But what isn’t close at all is the huge stream of water that bursts against Ross, hard enough that they’re pushed back about a yard. It’s the fire hydrant. The Trojan truck has destroyed it, water spewing from its top and sides.

The slow motion stops and everything goes into hyperspeed.

Ross is soaked in seconds.

And just like that—in a quick flash of orange—their fin comes out. It flicks up and down uselessly, a fish who’s been dumped on the ground trying to thrash back to water.

People swarm, blocking Ross from view. There are so many voices that it’s impossible to tell what they’re saying, but they have got to be freaking out that a truck nearly crushed them and now they’re staring at a real live merperson. Meanwhile, I’m just standing here like a complete fucking moron. So much for being able to fix this. What will happen to Ross now that their transformation was witnessed by thousands of people?

“Sean!” Ross’s voice is panicked. “Help!”

The crowd surges. They’re piling up around the truck, shouting and pointing, while sirens blare louder and louder with each passing second. The last thing we need is for the cops to find Ross like this. What would they do to them? Would they take them to jail? It’s not like it’s against the law to be a merperson. But maybe this is where Area 51 comes in, and they’ll lock Ross away in some desert warehouse to be experimented on.

I can’t let that happen. I am a lifeguard and I will guard Ross’s life!

I push through the crowd, fighting upstream as they continue to rush toward the scene of the crash. Ross has been flipped around by all the commotion so their back is to me, but I’m finally getting close to them. If I don’t grab on, I’ll be carried away by the motion of the tourists. We cannot get separated. I latch onto Ross by wrapping my arms around them from behind.

“No! Get off me!” they yell, and thrash around even more violently, their fin slapping against the grimy cement.

“Ross! Ross! It’s me!” Keeping one hand on their shoulder, I squeeze through the gathering bodies and kneel down in front of Ross, face-to-face. “It’s going to be—Gah!” A bright light shines directly at me, and I instinctively let go of Ross to cover my eyes. “What is that?”