And So, It Begins Again

I kicked my feet up on the other chair I had brought specifically to relax on this trip. My current assignment was to photograph the different fishes on the reef, then return to the lab, process the film, and put them into taxa groups. It was pretty darn simple for someone who had worked with marine life their entire career. When I’d first been given the assignment last week, I took it pretty seriously and made sure to go to all of the spots I knew certain fish frequented, but after the first few days, I realized something pretty obvious. If I just left the boat floating above those spots and didn’t run around trying to angle the cameras and put the pole down into the water, I’d get much better shots.

The boat was also glass-bottomed and my running around on the top shifted the light getting down to the reef, startling fish every few seconds. Needless to say, my first trial at completely relaxing and letting the automatic underwater cameras do their jobs the day before was a complete success, so I figured today would be the same. That’s why I brought some extra sunblock and undid the bolt on the back of the captain’s chair so I could lean it back a bit farther.

A sudden loud beep from the motion detection camera’s monitor snapped me out of my light doze. I sat up, rubbing at my eyes to get them used to the bright light before looking down at the dashboard behind the wheel where I had the monitor screen fastened. The dark screen showed that a large object had passed under the boat about three seconds ago.

“Huh?”

Reaching over, I tapped the screen in the upper left corner, which dropped down a menu. Tapping the ‘Images’ icon, it pulled up all the photos it had taken today, thankfully in chronological order. I flicked through a couple shots it had just taken of some smaller fish before something shocking caught my attention.

“Is that a… fluke?”

I pressed two fingers to the little screen and pushed them outward from each other, making the image grow larger. After a moment, the screen finished enhancing the grown image and my jaw dropped open.

“Holy shit. It was an orca!”

Excitement bubbled through my veins as I hopped up and down for a second like a kid, then ran over to the edge of the boat just in time to see a small eruption of water and air shoot up from just beneath the surface.

“Whoa!”

We never got Orcas this far north for at least another month. Watching the creature dive back down, I ran to the bow of the boat and walked out onto the small platform we’d had built for pulling in fish or observation. It took another minute of anxious waiting before it resurfaced, its black and white fluke splashing up, then slowly sinking back down with another blow of air.

“Awesome…”

Hang on a second.

I watched as it began to swim closer and quickly ran toward the glass window on the bottom of the boat right as it passed beneath it. I just barely managed to catch the back half of its body.

“Okay. You’re definitely an orca, but there’s no way you’re an adult.”

It must have gotten separated from its pod farther south and just followed the current up here.

Grabbing my phone, I tapped the speed-dial for my boss and walked back out onto the small platform on the opposite side from the one I’d last stood on and watched the small whale circle around my boat calmly. When my boss picked up, I shifted a bit and sat down, not worried about the water splashing me lightly as the boat bobbed up and down on the swells. Amen for waterproof phones.

“Hello, Mr. Illem. I’ve got a situation, I think. I found an orca calf out here.”

He seemed surprised, which was understandable because I certainly was, too.

“It’s circling my boat and has already gone under it twice. It doesn’t seem scared of me at all.”

“Can you stay there?” my boss asked over the receiver.

“Yes, I can wait out here for a boat to come. You guys have a tracker on this one, right?”

“Yeah,” he replied.

“Okay, good, so I won’t bother getting the coordinates.”

“Yeah, we’ve already got them. Do you still see it?”

“Yeah. I’ll keep watching until the other boat gets here. I’m only a mile or so out so it shouldn’t take long.”

“Okay, we’ve got someone on their way.”

“Sounds good. I’ll be seeing you shortly with it then, I suppose.”

“Okay. Get ready for a capture, then hopefully release if it’s in good health. Bye.”

Hanging up, I glanced back toward the area I had last seen the whale dive when I felt a decent amount of water soak through the back of my pants. At that exact same moment, the camera beeped, telling me that something large was close to the bottom of the boat. Getting on my hands and knees, I turned just in time to see its tail disappear beneath the boat and grinned.

“You’re really cool. Hopefully we can catch you without much trouble and check you out. Then if all goes well, you’ll be heading home.”

I was really glad that my boss wouldn’t want to keep it. It’s not like we could accommodate an adult orca once it grew, anyway, so if it just happened to get separated from its pod, we’ll find it and let it go.

An abrupt splash directly below made me shift onto my belly and look beneath the platform. I knew I was grinning like an idiot, but who got to say that they saw a wild orca calf and it was actually playing around their boat? Exactly. No one!

“Hey there. Thought you went under the boat. You’re a fast one.”

The shadowy outline of it vanished again, but right as I was about to push myself back up, it emerged abruptly right in front of me… and it wasn’t an orca.

“Fuck!”

I tried to yank myself back up, but strong arms were already lashing out. The left one managed to be quick enough, allowing the mer to sink his claws into my lower left arm and rip me off of the platform and down into the churning waves.

After having dealt with Callem and Mellac several times in the past, I managed to at least learn how they worked underwater, which was basically like dolphins. The fact that this mer was actually an orca was seriously disorientating, though. There were no fossil records of ones with similar traits to orcas. I remembered seeing one partial dolphin mer skeleton in grad school, but the rest of the mers they had in their collection had just basic extended fish tails.

A sudden jerk made me gasp, expelling half of my oxygen without meaning to. The mer released me afterward, but I knew it wasn’t gone. I’d seen the security footage from when Callem had first attacked my friend Parker at our facility and knew that they tended to try to drown their prey but avoid injury to themselves at the same time. So, instead of just shooting for the surface, I fished my knife, which I used to fillet fish or dissect on the fly, out of my back pocket and carefully kept an eye on my surroundings while slowly letting the oxygen in my body take me toward the surface, just adding a few light kicks each time I stalled in the current.

When a shadow to the left caught my attention, I spun in that direction and grinned, eyes narrowing on the approaching mer. It was slowly opening its mouth and baring its teeth, obviously getting ready for another round. I wasn’t sure if it intended to bite this time or to try to pull me down farther, but my attention was immediately stolen from it as I felt something incredibly painful latch onto the back of my left leg.

The rest of the breath I had been holding exploded from my mouth with a muffled scream. That sent my body into panic mode with the help of the new mer I now realized was trying its best to tear my leg off with its mouth. My reactions were becoming strictly instinctual, and I was silently thankful for that because otherwise I wouldn’t have remembered the blade in my hand, or to swing it behind me toward the mer’s face. It had evidently taken it by surprise because the blade caught it right across the face. It bolted the second my knife hit, leaving a small trail of blood as it disappeared into the murky water surrounding me.

Hmm? It hadn’t been murky when I checked the camera…

My brain didn’t want to consider the idea of the sudden cloudiness being my blood and quickly pushed the thought aside to pay attention. There was no sign of either creature, but that didn’t mean a damn thing. They could probably see me, even if I couldn’t see them. And if they couldn’t, I knew they could definitely smell my blood… along with other animals likely heading this way now due to the commotion and smell.

The first thing I noticed while floating there alone was the sound of a boat motor coming close, fast. It cut off nearby, then I heard shouting but couldn’t quite make out any of the words. One thing I definitely did recognize perfectly well, though, was the sound of gunshots and nets being thrown into the water. I tried to stay conscious so I could swim the last few feet back to the surface, but everything just became overwhelming and blurry, forcing my mind to black out.

The rhythmic sound of beeping slowly began to pull me out of my sleep, but dammit, my head hurt way too much to want to be awake right then.

“It looks like you’re waking up, good.”

Who is that?

I tried to open my eyes, but the lids just felt like they’d been glued in place and refused to budge.

“Wh… wha….”

Ew, my voice sounded and felt like I’d just eaten a whole roll of sandpaper, then washed it down with gravel.

“It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

Safe?

“Can you tell me your name?”

It took me a minute to work the word across my tongue and speak it understandably.

“Ol… iver.”

“Good. Can you open your eyes for me, please?”

I tried again, grinding my teeth together until I finally managed to force them open a tiny bit.

Thank god he thought to turn the lights down.

The room was incredibly dim, and from what I could tell, the blinds weren’t drawn to the window outside so it had to be nighttime.

“Good. Alright, I’m going to be an ass and shine a light in your eyes, only for a second, so please bear with it.”

I groaned, and he chuckled before a strong beam of light was pointed at my right eye, making me squint. He did the same to the other but was thankfully fast and didn’t dwell on either.

“Alright. They look pretty good. Your reaction time is a bit off, but I’m sure that’ll fix with some good sleep and food.”

I heard him writing some stuff down on a clipboard and made my eyes look over and open a bit more.

“What… ’appened?”

His face instantly turned grim. Even though he quickly tried to hide the expression, I still managed to catch it, plain as day for that split second.

“Well… do you want the good or bad news first?”

Err, I hate when people play that stupid game.

“Good,” I growled in a raspy tone.

“Okay. Well, you’re alive.”

He laughed lightly, but when I didn’t, he squared his shoulders and coughed behind his hand, then continued quickly.

“The orca you discovered was not found at the site you were recovered from, floating on top of the water.”

Oh shit. That orca. The mer. Mers!

“Judging from the bite wounds on your leg, the lab had declared that the orca you saw couldn’t have caused them.”

“It was… a mer,” I replied, exhaustion creeping into my voice.

“Yes,” the man replied with a steady tone.

“Two…”

“What?” he asked, his voice peaked with interest at the question.

I gave him a slight fake smile and replied quietly. “Two. There were… two.”

“Two mers?”

“…y-yeah.”

“I’ll be sure to report it. Were they both orca types?”

“Yeah. What’s the bad news?”

I was finally able to get my eyes to focus so I could look around a bit more. I was in a hospital room, judging from all the machines plugged in around me… half of them on and connected to my body somewhere. The doctor was covered head to toe in scrubs so I couldn’t really see many of his features.

I hate hospitals.

“Uh. Well… one attacked your leg…”

My patience was diminishing as a strong headache throbbed against my temples, which was easy to recognize since sarcasm dripped into my voice as I responded. “Got that… part already.”

When he just looked down at his feet, I got frustrated and reached up, yanking the blanket atop my body to the side.

“Ahhh!”

The doctor hit a button on the wall, but I was too busy panicking over the metal leg attached to where my left one had been, to even notice that it had been a call button. People flooded into my room and I felt needles being shoved into my arm, but I kept fighting to get them off. The mers! They had done it. They took it.

“They took my leg!”

My voice was incredibly scratchy from lack of use, but I still screamed until nothing but air came out and the drugs began to force my body to relax. I might’ve been forced to calm down visibly, but inside my chest twisted into knots, blood boiling with a rage I hadn’t felt so strongly in years.

They took my leg. Why? Why!

“I am truly sorry. The damage was too extensive. We had to amputate up to your knee in order to save your life.”

The doctor reached over to undoubtedly try to ‘comfort’ me, but I just growled and yanked my head to the side, doing my best to blink back tears that were slipping free from my watering eyes as all the nurses who had run in to help began to leave.

I hate them.

I hate them!

His hand paused above my right cheek, then moved back to his side when he realized that any kind of comfort would do nothing for my current attitude.

“I’m sorry for the bad news. My name is Dr. Mendez if you need anything. Don’t hesitate to call a nurse to come get me.”

I pursed my lips but didn’t reply, sending him the obvious signal that I wanted to be left alone. He figured it out fast and nodded, walking out and shutting the door quietly behind himself.

“Hello?”

“Are you leaving, Oliver?” my boss asked, making me bite my lip to keep from saying something stupid.

“Yeah. I’m walking out of the hospital right now.”

“Please tell me you’re at least in a wheelchair,” he said, making my attitude flare.

“No, I’m not using a damned wheelchair,” I spat back. I was inwardly fuming at the news I’d gotten from him the night before about the two mers who had attacked me. One had been shot judging from the pool of blood that arose when one of the scientists had taken a shot, but no body had been recovered. The other had also gotten away, and without any damage. Well, that was probably not true. I did get one with my knife. Hmph, hope the bastard has a nice scar from it.

“I’ll be back at work Monday.”

“No, you need to rest for a while longer.”

“Not a chance. I’m sick of resting. I just need a few days to figure out how to walk on this stupid leg well enough, then I’m coming in to finish my experiments.”

My boss didn’t sound happy about it, but whatever. He could shove his concern, ’cause quite frankly, I was sick of hearing it. All of my colleagues had come to my room at least twice a week since I’d been in the hospital with their apologies and sympathies. Well, fuck that. I was seriously tired of it!

“I’ll talk to you later, getting in my truck to drive.”

“Fine, just be careful, okay?” he replied, sounding defeated.

“Yeah yeah, I’ll be careful. Bye.”

After hanging up, I tucked my new phone, because I’d lost the old one in the attack, into my back pocket and used the door to help get myself up into the cab of the truck. Parker had wanted to come pick me up when I’d texted him that I would be leaving today, but I told him to stay home.

Why’d he get the nice mer anyway, when the ones I find just want to eat me?

Not that Callem had been all sweet right from the beginning, and Mellac… Okay, they were assholes too, but… Looking down at my covered left leg, or what was left of it, I felt my chest tighten with hatred again. I hadn’t been able to change the wrapping on my leg even once at the hospital without throwing up or getting so angry that I had to be sedated.

Slamming my truck into drive, I got on the road with the full intention of heading home. Parker had been watching my house while I’d been stuck at the hospital so it would be nice to finally get back and sleep in my own bed for once, but instead, I found myself automatically driving along the coastline, then down to the large rock wall that acted as a natural barrier to the surf several yards below. Parking in the grass next to it, I hesitantly slipped from the cab of my truck and stumbled to the ground with a grunt.

“Damn leg!”

I wanted it gone so badly. The useless contraption of metal that I now had to call my ‘leg’ was nothing but an infuriating reminder of what had happened. I knew it was partially my fault for not going to physical therapy to relearn how to walk with it or even doing the exercises the doctor had repeatedly recommended, but I didn’t want to learn how to live with it. I wanted my real leg back!

Grinding my teeth together, I forced myself back up with the help of my truck’s door and managed to limp toward the wall. There was no railing since the rock stuck up about a foot or so in some places and a few yards in others. I carefully slid my legs over the edge as I tucked a few strands of my dark blond hair back behind my left ear. My feet dangled above the waves as I looked down at what I had once thought was the only place I’d ever feel comfortable.

“You were my safe haven.”

Taking in a deep breath of the salty sea air, I felt my body shiver and exhaled at the same time I heard something far below blow air through the surface of the water. It was there, swimming in slow, easy circles. No doubt it knew I was here, too. I’m not sure how since I was decently high up, but when a second fluke appeared a few feet away from the other, I knew they were waiting.

“I’m not going to jump.”

They ducked back under, only to resurface a few yards to the left, blowing air out of their backs. Everything about them would have spurred excitement and intrigue in me one small month earlier, but not now. Now I was sadly terrified. I was afraid to go back near the water. To be anywhere near the actual beach. To get on a boat. I had nightmares that I kept to myself every single night I lay in that hospital bed, waiting and praying that my leg would finally heal enough to support my weight on the stupid prosthetic.

“You took away more than my leg.”

Moisture pooled in my eyes, and for once, I didn’t bother trying to hold it back. The drops fell all the way down to the crashing waves below. Both mers resurfaced where my tears were landing, swimming faster, probably wanting to know why I hadn’t jumped yet.

“You guys won’t get me again,” I whispered to myself. “I’m too afraid. You took away my leg… and my ocean.”

Forewarned

“Olive?”

A shout from behind me made my shoulders sag a little as I glanced over one to see Parker quickly walking toward me.

Hmph. Probably thought I was going to go over the edge.

When he got closer, I looked back down at the water and furrowed my brow.

They’re gone.

“Hey, man, I was coming to get you,” he said, fueling my unwarranted annoyance as I growled out a reply.

“I told you I can drive myself.”

He nibbled at his lower lip and shrugged as he got himself situated next to me on the rock, his legs folded Indian-style instead of hanging over like mine were.

“You know I never listen.”

That had me unexpectedly choking on a weak laugh.

“God damn do I know it, you idiot.”

He gave a slight chuckle and grinned before reaching over.

I know what is coming but I can’t push the darn guy away.

His arms wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me into a hug I didn’t need, or want. I’d gotten way too many hugs while in the hospital, and all I really wanted right then was to be alone with six or seven beers.

“I know you’re sick of all the fussing. I’m just worried,” he mumbled against my neck, making me sigh and pat his back reassuringly.

“I went to rehab last year for a reason, Park.”

He leaned back a little and smirked, then leaned in and kissed my cheek.

“Aw! Ew! Really?” I grumbled, wiping at the spot on my cheek with my right sleeve while he just leaned back and laughed.

“Oh hush. I do that all the time when one of us is feeling down. You won’t get my gay-cooties or something dumb like that from it.”

“I’m starting to have second thoughts on this whole friends thing…” I mumbled, the comment making him nudge my shoulder and roll his eyes, though his smile stayed firmly in place.

“I’m rather limited on friends at the moment, so I’m afraid you’re stuck with the job, Olive.”

I leaned back on my hands and blew out a breath through my nose, glancing at him from the corner of my eyes.

“You’ve got plenty of friends.”

“I’ve got Jayson and you…” he replied, Parker’s grin stretching a bit farther.

He may break his face if he smiles any wider.

“What about that mer? Calamari, or whatever his name is.”

That instantly had a blush burning up his cheeks.

Oh god. Don’t say it. I know what happened but dude, I’ll toss my lunch that I barely ate if you go into details.

Parker glanced away, then back at me as his thumbs twiddled in his lap before finally mumbling, “We uh… are a little more than friends.”

T. M. I.

“Uh, then, that other mer’s your friend, right?”

That made the blush instantly vanish as Parker gave a snort of sarcasm.

“He’s more of an angry shadow that gets pissed about everything not involving his junk and Jayson’s butt.”

Okay, that made me fall back on the rock and cover my eyes, pressing my palms into them hard as I groaned.

“You and your details that no one wants to know.”

“Hah, but you asked. That was the PG version anyway. I can give you the R rated one if you want, though that would take a while and involve several settings and—”

“No! No. No, I’m good. Please dear god, I’m good.”

I heard him getting up and moved my arm to peek, seeing him now standing as he stared down at me with a sympathetic frown in place where his smile had just been.

“Don’t,” I warned, not wanting anymore sad crap. I could deal with my problems on my own.

“I’m driving you home.”

My eyes narrowed at him as I growled, “Not a chance. I can drive just fine.”

“You may be able to drive, but you’re frustrated, and I can understand that. However, you make stupid decisions when you’re like this.”

“Hmph. So most of the time?” I retorted while trying to get back to my feet. This leg definitely didn’t have the range of motion I was used to, so getting up was definitely tricky. I knew he wanted to help when he began to kneel down beside me, but I just glared, making him wait until I was finally on my feet. Well, technically foot, but I’m not going to dwell on that any further right now.

“I’ll drive myself home,” I stated again, just to be sure it was clear.

“Then I’m following you there.”

“Dammit, Park! Do I look like a kid to you?” I yelled as I staggered toward the driver’s side of my truck.

“Yes. A big angry one that won’t let people help him because he’s butthurt.”

He paused, then snickered a little.

“Oops. Well, you know what I mean.”

Of course I fucking know what he means.

I turned on him, knowing that I’d regret it, but I just wanted my damn space right then so the words just came out!

“Seriously. Leave me the fuck alone! I’m not gonna go home and kill myself or some other stupid shit you might be thinking. I have work Monday, and I need to rest before then so just get lost.”

He immediately looked hurt, because come on, it was Parker. His emotions showed on his face like an open book whether he meant for them to or not. Which I doubted he did. When neither of us spoke for several silent moments, I grunted and got my truck’s door open, then literally lifted myself up into the cab using the handle and steering wheel before shutting the door. I would have to apologize to him later, because the guy really was a great friend, even if he did call me at random hours of the night to treat his deadly boyfriend or fretted over stupid things too much. Sighing, I shook my head and buckled my seat belt before heading out onto the road. I noticed his silver truck following me but didn’t bother trying to lose it to go to the liquor store; which was what I really wanted to do.

“Bah… Park. Sometimes I wish you had some of the bad habits I had to kick.”

Not really, but he is just so straight-laced it gets difficult to deal with sometimes.

We were back at my house about fifteen minutes later, and I was silently grateful when he did a U-turn at the end of the cul-de-sac, then went a few doors down to his own home.

“Finally. Some time to myself.”

I nearly hopped to the front door, practically dragging my worthless metal leg while fishing keys from my pocket. After fumbling with them for a moment, I got the right one in the lock and pushed it open with some effort.

Man, my muscles have seriously gotten lax after all that time lying in bed.

But again, that was my fault for not trying therapy. Whatever. I got the door shut and locked, then made my way toward the kitchen, tossing my keys on the counter when I stepped into the small room. I wasn’t nearly as good a cook as Parker, so most of my food consisted of frozen meals or cereal. Not the healthiest diet, I’ll admit, but it was definitely better than that crap they tried to shove down my throat at the hospital. Probably why I lost a few pounds while I was in there. Once I had a TV dinner popped in the microwave, I leaned over to look into the fridge.

“Oh thank you god!”

Reaching forward, I grabbed one of the cold beers and popped the top with practiced fingers before downing half the thing.

“Ahhh, man did I need that.”

The familiar cold liquid burned its way into my belly, begging for another drink that I happily obliged it. By the time the microwave beeped four minutes later, I was already done with my second beer and feeling quite a bit better… or at least quite a bit intoxicated. That was probably a better bet, but it still made some of the pain go away. My mind was yelling at me for doing it, but I grabbed another two bottles in one hand and my dinner in the other, then carefully made my way over to the sofa. I dropped down onto it with a content sigh and took a big bite of whatever-the-hell I’d put in the microwave, since it all usually just tasted the same, then popped the lid on the third bottle of beer and began nursing it.

At some point, the TV got turned on, but I didn’t really remember watching anything that was on. I had made the news, but the story drifted off the air pretty quickly since the two bastards only seemed to show themselves to me, and me alone.

Aren’t I lucky?

Grumbling into the half-empty bottle, I upended it and tossed it aside to the floor once it was finished, then belched loudly.

The sound of rushing water had my eyes blinking open. At first, I couldn’t remember what had happened or where I was, but as my hurting head began to clear a little, I realized I was back home and had gotten drunk. Sitting up, I glanced outside to see that the river was surprisingly high, the moonlight reflecting off of its surface showing its water running as if it were storming.

“Odd.”

After giving a huge yawn, I got up and stretched a little, shaking out both of my legs and wiggling my toes. I always felt a bit fuzzy after waking up from being drunk, but this time wasn’t that bad. Sauntering over to the sliding glass doors leading out to the patio and backyard, I stood there in the dark and watched the water flow until something caught my eye that I couldn’t quite make out near the bank.

Against my better judgment, I opened the door and stepped outside into the windy night, though I could have sworn it had been morning. I had probably slept for a long time. Brushing that thought aside, I calmly walked down to the edge of the water, slowing my stride as I got closer to the object.

“Hang on.”

When I got within a few yards of it, I could finally see exactly what it actually was and my heart suddenly began to beat like crazy.

“Oh man, it’s a guy!”

Running over, I dropped to my knees, feeling them sink into the wet mud as I tried to turn the man over so I could administer CPR. When I finally managed to get him onto his back, I gasped and tried to jump back out of surprise, but my knees were a bit too stuck to let me complete the action.

He had crisp bright hair, an odd silver or white-blond easily visible even in the darkness, with similarly bright eyes close to a crystalline blue. The color wasn’t what had my nerves in a tight ball, though; it was the fact that his eyes were open and staring up at me like he hadn’t been half-drowned lying on the bank, having been washed up by the rushing water in the river.

“S-Sir?” I stuttered, honestly starting to get a feeling that something was wrong with this situation.

“It’s your fault…”

“What?”

What had I done? I didn’t even know the guy.

“You. All of you. You’re a poison to this world. To us.”

My breath caught in my throat. That was a strong statement, and while I knew it was honestly the truth, being a marine biologist and doctor and having treated countless creatures that had suffered from human trash, it still hit pretty hard coming from this man whom I didn’t know anything about.

“I-I’m a doctor. Let me help you…”

He smirked and rolled his head on the ground slowly. The gesture was odd for a person and kind of reminded me of… of….

Mellac.

“Shit!”

I didn’t get a chance to move before he lunged, multiple rows of serrated, pointed white teeth heading straight for my face.

I jerked up abruptly, gasping for air as sweat dripped from my forehead and ran down my cheeks, joining tears that flowed just as freely as I began panting heavily.

Oh god. Oh god! It had been another weird dream. Those teeth, though… they weren’t orca.

“Just a… dream. Not real. Shake i-it off, Oliver. It doesn’t matter.”

I kept repeating that until I was able to catch my breath and shakily get to my feet.

“Just get some water… cold water.”

My voice wasn’t the clearest from all the alcohol I’d consumed, and I was probably still a bit buzzed, but thankfully I managed to get a cup into my shaking hand and fill it with ice, then water. The actual drinking was a bit messier, but I didn’t really care about the water dripping from my jaw as I got most of it into my mouth. It was refreshing and woke me up a little, which allowed me to safely begin limping back toward the sofa as the television buzzed quiet unintelligible words in the background.

When I got to the wall between the kitchen and living room, I allowed myself to look toward the sofa, wanting to gauge my steps so I didn’t accidentally trip. However, something faint next to it caught a flicker of light from the television as it switched to a different random commercial and drew my eyes slightly up, then over.

My heart froze and my body dropped to the floor to slump against the wall, exhaustion taking over as fear coursed through me much faster than the alcohol had. Four large claw marks were visible in the flickering light coming from the television, slashed horizontally into the glass, nearly cutting completely through the thick pane with disturbing accuracy.

