The Mermaids Egg tg (Part 1)

Water was rushing into his lungs, choking him from the inside out. He tried to breathe but there was only the taste of salt water forcing its way down his gullet. He squirmed, his small, scrawny arms flailing as he tried to keep above the surface.

Peeking over the water, he could see the thin white strip of sand on the horizon ahead, but the people were so far away that they appeared to be the size of ants. Soon, his muscles grew tired and he struggled to stay afloat. Then, the ocean consumed him, dragging him to the darkness below. He could even feel a pair of hands pulling him by the waist...

*

“AH!” Ian woke with a start. For a second he thought he was still drowning, consciously taking deep gulps of air before he realised he was on dry land. He wasn't even outdoors, but rather, safe in his room.

“Damn.” He rubbed his temples and got out of bed. His joints creaked as he made his way to the bathroom to relieve himself. On the way, he looked outside his apartment window. Outside was a bustling city, with laughing couples and sunbathed youths below. On the horizon beyond was the sparkling crystal blue of the ocean. It was safely far away, yet after that nightmare it felt too close for comfort.

Afterwards he checked his reflection. His face was showing his 50 years, the skin starting to sag and crease. His once brown hair was greying at the temples, and receding along the brow. His skin was showing signs of tanning, especially as he had spent plenty of time at many beaches. His physique had never been an Adonis, but it was clear from his small paunch that his liking for big meals was  catching up with him.

BZZZZ BZZZZZ

The man managed to get to his phone before it went to a voice message. “Hello?” He coughed to relieve the heaviness in his lungs.

A voice from one of his team members answered back. “Professor?”

“Toby? What is it?”

“I'm at the beach. I think we discovered something.”

A small shiver of anticipation went down his spine, but he kept calm. “What is it?”

“Well...I'm not sure what it is. You need to see it.”

Ian gave another cough. “Yes, I should.”

“Good,” the voice seemed to be excited on the other end. “I'm sure this will please you to no end Professor.”

“It better.” Ian grumbled. A sense of dread and excitement drew over him as he saw the ocean on the horizon outside, waiting.

*

As he was driven to the beach, he glanced at the ocean that was spread as far as he could see, merging with the sky above. Each time he'd approach the beach in his work, he always stare it down as if to say “I've come back. Missed me?”

The last time he even swam there was 40 years ago. He was ten, and whilst it wasn't Disneyland, a vacation at the beach was still preferrable to being cooped up in his house on a hot summer day. As he played in the waves however, he swam too far and suddenly struggled to stay above the surface. The moment he sank, darkness consumed him, but fuzzy shapes and colours of red and gold flashed through his head. Next thing he knew, he was coughing out water on the beach, his parents crying over his body as a lifeguard was examining his life signs.

For a while that was all he remembered. He was scared to go back. He couldn't even bring himself to swim at the local swimming pool. Whenever he was near water he couldn't help but think of the darkness trying to consume him.

One day however, his English teacher suggested his class to do a book report on a fairy tale. As if by some sick joke, he was given the task to research the Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen.  Some of the kids snickered. Many thought it was just a girlish book that was filled with nothing but romance. Regardless, when he got home that night, he started to read, knowing he couldn't afford another poor grade.

As he started to read, the book started to describe the mermaid, who was said to be a beautiful creature: the tail of a large fish, but the body of a human. One of the first pages had an image of a young mermaid with her long hair flowing past her slender body. It was here that it triggered something in his memory.

He remembered drowning at the ocean, darkness consuming him. However, instead of blacking out, the memory continued. He could feel the sensation of rushing water, and the glimpse of a seal-like shadow holding him in his arms. He remembered a glint of gold on that shadow's head, shining like the sun.

He remembered a woman's face, and she was beautiful.

She had pale green eyes, and tanned, radiant skin. Her teeth were a perfect white. Her hair seemed to shine in the sun as if was a Halo befitting an Angel. For a long while afterwards he wondered how he even suppressed that thought in the first place. He tried to think of more but that was all he could remember.

