irritated.
"You know-" Lucas began, "You could just go to Hawkins community-"
Mike threw his head back as he groaned, "Dude."
"I know, I know, 'I can't stay here, I'll get stuck and end up like my dad and I'll be miserable and make my future wife'-"
"Exactly! It'll be a disaster if I go there."
"Or it'll help you in the long run. Think about it, it costs less and gives you more options to think about it if you're this worried."
"But flip side to that is staying at home for longer." That made Lucas pause, pressing his lips into a thin line as he thought about what to say.
"Listen-"
"Done!" Dustin exclaimed.
"Are you two gonna keep sitting there or are you coming too?" Max exclaimed.
"We'll finish this later,"
"Come on dickheads," Steve said as he flipped on his sunglasses and took the wheel, "You don't get to skip out on packing and then take your sweet time, let's go we're burning daylight."
Mike sighed as he stood up, stretching his legs to shake out the stiffness in them. He didn't know how Steve Harrington, his older sister's ex boyfriend, had taken the Party in the break up but now he almost couldn't imagine an adventure without him (but he'd never admit that, because this was Steve we're talking about here).
As soon as they got in the boat, Steve began backing away from the docks. "Hang on," Steve told them.
The boat rocked as the engine kicked in, shooting them out of the harbor and into the ocean. Seagulls roared overhead, chasing the clouds lazily rolling through the bright blue afternoon sky. The breeze was a bit stronger today, almost restless, could be the sign a storm is coming but otherwise it only served to blow Max's hair into his face, blocking the view ahead.
"So where we going again?" Steve asked.
"Erebor Island." Dustin answered.
"Where?"
"The off the coast that no one goes to." Mike explained.
"Woah, what? Aren't their sharks over there?"
"Well we aren't gonna swim in the ocean," Max pointed out, "If we stay on the island we should be fine."
"Ok, well- alright then. But I'm not calling it ero-boy island. Doesn't it have a name?"
"No." Mike said, "There was a petition but nothing official. Dustin suggested the name,"
"Henderson, what did I say about naming locations from your nerdy books?"
"I believe you saw all three Lord of the Rings movies when they came out in theaters Steve. So technically it's not like you don't know what we're talking about!"
"Hey just because I saw the movies doesn't mean I remember the specific locations!"
"I told you we should've just named it after Jaws," Max chirped up, "Steve never would've forgotten that way. Would you, Steve."
"Hey-"
"No, he probably blacked most of that movie out," Mike added, barely hiding his chuckles.
"Ok, I could just turn this boat around right now." Steve said, suddenly defensive. Jaws was a sensitive subject for Steve, having had his newly discovered fear of sharks being aired out to a bunch of 13 year olds with a vindictive streak.
"Steve!" Dustin exclaimed.
"I'm sorry! We'll be nice!" Lucas tried.
"You have always been nice." Steve pointed out, "Let me rephrase, I'll dump the rest of you shitheads off and me and Lucas will hang out on the island all by ourselves."
"Hey!"
"Doesn't sound so bad to me," Lucas chuckled and Max shot him a glare that could sink a thousand ships. "What?"
Mike sighed, already knowing this was going to be a longggg weekend. But Mike couldn't ask for anything else.
The ocean glided past them as they shot through the water, air bubbles tried their best to blind Will and give his sister advantage in the race but he didn't slow down. He half thought she'd sent them on purpose to get him to lose and if that was the case he could not let her win.
Will beat his tail harder, willing himself to go faster. They were neck and neck, Jane just barely holding the lead as they turned the bend and were on the last leg of the race. He blew air through the gills along his neck, the effect leaving his head spinning but giving him the boost he needed to gain a couple inches ahead of her. Just a little further…
Just when victory was in his sight, Jane shot past him like a rocket leaving him behind in a burst of bubbles. Her giggles drifting through the water around him.
With his head spinning, he broke the surface of the water gulping down a lung full of air as he did. A tingle went through him as his ears and gills along his face changed into something more human looking as the air hit his face. The giggles from before became louder as Jane resurfaced as well.
"You cheated," Will hissed.
"No. I just won." She scrunched her nose. "Someone's being a sore loser,"
"I am not!"
"Hm. Jon would agree."
"I was about to win!"
"But you didn't," She didn't say it in any sing song way but it cut as deep as if she did. "Guess you'll have to try harder next time."
"Nah, just figure out how you did it."