Taken

I was torturing myself. That’s what I was doing at the beach the next morning. I had barely slept and had thrown up everything I’d had that day… which hadn’t been much. It was around eight in the morning, so most people who visited for vacation weren’t out of bed yet. That meant there were only locals around, and after the mer attack on me, there weren’t many people in the water. Bright red warning signs were very noticeable in and out of the water, telling people to ‘swim at their own risk’.

My eyes roved over the people lazing about beneath the sun before looking down at the sand right in front of my shoes. The sight of my prosthetic metal leg fastened into my shoe made my stomach turn. The doctors had kept telling me that I should’ve paid the small extra amount to get a foot look-alike, especially since my work insurance easily covered it. I just couldn’t do it, though, because that wouldn’t be my foot.

Licking my lips, I hesitantly lifted my good foot and set it atop the sand. The second I felt my weight shift in the granules, my heart lurched.

This is my sand. My life.

I had intended to walk away from this, knowing that I would never be able to go near this beach again with ‘them’ waiting for me.

“…but I can’t walk away from what I love.”

Nodding to myself, I kept my focus on the sand as I took a deep breath and forced my fake leg to lift, stepping forward. The moment it touched the shifting ground, I lost my balance and stumbled backward with a shout of surprise, only to feel my back collide with a firm, muscled chest. Not a second later, I felt strong arms wrap around my waist.

Since I had figured I was going to be in for some serious pain falling backward onto the hot parking lot, I was grateful for the catch. That is, until the person who’d caught me began running his nose along my shoulder toward my neck, sniffing audibly along the way. My body froze as my thoughts began to go places I prayed they never would again. Unfortunately, when a second person, one I recognized all-too-well from my nightmares stepped in front of me, my chest constricted and I began to have a panic attack. He had the same faded skin around his right eye that the bigger one had had around his left. They were just like wild orca eye patches but only over one side of their face.

“He’s going to pass out,” a deep, husky voice growled from somewhere near my left ear.

“His leg…” the person in front of me grumbled as I faintly noticed the young mer crouch down. I wanted to struggle or at least get my eyes to stay open as they tried to close to stop everything from spinning, but I knew I was having a panic attack and would pass out if I didn’t calm myself down. After being in the hospital for so long, I had developed them during my nightmares. But I’m not asleep this time, dammit! They weren’t supposed to be here! Add in the fact that they were both walking just fine and talking!

Yup, I’m definitely about to pass out.

“He’s breathing too fast; it’s making his body shake,” the voice near my ear noted, though he didn’t seem all that interested in actually trying to help since he was biting at my ear rather painfully. There was quiet for a moment before he spoke again, and since it was just him, the other mer, and I, I had a feeling he was talking to the other male.

“I know you wanted him and I told you I’d at least get you his leg, love, but I do not know where it went.”

I felt him release my likely-bleeding ear and lean closer, his smooth, wet cheek rubbing against my own as he growled.

“Mmm. Human? Where is it?”

I groaned, biting my lower lip as my head lolled against his shoulder. My strength always left me when I had an attack, which was the only positive of being held by one of them right then. The sudden awkward sound of teeth gnawing on metal made me inwardly chuckle to myself.

Not getting that leg, little bastard.

“Don’t do that, love. It is not real.”

The other mer whined and nudged my prosthetic with his nose. They were both quiet after that for a minute until I felt the mer in front of me nuzzle against the fabric covering my real leg. That snapped me out of my daze. While I knew it wasn’t the smartest idea, I shifted my right leg back and promptly kicked the damn mer right in the jaw. It screeched as I finally managed to force my eyes open, smirking when I saw it holding its chin in the sand. The mer holding me snarled when I grinned, then shoved me backward onto the hard hot pavement. He was fussing over the other male, cooing sweetly and licking at his bruising jaw. If I hadn’t been scared out of my mind, it might have almost looked cute.

Too bad. I’m all out of ‘caring’.

Pushing myself upright, I reached behind my back and under my shirt.

“Hey bastards!”

They both looked up simultaneously, the larger one snarling even though people had begun to stare. Both of the mers were wearing black swimming trunks, but there was no hiding their behavior.

And the small one has a healed bullet wound along its left shoulder… but the bigger one… He has a slash mark right across his left cheek!

Smiling, I moved my hand around to lift the silver pistol I’d brought with me to level on the slightly larger mer. They both had black hair, or at least dark brown and their build was similar, but the one I had kicked was smaller and seemed a little more uncertain.

Kinda reminds me of Callem… while the other is definitely Mellac.

Both of the mers evidently knew what my gun was, though, because they jumped up and began backing away, hissing angrily. Hmph, they could be as angry as they wanted, but if they even took one step forward, they were getting a bullet in their asses.

“I suggest you both go back to the ocean. Now.”

My eyes stayed locked on the two, but when the taller one straightened and spoke, I felt panic begin to surge back through my chest.

“What is your name, human?”

“Like I would tell you. Leave, now!”

He lifted his upper lip, showing off a row of perfectly white, sharp teeth.

“You belong to us.”

The hell?

“Fuck you!”

That had him grunting out a cocky laugh that just itched my trigger finger to fire the darn gun.

“Get back in the water, or I swear I’ll shoot both of you!”

“You are starting to have trouble again, human. Best calm down before something bad happens,” the larger mer said in response to my shout, still standing there nonchalantly as the smaller one knelt beside him, teeth nipping at the other’s black swim trunks with an expression somewhere between frustration and playfulness.

Hmm. I doubt he’ll back down if I shoot him, but…

Lowering my gun, I got the response I wanted immediately. The larger male gave off a deep, rumbling growl.

“I said. Get. In. The. Water.”

My voice was steady and deadly serious. Seeing the larger male finally responding the way I wanted him to had me calming down enough to catch my breath as I watched. When he helped the smaller mer to his feet and turned toward the ocean, I felt a huge relief settle in my stomach. I expected them to just leave quietly, but of course, I shouldn’t have. The larger one turned as the smaller one grabbed hold of his arm, seeming to have a little trouble walking correctly in the sand.

“You still belong to us. We’ll find you.”

His threat sent a shot of fear straight through my veins, but I didn’t let it show on my face as he glanced over.

I shouted against the wind, which had suddenly picked up a bit. “Go to hell! I don’t belong to anyone! Let alone you two!”

The sound of a van speeding along the upper road behind me had the mers looking up. I thought they were just startled by the loud vehicle, because I even turned to check it out, but when I saw their faces as I glanced back at them, I knew right away that something was wrong. Looking back at the van, I noticed it had the Cal-Waves logo on it.

Do the mers know about that research facility? How?

“How the hell did those damn humans find us again?” the larger mer shouted as the smaller one whimpered against his chest.

Oh man. They have had contact with them. But then, he said they didn’t know how they were finding them each time.

“They must have a tracker in one of you… or both.”

The larger mer began backing up, tugging the smaller one along as he switched between looking at me and glaring at the van.

“What is that?” he asked as his steps got quicker.

“It means they’ll be able to find you wherever you go. I’m going to guess you’ve met them before and they shot one of you with some type of weapon?”

He looked down at the smaller mer and frowned, his left hand, which was around the male’s waist, moved so that he could rub his thumb along his shoulder blade. Since he didn’t verbally answer, I figured that was where the chip tracking them probably was.

“Well, enjoy being stalked for life, bastards. I could technically take it out of him, but I’m not feeling that generous. Better start running now.”

I could hear the doors of the van slamming shut just a few yards behind me so they were just about out of time. Both mers looked scared as they turned and bolted for the water. The smaller one was having trouble, though. In fact, he slipped from the larger one’s hand, which had been pulling him along, and fell into the sand with a stressed yelp.

The bigger one stopped, but several Cal-Waves researchers already had their guns out and one woman fired before either mer could react. Her dart hit home on the smaller one’s shoulder, making him scream as he swatted it out.

Too late. You’re done.

Since they seemed so attached, I figured the bigger one would try to get his friend back to the water, shot or not, but he actually bolted into the waves and quickly disappeared beneath the surface.

“Hmph. Don’t worry, they’ll catch you too, eventually,” I whispered to myself as I watched the group of scientists collect the smaller mer. The other was watching from just off-shore, but it didn’t dare get close enough to get shot.

When the group began walking past me, I stepped into their path with a sarcastic smile and clasped my hands in front of me like I wasn’t about to be a complete ass.

“I’m sorry, guys, but do you have paperwork stating that this mer is dangerous? Also, you need a permit to take from these waters, as your facility it much further north.”

They stared at me like I had just grown two heads, but when I folded my arms over my chest and glared, they all turned their eyes to an older man, likely in his fifties. He had gray hair already but still showed youth in his light blue eyes.

Probably the stress of the job. Turns everyone gray eventually. Some sooner rather than later.

He turned toward me and extended a hand to be shaken as his group tried to sidle past.

Hah!

“He belongs to my lab. We have study permits for this area, species, and…” I emphasized the word ‘and’ to be sure the group had heard and stopped trying to get past me. “We have a new law against catching mers if they have not committed a crime. It is not on the books yet but it has been signed and is awaiting addition.”

The entire group, once again, looked absolutely exasperated.

“I’m sure we can work something out with your lab,” the older man said with a hint of authority to his voice.

“No. He goes in my truck and to my lab. If you want to have rights to study him before he is released, then you will have to get in touch with the supervisor dealing in specimens and scientific staff on the matter. If you can’t reach him, then check the general director.”

It was quiet for a long moment as a serious crowd began to gather.

Good, that means there are plenty of witnesses so they can’t just take him away.

“I see,” the older man finally said in an annoyed tone. I turned and pointed to my truck just behind me and raised a brow. The man was fuming by then, but he motioned for his group to bring the mer forward. I quickly got the back tarp removed and had them set him inside. Unlike Parker, I didn’t have an air conditioner hooked up for transporting specimens, but it was pretty cool outside today day so it should be fine for the quick drive to the lab.

“Thank you, sir. I suppose I will see you when I see you,” I said to the older man in a slightly sarcastic, chipper voice. He grumbled and forced a fake smile before following his colleagues back into their van and driving off. When they were out of sight, I looked back over at the unconscious mer in the back of my truck and sighed.

“I wish I could kill you right now without any legal problems coming of it. I really, really wish I could.”

Instead, I grunted in annoyance and slammed the back part of my truck, then fastened the tarp over and climbed into the driver’s seat while using the door for support. When I was finally situated and had my seat belt on I headed for my lab.

Guess I’ll be coming into work earlier than I’m supposed to. Oh well.

I was also curious as to why Cal-Waves was actively tracking mers now, but I pushed those thoughts aside for a later time… and maybe a later talk with my boss.

After about fifteen minutes of driving, I pulled into the parking lot and into my assigned space, sliding from my truck in the partially empty lot. Saturday was generally a ‘come as you wish’ day, so there were only about half the normal staff there. When I saw one of the security guards by the front doors, I waved him over, then limped to the back of my truck where he met me a moment later.

“Yes, Dr. Anderson?”

“I’ve got a mer I need you to carry.”

The burly guy deadpanned and jumped back in shock. I couldn’t help snickering as I pulled the tarp back and lowered the small bed door.

“It’s out cold for at least another few minutes, judging from the color dart they used. I just can’t lift it with my bum leg.”

He stepped closer hesitantly, peeking around my shoulder to see that I hadn’t been lying.

“O-oh… okay.”

The guard, who I now remembered was named Hank, grabbed the sleeping mer and headed for the doors with me hot on his heels. Well, as hot on said heels as I could be while dragging my damn fake leg.

“I assume you want him in the new holding facility?”

“Oh yes. I think he’ll love the accommodations there.”

While I was in the hospital, the lab had built a whole new area that was specifically meant to hold mers. It was spurred on by the attack from the two orcas. It was kind of nice that it was a little closer than the other areas, only through two of the security doors instead of all three. We made good time too, and Hank had the mer locked in a cell within two minutes while I moved about getting a clipboard and pen.

It’s always impossible to keep pens in this darn place.

I had no idea where they all went because I know I had bought a huge box of them for everyone to put in different rooms right before I was attacked a month ago, but now I was struggling to find one.

Aha!

Shoving aside some paperwork, I grabbed what was likely the last pen in existence… in this room, and began filling out the data sheet.

“Hey, doctor? Do you want me to go notify the boss?”

I nodded, but then added, “Just mine for now. I don’t need this place crowded with interns and whatnot when he wakes up.”

“Got it. Be careful with him.”

I gave him a grin and headed toward the bars to the mer’s cell.

“Will do. Thanks for the help, Hank.”

“No problem, see you later.”

When I heard the door shut, I sat down next to the bars and tapped the end of my pen on the clipboard.

“Wake up, idiot. I know you’re not asleep anymore. Your breathing has changed and you’re beginning to shake. I hope it’s from fear too, ’cause you should be afraid.”

His arms slowly moved from beneath his body to rest near his head as that, too, moved. When his eyes finally opened, they were absolutely terrified and I could hear little whimpers coming from him as he tried to scoot back, but he obviously was unfamiliar with the cold concrete floor and kept slipping.

He looks like a scared seal. Not so tough now, are you, you little bastard?

After moving back a little so he couldn’t try to grab me through the steel bars, I began scribbling information about his current status on the specimen sheet I’d fastened to the clipboard.

“It’s too bad they didn’t get your friend. Maybe I’ll go out later and see if I can shoot him myself. That sounds like fun, doesn’t it?”

I wasn’t expecting him to answer so when he let out a quiet “N-No,” I blinked and glanced up at him. He had managed to scoot a little farther back, obviously trying to get as far away from me as he could.

“Why so scared? Don’t have your friend to protect you now, hm?”

Instead of answering me, he whined again and began licking at his arms frantically.

What the hell?

“What are you doing?” I asked, honestly curious. I might hate him, but I was still a scientist that always wanted answers. When he didn’t give me one, I sighed and licked my dry lips.

“Is that a nervous habit?”

He glanced up, dark brown mop of hair, which I could finally tell wasn’t black, swishing in front of his scared dark purple eyes.

Interesting color… kind of like Callem’s, but his change depending on his mood. Maybe this one has the same ability.

“Well then, what are you doing?”

Right after I’d finished asking the question, he promptly bit down on his right forearm.

“Wh-what the hell are you doing? Stop! You’re drawing blood!”

There was no way in hell I was going in there with him, but he was going to seriously injure himself if he kept tearing at his arm like that.

“Dammit, just tell me what’s wrong!”

He quickly leaned back and released his arm, only to begin spreading his blood all over himself. I was going to go grab a dart gun to sedate him again, but then I realized something.

“You’re uncomfortable…?”

His dark eyes looked up at me, stress obvious in his features. Then he began scratching himself with his claws, quickly opening new wounds on his right thigh through holes he tore in the swimsuit he was wearing.

“Shit! Okay, hang on a second.”

I forced myself to get up and grabbed a hose kept against the wall and unwound part of it. Dragging that over to his cell a few feet away, I turned it on and let it run between the bars. Not even a second later, he was scrambling toward it. He rolled around in the flow of water heading toward the drain in the middle of the small eight-by-six cell, honestly looking like an ecstatic puppy who finally got to roll in the mud in the backyard after a rainstorm. Relief was crystal clear on his face, too, telling me that his skin had likely been drying out with help from over-stressing, causing discomfort.

When he was finally content and his body was thoroughly wet again, he grabbed the end of the hose and hugged it to his chest, then began lapping at the stream coming out thirstily. I was just about to tell him that he’d had enough and shut the water off, when a loud noise from his back sounded and he blew a mist of water and air from it.

Damn, that’s seriously cool. Callem and Mellac don’t have blowholes, even though they are dolphins. Guess it’s just how the different species evolved.

Still, I was definitely intrigued, especially since he kept the blowhole while in his human form. I hadn’t really been focused on their backs when they had turned to begin leaving so I hadn’t noticed it.

“Do that again.”

He glanced up at me with worried eyes and tucked his tongue back into his mouth, no longer licking at the hose water.

“I said, do it again.”

He hunched, letting the water from the hose run along his cheek. It almost looked like he was sulking about being told to do something he obviously didn’t want to.

Hmph. Gonna have to get used to that.

“Do it now, or I’ll turn the water off.”

His eyes widened a fraction as he eyed the knob I’d turned to make the water flow.

I bet he’s connecting the dots. He’s definitely more educated than Callem had been. By how much, I’m not too sure yet.

After a long minute of looking around, he took a deep breath and then blew it out from his blowhole. Since he was drying off from his roll in the water he barely had any come from the action, but I still took several notes. When I had finished writing, I looked up at him. He was watching me quietly but not moving, allowing me to get a good look at his whole body. He seemed to be about twenty, but that generally meant he could be a few years younger or a few years older. There were no orca mer skeletons anywhere in the world that I knew of, so aging him would likely be impossible. Leaning forward a little, I noted that he had several old scars on his body likely from predator attacks and even a few boat motor cuts on his upper arms and the back of his legs. Of course, there was also the bullet wound that had caught him a month ago when my colleagues went out to try to catch him.

I noted his body condition, then checked his actual weight. I couldn’t get him onto a scale just yet, especially since I was alone in here for the moment, but I could at least see that he needed a bit more food to be at a healthy weight. I could see some of his ribs, even when he was hunched over. Once I finished writing, I walked over to the knob for the hose.

“N-no!”

The whimpered growl from behind me had me glancing over my shoulder, right hand on the knob.

“What? I gave you water. You should be fine for a while… and did you just growl at me?”

I knew he was afraid, but I wasn’t going to deal with him being any kind of aggressive. He seemed to realize that quickly because he scooted away from the bars a little.

“Need.”

“You just got some.”

He gave me an agitated look but kept himself from growling as he answered.

“Need… sometime hurt away to water when worry.”

He was doing just fine when he and his friend were harassing me.

“You didn’t look like you were hurting when you were bothering me.”

His face fell and he moved until he was lying down, curled up a bit with his hands fisted by his face again, left cheek leaning on his left one.

God. Why are they all like cats and dogs?

“Not hurt short…”

It took me a minute to think through his words before I realized what he meant.

They were still wet when they had started bugging me and he also didn’t look too stressed. I also remember the bigger one’s cold cheek against mine.

I really didn’t think he deserved the water after what he’d done to me, but if my boss found out I’d caused him to bleed out because of something so simple, I would lose a job I still needed, and wanted. Sighing, I turned the knob a little, stemming part of the flow before turning to glare at him. He had the hose tucked beneath his body, flowing between his right cheek and his right arm.

“If you destroy that hose, you’re out of luck, and if you don’t listen to me or growl again, you’ll lose it. Do I make myself clear, mer?”

He tucked his head and rubbed his forehead in the water for a moment before replying. “Mm… name.”

Stepping closer, I tilted my head and grumbled, “What?”

He hesitantly looked up at me but wouldn’t meet my eyes. Good. “N-name…”

“Oh yeah? You got one? ’Cause I’d much rather just call you a stupid mer or a bastard.”

His eyes began to cloud over, but I had hardened my heart enough not to care that I was making him cry.

He deserves far worse.

“N-no… Ocar gived me…”

“Ocar?”

He gave a little nod so I rolled my eyes and clicked my pen so I could write the dumb name down.

I’m not gonna ask him how he spells it since he probably doesn’t even know how to spell, but eh, it sounds like Oaker so I’ll just use that.

“No!”

I paused, glaring down at him.

“What? You wanted me to use your name, but now you don’t?” I hissed angrily, about ready to throw something at him.

“N-no… name Ocar gived me… Lyric.”

Fishes for Favors

(Fan art painting I had to share, totally bought it <3)

I paused, staring down at the mer who was now hesitantly looking up at me.

That is a surprisingly beautiful name.

“What a stupid name. Of all the things to name you,” I growled, marking it on my clipboard. Since it was highly likely that Cal-Waves would be in there in less than an hour, I figured I’d begin taking the samples they were going to want. After grabbing several items and setting them on the floor in front of the bars, I carefully got myself seated. I was within range of him if he wanted to try to grab me, but considering the thickness of the bars and their strength, he wouldn’t be able to cause any injuries I hadn’t already lived through… and he would give me good reason to use the gun tucked into my belt.

“I need to take some samples. Give me your hand, palm up.”

He had backed up when I sat down, but I could tell he was curious and probably didn’t understand completely. Proving my thought correct, he looked down at his hand, then back up at me. Sighing, I lifted my left hand and wiggled my fingers.

“Give me hand.”

Lyric eyed my hand and licked his lips, then cautiously got up on his hands and knees and reached his hand out much like a dog would its paw when it didn’t trust the person they were giving it to. It wasn’t even palm up, but I wasn’t going to try to get him to understand that part if he gave me his hand without hostility. When his palm pressed against my own, I slowly began wrapping my fingers around his hand.

He jerked his hand away the second there was pressure from mine, making me roll my eyes and sigh. I really didn’t have the patience to deal with him right then, and I had no idea why I was even bothering. He deserved to get tranquilized or prodded with the electric pole.

“Lyric, listen to me.”

My voice was stern, bringing his attention back to me since he’d begun pawing at the hose and the water still slowly streaming from it.

“Do you know what a gun is?” I asked, watching his facial expression return to confusion.

“Okay, obviously not.”

Reaching around under my shirt, I grabbed my pistol and brought it in front of him. His response was immediate and one of absolute terror. He gave a whimpered bark of surprise and quickly backed into the far corner.

“N-no hurt!”

Well, he obviously knows what it is. Just not what it’s called.

Of course I didn’t doubt that since he had an old healed bullet wound in his shoulder.

“Lyric. Gun.”

I lifted the weapon when I said the word, making him flinch and cower against the concrete.

“No hurt. No hurt, please.”

Rolling my eyes, I set the gun down on the floor and immediately saw him relax a little.

“I’ll make you a deal, Lyric. No hurt if you do as I say. That sound good to you?”

His worried eyes darted around the barred cell before he hesitantly nodded.

Okay, he obviously still doesn’t completely understand, but I think I got the majority of what I needed to say through to him.

Deciding to test that thought, I reached my hand out again and wiggled my fingers.

“Lyric, come.”

He fidgeted a moment but then ran forward like a monkey would on his hands and feet, settling in the corner just out of my reach.

“Lyric, here.”

I tapped the spot right in front of me near the bars, and he barked like a seal again but didn’t move. Pursing my lips, I reached for the gun and got another scared whimper from him, making my eyes lift to his.

“Lyric… here. Now.”

Everything about his body posture screamed fear so I was trying not to shout, but he was making it tough. I tapped one last time, then inwardly sighed when he finally scooted up against the bars in front of me.

“Good boy.”

Having previously grabbed some anchovies from a tray likely set up for later experiments, I produced one from my pocket and held it up so he could see it. He reacted in a second, pawing for the tiny fish through the thick steel bars.

“Wan’!”

I could have made him give me his hand like I had asked to begin with, but he’d at least listened to me to come back over so I waited for him to calm down before moving my other hand, palm up, in front of him. I then set the fish in it and nodded.

“Hand, Lyric?”

His bright violet eyes, which had changed from the darker bluish purple they had been earlier, looked from my hand to his own as he slowly lifted it then extended and turned it palm up. I dropped the fish into his hand, watching him snatch it back into the cell and shove the fish in his mouth.

“I guess the way to get through to you is fish.”

Callem much?

When he finished eating the little morsel, I reached back into my pocket and pulled out a big handful of the fish, catching his attention in an instant.

“If you do what I ask, then you can have all of them, okay? There is going to be some hurt, but no gun,” I said, watching his face change expressions several times. He definitely wanted the fish, but as soon as I had said hurt, he hunched closer to the concrete floor.

Setting the fish on the floor next to me, just out of his reach, I put my hand back near the bars and looked into his eyes.

“Hand please, Lyric?”

His gaze stayed on the fish for a moment before he eyed my hand and slowly lifted his to place it in mine.

“Good boy,” I said as I grabbed a syringe and popped the top off of the needle. My fingers slowly wrapped around his hand, and this time, he let me do it without trying to jerk away. For that, I released him and gave him another small fish. Since there was no hurt in that session, he excitedly put his hand out, palm up, and brought the fish to his mouth the second I dropped it into his hand.

Okay, this time it’s going to be a little harder.

“Hand please, Lyric?”

He spent the next minute cleaning off his hand, then seemed to suddenly realize I’d spoken to him and reached out of the cell. When his hand was set in mine, I wrapped my fingers around it lightly and then brought the needle close before I looked up into his eyes.

“Lyric. This is going to hurt a little. Just a little, okay? I need you not to move.”

His eyes darted to the gun as he frowned, but when he looked back up at me, I shook my head.

“No gun. Little hurt, no big hurt.”

He pursed his lips nervously and licked them, then looked at the pile of fish before returning his full attention back to me.

“Little hurt?”

I nodded.

“Little hurt… f-for fishes?”

I nodded again and replied with a calm “Yes.”

He still didn’t seem too happy, but after a minute, he nodded and squeezed his eyes closed like a child about to get a shot. Deciding not to make fun of him for the reaction, I quickly poked the needle into his wrist. Not surprisingly, he squeaked and jumped, whining but thankfully not moving his wrist much. I finished pulling the blood after a moment and quickly released him so I could cap the needle then give him a fish.

“Good job, Lyric.”

I thought he’d just eat it then lick at his wrist until I asked him to do something else, which was partially what happened. He inhaled the fish and lapped at the spot I’d poked a few times, but then got up on his knees and grabbed one of the bars while his other hand reached toward the fish.

“I gave you one, Lyric.”

He looked at me and pouted as if he was a puppy and I’d just kicked him.

