Beneath The Water (Complete)

Thirty-Four

Back on Earth, there was a saying which I always found extremely amusing - there's plenty of fish in the sea. It was something my customer, Peter, always used to say when he struck out with a girl before ordering another drink. His words rang through my head as I swam through the ocean, something which now seemed to be barren.

The first 100km from shore there was boats, fishing and pulling in traps. Though they had expected my species to be extinct, they were still fishing. Whatever they caught was removed from the water, even the most useless fish which would not be good for eating and served no other purpose. They seemed to make sure that even if there was any of us left, that we'd be starved out of hiding or just die quietly on the seafloor.

Due to this overfishing, the environment was suffering. Most of the coral had turned grey or had been shattered as boats dropped their anchors on it, using it to hold them still as they hunted for whatever hid in the cracks. I took almost two days, anxiously searching for areas which might have survived, but even swimming at my top speed of 30km/h, everywhere I looked was a graveyard.

If I thought I hurt before, it was nothing to the feeling in my heart now. I knew I couldn't stay in the water forever, I only had two weeks before I'd have to start walking to meet up with Thalian and Kane in Hollowview.

Two weeks was a long time in isolation.

At first, I still had some hope to find something. I'd swim around, crying out and praying to pick up some call back; even if from a whale or dolphin.

Nothing.

I rarely saw a fish, none which were bigger than my hand, all of which fled from me. The only sound I heard was my own screams, and the waves shifting on the surface. My mix of sage green and aegean blue scales reflected the sunlight, giving them a sparkle whenever I stayed near the surface, but when I dove deeper, they were dark enough that I seamlessly blended into the dark, cold waters.

The deeper I got, the colder the water became and the more I could feel the ice running through my veins. There were fewer traps this deep, even fewer signs of life than before. It was hard for creatures to live at such a high pressure and limited light, and now that the surface life was gone, the deep sea life had also seemed to fade.

Off in the distance, I saw a soft glow of life. What should have been an exciting find, instead it just reminded me of the loss of life. It was an anglerfish, slowly moving with its bioluminescence making a show for the nonexistent fish in the area. By this point, I was hungry, but not desperate enough to eat the bony and obviously old 3ft fish. I let out a predatory screech, the light quickly disappeared and once again I was alone.

It was there I rested, my body hovered just above the sandy floor and even with my vision made for the darkest ocean water, there was nothing to see. I stared straight up, every once and a while, flicking my tail against the currents. My mind wandered to how I got here, and part of me almost expected to hear a mermaid soldier calling out for me.

That voice never came. My mom wouldn't send men out for me because they were all probably dead, herself included. Even if they weren't, I was dead to them. It was probably better that I wouldn't have enough time to swim to the depth of the Tropax - the Marianas Trench as it's known on Earth. I didn't want to pretend that there was a chance that my home city had survived. Hope was gone and I tried to find comfort there some of us were still alive out there, I just didn't know where.

The longer I stayed, motionless in the frigid water, the less I felt. My thoughts occasionally wandered to Ran, wondering if he still waited for me just off the shore. Eventually, even that seemed too good to be true. No one was waiting for me and just like on Earth, only those who needed me cared about me. At least here I wouldn't have to serve drinks to lonely and depressing people, here I could at least hope to die in battle.

That's what I focused on. As many times as I told myself that my home was gone, part of me always wanted to hold on. The barren sea was proof that my hope was dead.

It wasn't all for nothing, though the sea was empty, the land was at war. Hate for what happened in my absence fueled me and a new life sparked within me. I talked a good talk on land about wanting revenge, to get the world back to how it should be. It was different now. I didn't care if we succeeded, I just wanted the pain and memories to go away.

I had to forget what the world once was, what I once was and I needed to start figuring out what I am now. Times had changed and just like on Earth, I was ready to change with them. I would help Thalian rescue his Isi and then I'd be ready to move onto a new adventure. Groups and leadership were never my thing and I assumed once all was said and done, I'd be on my way and let Kane start the revolution. I wouldn't become a martyr for the cause Kane lead, even if it was my idea in the beginning.

For now, my heart just ached and I wanted to find a way to make it stop. I didn't know if I could do that alongside Kane and Thalian. Everyone at that camp would look at me like an outsider for my entire life and I would be used and hated for what I could do. I was starting to think it'd be best if the world had no reason to believe that mermaids did somehow survive.

When my mind was made up, I pushed my clawed, webbed hand down to angle myself up towards the surface. I flattened my long fin which ran from my mid back to the bed of where my human knees would be. With a powerful flick of my tail, I took off, racing back towards the shallower waters.

I broke the surface of the water and arched into the air, diving back into the water, swimming just below the surface. The gills on my sides open and closed as I pushed my body to its limits, racing for the shore. 

****

As much as I write about fantasy, the issues I write about above are really happening. The ocean is dying and I implore all of you to do some research on different ways you can help in your area. 

The picture attached in the cover is a stretch of the Great Barrier Reef which is now dead.