Chapter Text
Night has fallen over the coastal town of Bristol Cove, casting silver moonlight upon the turbulent waves. Gusts blow; heavy rain pelts down like angry tears before dissolving, absorbed by the blackness of the sea.
Down under, a blurry silhouette speeds through the dark waters, impervious to the storm. Dim moonlight filters beneath, just enough to illumine the ghastly humanoid figure. Lungs are substituted for gills, visible by the slits at his ribs; webbed crevices stretch between clawed, slender fingers; and the strong, muscular tail of a fish slaps fiercely at the current, propelling his body forward. Below short dark hair, his blue eyes flash and fangs are bared as though ready to hunt, to bite and tear at flesh and turn black waters red. He weaves expertly through the reef until reaching the seabed, where a group of similar folk swiftly approach him, concern in their equally blue eyes as they communicate with him, signing with their hands: Brother, where?
Much to the pod’s dismay, he frantically signs back: Gone.
He explains in fragments, too emotional to speak clearly, but they get the gist of it: his little brother has been taken by the ones above. His fault.
And so he must be the one to get him back.
🫧𓇼𓏲*ੈ✩‧₊˚🎐
Laughter and chatter fill the boardwalk overlooking the Bristol Cove beach, any traces of yesterday’s storm swallowed by cheerful daylight. Shopkeepers sporting sailor shirts or seashell bras sell merchandise at their various stands. Locals and tourists alike shoot darts at targets to win mermaid plushies, take photos at face-in-hole mermaid cutout boards, or sip from ocean-colored martinis at the bar.
Across the street, a figure stands beneath a sign reading The Siren Song Bed & Breakfast, arms crossed over her chest and tsk-tsking to herself as she watches this all unfold. “Always the same rubbish, every year…”
Someone knocks into her: a couple of giggling girls in their 20s, wearing cheap dollar store wigs and seashell bras. “Ugh, watch it,” one turns to her to slur, before scanning the lady’s frame: long, auburn waves cascading down the back of a modest aqua dress, like Princess Ariel come to life, and the girl’s demeanor shifts completely. “Oh heyyy queen, you are slaying in that mermaid costume. Can we get a picture with you??”
“It’s not a costume,” the innkeeper thunders, glaring coldly at them with blue eyes deep as a storm, until the girls grow uncomfortable and hastily leave.
Back at the boardwalk, a crowd has gathered around an elevated platform for the main event. On the stage, a group of children are in the middle of a play: a rendition of the town’s founding. One boy narrates how their founder, a humble traveler lost at sea, had met and fallen in love with a mermaid, who guided him and his surviving crew safely through a storm to this sacred land. Two kids, portraying said founder and mermaid, embrace one another, and the crowd applauds in delight, as though this isn’t the same old play they’ve seen every year of their lives; maybe even performed themselves at that age.
The kids walk off stage, replaced by a suited white man, a professional smile on his face as he speaks into a microphone. “Folks, give it up one more time for the students of the Bristol Cove Middle School Drama Club. Wonderful performance, and depiction of my great great great-grandfather, William Mortimer. Without him, none of us would be living in this town today, the mermaid capital of the world. For those who don't know me, my name is Dylan Mortimer; I run the local fishery, which has always been a family business for us Mortimers, and so I’d like to welcome to the stage: my lovely wife Summer, and our children, Chaz and Callie.”
A middle-aged, wheelchair-bound woman and a teenage girl join him on the platform: the whole happy family. Well, save for one.
Seeing this, the man gives a hearty chuckle. “Well, it would appear my son is caught up with something — busy college student, you know. Studying marine bio. Probably out there saving some endangered sea creature as we speak. He’s always had a big heart, you see… And that’s what this town’s all about, caring for one another. We gather here every year, on the anniversary of our town’s founding, to commemorate the bravery of our ancestors as they made the perilous journey to this land 150 years ago today, and to celebrate what a lovely, close-knit community Bristol Cove has grown to be.” Before him, audience members nod along, moved by his speech. “I thank everyone for joining us today: locals, visitors. Hope you all enjoy the festival.”
The crowd applauds, and the man waves and leaves the platform, million-dollar smile dropping immediately as he turns to his wife and daughter to demand, “Where the hell is Wave?”
🫧𓇼𓏲*ੈ✩‧₊˚🎐
“WOOOOO-hoo!”
Sandy blond bangs fall into sea green eyes as a tall figure rides the waves, cheering, feeling the soothing sensation of sea spray hitting his face. He breathes it in. Ah, he missed this. With such a busy schedule lately, there’s nothing like a fun, relaxing day off.
After catching a particularly large wave, he calls excitedly to the tanned girl standing at the shallow end, “Coral! Did ya see that??”
“Yep, you’re doing great, babe!” Coral watches him with her arms folded over her floral orange top, trying to look unimpressed, though the fond quirk of her lips betrays her. Wave's improved a ton over the few years she’s known him, no longer falling clumsily off his board and even trying his hand at some crazy flips lately. But it’s not his skill she finds endearing; it’s how giddy and adorable he gets when he accomplishes something.
Coral’s long, dark hair whips in the breeze as her boyfriend comes to a rest. He weaves between other surfers and swimmers and wades over to her, board tucked under his arm.
“Hey, c’mon.” He takes her hand with his free one and tugs her towards him. “Don’t you want a turn?”