The moment he remembered, an intense curiosity bubbled from inside of him. Was it possible that mermaids existed in real life, and he'd been the first to see one? Was it just something Hans Christen Andersen made up, or was there more to the tale?

He asked his parents, but they couldn't believe such a thing. All they knew was that the ocean had spat him out. He asked his classmates and they all thought he was weird. One unkind boy would tease him for weeks, calling him the awful nickname of “fish lover”, which clung to him like a bad smell. From then on Ian decided not to tell anyone. However, he soon took to scouring the beach every chance he got, looking for proof that the mermaid had existed. Alas, despite numerous trips, he could find nothing, and he was always too afraid to swim out into the waves once more.

Yet he didn't give up. From that point, he started to study about the ocean and sea biology so he could explore it further. It was only a matter of time before that he became engrossed with the subject. So what if the ocean still gave him terrible nightmares? He was determine to discover its secrets, and face his fears. By the time he graduated from university he was one of the top students of his subject matter, and soon became an eager cadet on expeditions. His fear of going underwater did hinder his goals somewhat. He dared not get into submarines or dive into the water, knowing a panic attack would pursue. Instead, he was more than happy to do scientific work, examining any specimens that were found. In his own way, he was slowly facing his fears of the ocean. In between these activities however, he secretly hoped that by some miracle, that same mermaid would return.

Soon he started to write many theses on discoveries he'd made and became such a respected researcher in his field, that he soon founded his own lab to support the discovery and protection of new sea life. In the meantime he studied any myths surrounding mermaids. He also researched the many times people had claimed to see such beasts. Many of them were dismissed as crackpots (some by Ian himself), or just drunk idiots who'd mistaken a seal for the real thing. However, even Ian could feel their sympathy. Regardless, if he did hear of a possible mermaid location, he'd use any grant money he received (on the premise of searching undiscovered sea life) to send crews to search the areas, only for no signs of mermaid life to be found.

Now he was back at the beach that ignited his passion 40 years ago. It wasn't his first time back though. He'd been there many times before, mostly with crews of eager scientists with their fancy equipment. Each time it was on the premise of finding new sea-life (to be fair, he wasn't exactly lying). Whilst some of the crew went diving in the ocean beyond, he would stay at the shore, examining the beach for any nook or cranny of the space. However, every time he'd find nothing, and not even the discovery of a new breed of weever or mollusc would put him in a good mood.

Ian's reflection of his failures was interrupted by a sudden jolt. He'd reached his destination. Giving the eager driver some money, he got out of the car. Waiting for him was one of his understudies, a young man with slicked back hair and olive skin.

“Ah, Ian!” He grinned, holding out a hand. “Good morning.”

“Morning Toby.” Ian's stone faced expression didn't change as he shook the man's hand. “Where is it?”

“Follow me.” The man seemed intimidated in Ian's presence. “It's gained quite an audience. We're finding it hard to keep them away.”

But even with such positive news, Ian knew better than to give his hopes up. This wasn't the first time he'd heard news of an Earth shattering discovery, only to find it was something mundane. Sometimes it was a blurry photo. Other times it was an elaborate prank some kids made up. Sometimes it was just an already existing creature that someone had mistaken for something else.

He and Toby walked up the beach, passing by tourists until they reached a spot where several people were crowded around. Again that same excited shiver went down Ian's spine. Whatever it was, it had to be something extraordinary.

“Excuse us!” Toby called, pushing his way through the crowd to allow the professor through. The crowd were holding cellphones and taking pictures of the scene before them. Not that it would matter: the actual discovery was several hundred metres away.

Amongst the feverish chatter however, he thought he heard a distinct word that was repeated a lot: “egg”.

After getting a clearance from the police guarding the scene, he finally entered the sparse area of sand that separated him and the rest of his team. With each step he could see the blue t-shirts of his co-workers crowded around a spot just off where the waves stopped on the land.

“Hey look at this!” A woman with her hair done up in a ponytail called to them as the small team dispersed from their photo-taking and samples.

“What is it team?” He started to ask when he was stopped in his tracks by the sight before him.

