When Dawn came to, lying on her back on a cushioned surface, she covered her face and groaned, “Ugh, this got old a long time ago. Why do I even bother getting dressed?”
“Tell me about it,” Tanya’s voice spoke from next to her. “I haven’t even had a day to get used to this.” Dawn didn’t even have to turn her head to know what she would find. The now familiar ceiling tiles of the nurse’s office and the feeling of a thin gown over her naked body told her she had gone back to square one, and the book had added another victim.
Detective Morgan! Rachael’s dad!
The lamia bolted upright, scanning the office for any signs of the new mythic. However, she only saw a repeat of the past: Tanya sitting on a cot, her four legs folded under her, Rachael floating in a tank, Kate on the table. Stacy and Millie also sat to the side, covered in their own gowns.
“Where’s Detective M-”
Before Dawn could ask the obvious question, the door burst open, and Miss Mackey came inside, hauling a struggling woman behind her. Wait, not a woman but a teenage girl like the rest. She only looked older because of her impressive height that forced her to duck under the doorway to avoid collision. Her gown barely reached her crotch, leaving the full length of her rather stunning legs in full view. These details, though, took second place to her most important feature. She was green, from her olive skin to the emerald hair now brushing her backside. Only her amber eyes and the white flash of her teeth broke her monochromatic appearance.
“Let go of me!” She yelled, or tried to yell. Her voice seemed to be stuck on soft and soothing. “You can’t keep me here! I’m not a student! I’m a detective, and I can have you arrested for obstructing an investigation!”
“Now, Miss Morgan,” Miss Mackey sighed. “Please, calm down. I know you want to find out who did this, but you must leave this to the professionals.”
“I am the professional!” Her frantic prisoner insisted. “Don’t you remember!? I’m the detective sent by-”
Ignoring her tirade, the clearly exhausted nurse turned to the mermaid in the room. “Rachael, could you help with your sister? She’s been saying the strangest things since she woke up, and I’m afraid this incident has left her delirious. We may have to get her to a hospital.”
“Sister!?” The green girl exclaimed. “I’m not her sister! I’m her fa-”
By this point, Dawn and Tanya had leapt into action. The lamia quickly took charge of the latest transformee, covering her mouth and pulling her away from the nurse. For all her towering proportions, the former detective proved to be rather easy to hold down, suggesting a deceptive frailty. On closer inspection, Dawn noted the girl’s slender build and delicate bone structure. That would explain her failed escape from the nurse.
Meanwhile, Tanya put an arm over Miss Mackey’s shoulders, turning her towards the door and leading her back into the small waiting area in front of the office. “No need to call the hospital yet, Miss Mackey. They probably wouldn’t know how to handle a mythic, anyway. Just give us a chance to calm her down. I’m sure she’ll listen to us.”
The woman looked kind of relieved. “Hm, maybe you’re right. I’ll leave it to you girls, for now. But if her behavior stays erratic, I must follow procedure and call the hospital.”
Tanya agreed and closed the door. By the time she turned around, Rachael was already talking to her father/sister, explaining as best she could what had happened. Dawn had released her, helping with the explanation whenever she could. For her part, the new girl had sunk to her knees beside the tank, bringing her only slightly closer to eye-level with her aquatic family member.
“So, you’re telling me that this…book caused me to become this? And nobody even notices?” Former Detective Morgan asked, instantly latching onto the important facts. She clearly thought this whole thing sounded unreal, but the evidence of her own experience kept her mind open to the possibility. At least, she could feel grateful she wasn’t going insane.
“I wouldn’t say nobody,” Rachael pointed out. “We still remember the old reality, at least from the point we were changed. We don’t notice any changes that happened before we were transformed. So, to me, you’re still my dad. But I can only remember Dawn and Tanya as they are now since they both changed before I did.”
“And the rest of the world won’t remember the old me. Who am I then?”
Suddenly, Kate flew between them, carrying an ID card under her arm. “This should answer your question. I got it from your bag.” She pointed to the corner where a mundane looking backpack now sat open.
The girl’s green hand trembled a bit as she took the card and read it over. “Willow. I-I guess it’s pretty close to William. Fifteen years old! I’m Rachael’s age. That makes us twins! It’s even altered my birthday to match! And what’s this? Species? Since when do IDs list species?”
Dawn shrugged. “Since yesterday, I’d say. What does yours say?”
“Dryad.”
“Ah, makes sense.”
Willow held up her arm and frowned at her coloring. “Yeah, no. Nothing about this makes sense, but it’s real. So, how do we undo this?”
“Um, we…can’t.”
The dryad dropped her arm and turned wide eyes toward the lamia. “What?”
“Here’s the thing. That book is too dangerous to mess around with. It’s been changing people left and right, altering reality and who knows what else. If we don’t stop it, all of humanity and the universe could be affected soon! We have to destroy the book before that happens even if…even if we end up stuck like this.”