The walk inside wasn't the easiest. Mellac tripped several times and hissed once, scaring a tiny girl carrying a dolphin balloon and walking a few steps behind her parents. He quickly ducked inside the open gates, ignoring the ticket counter with his focus completely set on remembering the directions he had been told. His gaze roved over the loud humans ducking in and around him. Excited faces were most prominent on the ones moving toward the exhibit, but coming away from it, disappointment was clearly pronounced. Any of the humans that tried to look at him, likely because he was openly staring, got a death-glare in response, thankfully keeping attention off himself well enough to make his way through the park without issue.
Well, that was until he saw an ice cream stand a few yards away from where his brother was being held. He paused, neck gills flaring slightly in excitement, remembering the cold human treat. He began to walk toward the stand but quickly snapped himself out of it when he heard a tired bark coming from an open door a good ways off the public trail.
Immediately Mellac hopped over the rope and onto the path, which led to the employee-only area, and followed it hastily. He could hear his brother barking almost nonstop now, something he usually only did when an animal had a hold of him or he was stuck in a coral patch or cave. It took him only seconds to make it to the gray building he'd previously been locked in. Right before walking inside, though, he noticed a large gun sitting against the side of the building, hidden behind a large tree so the public couldn't see it. He picked up the weapon, holding it just like the woman had previously. No, he wasn't sure how to fire it, but hopefully it was a big enough threat to get his brother out. Mellac licked his dry lips, tasting salt. He needed to get back to the ocean soon or risked dehydration like his brother, but that wasn't what was important right then. Taking a deep breath, he stepped up into the keeper area and hissed, drawing the attention of the curator, one of her two guards, and a man in a white coat.
"Get away from my brother. Now."
Mellac lifted the gun, pointing it right at the guard. He saw the gun on the man's waist and knew he was the one the weapon needed to be focused on.
"I said. Get. Away. From. Him. Now!"
The man in the white coat quickly tucked three empty syringes into his pocket before scampering into the corner where the curator and her guard were now standing.
"Callem?" Mellac questioned without looking in his brother's direction. Callem whined but pushed himself up, raising his bound wrists to tear at the rope they'd used. His serrated teeth made easy work of it, freeing his hands so they could help him get to his feet. It was obvious to Mellac that his brother was in far worse condition than himself and needed out of there now.
"Callem, here. Put these on."
His brother did as told, quickly pulling on the pair of black shorts and white shirt that Mellac tossed him from the bag he'd been carrying. Callem did seem a little dizzy, though, wobbling on his feet while trying to pull the clothing on.
"Why is my brother having trouble standing correctly?"
"We gave him the immunizations he needed." The man in the white coat answered quietly.
"What?"
"Shots... so he doesn't get sick. It's standard procedure."
Mellac hissed, drawing flinches from all three humans in the corner.
"The shots may make him dizzy and possibly throw up, but they shouldn't cause anything worse than that," the curator stammered.
"Nothing worse? Losing water in the state he is in could mean death!" His brother could not afford to throw up.
The group looked at Mellac in fear, but thankfully the younger one was able to walk out of the building and did not seem to be about to vomit... yet. As soon as Callem was out the door, Mellac grabbed the handle and shut it with himself inside, then screeched. He walked out moments later, leaving the three humans on the floor, unconscious. When he stepped out to see his brother leaning against a tree, Mellac quickly ran over to help Callem stand. He put his brother's arm over his shoulder and straightened, helping him walk once he was steady enough on his feet.
"Hang on. Your little human is waiting for you just outside of this disgusting place."
The younger mer grunted, managing to walk a few steps before dropping more of his weight onto his brother.
"Dammit. Alright, come on."
Mellac shifted Callem around a bit until he was facing his brother, then grinned.
"Callem, up up?"
Callem's head jerked up, eyes wide with surprise. He hadn't heard that for years, not since he was a little mer. With a tired but excited bark, he wrapped his arms around his brother's strong shoulders and allowed himself to be lifted up much like a child would by a parent. Well, Mellac had been his parent for many years, so it was completely normal and comforting to be held in his arms when he wasn't feeling well or was upset.
"There we go."
Mellac had tossed the gun aside in order to hold his brother better, not wanting him to fall as he began walking out of the park. He ignored the ice cream vendor, thankfully, and made decent time getting into the parking lot. It wasn't until he was walking across the first open portion of the lot that people in the park figured out what was going on and a cop ran out to confront them. Mellac heard him scream for them to stop but like hell he would.
