The second night was the hardest because Rowan paced for most of it. Every time he sat down his eyes immediately shut. He felt extremely lethargic when the sun arrived over the horizon. A beautiful orange line above the sea blessed Rowan's sight, but he couldn't enjoy it. His body felt like he had fallen down the stairs; every limb ached.

Rowan's senses had mushed together to make one confusing mess. His brain wouldn't concentrate on anything for longer than ten minutes. Mandy assured Rowan that his body would adjust better with time, but Rowan always said that there was not going to be a next time.

"How long?" Rowan muttered. He didn't even have to find a mirror to know that he looked as tired as he felt. His bright green eyes were sitting above dark circles.

"You said you woke up at 7 am on Monday morning. It's now 5:30 am on Wednesday, so not long now," Mandy said, patting his back.

"How do you have enough strength to go on a hunt after not sleeping for two days?" Rowan asked. He felt so weak that holding his coffee mug was a two-handed job.

"Hunts are sometimes so extreme you forget that you haven't slept for ages. The danger of it forces you to stay alert. Your mind is always stronger than you think," Mandy said, aware that her son's hands trembled from the caffeine trying to keep him awake.

"When will you see the Thalassic Mortals?"

"Tonight, at around 9 pm. That's a perfect time to hunt."

Rowan finished his coffee and stretched his legs. He hoped he would reach a point in the day where he didn't feel like he was going to cry out of frustration. Waiting for the hunt was the most agonising wait of Rowan's life.

* * * * *

As the day crawled along, Rowan passed the 48-hour mark and he could see the supernatural world if he knew where to look. He wouldn't see the Thalassic Mortals unless he went searching for them himself. There was a pack of werewolves in their city, though they were incredibly hard for humans to find unless they shifted in front of a sleep deprived one, which was rare. Werewolves were one of the less problematic supernatural beings.

Rowan yawned and thought about how lucky he was to have Wednesdays off university. As a student, he had to use the day off to catch up on his work, but he was doubtful that students did that, and he could barely concentrate on his phone for longer than a few minutes at a time.

Rowan's eyes stung and his heart felt like it was beating harder and faster than usual. His neck often wanted to droop his head so that he could fall asleep. Rowan knew it wasn't healthy on his body, and he wondered how his mother had not yet suffered any serious health problems.

As the sun hovered low in the sky, Michael visited to see his son before his first mission. "Jesus, you look worse than your mother when she's had a nap," Michael said, staring at his son who sat grumpily at the kitchen table.

Mandy glared at Michael but said nothing. She was too busy packing weaponry.

"I'm not in the mood for jokes," Rowan grumbled. Sleep deprivation affected his mood exactly how he expected. His mood had been run over again and again until it was impossible for him to scrape it off the ground.

"I remember my first mission," Michael recalled and sat opposite Rowan at the table. "I threw up twice before my second night was even over."

"Weak," Mandy mumbled, and Rowan started to rub his temples, preparing his head for the argument.

"You don't know what weakness is," Michael muttered, and his ex-wife stopped what she was doing. "You're so bloody repressed. You don't feel a single emotion."

"And who's fault is that? If you didn't spend all your time telling me how I should act, then maybe I wouldn't hate you as much as I do," Mandy spat, pointing a spear at him.

"I only commented on that because you have a personality of a rock. You treat our son like he's one of your pupils. You were supposed to love him. Do you even-"

"Oh, shut up with your 'I don't know what love is' speech," Mandy groaned. "Look at him." She pointed at Rowan who watched them with little to no emotion. "He's preparing for a tough night. He doesn't need to listen to this."

Michael scoffed, shaking his head. "Now you care," he mumbled before the room went silent and Rowan was left to feel the tense atmosphere, once again.

"Can you both just... relax? You're giving me a headache," Rowan sighed.

Michael sat back at the table with a sympathetic smile. "Do you want some painkillers for that?"

"No, he doesn't," Mandy growled and started packing her bag more aggressively.

Michael watched his son sit up straight and yawn. He had never seen him so tired. Michael had no idea how his parents allowed him on a hunt. Seeing his son battling exhaustion wasn't pleasant. "Just think, when the sun rises again, you'll be able to sleep for as long as you want."

"I have uni at three tomorrow," Rowan said, resting his chin on his palm and scrunching his eyes shut as if to squeeze some of the stinging pain out of them.

