The Road Trip pt.2

“That does sound pretty rad.” Jinx nods. “What do you do about money?”

“Taro and I camp a lot.” I say, floating on my back in the water and staring up at the sky. “We have a tent or we can just sleep in the back of the truck. Taro’s a good hunter too, must be a farm thing. He can always find fruits and berries and small game to make for dinner. We do what we can to save ourselves money but we do take odd jobs for cash sometimes.”

“You’re a lucky girl.” Jinx smiles, a strange tone to her voice. “You’re bf sounds like an all-around great guy. Useful too.”

“Taro’s not technically my boyfriend.” I mutter, finding myself blushing.

“Oh?” Jinx chimes, sounding rather interested.

“It’s complicated..” I say, kicking my feet. It had gotten really quiet out on the lake, Jinx had been too interested in grilling me to notice that Taro was holding Fionliss and Croc under the water.

“So he’s available then?” Jinx purrs, her lips twisting into a wicked grin. Her teeth were pointed now, like a piranhas. I stand up in the water and face her, narrowing my eyes. Small shiny green scales were beginning to pop up all over her skin in patches and 2 green webbed fins slowly poke out from her messy hair.

“Sorry fishy.” I say with a smile, my canine teeth extending on both the top and bottom. “He may not be mine but there’s no way I’m letting him become your fish food.”  

“Mistress!!” Croc gasps, breaking free of Taro’s grip and bobbing up to the surface. “It’s a trap!”

“Taro, get them out of the water! Now!” I command, my pupils narrowing into slits. My fingernails and toenails grow by about 4 inches and 2 tall, slender triangular ears pop up out of my multicolored pink hair. A thick furred tail grows out just above my ass where my tailbone is located. A thick glove of white fur envelopes my hands and spikes off just past my wrists. The same white fur covers my feet, ankles and spikes off around my knees. Taro begins dragging the brainwashed and protesting boys towards the shore.

“Fool.” Jinx cackles, her facial features changing. Her skin turns a sickly grey and her cheeks split open to reveal more razor sharp teeth. She lifts her fish like tail and smacks it noisily on the surface of the water. “You won’t take my slaves but l think I’ll have that big handsome boyfriend of yours.”
“You don’t listen very well.” I frown, leaping towards her, swiping my dagger-like nails. She leans back, evading my slash. She dips under the water and I lose sight of her. I glance over seeing that Taro had gotten the boys out of the water though he was having a bit of trouble. Croc’s skin had turned a dark green, his jaws had elongated and he was swinging them recklessly at my companion. Fionliss was struggling and squirming, 9 fox tails whipping out. While I am distracted with keeping tabs on Taro the cold blooded fish-woman grabs my ankles and drags me underwater.
I hold my breath as she drags me farther out into the lake, her grip unbreakable. Once we were far enough out she lets me go and darts for the shore. I kick my feet, reaching out for her but her tail hits me square in the face. I gasp from the shot of pain, water filling my mouth and lungs. I start to sink down, unable to move right away. A skeletal face appears next to me and I thrash, regaining my composure. A rotted corpse sways slightly as the water is disturbed, its two dark eye sockets staring into watery nothingness. I swim as fast as I can for the surface, desperate for air. I surface with a loud gasp, coughing up water and sucking in air. I could see Jinx’s figure rocketing for the shore.
The water was her domain and this fight was going to be difficult if we continued to play on her home turf. We need to save Croc and Fionliss, they’re under her siren hypnosis. I take off swimming , my wolf powers giving me a slight speed boost. My hands hit the water so hard it stings but I focus and push myself to swim even faster. Taro won’t be able to hold those two back much longer now that their true forms were exposed and if they found their way back into the water there would be no hope.. At last I approach the shore of the beach, looking around but not seeing Jinx.
“I-I’m coming Taro..” I pant, able to walk with the water only up to my hips. He was holding Croc’s mouth shut with both of his hands while subduing Fionliss between his legs.

“Venite ad me indocti pusillanimes.
Mecum doleat.
Et thesauros tuos numquam fuerunt instar trophaei praelatam.”