It was a large spherical shape, transluscent and gelatinous in nature. It reminded him of a membrane. Inside seemed to be a orange coloured substance that made him think of embryonic fluid. What truly amazed him however was how much the egg kept its original shape despite the gaping large hole that appeared on one side.

It was what the audience a few hundred feet back had said. It was an egg. And something had recently hatched in it.

Cautiously, he looked at the egg. He held out an arm and touched its outer membrane. It was soft, but spongy, easily yielding to his hold without breaking.

“When did this show up?” He asked his team, pushing the membrane as if he was testing a mattress.

“About this morning.” Toby elaborated. “They say there was a trail coming from the egg, but it's been washed out by the waves.”

“A trail?” Ian raised an eyebrow. “Did anyone see the creature inside?”

“It was already gone when it was discovered.”

“I see.” Ian gave an annoyed grunt. Of course the mystery being was nowhere to be found. “You sure it isn't fake?”

“We don't know yet. We're going to take some samples and then study them back at the lab, along with the skin we found.”

Ian turned to Toby. “Skin? There's a skin too?”
 
Toby seemed surprised by his superior's sudden enthusiasm. “Y-yeah. We managed to save it from being washed away.” He pointed to another area nearby, where some shaggy haired man was taking photos. Ian thought he looked more at home waxing a surfboard.

“Can you believe it?” The photographer remarked as Ian approached him. “It looks like a-”

But the man didn't need to finish his sentence because Ian instantly recognised what it was. Like the egg it was translucent, but it's texture was more akin to that of a plastic bag. On closer inspection, he could tell there was some sort of intricate design on it, similar to scales. But it was the shape that caught his breath. It started very thick at the hole where the creature escaped, but other than the odd tear, he could see the spiky outline of what appeared to be fins on each side. Then, the skin tapered down to a narrow point near the end, before fanning out into a large caudal fin (Judging from its symmetical nature, it had to be homocercal) at the end.

It was a tail. A mermaid tail.

“Professor?” The photographer said. “You ok dude?”

“Hmmm?”

“You seemed kind of spaced out.”

“Oh, yeah. Mermaids.” Ian scratched the back of his head absently. As much as he knew it could possibly be fake, something screamed at him that this skin was real. It looked too organic to be plastic. Even touching it gave him the distinct feeling of fish scales.

But if it were what he thought he was, then could his memory of being saved actually be more than a near-death hallucination?

*

The rest of the morning saw the team gather as much samples as they could for future study. The skin was at least easy to carry back to the lab, though in a specialised case to avoid further damage.

However, the egg was another matter. The hole itself was unstable, and there was fear that if one wasn't careful, they would spill out all of its contents.

Eventually, Ian volunteered. Sure he wasn't as svelte as he once was, but he still had a lifetime of experience in this field. Taking a beaker, he managed insert himself through the hole. Inside it stank of blood and viscera, and he could even feel the squishy membrane against his skin. It took all of his might not to vomit and contaminate the unique substances inside. However, just as he collected the fluid, he noticed something else inside.

“Huh?”

In the small pool of fluid that was inside, he spotted something that seemed to resemble seaweed. At first he thought it was seaweed. But the shape seemed all wrong.

“Got the fluid.” He called as he passed back. “But I think there's something else. I may have to go in deeper.”

Taking a breath, he reached inside. The warmth of the fluid again attacked his gag reflex, but he again withstood the nausea. His hand touched the dark object from the primordial ooze. Almost immediately he regretted it when he felt the squishy contents.

“What?” He yelped before suddenly falling into the ooze. He consciously coughed as some of the fluid entered his throat.

Darkness. Consuming him. The Ocean. Suffocation. Death: flashbacks of 40 years ago slammed into him like a bus. Desperately he tried to push himself away from the darkness, and the stench that was closing in on him.

Suddenly, he could feel cold air on his skin again as he landed outside the egg. He choked and coughed as he struggled to get air back into his burning lungs.

“Are you alright?” Toby asked.