“Nah, that’s your thing. I’ll stick to lifeguarding.”
Wave hums, snaking a hand around her and pulling her close, board now lying abandoned beside them in the sand. “Well… you do look hot in that uniform, so I’m not complaining.”
She scoffs with a roll of her eyes, but leans in anyway, eyes dancing as her fingertips trace his exposed abs and her lips nearly brush his, closer and closer—
Wave hauls off and splashes her, eliciting a shriek. “Wh-hey!” She chases after him, trying to get him back. “Get back here, you little shit!”
Eventually catching him, she pushes him down, getting sand and water all over him. They take turns splashing each other and laughing hysterically, until Coral ends up in his lap and they cup each other’s sand-and-salt-covered cheeks and share a passionate kiss.
When they finally leave the water to return to their beach towel and get cleaned up, Wave pulls a T-shirt over his head and checks his phone, a bunch of missed calls and texts staring back at him. Mostly from a ‘Mr. Mortimer.’
Son, where are you?
Tell me you’re not seriously skipping the festival.
This family is more important than some poor creature you’re studying or whatever it is you're doing.
Answer me, please.
I’m very disappointed in you.
“See?” says Coral, reading over his shoulder as she dries off her hair with a towel. “Told ya you should have gone. They need you.”
“We got the afternoon off for once,” Wave argues. “We deserve to enjoy it.” He ignores the notifications from his family in favor of one from Violet Rani-G, who he calls back. “Hey Vi, what’s—”
“Wave!” gasps the frantic voice in his ear. “Shit! Where have you been? I’ve been calling all day—”
“Yeah, sorry, it’s my day off so I was—”
“Shut up I don’t care!” hisses his best friend in his ear, and her hyperventilating makes it difficult for him to make out her next words. “It’s my brother! I-it was the middle of the night… caught in a storm… caught something weird… I-I didn't see it, but he was… and then he was taken—”
Wave exchanges a glance with Coral, who's eying him in concern. “Woah woah, slow down, what?”
“Nox is gone!” she cries in anguish. “He’s been kidnapped—”
“Kidnapped? C'mon,” Wave snorts. He’s known Nox, his best friend's adoptive brother, practically his whole life. The guy's unpredictable; does what he wants, comes and goes as he pleases. Like some sort of stray cat. “I’m sure he’s just hungover or something. He’ll turn up at some point. He always does.”
“No, you don’t understand! We were out late last night, in the storm; it was stupid, I know! Dad said not to, but we still... And now he's gone, and it's all my fault—”
“Hey, hey, breathe," Wave coaxes, still failing to understand what she's trying to say. "You’re freaking out for nothing, Vi. Chill! He's an adult now, he can take care of himself, okay? Wherever he is, I promise he is perfectly fine.”
🫧𓇼𓏲*ੈ✩‧₊˚🎐
A bearded figure in a business uniform stares down at the unconscious young man lying in the hospital bed: pale complexion, dark hair, no more than 20. He looks like the type to wear some sort of gothic Victorian garb; certainly not to be caught dead in the unsightly blue hospital gown he's currently dressed in.
“He got hit pretty bad, huh?” the suited man remarks.
“Yeah, but his vitals are stable,” says a woman dressed in scrubs as she checks the patient’s IV bag, "and the bleeding's stopped, so give it a few days, and he'll be good to—"
“No. We can't let him go just yet.” The man turns on his heel, finality in his tone as he shuffles from the room. “Can’t have him blabbing about what he’s seen!”
"Yes, sir," the nurse calls after him.
The man marches down the corridor, nodding to a pair of armed men in military uniform as he passes, before entering a much larger room. Here, researchers in lab coats sit working at desks while soldiers stand guard at various points in the room. The man finally comes to a stop at the main attraction: what looks to be a fish tank, only large enough to fit a human.
Sure enough, inside is a creature resembling a young man, but with scales, gills, and razor-sharp fins down the sides of his tail, his short blond hair billowing up in the water. He floats there idly there at the bottom, sedated and dazed, yet despite his clearly weakened state, his eyes are grim and angry as they land on the human studying him with the utmost fascination.
“Well," the man breathes in awe, "aren’t you a beauty...”
🫧𓇼𓏲*ੈ✩‧₊˚🎐
That evening, after dropping off Coral at her brother's place, Wave darts out the front door, car keys in hand. He's about to head to his night class, when he finds a teenage brunette waiting for him.
“Oh hey, Cal!” His face lights up seeing her. "How’d you know where to find me?"
She doesn’t return the smile, just holds up her phone that's open on a tracking app, deadpanned. “Are you proud of yourself?”
“What?" he whines with a playful little pout. "What’d I do now?”
“I know you had nothing to do today," she scolds, jabbing a finger at his chest, "yet you still bailed on us! You made our family look bad!”
At her words, Wave's chill demeanor finally cracks. “Mortimer makes himself look bad, all on his own,” he leans in to hiss. “Overworking the town, harming marine life… all while he gets rich off of it. To hell with his reputation.” He pushes past her and marches over to his parked car.
“And where would we be,” cries Callie, following after, “without his money? Mom would never have been able to afford her medical bills, we’d be in debt, and you’d probably have to take some shady job to support us; like, I don't know, joining some cult or something! So next time you think you can disrespect Father like that, remember what he’s doing for us.”
