WATER SPLASH : MERMAID ADVENTURE

QUEEN MARABELLA ISLAND(11)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Monica quickened her pace, pulling even with the others as they gathered at the entrance. The cave yawned before them, its breath damp and cold, the sound of dripping water echoing faintly from somewhere deep inside.

“Of course it has to look like something out of a horror movie,” Annalise muttered under her breath.

Beyoncé tilted her phone, the dim glow from the screen cutting a small path of light into the darkness. “This is golden. Haunted cave, missing girl, mystery island, my followers are going to eat this up.”

“Seriously?” Elina shot her a sharp look. “You’re recording at a time like this?”

“Relax,” Beyoncé whispered, panning the camera around them. “If something happens, at least there will be proof.”

Miranda hugged her arms to her chest. “That’s not exactly comforting.”

The girls stepped inside, their footsteps crunching over damp stone. Each drop of water echoed louder than it should, as though the cave was listening, waiting. The deeper they moved, the more the light behind them faded until the world was swallowed by shadows.

Then, something shifted.

Monica stopped short. “Do you see that?” she whispered.

At first, it looked like nothing more than rough stone. But with the thin beams of their phone flashlights sweeping over the walls, the surface seemed to catch the light not in a flat reflection, but like glass hidden beneath stone. Faint shimmers danced across the walls, pulsing softly as though alive.

“Oh my god…” Beyoncé lowered her phone, momentarily forgetting to record. “It’s glowing.”

The shimmer spread like ripples on water, tracing delicate lines and forming patterns that seemed to rearrange with every flicker of light. Ancient symbols emerged, their edges smooth, fluid, as if carved by hands that understood the flow of the tides themselves.

Miranda’s breath caught. “This… this is impossible.”

Then a figure shifted in the distance.

At the far end of the chamber, half hidden in the strange glow, stood Clara. Her back was to them, shoulders rigid, head tilted toward the shimmering wall.

“There she is!” Monica gasped, relief flooding her voice. She hurried forward, reaching out. “Clara! We’ve been looking everywhere for you. Why did you leave us like that?”

Clara turned slowly, her face pale, her eyes unfocused. For a heartbeat, she didn’t speak. Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, she said, “I… don’t know.”

The shimmering walls pulsed brighter, as though answering her words.

The longer they lingered, the more the outside world felt distant, like a memory slipping away. Their footsteps echoed softly against the damp stone, their phone lights casting long beams that danced across the glowing symbols through the vast chamber in awe of the shimmering walls.

They were still marveling at the glowing symbols etched into the walls when Monica’s voice broke the silence.

“Guys… look at this pool.”

They turned.

At the very center of the chamber lay a shallow pool, its surface smooth and glassy, reflecting the faint shimmer of the walls.

______________

The clock ticked closer to 7:15p.m., its steady tick a cruel reminder of each passing minute. The aroma of dinner filled the kitchen, but no one was hungry. Mrs. White paced back and forth, her phone clutched tightly in her hand, her thumb hovering over the call button.

“She’s not answering. I’ve called at least ten times, voicemail every time,” she said, her voice sharp with panic.

Across the room, Mr. White leaned back in his chair, his tone steady but unconvincing. “She’s fine. Probably with Monica or Annalise. You know Clara, if she’s with her friends, she forgets the time.”

Mrs. White stopped, turning to him with wide, incredulous eyes. “Forget the time? She promised she’d be home before dark. She knows how I feel about this day.” Her voice cracked, and she pressed the phone tighter to her chest.

Mr. White sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I didn’t think much of it because the Festival’s today. I assumed the girls all went together, maybe to Annalise’s house to celebrate. The streets are noisy, the kids are distracted…”

“Distracted? She’s unreachable, Eryx. Unreachable!” Her frustration bled into fear. “If she were at Annalise’s or Monica’s, one of them would’ve called me back by now.”

Before he could answer, the shrill ring of her phone cut through the heavy air. Mrs. White snatched it up, hope and dread colliding in her chest. The screen flashed a name.

Mrs. Leclair.

Her stomach dropped.

She answered quickly, her voice unsteady.

_________________

The night deepened, shadows thickening in the cave as time slipped by unnoticed. But when the first silver edge of the full moon crested into view through the cave’s narrow opening, striking the pool at its center.

The water stirred as if waking from a long sleep, ripples spreading outward without a touch. Then the glow began, soft at first, then brighter, until the pool shimmered like molten silver.

Beyoncé lifted her phone instinctively, the soft red glow of her camera light blinking on. “This is insane…” she whispered, her voice hushed, reverent, as if afraid to break whatever was happening.

The pool continued to glow not just with reflected moonlight, but with its own light, radiant and pulsing like a heartbeat. The symbols on the walls flared in response, threads of blue weaving and shifting like streams of water caught in invisible currents.

A chill swept the chamber, but none of them shivered. Instead, heat bloomed inside their veins, a humming energy that rose with every breath.

Clara felt it first, a pressure behind her eyes, tugging at her mind, urging her forward. She tried to speak, to warn the others, but her lips parted soundlessly. Her feet moved of their own accord, stepping closer to the pool. Around her, the same thing was happening.

Miranda’s hand held hers, then Monica’s, then Elina’s. One by one, their fingers intertwined until the six of them formed a perfect circle at the water’s edge. No one spoke. No one questioned.

