Off The Deep End

Part 4

Scales coming out was one thing. They feel like a very annoying pimple. You can feel as they rise and push out. A feeling of relief when they do, but going in was a whole different story. Like thousands of tiny thin blades digging into your skin. And the burning. The burning feeling was the worst. After they go in, the pain doesn't fade. It turns into a never ending sensation of someone poking you with a metal prod over and over again in the same place. But everywhere. My airway - or water way - closed too. I can't breathe either water or air during the change back. The whole experience is just torture.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again.

Being a mermaid SUCKS.

I scream in pain, and pull myself to the door. I reach up and twist the lock shut. "Ava!" I hear Dean pounding on the door. My back makes contact with the cold tile floor, then suddenly I can't hear Dean pounding the door. For a moment, I feel nothing. Nothing except vibrating in my chest. I'm screaming. I can tell. I glance at my tail. The top half was fading from it's aqua blue to tan. My fin starts to tear. That definitely caused a scream. I've learned that if I think of myself out of my body, the pain doesn't reach my subconscious. Or maybe it does? I don't know, I'm not a shrink.

My tail was almost completely split in two, and my feet, which were now visible, were a blue hue. "Ava!" Sam. Huh. I guess I can hear again. I rasp for air. Almost there. I can do this.

After a few more minutes of agony, I can finally breathe. I lay on the floor trying to catch my breath. "Ava?" I lick my lips. "I'm-" My throat felt like a desert. "I'm okay. I just need a minute." I sit up and stare at my feet. My lovely blessed feet. I sigh.

C'mon Ava, only people with feet fetishes stare at their toes this long.

I grab the counter and slowly pull myself to my feet. Still steadying myself with the counter, I grab the bathrobe from where it hung on the door. I carefully wrap it around my body, and tie it closed. Walking was always a struggle after the change. I unlocked the door and bit my lip. Okay, here we go.

I take a step, only to fall to the floor. "Ow." I pout for a second. "Sam, Dean," I hit the door a couple times. "Some help in here, please?" The door opens, and nearly misses my head. I look up at Dean. "Help. I've fallen and can't get up." Dean chuckles, but I can see the concern in his eyes. He picks me up. "Where to sea princess?" I roll my eyes. "To the bed my mighty steed." Dean walks out of the bathroom and places me on the bed. He steps back and sits on the opposite bed right next to Sam. We stare at each other for a moment. "Ava, care to explain?" I sigh. "It started when I was six."

"This has been going on for 10 years?" I glare at Dean. "Sorry."

I roll my eyes and continue. "I was at Bobby's. You guys and Dad had a case. Me and Bobby were looking at lore when I started to struggle to breath." I trace the thin scar lines where my gills appear. "Then the scales came." I pull up the bathrobe to reveal the faint scars on my legs. A scar for each scale. Sam traces one of the scars on my foot.

"Do they hurt?" I chew my bottom look and avert my eyes from the stare down I was receiving from Dean.

"Yeah, they do." I stare at the dirty wallpaper. Traces of wall rot were visible and I cringed. "Imagine thousands of tiny blades cutting you with no relief."

I feel my brother's eyes on me and I decide to continue after a moment of silence.

With a heavy sigh I say, "It would happen every month on the full moon. We figured it had some tie to the tides. It just made sense. Everything was normal, but a few months ago things changed."

I touch my toes to the ground. A sting of needles runs through my feet. Okay, no walking yet then.

"What happened?" I look at Sam and smile lightly. That's Sammy. The one who wants to know everything, while Dean would just stare on in disbelief.

Which he was doing now.

Typical.

"Well, every change would last from moonrise to sunrise, but 7 months ago the change lasted longer than normal."

"By how long?"

"An hour." I look into my brother's eyes. Dean points to the bathroom. "But you were in there for two days."

I nod. "It kept progressing every month. Me and Bobby were looking for anything on what I was and why things were changing, but all we came up with was Australian TV shows for kids. Some lore said I was a siren, but that clearly made no sense." I smirk. "Last I checked I don't lure men to their deaths and look ugly in a mirror." Dean makes an amused face.

"'Sept in the morning." I hit his knee with a face of disbelief. So rude. It's not my fault I get bed-head.

The laughter dies out and we just sit there, doing nothing but staring at the floor.

"Ava, you said it gets longer every change." I nod. "How much longer did this time last?" I purse my lips and look at the bedside clock. No dice. It was beyond broken. Last time I checked there was no such thing as 78:53 o'clock.

"Depends. What time is it?" Dean opens his mouth to tell me but spots the broken clock too. He picks it up and raises an eyebrow at it.

Sam pulls up his sleeve and checks his watch. I chuckle. "Since when do you wear a watch." Sam gives me his bitch face. I laugh. "Nerd."

"It's 2:57." I suck in a breath. No. It hasn't exceeded this long. It usually goes up by an hour, or even just 10 minutes, but this?

"Ava?" I stare at my legs.

"Two hours." I could hardly even hear myself speak.

"What?"

"Two damn hours. Almost 3." I start biting my nails. An annoying nervous trait I've always had. "So that's bad?" I look up at Dean, gobsmacked. "Yes, It's bad! Dean! I'm turning into a fish!"

"Technically you already are." I smack Dean's arm and nearly fall off the bed.

THIS IS WHAT I HAVE SO FAR... SHOULD I CONTINUE? I WILL BE POSTING A CHARACTER PROFILE FOR AVA SOON. THOSE THINGS TAKE FOREVER TO MAKE