“Yeah” Ian took another gulp of air, before noticing the dark object he got from his hand. As his vision came into focus, he realised what the blurry pale red thing was.

He almost wanted to drop it the moment he saw it. It was a mound of fleshy, organic material with an equally fleshy tube attached. It looked liked he'd committed some kind of grisly murder the way the strange organ glistened in his hand.

Quickly, he put it in the first bag that was presented to him, and then dry heaved onto the sand.

*

As the team fussed with the professor, a blonde woman's head poked through the surface of the waves and examined the scene before her.

She noticed the professor, sticky from the egg's contents and gasped.

“I'm too late.” She muttered.

There was a reason why her kind never allowed their eggs to appear on dry land. And right now, she felt not only powerless, but also sad for the professor.

Because of her carelessness, she had doomed him.

*

Even after several showers, the lingering smell of embryonic fluid still insulted the Professor's nose. However, as the week progressed, that would turn out to be the least of his problems.

The samples collected had produced a new set of questions rather than answers. The fluid that was collected was indeed embryonic fluid. But what really startled him was that it had traces of both fish and human DNA. More curious was that the fleshy organ he'd fished out was not only a placenta and umbilical cord, but the latter had clear signs of teethmarks.

Someone - or something - had bitten it off.

He had been excited, yet troubled by the news. The evidence that it was indeed a mermaid really started to pile up, but he refused to believe it. According to scientific theory, there was no way something could be both related to fish and human.

But other things were pressing at him.

A day after the discovery, the egg just vanished. It was meant to be shipped to the lab, but somehow in the last 24 hours it had been washed away despite security. This news disappointed Ian, but he tried to look on the bright side. If he could study the contents, then he'd know what he was dealing with.

In the meantime, people started to give him compliments. They'd say “You're looking good today”, or “Did you dye your hair?” At first he thought it was just regular compliments, or his co-workers trying to smooth talk him into a raise. However, when he did see himself in the mirror, he was amazed to find that he did look at least 5 years younger. They greys amongst his temples were becoming brown, and the winkles on his tanned skin were starting to fade away.

At the same time, he experienced a slight itch all over him. At first it didn't seem to bother him, but in-between conversations he'd find himself scratching at his thighs a lot. He wondered if the itching was an allergic reaction to the substances in the egg.

Then, on the second night, he was having a shower, once more scratching his left thigh. Suddenly, he felt an incredibly sharp sting into his thigh, followed by his fingers rubbing against something rough. Confused, he looked down.

At first he thought it was a large purple bruise. It was about 10cm long, and ran down his thigh. However, as his fingers examined the bruise, he felt an alien sensation around it. The skin felt rough, with no hair. But it also had a strange metallic gleam to it and there was no dull ache that came with it. Then there was the strange scale pattern on it. He felt it again, the small bumps gliding along his own finger, realer than anything he felt. Just as he was dumbfounded by this, he saw a large pale foreign object brush against his foot. It looked like someone had left a nylon stocking on the shower floor. He bent down to pick it up, but the texture felt wrong. It felt too elastic.

Then it clicked: it was his own skin. What had been on his thigh seconds before.

He almost knocked his head on the shower fitting from shock.

*

At first he didn't know what to do. Maybe it was an allergic reaction or maybe a rash. But he'd never heard of someone growing scales on their person before. Even looking at it gave him a sense of dread.

“Maybe it will go away.” He assured himself with a hint of naive optimism.

But it didn't. If anything, the scales would soon spread. By the next morning, the patch had become bigger, with more patches of skin falling away to reveal more scales developing along his left leg. He tried to cover it up as not to alert his co-workers, but when he found more scales developing on his right thigh that night, he had to come clean.

He was immediately locked in his lab to be examined by a doctor, and the whole building had to be quarantined for 24 hours as the whole team was checked. The Doctor judged Ian's scales, scraping off some to be tested in a way that made Ian think of a fishmonger de-scaling a fish. The doctor assured him that the results would come out 'in a few days” but even his delivery suggested that he was just as confused by Ian's strange condition.

