Wretched screams and angry bubbles rose in icy water. 

Civil expressions hovered on the scientists' faces as they watched the tortured soul writhe in pain. 

"Holy Moly." a scared Nessa position her trembling hand on her chest to see if her heart is still beating. 

Her prudent older brother takes a hesitant step back. His legs behaved like waterlogged noodles in a pot of bubbling soup. 

Shocked eyes somehow lost their color as the kids witnessed the dragon attempting to escape its rusted chains. 

However, what was strange about this jarring scene is that it perplex the kids, who only saw the monster as an adversary.

At first, the four children had expected the sea dragon to be unsympathetic. But now, seeing the monster squirm in agony, the kids felt remorseful for hunting it down. 

When three minutes were up, the calculated scientist stops pressing the remote control button, then carefully slips it back into his coat pocket.

"Good job, Mitch." complimented the defiant Sergeant. "Now, we shall go on with the experiment."

Brooke's contentious eyes reside on the insensitive scientist. 

"Are you serious?" she growled. "If you kill the sea creature, then that cure will be as good as dead."

Sergeant Jones deliberately blinks his eyes at the enraged teenage girl. 

"What the hell are you talking about?" he scoffs. "We weren't going to kill the dragon." 

"Okay then," Brooke says crossly. "So why does it look like it has been in a fight?" 

The elder combatant did not respond.

Instead, he switches his astounded gaze over to the sea dragon who is slowly recovering from its horrible injuries. 

Exhaustedness tempts the demon to close its eyes, but it couldn't. In fact, the sea monster's entire body is too weak to move—let alone shoot malignant glares at its apathetic captors. 

And as the blood oozed from its wounds, the water has transformed into a menacing red prison. 

Feeling sorry for the creature, Caleb moved towards the blood-red water tank until one of the scientists grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulls him away.

"What the hell are you doing, kid?" hissed the angered scientist. "That sea creature is too dangerous."

Compassion and affection have mysteriously vanished from his eyes as the boy glances at the angered medical consultant. 

Ever since he was six years old, Caleb did not like being touched by boys-especially older men. 

He hated the smell of cigarettes wafting in their breaths; vicious words and unsanitary hands would impel Caleb to slither away from their contact.

Gritting his solid teeth, the teenage telepath orders the scientist to release him. 

Although the consultant did let go of his shirt collar, he warns Caleb to stay away from the water tank. 

"The sea dragon is too unstable," he grunts, combing his blond hair with his fingers. "The last time a colleague approached it, that thing ate her."

The scientist trains his hazel-green eyes at Nessa, whose entire body became as fragile as a porcelain statue. 

She squeezed her eyes so she can shove the gruesome image out of her brain. 

"Oh dear God," she thinks to herself. "Maybe this sea dragon deserves to get shocked."

Giving attention to her bitter thoughts, Caleb snaps back at Nessa. 

"Look," he moans angrily. "I get that the sea monster destroyed the town, but it doesn't feel right."

"Oh?" the medical expert aroused one of his eyebrows. "So, you think that this aberration has feelings?" 

Unknownst to Caleb Wolfe, he has captured the attention of the dragon who is watching him through the glass. 

"I don't know," he confessed. "But I think I did hear something a few minutes ago."

Johnny conveyed a surprised look. "Really?" 

"What did you hear?" inquired Brooke. 

Almost everyone in the entire department is staring at Caleb like a foreign object; some conveyed brash smiles while a few lowered their test beakers, so they can hear what he has to say.

Cheeks scorched like burning cherries as the nervous boy told everyone that he had read the sea monster's thoughts.

"Okay." Brooke moves towards her hesitant boyfriend, smiling. "What did they say?"

"Apparently, the sea beast is looking for its son."

But as soon as Caleb finished speaking, the sergeant and his friends shook their heads in disbelief. 

One of the medical experts conveyed a sullen frown. "I doubt the sea creature is telling the truth."

"What if it is?"

Turning his attention to a colleague, the snide sergeant snickered, "That is the most stupid theory I have ever heard. A sea beast doesn't have feelings."

Johnny shoots him a scolding glare. 

