Beneath the Courage

Beneath Your Nose

Ocar-

The puzzles. The same strange tasting fish day in and day out. It was wearing on me. My tail pumped lazily as I glided along the bottom of the deep pool. I was grateful to be allowed at least this much freedom. Being given a pool at all was a relief after suffering in human prison, but it was far from the ocean. Very, very far. 

The scent of something sour hit my nose and I glanced up from the darkness. More of that medicine they keep putting in the pool. They said that it was to kill aquatic infection in specimens, but I wasn't a damn experiment. I didn't feel sick and I wasn't stupid. They were dosing my water for a different reason... but hell if they would bother telling me. 

I'll have to ask Oliver when he comes back. 

The faint vibrations caused by a human walking alongside my pool brought my attention to the other side from where the chemicals had been put in. I swam closer, staying deep enough to hide in the shadows of the wall to my right. He was talking to someone, though I could only feel one set of footsteps. 

Must be on a phone. 

Falling back slightly, I slowly began rising toward the surface. I didn't want to be visible, or at least draw attention to myself, but I also wanted to know what he was talking about. It was odd for a human to be around me to begin with, but one not paying attention when walking along my pool? 

He's not afraid... or he's stupid. 

As I rose higher in the cool water, I began to be able to make out what he was saying. 

"...was added. Yes, several times." 

The faint vibrations from his footsteps stopped abruptly, making me dive down. I circled around to the far end of the pool, then surfaced just enough to see where he was. Ah, tying his shoe. Since I wasn't noticed, I silently slipped back beneath the surface, returning to my previous spot to wait. 

"Like I was saying, sir, I put the chemicals in the water, but there's no reaction." 

He began walking again and I slowly followed, being careful to stay deep enough to not draw his attention. 

"It's not working on him the same way it did on the smaller mer, perhaps because they are different species of animal." He stopped talking for a moment, likely listening to whoever he was speaking with. 

"Yes. I did double the dose, but he's not floating up to the surface, and honestly, I can't even see him." 

A shadow moved over me, instinct forcing me to dart to the bottom of the pool. I turned in the water to look up and noticed his faint shadow. Is he trying to find me? I wondered, considering floating to the surface, as he'd said, just to see what he would say. I decided against it quickly, however, because I really didn't understand what he would do if I did. When his shadow disappeared, I waited a few more moments, then rose back to my previous spot. 

"We'll have to find another way to get him out." 

There it is. This guy's going to be a problem. 

"Yes sir, I'll keep you updated on what they plan to do. Yes, at least we can get to him. I'm sure one of the doses will get him. I've been hiding the sedation medication in his food, too, so it's only a matter of time before I can figure out the appropriate amount to knock him out." 

I wasn't familiar with the word sedation, but considering what he followed it up with, I had a feeling that staying awake around him was extremely important. 

"He has a medical exam soon, either tomorrow or the day after. They'll likely try to put him under for that and I can slip him something extra to keep him down. I'll let you know the specifics later, once I get all of the information."