Ian was not allowed to see anyone the whole time the lab was quarantined. As he lay in bed that night, he wondered how his team were reacting to the situation. Was everyone outraged he'd inadvertently infected them with some unknown virus? Were they concerned for his well-being? He knew some of his crew had families all over the world, wondering what was going on.

In the meantime, he kept changing. Some of the changes were good. His chocolate brown hair had not only thickened back to it's original condition, but even was starting to grow past his ears.  Meanwhile, the pain in his joints faded away. Even his stomach had shrunken considerably. He could barely keep his pants up by the fourth day. Even eating everything that was offered to him didn't reverse the weight loss.

Other changes started to disturb him. His legs were completely covered in scales by day 5, and that wasn't even mentioning the spiny protrusions that were starting to show near his hips. They started as bumps, but soon whenever he rubbed against them, he could feel small bony spines peeking out. He did inform doctors of this case, but all they could do was look at it, click their tongue and then say that they'd know more when the tests came back. All Ian could do was bark at them when they gave him that answer, berating himself and them. Both he and the doctors were loyal pursuers of science, yet didn't know what was causing a grown man to develop scales. Worst still, the changes were spreading to other parts of his body. One morning he'd awake to find a smattering of fine hairs from his arms and chest had fallen off, leaving his skin uncomfortably smooth. Even his facial stubble was virtually non-existent.

Then, one morning, he woke to find something was off about his feet. He tried to wiggle his toes but they felt restrained. He took off his socks, and examined his feet to find that they almost looked smaller. More importantly, a transluscent skin-like substance had developed between his toes overnight. At first he thought it was loose skin, but when he pinched it he felt pain. There was no doubt then: it was a part of him.

His heart raced at that moment. Was he becoming a fish?

By day 6, small traces of transluscent skin was starting to build between his fingers, further raising his fears. On the bright side, the authorities had found no massive side effects with the crew. Some co-workers from the study team did report of skin irritation but it was clear that Ian was an isolated case. Still, just to be safe, Ian was not allowed to leave the lab. This only annoyed Ian more, but he was relieved that none of his crew had to suffer the strange things that were happening to him.

Eventually, the doctor from before came back in a hazmat suit. Even if it was a precautionary measure, the gesture still left Ian quite cold. He felt more like a contaminated specimen than a human.

Through his helmet, the Doctor gave him a nervous look. “Sir, I don't know what to say.”

“Just tell me Doc.” Ian grunted.

The Doctor fumbled over his prepared prognosis once, then twice before giving him an answer. “That's the thing, sir. We don't know.”

To Ian that was the worst news one could give a scientist. “Don't know? What do you mean?”

The doctor winced. “Look, we do know some things but your case is so unique that we've never seen it before.”

“What do you know?”

“Well,” The doctor paused, “it goes beyond your scales.”

“WHAT?” Ian's reply came louder than he anticipated. The doctor had to calm him down before giving him several papers that came from the tests. According to everything they did, they did confirm he was still human. However, it was his legs that were bringing some conflicting information. Everything about his scales, and the skin/flesh underneath it resembled that of a fish.

That alone was enough to get a raise from the cantankerous Ian. However that wasn't all the news.  Apparently his cells showed signs of regeneration and reversal of the aging process. Even his blood tests were showing a strange hormonal imbalance.

Eventually, the Doctor moved on to his next part of business. “Sir, we asked your employees and they noted that it started to happen around the time you fell into that egg.”

Ian stiffened. “So?”

The Doctor gave him another sheet of paper, filled with other information. It was about the contents of the egg and it's chemical structure. “I know this find is important, but you may need to destroy what you've found for the sake of everyone else.”

The news shot him like a bullet. It had been his one shred of evidence that there was a strange creature living among humans. “But...” his voice sounded dead, “I need it.”

“It's affecting your health sir.”

“I don't care!” He shouted. “I've waited a lifetime for this opportunity!”

“Sir, you've already taken a lot of notes.”

“But there's still so much we don't know! And we can't even find the original egg. It just disappeared before we could take it!”