“Fishes. Give fish, said for fishes.”

Oh wow, he understands that there’s a difference between one and multiple.

“I guess you got me. Here.”

Reaching over, I grabbed a few fish and dropped them into his hand as soon as he turned it over for me. He gobbled them up, then leaned down and took a drink from the hose before reaching out and offering his hand to me again.

I suppose this is a good habit to get him used to.

Reaching down to my right again, I grabbed a small razor blade and microscope slide. I then turned back to him and gently set the blade against his wrist.

“Lyric. Little hurt for fishes, okay?”

I made a slight scraping against his skin and he winced, but then blinked and nodded. It wasn’t as bad as a shot, but it did pinch a bit since it was taking off skin cells and possibly a bit of blood. Since he had agreed, I quickly began scraping, ignoring his fidgeting to get it done as fast as possible and not drag it out. While it took a little longer than the blood draw, he still handled it well.

“Great job, Lyric.”

As soon as I set the slide and blade down, I grabbed a nice handful of fish and handed them over to him. While he was eating and cleaning his fishy hand, I grabbed a large cotton swab and waited. After another drink, he looked back up at me and offered his hand again.

“No no. I’m done with your hand. Can you open your mouth for me, please?”

His head tilted and he flexed his fingers, then flipped his hand palm up. Shaking my head, I thought for a moment and then figured something out that might help him figure out what I wanted.

“Look.”

I opened my mouth, then grabbed a fish and pretended to reward myself for it.

“Mouth open,” I said, then did it again. Lyric chewed his bottom lip and grunted, a little frustrated. I showed him a third time and grinned when he mirrored my action.

“Good!”

I handed him a fish right away, letting him eat it before asking him to open his mouth again. He did so perfectly this time, and I took the opportunity to press the swab against his tongue. I didn’t, however, calculate for my mistake about not showing him that I needed to swab his mouth and not just give him a swab to eat. Lyric clamped his jaws down on the small wooden tool and began chewing immediately, doing his best to destroy the item in the shortest amount of time.

“N-no! Lyric, no!”

That’s not how you’re supposed to get your fiber!

He paused at my shout but didn’t spit out the wooden cotton swab.

“Lyric, give it here.”

I put my hand in front of the large vertical bars, palm up. He looked down at it, but then tilted his head in confusion.

“Lyric. Mine. Give.”

I held up an extra swab and placed it in my hand, then set it aside and moved my hand closer.

“Give it back, Lyric.”

He looked to be about to lean forward and spit out the ruined tool, but then he noticed there were still a few fish next to me and straightened again.

“Fishes.”

Oh you little brat.

“Fine, I’ll give you two fishes for it.”

Lyric seemed to think for a moment before holding up four fingers, three on his left hand and one on his right. While I was surprised he was actually haggling with me, I was more surprised that he could count and convey the numbers.

“Okay, you win. Four fishes.”

He nodded and grinned around the pieces of broken wood in his mouth and promptly spit them out all over my hand, most of the pieces missing completely and clacking onto the floor. Lyric, however, was all smiles as he stared down at the pile of fish and held out his own hand for his justly earned reward.

“You are such a dork. I’m going to call you dork-fish from now on.”

Lyric barked and pouted, wiggling his fingers like he had to try to coax me into giving him his fish instead of mumbling nonfish nonsense at him.

“Okay okay. Here, Dorkfish.”

I handed him all but two of the tiny fish and waited for him to finish before grabbing two more swabs.

“Okay Lyric, look.”

Putting a swab in my open mouth, I moved it around along my gums and tongue, then set it aside and pretended to give myself one of the last two fish. I swear he was far more concerned about losing one of his last fish than actually learning what I had been trying to show him. Rolling my eyes for what felt like the hundredth time, I set the fish back down and opened my mouth and swabbed it again, then set the swab aside and grabbed a clean one.

“Lyric, mouth open.”

He seemed to be losing interest in our little session, but at the promise of those last two fish, he opened his mouth. Hoping that he didn’t bite it this time, I quickly pressed the cotton swab into his mouth and moved it around as fast as possible. Thankfully, he didn’t bite down, and I managed to retrieve it and put it into a plastic tube without injury to the tool or my fingers.

“Good, here ya go.”

I handed him the last two fish and then carefully got myself up while he ate. Once I was sure I had my footing, I began leaning down to grab the samples I’d taken, only to hear the door open behind me. Inwardly groaning, I didn’t need to look to know that it was Cal-Wavess scientists. Straightening, I glared at the group. All were wearing lab coats, obviously brought from their own laboratory since they had their insignia instead of ours on them.

“I already took samples,” I said, nodding down at the floor where I’d left them. One of the scientists, a male, stalked around and retrieved the three samples I’d taken and eyed them before setting them on the table.

“We’ll need more than this,” he said as he nodded, seemingly to no one in particular, but then the one woman with them stepped forward and promptly aimed a huge dart gun down at Lyric, firing without a second thought.

An Interesting Meeting

How dare they!

I was glad to see that Lyric had managed to dodge the dart, though I was pretty sure it wasn’t an intentional action but more of a panicked motion that happened save him from being knocked out. Either way, I snatched the rifle away from the woman and then flipped it before shoving it against her chest until she was flush against the wall behind her.

“Excuse me, but what do you think you’re doing with my project?”

She actually looked a little scared but tried her best to keep a sneer on her face.

“We have permission to dart it if needed,” she growled out. I rolled my eyes and looked over at Lyric cowering in the back corner, then back to glare at her.

“Does he look like he’s going to kill you right now? Because quite honestly, I’d let him.”

The woman blanched, but by then her two colleagues were closing in on me so I lowered the gun and held out my left hand.

“Give me your paperwork ,” I said, being sure to emphasize the last word. The brown-haired man, which seemed close to thirty or so, handed me several pieces of paper. I leaned the gun against the door and stood in front of it, blocking any of them from being able to get the stupid thing. Flipping through the papers, I smirked and threw them back at him. He luckily caught the pile, but I didn’t really care, I was too busy taking out the other dart from their gun and throwing it in the garbage.

“You don’t have my signature on any of those, and as the head medical doctor in this facility—for whom there is a specific signature space on those papers, which is currently blank—you are not allowed to experiment on any of our subjects. Let alone dart them unnecessarily.”

I knew I was being nasty to them, but there were rules and they had blatantly disregarded them when they walked in here and shot at Lyric. Especially since they knew my signature was needed for the paperwork.

“Alright, we messed up. Can you please sign the papers so we can anesthetize him and take more samples? We need more than what you got.”

I glared at him and the papers he was holding out.

Starting to not like these Cal-Waves guys. Not that I really liked them in the first place. They always seem too secretive.

“What other samples do you need?” I ground out as I carefully retrieved my gun from the floor and tucked it back in the waistband of my pants. The brown-haired guy fidgeted so the girl took over again, stepping in front of both men.

“We just like to have our subject unconscious to prevent injury and time loss. Why are you so against it after he took your leg, anyways?”

That had me bristling and looking over at Lyric, my anger at him causing, or at least partially causing, my attitude to go south. I wanted to hate him and I really think I still did, but he just wasn’t being aggressive enough to make me be mean to him. He hadn’t even gotten mad when I called his cherished name stupid.

Giving a tired sigh, I grabbed the papers back from the brown-haired man, who I now noticed was wearing a badge.

Mark.

I flipped through the sheets and found the one I wanted, then set it on the table, the stack beside it, and signed the one sheet.

“There.”

Mark grabbed it to read over while I looked at the other two people’s name tags.

Marilyn and Conner.

My attention turned back to Mark when I felt him gawking at me.

“What?” I asked, obviously not bothering with niceties.

“You just signed the basic study sheet! This is only going to let us use what you took from him!”

Well someone’s pissed. At least he can read.

“Get over it. You disregarded our rules and tried to shoot at him. You’re lucky you’re getting anything.”

The three of them glared at me as tension built up in the room, but it dissipated as quickly as it started with a growl from Lyric. I decided to dismiss the researchers as annoying but harmless and walked over to Lyric’s cell as I spoke to the group behind me.

“Take what you get and be grateful. I can always tear that paper up and be done with you all.”

I didn’t even bother looking at them as I spoke, likely making them even more irritated. After a minute, though, they seemed to accept my judgment, collecting the samples I’d retrieved, one for each person, and got busy setting up experiments. My attention was focused on Lyric, and specifically, his shoulder. That bullet wound made me happy the first time I heard of it, then again when I saw it, but now that I was really looking at the old injury, I noticed something odd.

“Lyric, can you come here please?”

He fidgeted and eyed the dart gun leaning against the wall. Smiling slightly, I got myself seated on the floor and held my hand inside the cell. Immediately I felt an extra three pairs of eyes on me, but I ignored them.

“Come here, Lyric. No hurt.”

Everything about his body posture and facial expression told me he didn’t want to, but thankfully the work I’d already done with him paid off and he did scamper over. When he got closer, I was able to see his injury better and noticed a faint red coloration around the edges of the exit wound.

“Lyric, turn a little?”

He looked at me in confusion, and I tilted my body so that I gave him the back of my left shoulder, then turned back.

“Turn please.”

I waited a moment before he did as I demonstrated.

Ooooh. Now I see.

The exit wound wasn’t really an exit wound. The bullet was still there, pressing against the skin enough to make it redden and bruise. I carefully reached out and ran my fingers gently over the discolored skin.

“Lyric, hurt?”

I pushed against the injury slightly and he yelped, scooting away a little and giving me my answer.

Interesting. Callem’s injury seemed to make it hard for him to shift from the pain, but Lyric didn’t seem to have trouble. Perhaps because he didn’t change that part of his upper body or use his arms to really swim.

“Lyric? What would you think if I said I could take the hurt away there?”

His eyes widened and he turned back toward me. I could see his brain working on what I’d said, probably not used to so many full sentences but obviously liking what he’d heard, if only he could decipher it correctly. After a long moment, he opened his mouth and tried to reply.

“You… make Lyric… “ He paused, looking at his shoulder and biting his lip.

He doesn’t understand the word…

“Shoulder?”

His eyes lit up and he gave me a sharp nod.

“You make Lyric shoulder no hurt? How?”

If I didn’t hate him for what he and his friend had done to my leg, I might actually think that he was cute. Everything he said seemed to come with a random gesture or slight head tilt.

I bet Callem would love to meet him.

Feeling a light tug on my shirt, I blinked and refocused on Lyric’s newly hopeful face.

“Can make no hurt shoulder? Want please.”

I licked my lips nervously and nodded, then stood up so I could grab some dissection tools, disinfectant, and sutures. I’d forgotten my medical bag in my truck since I’d been in such a rush, but there was plenty to do a simple surgery sitting on the lab table.

Once I had the needed tools, I got myself situated back near the bars and glanced down at the stuff I’d retrieved, all of it sitting on a cloth to keep it off the floor. Grabbing a syringe that was prefilled with a small anesthetic, I looked up at him.

“Lyric, I can make your shoulder no hurt, but there will be a little hurt before I can work.”

He immediately looked confused, making me chuckle and shake my head before pointing to the syringe.

“Little hurt. Okay?”

He nodded warily.

“Little hurt, then no hurt.”

Lyric tilted his head and nodded again, though I could tell he still wasn’t too sure about what I’d said.

“Okay, watch.”

I put my shoulder against the cell bars, then turned around and pointed.

“Shoulder please?”

Lyric turned right away, having picked up what I wanted quickly. I smiled for him and held up the syringe needle near his skin.

“Little hurt, okay?”

He frowned but nodded, tensing slightly. I didn’t let him stress about it, though, and quickly gave him the shot. It wasn’t nearly enough to knock him out, but it would easily numb the area enough for me to cut and not hurt him. I waited a minute before pressing against the wound, noticing that he didn’t react.

“No hurt?”

Lyric pursed his lips and shook his head, making me nod.

“Okay. Stay still.”

I quickly grabbed the scalpel and got busy cutting away the damaged skin. It looked to have at least healed somewhat well and what hadn’t, I easily removed. Considering the surgery I had to do with Callem’s gills to get out the microchip he’d had stuck in them, this bullet was much easier. I actually got it out after about four minutes and tossed it somewhere off to the side.

“Got it out, now just sit still a little longer and I’ll sew you up, okay?”

He nodded, and I got busy cleaning up the wound with some alcohol gauze and once it was to my liking, I began suturing it up. The thread was dissolvable so after a week or two they should just disintegrate. I checked everything over and then sat back.

“Good boy. All done.”

Lyric turned around, a little off balance as he tried to put weight on his numb arm.

“It’s okay. It will be fine soon, I promise. Just a no hurt shot.”

He kept trying to look over his shoulder to see what I’d done, but when the door opened behind us, we both turned our attention to who was walking in.

-Parker-

Oh my god is he cute!

Running over to the cell, I squatted down and smiled at the young mer. He had scooted back a little, probably because I’d surprised him, but I couldn’t help it. He looked like a slightly younger version of Callem. Sure his hair was a bit longer and messy, and perhaps dark brown instead of black, but still.

“You’re so cute! What’s your name, hun?”

He seemed really hesitant to answer, but when Callem sat down beside me, the other mer’s attitude changed immediately to one of curiosity. After a moment, he gave a quiet bark and Callem immediately perked up like a dog that had just heard himself being called. The small mer gave another little bark when Callem didn’t answer, finally making my love get on his hands and knees and reply with his own, much deeper bark. After being naked for so long, it had taken awhile to get Callem to actually keep his clothing on, but we’d settled on basketball shorts, usually black or red, and long white or black T-shirts. Right now he was wearing something rare, light brown, worn jeans and one of my big dark red university sweatshirts. It didn’t exactly match but he wanted to wear it, so who was I to say no?

I turned my attention back to the smaller mer and noticed that he was having a little trouble with his left arm and glanced sideways at Oliver questioningly. My friend took the hint and replied to my unasked question.

“I just took the bullet out of his shoulder. It evidently never exited and was irritating his arm.”

I was surprised that he actually did the mer a favor, but I wasn’t going to tease him about it, especially not after what he’d gone through. Instead, I dropped that topic and leaned closer to the mer and Callem.

“This is my good friend, Callem. What’s your name, cutie?”

He looked up at me and hunched a little. That’s when I realized there was a hose in his cell that was running a small but steady stream near where he sat. He slowly lifted it and nibbled at the plastic like a stressed puppy, then released it with an odd look. A tiny bit of water squirted out of it and splashed his face, but instead of acting upset by it, he actually began pressing his hands over the holes, then removing them. Pretty soon he was actually splashing himself on purpose as he pawed at each hole with little odd, laughing growls. I knew he was at least twenty years old, but he just seemed so happy to have discovered such a simple game.

“Can I play with you, little one?”

Hearing Callem suddenly speak made my heart flutter. He could talk pretty well by now, but he seemed to keep most his words to himself unless we were alone. He loved talking to just me… just not so much other people. The other mer perked up a little bit and licked his lips, then hesitantly mumbled in a quiet voice.

“C-Cal… lem?”

Callem smiled softly and nodded.

“What’s your name?” Callem replied as he leaned closer, noticing how the other mer was doing the same thing. They sniffed at each other through the bars some, then the other mer leaned back.

“O-Ocar gave for me… Lyric.”

Wait, is his name Ocar or Lyric?

“His name is Lyric,” Oliver said, giving me the answer I wanted.

“What a pretty name,” I cooed to Lyric, making the mer finally look at me with slight interest. It didn’t last long, though, since he was obviously much more excited about Callem.

“Can you open the cell?” Callem asked, glancing at myself and Oliver. I looked at Oliver, knowing that it was his decision over mine. I was a head researcher, but that was in the other part of the lab.

“If you can be sure he doesn’t get out,” Oliver replied quietly. I saw him begin to get up and helped, even though I knew it might annoy him. He kept it to himself if it did as he walked over and hit a red button on the wall. There were four buttons in all, all red and all in a row. Considering there were four cells, I knew they were releases for the doors on all of them and the tiny blue button under each was for opening the doors to the back pools.

He hit the red button again a moment later, and I heard the door slide shut. Turning to look, I grinned when I saw Callem sit down against the wall inside the cell and the smaller mer climb into his lap.

“Look at you, pretty mer,” Callem said in an intrigued tone. Lyric nuzzled against him, sniffing and just enjoying the general closeness. It made sense since they were both group animals, though I know dolphin mers didn’t tend to be as social. Even if they weren’t from the same pod, it was probably still instinct to Lyric to seek out another once in a while. After a moment of cuddling, Lyric scooted off Callem’s lap and motioned him over to the hose he’d bitten. They commenced playing with the little sprays of water from the holes, enjoying the simplicity as they nudged and splashed each other.

“Are you going to let him go?”

I had to ask because I knew Oliver was still upset about his leg. Hell, I would be too, but we couldn’t really hold him with the level of understanding Lyric currently had. Granted we needed him to figure things out before he was released so he didn’t attack another person, but he couldn’t stay here for too long specifically because of the attack on Oliver.

“I obviously can’t keep him here permanently.”

He sighed and, surprisingly, leaned against me. I knew it was his way of seeking comfort, but since he wasn’t a hugging type of guy, I just let him have his moment the way he wished. I could see his eyes just beginning to close and relax when the door opened again and… uh-oh.

Just what the world needs: Mellac.

Ice Cream and Apologies

-Oliver-

There were several problems involving Mellac suddenly being there. First, he had not one but two ice cream cones, one in each hand. Second, there was definitely a rule about no eating in the lab so why the heck had Jayson bought them for him? And third, Mark, one of the Cal-Waves scientists, was quickly stomping over to him with an agitated look on his face.

Don’t reach for the ice cream, don’t reach for the ice cream. I don’t want to have to clean up blood right now!

And, of course, he snatched one of the ice cream cones from Mellac’s hands.

“There is no eating in a lab! Are you insane? There were even signs on the way in here an—”

His words were cut off when Mellac grabbed his wrist, the one without the ice cream cone, and began squeezing, hard.

“You have two choices, human. You can put that down very slowly on the table next to you and not let it fall over… or you can die.”

“I’ll just make a suggestion,” I cut in, grinning at the scientist’s horrified expression. “Put the ice cream cone down as carefully as possible and then run.”

Mark looked at me like I was crazy, but I knew Mellac was already adding pressure to his wrist, considering the pained look on his face. After another tense moment, he slowly set the dripping ice cream cone down on the lab table.

“Mellac,” Parker said next to me, eying the mer. Mellac didn’t seem to hear him since he was beginning to sneer and add more pressure to Mark’s wrist, even though the ice cream was already on the table.

Guess Mark gets a broken wrist. I’ll cry later.

“Dammit, Mellac, I told you to wait for me! Just because I let you hold my ice cream doesn’t mean you can just run off with it.”

Jayson ran into the room and after a quick look around, figured out what was going on. Instead of letting Mellac do as he pleased, though, he walked right over and slapped the mer’s hand, hard, and then grabbed the melting cone from the table and shook it at him like one would their fist.

“Mellac. Let go, now.”

The mer did as told, though he was obviously still pissed. I think the only reason he didn’t hiss while doing it was because his mouth was full of the big bite of ice cream he’d just stolen from Jay’s cone.

“Y-you! That was mine.”

I knew what was coming after seeing them interact a few times when visiting me in the hospital, until I banned Mellac from my room. He leaned over and promptly kissed Jayson right in front of everyone, no shame. When he leaned away, he was smirking and there was a thick line of white ice cream dribbling down Jayson’s chin. Poor guy was as bright as a cherry.

My attention split, most of it redirecting to Conner as he tried to walk past me to get to the dart gun. I knew it was empty since that model only held two darts and Marilyn had shot one while I threw out the other, but he could easily have another in his pocket or something. So I nonchalantly shoved my useless metal leg in front of him and tripped the idiot.

Nice to find a use for the stupid thing.

-Jayson-

I swear he was more childish than Callem. Well, unless he was in bed.

Wait. Have we even done it in bed yet? I think once?

A shiver ran through my body, then my backside throbbed. Well, today we’d done it in the shower and he tried to get me in the closet. That was a bit annoying since I really had work to do before I could come to see the new mer. Sighing, I took a lick of my ice cream and then glanced into the cell. It was eyeing us, well, mainly Mellac. It was obvious the new mer could tell what Mellac was, but it also seemed really shy. I walked over and sat down in front of the cell, smiling at him as he shrunk against Callem.

“What’s your name, cutie?”

He fidgeted, looking from me, to Parker, then Oliver.

Err, I guess we’re kind of crowding him.

In fact, the smaller mer quickly scooted behind Callem and whimpered. I knew he was scared, but come on, that was pretty cute. Glancing back at Mellac as he devoured both of our ice cream cones… No idea how he managed to get the one I thought I had in my hand, but I doubted he understood the meaning of cute. He noticed me looking and licked his lips free of ice cream, making me blush and look away.

“His name is Lyric and, from what I understand, the other one is Ocar,” Oliver said nonchalantly as I noticed someone out of the corner of my eye, making me glance up and frown.

One of those annoying Cal-Waves guys again. This one was the guy Oliver had just tripped.

An angry hiss drew everyone’s attention suddenly back to Lyric as he grumbled at the man from behind Callem. I knew Callem wouldn’t let the scientist intimidate the smaller mer, but something else seemed odd about the situation.

If I remember correctly, Cal-Waves darted Callem a while ago when he vanished from Mellac. Now they’re back when Lyric and Ocar suddenly appear?

Glaring over my shoulder at the researcher whose name tag told me I should call him Conner, I stood up and stepped in front of his view of Lyric.

“Where is the chip in him? Where did you shoot him? And while we’re on the topic, where were you when you shot Callem with his chip?”

The guy’s face visibly drained of color, making me even more suspicious. In fact…

“Your research lab had evidently had contact with mers far before Parker found Callem and Mellac found us, so why did you not notify the proper authorities? Finding an extinct specimen without reporting it?”

-Oliver-

Darn, I didn’t think Jay actually thought that much, but he had valid points. If you found something that rare, you would definitely want to tell people and take credit. Not only did they not do that, but they then chipped two mers and even tried to capture one of them without viable reason. Standing up, I joined Jayson and stared down the group. Parker was up a moment later, but he actually stepped in front of us to eye the woman researcher.

“You look really, really familiar,” he said, making me turn my attention to her. She seemed annoyed as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared.

“I have never met a researcher from this facility,” she retorted, strengthening her glare, which Parker just seemed to ignore.

“Now I got it,” he said, grinning with a hint of malice.

Wow, Parker actually gets mad?

“You’re her sister, that curator at Poseidon’s. That’s why you guys were so interested in getting Mellac on such short notice.”

She straightened and rolled her eyes.

“She was just prepared.”

Parker ignored that, too and instead walked over and punched the release button for Lyric’s cell.

“Parker!” I shouted as everyone jumped away from the door as Parker yanked it open.

“What are you doing, you idiot?” I growled while running back over to hit the switch, but Callem was already out by the time I’d slammed my fist on it.

Damn you, bum leg!

My eyes narrowed on Parker and his mer, then lowered a tiny bit to land on Lyric. He was standing behind Callem, clutching the bigger mer’s sweatshirt.

Oh you’re scared? Well, you should be.

“Get back in the cell, now, Lyric.”

I pointed abruptly at the cell next to him, making him flinch and hide behind Callem further. Just having Lyric free was beginning to make me pant, the panic attack coming on fast. I knew it was a stupid idea, but I found myself retrieving my pistol and holding it up. Before I could even aim it, though, a fist connected with my face and then grabbed my gun. Then I suddenly had my hands pinned behind my back by Mellac.

“I must agree. He was just captured and he did commit a crime against a human,” Marilyn said, her voice still holding an air of superiority. Parker stepped in front of me, blocking part of my vision of the mer.

“He has not been charged with anything, and there was no proof that it was specifically him who had bitten Oliver’s leg.” He turned toward me and gave a sad smile. “Right, Olive?”

I knew what he wanted me to say. That I hadn’t been able to tell the mers apart and thus, couldn’t place the blame for my leg on specifically Lyric… but I knew it had been him because I cut Ocar across his face with my knife while Lyric grabbed the back of my left leg. Realization dawned on his face, but he quickly masked it, changing his questioning gaze to a pleading one.

Don’t make me say it, Parker. Please! He’s the one who did it. Ocar was just a decoy!

My body began to shake badly, and I was pretty sure if Mellac hadn’t been holding me up, I’d probably have been on the floor right then. I did, however, grudgingly manage to stutter out what the bastard wanted me to say.

“R-right.”

Parker sighed with relief and grabbed Lyric’s hand, tugging him toward the door, much to the dismay of the Cal-Waves researchers and, quite frankly, me. I tried to get away from Mellac, but he easily held my wrists with one hand while the other held the remaining ice cream cone he was nonchalantly working on. Thankfully Callem seemed to notice my utter panic and grabbed Lyric’s other wrist, pulling him against his chest and making Parker stop only a foot away from me before turning.

“What’s wrong, Callem?”

The mer was leaning over and whispering something into Lyric’s ear, ignoring Parker as he tilted his head a moment later and let Lyric reply. They did that for another minute before he gently nudged Lyric toward me.

Don’t let him near me! Are you insane?

It was bad enough that I was being held by a mer and there was another besides Lyric here. I really didn’t want the smaller one anywhere near me.

“Go away!” I shouted at him, making him flinch and look back over his shoulder at Callem. Unfortunately, Callem just nodded, silently telling Lyric to keep moving toward me. When he got within a foot, I was sweating profusely and could swear there were black dots dancing in my vision as he began to lean over. I squeezed my eyes shut, expecting him to attack me for a second time, but then I suddenly heard him whispering against my ear, the words making my eyes jerk open in surprise.