That caused Jane to laugh again. "Good luck with that,"
The water broke behind them and the twins knew exactly who it was before he even opened his mouth, "What's so funny?" Jonathan asked in his tired but not unkind leader voice.
"We were just-" Will began.
"Testing which one of us were faster." Jane answered simply. It was not incorrect but it was probably not what Jonathan wanted to hear right now.
Their older brother let out a weary sigh, "Did you forget what today was?"
"No, of course not." Will said quickly and quite honestly defensively. How could he not know what phase the moon was in, their mother kept such a sharp eye on it that it was practically ingrained into his internal calendar.
"Good. We don't have much time until the full moon rises and you guys have to hide again."
"We've surveyed the eastern and southern sides twice now," Jane said, "Why can't we have a little fun every once in a while?"
"Jane you know we have to keep people away from here. If they discover the entrance to the moon pool-"
"'The powers that hold the island together could collapse'." Jane said, repeating the thing their mother had told them every time a full moon rose. "We know, Jon."
"I know you know. I'm just reminding you." He said with a ghost of a smile, "And Will?"
"Yeah?"
"Quit being a sore loser."
"Told you."
"Jane cheated with that boost-"
"I will teach you if you want,"
"Traitor." Jane muttered.
Jonathan shook his head and dived down into the blue depths below. Leaving the twins alone once again.
"So…" Jane began, "Do you want to lose another race?"
"I'll pass."
"Because your a sore loser?"
"Because we have a job to do."
Jane didn't argue about that. As much as they liked to mess with each other, full moons weren't something to be taken lightly and they only had a couple hours left before it rose.
The roar of a boat engine drew their attention towards an on coming vessel. The twins had seen a couple of travelers come to their island, some who wanted to see if it was as cursed as the myths they heard apparently. But never on a full moon.
Will felt a familiar sense of dread as the boat stopped in the middle of the reefs where the fish congregated, causing the land people on board to shift forward. The air filled with the sound of new squabbling instead as the five land people on board were arguing about sharks.
The twins shared a glance between each other. Both confused, silently agreeing to see what this was.
They inched closer to the boat, stopping just short of their eye sight. Jonathan said to make sure nobody found the entrance but not that they couldn't follow them to see what these invaders were doing did he?
"I swear to God guys, I'll do it. I'll leave you," the one driving the boat said.
"The threat loses more validity the more you say it Steve," Another one said, it almost looked like the one in the baseball cap holding a large piece of paper.
The twins took the opportunity to hide behind a bit of rock close by. Watching as Steve pulled out several black rods and handed them to each person on board.
"Steve- Why?" The girl with blazing red hair asked.
"Well me mateys-" the man driving began.
"Don't. Just don't." A slightly nasally voice told him. Will shifted slightly to be able to see which one the voice belonged to, but he couldn't quite tell from the angle they were at.
"Steve, we talked about this," The boy in the ball cap said, his annoyance clear even from far away, "It wasn't even funny when you worked as Scoops."
"They're cute." Jane whispered, matter of factly.
Will shrugged right as he caught sight of a land boy with dark hair. Suddenly 'cute' didn't seem to be a fitting enough word. The land boy was beautiful. He sucked in a breath through his teeth as he tried to commit the boy's face to memory, maybe to draw him later. Everything about that boy was dark, the color of his eyes, the curls that crowned his head, the dust of freckles that spread over his face, and the look of annoyance that had furrowed his brow and creased the space between them. Everything about him reminded him of the moon
The land boy crossed his arms as the banter that had become distant static continued. Will wasn't even interested in whatever they were saying anymore.
"You're staring." Jane pointed out.
Will startled, pulling himself out of the spell he'd cast over him. "What?"
"And hopeless," She amended.
"Hey!"
"You know it's true." Will grumbled in response to that, "Back to what I was saying. I think we should mess with them."
"Why?"
"Because it's funny. The dark haired land boy seems easy to piss off,"
"Hmm."
"Plus- We need to keep the fish safe." Now that made more sense to intervene. Plus, as she said, it was fun.
He turned his attention back to the whole of the ship, each getting on each other's nerves as they navigated around that small row boat to try to fish. Especially the red haired land girl and the dark haired one from before. The one they called Steve seemed to be particularly annoyed with the one with the ball cap as he handed out fishing rods.
"I agree."
"Yes." Her smile got wider, "Sure would be a shame if their fishing trip went awry,"
"It sure would. Maybe they'll get so mad they'll turn back."