Wave frowns. It hurts. To look into his sister’s eyes and not see his sister anymore. When she was younger she would never go along with someone she knew didn’t deserve it. But she’s grown up since. Learned to be self-sacrificing. To put her own feelings aside for the good of what’s most important. Their mom.
He softens and sighs. “Okay. Fine. I’ll try and get along with the old man for now.” He points a finger at her. “But the second I’m out of school and have a job, I’m gonna be the one paying for Mom and then we are leaving that prick, you hear?”
She inhales through her nose, tentative but seeming satisfied with that answer. “Okay.”
Wave starts to open the car door, but can tell there’s more on her mind, and lifts his brows expectantly. “Well? What is it?”
She glances off to the side, pursing her lips. “So. You’re living with that… Kaimana girl now? Bronze’s sister?”
Wave sighs — if it were anyone else, he’d probably be offended, but it’s just Callie, he reminds himself. She’s just been spending too much time around Mortimer. “Her name is Coral, and yes, she moved in with me. It’s more convenient, this way we can carpool to school and work.”
“Well… Father doesn’t approve of her, you know. Says she’s a bad influence.”
Wave rolls his eyes. “Yeah, well, he’s probably racist.” His sister starts to interrupt, but he thunders on. “I mean, bad influence how? She came here on an academic scholarship, she’s on top of all her school work while doing lifeguarding and interning with me at the research center, she’s way more responsible than me, and her brother’s the sheriff, for god’s sake. If anything, I'm the bad influence. He’s just being an asshole.”
“Wh…” Callie’s eyes widen, and she has the decency to look ashamed. “I didn’t mean… I didn’t mean it like that,” she says tinily. “I don’t mind you dating her.”
“Yeah?" Wave softens a little. "Well, you should meet her sometime. Actually get to know her. I think you’d get along.” Callie hugs him, and with a last wave, he drives off to school.
🫧𓇼𓏲*ੈ✩‧₊˚🎐
The professor pauses his lesson in marine conservation when Wave suddenly walks through the door. “Ah, how nice of you to join us, Mr. Mortimer…" he greets, before adding a "late as always" under his breath.
“It’s Radsurfer,” Wave says coolly, and can feel the eye rolls and passive stares around him as he crosses the room and plops his bag into an empty seat. He'd learned a few years back that while he was the popular type in high school, once you get to post-secondary, someone like him is just a waste of everyone's time.
Certainly doesn't help that everyone associates him with his infamous new stepfather now.
The professor continues the lecture, Wave not really listening until someone asks about the prospect of finding a new species.
"Well yes, it's more likely than you think," the professor remarks. "I mean, just last year, there were, what? — 800 something new marine species discovered? It’s said that we've only explored 5% of the ocean. What lies beneath is more alien to us than outer space… you never know what you might discover there,” he narrates dramatically, before checking the clock and dismissing them. “Have fun out there, scientists. Explore!”
Everyone hopes they’ll be the first to discover some new species, Wave thinks dubiously on his drive home. That doesn’t mean a miracle like that’d happen to him of all people. What are the chances?
It’s late, and he’s feeling drained, so when a sudden shadow appears before him, he almost thinks he’s hallucinating.
But no. His headlights have landed unmistakeably on a dirt-covered naked figure right in the middle of the road.
Screeeek!
He swerves with a shout, slamming his foot on the brakes and screeching to a halt.
“Woah dude, you good?! I could have killed you, man!” Wave slams the car door and rushes over. He knows he probably shouldn’t be approaching some random guy alone in the middle of the night, but unfortunately for him, he is virtually incapable of feeling fear; only good vibes.
Such is proven unwise when the stranger full on hisses at him like an animal. Must be pretty damn wasted, Wave thinks. Or an escaped cult victim.
“Hey, hey. It’s okay.” Wave holds up two hands. “I’m not gonna hurt you, dude. You need help or something? Want me to call someone?” The boy says nothing, just stares at him with his big blue eyes. They’re kind of blinding, honestly. All bright and uncanny. Wave almost thinks they’re contacts. He desperately tries to keep his gaze there and not accidentally look... anywhere he shouldn’t, as the weird guy has zero shame, not attempting to cover himself at all.
The guy staggers towards him, almost looking like he’s about to say something, before swaying a bit on his feet and falling over, unconscious.
“Woah, geez!” Wave lurches forward reflexively, catching the guy just before he can hit the ground, and quickly removes his jacket to wrap around him, leaving himself shivering in a thin T-shirt. Without any other options, he lifts the stranger into his passenger seat, before entering the driver’s side… and doing what he always does when he’s feeling lost.
“Hey, what’s up? You okay?” comes his girlfriend’s soothing voice over the phone, sounding a little lethargic.
“Oh sorry, did I wake you?”
“No, I was just about to sleep.” (She was doing her usual nightly routine of doomscrolling before bed.) “What’s up?”
“Uhh…” Wave glances at the sleeping figure beside him. “So, I found this guy in the middle of the road. He doesn’t have any clothes and he’s covered in dirt and looked really confused, and then he just passed out…”
Coral sits up in bed in concern. “Oh my god, where are you?”
“Uh…” He blows out, raking a hand through his hair as he checks the GPS. “Just a few minutes away from home, but I can always turn back around and take him to the hospital — that’d be best, right?”
