Rowan felt as if 500lbs of ice squished his entire body. He couldn't move. His limbs fused at the joints as if planks of wood replaced his arms and legs. He felt like he had been buried alive.

"He's not waking back up," he heard a familiar voice. It sounded like his mother, but softer.

"His veins are turning normal again, that's a good sign, but he's still freezing," another familiar voice said. Rowan knew that was his father.

Rowan felt something warm brush his cheek. Maybe it was the back of someone's hand. "He just needs sleep."

"Mandy, our son had been lying in the sea for six hours with Thalassic Mortal poison all over his body. He needs more than just sleep. Get out. Let me deal with this," Michael said, and Rowan heard footsteps leaving.

Rowan then felt something warm on his hand. Maybe his dad was holding it. He tried to concentrate on moving or even opening his eyes, but his eyelids were just too heavy. Trying to wake up was only dragging him deeper into his mind.

Then, like Rowan's consciousness was made of paint that had been left to run down a canvas, he flowed down and down and down until he dripped from the bottom and fell into a pit of darkness.

* * * * *

All Rowan could see were purple eyes shining against the moonlight. All he could remember was being dragged around the rocks and chucked onto the sand. The sand had felt as hard as concrete. Getting dropped onto it from the rocks had knocked him out. Perhaps a few hours had gone by, and the next time he had woken up, something was awkwardly shoving him further up the sand because of the tide that washed over him. Then eventually, Rowan remembered getting rolled over and staring up at his father's face. The relief must have embedded into him because soon after that, he closed his eyes and wasn't able to open them again.

Rowan didn't know how long he had slept, and he didn't know where he was when he woke up, but the sun was shining through the open window. Rowan's throat felt sore, and his limbs still felt heavy. He made a low noise when he was able to move his fingers. They tingled from pins in needles as if his arms lay in an awkward position for hours.

When his eyes scraped open, the corners felt crusty, and his eyes stung from the moment the air touched them. Rowan shut them with a frown. He lifted his hand from his side, and his knuckles fell onto his face.

"Rowan!" a voice gasped, and some took his hand and pulled it back to his side.

Rowan forced his eyes open and once again found himself staring up into his father's face. This time, his dad didn't look like he was about to break down.

"Hey," Michael said softly, staring deeply into his son's eyes, trying to make sure Rowan could see him. "Finally, you're awake."

Rowan's gaze moved around the room. He was in his bedroom and lying on his bed. "H-How long?" he croaked, and Michael understood.

"You've been asleep for three days. I was starting to worry." Michael sat on the side of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

There was an odd shine in Michael's eyes. Rowan thought he looked like he was recovering from seeing a ghost. More likely, Michael was still recovering from almost losing his son forever. "Weird," Rowan whispered. "I feel like I have bad flu or something."

"That's what severe sleep deprivation, hypothermia, and Thalassic Mortal poison will do to you," Michael said, gently patting the back of Rowan's hand. "You were barely alive when we found you. How on earth did you make it to the shore?"

"That's what I would like to know too," Mandy said, and Rowan noticed her standing in the doorway. "You had the poison in you for about six hours. It should have killed you in two." She walked over to the bed and stood at the bottom. Her voice was still soft, and her eyes dimmed from guilt. "What happened after you were pulled off the boat?"

"I was-" Rowan tried to clear his throat.

"Maybe you should rest more first," Michael said, frowning at Mandy.

"It's fine," Rowan rasped and tried to sit up. When he struggled, his dad helped. His limbs wobbled when he put weight on them. "I think if you stayed for a minute longer, you would have seen me resurface," Rowan said, and Mandy looked down at her hands.

"I wouldn't have left. Wez freaked out and thought you were gone like Bo." Mandy knew she had no excuses. If she weren't paralysed, her son would not have been dragged over the boat, but if he were, she would never have left him. Mandy liked to think that Rowan knew that.

"I don't k-know why the Thalassic Mortal didn't drown me, but after I resurfaced," Rowan paused to clear his throat again. The inside of his neck felt coated with sand. "After I resurfaced, he swam to Gill shore and towards the rocks. He put me on the rocks for a while until I asked him to help me. I asked if he would take me to the sand. I didn't think he would when he dragged me back into the water. I think he swam around the rocks and threw me onto the sand when the tide was low. I don't remember anything after that, other than waking up when you found me."