A loud bang rang out, making both brothers wince, but again, Mellac refused to stop. That is until another shot was heard and a splitting pain surged through his left ankle, sending the brothers to the hard, hot pavement. Everything was a blur of agony as Mellac fought to get back up. It felt like he had just been bitten by a shark.
Suddenly his body was being lifted and carried. He struggled until he noticed Callem following with Parker pulling him by the arm. Once they were both in the backseats of the truck, Parker floored it and sped out of the area. Mellac had to rest his head against Jayson's shoulder, panting heavily as he did his best to fight the pain.
"Let me treat your wound," Jay offered hesitantly.
Mellac growled, but when Jay turned and yanked his shirt off, the mer sat up, eying him warily.
"Park, can I have that water bottle you leave up there?"
Parker nodded and reached over once the car had stopped at a red light, grabbing the bottle before tossing it back to Jayson.
"Let me see your ankle. It doesn't look like the bullet actually went through, just grazed."
Mellac hesitated but slowly lifted his injured foot when Jay didn't back down.
"Okay, this might sting for a moment but just bear with it, okay?"
He didn't give the mer much time to respond as he poured the remainder of the warm water from the bottle over Mellac's bleeding wound. There was a loud hiss of pain in response, but Jayson didn't heed it as he wrapped his shirt around the injury and tied it tight.
"There we go. That should be good enough for now."
~Jayson
It was over three hours later when we finally pulled into a tiny hotel and Parker ran in to get us a room. When he came back out, we parked around the back side of the building, and I carried an annoyed Mellac inside while Parker helped Callem. I immediately got the injured mer into the bathtub and began filling it with cool water. We had stopped at a random gas station before leaving town to buy a good amount of sea salt, bandages, and antibiotics, so after Park helped Callem inside, he ran back out and grabbed the bags, bringing them up and into the bathroom.
"It's filling up now, dump some of the salt in. They both need it badly," I said before looking over at Callem as he scrambled into the tub. His chest was flaking scales in quite a few places as well as several big patches peeling on his face and arms. Parker handed him some salt, pouring it in the palm of his hand. Callem began licking at it eagerly once his hand was partially full.
"Alright, watch out, I'm gonna add some antibiotic to Mellac's ankle."
Parker backed off, giving me plenty of room to lean over and grab the mer's ankle from beneath the water. He growled but didn't bother fighting me. Good. Once I got it unwrapped, I noticed that it really was just a deep flesh wound. That meant I at least didn't have to dig a bullet out of his skin.
"Hand me the soap. It's probably best to wash this really well before putting the bandage on it."
I felt a bar of hotel soap being pressed into my hand and rolled my eyes.
We should have grabbed some real soap when we grabbed the salt.
Ignoring my annoyance, I lathered up the bar as best I could and began scrubbing Mellac's wound. In hindsight, I probably should have showed Callem how to do it instead so when the pressure added a good amount of pain, he wouldn't be aggressive, but yeah, I was suddenly pinned beneath the steadily rising water. I could see Parker struggling to pull Mellac's arm away, but he wouldn't budge until the sound of his brother speaking mumbled through the water.
I was yanked up abruptly, my mouth gaping open to take in a huge breath of air as soon as I broke the surface. Coughs wracked my body while Mellac spoke, but I couldn't really hear him over the pounding of my heart in my ears and the coughing. The awkward position I was in, with my legs hanging over the edge of the tub and my body in the water, made it nearly impossible to not slip back down, so I carefully moved until I was sitting in the bathtub normally. My arms were shakily holding me up as I regained my breath.
Feeling a sudden warmth, my gaze darted downward to see arms wrapping around my shoulders before a very firm chest pressed flush against my back. Mellac's face appeared to my right, his cheek gently rubbing against mine for a moment before he smirked maliciously.
Damn his confusing signals. With any other person, that would have been a show of affection, but of course he has to mean it as aggression.
"Tell me... human."
I blinked, nearly chewing a hole through my bottom lip from fear as my gaze met his narrowed eyes. I wasn't really sure what he wanted me to tell him. To be honest, my focus was split between the look in his eyes and the movement of his right hand, which had left my shoulder to travel down my chest and across my abdomen beneath the water.
