Melissa ran as fast as she could, with the old lady chasing right behind her. The scene of Emma's octopus transformation played over and over in her head. She couldn't believe it. The same Emma she had known since elementary school was now a half-octopus, and from the looks of it she was going to be that way forever. Melissa ran out of fear of suffering the same fate, who knew what other things this woman could do.
The chase went on for about 5 minutes, Melissa ran as fast as she could. She eventually ran full circle and saw Emily, trying to crawl down the stairs in her octopus form, tears streaming down her face. She was clearly unable to walk normally on land now that her legs had become tentacles, so she was trying her best to slowly drag herself down the steps one at a time.
Suddenly, Melissa tripped, and fell flat on her stomach. She felt a ray of heat as some sort of beam hit her. All of a sudden, she realized what was about to happen. "No....please god..." she whispered to herself as tears began to stream down her face and her clothes disintegrated. She clenched her teeth as her legs seemed to form together, making one single appendage, and her boned seemed to melt away, making the one mass move like jello. Scales began to grow and a fin slowly fused out of the end, as Melissa sobbed in pain. Emily watched her friend in pure empathy as she moaned in pain, undergoing a similar transformation. When the changed finally finished, Melissa didn't even want to look, but she eventually found the strength to prop herself from her stomach to her back. She tried to stand up in the process, but whatever had become of her legs was clearly no longer able to support her.
She looked at the area where her legs used to be, and saw a long, green fish tail instead. She couldn't stop the tears. She wanted to leave and now she had become a mermaid, a freak of nature. She knew that walking was out of the question and so was college. Her fin began to flop against the ground uncontrollably, she realized that though she didn't need water to breathe, she craved it with every inch of her body. Upon this realization she put her face into her hands. What would her friends and family think, knowing that she was going to be a freak for the rest of her life? She didn't want to be a mermaid, but moreso cried at the realization that she was technically not even considered human anymore.
As she sobbed, her craving for water overcame her and she began trying to drag her body across the wooden floor. It was no use, she collapsed. The grain was too old and rough for her scales. She banged on the ground and gritted her teeth as her craving for water became almost unbearable. She didn't know how much longer she could handle without it before she went nuts,