“I am sorry, Oliver.”

Sorry? He is sorry?

“Get the hell away from me!”

I don’t remember passing out, but I evidently had since I was just waking up.

This isn’t my bed…

Taking a deep breath, I immediately realized it was Parker’s. I also realized that I had one seriously bad headache, maybe even a migraine.

Just perfect.

Pushing the blankets aside, I noticed that someone had taken off my metal leg. I didn’t really care where it was right then, though. All I wanted to do was rest away my headache. That, of course, was impossible in this house. Speaking of one of the reasons for said impossibility—

“Oliver! I’m so glad you’re awake!” Parker shouted, making me wince and yank his comforter up over my head.

“Oh crap, right. You get really bad headaches after an attack. Sorry,” he whispered. I waited a few seconds for my head to stop throbbing before lowering the blanket again and glaring at him.

“Let me guess. It’s here.”

He frowned and shifted from foot to foot, silently telling me that I was right.

“I’m leaving,” I said, not even bothering to wait for an answer as I shoved the blanket away and looked around for my leg, which I didn’t see anywhere.

“Parker,” I growled, glaring up at his apprehensive, guilty face. “Where is my leg?”

My voice was deadly serious, but he still refused to answer my question. Instead, he walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, then leaned over. Normally I hated hugs—like, really hated them. Not to mention, I wasn’t feeling too keen about Parker right now, but I just couldn’t find it in me to push him away.

“I’m really sorry, but something was wrong. I just couldn’t leave him there with those people.”

He gently pulled me up a little so that we were both leaning against the headboard.

Being cuddled by a kid, hmph.

“I know you’re thinking I’m too young to comfort you since you’re older, but you’ll get over it.”

“Hmph.”

He nudged me a little, making me glance up at him.

“I uh, I actually had something I wanted to ask you. And it’s kind of the reason why he’s here.”

When I stayed quiet, he continued, obviously not wanting to hold off and let my temperament get worse.

“I wanted to release him now that he has talked to Callem and understands that he isn’t allowed to hurt people, but if I do, I have a feeling Cal-Waves is just going to track him down again.”

I knew everyone at the facility had been filled in about what had happened when I called my boss before getting out of the hospital, so I wasn’t surprised to hear what he said.

“You want me to take the chip out.”

He nodded, and I sighed.

“Yeah, whatever. Is Callem here?”

Parker smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, he’ll be right there in case Lyric tries anything, but they’ve been talking for a while and quite honestly, I think Lyric just didn’t understand how things worked with humans and that there were consequences to what he did.”

Consequences? Like what? He is being set free!

I knew it was completely my fault that he was because I’d said what Parker had wanted me to, but I still felt bitter and probably would for a long damn time.

“I drove your truck home, and your medical bag is in the living room.”

Grumbling, I nodded, and he carefully helped me get up and hop to the living room.

Wait, where are they?

Hearing a splash as we moved farther into the room, I looked up and shook my head. Callem was swimming around in the modified pool, jumping out of the water and splashing back down playfully as Lyric tried his best to catch him. The orca mer still had his shoulder injury, which was likely why he just couldn’t quite catch Callem, but they still looked like they were having a blast splashing water everywhere. We watched them for a minute before Parker grabbed my bag in his free hand and helped me out of the open sliding glass door. The second we stepped outside, I saw Callem surface and bark, the sound drawing Lyric’s attention over to us. When he saw me, he whimpered and quickly ducked beneath the water after taking a big breath.

“Well, guess that’s that,” I mumbled, not wanting to go anywhere near him. Parker rolled his eyes and pulled me over, then shoved me into a foldable red beach chair, then turned and headed over to squat in front of Callem.

“Cal? Can you go get him please?”

Callem nodded and disappeared beneath the dark water right away. I couldn’t see him or Lyric, but after a few minutes, a loud exhalation shot some water up into the air as Lyric surfaced and released his held breath through his blowhole. Callem was right behind him, gently guiding him over to the edge of the pool where Parker took over, obviously hoping to talk the smaller mer into coming out of the water.

“Hey, Lyric, we want to help you so that when you go back to the ocean, the bad people won’t be able to find you again.”

Lyric knew Parker was talking to him, but his gaze was glued to me… and where my missing leg should have been. I could see the sadness in his dark purple eyes, but I wasn’t just going to say ‘all was forgiven’.

“Come here, Lyric, now.”

I gave the order with annoyance in my voice as I dug through my medical bag for a numbing agent. Lyric hesitated at the edge of the pool, but with some extra whispers and licks from Callem, he carefully climbed out of the water and crawled over to where I was sitting. Everything about his body language screamed submission, with his head down, posture hunched, and gaze on the concrete floor.

Parker appeared next to us a moment later with the microchip scanner and quickly ran it over Lyric’s slim body. The scanner beeped in just seconds, telling me that it found the chip and that it was right against the side of his neck.

“Shit.”

Working with Callem’s gills and Lyric’s back was one thing, but to dig through his neck with a scalpel, not even an inch away from his trachea.

“It’s illegal to tag something in such a dangerous area…” Parker growled, glaring at the scanner as I grabbed my black sharpie and nudged the scanner aside, marking the space.

“Call Mr. Illem tomorrow and see if he wants to press charges.”

I knew Parker would want to since he’d literally flip if it had been Callem, so I’d leave that to him. Focusing on my current task, I capped my marker and tossed it back into my bag, then grabbed the syringe and tiny glass bottle I’d pulled out moments ago. Holding up the bottle, I drew out a few milligrams and then handed Parker the bottle to carefully set back in my bag.

“Lyric.”

The small mer flinched and hesitantly looked over his shoulder up at me.

“Little hurt.”

He lifted a hand and pressed it over the marker dot I’d made on his neck.

“Lyric, move your hand.”

He shook his head and whined, making me really want to just stab him with the numbing agent, but then Callem was there, his hands gently moving the one Lyric had used to block me.

“It’s okay, Lyric. Just a little hurt, I promise.”

I moved as Lyric focused his attention on Callem, poking the needle into his neck and jerking it away abruptly once I pushed the plunger in. The mer had jumped and yelped but stayed where he was thanks to Callem’s hands holding his still. The drug took affect fast so I had my scalpel ready right away.

“Hold him still, Callem.”

He did as told, tugging Lyric gently into his lap so that the smaller mer could hide his face in Callem’s neck. I worked quickly, cutting the first slit and grinning when I saw the faint silver coloration of the microchip.

As I carefully began nudging aside the tissues surrounding it so I could remove it with my tweezers, I glanced at Parker for a split second and asked, “Why does my left cheek hurt?”

“Uh… “

Blowing out a breath through my nose, I replied, figuring I knew what had happened. “Mellac was too busy eating Jayson’s ice cream cone to bother catching me when I blacked out?”

Parker gave a dry chuckle. “Yeah, that’s basically it.”

“Stupid horny fish.”

“Technically, he’s a mammal,” Park replied, making me want to throw something at him. Instead, I gestured for him to hand me my tweezers. He fished them out in a moment, then got them into my hand. With the tissue out of the way, I easily managed to get the chip removed.

“You know what to do with this,” I said as I offered it. He quickly grabbed it and ran inside, flushing it down the toilet. He returned a few minutes later as I finished sewing up the small wound, and when I sat back and looked up, I raised a brow at the brown bass he now carried.

“You did really well, Lyric,” Parker cooed as he sat down next to the two mers. I saw Lyric peek at him from beneath Callem’s jaw, his stomach grumbling loudly when he noticed the fish. Parker offered him the food, and Lyric took it, making me think that he was just going to eat and I could finally go back inside and rest for a while. But no, Callem had to lean forward right as Lyric was about to take a bite and whisper something in his ear.

A moment later, Lyric was looking up at me. His eyes lowered to the fish after another longer pause. I could tell he was hungry and really wanted it, but he ended up lifting the fish up toward me with slightly hopeful eyes as he quietly stuttered.

“L-Lyric… f-fish for O-Oliver?”

Hice

-Oliver-

Glaring down at the fish, I let my eyes rise slightly to Callem’s, then Lyrics. I knew what those words meant, at least to Callem, and whether he explained it to Lyric or not, I wasn’t interested in checking. Instead of accepting the fish, I stood and began speaking as I headed inside.

“Eat it. I don’t want it.”

I knew it would likely hurt the mer’s feelings, but he’d get over it. It wasn’t like he was going to be staying here, like Mellac or Callem had. He was going back home, likely tomorrow morning, and would forget all about me soon enough.

Back inside, I headed for the kitchen and grabbed a bag of Goldfish crackers from the cabinet above the stove. Once I had the bag open and a handful of fish in my mouth, I hopped over to the sofa and dropped down beside Parker. We both had our gazes on the television, but the shouting in the room behind us was what had our attention and left an unsettling feeling in the air.

“They’re really going at it…” I mumbled as I tossed another handful of goldfish into my mouth. Parker grinned and rolled his shoulders.

“I probably should go break them up, but each time I try, they’re either already at ‘it’ or Jayson is storming out.”

I nodded, my focus on the sound of stomping feet heading toward the living room.

Guess it was going to be the ‘storming out’ solution this time.

“So uh… they’re lovers, or?”

Parker snorted, taking a drink from the glass beer bottle I hadn’t noticed in his left hand.

“More like enemies with benefits.”

Okay, that was pretty funny, but I kept my smirk inside as Jayson stomped through the room and into the kitchen. The sound of clinking beer bottles told me his plan was likely to get smashed until he passed out.

That definitely didn’t sound like a bad idea, but I was supposed to stay dry… and they didn’t need to know that I’d drunk myself to sleep after I got home from the hospital.

The memory of the mer in my dreams popped into my head suddenly, making me squirm on the sofa until I felt Parker’s eyes on me.

“What’s wrong, Oliver?”

I fidgeted, really not wanting to actually say what had happened, in fear that it might have actually been real.

But you know it’s real. Your back door has slash marks in it that are hard to ignore.

“Well… uhm. When I came home from the hospital…”

He stared at me, calm and patient. The guy had a knack for just dragging things out of you that you never intended to say or do. It was just his kind personality that did it.

“I drank when I got back bu—”

“Oliver!”

His angry shout cut me off, making me flinch and shrink back into the sofa a little.

“I-I know. It was stupid, but hear me out first, okay?”

He didn’t seem pleased, especially if the look on his face and crossing his arms over his chest had anything to do with it, but thankfully he shut his mouth and let me finish speaking.

“I got drunk and passed out. Then I had this weird dream. There was this guy outside by the river in the back. I got up off the sofa, thinking I was awake, and ran outside to go check on him since he was lying facedown near the rushing current.”

The door to the patio slid open, then closed, but neither of us bothered looking up to see who had come in, figuring it was just Lyric or Callem.

“When I helped turn the guy over to try to see if he was okay, he told me something was our fault. That we were poison.”

Parker tilted his head, raising a brow in confusion.

“Poison?”

“Yeah, like, us humans. He meant that we were causing problems and poisoning their world or something.”

“Ah, I can’t argue with that,” Parker said, nodding his head. With both of us being marine researchers, we’ve seen our fair share of sick and injured animals hurt by humans so I knew he understood what the guy had meant.

“What was weird, though, and what I have a feeling wasn’t completely a dream, was when he suddenly attacked me. His teeth were all sharpened like a sharks and I could see in the brief moment before I woke up that there were multiple rows. I think… I think he might have been a shark mer.”

A scared squeak from near the patio door had both of us jerking our attention in that direction. Lyric was hiding behind Callem, shaking with a hand bunched in the larger mer’s sweatshirt. That had Parker getting up and walking over to him as Callem took Lyric into his arms for a hug.

“It’s alright, little one. Do you know who Oliver is talking about?”

Ah, good question. There can’t be too many mers left, even though the ones we’ve already found technically aren’t supposed to exist.

“I-I…” he whimpered against Callem’s shoulder, making the larger mer hug him tighter and begin rubbing his back soothingly.

“We need to know, Lyric, please?” Callem whispered against the smaller mer’s hair as he gently moved him around to his front. Lyric took a few moments to compose himself before looking up at Callem with watery eyes.

“I know.”

When he paused, Parker settled a hand on his shoulder and smiled, hoping to spur the mer on to continue speaking.

“Lot hurt if s-say…”

We all looked at each other as Lyric buried his face farther against Callem’s chest, tears beginning to wet his sweatshirt. I decided to try to get the information out of him since he seemed to want to make me happy after what he’d done. So, steeling my nerves, I got up off the sofa and hopped over to lean near his other side.

“Hey, Lyric?” I said quietly, catching his attention right away as his bright purple eyes turned to meet mine.

“Can you tell me? Just a whisper against my ear?”

His eyes widened, probably from the shock of me actually coming near him willingly, but then he actually shook his head slowly and frowned.

“Much h-hurt. Th-they much hurt Lyric.”

Pursing my lips, I heaved a stressed sigh and leaned over, licking his cheek like I’d seen Parker do to Callem a few times when he’d gotten stressed.

“Oliver keep Lyric no hurt,” I whispered to him as my left arm wrapped around his shoulders gently. We were all waiting for him to answer, but as the time dragged on, I realized he probably was under a lot of pressure with all of our eyes on him.

“Here, Lyric,” I said as I straightened up and opened my arms to him. He looked at me in surprise but was quick to leave the safety of Callem’s arms for my own.

“Wanna go soak in the tub for a bit? Your skin looks like it’s drying out, sweetie.”

He smiled, seemingly excited yet confused. Which he confirmed when he asked me what a tub was.

“Heh, come on. I’ll show you.”

Lyric didn’t hesitate to let me tug him toward the bathroom. I dropped his hand to close the door and turn the light on, then got the water going. He was suddenly beside me as I began to check the water temperature, right hand swatting at the heavy stream of water like a curious cat who didn’t understand water equaled bath time.

Hmmm.

“Hey, Lyric?”

He hummed and looked up, catching me a bit by surprise.

That’s a really cool sound. Must be something like Callem’s screech but different because he’s an orca and not a dolphin mer. He also doesn’t look stressed anymore, so it’s probably a happy sound.

“Check this out.”

I grinned and reached over, pulling the notch up to switch the spigot into the showerhead, making it suddenly begin raining down water in the bathtub. Lyric yipped and shrank against the side of the tub, but I could tell, with both of his hands still firm on the edge, that he was interested and still curious.

“It’s okay, look.”

I swiped at the water, then brought my hand back to muss up his hair, the water making it stick up at odd angles. Lyric didn’t seem to care that I had messed up his hair, though. He was too busy grinning as he scrambled into the tub.

“Oliver!” he shouted, moving beneath the spray of water on his hands and knees before turning to lean over the edge of the tub like a dog would, trying to get attention.

“Yes, yes. That’s me.”

He hummed again and rolled around on the floor of the bathtub, evidently loving the feel of the warm water on his dry skin.

“Feeling better?” I asked with a smile. I had a feeling he would want more water than just a light spray so I carefully lowered myself to the floor and leaned over the edge of the tub to push the drain plug down. The water level began to rise as I leaned back, grinning as I watched Lyric splash around excitedly.

“Oliver play to Lyric?” he asked, peeking over the edge of the pool like a cautious child hoping to hear what he wants but having a feeling it could go either way.

“If I come play, will you talk with me about the shark you know?”

He immediately paled, and I could hear a quiet puff of air leave his blowhole.

“But h-he much h-hurt Lyric for talk…” he whined, obviously worried about being hurt by the shark mer. I didn’t want to have to try to guilt him, or heck, I didn’t even know if he would understand, but it was worth a try to figure out who that shark was before he could make another appearance.

“Hun, Lyric much hurt Oliver.”

His eyes widened and he darted beneath the rising water, blowing out another gust of air from his back that shot a small spray of water into the air right in front of me. I waited a few minutes before he surfaced again and leaned over the side of the tub to nuzzle against my shirt.

“Lyric no mean hurt Oliver.”

I gave him a small smile and wrapped my arms around him, using the side of the bathtub to keep myself balanced.

“I know now that you didn’t mean to, but you did, Lyric. It hurt a lot.”

He started sniffling, making me sigh and grab his shoulders, nudging him back so I could meet his eyes.

“It’s okay… but can you please tell me about the shark? Oliver can protect Lyric.”

His soft eyes blinked a few times as he looked down, then were on mine again.

“O-Oliver make no hurt t-to Lyric?”

I nodded, squeezing his shoulders for reassurance.

“O-Okay. I-I say to Oliver if no hurt.”

Yes!

“Good boy!”

He hummed again, but it wasn’t as loud as the others, making me think that he wasn’t very happy about having to talk about the shark.

Too bad. I’m nearly panicking just being in here alone with you. Just spill it about the shark!

“H-Hice… Ocar says him Hice.”

Hice? His name?

“Is that his name, Lyric?”

He nodded hesitantly, licking his lips.

“Ocar call him Hice.”

I smiled and nodded back to him.

“Okay. What do you know about Hice?”

Lyric whined but answered anyway, his voice quiet.

“Hice make for them gone.”

Huh? Make… for them? Them? Who’s them?

“Who are them, Lyric?”

He pointed at me, but then seemed to sit back and think for a moment before looking back up at me.

“Them. At there!”

I still wasn’t really getting what he meant.

“At where, Lyric?”

He bristled, pouting at my obvious lack of understanding.

“Them make for hurt Lyric. Oliver make no hurt for them.”

He smiled at the end of that, giving me time to think it through.

Them make for hurt him. So they tried to hurt him… but I made them not hurt him?

Considering I had only known Lyric personally for such a short time, I could only think of one time when I’d stopped people from hurting him.

“You mean the scientists at the lab? The ones who shot the dart at you?”

“Yes!” he shouted, excited that I had finally managed to figure it out.

“Alright, great. So, Hice helps them?”

He nodded again, and I mirrored the action. I was trying to be really careful and not push him too hard too fast so he wouldn’t withdraw again, but this was starting to get seriously deep.

“So, what does Hice do for them? You said he make ‘gone’ for them?”

Another nod, but that didn’t really answer my question.

“What does he make gone for them, hun?”

That had him fidgeting, nerves making him duck back underwater for a minute before he resurfaced. Everything about his posture and expression told me not to ask anything further, but this was the information we really needed to know.

“Lyric, sweetie? We need to know, please? Oliver make sure no hurt for Lyric. I won’t let Hice hurt you,” I said, trying to calm him as I reached out with my hand in a comforting gesture. He didn’t hesitate to grab it and hold it to his cheek, nuzzling against my fingers while humming sadly.

“Lyric?”

His eyes lifted to mine wearily before he answered in a hushed tone.

“Oliver see Hice.”

I nodded, leaning over to stroke his soft hair with my free hand while balancing on my one good knee.

“When see Hice, them say to Hice make gone.”

When see Hice… okay, I saw him, technically. So now the second part. Them say to Hice. So they told him… to make gone?

It didn’t take long to process once I broke it down in my head, and the disturbing information had my blood running cold.

“They told him to kill me.”

When A Light Goes Out

-Oliver-

It was odd. As I spoke those words I just couldn’t manage to feel afraid. So now I have three mers after me? Sounds great.

Rolling my eyes, I folded my arms on the bathtub’s ledge and let my forehead drop down atop them. I could feel a headache trying to nudge its way in.

“Oliver?” Lyric mumbled near my left ear. I grumbled in response, but that just seemed to spur him on as he leaned over and licked at my hair.

Ewwww.

Lifting my head so that I could put my chin on my crossed arms, I raised my brows at the puppy look Lyric was giving me, his nose only a few inches from my own as he hunched over with a worried smile.

“Don’t lick my hair, dorkfish.”

He hummed and leaned forward, licking my nose.

Should have known.

“Don’t lick my nose.”

He pouted, sending a breath out of his blowhole before beginning to tilt his head and lean over.

Oh hell no!

I leaned back right before he could do it.

“Do. Not. Kiss. Me.”

I had no idea where he had even learned that, though I had a feeling it was from Parker and Callem while I was asleep. Either way, there was no chance that he was going to be allowed to do that to me.

“Are you feeling okay now?” I grumbled, looking toward the plugged drain for a moment before glancing back at Lyric. He nodded so I carefully leaned over the tub and pulled the plug to begin draining it.

“Alright, we’ll take you back to the ocean tomorrow. Till then, I guess you can just stay in the pool outside or on the sofa, whichever you want.”

If I hadn’t needed him alone to get answers, I probably would have just told him to go to the pool to begin with. As it were, I really needed to get out of the bathroom and get some fresh air. Being alone with a mer that was responsible for having your leg amputated really wasn’t a pleasant experience.

Shaking my head, I got myself up using the edge of the tub, then grabbed my fake leg that Parker had evidently hidden next to the toilet, and strapped it on while leaning against the sink. By the time I had it completely secure, Lyric was out of the water, hesitant eyes watching me. I straightened up to meet his gaze, silently thankful that he hadn’t tried to move past me while I wasn’t paying attention.

“Let’s go,” I said, turning to open the door and head outside. I could hear his bare feet padding quietly after me on the hardwood floor, telling me that he was at least listening. We walked through the living room, which was now empty, then out to the patio. I was just pointing to the pool to tell Lyric to go in and get some rest when my eyes lowered slightly at the sound of a bubbling hiss.

Of course.

“Mellac, what are you doing in there?” I asked, eyeing the dolphin mer wearily. Instead of answering me, he just blew more bubbles, making me roll my eyes.

“Are you pissed that Jayson won’t let you do him?”

He narrowed his eyes and grunted, the sound causing more bubbles in the water since he was under almost up to his eyes.

“Either way, Lyric needs the water so don’t mess with him, okay?”

Another grunt, then Mellac dove beneath the surface with a splash.

“I guess that’s as good an answer as we’re gonna get,” I mumbled as I glanced sideways at Lyric.

“You can sleep out here for tonight, okay? Ignore the pouting brat in the pool. He’s just mad he can’t do my friend twenty-four seven.”

The smaller mer didn’t seem to understand, but he eventually nodded anyway.

“Good. Now go to sleep. We’ll take you home in the morning.”

When he gave me a small smile, I headed inside, sliding the glass door shut before flopping down on the sofa. I had intended to go back home, but after what Lyric had told me, Hice could be waiting there. I still wasn’t exactly afraid of him since I had my gun, but it was nearly pitch-black outside and I couldn’t do much if I was ambushed in the dark.

I’ll just go home after we release Lyric.

Stretching out, I gave a big yawn and drifted off in moments.

A loud noise had me jerking into an upright position, my eyes going straight to the glass door in front of me. It was nearly complete darkness inside and outside of Parker’s house, making me have to rely on the faint moonlight from outside to backlight the figure standing near the glass doors in order to figure out what it was… or who.

“Hice,” I whispered, getting a faint movement from the figure on the other side of the glass when I spoke, even though I knew he shouldn’t be able to hear me. We watched each other for several minutes before I saw him reach for the door handle and begin sliding it to the side. The sound of the old bearings sliding against metal had my skin crawling, panic urging me to run, but my body wouldn’t listen!

“Foolish human. You do not understand… but I will show you.”

I knew what was coming, but this time I wasn’t going to let him attack me. When he lunged, I did as well, pulling out my gun and pinning him to the sofa with the weapon hard against his chest.

“O-Oliver!”

My eyes snapped open in the dark living room as I tried to process what was going on. I had my gun out, that much was obvious. It was also pressing against a bare chest. But when my eyes blinked away the cloudiness of sleep, I felt my heart jerk at the sight of Lyric tightly covering his eyes with his folded arms.

“Lyric…?”

But it had been Hice!

After a quick glance up at the open glass door, I looked back down at Lyric and slowly withdrew my gun to slip it back into my waistband.

“What are you doing in here?” I asked, trying to calm my breathing and stop shaking . He scooted up, shaking just like I was, no doubt from my sudden attack.

“O-Oliver w-was y-yell,” he stuttered, looking down at his knees as his arms moved to wrap around his chest.

Shit.

Sighing, I slowly reached over and tugged him into my lap for a hug. As he got settled with his own arms around my neck, I glanced over at the clock beneath the television and relaxed a little.

It’s already five. Everyone should be up soon, then we can get this ball rolling back home.

I patted Lyric’s back gently, then rubbed it for a moment before he leaned back a little and gave me a hesitant smile. He looked down at his right hand, which I noticed was clenched into a fist, but then he tilted his head a bit more and when I followed his line of sight to the floor, I chuckled.

“It’s okay. I probably knocked them off the table when I was freaking out.”

The bag of Goldfish crackers were on the floor, the little fish spread out near the far end of the sofa.

“Oliver?”

My eyes rose back to meet Lyric’s, but his eyes darted down to his fist, which he was raising, so I looked down at it.

“Yes?”

He squirmed hesitantly in my lap so I began rubbing his back soothingly with my right hand, hoping to silently tell him that it was okay to ask me whatever he was intending. His smile widened a little and he unfurled his hand while lifting it a tiny bit more, offering the tiny cracker nestled amongst the crumbs on his palm, which told me that he had likely knocked over the bag of goldfish to get it.

“L-Lyric G… Go-Gold… fish… to Oliver?”

Callem really needs to stop coaching this guy!

I glared at the inconspicuous cracker sitting amongst several of its broken friends.

He’s going home in a few hours, surely it couldn’t hurt to make him happy after scaring him when he’d been trying to help?

Inwardly shaking my head, I reached up with my left hand and took the cracker, then set it in my mouth with a faint smile.

“Thank you, Lyric.”

The second after I thanked him, his face lit up and he hugged me, snuggling against my body as his hum started up. I could feel myself beginning to panic but swallowed it down and forced myself to relax against the sofa.

