December 29th | Two days until NYE

The drive down to Clareville Beach was filled with tension, but this time, it wasn't a repercussion of my actions. Benji was driving at his natural slow pace, though Leah fidgeted in the passenger seat enough that he pressed the pedal to just touch the speed limit. Her fidgeting made him nervous but it was understandable given what news I'd told them.

Filling them in on Winnie's disappearance, I asked Benji if the three of us could use Christmas Day to help the mermaids find her. Benji was nodding before I'd finished saying anything and Leah was already reciting a list of things we would need when we went on the water.

Leah was quoting The Fast & The Furious with the situation being a 'ride or die' moment, but I didn't want to die. I didn't want Winnie to die either. But she helped me get safely to the mermaid's cave and away from Kay's clutches, even if it meant she was captured instead, and I now owed her.

The mermaids had tried to convince me to not go, but I told them I was going anyway. Meeting them on Benji's dinghy out at sea, helping them search comfortably in daylight and away from other people, it was the least I could do. The three of us on the surface could look on horizon, on land, and see more than they would.

So, to sea we sailed.

Benji had expertly lied to his grandmother about them taking a trip down to the shops for the day, perusing the Boxing Day sales for the bargains before the end of the year, but we had to be back by sunset.

Maureen had looked me dead in the eye and said sternly, that there would be no exceptions. So, we were planning on coming back three hours before sunset just to be on the safe side.

The last thing I wanted to do was upset Benji's grandmother, who had been nothing but a kind, wonderful woman the entire time I'd known her. Leah also agreed – we were all in the same boat.

I didn't realise my leg was bouncing until Leah reached behind the seat and rested her hand on my knee. I stilled, squeezing her hand back.

"You're making me nervous, Syl'," Leah tried to lighten the mood with a joke but we were all too worried to laugh.

"I know," I said. "I'm sorry. I didn't realise, I was lost in my thoughts I guess."

"Thinking of anything interesting?" Leah twisted in her seat with a glint in her dark eyes. "Anything...fun?"

"Ooh!" Benji slapped the steering wheel. "Please, if it's fun, we need all the details immediately. Don't leave anything out. We're starved!"

I laughed. "Well," I quickly tried to come up with a story. "There's this guy..."

Benji chuckled. "That's how all my troubles start."

Leah rolled her eyes at us both. "Continue, please, and spare the sappiness and get to the good parts."

"Well he's as big as–"

Benji shrieked and all of us burst into laughter before I could finish the end of my sentence, and the tension between us was momentarily broken as Benji carefully parked at Clareville Beach.

Leah sighed heavily. "Let's go, shall we?"

I nodded, grabbing my bag as we all exited Taylor. As Benji opened the boot for Leah to grab her stuff, which was larger than normal thanks to all the things she added to help with the search, I watched the water where the boats were gently bobbing with the tide.

I had a bad, bad feeling deep in the pit of my stomach.

When Leah had grabbed her multitude of things, we headed out towards Christmas Day. Somehow, when the three of us were seated within the dinghy, I wasn't feeling as safe and confident as the last time I was aboard. Looking at my friends, how they hesitantly looked between the boat and the water, I knew I wasn't the only one.

"Not just me, then?" I joked with a forced smile.

Leah shook her head. "Nah, me too."

"Same." Benji shivered as he adjusted the motor and began taking us out the bay into the open sea. "I dunno, it feels, like...I don't like the vibe this boat is giving off, you know?"

"Well, the last time we were on it..."

"We quickly were thrown out of it." Leah finished my sentence after I paused.

Benji snorted. "Most people are thrown off by normal things like, the tide, but us? A fucking mermaid."

"Lucky us," I said sarcastically.

He turned the motor as we crested the first wave out in the ocean, pointing Christmas Day towards the deeper sea. "Yeah, luck, that's why we're out here searching for a kidnapped mermaid from her psychopathic monster of a sister who has eyes like the void."

Leah nudged him with her hand. "You alright mate?"

"Most people spend their holidays, you know, watching Elf or Love Actually. We're looking for an evil mermaid." Benji frowned. "A mer...void. Voidmaid? MerVoid?"

"Kay."

Benji quickly shook his head at me. "Nah, nah, I'm not saying her name, she's like Voldemort, you know?"

Leah rolled her eyes. "So we're searching for the Harry Potter of mermaids?"

I looked between them. "I'm so confused."

"Yeah, I've now confused myself." Benji smiled. "Does that mean I'm Ron?"

"You're more of a Neville, I think." Leah looked him up and down and then nodded. "Yeah, definitely Neville."

Benji dramatically clutched his chest. "That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me!"