Jane shot him a mischievous smile as they dived below the steady waves.
They swam towards the boat as silently as they could. The line of the fishing poles dangling the water. Jane snatched one of the ones closest to her, the one held by the boy with a ball cap, giving it a sharp tug but not enough to pull it out his hands. They could make out the palpable excitement on the boy's face as he tried to reel it in. Jane let go of the reel as he did.
Will giggled as he repeated the gesture, grabbing the line of the red headed land girl. The boat began getting more irritated as Jane swam down, grabbing a piece of junk and tying it to the dark haired boy's line. It hurt his heart a little to see his excitement quickly turn to disgust as he lifted the discarded boot out of the water but that sympathy was quickly dashed by his over exaggerated annoyance at the discovery. They repeated these pranks for almost every member, failing to hide their giggles more and more.
In the chaos, they missed a fish as it swam to onto the hook. They heard the distorted triumph from that Steve person and knew that they had to move. They resurfaced close to the rocks again, Jonathan already there staring at the person driving the boat.
"Jon-!" Jane said.
"We tried-" Will began.
"I know, I saw." He said quietly as he stared at the man driving the boat as he started it up with a roar. The boat peeled off, docking itself on the sand. "It's ok."
"We should tell mom," Will said as the land people disappeared into the brush and forest of the island.
"No! She'll kill them,"
"Don't say that," Jon said to Jane, "It looks like they're just camping for the night."
"So?"
"There's no land entrance to the moon pool," He assured them, "I'll keep an eye on the coast near the moon pool and I'll let her know once the moon sets. Kay?"
Will swallowed his worry, "Yeah."
"Yeah," Jane echoed, looking just as uncertain.
"Ok then. Go hide, the moon will rise soon."
The twins sunk beneath the waves, the cool water piercing his skin and stealing his breath. Will's stomach wouldn't stop churning as they swam through the reefs and found their hiding spot. A ship wreck off the coast of the island with an air pocket near the top of the boat. Perfect for talking, hiding from the full moon, and plotting.
The boat was dark, lit by a couple gems their mother had brought from her adventure into the deep sea.
Will resurfaced into the air pocket, Jane appearing behind him almost silently. "They should really let us do the exposure soon," She said quietly.
"You know how mom worries."
Jane groaned, "Yeah but-"
"I know,"
"It's stupid! If she wants us to guard the island then we should be able to actually guard it when the island is at the most vulnerable!"
"It's not like we could do it ourselves." Will looked to his sister who had a look on her face that spelled trouble, "No."
"Come on!"
"It's dangerous if we fall under the moon spell!"
"But we can't- We don't know how it works."
"We can try!"
"Jane…"
"Come on! We'll never know if we don't try."
"I don't know… there's people here Jane. If this goes wrong it's not just gonna be a slap on the wrists. People could die."
Jane's face fell. "I know. Its against the rules. But I just… I don't want to keep being stuck here."
"Or treated like you're breakable?"
"Yeah."
"It's really unsafe."
"You're right."
Will scratched behind his gills, "But-"
"But?"
"I don't believe Jon that there's nothing up there. There's a possibility the land people could stumble upon it. We, at least, should wait by the entrance."
"Yes!"
"But we need to be careful,"
"Of course we will be."
"And we can't look at the full moon."
"We won't!"
"Or its reflection,"
"Yup. I know the rules, Jonathan."
Will sighed, finally understanding how his brother has felt for the last however many years of guarding them. He could tell this was going to be a longer night than usual, but he just hoped nothing would go wrong with their little outing. For their sake and for the people on the island's.
After their little fishing trip, the Party wandered into the island's forest…? Jungle…? Mike didn't know and honestly he didn't care. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was an intruder in this little ecosystem. Erebor Island was opposing even in the daylight, for reasons he couldn't put a finger on. Tall trees were usual in their small town, they surrounded their town like old friends standing guard to keep them safe from harmful intruders.
But here they did not feel like friends.
The more the sun began to dip below the sky, the more the island seemed to be growing angry at their presence. A thousand eyes seemed to trained onto them from every direction, watching his every move as he wandered deeper and deeper. Which Mike knew was ridiculous, because there was no one here other than them. Even the sea breeze seemed to grow quiet, a singing a disconcerting growl of a beast stalking its pray.
Mike's pulse stuttered as Steve placed their stuff down in an unceremonious pile. "We'll make camp here." He declared cheerfully.
"Are you sure?" Mike asked, his voice frayed at the edges.