Michael offered no options. If he recommended skipping a day, Rowan would not be pleased. "Well, see how you feel after lunchtime. You-"

"Rowan, let's go," Mandy barked, tugging her son to his feet when he started to close his eyes. "It's time." She pulled him through the house and Michael hurried after them. "Go to that group over there." Mandy pointed across the road at two men standing on the muddy path. She handed Rowan the duffel bag.

Before their son could go, Michael embraced him into a tight hug. He cherished how it felt to hold him, knowing that hunts were dangerous. Michael had lost a lot of friends that way. Despite Rowan being trained to be the best, Michael would still be up through the night worrying.

"Go on then," Michael said softly and let his son go. When Rowan left the porch and started to cross the road, Michael grabbed Mandy's wrist and jerked her closer. He leaned down, so he could whisper. "If you make it home tomorrow and he doesn't, I'll kill you." His voice was cold and full of truth.

Mandy looked up and yanked her wrist away. "He's my number one priority tonight," she said, which translated to 'I'd die before anything happens to him'. She watched Michael nod and turned in time to see her son shake hands with the other hunters. "We'll both see you in the morning."

When Mandy reached the team, Rowan waved goodbye to his dad, and they walked together down the sand dunes.

"Did you guys introduce yourselves?" Mandy asked, and the other hunters nodded.

"Bo and Wez, right?" Rowan said, and they nodded. Bo was a tall guy, taller than Rowan who already reached 6ft 2. Bo was skinny, and his head was too small for his body. He wore a dark green sun cap, and the rest of his clothes were black. Wez was shorter and stockier. He had a thick brown beard and red cheeks. He looked like Santa, but a Santa who would steal your toys, not give them.

Mandy handed her son a flashlight, and they set off along the sand. There was a small boat bobbing by the shore and Rowan was nervous as they neared the sea. He knew the Thalassic Mortals didn't swim in the shallow waters. They were most likely hiding in deeper parts of the ocean.

The shore was loud as they reached the wet part of the sand. The water had been calm up until tonight. The wind had picked up in the last hour, but Mandy wasn't worried about it.

"Get in!" she yelled over the sound of the waves.

Rowan was wearing tall wellington boots to stop the water drenching his feet. He was the first to climb up the small ladder attached to the side of the boat. The metal was cold against his skin. The lack of sleep sharpened his senses. Rowan felt much colder than he should.

As his mother, Bo, and Wez got in the boat too, Rowan was instructed to hold tight as they moved out of the shore. The roar of the engine was loud. The first wave hit the boat as it plunged forwards. Rowan was holding on tight as the small boat raised up as if it hit a speed bump before crashing back down. The same thing happened twice more until they reached the calmer part of the sea.

Rowan sat up and the wind whipped his blonde hair from his face. He looked around while the boat zoomed across the top of the ocean and around the cliffs. A window and a half-roof covered the front part of the boat. The waves had still sprayed Rowan, but it had certainly woken him up. His mother was right, the danger of a hunt forced him to stay alert.

"The sea is restless tonight," Bo said. He was the one steering, and Wez was the one controlling the large light at the front of the boat.

"Where are we going?" Rowan asked to anyone who would answer.

"To the Shroud Island," Wez said. "It's seventy metres from the white cliffs. Many boats have washed up there, and we know it's the Thalassic Mortals because the bodies that we found were plagued with their poison."

Rowan had swum out to that island with his dad when he was younger. The island was mostly made of rock, coated with seaweed. It was tiny, but also big enough to sink a boat if it went undetected.

After five minutes of travelling around the cliffs, the moon shone through the clouds and sparkled against the sea. The silver glow blanketed everything, and Rowan remembered just how large the ocean was. He felt tiny and weak, floating in a plastic pod above something so powerful.

The boat started to slow down as they neared the Shroud Island. The slimy seaweed on top glistened in the moonlight. Bo turned the engine off, letting the boat drift for another few metres. Everything went silent, and the wind stopped dead.

Rowan wasn't stupid enough to lean over the side of the boat to look into the water, but it tempted him with its mystery. The ocean had stilled, and the moon vanished behind the clouds.

Mandy pointed a torch into the sea. In her other hand, she held a long spear that rested on her shoulder. If she clicked the trigger, the long spear would shoot out, hopefully into the Thalassic Mortal's tail. Their blood was a deep purple that glowed if the moon's light touched it, so the blood was easily detectable once the creature had been impaled.

"Now, we wait," Mandy said quietly, staring into the black ocean below.