We sat like that until Parker sleepily trudged into the room an hour later. He was rubbing at his right eye with a fist when he saw us. Then he rubbed both eyes and blinked at us, then did it again.

“Morning, princess,” I joked, grinning at his surprised expression.

“Hey… Oliver.”

Lyric had fallen asleep a few moments before so we made sure to whisper as not to wake him.

“I’m going to get breakfast started, want anything, Olive?” Park mumbled as he headed toward the kitchen.

“Whatever you feel like making is good to me,” I replied with a grin. He nodded, then disappeared into the room. Callem appeared not a minute later wearing a pair of loose black boxers. He only gave me a brief nod before nearly gliding into the kitchen.

Love. Sick. Puppy.

By the time the food was done, Jayson was up, with a headache from the looks of it. He walked in with one hand on his head and the other scratching in his boxers.

I’m so glad I live alone.

As he sat down at the table, Callem came back into the room carrying two plates. When I realized they were coming to me, I carefully made sure Lyric’s weight was leaning against my chest and reached out for them. One had eggs, bacon, and some toast, while the other had sliced salmon.

Setting my plate aside for the moment, I put Lyric’s on the armrest and gently rubbed his back until his eyes blinked open sleepily. He looked like he was about to fall asleep again, but then his little nose twitched. A few sniffs later, he was staring at the fish.

“Here, it’s for you,” I said quietly as I held the plate for him. He grabbed the first piece of fish and quickly tore into it, devouring the slice before going in for another. After the second piece, I carefully set him onto the cushion beside me and offered him his plate, then grabbed my own. The food had cooled by now, but I wasn’t picky. Parker was a good cook, even with such a simple meal. He always made it taste amazing.

Parker had brought Jayson a plate and sat down at the table to eat with him and Callem while I had gotten Lyric to eat. I thought Mellac might come inside, but after glancing toward the pool, I could tell by the look he was giving Jayson that he was still pouting.

Oh well, not my problem.

It was actually kinda nice not having the pissed-off shadow sauntering around anyway, so no complaints from me.

“Hey Oliver?”

Hearing Park’s voice, I looked over at the table and saw him staring at Lyric and I.

“Yeah?” I answered, wondering if he was ready to leave already.

“I know we need to chip him as per our contracts, but…”

Dork. Just like your merfriend.

“Yeah, yeah. I won’t say anything. Even though it’s going to be obvious he’s not chipped when they try to track him.”

Parker grinned and shrugged as he got up, grabbing his and Jayson’s empty plates.

“We conveniently forgot to do it,” I explained to no one in particular, getting laughs from Jay and Park. Both of them were getting their shoes and jackets on a minute later so I got myself up and slid on my shoes, which had been left by the sofa. When we were all ready, minus the grump-fish in the pool outside, I looked down at Lyric and held out a hand to help him up.

“Let’s get you back home, hm? I’m sure Ocar is waiting for his Lyric to return.”

At the mention of his brother… or friend? Hell, we didn’t know what Ocar really was, but either way, he took my hand and hopped up with a happy hum. Parker was already getting his truck started so I quickly tugged Lyric out the door, Jayson on our heels so he could lock it once we stepped outside.

Since Mellac wasn’t coming, everyone easily fit in Parker’s truck, Lyric and I in the back while Park drove and Jayson took the passenger’s seat. The weather was nice so we made it to the beach without any issues. Parker drove the truck down to the pier, parking right next to the extended wooden boardwalk.

“This definitely brings back memories,” he said as he hopped out of the truck. Jayson slipped out at the same time, then moved his seat forward so Lyric and I could get out. The wind felt great on my face, but I had to get myself up onto the wooden pier before I could stop and enjoy it because my balance on sand was still terrible. Lyric joined me as Parker and Callem stayed to play in the crashing waves and Jayson hung by the truck.

Guess this release is all me.

My eyes wandered back to Lyric, noticing his big smile before he took my hand and pulled me toward the extended portion of the pier that led out onto the water. A good ways off, I could see a black dorsal fin cut through the surface, then a burst of air and water shot into the air.

“Ocar! Ocar!” Lyric shouted, looking back at me excitedly before dropping my hand and running a few awkward steps down the pier. He still wasn’t too great with his legs, it would seem, but he was super eager to see the other mer. I was about to tell him to just dive into the water and swim out to him when both of our heads snapped to the side at the sound of a loud boat motor. It wasn’t rare to see a boat this close to shore, especially since this was a docking area, but that boat wasn’t familiar at all, and that logo on the side…

Oh. Shit.

Darting my gaze back to Lyric, I pointed toward the water and screamed as loud as I could to be heard over the sound of the motor and crashing waves.

“Get in the water! Now!”

He looked around in a panic for a second but then thankfully darted for the water a few steps away. Anger pulsed through my chest at the thought of Cal-Waves being here again without warrant, but at the sound of gunshots going off, time seemed to suddenly slow to a crawl. Lyric was just about to jump, having made it to the dock’s edge. Ocar was closing in, only ten or so yards away. Parker and Callem were knee-deep in water, watching Lyric with excited smiles.

Then my gaze rose back to Lyric… right before a bullet slammed into his back.

Everything sped up the second the mer was hit. He dropped immediately into the water, smacking his knees on the hard wood before disappearing beneath the surf. I didn’t have time to think about anything, because while I had expected the bullets to stop once Lyric went down, they didn’t. I stumbled backward when a shot hit my fake leg, the vibrations from it reverberating up into my body. Several other bullets whizzed around my body, forcing me to jump into the water whether I could swim now or not, which I couldn’t. On my way down, I noticed Callem beneath the waves with Parker in his arms, pumping his tail to take them into deeper water in the hopes of not being noticed. When I hit the water, I immediately got my fake leg off, letting it drift away as I forced myself under with my arms. Since Lyric and I had walked a short ways out on the pier, I was far enough out to have to worry about rip currents. Unfortunately, I quickly got snagged in one, and there wasn’t much I could do but let it pull me out. It stopped after a minute, but even as I fought with my all of my strength, I just couldn’t find the surface.

Right before I blacked out, I felt something strong and firm wrap around my waist and jerk my body through the water.

Let Me Tell You A Story

-Oliver-

Owwww

“Just give him to me. You have your mate, you don’t need the human,” a raspy voice said. There was a pause in which a snarl sounded, then a deeper voice took over.

“Mate? He is dead! Shark!”

The sound of someone sloshing through water sounded, then an annoyed hiss.

“So then what do you want with the human? It was his fault your mate was there to begin with!”

A deep hum reverberated through the air in response to that.

“And whose fault was it that the other humans were there, Hice?”

The sound of crashing waves took over for several long, tense minutes before the raspy voice, Hice, replied.

“I could lead them right to here, Ocar. You and Lyric escaped once, but you will not do so again if they find you.”

The other mer, Ocar, replied the second Hice had finished speaking.

“Let them find me! I’d rather a bullet than to go back to that hell!”

My left eye blinked partially open, the bright sun making it hard to make out their blurry figures.

“Hmph. So be it! Expect to be like your lover soon, you thick-headed whale!”

A strong tickle started up in my throat as I watched Hice’s blurry image disappear beneath the rough waves. I was definitely glad one dangerous object was gone as I began to cough gruffly, but now I had one left glaring down at me looking none too happy.

“Get up, human,” Ocar ordered. It was almost humorous since I was coughing so badly that I had hardly heard him. A few mouthfuls of water came up, but thankfully my breakfast remained where it was.

“I told you to do something, human,” the mer growled. Well, he could growl all he wanted, that didn’t make my body able to move any faster. I slowly managed to get onto my hands and knees, but that’s where my lost leg stopped helping me. I could barely stand on shifting sand with my prosthetic, but now that I didn’t even have that?

“I ca-can’t,” I said, my voice cracking from the saltwater I’d swallowed.

I hated admitting the weakness, but I couldn’t hide it, or even pretend to, now that I didn’t have my metal leg. My right shoe was gone, too, which was probably a good thing if I honestly had to stand. I still couldn’t figure out a way to do that, though. There were no big rocks nearby to help me get up, and I had a feeling Ocar wouldn’t allow me to crawl over to the ones I could see about twenty yards away, farther up the beach.

My eyes went back to the sand as I tried to catch my breath, so I didn’t know what he was doing. I didn’t think it was important to know, anyway. If he wanted to kill me, he could do so easily, so there was no point in panicking.

“Just kill me. I know you’re going to, so just do it, please.”

My voice grew quiet as I spoke, the energy I had managed to muster in order to get on my hands and knees quickly leaving my body. A gentle nudge to my side brought me right back down to the sand on my right side, but I didn’t complain. It was warm and comfortable… it always had been.

“Why did you bring Lyric to that dock, human?”

Don’t wanna talk.

“Human…”

Hearing the warning in his voice, I took a deep breath and blinked my eyes open, having not realized they’d closed.

“To let him go.”

His hard face softened with surprise, but immediately went straight back to anger.

“You lying humans are all alike.”

That had me smiling.

“You sound just like Mellac.”

Ocar tilted his head slightly, thinking.

That has to be a mer thing.

When he’d decided what he wanted to do, it was the exact opposite of what I had expected.

Well, Oliver, your friends are shacking up with mermen so you really shouldn’t be surprised by anything anymore.

Said unexpected thing was him actually walking over and sitting down next to me, but not only that. He actually reached down and ran a lock of my blond hair gently through his fingers.

“You are a strange one.”

He was calling me strange? Didn’t he see the blowhole on his back or his tail when he swam?

No, likely not. At least for the blowhole part.

Instead of responding right away, I let my eyes drift closed again and just relaxed. I never really liked people playing with my hair, even when I was younger… but for some reason, I didn’t mind Ocar tugging at it softly.

“Who is Mellac?” the mer said after he realized I wasn’t going to reply to his last statement.

“He’s a dolphin mer,” I replied, not really feeling a need to elaborate unless forced. My throat seriously hurt.

“Is that the one that was with you?”

So he saw Callem.

“No. That was his brother.”

While Ocar seemed to think about that, I looked over what I could see of his body, which was mainly his legs and chest.

He’s hurt…

Claw marks ran from his left shoulder to his right torso, then another group of slashes crossed over the mark I had given him over a month ago.

“Did Hice do that?” I asked as I forced myself up just enough to sit, using my arms to keep myself from dropping back down. He gave a slight shrug, telling me that I had guessed right without bothering with a verbal answer.

“I thought you guys were talking, though.”

He actually cracked a slight smile at that. It was so unexpected that I found my own lips stretching to reveal a few of my teeth.

“He prefers to talk with his claws when in the water.”

I was about to reply when something behind him caught my attention. Swallowing hard, I looked up at Ocar and pursed my lips. He probably wouldn’t let me, but I had to ask.

“Can I say good-bye to Lyric?”

Just saying those words made me feel terrible. I might have disliked him for what he’d done, but I knew he had just been acting as a wild animal would. He had even apologized when he realized it was wrong.

“You know… most mers give the one they wish to mate a token before completing the ritual, or shortly after doing so.”

My eyes widened slightly, remembering what Callem had done with Parker, then told Lyric to do with me. When I didn’t answer, he continued.

“Lyric saw you one day and really wanted you. I could see it in his eyes. You were out on the dock getting a boat ready to go out and weren’t paying attention to us in the water. I didn’t think he’d want anything to do with humans after we had managed to escape—”

“Wait, escape from where?” I interrupted, remembering that he’d said that before when arguing with Hice.

“Those humans that shot Lyric. They captured us before, along with every other mer that I knew of.”

Holy. Shit. What?

My face must have told him how much I was having trouble registering what he was saying because he continued a moment later.

“They caught many of us over five seasons ago, so I believe more than a year in your human time.”

I nodded, still too dumbfounded to really get any words out.

“They put us through testing day in and out as they forced us to swim through fake currents and took samples of our skin and blood.”

How could Cal-Waves have even managed that without someone knowing?

“Those things I could manage. I didn’t complain, but I was mad that they forced Lyric to do more than his body was able most times. We were also threatened if we ever spoke without being told.”

Realization dawned on me at the mention of Lyric.

“That’s why he was so scared to tell me about what was going on! He nearly had a heart attack when I asked him about Hice!”

Ocar nodded, sighing as he looked over at the long mound of sand only a foot or so away, where he had been forced to bury the most important thing to him.

“He was such a sweet mer, but he was terrified of them. They shocked him so many times with a metal stick for not breeding when they told him to do so that by the time we escaped, I wasn’t sure if he would ever smile again.”

Wait, breed?

“Breed?” I repeated, not really wanting to understand, but needing to know. He gave another solemn nod and rested his hand on the mound of sand.

“They caught two females, one was already pregnant. She was a dolphin mer, I believe. She had her child within the first week of being there, due to stress. The fact that she was viable made their eyes gleam with lust for more, even though we weren’t made to reproduce so often.”

My chest hurt at what he was telling me. Cal-Waves had been torturing them for over a year, and no one had known.

“The little boy was thankfully born healthy, but he quickly became their main research project and is constantly experimented on when not learning.”

Learning?

“How much could a one year old learn?” I asked, confused.

Ocar gave me a faint sad smile and shook his head.

“Mers grow faster because our environment is dangerous. I suppose he is a one year old, but he has the ability to learn skills that a human child would not until much older. He also does not look like an infant, but a young boy.”

Oh! That’s why Callem and Mellac look the same age but are different.

“You guys are really hard to age… how old are you?”

He chuckled at my abrupt question and reached over, lifting me from beneath my arms until I was sitting in front of him, and beside where Lyric was buried.

“I am around one hundred and twelve seasons… so I suppose, twenty-eight, in your human years?”

While I had heard him, I didn’t bother responding. My attention was much more focused on running my hands gently along the mound of sand stretching just a few inches over five feet.

“How old was Lyric?” I whispered as my hands stopped near where I thought his chest might be.

“Eighty-eight seasons,” he answered with a raspy tone.

“Twenty-two,” I acknowledged sadly.

My attention remained on the soft sand until I felt Ocar’s nose nuzzling against my neck. At first I thought he was going to try to claim me as a mate, since I had only seen Mellac and Callem bite there when they saw the marks fade on Parker or Jayson. However, after only a brief nuzzle, Ocar’s forehead dropped to my shoulder and he grumbled out a sigh.

“I want to kill you… so badly.”

I hadn’t noticed him lift his head and move behind me, but for some reason, I just didn’t feel afraid, even with that death threat he had just given me. Instead, I kept myself still and focused on my breathing so I didn’t have a panic attack.

“I was so jealous.”

Huh?

Jerking my head around, I couldn’t help but ask “Why?”

Why would any mer be jealous of me?

“I thought he’d be okay if I got him your leg. As a mating gift.”

Oh man.

“When you got away, I began to panic because Lyric began to go back to his closed-off self.”

I didn’t need him to explain any further. I knew what he was talking about now… and I was surprised that I felt bad for him even after what he’d done to my leg.

“You loved him.”

He nodded against my shoulder, the gesture bringing my attention to the fact that he was crying as damp tears ran along my skin to disappear beneath my shirt.

“But he wanted you,” he whimpered, finishing my sentence before a sorrowful hum began to surround us. The song drifted along the wind gently, its sound calling tears to my eyes.

“Do you know why I named him Lyric?”

Sniffling, I gave a very faint shake of my head.

“Because… h-his song was beautiful.”

No Rest For The Wicked

-Parker-

“Parker, come please. You need to get some rest.”

I knew Callem was right and that I had been pacing by the surf for hours, but Oliver never came back up. He couldn’t swim without his leg, and when Callem had let us surface, I’d seen a ton of splashing over where he’d jumped in. Shaking my head, I ground my teeth together and kicked a big pile of sand that had likely been a child’s sandcastle at one point, then whirled around and punched the air… except, my fist landed in Callem’s palm. My eyes jerked wide in surprise before his gentle fingers softly wrapped around my shaking hand.

After a quiet moment of feeling the wash run over my feet, I slowly calmed down enough to relax a little. Callem sensed the change and smiled gently, pulling me into his arms for a much needed hug. I was just snuggling into it when I felt him nuzzle against my neck, then nip a few times.

He’s going to mark me at such a time?

I knew the mark was pretty faded by now, but I didn’t really think it was the time to do such a thing. Callem, on the other hand, seemed perfectly okay with it since his jaws clamped down on my neck not a moment later.

“Ouch,” I whispered against his warm shoulder, trying to keep myself from tensing up until he released me. He did so after a few seconds, and I pulled back as much as I could without stepping out of his arms, since he wouldn’t let me.

“Callem, that really wasn’t appropriate right now.”

I knew he probably didn’t understand what I meant, but now I was feeling even worse. I had my lover and Oliver was missing, likely shot somewhere out to sea.

And that is the best possible outcome I can think of.

“Parker?”

Hearing Callem’s worried voice pulled me out of my thoughts to look up at him. His right hand softly rubbed along my cheek, thumb tracing my lips.

“I understand, Parker… but that’s why I had to does it,” he said, messing up one of his words, telling me that he was getting stressed. “It could have been you.”

Normally, when someone says something like that, being glad that something bad happened to someone else, I’d get mad, but with Callem? I just couldn’t be upset with him because I knew he meant it out of love. Shaking my head with a sad smile, I wrapped my arms around his bare waist and sighed.

“Thank you so much for looking for so long, Callem. You’re right. We need to get home.”

He pressed a light kiss against my forehead before lowering one hand to my back and leading me toward the parking lot. Cal-Waves had thankfully left after Oliver fell into the water, but Jayson had driven off and didn’t return for about twenty minutes. He had also called the cops, but since Callem and I had stayed at the beach to search for Oliver and Jay took a cab home, we were out of the loop.

“We’ll come back and try again after some food,” Callem said, squeezing my waist gently.

“Yeah,” I replied, nodding with a fake smile.

-Oliver-

“Hey! You better not be leaving me, you dorks!”

Parker stumbled, then whirled around with the biggest grin I think I’ve ever seen on the guy. Callem was looking as well, but his eyes were more focused on Ocar, who was helping me stay upright in the saturated sand. Parker didn’t seem to really care about the mer beside me since he sprinted over the sand seconds before slamming right into my body!

We both flew backward into the surf, but I just couldn’t be upset. He was such a sweet guy and hell, landing on sand didn’t really bother me. The water was only a few inches deep since it was mainly just the ending foam of each wave, so I let him straddle my lap and hug me like the dork that he was. Patting his back reassuringly, I watched as Callem walked over, stopping right in front of Ocar.

“You must be Ocar. Lyric kept talking about you,” he said calmly. He was anything but calm, though. Parker even caught the hint in his voice and turned around, giving the mer a reassuring smile. Ocar nodded slowly, seemingly just as on edge. Parker, I suppose, figured it was time for him to literally step in since he got up and reached out a hand to Ocar with a small smile.

“Hey, I’m sorry about what happened, but it’s nice to meet you, Ocar.”

It took the larger mer a few moments to finally lift his hand and shake Parker’s, but at least he wasn’t adverse to it. While Park tried to start up a small conversation with Ocar, Callem walked over toward me with the obvious intention of helping me up. Except, a low growl stopped him a few feet away and drew everyone’s attention back to Ocar.

“That belongs to me.”

Oh don’t you dare turn into a Mellac. We do not need another Mellac. No one needs another Mellac!

Ocar stared down at me for a quiet moment before stalking over and easily scooping me right out of the water with no effort at all. It didn’t help my injured ego when he held me like a child, either. I was about to tell him that I could walk, but then I remembered even with my fake leg, I couldn’t walk for crap on sand.

“Um, well. Would you like to come home with us for some food? The river leading back here is only a few houses down, so if you want to leave, you could easily get back here fast,” Parker said, offering Ocar an awkward smile. I could tell from the look on Callem’s face that he wasn’t very interested in the idea, but I couldn’t blame him. Orcas and dolphins weren’t exactly friends in the wild and if this guy was going to have a similar attitude to Mellac’s… God help us.

“Fine,” Ocar grumbled as he paced toward the truck. It was the only one in the parking lot near us so that’s how I figured he knew it was Parker’s. Speaking of, Parker and Callem quickly followed us and Park ran ahead to get the doors unlocked and the seat pulled forward. He stepped aside so Ocar could get us in, but the bigger mer seemed more interested in the back portion. The cover was undone and tucked around the air-conditioner to keep it dry.

Must have had to move something recently that didn’t fit under the cover and just forgot to put it back down.

“You don’t want to go in the back. If people spot you, they may call the cops and cause problems,” I said, looking up when he glanced down at me. Granted, he didn’t have gills like Callem or Mellac, but he still looked wild… and then there was the whole naked and hole-in-his-back part.

Where have his swimming trunks even gone?

Shrugging, he climbed into the back of the cab. I could tell he didn’t like it when Parker pushed the front seat back. He even hissed once before snuggling me tightly against his chest.

Guess no seat belt for me, or him. Oh well. As long as Parker doesn’t shove ice cream in his face, I think we’ll be okay for the short ride home.

Thankfully, Park didn’t waste any time and got us on the road quickly once Callem was inside. Right after we pulled into the driveway, I knew things were going to get awkward. Two policemen were standing outside, talking with Jayson as Mellac glared from the doorway, arms crossed over his chest like a bulldog waiting to bark more than bite.

“Uh-oh, this is going to be fun,” Parker said from the front as he opened the door and hopped out, then pushed the seat forward so Ocar could get us out. One of the cops walked over as Ocar was maneuvering me out, and thankfully, he set me down on my foot so I didn’t look completely helpless.

“You must be Oliver Anderson? My name is Officer Reynolds,” the female office said as she offered a hand. I shook it and nodded before she looked up at Ocar, then down…

“Yeah. He’s naked. He’s a mer. Just try to write him a ticket about it and see where it gets you,” I said, not wanting to waste time on the stupid ‘public indecency’ law thing. She seemed surprised for a moment, but then took out handcuffs.

Really?

“Aren’t you here to ask about the shooting? Why the hell are you taking out handcuffs?”

Yes, I was screaming, because dammit I had just been nearly shot, drowned, and then had to realize a sweet, misunderstood mer was now dead. She seemed to figure out that I was about to drop-kick her, one legged or not, so she took a deep breath and calmly replied.

“He was one of the mers who attacked you, was he not?”

Oh hell no! She wasn’t going to pull that on me!

“Yes, he was, but you can’t arrest him for it. There’s a clause in that law. He didn’t understand there were repercussions for his actions, just like the younger one.”

That last part had slipped out by mistake, drawing the officer’s attention.

“You know about the other one?”

I could hear the excitement in her voice, but I could also feel Ocar tensing beside me.

This really isn’t a conversation either of us are going to be able to have right now.

“Can we please answer questions later? I literally just got out of the ocean after he saved me. I’d really like to get some lunch, then pass out.”

I don’t know how that ‘please’ slipped in there because I really wasn’t feeling the nice feels. She opened her mouth to speak, but Ocar just growled a warning before promptly scooping me back up into his arms and stomping past the woman.

Guess she just got the answer to whatever question she was about to ask.

Snickering against Ocar’s chest, I relaxed in his arms as he brought me into the kitchen, likely following his nose. There was fish cooking on a small counter grill, making Ocar’s nostrils flare with interest.

“Hey, guys,” Jayson said as he walked into the kitchen, Mellac hot on his heels as he shot glares at Ocar. While his merfriend stopped near the sink to watch us, Jayson got down a plate and loaded up the two big pieces of fish on it, then handed it to me.

“Here, you guys look like you could use a good meal and some sleep. Go ahead and take my room, I just washed the blankets so you don’t have to worry.” He finished that sentence with a wink, making me inwardly fidget. At least he washed everything.

“Okay. Thanks a lot, Jay.”

Holding the plate carefully, I told Ocar where to go and he took the directions without a word as he carried me through the house. Once inside Jay’s room, he nudged the door shut, then set me down on the bed, and god, did the bed feel like heaven!

“Mmmm.”

The groan had come out by accident, but I didn’t regret it at all. My eyes were already closed, my mind beginning to drift off, when I felt something move against my belly. I had put the plate aside once I was set down so I knew right away that it wasn’t that. My fuzzy brain took a minute to actually realize that it was Ocar’s fingers softly kneading at my revealed skin where my shirt had ridden up. It felt a bit funny, especially coming from another guy since I didn’t exactly swing that way, but when I opened my eyes to look at him and tell him to stop…

He looks so incredibly sad.

Heck, he was so out of it that he didn’t even notice me staring as he lifted a piece of cooked fish to his lips and chewed dazedly. Inwardly shaking my head, I let my eyes close once more and relaxed myself into a much needed sleep.

-Jayson-

Mellac and I slept in the living room for the night, and for once, he didn’t try to hump me like a rabbit. We cuddled on the sofa after I remade dinner, then drifted off once Parker and Callem had gone to bed.

The next morning, my phone woke us, making Mellac growl against my chest where he had me pinned against the back of the sofa.

Even when we aren’t doing it, he still has to be a darn dominant dolphin.

Mumbling sleepily, I got the phone out of my pocket and flicked the screen on to take the call.

“Hello…?”

“Hello, this is Officer Reynolds. My partner and I are going to check out Mr. Anderson ’s home really quickly because you said that he’d seen a mer there. Then we’ll be heading back over to yours to question him and his mer.”

Oh, he’ll kill you if you call Ocar ‘his’ anything, but I’ll keep my mouth shut on that.

“Okay. See you when you’re here.”

We hung up, and at some point, I fell back asleep. It wasn’t until four hours later, around ten in the morning, that I awoke again and sat up in surprise.

Oh crap. They were supposed to be here hours ago.

“Wait a second. Where are they?”