"Hey," he snarled defensively. "Leave Caleb alone."

"I am just stating my opinion," said Sergeant Jones.

The adamant Nessa placed her hands on her hips. "What if my friend is actually telling you guys the truth?"

One of the scientists flashed the young man a shrewd smile. 

"The truth is that this monster does not have human qualities," she concluded. "It doesn't know how to feel, show compassion, or tell the truth." 

Johnny tilts his head directly towards the female scientist. 

Her grayish-brown hair hangs down close to her back. Heavy wrinkles sagged and yet the old woman's tanned skin radiates the entire room.

Based on the white-collared onlookers' quick movements, attentive gazes, and squeamish stomachs, this woman must be the head of this department.

"With all due respect, ma'am," he begins to say. "Not everyone is compassionate or tells the truth." 

"And some people don't actually know how to feel," Nessa surmised, agreeing with her older brother. "But that doesn't make them ruthless." 

Johnny and Nessa try to tell her more, but the female scientist hardly paid attention to their reasonings. Instead, she scribbled something on her clipboard and orders the children to get out of the lab. 

"What?" Johnny frowns at her response. 

Ignoring the boy's question, the pretentious scientist glances up from her clipboard and tells Sergeant Jones that the kids are nothing but a distraction. 

"But Dr. Holly-" the soldier exclaimed.

His renowned colleague ruthlessly cuts him off.

"Listen, Christopher," she began angrily. "If Jason wants us to babysit them so much, why doesn't he do it?" 

Even though he is infuriated by her disgusted tone, Caleb didn't lose his temper. 

"You don't have to be cranky about it," he says calmly. "My friends and I just want to help."

The female scientist hunkered her pencil-thin eyebrows at the boy's attitude. 

"See?" she cried. "I don't know where you have found these kids! They are disrespectful, self-centered, and they are telling us how to do our jobs!"

As much as I despise Dr. Holly, she does make an accurate point. Those who are untrained in the science field should not tell their instructors what to do. 

However, the children do not want to oversee Dr. Holly's job; they simply do not agree with her insensitive logic. 

A patient Brooke tries to talk to her. "We are not telling you how to do your job-"

"Then, be quiet or get the hell out of my lab."

Shocked, the young clairvoyant takes a step back. 

"What the hell is her problem?" she thinks to herself. It's not like they are trying to lower Dr. Holly's self-esteem. 

Fed up with her attitude, a tiresome Johnny muttered: "Brooke, get your parents and Triton so we can get the hell out of here."

Sergeant Jones' elongated mouth went O.

He sprints after the four teenage youngsters, pleading for them to stop. 

"Come on," the naval officer snarls. "You guys can't just leave the laboratory-"

"Why not?" Brooke sharply interrupts. "This town is better off being scared than cured."

Sergeant Jones' trusted companions all drop their jaws. 

"Is she serious?" a scientist spoke up.

"How did these kids become so selfish?" the other whispered.

Nessa lifts up her backpack and grasps the purple straps. 

"We're not selfish," she implied. "We just don't like saving racist police and ignorant people from incurable diseases." 

Sergeant Jones cannot believe that he hears this. "Vanessa Phoenix!" 

"What? It's their job," Nessa adds, shrugging her shoulders. 

"And besides, if the antidote does go horribly wrong, then Jason will be more than happy to throw you guys under the fucking bus."

Nodding some more, Johnny crosses his arms at Dr. Holly. 

"So, either you treat us with respect," he threatens. "Or we'll tell Mr. Young all about your narcissistic behavior." 

The shocked medical expert silently moves toward the four teenagers. 

Their antagonistic words were like strong hands berating Dr. Holly's reddened face. Her razor-sharp nails gripped the rigid board until she accidentally snaps it into two pieces. 

The boisterous noise made Brooke jumped so quickly it made her heart quiver.

Removing her brown glasses, Dr. Holly growls: "If you hate this town so much, why don't you kids leave?" 

The four teenagers gawk at one another when Johnny reluctantly speaks up again.

"We are doing this because a close friend of ours is in danger," he answered back.

As Johnny admits this, he scratched the small scar on his left temple—a nervous trait he had developed as a child. 

