Umi looked around. It was growing dark, and Mizu was no where in sight. She took off her wet shirt and shorts and waded in the water in her underwear. She walked until she was chest deep. She took a deep breath and dove under. According to her father, the locket was sealed away in an attempt to protect her. Maybe things would go back to normal if she put it back.
Umi reached the cave and took the locket off. She placed it back in the cave and swam back to shore. She walked back to the shoreline and knelt on the sand.
"Okay, God or whoever the hell you are! I put the locket back! Please, give me a sign my father's alive!" she exclaimed. She waited half an hour before laying on the sand and starting to cry. She wiped away her tears and stood up. She had to find him, dead or alive. Umi felt something hit her foot. She looked down and saw a glint of gold. She picked it up and found the locket made its way back to her. Umi looked out at the water and saw a spot of red in the ocean. She rubbed her eyes and looked again, but it was gone.
"Umi!" a man called. It sounded like her father. Umi put the locket and her clothes back on and ran in the direction of the voice.
"Umi! Where are you!" She ran until she came to a hill and looked up. She started climbing the steep slopes, stumbling a few times. When she reached the top, she found a phone. She didn't know who it belonged to but she turned it on. The screen turned on and showed it was unlocked. Umi hesitated, but she opened it. The photos app was opened, revealing disturbing pictures of her father behind tortured.
She started to cry and turned the phone off. She put it in her pocket and ran back to Dave's house. She ran to the door and tried turning the knob. It was locked so she started knocking. "Dave, please open up! I found something!" she yelled. She heard a click and saw Dave's mother open the door. She walked in and sat down on the couch.
"Where were you? Dave said you ran off," she said.
"I was at the beach. Someone left their phone there. I need to speak to Mr. Nightingale. There's recent photos taken of my father on them."
"What? How?"
"I'm not sure, but they're gruesome," Umi sobbed. She handed the phone to Mrs. Nightingale and grabbed fresh clothes. She walked into the downstairs bathroom and changed into a pajama dress that reached her knees. She brushed her hair and tied it back. She walked out and put her wet clothes in the laundry room. She walked back to the living room and saw Mrs. Nightingale crying on the couch. Umi sat beside her and looked at the phone.
"Did you see the pictures?" she asked. Mrs. Nightingale nodded. Umi took the phone and laid it on the coffee table in front of them.
"I can't believe he's going through this. Why? Why is this happening to us?" Umi spoke, softly. She was afraid of what may happen if she spoke louder. Mrs. Nightingale wrapped her arms around Umi and held her close. Umi was stiff at first, but she loosened her muscles and hugged Mrs. Nightingale back. The two girls fell asleep on the couch that night.
When the sun rose and Mr. Nightingale came home, they showed him the images on the phone. He took it to the station to track whoever the phone belonged to. When Dave and Umi met Mizu on the beach, Dave told Mizu what was on the phone and he flipped out.
"When we find whoever did this, I'll kill them!" he screamed. Umi jumped at the volume of his voice.
"You're willing to stoop down to their level?" Dave asked.
"What do you plan to do then?"
"Let the police take care of them. They may end up with the death sentence," he replied. Mizu started to growl.
"What if they don't? What if they only get a slap on the wrist? We need to take care of them while we can!" he yelled. Mizu's pupils turned into slits, almost like an angry cat. Umi jumped as he punched a rock, his hand going through it. Dave sat there, dumbfounded. Mizu stood there for a few minutes before taking his hand out the rock and sitting down.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have lost my temper. I just can't believe someone can be cruel enough to torture their own kind."
"You never knew how bad humans can be, huh?" Umi asked. Mizu nodded and stood up.
"I'm going for a swim. I need to clear my head," he said. Mizu took off his shirt, revealing tan muscles, and he walked into the water. Umi took off her sweatshirt, revealing her coral bikini, and followed him.
"You coming, Dave?" she asked. Dave sighed and took his shirt off, too. He joined them in the water and they all started swimming. Soon, they came across a fishing boat. They tried swimming out of the way, but the boat kept turning to follow them. As they started swimming back to shore, Umi heard a clicking sound, followed by the sound of something flying through the air. She turned to see a net flying their way.
"Look out!" she yelled. She pushed Mizu and Dave forward and was caught in the net. As the net was being pulled back towards the boat, Mizu grabbed the net and started pulling on it.
"Get me out, please!" she exclaimed.
"It's hard to when it's being pulled away from me!" Mizu exclaimed. Dave swam up to the net and tried pulling it apart. His efforts were in vain as the net reached the boat. They clung onto the net as it was being pulled up the side. A man saw the two of them and kicked them off.