I dialed the phone number she’d given me, but it just went to voice-mail after a few rings.

Odd.

Dialing 911, I waited for someone to pick up before asking about the two officers. I figured they’d just gotten caught up with some type of bad traffic accident, but when the dispatcher told me they hadn’t gotten any response from the two officers a while ago and had sent someone to check on what they were doing, but have yet to make contact with either.

You Don’t Know How To What?

-Jayson-

“Mellac, stop pouting already.”

I knew he wasn’t going to listen, considering he’d climbed right back into the pool when I’d stepped out of his arms three times while trying to make a damn peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but it was worth a try.

It’s beginning to become not worth a try, though.

“You’re acting worse than Callem when he isn’t allowed to go with Parker to meetings at work!”

While the two were generally inseparable, Callem was not allowed inside the main meeting rooms because he was definitely not a marine biologist. He was marine life. My attention was slowly brought to the concrete as I thought to myself but quickly returned to Mellac in the pool when he started blowing air from his gills beneath the water, causing little bubbles to rise to the surface.

“Hey, Jay, what are you up to?”

I was just opening my mouth to speak to Mellac again when Parker’s voice had me turning where I stood. My eyes rose to meet his calm ones, but I could tell that he was pretty tired.

Probably because he is too nervous to sleep with Ocar here. Not to mention what happened to Lyric.

“Uh, nothing really,” I replied, not sure I had been up to anything besides glaring at my miscellaneous-with-some-sort-of-benefits.

God, we need to straighten things out between us somewhere besides a bed… or the floor… or the backyard…

Shutting my thoughts up, I gave Parker a fake smile and shrugged.

“What are you up to? You look like you could use a good day of sleep.”

He glanced behind me to Mellac, then met my eyes again before matching my shrug.

“Yeah, I’m just not really sure I can fall asleep right now. Too much stuff going on.”

I knew what he meant one hundred percent, but he wasn’t going to be much use as a zombie. So, with a slightly cocky grin, I stepped up and inside the door and looked toward the kitchen.

“Hey, Callem?” I called out, hearing him shuffling around in the kitchen after a second. “Parker needs to go to bed.”

When I looked over my shoulder at Parker, his whole face was red with embarrassment, and when Callem came out of the kitchen to stand in front of us, I quickly realized why. The mer looked confused but also a little happy. He had obviously been washing dishes judging from his wet hands, but I could see that his own eyes were beginning to become heavy with the need to sleep.

“Parker said he not wanted sleeping, is sad to Lyric,” Callem mumbled as he yawned, flaring the gills along his neck in the process. His wording was pretty bad, too, telling me that he definitely needed to go to bed soon.

“Parker lied. Well, he is sad, but he’s also really tired, so can you take him to bed?” I asked, hopeful that the mer would listen to me and not Parker for once. I even nudged Park toward him a little, spurring Callem on to take him to their room.

“I’ll keep an eye on things till you or Oliver wake up, okay? Nothing is getting in here with Mr. Grumpy Ass fuming in the pool.”

Both of them looked over at the swimming pool, but considering their eyes didn’t linger, I’d bet Mellac had submerged.

“It’ll be fine. I’ve got a gun sitting on the counter, and hell, we’ve got three mers. I think we can handle Hice if he decides to pay us a visit.”

The unsaid portion of the sentence was likely what bothered everyone the most, though. The ‘what if’ factor being Cal-Waves coming here. It was bound to happen eventually, but I had a feeling they were going to wait and see if Hice could get things done first. That way no one would be able to track things back to them. Parker looked up at Callem, who looked about ready to fall over, then grinned.

“Alright. You look like you’re about to fall asleep whether you want to or not, so let’s go to bed.”

Callem perked up immediately, giving a quiet, tired bark before leaning over and scooping Parker into his arms like one would a child. Parker had told him time and again that he was an adult and could walk, but when Callem got too excited or tired, he carried Parker around. I honestly thought it was adorable, but yeah, I’d probably be embarrassed if Mellac did that to me too often.

It’d be nice to get that kind of treatment once in a while, though.

Half of me just wanted to stay inside and get some food, then relax in front of the television for a while and pretend I didn’t have any problems I needed to deal with right then, but the other half wanted to go back outside. Where will that get you, stupid? I thought to myself angrily, even though I did turn and stomp back outside to drop down into one of the foldable chairs there. My arms crossed over my chest and I didn’t bother holding back an annoyed huff at my own pathetic self-esteem. I’d been with Mellac for over a month, and I think we’ve screwed more times than we’ve actually talked!

This isn’t what a relationship is.

“Jayson.”

Blinking in surprise, I looked over at Mellac, who had evidently surfaced over by the stairs leading into the pool.

“Yeah?” I asked, wondering what he wanted besides sex. It was usually always that… but sometimes food. While I had been expecting an answer, Mellac didn’t seem to want to give me one.

Frustrating fish.

Getting up, I stalked over to him, making sure to stay just out of reach so he couldn’t grab my ankle and yank me into the pool for the fourth time.

“What, Mellac?”

He tilted his head, the telltale sign that he was thinking hard. I wasn’t really sure what he could be really thinking about, though. It was always sex, sex, sex, or food, in that order usually, so whatever was on his mind must actually be seriously important. His hand suddenly reached up to grab the railing leading into the pool. He used it to pull himself closer to the steps since he still had his tail instead of legs. Having a feeling that this was going to be another trick to get me into the water, I took a few more steps back, then waited for him to get pissed. Except, when he finally settled, he was sitting on the second step, his upper chest and shoulders out of the water, tail now replaced with legs. It was odd seeing him in water without his tail, though, as I don’t think it had ever happened before.

“Can you swim without your tail?”

The words were out of my mouth before I could really think to stop them. It was probably insulting to a mer asking such a stupid question so I expected him to get angry again, but he actually just turned a little where he sat so he could look up at me with cautious, dark eyes.

“No.”

My heart gave a hard jerk at the sudden confession. Mellac had admitted that he had a flaw! And such a big one at that!

“Oh,” I replied in a whisper, obviously too stunned to really process anything else to say. My eyes lifted from the ground after a minute to notice that he still had a strong grip on the railing.

He’s telling the truth. He can’t swim in his human form.

That was such an odd thing to think. That a mer couldn’t swim at any point. Licking my lips nervously, I took a few hesitant steps forward, getting just barely within his range. He didn’t even fidget, though, so I took a few more steps, then dipped my feet into the cool water. It was refreshing after such a trying day, and since Mellac was still not attempting to pull me in, I carefully got myself seated on the step above him, ignoring the water as it soaked into my black basketball shorts. I could definitely feel his eyes on me, but for once, he was behaving himself, kind of. He did nuzzle against my shoulder a few times and give a quiet growl, but besides that, Mellac was actually being a gentleman. That caused me to turn toward him and raise a brow.

“Are you not feeling well?”

He tilted his head again before shrugging.

“I am fine.”

Little liar. Well, big liar, but still. Liar.

“You’re lying.”

This definitely wasn’t how Mellac normally behaved so something had to be on his mind, bothering him. That was the only reason I could think for him not to be trying to hump me right now. He cut a sharp glare to me when I’d finished speaking, but it took him several long, quiet minutes before he finally spoke.

“I am mad.”

Well, that’s the Mellac we all know and love! I thought sourly, forcing myself not to roll my eyes since he was still looking at me.

“Okay. What are you mad about, Mellac?”

He pursed his lips and glared down at the water, seemingly fighting with himself about telling me. I tried my best to be patient and just scanned the area beyond the pool. It was already dark and I’d made sure that there were bushes around most of the pool screen to keep neighbors from bothering us about experiments, but now I kinda wished I had left some open space because the river was extremely close and Hice was a pretty big threat right now.

“We… are not like my brother and Parker.”

I couldn’t help but choke out a surprised laugh at that statement. It was so fucking true it was hilarious! I was actually having trouble stopping my laughter when he began to growl at me.

“I-I’m sorry! I just… come on! You know we’re nothing like them!”

A few extra chuckles slipped from my lips before I could finally get myself under control enough to actually take him seriously.

“Okay, so we’re not like them. What does that matter?”

He puffed up his cheeks, then blew out the breath before hesitantly stepping down to the floor of the pool. There wasn’t much more than a few feet before it dropped off abruptly, since this was mainly for fish and not humans to horse around in. I watched him curiously because he still had a death grip on the railing and he wasn’t really going anywhere, just standing there with wide, worried eyes.

“What are you doing, Mellac? Just change into your mer form so you can swim.”

His eyes lifted to mine, and he pouted, shaking his head like a little kid.

“Okay, fine then. Do what you want.”

I was about to get up and head inside for some food when I heard Mellac speak again, freezing me in place.

“Help me.”

Did he just… ask for help?

I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. Mellac, asking for my help?

“Uh, with what?” I questioned, honestly confused until I realized what he was wanting.

Swim. He wants me to teach him how to swim! God, how ironic is that?

“Swim,” he replied right after I thought it. He looked utterly revolted by the idea, but eh, Mellac usually looked revolted or pissed off at everything, so I was going to take it as a positive that he was eager to learn. With a grin, I slid into the water until my feet touched the bottom, then reached out my hands.

“Come here.”

His eyes narrowed on my hands before he looked back at the railing, then back to my hands. I made grabby hands, flexing my fingers like I’d seen Parker do with Callem when he wanted him to come closer but the mer had been hesitant. It took a minute, but surprisingly Mellac released the railing, then flailed like a panicked child until he was in my arms.

What the hell happened to my overly strong-minded mer?

“It’s uh, okay, Mellac. You’re fine, see?”

I gently tugged him backward, making his legs rise in the water slightly, which only spurred his panic further.

Really?

“Come on. You can breathe underwater, remember? Relax.”

When he didn’t listen, I decided to just lean up against the side of the pool and wait for him to calm down. It took a while, but he finally stopped half-strangling me and let his feet return to the bottom of the pool to stand.

“There we go. Now, why are you so afraid of swimming in your human form?”

His eyes were wide when they found mine, the normal swirling greenish-violet color lost to a fearful black one.

“If you can’t swim in the ocean, you die.”

Ah. That makes a lot more sense than just being afraid because he can’t breathe, which he definitely can.

“Alright then. How about we fix that little problem? There are only a few small fish in here so there’s nothing to worry about, I promise.”

Mellac looked around at the dark water for a moment, then returned his attention to me with a small nod.

“I ate most of them already.”

“Okay, then there likely aren’t many small fish in here…” I said, giving him a reassuring smile before holding my arms out straight at the water’s surface.

“Alright, grab hold of my arms and let your body float.”

He seemed skeptical, but I just waited patiently for him to do as told. When he finally got into position, I could tell that he was a little panicked since his eyes were darting around, but I just kept smiling, excited that he was actually letting me try to teach him how to swim.

“Okay, I’m going to move, don’t worry about kicking yet, just let me pull you and you try to stay floating just as you are, okay?”

He gave a quick nod, lips pursed as he focused on the water just beneath his nose. At that, I slowly began to walk backward, being sure to avoid stepping over the ledge that led to the deeper portion of the pool. He was actually doing pretty well keeping his body floating correctly, so when we stopped near a wall a minute later, I decided to try something my gym teacher had taught me in elementary school during swimming lessons.

“Here, hold onto the wall just like I am,” I said, grabbing hold of the wall with both hands before letting my body float up until I was nearly parallel with the water.

“Try it,” I encouraged. His eyes seemed to linger on my body for a moment, specifically my bare chest, before he grabbed onto the wall and began to try getting his body the way mine was. Seeing that he was having a little trouble with his legs, I let go of the wall and carefully began lifting them to where mine had been. He growled a little, obviously uncomfortable, but I had a feeling I knew why this was bothering him more than it should.

“Just think of them as your tail for now, okay? All you need to do is relax and let the air in your body do the work.”

I could tell pretty quickly that he was getting frustrated because even though he was listening to me, he just wasn’t understanding.

“Let’s take a break, okay?”

The second I said those words, he was off the wall and back in his mer form, darting beneath the dark surface to swim like he was used to. I went back over to sit down on the second step, but after only a minute of relaxing, there was suddenly a merman hooking his arms beneath mine as he sped forward, pushing me up to the next stair with his momentum before he was back in his human form, straddling my legs. My mind was blank for a moment after that since it had all happened so fast. Then I slowly began to come around to realize that he was definitely in my lap and I was leaning back against the deck of the pool with my butt still in the water. The position was more than a bit uncomfortable.

“Um, hi there.”

Mellac licked his lips and leaned forward with his knees on either side of my lap, now on the first step. His added weight on my chest forced me to fall completely onto my back and my butt to slip from the step. On instinct, I wrapped my legs around his waist to keep my back from hurting and prevent me from slipping back into the pool, but then I was basically pinned.

“Mellac.”

My tone was disapproving, which at least got him to push himself up on his elbows and partially off of me, but that didn’t help the fact that I was still stuck between the ground and his abs.

Which isn’t the worst place to be stuck, I will admit. Just not out loud.

He looked like he was about to lean in for a kiss, among other things, when we both heard something rustling in the bushes near the pool’s screen door.

What is that?

Our heads snapped in that direction, and Mellac was quick to climb off of me as he got out of the pool to investigate. Everything was quiet for another minute before the sound returned and something fell in the bushes, snapping twigs as it hissed angrily. Being as paranoid as I was, I quickly jumped up and ran into the house, grabbing the gun we left on the counter before coming back outside. When I returned, Mellac already had the door open and was digging through the bushes.

God! He couldn’t have waited? If that was Hice, he would have been attacked by now.

I was just running over with the gun ready in my right hand when Mellac stood up, yanking something out of the bushes and turning to face me with an annoyed look. The item he had found was hanging upside-down and sopping wet… and a little boy with gills and black hair.

Puzzle Pieces

-Parker-

“Parker!”

Snapping my eyes open at the sound of my name being shouted, I withheld a groan and quickly jumped out of bed to run into the living room. Callem was right behind me, so when I stopped abruptly, he smacked into my back and would have made me stumble if he hadn’t reached out and wrapped one of his arms around my waist.

“What the heck? Why do you have a kid, Mellac?” I asked, confused as to why anyone would allow their child near the mer. It actually looked kind of like him, too, which was really scary to think about.

“He found it in the bushes outside. I’m pretty sure it’s a mer, too,” Jayson said as he walked over with two big towels in his arms. My eyes went wide as both Callem and I stepped forward, checking both sides of the boy’s neck for gills.

“Holy crap. He is!” I shouted, shocked beyond belief that we actually had a little boy mer now.

“Yeah, but something seems off about him. My shout evidently didn’t wake Ocar or Oliver so can you go get them up?”

I nodded and quickly ran to the other room, knocking on the door a few times before entering. My heart gave a hard thump against my ribs when I saw Oliver stretched out, snoring quietly in Jayson’s bed with Ocar curled up near his thigh. One of Ocar’s fingers was curled through one of Oliver’s belt loops, which to anyone else, would probably look adorable. Unfortunately, considering the way the mer had acted previously, I had a feeling it was more to keep Oliver from trying to slip away over anything comforting.

“Hey, guys, there’s something in the living room you need to see.”

I didn’t speak too loudly because I didn’t want to startle Ocar, but they really did need to get up, now.

-Oliver-

Don’t want to…

I knew he was going to bug me until I woke up, but dammit, I had to have just fallen asleep a few minutes ago! Considering I felt like crap, there was no way I’d been out anywhere near long enough to get some real sleep.

Hmph, such is the life of a darn doctor.

“If it’s another injured ‘dolphin’, just put it out of my misery,” I mumbled, trying to push myself back to sleep for at least a few more seconds.

“Uh, well. Actually, it is another ‘dolphin’,” he said, emphasizing the same word I had. That at least got my lazy ass up, or as up as I could get when I realized Ocar had a hold of me.

“Ocar, get up,” I growled down at him, poking the guy’s head even though Parker looked like he was having a heart attack as I did so. Not like it mattered if he got up and went crazy on me. I was already missing a leg and I felt like shit about Lyric dying, maybe a bit more near-death stuff would cheer me up in a sadistically twisted sort of way?

“Oliver? What do you want?” Ocar mumbled as he began to come around.

“Ocar, can you just grab him and bring him into the living room? Jayson and Mellac found a little mer outside.”

Hearing Parker’s answer to Ocar’s question made me realize that I was likely needed. I was going to just ask for a cane or something to balance my weight on, but Ocar evidently wasn’t very patient. He scooted out of bed, then turned and tossed me over his shoulder like I was a sack of potatoes.

“Come on. I might not be able to walk, but I can sure as hell hop. Put me down!” I said sourly as I banged my fists on Ocar’s back like a child.

“If you weren’t the reason for Lyric’s renewed smile, I would kill you right now.”

Hearing that threat made me fidget, but I didn’t get much time to dwell on it as I was unceremoniously dropped onto the floor in the living room.

“Dammit, ow.”

Rubbing my backside, I glared up at Ocar, only to see that his eyes were completely glued onto something over my shoulder. Deciding that my glare was going to be wasted on the mer, I looked over my shoulder to give it to someone else when my mouth dropped open in shock.

“What… the hell?”

Jayson reached up and grabbed the boy hanging upside-down in Mellac’s hand, having to pry the mer’s fingers away one by one to actually get the kid.

“I don’t want it here. Offspring are useless,” Mellac grumbled, drawing a collective of glares from just about everyone present except for the other mers.

“Of course they’re useless, Mellac. It’s called being a child,” Parker said as he helped Jayson turn the boy right-side-up, then began carefully tugging off his soaked clothing.

“Why are you here, Eight?”

Hearing Ocar randomly speak up had everyone’s gazes suddenly on him.

“You know him?” Parker asked as he tossed a wet shirt behind him and began tugging at the boy’s shorts. Everything he had on looked way too big for a boy his size.

“Yes, but he isn’t as he appears,” Ocar replied with a cold tone before continuing. “Do not pretend that you do not understand, Eight. They have taught you more than enough to communicate, and I am sure there is a reason they allowed you to come here.”

The boy looked confused at first, but then he gave a toothy smile and barked.

Wait. Bark? Who else do we know that barks like a seal?

My eyes cut up and over to him, taking in the stunned look on his face before going back to analyze the kid.

Black hair. Blueish-violet eyes. Barks.

“Well shit. Callem’s a daddy.”

An awkward silence fell over us, which was made quite funny, at least to my tired mind, because the little mer was now completely naked and pouting up at Callem. I thought he would snatch the kid up immediately to snuggle with it and coo about stupid things that weren’t important, but he just kept standing there, staring. Deciding that staring at the motionless mer was boring, I scooted myself closer until the boy finally looked at me.

“Hey, kid, since you understand us, I’ll make this simple. Are you hurt anywhere? If so, where?”

He pursed his lips and looked down at his feet, then slowly reached out with his left hand. It took me a minute to figure out where the injury actually was, but only because it was a little cut likely from brushing against a sharp rock or branch. I wanted to smack him on the side of the head for showing me something that honestly didn’t need any attention to heal, but I knew Parker would likely skin me alive for it.

Man, I really don’t like kids.

“Get me my bag, Park,” I asked, wiggling my fingers at him. He nodded and ran toward the front door, vanishing for a moment before returning with my medical bag. After he set it down, I dug through it, grabbing out a cotton ball, some antiseptic, and a small Band-Aid.

“This is going to hurt a little, but it will take away the pain fast, okay, Eight?”

He licked his lips and nodded before looking away and squeezing his eyes shut. Rolling my own eyes, I got the cotton soaked in the disinfectant and was about to press it to the back of his hand, which I’d gently taken in my left one, when I noticed Parker kneeling beside the kid and holding his free hand. Biting my tongue from saying something stupid, I quickly got the tiny wound cleaned up and pressed the Band-Aid over it, pushing it down gently to be sure it stayed.

“There, all done.”

His eyes blinked open, then looked down at his hand in surprise.

“I don’t really like the name Eight. We need to change it to something better,” Parker said, drawing the kid’s eyes back to him.

“Eight is my name,” the little boy whispered, blushing slightly. Parker gave him a friendly smile and gently scooped him up into his arms after wrapping one of the towels Jayson had brought around him.

“That’s a number, sweetie. You need a real name,” Parker cooed, making me want to twitch.

He doesn’t need a new name. He’s obviously a trap!

“They gave us all numbers when we got there. I was the last to be caught, along with Lyric, so we were six and seven, then he was born,” Ocar commented, still not looking too happy that the boy was still there.

“So that’s why he’s called Eight. Well, I’m changing that crappy name,” Parker grumbled as he walked toward the kitchen with the kid in his arms. I followed, hopping until I was able to lean against the counter near the sink. I was just about to tell him that he couldn’t keep the darn kid when Jayson strode in with a microchip scanner.

“He’s obviously going to have one. They wouldn’t just let the kid go. He’s here for something, and I’m pretty damn sure it’s not just tracking. They know where we live so he’s gotta have a job to do,” I said. Parker glared at me, but he knew I was right. I could see the realization and hurt in his eyes as he held the kid still for Jayson to scan. The thing beeped immediately when it was placed near his shoulder, but as he kept checking the device reacted at least nine more times.

“Jesus, they’ve put so many chips in him!” Jay shouted angrily, nearly throwing the scanner in his frustration.

“Of course. Most of them are near places that are hard to operate on, too, just to be sure that they never lose him,” I replied.

“We’ll worry about getting them out later. For now…” Parker let his words trail off as he looked down at the boy in his arms, who was glancing up at him with curiosity.

“Are you hungry? We’ve got plenty of fish if you’d like some dinner.”

The boy’s eyes grew wide, then narrow as he tried to figure something out.

“What is my work for dinner?” he asked, his sentence surprisingly good considering his age.

“Your work?” Parker replied, looking up at me for an answer I didn’t have, before glancing back down at the boy.

“I have do work for food.”

He gave a small smile and looked around as he was set atop the counter so Parker could rummage through the fridge. I thought he would just take out a big piece of salmon or cod, two kinds of fish Callem and Mellac seemed to enjoy quite a bit, but instead he grabbed a small can from a stack near the bigger fillets and set it on the counter.

“I think these will do,” he mumbled to himself as he grabbed the tab and pulled the lid back. After giving the small fish inside a rinse in the sink, he drained the container and then held it out for the boy. At first it looked as if the child was unsure if he should even take a fish, but of course, Callem stepped in right on schedule and grabbed one out with his fingers, then promptly bit the head off with an encouraging smile.

“See? No work for food here,” Parker said as he nodded toward Callem, then moved the can a little closer to the kid. He still seemed confused and more than a little bit hesitant, but after a long moment of silence, he reached inside and grabbed a small fish in his little hand.

“Good boy, eat up, okay? They’re all for you if you like them,” Parker cooed, already becoming the mother hen as he set the container of fish near the boy and got busy getting a glass to fill with water for him as well. Since Parker was futzing around and Jayson was walking out of the kitchen, I turned my attention to Callem, watching his body language as the little boy nibbled at the fish hesitantly. The two mers didn’t move much besides slight gestures like Callem’s head tilting after he’d finished the little fish he’d begun eating and the boy’s chewing, so when Callem suddenly stepped closer to him, Parker and I both froze and watched like hawks. The worry, however, proved to be unnecessary because Callem stopped right in front of the child, then shrugged off the shirt he’d worn to sleep and slid it over the boy’s head. The towel had fallen away so it easily fit over his slim body, pooling in his lap and on the counter.

“Do not want you to be cold,” Callem stated with a calm yet concerned tone. It was honestly shocking that he would care for the mer since Parker had told me Mellac said there was little parental care in the species. Granted, he did also note that females sometimes kept a child after it had finished nursing, though not for extended periods of time, but males weren’t supposed to care.

The little boy looked as if he was getting uncomfortable after he’d finished most of his first fish, which was understandable in such a new place. Parker, being the surprisingly observant guy that he was, noticed it pretty quickly and walked over, setting the glass of water down on the counter before carefully lifting the boy up and setting him gently down on his feet. The gesture allowed for Callem’s huge shirt to drape down nearly to the kid’s feet, looking almost like he was wearing a dress.

“Ah, here. Don’t want to forget these,” Parker noted as he grabbed the can from the counter and knelt down, offering it to the boy.

“Since you’re almost done with that one, why not just take them all with you and you can eat them when you’d like?”

After a quiet moment, the little boy finished the last bite of the fish he’d previously been holding and took the can with a whispered “Thank you,” before quickly walking toward the living room area.

“I think I know what to call him now.”

Hearing Parker suddenly right next to me had my attention turning from the kid’s back to him. Callem had followed the little mer out of the room so I knew they’d be fine for a bit.

“Yeah? What?”

If he names him something similar to calamari just because they’re related, I may have to take away his naming privileges.

“Kipper,” he chimed, smiling at the cute name of the fish the boy had seemingly been enjoying. It was just a nickname for herring, but eh, it did kind of fit the kid.

“Sure, why not? So now you’ve got Callem and Kipper to look after.”

I was expecting him to just agree, then run off to go coddle the kid more, but he actually lunged for me, wrapping my body in a strong hug without bothering to ask permission first.

I still don’t do hugs!

“Uh, Park?”

He squeezed me a bit harder, making me wince.

“I’m so happy, Oliver!” he mumbled against my shoulder. I wasn’t really sure what he wanted me to do so I just gave his back a few pats, then looked toward the kitchen entrance. Ocar was standing there looking a bit frustrated.

Probably needs to talk with me.

“Can you go look after your new mer for a bit? I need to talk with Ocar.”

That got Parker moving. He was out of the room in a blur, then seconds later, I heard him drop to his knees in the other room and likely begin trying to play with Kipper.

