The first place Maddie and I went to was the Ecstasy's water park, which was located at the stern of the ship. Basically, there was a mini golf course at the bow, a pool in the middle, and a waterpark at the stern. Maddie and I took turns sliding down the water slide with other human kids.
At first, I was super nervous, but I could understand why. Once I hit the slide's water and started my ride, I warmed up to it. I met up with Maddie at the bottom, and we rode it a few more times.
When we left the waterpark, she next took me to the Ecstasy's cafeteria. We ate lunch there. That was my first time eating a hamburger and fries. It was pretty darn good. Maddie had the same. We chuckled while we ate. Lunch took up about forty-five minutes of our day, but I didn't regret it.
Maddie took me to the library next. There, we worked on a Carnival Ecstasy puzzle. Maddie even tried to teach me how to say my name in English. She wrote it down on a piece of paper and held it up to my face. "Will," she sweetly spoke. "Say, 'Will', kid. Will is short for William. Will."
I opened my mouth and tried. I did it! I actually said my name! It was really stuttered, though. "Wi-Will."
"That's it!" Maddie cheered.
Hearing my voice sounded so strange to me. It sounded just like the voice of a twelve-year-old boy. My name was the only thing I learned how to say in the library.
Maddie and I went to the pool area when we left and danced to some tropical music on the stage.
Strangely, I actually picked up dancing pretty fast.
Maddie and I clapped our hands and danced around each other.
A crowd soon gathered around us. People started to clap to the music as well. A few of them laughed. Those humans seemed very nice. What were Mom and Dad talking about when they said they were evil? What a strange turn of events.
I had to spray myself with some water after the tropical concert. My body always needs to stay moist, or it will dry out. That's one of the downsides to being the Beast of the Bermuda Triangle.
To achieve my goal, I sprinted to the bow of the Ecstasy, where the mini golf course was, and checked to make sure I was alone.
I was.
Smiling, I peered down at the ocean and opened my arms.
At my command, the water leaped out and sprayed me down. Ah, it felt so good. My full strength immediately returned the second the water hit me.
Maddie soon appeared next to me, and she asked, "Whatcha doing, Will? You know, you're a very mysterious boy. I like that. Do you by any chance want to play a game?"
Oh, I love games. Sure, Maddie.
The look on my face told her I wanted to.
Maddie chuckled. "All right then." She tapped my shoulder. "Tag! You're it!" She turned on her heel.
I watched as she began to sprint down the deck.
Behind me, more ocean water appeared, pushing me forward toward her.
Maddie and I spent another few hours playing tag and running all over the Ecstasy. The game took us inside. A few times, we hid behind doors. One of the doors I hid behind was the door to the tween room. On the ship was a children's room, a tween room, and a teen room.
When I opened the door, I saw Maddie searching for me, and I waved at her.
She turned and grinned when she saw me.
We sprinted through the corridors and went to a few of the Ecstasy's trivia games.
Maddie didn't win, but at least she had fun.
The final activity we did that afternoon was ice carving at the pool area at sunset. That was cool and everything, but I came so close to giving myself away.
A huge block of ice was put on the stage.
I begged through sign language to carve it myself. I used magic and my skills around water to do so, though. I turned the block of ice into an Indian chief's head.
Everybody on the deck was astounded when they saw it.
I have to admit, I was pretty proud of myself. That was until the ocean decided to pay a visit.
Before I knew it, a blanket of water crept over the edge of the ship and flew to me. I was curious about the ice carving and how I was doing, but still! It couldn't just approach the Beast of the Bermuda Triangle when humans surrounded him!
Their eyes widened as big as their heads when they saw the water. The crowd surrounding me immediately grew.
"Will!" I heard Maddie yell. "What on earth? What's going on?"
A few humans stuck their hands in my friend's tail. Their jaws dropped to the deck.
The water sniffed the ice carving and peered up at me.
Glaring, I clenched my fist and punched it on its head.
Right after I did, water droplets came together to form a hand. My friend rubbed its head with it.
The crowd kept on growing.
My nerves rattled like a rattlesnake. I stamped my foot and pointed my friend in the direction of the edge of the ship.
The water wouldn't let me go. It gloomily lowered its head and crept to my back. I felt it wrap its watery arms around me and press its face up against mine.
"Will, look!" laughed Maddie. "The water! It likes you! How did you do that?"
A man sitting by the pool, with a tropical drink in his hand, asked me, "Are you even human, or did you crash into the Ecstasy from outer space?"
That question offended me.
I may not be fully human, sir, but I am not an alien. I am a human in Maddie's eyes and my soul, so I would advise you to buzz off!
The water wrapped around me knew how I felt. We connected telepathically. We showed the human who offended me a lesson, through another one of Will's dumb mistakes.
I don't know why, but I didn't feel friendly at that moment. I felt like a beast–a true beast. I thought I was human in my soul, but I was wrong. What I didn't know was that my shift in behavior was driven by fear and by being outside my natural environment.
I opened my mouth, and my eyes glowed.
The humans grew nervous.
A few of them asked, "What's wrong with him?" A few more cleared out of my way.
With my friend still wrapped around my shoulders, I hurried to the edge of the Ecstasy and lifted my hands.
"Will!" Maddie shouted. "What are you doing?"
Ocean water appeared behind me as I started to sing my lullaby.
"Brace yourselves!" yelled the humans.
A giant ball of seawater emerged in my hands, and I shot it toward the man who offended me. He, an open target, froze with fear, but then–
"Daddy!" shouted Maddie.
Wait! Daddy?
My new friend hurried to the man and shoved him aside.
My attack ended up swamping her instead, and Maddie yelled. The force from it was so powerful that it knocked her off the edge of the ship.
"Madeline!" shouted her father. "Madeline, no!"
"Man overboard!" humans screamed after him.
That was a total accident! I didn't mean to hit Maddie!
The ocean and I moved fast. We hurried toward the edge of the ship, and I picked up my necklace pendant.
"What are you doing, kid?" I heard Maddie's father yell behind me, but I ignored him.
My water friend whirled around me. That time, I did dive off the ship.
There was Maddie. She had caught herself on one of the Carnival Ecstasy's lifeboats, but I could tell she was terrified. "HELP!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. She closed her eyes and held on for dear life, but she didn't stay that way forever. Her hand slipped, and she started to fall again.
My necklace pendant began to glow, and my hand gripped it tightly. With a swoosh, I popped my wings and caught Maddie just before she hit the water.
Gasping, she wrapped her arms around my body.
Flying again felt wonderful. I was wide open and free! I tilted my body, and the tips of my wings skimmed the surface of the ocean. The further I flew away from the Carnival Ecstasy, the smaller it grew. I hoped Maddie didn't mind if I went on a little flight. I craned my neck and peered back at her.
Maddie's jaw dropped, and she bravely pushed herself up on my back.
The two of us met eyes. We stared at each other for a long time.
"Wi-Will?" Maddie finally asked. "Is that you?"
Flapping my wings, I nodded and smiled at her.
Maddie's entire face brightened. "Will! Dawg gone it all! I knew it! I knew you were the mysterious creature I saw on the mini golf course yesterday!" She wrapped her arms around my muzzle. "Thank you. You saved my life."
I saw her eyes sparkle. A tear appeared in her left eye. I couldn't believe it. She really did like me.
Maddie made me see humans in a totally different way. Mom and Dad were wrong. Humans weren't evil if they trained themselves not to be.
ns216.73.216.98da2
and then Add to home screen.