“No no, how about I call the Doc? See if he can come to you.” Wave nods. She’s referring to one of his old childhood friends, who’s several years their senior and ended up becoming a doctor. “You just go back home, okay? It’s late.” Coral knows how much of a mess her boyfriend is on little sleep; he gets 10 times clumsier than normal. She doesn’t want him getting into an accident.
Wave makes it back home, once again carrying the now conscious, but still weak young man. He settles him on the couch, giving the guy some spare clothes and water and instructing him to get some rest. He tries to use body language and hand gestures as much as he can, since the guy doesn’t seem to understand him. Must not be from around here.
Wave crawls into bed, lying above the sheets and telling himself he’ll stay up just long enough for the doctor to get there… but it’s not long before his eyelids grow heavy.
🫧𓇼𓏲*ੈ✩‧₊˚🎐
Wave rouses from a hazy doze to a melodious sound — a haunting, enchanting hum so otherworldly it could only be out of a dream. It draws him in, calls to him like the sea itself. It shows him all his deepest desires and repressed fantasies, things he didn’t even know he wants, allowing him to let go and bathing him in soothing bliss.
Then he shifts his body, lifting his head groggily from his pillow, and the man on the couch swims into view. He’s sitting up at the edge of the cushion, wearing one of Wave’s spare T-shirts that looks a little big on him. His dazzling sea-blue irises are locked on Wave, dark freckles dotting his pale face like stars, and lips pursed in gentle song.
Ooh-ooh…
He’s… singing. Just for Wave.
Ooh-ooh…
Wave swallows hard. He doesn’t know why or how, but when he stares back into those eyes, it’s like gazing at the ocean itself. It’s—
Knock-knock-knock.
The mystery boy tenses and pauses his song, turning toward the source of the noise, and in a sudden moment of clarity, Wave remembers what’s going on. Doc Guadalupe. He’d fallen asleep waiting for the man to get here, who is now here. Shit. He bolts over to the door.
“Good evening, Sir Chaz!” greets the cheerful man standing in the threshold: tall, buff and blond, beaming from ear to ear despite how late it is. He’s dressed down in a casual cable knit sweater, clearly caught during his off hours, but with a stethoscope around his neck and clutching a medical bag. “Would you be so kind as to lead me to the patient?”
“Right. Y-yeah.” Wave rubs his neck, blinking hard and trying to stay present as he leads Goldie deeper into the house. “He’s just in here. Thanks for coming out here so late, man.”
“A doctor’s day is never done,” proclaims Goldie sagely, just as they reach the bedroom to find it empty. Wave stops in his tracks, pointing at the very vacant couch.
“He… He was just here. I swear.” He checks the bathroom and all the other rooms, only to find those empty as well.
He returns to see Goldie curiously surveying the room before pausing by the open window with a hum. “It would appear your mysterious stranger has stolen off into the night.”
🫧𓇼𓏲*ੈ✩‧₊˚🎐
“Babe? What’s going on?” Coral asks when she returns home the next morning to find Wave dashing down the hall, hair unkempt and jacket tucked under his arm. “You’re up early. Did you get any sleep?”
Distractedly, he pants, “Yeah, hey. That boy from earlier disappeared and he seemed like he was in trouble so I’m gonna go look through town, okay?” He gives her a quick peck on the cheek and brushes past.
“Okay, wait, what does he look like?”
Wave pauses in the doorway, catching his breath as he glances back at her. “Uhh… maybe 19 or 20? About this tall.” He holds a hand up to his eyebrows. “Light skin, short dark hair and blue eyes. Oh, and lots of freckles.” He gestures to his face where the mystery boy has them dotting his skin.
“'Kay, I’ll look around when I’m down at the center later; let you know if I find anything.”
“Thanks babe! Loveyoubye!”
He heads through town, figuring the guy can't have gotten far with how little energy he had. Sure enough, it's not long before Wave spots the guy across the street, outside The Siren Song to be exact, where he appears to be engaging in a conversation with the owner (and his best friend's mom), Agatha Gruenenfelder. Wave dashes madly across the street, stopping cars and angering drivers, calling out to Mrs G just as the boy leaves and continues down the street.
“Mrs G!” He stops in front of her, trying to get her attention, but the lady's mind seems elsewhere. “Mrs G, who was that boy? You seemed like you knew him.”
“Huh? Boy? I didn’t see a boy,” she mumbles absently, looking at Wave but not appearing to really see him.
“Yes you did, the guy you were just speaking—” he calls after her, but she again insists she saw nothing and heads back into her house, looking dazed, with Wave left staring helplessly after. He sighs and hurries down the block the direction he saw his mystery guy go, when—
“Wave!” He turns his head to see a familiar blasian girl darting towards him, her long purple hair a tangled mess and mascara running down her face, and he internally groans.
“Not right now, Vi, I’m kinda busy—”
“I’m telling you, man, he’s gone!” she hisses, hurrying after as he jogs down the street searching for his boy. “He was injured on the boat, Wave, you gotta believe me—"
"Wait, you were out on the water last night?" Wave clarifies, a little distracted, trying to focus. Mr. G, Violet and Nox's father, owns a fishing boat, so he figures that's what they were doing. "Why would you go fishing in the middle of a storm?"
"Does it matter?!" she cries. "What matters is he got injured, and then this-this fucking chopper came down, and there were these men in uniform and they took Nox!”