"What are you then, Leah?" I asked, and Benji quickly clapped his hands. "Uh oh."

"Leah, you're so, like, Bellatrix."

I clicked my fingers. "Because of her shoes?"

"Yes! And her overall demeanour of, like, malevolence and dread."

Leah clutched her chest dramatically. "That's the nicest thing you've ever said about me!"

A little laugh escaped me as Benji bowed his head in response. I had a moment to think before they both turned to me. "Am I Hermione?"

"Yes," they said in unison, and Leah smiled at me. "You're so Hermione."

I shrugged. "I'm fine with that, I love Hermione."

Benji cocked his head to the side as we crested another wave, turning off the motor when we reached a point where we couldn't see anyone on the distant Whale Beach. "You're also a sprinkling of Luna, but mostly Hermione."

I looked around at the calm waters, the only ripple being the horizon, encompassing the cliffs and rise of land beyond sea. "Are we here?"

"We can't go further than this," Benji gripped the edge of the boat tightly. "The boat's not built for the bigger waves."

Leah frowned, twisting around to see the ocean all around us. "It's eerily calm though."

"Yeah, I mean, technically if it remains calm I guess we could explore further out, but if the weather turns quickly then we're capsizing before you could blink." Benji rubbed his arms. "When are we meeting them?"

"Soon," I peered over the boat but I couldn't see anything past the deep, dark water. "They would know we're here."

"How exactly?" Leah raised an eyebrow.

"Their abilities." I pointed at her arched brow. "Stop that, I hate I can't do that."

"What, this?" Benji said, raising one of his and then switching.

"I hate you both."

Leah stuck out her tongue. I reached overboard, cupping my hand with water, and flung it at her face. I laughed when she shrieked, attempting to dodge the spray, and Benji snorted at Leah's drenched expression. "I hate you too," she said coldly yet without malice.

Benji opened his mouth to join in but a large spray of water behind him made us all jump out of our skin, a squeak bursting from someone, and we all hopped to the other end of the boat. When we turned back, seeing Daniel's bright expression and silent laughter, we all relaxed.

"For fuck's sake!" Leah exclaimed, holding her hands to her head. "I don't think I have it in me to be scared again."

"Was that squeak you?" Benji said. "I thought it was me!"

"Look, I won't confirm that, but I also can't confidently deny it." Leah admitted. Benji's expression lit up to the brink of laughter. "If you tell anyone this I will have your soul!"

"F-Fine!" Benji snorted again, looking anywhere but Leah.

I nudged him playfully, my heartrate finally calming down to the point I could move my limbs. "I'll tell everyone, it's okay," I whispered.

Daniel tapped his hand on the side of the dinghy, getting our attention again. His hazel eyes were glimmering with amusement and I cocked my head to the side. "Daniel, did you deliberately scare us?"

He beamed.

"You're an ass," Leah immediately said.

He bowed his head, extending an arm out dramatically in an extravagant display of grace only truly seen after an action of chaos.

I felt my mouth tug up at the corners. "How's everyone? Any sign of Winnie?"

Daniel's joyful smile fell. He shook his head slowly and ducked under the water when we opened our mouths to talk.

Benji twisted around but the seas remained unbroken. "Where'd he go?"

"Up your ass," Leah muttered under her breath. I elbowed her lightly as we waited patiently for him to resurface.

Instead, Daniel surfaced with company. Henry and Trent also emerged on either side of him, in front of Christmas Day. Benji jumped lightly at the break in the water, Leah snickering under her breath at his startled expression and I quickly nudged her again.

"Hey," I said, locking eyes with Henry first. "How's it going?"

Trent wasn't smiling. "We haven't found anything yet."

Henry looked at all of us before resting his eyes on me. "Thanks for coming."

"I owe Winnie," I said. "I'll help any way I can."

Leah held up her hand. "We're only here to make sure Sylvia doesn't do anything reckless."

Benji smiled. "I'm here because I like my boat."

I rolled my eyes. "They care too, I promise."

Trent had a shadow of a smile on his face at our banter, joking only to relieve the horrible situation we were in – gallows humour, laughter being the best medicine, whatever saying people used. Sometimes to survive the bad days, you had to embrace the light wherever possible, even if it was a shadow of a laugh.

"We've gone through most of the coastline," Trent waved to the distant beach. "Jason and Caspar are looking around our cave, but we're meeting back at the alcove in a couple of minutes to theorise where Winnie could be."

Leah leaned forward. "What alcove?"

Henry nodded to me. "Where else? Our alcove."

I smiled. "Siren Bay."

Benji moved back to the motor, grasping the handle. "Okay, shall...shall we follow you? Or you follow us? How's this gonna work?"

