Makenna was the first person to wake that morning. She sat in her sleeping bag, stretched her hands over her head, and yawned. "I just had a wonderful dream," she told Raeven, who woke after her. "I dreamt I was swimming in the ocean with a bunch of sea turtles." She scratched her scalp and peered down at the finger she cut on the coral. Merlin had wrapped a bandage around it.
The sight of it slightly confused Makenna. "When did I wrap this?" she asked herself. "Well, whatever. The most important thing is that today is a brand new day! Yippee ki-yay!" She leaped to her feet and threw her hands into the air. "Today is the day Tracey, Ash, and I will drag those gnarly humans away from the island!" Makenna clapped and danced around Silvey. "Come on, Silvey! Wake up! Wake up! It's another beautiful day in the South Pacific! Oh, my bad! I meant Coutarine Island!"
Silvey woke and yawned. Groaning, she buried her face in the sand and tried to go back to sleep.
Makenna continued to dance. She kept clapping and soon announced, "All right, time to do some upper body twists!" She twisted her body to the left, but her back cracked. "Oh man! One is enough!" Makenna hurried to Tracey's sleeping bag and circled him. "Wakey, wakey, Tracey! You can't sleep all day! We have some humans to toy with!"
"Ugh," Tracey groaned. And he had just fallen asleep, too!
Makenna grabbed his arms and jerked him out of the sleeping bag.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Tracey shouted. "Makenna, stop! That's my bad arm!"
Makenna gasped and quickly dropped him when she realized her mistake.
Tracey landed on his face in the sand.
Makenna tossed her hands into the air and started to skip.
Tracey did not expect her to be that excited that morning. He lifted his sand-covered head and spat sand out of his mouth. Tracey ran his fingers through his hair to get more sand out and stood, brushing himself down.
Gina landed on his head, and Tracey rolled his eyes up to her.
"What is with Makenna today?" he asked. Gina started to squawk, and she hopped up and down on her friend's head, who asked, "What's wrong?"
Gina pointed her beak forward, and Tracey looked in the direction she pointed. He noticed that Makenna was skipping toward the hammock where Ash rested and gasped.
"Makenna!" Tracey yelled calmly after her. "Makenna, wait!" He hurried forward and snatched her arm, stopping her.
Merlin, who had stayed beside Ash during the rest of the night to watch him, woke and stood from his seat. His blue eyes landed on Makenna and Tracey.
Makenna struggled in Tracey's grip, but then she glanced into his face.
"No," he whispered at her.
"What's wrong?" asked Makenna.
Tracey didn't want to ruin her good mood, though, by telling her she hurt Ash, so he went with, "I'll tell you later. Right now, we need to make some breakfast and think about what we're going to do with the humans." He glanced at Merlin, who nodded at him.
As the sun continued to rise over the island, Tracey lit a fire and started breakfast.
Merlin and Makenna sat at a table, while Ash rested comfortably in his hammock in the shade. Makenna had finally calmed down, so she wasn't leaping up and down like she was earlier anymore.
Her eyes rolled over to Merlin's "extremely important parcel," and she asked him, "So, Merlin, what exactly is in the box? When are you going to open it?"
"This evening, after you and Tracey drag the humans away," Merlin answered.
"Tracey and I?" Makenna asked. "What about Ash? I thought he was coming with us."
Merlin took off his hat and nervously squeezed it. "I know how you feel, Makenna, but I think only you and Tracey are going to work together to drag the humans away. Ash is feeling a bit under the weather today."
"Under the weather?" nervously inquired Makenna. "What's wrong? Is he going to be okay?"
"Oh, he'll be fine," Merlin answered. "He just needs a day or two to recuperate. He had a little tumble last night." He and Makenna glanced at Tracey.
He moved toward the fire, but wasn't really paying attention because he moved so fast. He accidentally kicked the pot of oatmeal, and it tipped. The pot crashed into the sand, and oatmeal spilled out. Tracey's eyes widened.
"Tracey!" Makenna shouted, clutching her tummy.
Merlin lowered his head and rubbed his temples.
"I'm so sorry!" Tracey choked out. "I've been screwing up so much lately!"
Makenna furrowed her brows. She stood from the table and slammed her palms on it. Makenna stormed over to Tracey, who picked up the empty pot, and yanked it from his hands. "Tracey, you have become nothing but a burden on this mission! Every time I think we're closer to our Merfairy transformations, you screw something up! You get hurt again! You ruin something! You probably don't even want to help—you just want to run right back to the ocean!"
Makenna's words stabbed Tracey's heart. He couldn't speak—he was so shocked by what she said.
Still glaring, Makenna added, "With this personality of yours, you will never become a Wizard Fairy! I wouldn't even call you a real fairy anymore! You might as well just leave! We have no use for you now!"
Tracey said not a word. He turned on his heel and sprinted away from Makenna. Tracey ran so fast that Gina fell from his shoulder.
"Tracey!" Merlin shouted, but Tracey didn't return. Merlin turned and glared at Makenna.
She fell to her knees beside the fire and buried her face in her hands.
***
Tracey went around the point to where Ronda's raft rested and picked up some stones. He chucked them into the ocean and talked to himself while he did. "All I did was knock down a pot of oatmeal, and she overacts! I didn't even say I wanted to be in the ocean! Ugh! This stinks!" He picked up an even bigger rock and dropped it into the water. The splash it gave off soaked Ronda's raft.