The Doctor just looked at him cold in the eyes, putting an end to that argument.

That night, Ian stared up at the ceiling of his lab. He kicked himself in how unfair this world was. He was so close to knowing the truth, but now circumstances were determined to shut down everything he did because they were too scared to know the consequences. And what about himself? Was he doomed to spend his days cooped up in this lab, a victim of his own curiosity?  

Restless, he read the report on the egg. According to the report, the embryonic fluid contained vital nutrients and hormones one would find in a regular human womb. That was something he had expected from his observations. However, there were still several unknown elements, along with concentrated levels of oestrogen.

The last comment made him unnerved. It did explain a little why his body hair had gradually been shed. But it shouldn't have really done that much damage by touch alone. And it certainly didn't explain why his hair was now brushing the nape of his neck, or why he looked like the way he did when he was 30, give or take a few kilos.

Eventually, he decided that he needed to come back to the source. If he could get to the beach where the egg was discovered, he might be able to find more. The rational side of his brain knew there was no way the creature behind the egg would bother to return (or if it was even intelligent enough for human speech), but it was the tiniest bit of hope that kept him going.

There was still the question of how he was to escape his makeshift quarantine room. He knew that if he was caught, he would face some serious consequences. However, he knew that some of the great discoveries in science required great sacrifice. He was going to try and find answers, or be imprisoned as a scientific curiosity for the rest of his life.

First he waited for some activity to happen at his door. It did require some patience, but soon he noticed that one of the guards was approaching the door. It had to be for his lunch. As much as Ian was hungry, he knew that escape was his top priority.

“Here's your lunch.” The guard lumbered in with the tray, carelessly leaving the door open. Ian knew there had to be another guard at the door, but he had to take his chance. As soon as the guard's back was turned, Ian ran to the door.

“HEY!” He heard a scream behind him but it was too late as Ian reached the door. Another guard suddenly showed up ahead, but Ian was ready and dug his shoulder into the man with as much force as he could. “Sorry” he muttered as the man hit the nearby wall. Then, before anyone else could react, he started to run through the corridors, passing many bystanders in the process.

As he rushed through the halls, he knocked over as many chairs, bins or furniture he could to slow down his pursurers. Occasionally, he would hear a co-worker shout “Professor”, but he dared not look them in the eye. They had been his loyal colleagues, but who knew if they would try and catch him too. Soon he saw the exit up ahead, the orange light outside like a beacon. He could hear the commotion and cries of “stop him!” going behind him but he dared not look behind. Then, the glass doors opened, and he sprinted harder. 10 metres to go. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1...

The moment he was outside, he was almost blinded by the brightness outdoors. Being cooped up all week had made him forget what the sky outside was like. However, he kept pushing himself forward, determined to avoid capture. Even as his webbed feet scraped along the driveway asphalt, he continued to run. To stop for a second would mean defeat.

By the time he reached the boom gate that lay at the end of the driveway, he was amazed he'd run this far without stopping. He wasn't even this fit when he was younger. Was this a side effect of the egg? Hopefully the beach would have his answers.

By the time he heard police sirens wailing behind him, the lab was considerable distance behind him.

*

As much as he appreciated his new stamina, even that had it's limits. By the time he finally managed to relax in an alleyway, his legs had been aching a little for sometime, and was especially concentrated around his bare webbed feet. They looked shocking with the few bloodied cuts they'd sustained. Something felt off about how they slapped along the pavement.

“Christ.” He moaned. “What did I do to deserve this?”

When he finally got his breath back he considered his next course of action. He needed to get to the beach. A taxi would be his best option. It would take a short while before the police had a record on his appearance, so he had to hurry.

After some impatient waiting, he somehow managed to hail a taxi. Fortunately, he had taken his wallet with him when he was quarantined and he immediately handed the driver some money (making sure the driver hadn't noticed his webbed hands). “The beach.” He ordered bluntly.