"He must have wanted to watch the poison kill you," Mandy said, gripping the wooden footboard of Rowan's bed. "Tell me what the creature looks like because I'm going to kill him."

"Mum," Rowan wheezed and coughed when he tried to sit up more. "We were trying to kill them in their own home. It's not like they can just come onto land to hunt us. They were protecting themselves."

Mandy stared in horror. "You're defending those... those damned creatures after one left you to die?" Michael hissed at her to lower her voice, but Mandy scoffed. "Rowan, you're fortunate to still be alive, do you understand that?"

"Yes, but-"

"And you understand why I hate them so much, don't you?"

"yes, I do, but-"

"But what Rowan?" Mandy yelled, and Michael shot to his feet to yell back, but their son beat him to it.

"But this is your fault!" Rowan shouted, straining his voice and hurting his chest. "You forced me to go with you. Me almost dying isn't that creature's fault. If I had died, which I really thought I was going to, then that would have been on your hands, nobody else's. I can't believe you're being like this when I had to lie there on those rocks and think about how I was never going to see you again. I thought I was going to get killed, mum!" The tears formed in Rowan's eyes. The trauma came back to him like he was there, struggling to hold his breath, thinking about how he was leaving the world before his time was up.

Instead of forcing Mandy out of the room, Michael sat back on the bed and wrapped his arms around his son. Rowan was already blinking back his tears, but he accepted his father's embrace. He needed comfort.

Mandy remained at the foot of Rowan's bed, gripping the wood until her knuckles turned white. She felt a pulse in every finger. "You tell me what that creature looks like," she said lowly, and pointed at her son, "and I'll kill him."

Rowan's eyes followed her as she stomped out of the room and slammed the door shut.

"That's your mother's way of showing how much she loves you," Michael said, rubbing circles on his son's back. "She was distraught you know. When Wez came back to tell me what had happened, I saw your mother cry for the first time in years."

"Are you trying to make me feel bad for blaming her?" Rowan muttered and lifted his head. The tears had gone, but his hands trembled.

"No. All of this is your mum's fault, but it's mine too. I told you to go on the hunt to please your mother. I shouldn't have done that. You wanted a normal life, and I should've pushed for you to have it. I should've at least gone on the hunt with you," Michael said with a heavy sigh. "We almost lost you, for good. There's a reason why I don't hunt anymore. I should have seen this coming."

They sat together for a while, listening to the birds and feeling the light breeze from the open window until Rowan asked what day it was. It was already Sunday.

"I've missed two days of uni, and I've only just started," Rowan sighed and slowly moved his legs, so they fell over the side of the bed.

"What are you doing?" Michael asked with arms out, ready to assist if his son wasn't yet strong enough to stand on his own.

"I'm going to the toilet, and then I'm getting some food, then I'm going to sit on the beach."

"To the beach? Son-"

"The beach is my favourite place. I love the sea, but right now, I feel scared of it, and I don't want that," Rowan moved his dad's hands away. He was weak, but he could stand and move on his own. "Also, I've slept for three days. I need some fresh air."

"Alright," Michael said, looking his son up and down with his stern fatherly eyes. "I'll come with you-"

"No," Rowan sputtered. He didn't know why, but he just wanted to be alone. "I mean, just give me half an hour to sit by myself."

"Sure," Michael smiled, but his eyes never altered his concern. "I'll make you some food. I'll cook you something warm."

When Rowan was left to stand in his room alone, he placed a hand on his chest. Something was drawing him to the ocean. Rowan had a craving for the sea air. He wanted to be close to the noise of the waves crashing on the shore, and he wanted to dip his toes in to feel the cold. At the same time, Rowan felt extremely anxious about everything related to the murky water. He didn't even want to see it, but he had a strong desire to touch it too.

Rowan assumed it was his love for the sea pulling him back to restore the peace. He never, not even once, thought that it could be something else, something supernatural.