The glow in their eyes appeared slowly, faint at first, like candlelight flickering within, then brighter, sharp and unearthly. Their pupils reflected the silver moon, their gazes unfocused yet fixed, as if something far away had captured them.

As if guided by an unseen force, the six girls stepped into the pool in unison. The water hissed faintly at their touch, glowing brighter with each ripple. They lowered themselves into a perfect circle, still clasping hands, their faces tilted upward.

Above them, the full moon broke free of the horizon, flooding the cave with silvery light. The symbols on the walls flared, their glow now alive and pulsing in rhythm with the pool. The water churned not violently, but with a steady, boiling intensity, as though it recognized their presence.

None of the girls broke the circle. Their faces tilted upward in unison, eyes glowing like beacons as they stared directly at the moon. The trance held them fast, bound together in a silence deeper than words.

The symbols on the walls pulsed in rhythm, flaring brighter each time the pool churned. The air vibrated, low and steady, like the hum of some ancient awakening energy.

The pool churned and hissed beneath them, yet it held them afloat, as if the water itself refused to let them sink.

The pool roared softly, its light growing stronger as if feeding on them, until the cave no longer looked like stone, but like the heart of a living, breathing world.

And then,

The full moon moved.

The shaft of light that had struck the pool so perfectly slipped away, breaking the connection, leaving only the dim glow of their phones flickering against wet stone.

The pool’s boiling light dimmed, calming back into ordinary ripples. The glowing patterns on the walls flickered once, then froze, fading into faint etchings.

The trance shattered.

The girls gasped as if surfacing from deep water. Their eyes, once burning silver, returned to normal. They stumbled, breaking their circle, splashing wildly as the realization of what they had done crashed over them.

“What…what just happened?” Elina whispered, clutching her chest. Her voice shook, barely audible over her ragged breathing.

Clara screamed, thrashing violently as though invisible hands were dragging her under. Her nails scraped against the slick rock, her breath shallow, panicked. “Get me out! Please…get me out!”

Monica splashed toward her, heart hammering. She caught Clara by the arm and hauled her up onto the ledge. Clara collapsed against her, trembling uncontrollably, coughing as if she had nearly drowned. Her eyes darted back to the water, wild with terror.

The others weren’t screaming, but their silence was almost worse. Miranda clung to the edge, shivering, staring at her dripping hands like she didn’t recognize them. Beyoncé leaned back against the wall, chest heaving. Elina and Annalise pulled themselves out together, their movements sluggish, drained, as though the pool had stolen the strength from their bones.

They all sat there, soaked and shivering, listening to the cavern drip and echo around them. Their breaths fogged in the cool air. No one spoke, as if even words demanded too much strength.

Finally, Miranda’s voice broke through, hoarse and disbelieving. “We were… outside the pool. I remember. And now...” Her gaze flicked to the water, unsettled. “How did we get in?”

Elina hugged her knees, rocking slightly, her lips pale. Annalise squeezed water from her hair, her face tight with unease.

The question hung in the damp air. None of them had an answer.

The girls sat slumped in silence, their drenched clothes clinging to their skin, the cavern air cold against their shivering bodies. Clara’s muffled sobs were the only sound until a sharp vibration cut through the stillness.

____________

Annalise fumbled at her pocket with trembling fingers, nearly dropping her phone as the screen lit up. Mom.

Her chest tightened. She swiped clumsily to answer.

“Annalise?” Her mother’s voice burst through, sharp with panic. “Where have you been? I’ve been calling and calling…why didn’t you answer?”

Annalise pressed the phone closer, her voice barely a whisper. “M-mom… we’re… on Queen Marabella Island.” Her breath hitched, each word dragging out of her like it weighed a ton.

On the other end came silence, then a sharp inhale. When Mrs. Leclair spoke again, her voice cracked. “Oh God… Annalise, are the others with you? Clara, Monica, are you all safe?”

Annalise’s gaze flicked weakly toward her friends slumped nearby. “Y-yeah… they’re here. We’re… just tired. Weak.”

A muffled sob slipped through the line. Then her mother’s tone grew firm, though the tremor never left. “Stay together, all of you. Just hold on, help is already on the way. Stay safe, do you understand me?”

Annalise closed her eyes, nodding faintly even though her mother couldn’t see. “O-okay…”

Annalise pressed the phone to her ear, eyes stinging, her body trembling harder at the promise of rescue.

“Please… hurry,” Annalise whispered before the line crackled and went dead.

Annalise lowered the phone slowly, her pale fingers trembling as she met the others’ exhausted gazes. “Help is on the way,” she whispered, her voice barely steady.

A ripple of relief passed through the group, but it was faint, fragile. Clara clutched her arms tightly around herself, shivering.

Then Annalise’s eyes hardened. “Something’s wrong with this place,” she murmured, her voice low but firm. “We need to leave. Now.”

No one argued.

Slowly, unsteadily, the girls pushed themselves upright. Their limbs felt heavy, drained of all strength, yet the thought of lingering in the cavern made their skin crawl. One by one, they began the weak climb back toward the narrow entrance, the fading glow of their phone lights guiding them out of the shimmering chamber.

The sound of dripping water echoed behind them, but the moment they stepped closer to the outside, even that seemed to vanish, as if the cave itself were swallowing its secrets whole.

The night air hit their faces, cool and damp. Weak but determined, the girls leaned on one another as they left the mouth of the cave, their silhouettes swallowed by the darkness of the island.