*I ALWAYS THOUGHT SHERLOCK WAS TOO GOOD FOR HIM! He was always like 'sHeRlOcK I HaVe FeElIngS', I mean, who can relate?*

*Mkay buckle up kids the title is somewhat related to the chapter*

*listens to Be More Chill because I'm obsessed it's fine it's okay it's not a problem*

     They strike.

     Things that feel like thick, leathery straps bind my arms to my sides, my ankles together and my mouth shut. 

     Ohhhhh, that's what the light was.

    The bright green light.

     The exact shade of green that I saw when I turned human, when we here brought here, etc. 

     Stupid Oceana.

     I'm tired of being bound, having to struggle, having to fight. I'm tired of switching between human and mermaid. I just want a happy life, no attacks, no conflict, I just want to be with Lexi, no strings attached. I want to cuddle until we fall asleep. I want to walk with her hand in mine, along the beach, just the two of us. I want to have gingerbread mochas. I want to watch Thomas Sanders videos.

     The straps pull us down. Down, down down, until we hit the ocean floor with force. And then a feeling starts bubbling up inside of me. Or feelings, I should say.

     Anger. Confusion. Fear. 

     Why is this magic force after us? What did I do to be a target? What did Lexi do? I want to live. I'm not gonna let anything get in my way. Maybe I could...use that to fight against it.

     I channel the anger, the aggravation, and everything else I can think of. I burst through the straps, shredding them into pieces. The greenish material floats through the water, sinking to the ground and shriveling. I free Lexi. I feel exhilarated; my heart's beating really fast. She smiles and seems to be in shock, but then her grin grows wider as she sees me. "You saved us!" she says, swimming closer to me to hug me. I giggle and hold her close, but then her arms suddenly get heavier around my neck. I hear her cry out in pain and she sinks to the ocean floor. "Lexi!" I gasp. Where the green things were, Lexi's skin is so red it looks burnt. They look like rug burns but worse, almost bleeding. She's wincing and just barely able to move. Her tail melts into a pair of legs, and my first thought immediately is put into words.  "We need to get you to land, Lexi." I gently but quickly hook her arm around my neck and start to swim up to the surface. My tail is still here, for some reason. 

     Adrenaline propels me to the surface and I lay her on the sand, examining her face and injuries. She coughs weakly. "Lexi...Lexi, can you hear me?" I ask desperately. I grab one of her hands. "Oceana..." she rasps weakly. That whole time we were swimming up to the surface...she couldn't breathe. She'd been losing blood that whole time. Tears start running down my face as her skin grows pale. The sand is stained with red and her breaths are labored. "Lexi..." I gently cup her face in my hands. "Don't leave me..." She breathes out a shaky breath. "Don't forget about me, Oceana..." she says weakly. Tears fall endlessly as the words choke in my throat. "I could never forget about you," I try to say. Her eyes close, expression blank. Her hand goes limp in mine. I collapse onto her, a mess of shaking and crying.

She's gone.

Lexi's gone.