Wave frowns, realizing there is a lot he couldn't make out on the phone yesterday through her panicking. “Who, the coastguard? Then they probably took him to a hospital, right? I mean, how bad was he hurt?”
"No no no, not a hospital. I spent all day calling every hospital in the area, none of them have him! You know what I think?" Wave hums, humoring her. “They were military,” she scream-whispers. “You know why? ’Cause we caught something. Something no one’s discovered. Some new exotic species, or hybrid, or freak experiment or something, and that's why they stole our catch and kidnapped Nox.”
“New exotic species?” Wave echoes. “Like what?”
Vi’s eyes dart to the left and right, as though someone could be watching them, before pulling him in close and turning his head in the direction of…
The town's statue of William Mortimer, and below him…
“…Mermaids?” Wave says skeptically, to which Vi fervently nods, and he tries to keep a straight face at how crazy this sounds. “Like, the town legends.”
"Not legends, you idiot, they’re real! This is real! We caught one!"
His best friend has always been a little dramatic — chaotic to his chill, the perfect combination. But he doesn't think he's seen her like this. Other than maybe her parents’ divorce back when they were kids. He knows how she gets about Nox, or just family stuff in general; he should probably be a little more receptive.
Wave sighs, laying a palm on her shoulder. “Look, I’m really sorry about Nox, but there’s gotta be a logical explanation, okay? He got hurt in the storm, and now he’s recovering at some normal hospital, and we’re going to find him. Trust me." Violet's brows pinch together, looking like she wants to interject. "It's just that, I've got this thing going on right now; it’s really important. Why don’t you… go talk to Bronze, or someone else at the station? And I’ll meet back up with you as soon as I can, ’kay?”
Feeling bad, but more worried about the lost boy wandering aimlessly around than his friend he knows is safe in some hospital, Wave leaves Violet alone and grim under the dull amber glow of a streetlamp, and continues his search.
🫧𓇼𓏲*ੈ✩‧₊˚🎐
The boy trudges through the strange land civilization, watching as the bright circle in the sky begins to wane, its blinding light from this morning fading to a subtler glow.
His lower limbs ache from walking for what feels like hours, and his arms feel a little chilly from the armless upper garment that strange man from earlier had given him.
He seemed like he wanted to help, but that man was clearly like all humans. He had someone coming over, probably to help kill him or eat him or something.
The mer remembers the gruesome stories he grew up hearing. He knows his people’s history. Humans are all the same.
He ends up by the water, where a bunch of those large human vehicles are parked, like the one he saw last night out on the water. And there, lying out on the dock is some of that familiar webbing, just like… He winces as the memory from last night flashes through his mind.
The look of panic on his brother's face, screaming and calling out for him, as he was caught in that strange webbing along with the other fish and dragged up to the surface.
Humans. Humans have taken his brother. He doesn’t know where, but he’s going to find out. Somehow.
That is, if they haven’t already…
He can visualize the stories when he shuts his eyes: humans with their weapons, slaughtering his kind…
No, the merman hisses to himself, angry for even thinking it. His brother’s tough. He’s still alive, he knows it.
He has to be.
He heads away from the dock, back to where the buildings are, until a box on the side of one catches his eye: colorful drawings dancing magically across it, which he reaches curiously towards to trace with a fingertip. But he can't feel them; just a cold, flat screen. There's sound coming out of the box: light music, as well as a human voice speaking in a tongue he cannot understand. An image of a human, with hair sort of like his, appears on the screen, riding one of those human vessels out on the water and wearing some strange garments. A man's voice narrates: “I am Deacon; I live on the sea.”
“I…am…Dea-con,” echoes the mer, wondering what that means.
Just then, the smell of fish wafts out of the building, hitting his nose and distracting him from the screen. He hasn’t eaten since yesterday, and it’s already starting to get a little dark out. Following the scent, Deacon makes his way around the side of the building, eventually finding a doorway, and creeps slowly inside.
Peeking around a corner, he spots someone working there, her back to him as she blends some sort of mixture that smells positively aromatic.
“Aloha, Coral~” chirps a voice, and the worker turns to see an East Asian guy on his way to the door, dressed in all black with a work lanyard around his neck and a chill expression.
“Oh hi, Simon,” she says. “What's up?”
“Soo sorry, but I gotta head out a little early today; could you maybe hold the fort for me?”
“Yeah, of course.” Coral gestures to the fish blend she’s just prepared. “I was just gonna go feed the lions before we close up for the night, and then I think Ross is taking the morning shift?"
Simon hums, pursing his lips. “Yeah, about the lions, the weirdest thing happened yesterday. The other volunteers found some of ’em waaay outside their usual range. And not just any; they were tagged. They’re ours.”
Coral’s eyebrows pinch together. “Really? Why?”
“I dunno, seemed like they were searching for food or something. We’ll keep studying it, though. See if we can find a solution.” Simon turns on his heel, throwing a wave over his shoulder. “Anyhoo, take care of ’em, and keep up the good work. See ya!”
Still thinking about what her boss said, Coral goes out to feed the center's sea lion rescues at the dock, leaving behind a second pitcher of the fish blend. Unbeknownst to her, a figure sneaks into the room once she’s gone, grabbing the pitcher and chugging the liquid eagerly. Once his hunger is sated, he wanders back out, only for the feeding animals to tense up, growling and barking at his presence.