"Tell me. Your human friend and my brother said that you saved my life..."
I knew I technically had since he'd been slated for execution, and after him going back in there and breaking Callem out, they would have likely just shot him. Hell, the guard did get him in the ankle and was still shooting as I carried him back to the truck.
"I... guess I did?"
He gave a low growl and nuzzled his nose against my neck, warming the skin there.
"What were you doing to my ankle? That hurt."
Swallowing hard, I licked my lips and replied quietly.
"Cleaning it. I-it could get infected if i-it isn't cleaned."
He seemed to think about that for a minute before I felt a wet tongue run along my throat.
"It is clean now?"
I gave a shaky nod, hoping that was all he wanted to know.
"Yes. It just needs to be rewrapped now so i-it can heal correctly."
A low rumble vibrated through the skin he now had his lips pressed against. My heart felt like a jackhammer against my ribs when he didn't answer for over a minute and instead just focused on licking and nuzzling.
"I must be an idiot," he growled quietly.
Before I could ask him what he was talking about, I felt his left hand release me, only to snag my hair in a death grip while his right arm wrapped around my chest so firmly that I was literally glued to him.
"Mellac?"
His left hand jerked my head to the side right before he sank his teeth into my neck.
~Parker
I saw it coming, but there was nothing I could do against Mellac. I didn't have a weapon, and his brother was soaking right behind him in the bathtub. So, I had to force myself not to lunge forward when Mellac clamped his jaws down on my best friend's neck.
Jayson freaked out, not surprisingly, but each time he tried to get free, Mellac held onto him tighter, hunching his body over Jay's until his face was almost back underwater. That forced Jay to stop struggling or face being drowned. Obvious choice was obvious. Callem seemed completely unfazed by his brother's actions, though he was watching while continuing to lick at the salt in his hand.
When Mellac finally released Jay, his neck was red and bloody, much worse than what Callem's teeth had done to mine. Jay turned around shakily, still wrapped in Mellac's right arm. The mer had a cocky look on his face, obviously expecting the question, when Jay spoke. Mellac lifted his left hand once more and traced his fingers along Jay's lips as he did his best to form words.
"Wh-What did you just do?"
The response Mellac gave had my blood running cold.
"I will put it in a way even my brother and your little human friend can understand. Jayson Mellac's."
If Callem hadn't begun panting heavily seconds after Mellac's words had been spoken, we all would have likely stared for a good while longer. Instead, Mellac turned to his brother and started wetting his body, but it wasn't helping much. I scooted closer and quickly pressed my hand to Callem's forehead.
"Crap. It's a fever."
Mellac glared at me, growling beneath his breath as he splashed his brother faster.
"Those damn humans did something to him. They said they shot him."
Shot him? But he doesn't have any bullet wounds.
The answer hit me in the face. They gave him animal shots.
"Darn, uh. Okay, they shouldn't be fatal, they just usually cause fevers and dizziness, sometimes throwing up."
Right on cue, Callem began to heave. Thankfully, there was a small waste basket by the toilet. I quickly snatched it up and put it just beneath his chin seconds before he threw up a ton of water. There were only a few pieces of food, but that wasn't a surprise since he hadn't eaten much recently.
"He needs a lot more salt."
I nodded at Mellac's words and grabbed the other bag, taking out the last container and dumping it all in the tub. Mellac stirred it up a little, then climbed out. It was amazing that he could stand on his injured foot, but I noticed that the injury was no longer bleeding very much.
"Hey, Mellac?"
He looked down at me as I stood, feeling my sore body relax a little from kneeling for so long.
"I'm going to run out and get some fish. Maybe Callem will eat?"
His gaze darted back to his brother as Callem ducked beneath the water. Jayson had jumped out a second after Mellac had, not wanting to be in the way of the younger mer. Although, when he tried to walk past Mellac, the mer quickly reached out and snagged him around the waist, forcing their bodies together with little effort, abdomen to abdomen.
Well, at least they're both still wearing clothing.
"Understood. I will look after Callem and my mate until you return."
"Yeah. Okay. I'll be back soon. Don't answer the door for anyone and keep it locked."
I wasn't too sure leaving Jayson alone with Mellac and Callem was a good idea, but I knew the older mer would become aggressive if I tried to take Jay with me. So with a tired smile, I walked to the door and stepped out.