Daniel grinned before mock-yawning, and ducking beneath the surface. I could glimpse the fiery orange of his tail for a second before he shot out of the water and landed in the dinghy. Leah and I leaned away as Daniel twisted around; his shorter tail meant he could actually fit on the boat in comparison to the others. He curled himself up, resting against the edge next to Leah, and stretched both his arms out wide.

Trent raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's one way to travel." Daniel shrugged in response and Trent just shook his head. "You lazy bastard."

Henry laughed, his tail flashing a vibrant jade. "He's happy."

"Of course he is, he doesn't have to swim a few miles, instead freaking sunbathing!" Trent splashed him with his hand, Daniel silently laughing at them both.

"I'm telling Jas' and Caspar." Harry smiled watching Daniel's expression falter. "They're gonna be pissed you're sunbathing."

Daniel flipped them off, shifting to be more comfortable, and turned to Leah, who was watching him carefully, and lifted his chin with a little smirk.

"Okay!" Henry laughed, swimming further away from the boat. "He's definitely happy, we'll swim ahead and see you there?" He looked to see me nod, smiling softly, before he and Trent ducked under the waves.

When I turned to look at the newest member of Christmas Day's crew, Daniel was wiggling his eyebrows at me. "Stop that," I said, "I can't move my eyebrows."

Leah smiled. "Yeah she really hates it."

"Can't stand it when people do that." Benji started up the motor.

Daniel cocked his head, looking between Leah and Benji, before all three of them started wiggling their eyebrows.

"Have I told you I hate all of you?" I said, getting comfortable and gripping the edge of the boat as Benji started to steer towards Siren Bay.

"You love us and our flexible eyebrows," Benji smirked. The breeze started to rapidly tangle our hair as we headed towards Whale Beach and our ever-eventful Siren Bay. It seemed that no matter what we wanted with our precious, private alcove, whether a moments respite from a hard life, adventures seemed to seep into the sand.

Even when we tried to avoid it, we always found ourselves coming back.

Leah nudged Daniel. "You alright?"

Daniel nodded, flicking his copper-brown hair off his forehead, smiling to the wind. He seemed relaxed, relieved, to be above the surface for once, embracing the speed of the boat and the air in his face, his hair drying for probably the first time in a year.

His tail was a deep olive brown with no trace of the amber light before. Winnie had told us all their stories, the sacrifices they had to make, and the desperation to be seen beyond the surface. Daniel had sacrificed his powerful voice and was given an ability of speed – it was probably a relief for him to sit back and relax and have someone else take the wheel.

I moved my hand off the side of the boat and let my fingers trail in the water. Looking at the ocean, the deep expansive dark with a vast array of creatures, I glimpsed the flare of vibrant jade beneath the boat. I smiled automatically as Henry followed in our wake, looking ahead to see the crisp starlight of Trent's tail lighting the way for him.

"They're underneath us," I shouted over the sound of the wind howling around us. Leah peered over but couldn't see from her side. Daniel grinned and nudged Benji, pointing at the motor.

"Faster?" Benji clarified and Daniel nodded eagerly. "Absolutely!"

He twisted his grip and the motor whirled to life, bouncing the dinghy over the waves, and we all smiled at the playfulness, at the mermaids beneath us trying to catch us, their flares of vibrant colours dancing under the surface.

For a brief moment, I could imagine it – all of us, together, laughing on the beach and playfully messing about like we'd been friends for years, and for years more.

But one of us was missing, and though Siren Bay was only in the distance, the light was quickly dying from the sky and the playful life within our moment of laughter was fading. I wanted that moment, that beautiful, far off moment. I wanted my friends together, I wanted Henry's family back together, I wanted my secrets to die off in a bright flare of endings like a sunset.

First things first though, as I glimpsed Siren Bay in the distance – we had a mermaid to save. 

I'm back! I'm so sorry for the long delay between uploads, I wanted to distant my uploads from thieving sites like NovelHD, and I had a few changes in my life since you last heard from me as well - I have a new job, lockdown was lifted in Sydney, Christmas, I drunk too much on Boxing Day, and to top it off, I bought myself a lego set and I spent 3 days doing nothing but building it. Nerdy? Yes. Satisfying? Absolutely. 

I hope you're well, happy, healthy, and that you are doing alright in your pocket of the world. I hope you like the newest chapter of Siren Bay too! A little more focused on the bonding between Sylvia, Leah, and Benji, with the mermaids. But, there are only two more chapters to go before SB finishes up, and it's onto the next story! 

Let me know what you think, as always. 
With love, 

Libby x