"What's wrong, Wheeler?" Max asked, almost knowingly.
"Nothing." He said quietly but not without his usual attitude.
"Upset you didn't catch anything?" She teased but it didn't have its usual bite behind it.
"Heh. Like you were any better,"
"True, true." She chuckled, "But are you-?"
"Steve, where did you put the water?" Dustin said loudly, interrupting whatever conversation was about to occur between them.
"It's in the cooler!" Steve said as he began putting up the tent.
"No it's not!"
"What are you talking about? I put it in the cooler!"
"Well it's not in the cooler!"
"What do you mean it's not in the cooler?"
"Guys-" Lucas said, interrupting them. Mike found his eyes and he knew immediately what he was about to suggest. "If we don't have any water, then we should find a water source."
Mike gestured to the area they just came from.
"No, fresh water. We can't drink the salt water unless we purify it."
"Alright, shitheads, here's the plan." Steve said, his previous experience as a sports team captain coming through. "I'm gonna start a fire and purify some salt water but I need you guys to find fresh water. Radio me if something comes up, ok?"
Dustin handed him his radio begrudgingly at the mention. "Alright,"
Mike gave a sharp nod to Steve before following the others through the forest, feeling eyes piercing through the back of his head.
The world became painted in a fiery orange as the sun continued to set, the feeling intensifying more and more the further they went through. Mike was careful in walking through the brush, afraid of tripping on a exposed root as if he was being chased by whatever was causing this dread.
Suddenly the sound of rushing water filled his ears, almost making him jump. "Someone's spooked." Dustin said but there was no sarcastic edge to it at all.
"Y-yeah." Mike chuckled, "Do you guys here that?"
Lucas leaned forward and suddenly his eyes widened. He followed the sound until they found a rock formation with a waterfall in it, "Bingo-"
"Wow Wheeler, good catch." Max said.
"Really?"
"Yeah. I thought you'd ruined your ears from listening to that emo music all the time."
Mike sucked in an irritated breath, "How many times do I have to tell you? Linkin Park is Nu-Metal. MCR would be more emo than Linkin Park-"
"They sound pretty similar to me." Max said, the life coming back to their interactions.
"'Course you wouldn't get it." Mike shook his head, "You like top 40 songs,"
"Oh like there isn't a reason they're popular,"
"I'm just saying-"
"Just admit it, you're an emo on top of being a pretentious nerd."
"Ok one, there's nothing wrong with being emo-"
"Guys!" Lucas interrupting the fake argument now was standing over the near the rocks with the canteen in his hand.
He took a swig of it and offered it to one of them. Dustin was the first one to try the water, looking surprised at the taste. Mike couldn't tell if it was a good surprise or a bad one as he offered him the canteen. He took it carefully, bracing himself for what was essentially swamp water, but said taste didn't invade his taste bubs.
There was a faint earth taste to it, but it didn't taste like there was any sort of plant life or dirt in it. He could feel the chill liquid flow through him and the cold spread through his body, his skin feeling tingly as it met the sun's heat seeping through his skin from the sunburn he'd gotten. When he stopped, the heat disappeared and so did the faint sting he didn't realize he felt.
He offered it to Max, slightly confused as to what it could mean. Max took a quick swig and looked just as confused as he felt.
"So uh," Dustin began, breaking the silence quickly filling with tension, "What was that?"
"I don't know…" Lucas said, the light fading quickly from the sky. He took a couple steps across the rock, "Does anyone else feel-"
He cut himself off with a terrorized scream as he disappeared from sight. "Lucas?!" Everyone screamed in unison, running towards the place he'd once been standing.
A giant hole now in its place instead of the solid rock of before. Mike couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu as he peered down into the deep pit. A memory kicked at his temple but didn't materialize despite its insistence too. Because of the darkness, they could barely see how deep it went, let alone where Lucas was.
"Lucas?!" Mike screamed, terror more intense than was probably warranted beginning to seize him.
A faint pained groan drifted out of the hole. Mike acted before he thought about it, sliding into the hole as well. The rock and gravel cutting at his arms and legs but overall he was fine as he got to the bottom of it. Almost running into Lucas as he slide down. A electric feeling of dread pulsing through the air.
"Hey! Are you-?" Mike began.
"Yeah- Well…my ankle, I think, is sprained."
"Shit," He released a breath before digging through his pockets, finding a pocket flashlight and shining it at his ankle. It was definitely bruised for sure and looked painful. "Can you walk on it?"
