(Rob's POV)

We get to the end of the vents. I hear water crash against the side of the building, and I almost throw myself forward. It's like my body thinks everything is ok if I'm in the water. Weird. I hear Mitch shuffle around to say something, but a thud tells me that he face planted into the ground. Jerome immediately scrambles over and checks his breathing. "Is Mitch ok?", Lachlan asks from behind me. "He's ok. I think he passed out", Jerome says while pulling Mitch up into a sitting position. That's when I hear Mitch puke in his sleep.

We all gag and try to get away from him in the tight space. Mitch's throw up actually got on Jerome, and I'm pretty sure he's gaging the most. I hear him grab the grate and pull the bars apart. He then sticks his head out the opening and pukes out the side of it. I can hear a faint splash when it hits the water below.

Once we've all regained control of ourselves, I hear Jerome slide Mitch onto his back. "I can carry him until we get somewhere safe. He's not that heavy (A/N HE'S MY BROTHER~ oh, we're not randomly bursting into song? My bad. Go look up the song 'He's not Heavy, He's my Brother) ," he says.

I feel Preston shift on my shoulder, his warm presence reminding me of why I haven't throw myself into the water that seems to whisper my name. "Are we going to have to jump into the water or.......", Vikk trails off. "N-No! I can't! W-Water w-will kill me!", Preston panics. I can feel him shaking on my shoulder. "It's ok! We can find a another way. Like a bridge, or something", Lachlan says hopefully. It might take hours to find a way across. And the doctors will see that we're gone by then. Another splash at the side of the building makes my mind tug me towards the water.

"Preston, do you trust me?", I ask wile gently taking him off my shoulder. "Yeah. I trust you", Preston says without missing a beat. I mentally cross my fingers and hope my plan works. I quickly count to three before stuffing Preston into my mouth. He squeaks and squirms as everyone else freaks out, thinking I just ate Preston. I put up my hands and spit him into my lap. "What the heck was that for? You stupid cactus", Preston screeches at me. "I wanted to see if the inside of my mouth got scales when you touch it. And it works!", I smile while feeling the scales disappear. "And why did you need know that?", Vikk asks.

I smirk evilly to that. "Oh no, NOPE! NO WAY! I'm not doing that again!", Preston protests once he understands what I'm trying to do. "Ohhhhhhh. Preston can ride in your mouth and be protected from the water!", Jerome explains. "I'm not doing it! It's disgusting!", Preston yells. "Well.... how else are we going to get across? It can't be that bad!", Lachlan reasons.

Preston tries to keep arguing for another few minutes, but looses to the majority vote. He groans and reluctantly leans on my leg so that I know where he is. I smirk before picking him up and once gain putting him in my mouth. "This sucks", I hear him mutter.

"So.... do we just jump now?", Vikk asks. "Seems like the only thing to do", Jerome mumbles while looking down. I can hear the sound of water hitting the side of the building, and my limbs seem to make the decision for me. I've crawled forward and thrown myself out of the vents before I can even register what's happening. I almost open up my mouth to scream, but remember Preston at the last second.

I slam into the water head-first. The coolness instantly surrounds me. I can feel the webbing between my hands and feet grow in, along with my webbed spine. My tail also reappears. I won't know until later when my friends tell me, but the spots on my neck glow a dim yellow. My hoodie is magically gone, leaving me in just the waterproof fabric of my pants. I can breath easier underwater then I can on land. The water sends massive vibration waves around me. They tell me that someone else jumped into the water above me. They're paddling on the surface. Three more soon follow it.

Each vibration sends ripples through the water. For the first time since waking up, I actually feel safe. If it wasn't for my new friends, I could stay here forever. But I tear myself away from my thoughts and to are situation. I can feel water flowing past me, meaning that the moat is connected to a river. Unbeknownst to me, my glowing peaches of skin were flashing. Without even thinking about it, I was using coded message to say "Follow me". Of course none of them new that. I was just a blinking blur to them.

I swam a little deeper before staring o swim with the current. None of them were swimming very well, and I could feel Jerome's splashing become a little frantic as Mitch almost slides off his back. I quickly 'feel' around for anything to help. My glow flashed again when I quickly turn and swim away from the group. I can feel them starting to tread water when I speed away. But I come back slower with a floating log. I honestly think Vikk was about to try and strangle me for leaving. They all grab onto it and I guide the log into the current before swimming underneath it.

Being in the water is almost like seeing. My mind had been in a state of panic since meeting Preston, but now it all just seems to melt away. A strangled feeling that I've had since waking up is a lot less prominent with the coolness incasing me. I wish I could stay underwater forever, but it's also good to have reason to leave.