Five days, it’s been five days since my brother went missing.  My anxiety and worry grow with every passing day. I vividly remember the last time I saw him.  Artie had shorts and a tank top on with his hair in a small ponytail. He said he was going for a run on the beach.  On days when he didn't have track, he always went for a run.  He would be back in an hour drenched in sweat like always, so I didn’t even say bye I just waved not even looking up from my phone.  But then an hour turned into two, that's fine sometimes, he just loses track of time, track lasts an hour and a half after all.  Then two turns into three, but it is only when it reaches three and a half do my parents finally allow me to call the police.  They say if he hasn’t come back in the morning to call them. I woke up with the sun that day and before I knew it I was dialing 911. That’s when the days started to blur together.  I remember getting homework dropped off at my house and I vaguely remember doing it.  The only thing I truly remember is sitting on the couch staring at the door waiting for my brother maybe a little beat up by alive and home. It was like being stuck in a nightmare where I was helplessly waiting for something to happen, but I had no control over it.  I was in a state of limbo, always on the edge of my seat, with no indication of when it would end.  I waited four days on that couch barely eating or drinking, with no sign of my brother.  Artie would kill me if he was here, but that’s the problem he isn’t here. So I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands. I leave the house after breakfast and head over to my brother’s girlfriend’s house. Serena, I never really liked her even though she was with my brother she was always flirting with other people, even me!  Artie said it was just her nature, but I still felt like she should be focused on my brother if they were going to date.  But her house was on the beach and four eyes are better than two. Besides she cares about my brother, I think. I knock on the door to her house, and almost immediately hear footsteps coming towards the door. Serena opened the door wearing a white blouse tucked into black sailor pants. She was also wearing a pearl choker, now that I think about it I’ve never seen her without it. I don’t blame her it’s beautiful, I wouldn’t be surprised if the pearl was real. The choker wasn't alone in its beauty however because the woman wearing it was beautiful with eyes blue as the ocean, and hair so blonde it looks almost white.

 “Hey Olive”. 

“Serena I've told you my name’s Olivia” 

“Ugh, you're no fun Olive."

I'm not here to have fun," I replied sternly. "I'm here to find my brother." Instead of walking down the front porch stairs like a normal person Serena opts to jump down. She moves with a certain kind of grace and agility, unaffected by the laws of gravity, much like a swimmer in the ocean. She lands with a soft thud and continues walking on, a smile of satisfaction on her face from her display of skill.

"Since you live down here where was the last place you saw him?"

"Running down the shore towards the grotto over there" Serena replied bluntly. She finished her sentence with a definitive point, emphasizing that the grotto was the last place she had seen him.

"The grotto, he must have gotten hurt or gotten stuck!" I screamed.

"Well it's too dangerous to go in there without gear and when I called the police about it they brushed me off."

The situation was similar to a ship captain calling for help during a storm, only to be told there was no one to assist them. All resources were either unavailable or unwilling to risk danger to help.

"I don't care I have to save my brother."

"Alright, but I'm coming with you, it'll be safer with both of us. We both know that if we try to save him together, we have a better chance of succeeding. We can watch each other's backs, and if something happens to one of us, the other still has a chance to make it out alive."

"That's surprisingly mature of you Serana."

Rather than reply, Searna broke off into a sprint for the grotto, while I followed closely behind. I was taken aback by the fact she didn't turn back to give me a cheeky retort. Even more astounding to me was that she never looked back; her focus was solely on reaching the grotto first. When I arrived at the grotto, she was gone. I called her name only to hear the waves as if they were a tsunami. That's when it occurred to me the water should be still, it's a gorgeous day out but yet the water continued, seeming to get higher with every wave. I frantically called her name again, even my brother's in desperation, and the waves responded with laughter. That's when the smell hit me previously covered by the smell of seawater, the stench of rotting flesh flooded my senses. Only when I saw a silhouette of a half-human, half-fish in the rising water did I realize what was happening. There was a siren. I had heard the stories before, teptresses leading men to their deaths but I had never believed in it. Right now it doesn't matter if I believed in it or not it was here, and it’s planning to kill me just like it did my brother. The thing sprang out of the water and all I saw was its mouth of razor-sharp teeth, barely noticing the ocean-blue eyes and white hair.