"I-I don't know. I did all the tests for a fracture but… Something's wrong." Lucas looked at him, a quiet question lingering in it.
"I know what you mean." He said in quiet acknowledgement. Feeling both relieved that he wasn't crazy and terrified about what it could mean.
Scraping noises flooded his senses and Max hit into him at full force, knocking the flash light out of his hand as she nearly kicked his head in the tussle. "AH!" Max exclaimed.
"MAX!" Mike hissed.
"What?"
"You weren't supposed to come down!"
"You did!"
"You were supposed to stay up there and throw down a rope!"
"With what rope? Am I supposed to be a mind reader?!"
"You alright down there?" Dustin called down.
"DON'T COME DOWN." The three exclaimed at the same time.
"Well then what do you want me to do? It looks too steep to climb!" Dustin said, "And I don't have a rope,"
Mike's eyes were drawn to the discarded flashlight, the glow revealing a whole new section of the cave. "There's a whole other section over here," He said in disbelief.
"Maybe there's a way out that way?" Max sounded deeply uncertain.
Lucas between Max and Mike, "We can try. Worst case scenario we come back."
Mike let out an uneasy breath, "Alright then."
"Dustin!" Max shouted, "We're gonna try to find a way out!"
"Do you want me to tell Steve?"
"Yeah!"
"Ok," Dustin gave two thumbs up before disappearing somewhere unseen.
Mike got up first, grabbing the flash light and trying to gauge how far this went. The light didn't land on anything hard, just shone into the seemingly endless dark.
"Mike, help me out here," Max gritted out as she wrapped Lucas' arm around his shoulders and helped him walk. He quickly scrambled to their side, grabbing him to support half of his weight.
"Here we go," He muttered under his breath.
He pointed the flashlight into the dark as they began traversing the dark expanse. Nothing but the sound of heavy, pained breathing could be heard for what felt like miles as the darkness swallowed them whole.
Mike lost count of how long they were traveling for. It could've been a minute or an hour, all he knew is that he was starting to get tired. Suddenly he regretted not taking Lucas up on his offer to go to the gym with him. His stupid twig arms feeling like they were gonna snap if they didn't find the end to this now.
"Did you hear that?" Lucas asked.
Mike tried to slow his breath to be able to hear. It took a couple breaths but he finally heard what he was talking about.
Water. A way out, possibly.
"I hear it!" Mike said louder than he was intending, the sound echoing off the cave walls.
"Wow, way to let something dangerous know we're here." Max quipped through gritted teeth.
"Guys…"
"Well excuse me for being relieved-"
"Guys!" Lucas exclaimed. "Come on can you please not fight? It's not helping anything!"
"Sorry," They said in unison.
A dim, cool light reflected across the cave walls and suddenly the tight corridor opened into a wide open space with a pool of water in the center.
"That's gotta be the way out." Lucas commented.
Mike nodded, taking the initiative to investigate. He took Lucas' arm off his shoulder and began taking off his sandals.
"What are you doing?" Max asked as she sat her and Lucas down on the ledge of the pool.
Mike bit his lip as he took off his over-shirt in case this was a dead end, biting back a sarcastic comment. "I'm gonna see where this water system leads us. Could be our only way out."
"But-" Max began but her protest was already drowned out by the sound of water rushing in his ears.
It was dark as shit but Mike followed the cave siphon until it led him to the open ocean, taking note of how wide the cave was.
Mike thought he imagined it, but it thought he heard the swish of something swimming by. He strained his eyes against the salt water, already prepared for how fucked his eyes were gonna be after this was over. He didn't see any sharks or any kind of big fish but he had the strangest feeling he was being watched all the same.
He quickly turned back to the others before he could be eaten or whatever the fuck was out there. The way back was a little more tiring considering everything but he made it in less than seven seconds. He took a gulp of air as he resurfaced on the other side.
"There you are," Lucas sighed in relief.
"It's only seven seconds out. Then the surface is only a couple feet up, we can make it."
Max sighed and crossed her arms. "What's wrong, Max?" Lucas asked carefully. She muttered something neither of them could hear. "What?"
"I can't swim!" She practically shouted.
We're fucked Mike thought to himself, we're so fucked…
Something felt very wrong as Will and Jane surfaced in the moon pool. He spared a quick glance to the sky, the moon wasn't visible at the top of the volcano thankfully so they weren't in any danger yet. Will fidgeted with his fins as they lingered in the moon pool, waiting for something to happen before they had to leave.