Tracey reached for his arm and collapsed onto the sand, right on the water line. Right when he did, a larger wave crashed beside him, and foam spewed up next to his left arm.
Tracey didn't know what to do. Makenna was right. He always got in the way. There literally was no use for him anymore.
Tracey sadly shook his head and looked out at the morning sun shining on the reef and ocean. The waves slapped against his knees.
Tracey sighed. He glanced at Ronda's raft and then back out to the sea. The Octopus Man called for him to come to the Bermuda Triangle.
When he heard his voice, a tear dripped down Tracey's cheek. He closed his eyes and let the wind rush through his scalp. An image of the Bermuda Triangle invaded his mind.
Finally, Tracey couldn't fight it anymore. He took Ronda's raft and sailed out to the reef. He peered behind him and watched as Coutarine Island grew smaller and smaller. Tracey was ready to turn himself in to the Octopus Man, but also wasn't ready. He stopped the raft near the edge of the reef and tried to sing a reprise of "Soar", but couldn't. "Soar..."
Tracey prepared to leave the reef and enter the Atlantic Ocean, but it turned out his hand was screwed to the main sail's rope. He couldn't move it.
Tracey peered back at Coutarine Island again. "Why won't you sail the short distance to the open sea, Tracey?" he asked himself.
Right when he asked that, another wave on the line lifted into the air, except it was much darker. It had been cursed by the Octopus Man as well.
Poseidon's soul rested within the wave, and he spoke to Tracey. "You know you want to cross the line and come to the Bermuda Triangle." A single cloud appeared and started to swirl above Ronda's raft and the line. "I can guarantee you that if you do, then you will be able to see your parents again."
"My parents?" Tracey asked through telepathy. "Really? Will they want to see me, though?"
"Of course they will," Poseidon answered. "I'm sure any parent wants to see how much their child has grown after seventeen years. They will be overjoyed."
Tracey tried his best not to fall for his tormentor. He tilted his head to the left and angrily spoke, "You don't know anything." No matter how hard he tried, though, his eyes always focused back in on the evil wave.
"Actually," it spoke, "I know more than you think."
Tracey growled.
The wave Poseidon controlled summoned another one.
The next wave that hopped off the line took on the form of a young girl, and it flew around Ronda's raft. It was the same spirit that had visited Makenna back at Folly Beach, but now she spoke to Tracey the same creepy poem she shared with Makenna:
"'Broken glass shatters the tomb.
I bid you welcome to my room.
Rest your bones aside my bed.
Lay your hands upon my head.
Cast your spell and slumber deep;
And stay beside me while I sleep.
If I should die within the night,
I bid my soul to the plight.'"
"You know you want to cross the line," Poseidon repeated. "There is nothing left for you here. You belong with your parents. With this girl."
The constant tormenting caused Tracey's head to burn. He reached for it. He knew the Bermuda Triangle was a dark place, but perhaps it was the best place for him? He really didn't have anything left for him on Coutarine and Merlin's Island. Makenna wanted to get rid of him.
The spirit that flew around Ronda's raft repeated a question she had asked Makenna when she stumbled upon her. "You're not afraid of the dark, are you? Come with us, Tracey. You will not regret it."
Tracey clenched his teeth and frightfully glanced at her.
"You know you want to cross the line," Poseidon tried again.
Finally, Tracey gave in. He stuck the paddle in the water and crossed the line. Right when he did, large waves hammered him. Tracey grunted and went over each one. He knew how to sail, yeah, but it was hard when he only had one hand. A large wave soon crashed into his paddle. It hit with so much force that the paddle snapped.
Ah!" Tracey yelled when he saw that he only held one half of the paddle. He puffed out his cheeks and fought the pain while he grabbed the main sail's rope. The waves were powerful that day, meaning that a storm may be coming.
Tracey closed his eyes and pulled as hard as he could on the line, but it still wasn't easy, and he let go with his left hand. Wind blasted the main sail and jerked him forward. Right when he was trying to get up, another giant wave appeared over him, and Tracey's eyes widened.
The wave crashed down on the raft and threw him overboard. The raft tilted, but didn't flip over.
Underwater, Tracey tried swimming back to the surface, but the force of another wave threw him back. He finally burst his head out of the water and grabbed the raft. As he was attempting to climb back up, a third wave crashed and threw him under.
Tracey came to the surface and shouted, "Help!" but no one came. He saw he was so close to the end of the line, so he grabbed Ronda's raft and pushed. Quickly, he climbed back on and grabbed the main sail's rope again.
Tracey yelled and closed his eyes as tight as he could.
He made it! He made it past the reef! The raft sailed over the last wave and plopped down on the water behind the waves.
Tracey couldn't believe it. He did it. He actually did it! Officially, he was on the open sea. However, he stayed as far away as possible from Alice's boat and peered back at Coutarine Island one last time.
Tracey left the South Pacific-like water behind after crossing the line back into the Human World and now sailed on the darker waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
He glanced forward at the horizon and started his journey—his journey to the Bermuda Triangle.
Underwater, under Ronda's raft, appeared the shadow of the Octopus Man, even though he was merely a mirage.
"Excellent," he spoke in his evil voice. "Tracey has fallen right into our trap. That's one fairy down and another one to go. Prepare yourself, Makenna Delling, because you aren't going to be free for much longer."