God, poor kid just got himself a crazy father to go along with his real dad.

“There is something wrong with that boy. He should not be here.”

Hearing Ocar’s worried words brought my attention to him as he walked over. I carefully lifted myself up onto the counter with my arms to get more comfortable, then thought over what he’d said.

“If they’ve had him since his birth and tested him like crazy, you’re right. There would be no reason to let him go, especially not specifically here, if they didn’t have some reason for doing so.”

He nodded and leaned against the counter beside me, licking his lips as we both quietly thought things through.

“Well, he’s chipped beyond belief, so I don’t think they really are intending to use him for tracking us. I think those are just there to be sure he can never truly get away.”

Ocar nodded again, then looked up at me with worried eyes.

“I think I know why he is here right now.”

My brows went up in surprise. I hadn’t even begun to really figure out what they were intending to do with the kid after releasing him here, but I was definitely curious to hear what Ocar thought.

“Yeah? What?” I asked, leaning over a little in case he wanted to whisper. Evidently, he didn’t care to say it loud and clear…

“He’s here to kill you.”

What?

Disbelief showed on my face before I could even get my words out.

“He’s an infant, Ocar.”

Those hadn’t exactly been the smartest words to use at that moment, because Ocar suddenly shoved his way between my legs and pinned me to where I sat on the counter as his arms moved on either side of me and he leaned forward with a snarl.

“You stupid humans are not thinking! He is barely a one year old, if that! But he is obviously no infant! I will bet my life that he understands your human weapons and when no one is paying him any mind, he will figure out a way to end your life.”

He hissed out his words right in my face, but I didn’t dare try to shove him away for being in my personal space because he had a point. A very good point. The kid could already talk better than Callem could when Parker had first found him. He also understood things that no one year old human ever could.

Err, well, I guess he’ll have to get in line behind Hice then.

“You’re right. That is definitely possible, but….”

He tilted his head, eyes narrowing as he silently told me to keep talking. I heaved a tired sigh and looked up, meeting his churning dark eyes.

“I don’t think Parker will tolerate us doing anything to the kid, and whatever Parker wants, Callem is right there along with him. Then, if we bother Callem, his big brother, the cranky stick-up-his-butt mer that I’m sure you’ve noticed lurking about, Mellac, will cause much more painful problems.”

Man, it’s like we have one huge fucked-up hierarchy of mers living under one roof. So fun.

After another stretch of silence, Ocar gently wrapped his arms around my waist and tugged me against his chest. I wanted to argue, but I was still exhausted from our pathetic nap, if it could even be called that, so I just let my body slump in his arms, resting my head on his shoulder as he carried me out of the kitchen.

“You will stay near me until he is gone.”

Eh?

“Why? I’m pretty sure you don’t like me.”

Ocar glared down at me but said nothing as he carried me back into Jayson’s bedroom where we had been sleeping previously, and set me down on the bed. I was about to open my mouth to repeat my question when I was suddenly pulled into his lap as he dropped down to the bed. Again, I tried to talk to him, but he was leaning over, his tongue darting out to lick at my cheek feverishly.

Seriously? What the hell!

I was about to tell him to get the hell off of me when I noticed his eyes… or what was coming from them.

He’s crying? Why is he upset? It isn’t like he is in danger.

“Ocar? It’s okay. It’ll be fine. You said I’ll stay with you, so I won’t get hurt by Kipper.”

Man, it felt weird giving the kid a name, but Parker is right. Calling him Eight just isn’t okay.

Even with my trial at persuasion, Ocar didn’t seem very interested in letting me go or stopping his licking. I knew it meant something similar to kissing in humans, but I was lost as to why he was doing it to me. When he buried his face against my neck and began licking randomly there, I finally just let out a deep breath and relaxed against him, figuring that I would have to wait this out.

“Just leave it for now…”

What?

“Leave it?” I asked, not sure what he was talking about.

“You’re the last bit o-of…”

He tried to finish the sentence but ended up speeding up his licking, making my skin begin to ache from the repetitive attention. While he did that, I played his words over in my head. If I was the last bit of something…

He only had one thing that I can remember him holding dear. Lyric.

“I’m your connection to him. That’s why.”

His silence told me that I was correct. Well, at least I knew why he was acting so strange. Surprisingly, it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it might. Sure, I was still afraid of him and the other mers, but at least Ocar wasn’t showing any signs of aggression right then. And heck, if he was willing to protect me from the possibility of Kipper attacking, I was willing to let him cry on my shoulder as much as he’d like.

Getting the Dice Rolling

-Oliver-

Waking up to fingers softly sifting through my hair was just what I needed. I had no idea when I’d fallen asleep, but the repetitive gentle motion was letting me release some stress and that felt amazing. Unfortunately, there were things that needed to be done that didn’t include relaxing but did include explaining to everyone what was going on with Cal-Waves. We knew a little, but what Ocar had told me definitely needed to get to everyone else, especially since Hice was after us and Kipper was here under questionable motives.

“He’s been in here twice.”

My head jerked up, my eyes locking with his wary ones in the dark room.

“Do not worry. I did not harm him. Each time he came inside, I called for your friend, Parker. He came and took the boy away, and I believe he is finally asleep in their room.”

I let out a sigh of relief at that, glad that he hadn’t hurt Kipper.

“Well, since he’s okay for now, I think we should get everyone together again and tell them what you’ve already told me. They need to know, just in case something happens to one of us.”

Which sadly is likely to occur soon.

I began moving so I could get out of his arms, but Ocar didn’t seem to think I should, because his arms tightened and he growled. The sound made me flinch, but then I just glared up at him.

“Come on, let me up.”

His eyes narrowed in thought, but I wasn’t interested in waiting for him to think this through. I can go where I want, dammit!

“Let go, now,” I warned, baring my teeth up at him in a blatant aggressive gesture.

“No, you belong to me,” he replied, fueling my anger immediately.

“Don’t give me that shit! I’m your proxy for Lyric, I get it, but don’t think you can just tell me when I can move or where I can go. This is my damn life, now either end it or let me go so I can get shit done and hopefully save your species’ sorry ass.”

I knew snapping at him wasn’t a healthy decision, but I always had trouble watching my mouth when I was mad. It was actually pretty surprising that I hadn’t had Parker yell at me for it yet.

Probably will soon with his new ‘son’ here.

His arms surprisingly loosened, allowing me to jump out of them and hop over to the wall, where I noticed a pair of crutches leaning. Whoever did it, I’d have to thank them later for making moving a lot easier for me. After getting myself situated with the crutches, I made my way into the living room and sat down, then called to Parker in the direction of his room. I hadn’t really known where Jayson was until I heard the door to the lanai slide open and he stalked in, not looking too happy. I half-expected Mellac to be on his heels as he headed for the kitchen, but the mer made it obvious he wasn’t coming when a splash echoed outside from the pool.

Great, another fight.

Rolling my eyes, I relaxed into the sofa until Jayson returned with a bottle of beer and dropped down beside me. A few moments later, Parker and Callem sleepily sauntered in. Kipper was held gently against Callem’s chest, his cheek resting just beneath his neck. He was definitely asleep, which was good because I didn’t want him in on the information I was about to tell everyone. If he ever got away from us, I’d rather he know as little as possible so he couldn’t pass the information to Cal-Waves. As soon as Parker dropped into the recliner and Callem leaned against it on the floor, I took a deep breath and began.

“We all know that Cal-Waves shot Lyric on purpose. Ocar retrieved his body and buried it, but at the same time, he fought off Hice, who I’m sure was told to either kill or retrieve me when I had to jump into the water.”

Everyone nodded, silently telling me that they understood.

“Okay. Well, were likely targeting me as well, because of what Lyric knew and could have told me. Both Lyric and Ocar knew what Cal-Waves had done and it’s not just Callem’s chip or research. It’s way beyond that. From what I can figure out, they had eight mers, or at least tracked down that many. We have Kipper, and Ocar and Lyric both escaped.”

“Escaped?” Parker questioned, cutting off my train of thought. I looked over at him and nodded.

“That’s why they shot Lyric with a bullet instead of just a dart. They didn’t want to risk him being knocked out and retrieved by Ocar or one of us. He had information about where they are holding the other mers.”

There was a collective gasp, but I didn’t let it phase me as I quickly continued. “Ocar knows where they are, too, so we need to figure out a way to get inside and get the other three mers out. There are technically four, but I don’t doubt that Hice will be more of a hindrance than a help.”

“So, how exactly are a few researchers and their fish friends going to be able to take down a huge research facility with guns and a murderous shark on their side? I mean, Callem and Mellac do have their screech thing, but right now Mellac is on permanent PMS and Callem is likely not going to leave his kid, like, ever,” Jayson said before he took a long drink from his beer. I shot a glance toward Callem to see him only partially paying attention. His main focus was on licking Kipper’s hair as the boy slept. Deciding to push aside Jayson’s points for the moment, I backtracked to my explanation of the mers.

“Anyway. There are two females that we know of so far, one got pregnant about a year ago, and I’m pretty sure the result is sleeping in Callem’s arms.”

That had everyone looking at Kipper, then Parker suddenly spoke up.

“Callem?”

The mer blinked, then looked over with a content smile. Parker returned it before asking, “Did you mate with a female a long time ago?”

I thought he would get angry when Callem nodded, then went right back to tending Kipper, but he just smiled and looked over at me with a shrug.

“Remember, Mellac kept saying that mers didn’t stay together with females as pairs in most cases. They just bred, then left. I think that’s why so many male mers are attracted to other males. Perhaps they are monogamous for company and pleasure, then just go off and find a female when it’s breeding season?”

I honestly had no idea, but that was as good a guess as anything I would have likely come up with. It was pretty hard to judge that anyway, with so few mers left and getting the information from only one grumpy source.

“Sounds good enough to me. We’ll go with that idea until we have time to hash it out later.”

Parker and Jayson both agreed with a nod, but as soon as I was about to continue, we heard Mellac get out of the pool and Ocar step into the room. I knew Ocar was going to try to come sit near me on the sofa, so when he moved, I immediately shot him a warning glare.

“Sit on the floor, there’s no room.”

He growled but quieted when Mellac stepped inside, dripping water as he walked over to where his brother sat against the recliner by Parker’s feet and dropped down. It was obvious he was pouting because he leaned his head on Callem’s shoulder and closed his eyes without a single glance at Jay.

At least mine isn’t obsessed with my butt and doesn’t throw a fit whenever he can’t get it.

Either way, Ocar sat down near my leg and leaned against the sofa. He set my crutches down a foot away, but I didn’t bother him about moving them since there were far more important things to discuss.

“Okay, well, since everyone’s in here now…” I looked down at Ocar, who glanced up after a minute.

“Where is the Cal-Waves laboratory they are using to hold the other mers?”

His expression faltered at that, then clouded over with hesitant confusion.

“Um… Ocar?” I tried, not sure why he wasn’t answering.

“I-I do not know how to get there on land,” he said uncomfortably.

Oh! That makes sense.

We could take a boat out, but as soon as the idea came to my mind, I knew it was impossible. We’d be spotted immediately, and it was a lot harder to have witnesses to something on the water than it was on land. They would shoot us dead in a heartbeat.

Then it hit me.

“Take me underwater with you. I can chip myself, then Parker and Jayson can track our course!”

I had to admit, I was excited about the idea and thought it would work perfectly. Except, I got a loud chorus of “No!” right after I’d finished speaking, sinking my ship before it even had a chance to set sail.

“Wha-why?” I asked, glaring down at Ocar. It was a great idea! I had a pretty damn good memory in case the chip was off by any amount, and Ocar could get me there without us being attacked. I really just needed to convince him since he was my ticket to, hopefully, breathing underwater. Callem and Mellac could share oxygen so hopefully the orca version of a mer had the same ability.

“Because, that is foolish. The area makes a noise constantly that bothers my ears, and I don’t doubt that it does that on purpose. It makes me confused and disoriented.”

I was surprised he knew such a big word but pushed that thought aside to reply.

“It’s a sonar. It basically uses the echo of the sound it produces to track things in the water. It does make aquatic animals confused because of its frequency, but can we at least just go close? To where the sonar won’t hit you?”

He actually seemed to think that suggestion through, but Parker and Jayson both replied before Ocar could with another two noes.

I glared at both of them and grumbled before grabbing the crutches off the floor after nudging them close with my foot, then got up and headed back into Jayson’s room. It was at least twenty minutes later when the door opened and I looked up from where I sat on the bed to see Ocar walking in… followed by Mellac?

The other mer shut the door and then leaned against it as Ocar came over and sat beside me.

“We will do what you have suggested,” he stated. My eyes went wide as I stared at Ocar, then Mellac.

“You are going to follow us?” I asked Mellac, confused by the situation. He shook his head and pointed to a laptop sitting on the dresser against the wall. Ocar got up and retrieved it, then set it in my lap.

“You can make this track the chip, right? I’ve seen many people at Cal-Waves with them all the time.”

Oh right! Duh!

“Yeah, hang on a second,” I said excitedly as I got the laptop running, then opened up one of the tracking programs we used for researching animals in the wild. As I got the information loaded, I asked Mellac to go get my black medical bag in the other room. He silently left and returned not a minute later with it, setting it beside me on the bed.

“Thanks,” I said without really paying attention as I got the zipper undone. I was far too focused on digging through the bag until, “Ah ha! Got it.”

I yanked out my package of microchips and quickly pushed one onto the small plunger used to inject them. Ocar didn’t look too happy, but I didn’t want to waste time so I just jammed the device against the inside of my arm, wincing for a second before pulling it away. My skin was becoming red where I’d done it, but besides that, the injection went perfectly.

“Alright. Now I’ll just program the number in here,” I mumbled as I looked on the back of the package and typed in the number for the chip I had just put in my arm. Once I hit enter, the computer beeped and a map of eighty square miles popped up with a little dot flashing in the middle right where we were.

“All set,” I said with a grin up at Ocar. He still looked unhappy with the idea but got up nonetheless. I quickly set the laptop where he’d been sitting, then got up with my crutches and looked over at Mellac.

“All you have to do is watch the dot. When it stops for more than a few minutes, hit the big button on the right. That will save the location, then go get Parker and Jayson, okay?”

He nodded and sat down, dragging the laptop into his bare lap. I motioned toward the door, silently telling Ocar we were going to head out, but before I myself stepped out, I had to look over my shoulder at the other mer.

“Why are you helping?”

It’s odd. He never seems to want to help anyone with anything.

Mellac looked up from the screen and pursed his lips for a moment before answering, “I will not let my little brother become captured or killed without doing everything I can to stop it from occurring.”

My heart gave a strong lurch at his words and I nodded with a small smile.

“Thank you, Mellac. You’re helping all of us by helping him and it’s greatly appreciated.”

I knew he wasn’t likely to answer so I just left it at that and headed for the front door, glad that Parker and Callem had gone back into their room. Jayson was still on the sofa and eyed me curiously, but when he rolled his eyes and polished off the bottle of beer he’d been working on, I knew he wasn’t going to try to stop me.

Hold the fort down till we’re back, Jay. If we come back.

Before The Storm

-Parker-

“Mellac? What are you doing in here?”

At first I thought the obvious—waiting for Jayson to walk in so he could ambush him into bed. However, when I saw the laptop on his naked lap, awkward, I realized something was up. His eyes flicked to mine for only a brief second before he shrugged, completely ignoring my question.

Fine then.

Stalking over to him, I sat down on the bed with the intent to look at the screen, but suddenly he was standing up, striding over to the other side of the room with the laptop in his hands.

“Seriously? Are you watching porn or something?”

I growled, knowing full-well that Mellac didn’t know how to use a laptop. I think. Oh man. Note to self to never tell him about internet porn.

I was ignored again so I stomped around the bed, but he just jumped up onto it and hopped to the other side.

Jayson! Your merfriend is a freaking pain! I shouted mentally as I began to run to the other side. Of course Mellac just dodged again, and again, and again . I ended up panting, leaning on the bed to try to catch my breath as Mellac stood near the headboard, his eyes glancing over the top of the screen.

“You are not very fit, human.”

Sorry, I don’t have sex twenty-four seven! That’s probably where the idiot gets all of his muscles.

“Why can’t you let me see what you’re looking at? I know you didn’t set it up yourself, so tell me.”

“No,” he replied with indifference before looking back down at the screen. Frustration bubbled in my veins, but I forced myself to calm down. There was no way I’d get it away from him so there was no use losing my temper over it. After several deep breaths, I closed my eyes, then opened them with a sigh.

“Am I going to find out that Oliver and Ocar are gone when I go into the living room? And then are you going to finally tell me that you’re likely watching the tracking system of one of Oliver’s chips because the guy’s insane?”

His brows rose slightly, and I knew he was smirking behind the screen.

“Perhaps” was his only response before he sat down on one of the too many pillows on the bed. I was just about to try to get over there to look when he spoke again. “He said you don’t get to see until the dot stops moving. So go be a good human elsewhere until I request your presence.”

Be a…

“Parker?”

Hearing a quiet voice behind me immediately dissipated my anger toward Mellac as I turned around and knelt. Kipper was there, pursing his lips as he stared at the floor. After a moment, he glanced over his shoulder before turning back to face me again.

“Callem is ’noying.”

“Oh?” I said, figuring that he was talking about the mer’s overly affectionate grooming and what not.

I can see how that could get annoying.

I was just opening my mouth to tell him that he could just hang out with me in the living room or go for a swim in the pool when he walked right past me and climbed up onto the bed near Mellac. He stared at the much bigger mer for several long moments before Mellac bothered to actually pay him any attention. When he did, it was just a quick look and a grunt.

“You probably don’t want to bother Mellac, Kipper.” He might eat you.

The boy looked at me, then back up at the bigger mer, drawing Mellac’s attention again.

“Do not bother me and I will not eat you.”

That seemed to settle their silent dispute because Kipper just nodded and curled up on one of the pillows, closing his eyes to take a nap.

“Uh, I guess just call for me when the dot stops moving then… and please don’t eat him. If he bothers you, just let Callem or I come get him.”

I got a glare as a reply, which I figured was going to be the best I would get. Shaking my head, I walked out of the room, leaving the door open so that I’d be able to hear him when he called.

“Parker?”

My feet stopped abruptly when I heard Callem speak from the doorway to our room. When I looked over, he was already stopping next to me, worry etched onto his face.

“Have you seen my boy? I was grooming him, and he told me to turn around and count to one hundred, but I don’t know what that is so I just said stuff, and then when I finally turned around, he was gone!”

Oh my god. I love you, you dork.

Grinning like an idiot, I shook my head and gently grasped his right hand in my left one, then began tugging him toward the glass door leading out to the patio.

“He’s fine. Your brother is watching him.”

That had Callem slamming on the brakes, his eyes widening in terror.

“Don’t worry. He said he wouldn’t eat him as long as Kipper didn’t bother him.”

Callem’s face darkened further, making me snicker and pull him over to the glass door. We stepped outside into the muggy air and immediately realized it was raining.

Oh well, not like it matters.

“Come swimming with me, Cal.”

It had been quite a while since we’d been able to swim together, so even though he was still staring back into the house, I was already heading for the stairs, stripping my shirt and shorts off before stepping in with just boxers on. The water was comfortably warm as I eased my way into it and flipped onto my back to float. Little fish nibbled at my fingers and feet, but they didn’t bother me at all. I stayed that way until gentle arms drifted beneath my back and began guiding me toward the deeper portion of the pool.

After a few laps around the rock formations, I felt my head drift onto Callem’s shoulder and opened my eyes, which had slipped closed, to look up at him. He was smiling down at me, the understanding in his eyes making me remember back to the first time I’d seen him on the beach. He’s come so far in such a short time.

“Parker?”

Returning his smile, I whispered a quiet “Yeah?” not wanting to speak too loudly since it felt so serene right then. When his face became serious, though, I carefully rolled over in the water and held onto his shoulders so I didn’t go under.

He must have his tail fin out to float in this area so easily.

“Parker?”

His worried voice pulled at my heart.

“What’s wrong, Callem?”

He looked away abruptly, making me get even more curious as to what he was seemingly afraid to tell me. When his eyes slid back to mine, he quickly stuttered out, “Not be mad to me?”

Poor guy is really nervous…

“Of course not, Callem. I love you, hun. You can tell me anything and I won’t be upset.”

That seemed to bring his smile back, even though the shadow of doubt remained in his eyes.

“Talk to me, Cal.”

There was another stint of silence before he suddenly ducked beneath the water, only to hug me from behind a second later. I was just opening my mouth to ask him what he was doing when he buried his face in the crook of my neck and stumbled through words.

“Can Callem to keep Kipper please!”

Oh my gosh.

I couldn’t help myself. I spun around in his arms and hugged him tightly, nuzzling against his cheek with a grin.

“You are so sweet. Of course you can keep him.”

I had to pause for a moment since he literally pulled me underwater and zoomed around the pool twice before resurfacing so I could breathe. As I took in air, he barked excitedly, spinning where we floated in the pool, me still in his arms.

“Hang on, Cal,” I laughed out, getting excited just from his happiness. He forced himself to calm down, but I could see the giddiness waiting in his eyes.

“You can keep him… but I wanted to ask. Can we share?”

I knew I was likely never going to have kids, because women quite honestly just didn’t get it up, but now I actually had the chance to have a son. Hope poured into my chest as I looked up at him with a hesitant smile. It only took Callem a few moments to think about it before he opened his mouth to answer, and promptly got cut off by a shout.

“Parker! Come!”

Of course, Mellac.

Wrong Time, Wrong Place

(Content warning)

-Oliver-

We should have seen him coming. Well, technically we did, but Hice was pretty damn fast underwater. I soon figured out that orca mers weren’t faster, either. Hice’s skeleton was probably made much lighter and possibly even out of cartilage.

God, what I would do to be able to study a few samples from him.

Too bad I had to live in order to get to that part. At the moment, I was at a loss when it came to that, though. Ocar was darting around, trying to avoid any serious hits from Hice’s claws or teeth, but that just left me floating in the current, trying to get above water every few seconds in order to get a mouthful of air. I knew Ocar had to let me go in order to stand a chance against Hice, but swimming with one leg wasn’t my strong point and I soon found myself being dragged farther and farther down each time I went under. The last time I managed to get to the surface, I figured I was done for. My energy was drained, and even as I pulled in one last breath, I could tell that it wasn’t doing much for my oxygen-deprived body.

Moments after I found myself back under, I was suddenly yanked upward and onto a hard surface. My body was numb and darkness began to encroach on my vision when my mind realized I could finally breathe and the adrenaline began to drain. Something then pressed against my cheek that felt like rubber. A shoe ?

“Are you sure we need to keep him? They wanted him dead last time,” a ruff voice said as what I had to assume was a boat motor began to rev up. I felt the slight pull of the action against my body, but there was no way I was moving anywhere they didn’t want me to go.

“They changed their minds. He’s one of the best oceanic surgeons there are, no doubt he’d be an asset if we could just get him to see things our way.”

The gruff-voiced man laughed as the boat turned, making me think that he was the one steering.

“Yeah, like that would happen. Bet he was screwin’ the smaller mer before we shot it, just like his friends are with theirs. Idiots. They’re the ones contributing to their extinction by keeping those two males in a human house.”

A grunt of agreement sounded over the boat engine right before it was cut off and the vessel began drifting.

“Hice!” the gruff man’s voice shouted as the other one walked over to me and knelt down. “Sorry ’bout this, but I hope you’ll see our side sooner rather than later. Till then…”

Cold metal slipped around one of my wrists and clicked shut tightly, then the man grabbed my other hand and brought it around my back, cuffing them both together. I doubted I’d ever come around to their disgusting way of doing things, but I didn’t get much time to think about it because the darkness that had been nudging at the edge of my mind took over, sweeping me into a deep sleep.

“He’s coming around.”

I felt a nudge against the side of my head and winced. A headache was going strong, likely having started up from nearly drowning.

Makes about as much sense as everything else. Wait. It makes a lot more sense than everything else.

Not feeling all that friendly, I tried to lift my hand to smack the woman’s foot away, assuming the voice that had spoken was the one connected to the shoe, but of course, my hand couldn’t move.

Stupid handcuffs.

I probably should have just let her know that I wasn’t very happy with her foot on my head, but instead I just growled out, “Fuck off.” It got the point across, though, because the pressure from the shoe vanished, even as someone else laughed as I heard people begin walking over. It was a male’s voice and sounded slightly familiar, but hell if I cared who it actually was.

“Excuse me, Dr. Sparrow. The room you requested for him is ready.”

“Thank you. How is the mer doing in his tasks?”

The new voice hesitated, and I could hear their feet shifting on the tile floor as I was carefully lifted into someone’s arms.

“He… refuses. He has gotten the shot that disrupts his ability to change and has not had access to water yet, but he still has done nothing we’ve asked. Even after being shocked and threatened.”

Good. Not about shocking him, but I’m glad Ocar is holding up.

“Hmmm. Well. Let’s see if his interest in doing as we say piques when he sees his human,” the female voice said as I began to be carried somewhere. There was no reason to struggle since I couldn’t exactly outrun anyone. It would just be a waste of energy and that was something I was lacking to begin with, so I just let myself be carried.

“Set him down right here, Conner,” the female voice said, making me suddenly remember the male’s name as one of the scientists who had barged into my lab when I’d just gotten hold of Lyric. So that means the woman is likely going to be Marilyn and the person carrying me is either Mark or someone I haven’t met yet.

“Hey, mer, we’ve got some incentive for you to start behaving.”

My lower half was suddenly dropped to the floor, my shoulders held tightly so that I ended up awkwardly kneeling. It felt like I was on one of those rubber mats with circles that kept your shoes from getting too wet.