"Woah, woah," Coral says, eyes wide. She holds her hands out in an effort to coax them, trying not to let any fear show. Shit, she let Simon leave, thinking she's got everything under control, but she's out of her depth here. The animals she's dealt with are normally pretty calm.
Luckily, after a minute, they finally calm down and return to the water. Coral releases a breath, wondering what could have sparked that momentary outburst, and heads back inside... finding herself face to face with the very cause.
“Oh uh, hi!" she greets the stranger as she stops in her tracks. "Do you… need help with something?”
The man slowly looks up, and the pair hold each other's gaze for a beat, Coral wondering if she's seen this guy before. She feels kinda drawn to him for some inexplicable reason, like someone out of a memory or dream… And that shark T-shirt he's wearing looks oddly... Oh. It hits her. That's why he looks familiar; Wave’s decription from earlier.
“I…am… Dea-con,” the guy utters, his voice coming out a little guttural; a little unnatural. Maybe if he can learn their tongue, the humans will be able to understand him and help him locate his brother.
Coral blinks slowly, feeling almost entranced. His eyes are so vibrant… Her voice comes out a little breathy when she speaks: “Hi Deacon, I’m—”
“Coral!” She startles as Wave runs in just then, stopping short when he sees the guy. He'd caught sight of Deacon outside the building while driving around looking for him and immediately parked out back. “Oh, thank god.”
Wave approaches, just as the mer starts coughing a bit, and he lowers his voice in concern. “Hey dude, are you hurt? You need anything? I’ve been looking for you all day. Really freaked me out, ya know?”
The mer doesn't know what to say, so he just repeats the only line he knows. “I am Dea-con.”
“Hi Deacon,” Wave says gently. “I’m Wave—" He lays a hand to his heart— "This is Coral." He gestures to the woman beside him, and Deacon gets the sense they are exchanging some sort of greeting. "We’re gonna help you, but we need you to trust us, okay? No running away this time.” Deacon doesn’t respond, just blinks up at them with his big blue eyes, coughing again. His chest has begun to ache, and his skin itches.
Oblivious to his discomfort, Coral pulls her partner aside. “So that’s your guy?” Wave nods. “Thought that shirt looked familiar.” She gestures wryly at the old T-shirt Deacon's currently wearing that doesn’t fit him anymore — one that, before moving in with him, she'd often wear when she stayed over and didn't have a change of clothes.
Wave laughs a little. “Yeah, was the smallest thing I had.”
Finally, they notice Deacon scratching violently at something, and turn around.
“Woah, woah, hey.” Wave approaches him gently. “What's that? Mind if I take a look?”
Deacon, sensing less danger this time, allows the man to lift his sleeve, and both Wave and Coral check the place on his arm he's been itching, where the skin looks red and blotchy, like it's slowly drying and flaking off.
“...Think we have some cream in the back?” Wave asks tentatively, despite them not exactly being well-versed in human skin conditions and doubting they're qualified to treat it.
“Yeah, we can try that.” Coral gets to her feet. “I’ll go look.”
“Okay, you do that; I’ll call the Doc,” Wave says, and she nods, before he turns back to Deacon and gestures for him to take a seat on the nearby stool. “Hey, we’re gonna go get something — some medicine, for your skin,” he enunciates, gesturing to his own arm. “So don't go anywhere this time, okay? We’ll be right back.”
With that, Wave steps out to call Goldie, unaware of just how sick Deacon really is.
While the humans are out, he hisses in pain. His chest tightens, becoming harder and harder to breathe, and his skin burns, begging to be damp once more.
No! He grips onto the seat violently, digging in his claws, trying his hardest to hold on. He has to fight. For his brother. He has to stay, just a little longer, just until he can figure out how to communicate what he really needs with these humans. Ugh, curse this awful form…
He wheezes, trembling all over, trying desperately to fight his own body, but it’s no use.
He lifts himself from the seat and immediately drops to his hands and knees, lacking the strength to stand on his useless lower limbs. He crawls frantically out of the building and down the dock with all the might he has left in him, before plunging into the water.
Finally, so close to sweet relief, but first he must shed his human clothes and human skin. He screams in blinding pain as his body reacts to the touch of water and his flesh is ripped violently apart. Two lower limbs melt into one, fins burst out of his back, smooth skin molds into scaly… and the pain finally subsides. He watches his human attire float away in the current, no closer to finding his brother, but at least he is able to breathe.
So focused on the transition, he doesn't notice the colony of animals nearby, not until his presence sends them into a panic, threatened growls rumbling from deep in their chests.
Back in the center, the sea lions’ cries get Wave and Coral’s attention.
“Uh yeah, hold on a second, Gold…" Wave covers the phone with a hand, exchanging a perplexed glance with Coral. "What’s going on?” he hisses. That doesn't sound normal.
“They were doing that earlier, too,” Coral says as she leads him into the other room, where they check the monitors that display what's underwater just below the center. “And Simon said they’ve started swimming out of their usual range, like they’re searching for a new food source or something.”
Wave hums thoughtfully as they check the screens, seeing nothing unusual…
Until a human face passes by the camera.
And not just any face.
“Shit—”
Before Coral can react, Wave's phone is clattering to the floor as he snatches a flashlight off the desk and speeds out of the building.