A sweet voice sings in Latin. I turn back to see Jinx planted on the floating platoon, her tail swaying in the water.
“No!” I shout, whipping around to find that Taro was no long holding Croc and Fionliss back. The 3 were standing on the beach, eyes blank and expressionless.
“They would have lived a few more weeks had you not interfered.” Jinx states with a Paraná grin. “They served me well but I’ve tired of them. I would have loved to play with your beefcake for a few weeks but I think drowning him here and now will hurt you more.”
“You cold blooded vampire fish!” I growl, rushing up the beach, my feet splashing noisily. I stand in front of Taro, placing my hands on his face. “Taro? Taro wake up! Don’t listen to the sea hag! Taro please!” I give his face a hard slap but he doesn’t snap out of the trance.

“Nunc age, age, quod superest mare.
Ambulate, ambulare, et non supplantabuntur gressus ejus.”

Jinx sings, leaning back comfortably on the floating platform as if it were her thrown. Upon her command the 3 boys begin to slowly walk forward. Jinx continues to sing her siren song, controlling my Taro and the other 2 boys.
“Stop, Taro you need to wake up!” I beg, tugging on his arm. The sound of Jinx’s voice was like nails on a chalkboard and I was starting to get light headed. I couldn’t think strait. I tug on Taro’s arm but he easily shoves me aside. I stand there, the water washing over my calves, watching the 3 slowly making their way out into the water. The water laps over their knees, their belly buttons, soon the water was up to their shoulders. Taro of course was taller than the other two and the water was only up to his chest. I wobble, holding my arms out. “Taro.. St-stop.. Please.. I-I need you..”
A folksy sound pierces through the air. Lucky, who had been sitting under the shady tree was now standing quite a few yards down the beach strumming his banjo. Jinx stops her siren caterwauling and eyes the blondie icily.
“Why aren’t you affected by my siren’s song?” She questions, gritting her teeth. My head clears once she stops singing. I could see that Croc and Fionliss’s heads had disappeared under the water and Taro was still slowly striding farther out. With my head clear and Lucky distracting Jinx I run out past the boys and dip under the water, holding my breath. I swim fast, my muscles aching from the pressure I was putting on them.
“Well one fine day my buddies and me,
Met up with a cold blooded creature from the sea.
She used her voice to ensure their demise,
But she’s the only one that’ll pay the price.”
Lucky sings, continuing to strum his banjo. His fingers pluck each string beautifully and he bobs and sways to his own song.
“I can’t concentrate with you making all that racket!” Jinx shouts, furiously slapping her tail on the surface of the water.
“Now you know how I felt.” I growl, having surfaced behind the floating platform and leaping onto it. Jinx looks over her shoulder, eyes widening as I reach out and pin her throat to the ground. “Pretty annoying when someone uses a song to mess with your head huh?” She furiously flops around on the slippery platform but I hold her throat firmly in my hand, digging my fingernails into her tough scaly skin. I glance up, not seeing Taro, Croc or Fionliss. The suffocating mermaid swings her tail, slamming it on the platform so hard it begins to rock. I shake my head at her and squeeze as tight as I possibly could, my fingertips penetrating her flesh. Her eyes roll back slowly and she ceases to struggle.
Her tail makes a wet, sizzling sound and the scales melt into a sloshy green ooze, revealing human legs. Her face returns to a more human-like shape and the headfins disappear into her hair. She was officially dead and her body reverted to a human guise to hide the existence of her kind. Most monsters bodies did that upon their passing, it was a survival tactic.
I make a face and I take my hands from her neck, grey bloodlike ooze dripping off my nails. I stagger over to the edge of the platform, searching the water for Taro and the others. The lake was quiet, the only thing I could hear was the water lapping against the platform. My heart thundered as I desperately scanned my eyes over the water. A black mass begins to surface near the platform and I back up, eyes widening.