"Alright, I think there's nobody coming." Will said quietly.
"Definitely."
"I hear it!" A nasally voice called out, proving them wrong. Will's heart dropped as he realized the quiet thrashing was land people.
"Wow, way to let something dangerous know we're here." Someone piped up. Will looked to Jane who looked just as scared.
"Guys…"
"Well excuse me for being relieved-"
"Guys!"
The twins dove below the water as three land people shuffled into the moon pool. They glided through the water, hiding behind a cluster of rocks. It took seven seconds for one the dark haired land boy to emerge from the pool, his eyes scanning the surrounding area before falling on Will's. He tried not to think about it too hard as the dark haired boy turned and went back into the pool.
Jane swam after them, activating camouflage to be able to not be seen. Will swam after her, trying to bring her back before the moon rose. They resurfaced underneath the moon pool's rocky entrance, probably the only thing keeping them from seeing the full moon when it rose over the pool.
"What are you doing?" He whispered while the dark haired boy was arguing with the red haired girl over not knowing how to swim or something.
"We gotta do something!" She whisper-yelled.
"Well what do you suggest?"
The dark haired boys kept trying to get the land girl into the pool, the light of the moon slowly beginning to ricochet into the pool.
"Jane-!"
Jane tried to warm up the water under the red head as she begrudgingly got into the pool, causing her to camp out on the shallow ledge.
"God damn it," She muttered.
"Nope. I'm not moving," The red head announced.
"Max come on! It's literally a straight shot then we're out." The dark haired one Will didn't remember seeing before said.
"Sorry Lucas, not happening," The girl, Max apparently, said.
"Well what else do you suggest? There's no other way out!" The dark haired boy said.
"Mike give her a break…" Lucas hissed.
"Well what do you want me to do? Wanna trek all the way back to the fucking entrance?! With your sprained ankle?"
"Alright, I get it, I get it." Max huffed, "Just- give me a minute."
Max grabbed Lucas' hand and slid into the pool, her head dipping below the water before resurfacing a moment later. The moon finally rose over the pool and Will adverted his eyes, grabbing his sister's arm and pulling her away before they fell under the moon spell.
They swam together until they made it to their hiding spot.
"They got in the pool," He gasped out, not able to get enough air as they resurfaced.
"It's going to be ok- we don't even know what happens to people that go in."
"But they got in the pool- that can't be good. It's the heart of the island!"
"I know." Jane's eyes dropped, searching for an answer. "We'll try to find them tomorrow. See if there's any reason they tell us to keep land people out of the moon pool"
"You're right. You're right. For all we know, nothing could happen."
"Exactly. It's gonna be fine."
Will desperately wanted to believe that. But his gut was screaming that this was the beginning of a disaster of epic proportions.
Mike had never seen anything like that pool of water in his entire life. It was already strange how it glowed as they entered that cave but something even stranger happened as the moon appeared in the top of the volcano opening. As the silver light hit the water it bubbled like it was boiling but there was no actual change in the temperature. Bubbles floated up towards the opening and swirled around the three of them like they were casting a spell.
He tried not to think about it as they escaped the system for good, immediately being found by Dustin and Steve on the boat.
The rest of the night went by in a blurry mess of still images and half remembered moments. His mind reliving the moment in the pool over and over again, every moment being painted in vivid detail as he tried to wrap his mind around it.
Lucas and Max seemed just as shaken about it, his injury causing the group to head home instead of continuing camping. But sleeping in his own bed didn't help Mike get any sort of sleep, only getting a couple hours of restless sleep before giving up entirely.
Mike had once been told by his mother that baths were very helpful in calming the nerves, so in an act of desperation he turned the tab to let the water rush into the bath tub. Once it was filled, Mike settled in to let the heat calm him. And for a second it actually worked, the warmth seeped into his skin and grounded him in the moment.
He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath.
The moment was quickly ruined as a tingling went through his body, growing more and more until it enveloped his entire body.
His eyes snapped open as his entire body was turned into water before changing into something he'd only read in fantasy books. Where his legs had once been, now stood a long blue scaly tail that dangled over the edge of the tub.
"What the fuck?" He whispered to himself. "WHAT THE FUCK?!
He stared at the tail in disbelief before relying on dream logic, blinking again and again thinking it'd go away and he'd have legs again if he did. But the tail never disappeared.
So he had a tail now... As if things couldn't get any worse.