The whole drive was one of the most unnerving affairs of his life. His eyes were always watching the city for police, his mind preparing to escape if the opportunity came. He also kept his ears open on the taxi driver's radio, in case a report about his disappearance happened. At one point he heard a siren. Heart in his mouth, he tensed as a police car wailed past him. Even when it passed he thought maybe someone had seen him and would turn around to chase him.

“You seem tense. You okay?” The driver asked, and Ian had to assure him in the calmest voice he could muster that everything was fine.

Finally, the vast ocean was in view, glowing in the setting sun. Unlike previous times however, just seeing it was like a boulder had been lifted from Ian's chest. It was a welcome sign that the lab had not quite yet caught onto his motives.

The moment they arrived at the beach, he got out without another word and he ran onto the dunes. Amazingly, he felt just as energetic now as he had been. The tiredness from his legs had faded away and he felt refreshed. Even the cuts on his feet didn't look as bad. In fact, he swore that they were almost healed already. Adding to his second wind was his determination to find clues. However, the setting sun and the looming threat of being caught told him he didn't have a lot of time to find his answers.

There were still a few beach goers swimming in the waves, or soaking up the last ray of sunshine for the day. But he knew they wouldn't be there for long. Even before he got the egg's former location he started searching the beach. 5 minutes passed, then 10, then 15. However, he still couldn't find anything. The darkening sky didn't help his cause, and he feared that maybe it was a fools errand.

Suddenly he heard a sound. Immediately his veins turned to ice, as the dreaded thought of a police siren game to mind. However, it didn't sound as shrill, and the more it continued, the more it seemed to ease him. It was a lilting sound which sounded sad, yet relieved. Oddly enough he found he could understand what the words were saying.

“Follow my voice, human.” It sung. “I need to talk to you.”

“A song?” He whispered, looking around to see if any of the sunbathers had a radio on. However there was no one else nearby. He then looked down the shore, where a breakwater made of rocks stretched out into the sea. It had to be coming from there.

He followed the singing, the rocks starting to cut into his scaly feet. He withstood the pain but it felt as if his feet were made of paper. Occasionally a wave would wash by the rocks, adding an added element of danger as the singing grew louder. His heart started to beat faster in anticipation. He might be crazy following a singing voice to what looked to be his doom. However, considering all the crazy shit that had happened over the last week, he was willing to continue searching. His answer to all of his questions had to be close. He could feel it.

Then he reached the edge, to find a lone figure sitting there. It seemed to be where the singing came from, and wasn't fussed with the tide coming in. With the looming darkness, he couldn't exactly tell who, or what, it was. However, he had a really good guess.

“Are you a mermaid?” He shouted, amazed by what he was saying.

The singing suddenly stopped and the figure turned. Even in the poor light he could make out the shadow of long hair that cascaded to her shoulders. It stared at him, then replied in a womanly voice. “Are you alone?”

“Huh?”

“I know you humans. You try to steal anything you don't understand. You're not trying to capture me are you?”

He was taken aback by that remark. If he were to be honest, he did want to the world to know these beings existed. But that question sounded hostile, as if this wasn't the first time she'd come in contact with humans.

“N-no.” He assured her. “Not this time anyway. I-I just have some questions. About the egg.” When she didn't answer, he showed her one of her webbed feet, hoping she would get the message. He was angry at what was happening but at the same time he didn't want to scare her away.

Finally the figure spun around. Ian gasped when her features came into view. The first thing that struck him was that the woman was clearly naked from the waist up. He could've marked this for an exhibitionist, except a gleam of red caught his vision. It could've easily been a sequenced skirt, but it seemed to be moving in a way that didn't resemble a skirt. It also didn't seem logical that a woman would ruin such a skirt for such an occasion. Then he saw the fin at the end of where her feet should've been. It flopped over the rocks as she manoeuvred herself to face him. Even on the look on her face she seemed embarrassed to even be showing this to him.

But it was her head which struck him the most. On her head was a crown of bleached seaweed that fell around her face like wet tendrils. Her face was traditionally beautiful with high cheekbones and full lips, but it was the eyes that drew him in. They were teal green, just like the ocean at midday.

The same eyes he'd seen 40 years ago.