“What the fuck?!” A voice exclaims. “How in the name of Lord Fucknut did I get out in the middle of a lake?!” I peak over the edge to see Croc holding onto the platform, looking around with confusion. Fionliss surfaces next, gasping for air.
“Wh-what’s going on?” He questions, fox ears pinned back.  
“You’re both ok!” I smile, hopping into the water.
“Who the fuck are you?” Croc questions with a sneer. I ignore the grouchy crocodilian, scanning the water for Taro. I wasn’t seeing anything around the area where the other 2 had just surfaced.
“Taro?” I call out, spinning in a circle looking for any sign of the massive bull. “Taro?!”
“Here.” A weak voice mutters. I turn, my arms swaying through the water to keep myself afloat to see that Taro had surfaced underneath the floating platform. I swim over to him and jump into his arms. We both bob under the water as we embrace, only letting go when we needed air.
“I was so scared I was going to lose you!” I admit, holding onto the platform to keep my head above the water.
“I’m sorry to have worried you.” Taro apologizes, looking genuinely apologetic.
“Don’t apologize for something like that!!” I laugh, the water rocking the 2 of us.
“I’m glad the 2 of you are fucking alright.” Croc growls, swimming closer to us. He was still in his crocodilian form and his nostrils were the only thing visible until he spoke again. “But would you be so fucking kind as to enlighten me on what the bloody fuck is going on?!”
The 4 of us swim back to shore and meet up with Lucky.
“Lucky had approached Taro and I a few nights ago.” I explain, shaking my entire body, water flying off the fur on my tail and my long hair. “You two had fallen under that sea hag’s siren hypnosis and he didn’t know how to save you, so he hired us.”
“What the fuck are you two?” Croc barks, narrowing his eyes. “Some kind of monster hunters?”
“Yeah.” Taro nods simply.
“We aren’t professional or anything.” I say, toweling off my wet tail. “We started taking easy cases for the cash and found out that we were pretty good at it.”
“You’re both hypocrites!” Croc shouts. “Monsters killing monsters is a fucking disgrace!”
“We only kill monster that are harming humans or other monsters.” I say, frowning at the angry crocodile’s comment. “We’re here to help. We saved you. If not for Taro and I you would have been fish food. Fionliss too.”
“It’s true, partner.” Lucky interjects, backing me up. “I’m so grateful for yer help Mink! You too Taro! I got my friends back safe and sound!”
“Yeah thank you!” Fionliss chimes in, smiling widely. “I start to smell really bad when my fur gets wet.. I’m glad I don’t have to go back in the water!!” Croc snorts and turns away sneering. “Don’t pay attention to him.” Fionliss laughs, waving his hand dismissively. “He’s thankful for your help even if he won’t admit it.” We all chuckle at that and Croc furiously storms off.
“Lucky, I’ve been meaning to ask.” I start, glancing over at him and his banjo. “Why were you unaffected by Jinx’s siren song?”
“Well, I recon it’s because I’m a clone.” Lucky muses, scratching his head. He reaches into his shirt and pulls out a tall piece of Timothy, offering it to Taro how takes it happily. Lucky leans back in the lawn chair and nibbles on Timothy, staring up at the rustling leaves.
“Clone..?” I whisper, staring at him.
“The original Lucky passed away a few years back.” Fionliss informs in a hushed tone. “Our doctor friend made a perfect clone of Luck soon after his passing but he was never quite the same…”
“I see..” I mutter back, glancing over at the happy blond. It was weird to think that he wasn’t really Lucky, he wasn’t the original.
“Say, aren’t mermaids saltwater beasts?” Fionliss asks, changing the subject when the silence had become too unbearable for him.
“Some are.” I say, laying my head on Taro’s lap and just stretching out. “You know how there are penguins that live in cold temperature and others that live in tropical temperatures? Mermaids are kind of like that, they adapt to whatever source of water they were raised around. I saw a skeleton when she had dragged me under, must have been the original owner of this house. Who knows how long she’d been holed up in this location.” I cringe as the fur on my hands and feet slowly slides back into my skin. My wolf ears flatten against my head and vanish into my hair, my tail retracts back into my skin. It was a fairly uncomfortable process but it did not compare to the pain of a transformation on a full moon.