Submerged

A Dark Fantasy Short Story Written By S.J. Walker

Submerged

by S.J. Walker

 

S.J. Walker has published many short stories in dark fantasy, including 7 with Dragon Soul Press so far, among others. She has also sold stories to podcasts including Thirteen Podcast, Creepy Podcast, No Sleep, Flash Fiction Podcast, etc. She’s currently working on her debut novel.

More TTTV Stories by S.J. Walker

 

The thrill of the hunt was much more exhilarating back when I was part of a pod. Our strategy as a species is not unlike that of dolphins. We surround a school of fish in bright blue, warm, shallow waters, trapping them against a shoreline. Some leap to the surface, their tails flailing in panic, but there is no escape. They are helplessly picked off one by one until our bellies are satisfied. Unfortunately, I am a lone mermaid, so I must adapt.

Though our culture embraces hunting, I had my sights set on more dangerous prey. I became a liability for the others. As a result, I have been ostracized from my pod.

“Come back when you stop obsessing over humans!” they told me.

I wish it was something I could control, but I can’t. The impulse is too strong. While others of my kind maintain their distance, I dare to venture too close to the shores of populated coastlines.

Our kind hasn’t always deviated from the path of humans. Legend has it, our ancestors used to lure sailors off their boats with the power of song. For some reason, the sound that emits from our vocal cords through air appeals to the human ear in a way that casts a hypnotic effect. They also view us as incredibly alluring, and breathtakingly beautiful. I can’t help but wonder why our species stopped preying on humans. I always presumed they were taken off the menu due to their advancing technology becoming a threat to our existence.

I skim along the seafloor with my back to the smooth sand. I keep a watchful eye on the humans who swim along the surface above me. Their legs kicking, little toes attached to adorable pairs of feet – good for land but hopeless here. They look so tasty when their bodies bob up and down in the water’s wake. Some lay across the surface on their backs half-floating, arms swirling just enough for their noses to continue intaking oxygen.

The sun’s rays shine brightly from above, sparkling magnificently across the aqua surface. Ripples glimmer from all the swimming – well, not really swimming, I should note. Humans make their best attempt with what they have. They’re understandably at a disadvantage without a strong tail like mine. Still, the sight of them up there so frail and helpless is the most delicious scene I could ever fathom. I suppose the feeling is like the hungry human equivalent to watching hot dogs sizzle across a skillet.

I am an aquatic huntress, and the ocean is my domain. The salty scent, the bubbling, swishing sounds that delight my ears. Underwater is far more blissful than anything that can be found up there in the dull, dry, crusty air. As far as I’m concerned, any land-dwelling creature that dares enter my domain is up for grabs. I am not, however, the fiercest predator out here.

All the fish suddenly panic, flashing in different directions. I follow their lead and dart into a nearby reef cave. A shadow looms across the sand from a figure hovering above. I peer up from under a wall of coral, watching the ivory underbelly of a great white shark swim by. Once it is out of sight, I sigh with relief.

Dodging sharks isn’t something I used to worry about. Depending on the size of one’s pod, sharks will typically veer away from us, realizing on some instinctual level that they can be outmatched by our numbers. Isolated, however, I am vulnerable, and I don’t like it. I fight an internal, cognitive war, heavily questioning my decision to leave my pod. Why did I do this again? I peer upward. Oh, right, I recall, I want to try human.

I imagine my teeth penetrating a human’s body, the blood. Oh, the blood! What would that smell like? What would that taste like? Typically, our diet consists solely of fish, but sometimes I wonder… what if? My stomach growls.

My eyes focus now, becoming intent on one pair of legs. They belong to an adult male who has dared to venture into a deep section of sea. He is far separated from the others who remain closer to shore. He’s directly above me. He’s at my mercy. The pain of my empty stomach beckons me to him. I flick my tail once for a gentle push, propelling me upward.

The temperature is cooler here at the seafloor, but as I gravitate towards the surface, the sun kissed water around me becomes warmer. Soon, I am within mere inches of him, right below his feet. He doesn’t seem to notice I’m here. My stomach growls ferociously. It would be so easy to…

I wrap my hands around his ankle and yank him below the surface. He reacts with a sudden jerk. I feel his muscle tendons tensing between my palms and my skinny fingers. He is trying to kick out of my grasp. I react by clenching my hands tighter, clinging firmly to my prey. I angle myself so that my tail is above my head then I use the full force of its muscle power, swishing to drag him, pulling him deeper and deeper under the water with me.

We are nearing the bottom where the temperature is cooler. He squirms violently, kicking and thrashing with as much force as he can muster to return to the surface. I have him pinned. I catch a close, personal look at his face. I can see the whites of his eyes, wide with horror. His pupils are tiny, his irises a beautiful shade of blue, reminiscent of my home turf. He wants desperately to survive my encounter. He probably can’t see much of me. Human eyes aren’t adept for underwater. My eyes have much sharper visual acuity here. To this poor soul, I am like a goddess. I am the supreme master over his fate. The surge of excitement sparks through my veins. My heart thuds wildly in my chest. Hunting a human is a thrill like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.

I see the veins protruding in his neck, throbbing from his heightened stress. In a swift motion, I penetrate the soft membrane of his skin with my teeth. The blood… the blood is not what I had hoped for. Oh, no. It tastes awful! I immediately pull my mouth from his neck, utterly repulsed. He continues to bleed from my bite, filling the surrounding water with a foul odor. I release my grip of his body and distance myself with a flutter of my tail. He struggles. He’s thrashing his arms and legs, trying to return to the surface. His face is changing from a reddish color to a shade of purple. He still has a far way to swim, and, at his slow pace, I don’t think he will make it.

I deliberate for a moment whether I should finish what I started or leave. An instant kill is best. The meat is less chewy when the muscles haven’t been tensing too long under extreme stress. Yet even though I am starving, I am put off. He smells so bad! He’s unappetizing and now he is also a hazard to my safety. I should have thought this through more instead of acting on impulse.

Sharks swim in the far distance. Surely, they will soon pick up on the scent of my injured prey. Panic rises in my chest. I don’t have a pod to keep me safe. There’s not enough meaty sustenance from this one human to circulate, which means that once his flesh is picked clean, the lust for blood will urge them towards other options, including me. I decide that I want his body out of the water as much as he does.

With one hand pinching my nose between my thumb and index finger, I swim upward from beneath him, shoving the palm of my other hand against the sole of a foot. I whip my tail and thrust him skyward, giving him that boost he needs to surface. He gasps for air so vehemently that I can hear him while submerged. Adrenaline urges him quickly back to shore. The musk of shark bait dissipates, but I do not want to stick around and take any more chances.

I flee the scene. My tail swishes me forward, my arms cling to my side so I can maneuver stream-like through the water, almost like a missile. Humans are pungent. I now understand why my ancestors stopped targeting them. I’m ready to return to my pod and resume a strict diet of fish from now on.

 

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