"Why?" asked Dr. Holly, unconvinced. "What happened to him?" 

"He had friends who were murdered because of this thing." Caleb gestures, his left hand in the direction of the confined predator.

"I get that you hate us, but we are not your enemies. We care about our friends and families as well as you do."

Dr. Holly puts on a tight-lipped smile. "So, you guys care more about your friends more than Lovecraft Creek?"

Furious, Brooke was about to say something cruel until Sergeant Jones made the tension disappear. 

"We need to work on this cure together," he reminds them. "That means no arguments, backtalk, or selfishness." 

The composed soldier addresses his eyes towards the children, who grimaced at the last part. 

"Listen, guys, let's not forget that Jason is counting on us." he continued. "In fact, the entire community is counting on us to do right by them."

"So instead of picking fights, we must put innocent lives over our medicine, give the poor a fighting chance, and make use of the cure." 

Sergeant Jones pivots his large feet towards Dr. Holly and her devoted colleagues. 

"The sea dragon is our source to help the town," he added. "If it tries anything foolish, we will remind its who we are."

"Self-centered fanatics with no moral sense?" a cynical Caleb guessed. 

The naval officer shoots hostile glares in his way.  

"Look," he continues, ignoring his baffled stares. "The sea monster did kill people, but can't we ask ourselves why?" 

Dr. Holly shrugs her shoulders. "Monsters like this have survival instincts. It's either kill or be killed." 

Sergeant Jones massaged the tip of his chin with his fingers. "Dr. Holly is telling the truth: sea monsters like this-" He jerks his thumb at the immured dragon. "— does not deserve a second chance." 

Sensing the children's dismay, the aging veteran felt remorseful for his earlier comments and came up with a better strategy. 

"I'll tell you what," said Sergeant Jones. "Why don't me and my guys find the kid and return it to its mother?"

His proposal sounds like a great idea, but the degrading tone in Jones' voice made the children feel uncomfortable. 

Nevertheless, the sergeant did not correct his mistake.

Crossing her arms, Brooke asks Jones if he promises not to harm the child. 

"After we find the demon's fetus," Sergeant Jones pledged. "Then, we can go on with the experiment together."

Feeling skeptical, a young researcher walks up to him. 

"I don't know, boss," he chuckled. "The sea monster's blood has extraordinary qualities. However, there are some . . . complications."

Brooke arouses one of her eyebrows. "What exactly do you mean by 'complications'?"

"The sea serpent is very sick." he sighed. "And I don't mean runny nose or scratchy throat."

Swishing the vial of dark red blood with his gloved hand, the scientist offered the vial to the Sergeant so he can take a careful look at it. 

Dark purple spots tainted the red liquid, impressing and scaring the army veteran. 

"Holy shit," Caleb mumbled. 

Uncomfortable, the sergeant winced at the boy's insensitive language but decides not to lecture him.

He hoists the vial into the white light, letting its rays filter through the poisonous blood.

Brooke points her forefinger at the blemishes then asked the scientist: "What are these strange purple dots?"

"It's sea urchin poison." answered the male scientist. "Something tells me that it has been in the dragon's system for a long time."

Inquisitive, Nessa shifts her feet towards the cold vial and peers through the red liquid. 

"Ugh, disgusting," said Johnny, recoiling at the sight of the glass beaker. "What do you want us to do?"

The researcher was about to answer when a loud alarm echoed through the white P.D.A. speakers. 

Glorious red brightens the room as the scientists shuffled their feet across the marble floor.

In the meantime, the four youngsters demand to know what is going on. They shove past terrified medical experts and follow Sergeant Jones through the chaos. 

Cocked guns secured inside their sweaty fists.

Uncontrolled shouts of security guards grew rampant as audacious boots stomped on the white pavement. 

What was unprecedented about this scene is that everyone in the facility knew what is going on. 

Security guards yell coded messages like "Code Red" and "Flaming Sparrow" which perplex the young antiheroes. 

"What the hell is 'Flaming Sparrow'?" Brooke whispers Caleb. 

Scampering after the Phoenix siblings, her boyfriend expresses a low grunt: "No clue, but sooner or later, I think we are going to find out."