“Wave!” cries Coral, reaching the doorway just in time to watch him dash madly down the dock and leap off the edge.
Down under, he flicks the flashlight on, squinting through the dim waters to search for his guy, adrenaline pumping. Damn it, he shouldn’t have left Deacon alone… He was only gone for a second! How did he go in? Why did he go in? Who knows how long he’s been under; he could be drowning by now… And with the sea lions acting all strange…
Finally, Wave makes out a dark figure not too far away: a familiar face; only, when the guy comes into the light…
It isn’t who Wave expected. Well, is, but not. He wears Deacon's face: same dark hair floating in the water above his head, same sea-blue eyes who’d stared into his soul last night as he sang an intimate song for Wave’s ears alone… But this being isn’t human. No, it's a terrifying creature with pointy fangs and razor-sharp fins that look like they could split Wave in two.
Wave’s heart stops in his chest, and he has to make sure not to open his mouth in shock at what he’s seeing. The creature spots him and lunges towards him with all the savagery of a predator, reaching him with lightning speed, and before he can react, sharp claws have swiped at his neck. Wave jolts at the sharp pain, eyes stinging with reflexive tears.
It’s said that we've only explored 5% of the ocean.
He recoils away from the creature, but it doesn't relent, hauling off and swiping at him again and again, teeth bared, hissing at him animalistically. He lets out a muffled shout, lungs screaming for air, flashlight tumbling out of his hand and sinking to the depths as he frantically swims up towards the surface, trying not to think too hard about the blotch of red blooming up in the water around him.
What lies beneath is more alien to us than outer space.
He bursts through the surface with a strangled gasp, not even registering the figure at the edge of the dock waiting for him, too focused on the thing below trying to grab at his legs and pull him down under into the abyss.
“Wave!” shouts Coral, eyes wide with terror as she watches the skilled swimmer she knows so well flailing and struggling like he's about to drown, like something is pulling him from below.
He bobs up, frantic bubbles and a muffled yell exiting his mouth, before falling back under until all of him is submerged… well, all but a flailing hand. Coral drops to her knees, reaching over the dock and grabbing that hand. “I GOT YOU!” she yells. “I got you, just hold onto me!” With all her strength, she tugs him out of the water, feeling a little resistance from whatever is pulling him the opposite way, until more of him gradually emerges from the surface. With one last kick from Wave, he's able to knock the creature off him just long enough for Coral to win this cursed tug-of-war and drag his drenched, heavy body up onto the platform.
She collapses back onto the wooden boards, Wave going with her and landing on top of her, both of them soaked and gasping and heaving as they are pummeled with sudden rain.
“Wave,” she gasps out, propping up on her elbows to cup his face and study him, feeling her lover shaking and shuddering in her arms, eyes wide and dazed. “What happened down there?! Where’s that boy? Oh my god, did he…?”
Die, she doesn’t say, even though it’s obvious that’s what happened; he couldn't have possibly been down there that long and survived, especially not with whatever animal down there just attacked Wave.
“He got me,” Wave wheezes, barely loud enough for her to make out, staring intently at her but not seeing her, seeing nothing but that face, those deep blue eyes that had looked at him with such contempt and rage before taking a swipe at him. It replays in his mind like a twisted nightmare.
“Who? Who got you?” she asks gently, fully sitting up, unfazed by the water pouring on her as she strokes his drenched hair.
“H-him. Mystery guy. Sang to me.” Wave is talking in bits and pieces, babbling nonsense, pupils dilated and still trembling in her arms.
“Sang? What are you talking about, hon?”
“He wasn’t human. It-hah.” He grips his forehead, puffing a humorless laugh. “It all makes sense. Vi was right… Mermaids. Mermaid capital of the…”
He’s talking crazy, Coral thinks worriedly. Is he concussed? He rubs absently at his neck, and that’s when Coral’s eyes lower to the long scratch marks there, blood still trickling out of the fresh wounds. “I-shit! Wave, you’re hurt! Come, let’s go patch you up.” She rises and helps pull him to his feet, dragging him through the storm and back into the center, where she seats him on a stool and searches for the first aid kit.
While she works, he continues mumbling. “Coral, he was a mermaid. Merman. Mer…person.”
He's really out of it, she thinks worriedly as she dabs at his neck with antiseptic. “Hey, hey, just relax. You lost some blood; you're delirious.”
“No, no,” he insists, fidgeting and making it difficult for her to dress his wound. “I know what I saw. It was Deacon. He transformed in the water. He had a tail, and-and fangs, and claws…”
Her brows pinch together. “Wave,” she says, gently but firmly, "he’s gone.” Whatever he saw down there must have been brutal; he must have made up a story in his head, hallucinated something else happening, rather than to see someone die. “You did everything you could.”
“No!” He gets abruptly to his feet. “He’s not gone, he’s... Coral, don’t you see? This is a scientific discovery, and we’re the biologists who uncovered it. This is… this is incredible.”
“I don’t—” She just watches him, concerned.
“I know what I saw, and… And I can prove it!” He dashes out of the room, Coral tailing after and finding him by the monitors.
He connects to the computer and searches the surveillance footage with such fervor that she just decides to indulge him a little. When he doesn’t find the evidence he’s looking for, he’ll be forced to face the hard truth. And then she’ll get a team to go under and search for the body, and the police will identify him, or even if they can't, the town will still hold a funeral out of respect…
“Look!” he exclaims, snapping her out of her thoughts, and her eyes land on the screen he's pointing vigorously at.
