Mike pov

It was the most powerful storm this part of the state had ever seen. I was honestly shocked that it caused as much damage as it did.

When I found out the beach had been damaged too I of course volunteered to help clean it up.

I love the beach. It wouldn't be right if I didn't help clean it up.

I got in my car and drove down to the shore. The debris was clearly visible, along with others who were helping with the clean up.

I got out and jogged down through the sand, avoiding driftwood and garbage that the storm swept up. There was a lot of work to be done.

Scott waved and called my name, gesturing for me to come over. I ran over to him where he was waiting with a few other people.

"Hey Mike, glad you're here. We really need the help." He said, looking around.

"I'm happy to help." I replied.

He looked around before sectioning off the work areas for everyone. It wasn't the first time Scott had helped with a storm cleanup, so he knew what he was doing.

"Mike you'll be down there by the rocks, okay?" He instructed, pointing down towards them.

"Alright."

I walked down to the piles of large rocks and sighed. There wasn't too much to clean up here, so it would be relatively easy. It was mostly just driftwood and trash that washed up anyway.

I looked around the rocks for more debris. I didn't see anything else to clean at the moment, so I walked around. But I stopped when I saw an arm behind one of the rocks.

Did someone possible get swept up in the storm? Could they be hurt?

The person's fingers locked into the sand, meaning they were still alive.

I ran over and peeked behind the rock, seeing what I at first thought was a teenage boy. My eyes traveled down to see a fish tail instead of legs.

A mermaid?! I thought they were just made up!

I stared at him in slight shock. Discovering something you thought didn't exist practically your whole life is kind of shocking.

Now that I looked closer, I noticed that part of his tail was trapped under the large rock he was hiding behind.

"Uh... Are you alright...?" I asked, shaking his shoulder lightly.

He sat up and tried to move, but he couldn't.

"It's okay... I won't hurt you..." I said calmly so I wouldn't cause him anymore distress.

"Y-You w-won't?" He stuttered, moving slightly closer.

I shook my head and glanced at his tail. It seemed like he wouldn't be able to free himself.

"Do you need help?" I asked, referring to his tail.

"Y-Yes... I t-think p-part of my t-tail m-might be b-broken..." He answered softly.

I managed to push the rock off of him and sighed. Some of the thinner areas of his tail had tears in them, and it definitely looked broken.

I can't just leave him like this. I don't think he could make it far with his tail like that. Plus if anyone else found him, they might try to experiment on him. I honestly don't want that to happen.

"T-Thank you... W-What's your n-name?" He asked.

"My name is Mike. But it looks like your tail is broken..." I replied.

"Y-Yeah, i-it is... I-I'm J-Jeremy..."

I looked around. If I was going to get Jeremy out of here, I was going to have to be creative.

I need a plan...