She stops. The time is today, about 10 minutes ago, and the footage displays it, clear as day. Wave going under, and an unmistakably humanoid creature coming into view, its fangs bared, its tail slapping vertically at the water as it swims aggressively towards him. She flinches as it reaches Wave, taking a swing and slicing him, turning dark waters red.
“Oh my god,” she breathes, turning away from the screen to catch her breath.
“See?” Wave says delightedly, all his panic from earlier now replaced with curious wonder.
“I… I’m sorry I didn’t believe you,” she says, turning back to face him, and they exchange a charged stare. At what this means. This changes everything.
🫧𓇼𓏲*ੈ✩‧₊˚🎐
"Wave! There's a storm out there!" Coral yells a minute later, after Wave had decided to just up and run out of the building.
"We have to go to The Siren Song!" he calls over the roar of the wind.
“No, we need to go to a hospital,” she says firmly, gripping his arm and trying to pull him back. “You got scratched up pretty bad—"
“It’s important! I gotta talk to Agatha G.”
“Crazy old lady Agatha?” cries Coral, hurrying after him.
“Hey, that’s Vi’s mom you’re talking about. And… I’m starting to think she might not be so crazy.”
"Step-mom," she corrects with a huff, but neither of them want to go into that story, so she just follows close behind anyway.
They park outside the B&B, heavy rain pouring down on them as they cut across her lawn. "Mrs. G!" Wave shouts over the roaring wind, pounding at the front door. "Mrs. G, let us in please!"
An auburn head appears behind the glass, perplexed and concerned, before the door bursts open. "Goodness, get in, you two! What are you doing outside in the middle of a storm?"
Screaming rain and wind die down to a dull hum as she shuts the door, shaking rainwater off of herself. "Well, I suppose you two will be wanting a room," she says, turning to head up the stairs, "though I can't imagine why, being that you already have an apartment…"
"No no no. Mrs. G." Wave grabs her by the shoulder. "We need to talk to you."
"You've had 20 years to do that, yet you and the rest of this town continue to pretend I don't exist," Agatha scoffs. "If it's about Dylan, tell him no. Whatever it is."
"It's not about…"
"Then I don't care," she thunders, wheeling on him. "My son is missing right now, so I am in no mood to chat with you. Either take a room, or kindly leave."
Wave falters guiltily, having forgotten all about that with everything that happened. "Oh right, Nox, I heard. I'm so sorry, Mrs. G, if there's anything I can do..."
"Oh, trust me, you can't," the lady sighs cryptically, a reaction Wave certainly wasn't expecting. "Just go home, you too."
She starts to usher them towards the door, so Wave hastens to interject: "Okay wait, but first, you know that boy you saw this morning? Right outside here?"
Agatha's eyes glaze over and she averts her gaze, exactly like this morning. "What boy? I didn't see any boy."
"Yes you did, I know you're—"
"I saw nothing, so just—"
"What do you know about mermaids?" Wave blurts, and sees he was right to go by this approach, as the lady instantly freezes, which he takes as a sign to go on. "This morning, that boy. You know something about him."
"…What is it you think I know?" she says cautiously.
"That he's one of them? I saw it, tonight. He… changed, in the water." Something catches his eye, and he grabs a book off Agatha's shelf, displaying the skeleton of a mermaid on the leather-bound front cover, and holds it up. "Just like this. These stories you used to tell us as kids, about the town — the real story of the town. Everyone told us it was just made-up and that you were a lunatic, but they were real, weren't they? And that boy, he was one of them."
Her eyes slowly lower to Wave's neck. "And he did that to you, I presume?"
Wave hesitates, touching the bandage there, and that's answer enough, so Agatha finally sighs and gives in. "In their natural state in the water, they hunt. Their instinct is to kill. They see you as prey."
"Yyyeah, we… got that," mutters Coral, wishing she couldn't still visualize that footage of Wave being attacked so vividly.
Agatha's calculating eyes now land on her. "And why is she here?"
Coral frowns. Sure, she hasn't been here in the mainland too long, but she'd still consider California to be her home. It kinda hurts when the longtime locals try to act like she's some sort of outsider.
Wave holds a protective hand out in front of her, as though shielding her from Agatha. "Hey, she was there too, when I got attacked. She's in on this now, whether you like it or not, and you can trust her. She's not gonna tell anyone about this."
Agatha hums and moves on. "Well clearly, as you now know, our kinds aren't meant to mix. It only creates chaos. Yet your father's ancestor didn't seem to grasp that."
"My father?" Wave grimaces. "Ugh, you mean Mortimer?"
With a slow nod, Agatha narrates darkly: "150 years ago, William Mortimer and his crew massacred those beautiful creatures. Slaughtered them in cold blood. That is your legacy."
"That…" Wave's voice comes out all scratchy at the horror of this revelation. "That's not mine; I'm not related to him!"
The lady sighs, returning to her staircase and putting a clear end to the conversation. "Maybe not, but you're a part of his family now. This is all around you. You're living it."
With nothing much else to say, Wave and Coral thank her and return to their car, taking Agatha's book with them. They exchange a grim look on their way home, something telling them that everything is about to be turned upside down.
And that this is just the beginning.