We must be near Ocar’s holding cell then.

And sure enough, not a moment later, I heard something scramble closer. It stopped a little ways away, prompting me to finally lift my head and force my eyes open. I wasn’t really one for emotions, but the poor mer looked absolutely exhausted. He had open wounds all over him, no doubt from Hice’s attacks, but on top of those, there were burns running up and down his right side. There were a few small holes in the bulletproof glass that kept him in and us out so that they could speak to him and hear his replies, but some of the bigger ones, I bet, were for dart guns or electric poles.

“Mer seven, we’ll make you a deal. Breed with mer three and we’ll let you have your human for a little while.”

His human?

I was just about to tell them I was no such thing when Ocar turned and looked back toward the corner of his cell. That’s when I saw the small female mer hunched there, as far away from everyone as she could be in such a small space. She had dark blond hair and green eyes, but what tugged at my heart was the look of sheer terror in them when Ocar began slowly crawling toward her on his hands and knees.

“Don’t you dare, Ocar!”

My voice was raspy from the saltwater I’d taken in more than a few times, but the words got where they needed to. Ocar sat back on his heels and eyed me over his shoulder, but I really didn’t like the look on his face. He actually appeared torn between breeding the scared female and fighting the command.

“Ocar, don’t. Lyric would never do that and you hate me. I’m not tied to Lyric and I’m not worth doing something like that for.”

I wanted to keep talking, to tell him that we’d both get out of here soon, because I knew Mellac would come through. He was an ass, but he cared about the things close to him and since he actually volunteered to watch the computer map, I knew he was telling Parker right now where we were. They would get lots of cops and have them out here as soon as possible. We just needed to hold on until then. Unfortunately, before I could even get a word out, there was some type of rope around my neck, twisting tightly and cutting off my air.

I was used to not having much oxygen after nearly drowning, however long ago that had occurred, but not being able to lift my hands up and claw at the rope was seriously making me thrash around in panic. Their grips on my shoulders tightened, preventing me from moving much. A hand even snagged my hair, forcing my head to face Ocar… who was now crowding the female.

“O-Oc…!”

The item, which I could now understand was a neck lanyard since one was swinging from the guy holding my left shoulder but not from the other, tightened further. Choking someone with a damned ID badge lanyard. Assholes!

When I began to hear shrieking snarls, I squeezed my eyes shut and ground my teeth together, not even realizing that the lanyard slacked slightly until I pulled in a ragged breath. That’s when I smelled it and shuddered with disgust.

Jayson’s room smells similar. The damn type of musk the males release when they breed.

That was just a guess, of course, but I honestly didn’t want to figure it out right now. All I wanted to do was get the hell out of this facility. Yeah right. Not gonna happen.

The sound of a door being opened had me finally looking in that direction. The female scrambled beneath the raised shift door before it was even fully raised. It closed as soon as she was through, leaving my eyes to hesitantly trail over to Ocar. I could tell that he was panting from the rise and fall of his shoulders, but he was still facing toward the corner where the female had fled from. I wanted to be taken as far away from him as possible, but of course, I got the opposite. The lanyard was completely removed, which I was grateful for, but then a small glass door that had melded into the other larger piece began to open. I could hear the hydraulics at work so it had to be heavy. My mind didn’t get any time to ponder that thought, though, because as soon as it was high enough, I was shoved under it and into the cell.

The door dropped shut a moment later, then the sound of footsteps walking away met my ears. The scientists were arguing about whether it was safe for me to actually be in with Ocar, but I suppose their hesitation was short lived. I wasn’t worried about the mer, but I was pissed at him. Scratch that, I was furious. So, when he decided to crawl over and try to scoop me into his arms, I laid into him with a solid kick to the chest. When he actually grunted and backed off, I gave myself an imaginary pat on the back, but he didn’t stay away for long. After just a brief rub against his skin, he was back, yanking me into his lap before leaning over to lick at the rope burn I bet I had around my neck.

“Get off!”

I was in no mood for stupid affections, especially not from him. His arms only tightened, though, forcing me against his chest as he hastened his licking.

“Dammit, Ocar! Get the hell off! I don’t want you touching me after what you did!”

His snarl made me bite my tongue on the next planned shout, or at least quiet it.

“I am not Lyric. He would be so ashamed of what you did.”

His arms tightened further, making me wince but not complain. I noticed his tongue had stopped lapping at my neck and instead he just had his nose buried in the crook of it.

“Your face was turning blue…”

Hearing such a quiet tone coming from Ocar was a bit of a surprise and tamped down my temper a little, allowing both of us to relax a small amount.

“They wouldn’t have killed me,” I finally replied with a hushed whisper. Ocar didn’t reply for several long minutes, and I found out why when the handcuffs were snapped apart, freeing my wrists from each other but not from the metal bands.

Good enough.

Needing to stretch my arms, I lifted them both and wrapped them around his neck in a hug. It was just to get the numbness out of them, that was all. To be comfortable, I let my head rest on his right shoulder too.

“I did not know, but…”

When he didn’t continue, I leaned back a bit to be able to look into his eyes, but he was looking at the floor and refused to meet my gaze.

“Ocar?”

His eyes rose to meet mine, but I couldn’t quite figure out the emotions swimming in their shifting colors.

“I do not… understand.”

The idea that he was having trouble figuring out the situation was a bit surprising, but when he went back to cleaning my neck with his tongue, I began to pull together a possible explanation. He had been such an aggressive mer when I first met him, but now I had a feeling that he was doing what he could just to grasp for anything that could remind him of the outside, along with Lyric.

I’m both. Dammit. He’s growing attached to me at the worst possible time. And they’re going to use it to their advantage as much as possible.

Possibilities

-Parker-

Trying to get through to Mellac that we couldn’t just run off and kill everyone in Cal-Waves was really grating on my nerves. Did he think they would just stand in a line and let him tear them apart like fish or something? Shaking my head, I glanced at him in the rearview mirror, glaring at Kipper around his brother while Jay sat beside me. I still didn’t trust Mellac with the kid, heck, any kid, but at least he hadn’t hurt him at all.

“We need to go to the police station and get someone to believe us.”

A lot more than just someone. We need an army since they have a Hice.

Pulling into the station, I ran around to the back of my truck, nearly getting smacked with the door when Mellac swung it open without a care. Forcing myself not to get visibly mad, since I was sure Mellac would love a bit of human-bashing this fine evening, I ignored it, knowing that I needed to be as fit as possible when we finally went and got Ocar and Oliver.

Kipper had already opened his door and taken his seat belt off, but I tugged him into my arms before he could get down, even though I knew he was frustrated about it. Callem climbed out right after and tried to take his son, but Kipper just tightened his arms around my neck and growled, giving Callem a pretty impressive ‘leave me alone’ stare. That put a pout on my mer’s face, but I just leaned up on my toes and pecked his cheek before turning and heading into the station.

Jayson held the door open for us, even Mellac, though the two weren’t getting along still.

“Excuse me?” I called toward the line of desks in front of us as I approached. Kipper was grumbling as he glared at the officers but thankfully didn’t do anything besides that. One of the men stood and stepped around his desk, offering me a hand, which I took after shifting Kipper into one arm.

“Hello, can I help you?”

I was surprised he didn’t recognize me, considering the trouble I’d gotten into a few months ago, but I wasn’t exactly interested in reminding him.

“We have a problem. Cal-Waves, the research facility north of here, has kidnapped my friend and his mer and we need help getting them back.”

How crazy does that sound? Very.

He looked at me funny and began reaching forward to take my arm, no doubt thinking I was as strange as I felt, but then Kipper hissed and flared his gills, making the man jump back from shock. I thought he’d pull his gun but thankfully that remained in its holster, though I bet he thought about it.

See how far you get when daddy Callem sees you even flinch toward a weapon around his son.

“Like I said,” I replied with a smirk, patting Kipper’s back gently to calm him. “We need several officers to help us get into one of Cal-Waves facilities and get our friends back.”

The man’s eyes narrowed, but I let mine match his, making him look at the two other officers walking over to him, one blond woman and a blond man.

“You guys want to go?” he asked them with a raised brow, making me sigh.

“Thank you for considering what I’m saying, but I think more officers are needed. The two officers that have gone missing recently while searching Oliver’s place, I’m ninety-nine percent sure were because of Hice, their shark mer. He’s been after us a few times but couldn’t do much with Callem, Mellac, and Ocar here.”

The officers crossed their arms over their chests, except for the woman, who pulled out a radio. “Hello, this is Officer Markey. I need four officers down to the Quarter Street precinct immediately for a possible confrontation.”

When she got a “Ten-four” from the other end, I relaxed slightly and turned, handing Kipper to a suddenly ecstatic Callem. I then took the laptop from Jay and opened it, having not shut off the program. Turning enough so that the officers could see, I quickly explained what the flashing light was and the possible dangers there. Hice was an obvious one, but I wasn’t sure if the other mers were aggressive, but at least I was pretty sure they were contained one way or the other. When the group finally seemed to understand, I handed the laptop back to Jayson and turned to take Kipper, but of course Callem was already grooming the poor kid with licks to his hair and face, very visibly pissing off the little mer.

Dork. Oh well. We have to wait for the other cops anyway, might as well let him give Kipper some attention… whether the kid wants it or not. And he doesn’t.

-Oliver-

Trying to stay awake for hours was difficult when you were wrapped up in warm arms. It didn’t help that Ocar was fast asleep, leaning against a wall as he pressed his forehead into my neck. He’d tried to groom me to make me less upset, but when I flicked his nose for the fourth time, he finally figured out that it wasn’t going to be that easy. I let him hold me, though, because honestly, I had one leg, I’m not exactly going to fight him off and it was better to let him rest than keep going after him for something he at least felt sorry for.

While he slept, I watched his features fluctuate from relaxed, to stressed, and everything in between. He was obviously dreaming, which was kinda cute. Guess that at least partially answers the question of fish dreaming, though he is an orca, not a fish. Rolling my eyes, I took my time looking around the barren cell, noting the shift door that the female had run through, then the wall. It looked like a type of bulletproof glass with a mix of plastic inside around the outlines of small compartments, likely used to feed or take samples safely.

They can take a sample of my fist if I get close enough.

Rolling my eyes at the pathetic threat, I shifted in Ocar’s lap, his arms instantly tightening around my waist in response, making me grin. If only he could relax some, he would be such a sweet mer. Right now he was like a mix of Callem and Mellac, letting his emotions get the better of him but knowing he shouldn’t. Looking to the side, I felt his soft hair brush against my cheek and smiled as I reached up to gently run my fingertips along his smooth jaw.

I wasn’t paying much attention as I let my body finally begin to be lulled into a relaxed state, so I didn’t realize it when he slowly started nuzzling against my fingers… or when he leaned back into my neck and began to lick with his soft yet dry tongue. My attention only snapped back to our present situation when he blew out a deep huff of breath against my skin.

“Ocar? I thought you were asleep…”

His swirling dark eyes rose to meet mine briefly before he growled quietly and gave my neck another lick.

“What are you doing?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady when he picked up his pace on that one spot, beginning to make it ache. He ignored me, not surprisingly, but when I heard him take a deep breath in and open his mouth, my heart suddenly shot into my throat. Oh shit! He’s about to— “Good evening, Oliver.” My gaze and Ocar’s jumped up to Marilyn as she sauntered over toward our cell. I felt Ocar’s arms tighten even further, making me fight back a wince as the scientist stopped just behind the glass wall.

“What do you want?” I asked, my tone none too friendly. She smiled at me and walked over to a side panel. “Visiting hours are up, doctor. Please come over here so that I may let you out.” The thought of leaving Ocar alone in his cage was unsettling but not quite as much as the idea of being marked as a mate by him, which was definitely about to happen.

Giving myself a firm shake on the inside, I began scooting out of Ocar’s lap, but of course the mer wasn’t interested in letting me go. “Ocar, please. Let me go.”

He shook his head right away, hair brushing against mine as he leaned over to lick at the back of my neck. The gesture sent a shiver through me automatically, but I bit back any sound that might have resulted and tried to push myself free. Of course, I didn’t get anywhere, but at least Marilyn saw that I was trying. Too bad it didn’t seem to make her happy in the least. She watched for another minute before finally turning to a cabinet I hadn’t noticed against the wall and got out a small dart. My blood chilled when she loaded it into a dart gun that had also been hanging on the wall, though I had noticed it there, just not the cabinet that’s color blended into the wall.

“I hope you know how to swim with one leg.”

Huh?

She stuck the gun through a small hole in the glass wall and fired, hitting Ocar with ease since he had nowhere to really dodge. The dart sank into his shoulder, and he ripped it out right away, but the drug had already been injected. I figured she was going to put him to sleep, but when he just seemed to get angrier I began to wonder what she’d actually shot him with. I was just about to ask that question when she hit a large red button on the other wall and the floor dropped out from beneath us.

“Whoa!”

We suddenly splashed into a pool several yards below. The impact hurt, as I fell halfway on my back, but as soon as I managed to get to the surface and look around, I noticed something missing that shouldn’t be.

“Ocar?” I shouted, spinning in a circle, trying to find his head bobbing above the water.

Where?

Taking a deep breath, I let my body sink below the crystal-clear surface and nearly choked when I saw him struggling as he drifted down to the bottom of the pool, still in his human form.

He… where’s his tail?

Panic rushed through my system as I took another huge gulp of air, then dove. It was tiring to move through water with just my arms, but since there was no current, I managed to get to him. It also helped that the pool couldn’t have been more than fifteen feet deep, but making my way back up was a serious problem. Ocar had thankfully realized I was trying to help and wrapped his arms around my waist, but I was struggling to get back to the surface without the use of my legs. After another minute passed, I was beginning to feel light-headed and sluggish. Something began vibrating in the water as I started seeing black around the edges of my eyes. I thought I was going to pass out. I honestly thought I was going to die in a darn pool I used to be able to easily swim out of, but then the ground suddenly rose and pushed us toward the surface.

I was gasping by the time my face finally broke through it. When I had enough oxygen in my lungs to get my eyes working again, I looked down at the dark orange floor beneath me and realized it had tons of little holes that drained the water, allowing it to rise up and down in the water. Of course. They just want to scare us. Heaving out an exhausted breath, I flopped down onto the floor and groaned. They definitely succeeded. Consider me scared.

Lying there, my lungs quickly worked on replenishing their stores, but a sound nearby was seriously beginning to nudge at my conscience. After a few minutes, I forced myself up onto my hands and knees and looked over at Ocar. My heart broke just then. Not because he was in captivity and being forced to do things he didn’t understand, but because they had just broken him. I now knew how they had gotten that female to listen, and also, perhaps even Hice.

They can force their legs to not change.

“Ocar?”

My voice was a bit scratchy as I spoke, scooting closer to him but stopping when his head snapped up. Wide eyes met mine, and all I could see in them was terror. Swallowing hard, I reached over and gently pressed my fingertips against his cheek.

“Ocar, it’s okay. It will wear off soon, then you’ll have your tail back. I promise, I won’t let them do that again.”

His eyes kept darting to the floor we were sitting on, staring at the water just beneath it.

No mer should have to fear the water. This is sick cruelty.

A sudden jar snapped me out of my thoughts just in time to get tackled by Ocar. He gave a loud whine that sounded like his namesake animal’s as he wrapped his arms around my waist in a vise grip. The water began to rise, telling me that the floor was beginning to lower back down.

Heartless bastards!

My gaze roved the large pool area until they came across a large glass wall against the far side where, I had no doubt, Marilyn was watching. Grinding my teeth, I stood up, pulling Ocar with me with some effort. He moved his arms from my waist to my neck to keep me balanced enough to stay on my foot, then hid his face in the crook as I shouted toward the glass wall.

“Knock it off! You already did what you wanted. Do it again and he could swallow water in his panic and die!” The floor halted abruptly, making me sigh with relief. I knew what she wanted from me so I didn’t bother waiting. Instead, I began hopping toward the glass wall, nearly tripping on Ocar as he trailed right up against me, refusing to let go. Well, you’re going to have to.

We got to the window, and of course, I noticed the outline of an opening just big enough to be a door. Turning, I slowly managed to get Ocar’s arms unwrapped from around me and hopped back once. He still looked terrified, which I could completely understand since his species of mer didn’t have gills and he’d actually nearly been drowned, but I knew it was going to get worse if I didn’t go now.

“I’m sorry, Ocar. I’ll still be here, but I have to go for now. You’ll be okay. Just do as you’re told, please.”

I didn’t want him to end up breeding with another female or being tortured, but doing as they asked was the safest bet. He gave a quiet whine that pulled at my heart, but I quelled the feelings and put on a fake smile.

“I’ll be back soon. Don’t worry.”

I hopped forward and wrapped him in a hug, which he returned with urgency. “You’re strong. I know you can handle this. And don’t worry, our friends are coming. Just don’t tell anyone.”

I whispered my last words to be sure Marilyn wasn’t able to hear. They seemed to spark a small amount of hope in Ocar’s eyes as I hopped backward once. After a moment of staring, he slowly nodded and took a step away so I could turn and hop up to the door. I figured they’d just open it and let me go through, but of course, they weren’t that nice. It jerked up about halfway and a hand, definitely not Marilyn’s since it was rather hairy and definitely male, reached beneath it and grabbed my ankle. Yanking me off balance and consequently onto my back, I gasped from the sudden sting of pain but couldn’t do much about it as I was dragged beneath the door not a second before it slammed shut.

Separation

-Parker-

The short drive to the facility was nerve-wracking, especially since it was in the back of a police car. Recent memories were nudging at my mind to jump out the door and roll, but of course I couldn’t do that without getting arrested for insanity. Callem gave my hand a gentle squeeze right as I thought that, drawing my eyes to him and his reassuring smile. I returned it and relaxed a little. We had six cops with us in three different cars so I was feeling a little more confident that we might actually get somewhere today.

“Are we there yet?” Kipper asked from my right where he was sitting on Mellac’s lap. He had been in mine, but when Callem kept pestering him with pats or licks, he decided his overly aggressive uncle was a much better choice. I wasn’t sure I understood the logic, but I really needed to get Callem a puppy or something after we were through with Cal-Waves so he could give the poor kid a break.

Feeling a weight on my shoulder, I tilted my head slightly and noticed Cal resting his chin on it, staring at his son with worry in his eyes. I knew he didn’t want Kipper coming along, but unless he planned on tying the kid up, there was no way he was going to be able to control him. He might be small, but his vocabulary was just as good as Callem’s and sadly, I thought he was a tiny bit smarter in the common sense area.

“We’re here. I want you guys to stay quiet until you’re asked to speak, okay? Let us deal with this.”

Let them deal with Hice? Yeah, that worked out great last time.

At least the officer had his hand on his gun as he let us out of the back of the car. Callem slid out first, then I followed as Mellac got out on the other side and promptly tossed Kipper. The little mer easily landed on his feet in a slight crouch, then straightened and calmly walked over. I would chastise Mellac for throwing a child, but I doubt either he or Kipper would honestly care to be bothered with the lecture.

Shaking my head, we followed the officers into the front office of the huge building. It was built on a peninsula so that as the building extended back, it got closer and closer to the water. At the farthest side that I could see, it was being sprayed by the crashing waves against the rocks a few feet from the building.

Inside, the place looked a little too bland. It was as if they took the building plans for any basic office building reception area and replicated them. Totally fake. The only difference that I could see was that there were no pictures of rich executives. Instead, hanging on the walls were at least twenty different photos of marine life from all around the world.

Following the officers up to the front desk, I kept my eyes peeled for anything that might be dangerous, but they were pretty darn good at hiding their true selves. The woman at the front was even smiling widely, although she must’ve known who we were, considering we had Kipper with us.

“Excuse me, miss, I need to meet with the director please,” one of the officers said with a polite smile.

The young woman nodded and pressed a red button near the stack of papers she had been looking through. “Excuse me, sir, we have guests that need assistance immediately. They are six officers and a small group of people.”

Instead of waiting for an answer, she just released the button and nodded over toward a row of seats near the left side of the large room. “Please go have a seat. He will be with you momentarily.” It honestly felt like she was telling us to wait to be killed, but I had to force myself to brush that thought away as I walked stiffly over to the seats. Callem had scooped Kipper up, but the kid was already struggling and hissing, so I just reached over and grabbed him, then passed him off to Mellac. The older mer didn’t look happy at all, but thankfully he sat down and shoved Kipper into the seat beside him. I quickly took the one on the kid’s other side, blocking Callem even though I knew it hurt his feelings a little. Too bad for now.

“The director will see you now. Please go to the door directly to your right.”

Hearing the woman’s voice so suddenly made me jump. That was fast. We all got up and went through the door we’d been directed to. Everyone stepped inside, but instead of a room, we found ourselves in a long, narrow hallway with dim lights on the floor. A foreboding feeling fell over us heavily, making everyone look back right as the door clicked shut behind us. I tried to shove it open again but quickly realized there wasn’t even a handle on our side, meaning the door was meant to lock and not be able to be opened except from the other side.

I knew this was too easy.

When I turned back around, everyone seemed to understand that we were stuck, but as we began slowly walking down the hall, I looked down, noticing that the floor was actually made of an extremely thick glass inserted over tile. That didn’t bother me too much, though it was odd. What did have a frigid chill running down my spine were the sealed drains placed every few yards carved into the glass, as if the place filled up with a high-pressure of water often.

“We need to get out of this hall, fast,” I stated before I began running. There must have been someone watching us because the lights flickered on the floor, then went out moments before I heard the sound of running water. Pretty soon, we were splashing through it and I could feel it rising several inches every few moments.

Crap!

I heard someone slip and run into someone else, but considering there wasn’t enough light in the hall, I couldn’t turn back and check. It didn’t sound like Jayson so I wasn’t going to risk trying to help. I knew the water was just for us, so if a mer tripped accidentally, then they would just swim out on their own. It was more important that Jayson and I managed to get free before the water got too high. When I saw a small light way ahead, I thought we might actually be able to get out, but of course, hopes were meant to be dashed.

I honestly expected a wall to just rise up and block the exit as the water began to impede my legs, but when suction suddenly yanked me down, I yelped and swallowed a mouthful of water. It was thankfully replaced with actual air fast, but the fall, which had to have been at least eight feet, wasn’t cushioned by anything but a thin layer of water overtop concrete. I had literally just landed on my belly and begun coughing up the water I’d swallowed when I felt something fall onto my back, then roll off. I expected to get hit with the other eight people in our group, but the ceiling suddenly closed, leaving me thankfully no longer being pelted by water but also alone with just… I glanced sideways and blinked a few times until my vision cleared. Kipper.

He was already pushing himself up, and from the bored look on his face, he had been expecting what had happened.

“Ma’am,” he said with a small nod.

I forced myself to sit up, ignoring the dizziness and aches the fall had caused.

“Welcome back, Eight. Hello, Dr. Ryans. I’m just going to cut to the chase, but I have a feeling what your answer is going to be already.”

“I’m not going to work for you sick freaks,” I hissed, knowing what was coming before she even asked.

A light laugh echoed in the room as the last of the water drained to either side where the walls were raised slightly. “I figured. Well then, I have to go check on how your friends are dealing with my other pet.”

“The officers?”

“The police drowned, which is annoying as I’m sure they’ll have people coming to investigate, but Hice has already pushed their cars into the ocean so I’m sure he can make the bodies disappear as well.”

“Wait! Is Jayson alive?” I said in panic as I staggered to my feet.

“For now. One of the mers is breathing for him, but that means Hice only needs to deal with one at a time, making his job much easier. Now then. Enough talking. Eight, kill him, then I’ll come back and give you your reward. You’re lucky this room doesn’t completely fill Dr. Ryans, but I’m sure your limbs will be useless enough to make the job easy for him. Take care.”

I fidgeted when a beep sounded in the room, likely telling us that the microphone had been turned off, but my attention was locked on Kipper. I thought he might hesitate, at least for a moment, but as soon as the water began to pour from the walls like waterfalls, he dove forward and headed straight for me.

Beware the Little Fish in the Pond

-Parker-

I wish I were surprised that Kipper was attacking me, but I wasn’t. He tried to knock my legs out from under me, but I hopped up just in time to dodge. When I came back down, though, the water was already heading toward my waist, making the maneuver I’d just done likely unable to occur again.

Darn it. I can’t hurt you. Callem would be heartbroken.

That didn’t leave many options. I could let him kill me. That wasn’t exactly a positive, though, and would also make Callem pretty upset. My mind went over a few other ideas, none of them any better than the first two, until…

“I’ve got it. Or I’ve got a concussion to think it’s a good idea. But either way! Let’s see if the statement ‘kill them with kindness’ can actually work… and perhaps not exactly be fatal.”

Kipper was already heading back toward me so I forced myself to act or be bitten. Gulping a huge breath, I held it and dove just as he got close. I saw his eyes widen in surprise, his tail halting its movement and slowing his propulsion forward. It was just enough of a change for me to grab him beneath his arms in a tight hug and haul him to the surface.

As soon as my head broke free of the water, I blew out my breath, then took in several more as I stared down at a fuming Kipper. He was flailing in my arms, his muscular tail, while small, easily moved us and at several points slammed my back into the walls of the room. I didn’t let go, though, not even after he bit my chin and neck several times.

“Darn it, Kipper. Please stop. These people aren’t who you should be helping. They’re evil.”

Kipper scoffed and bared his teeth.

“Hice evil.”

Could. Not. Argue. That.

“Yes. But they are too. Don’t you see? I didn’t do anything to them, yet they are asking you to kill me.”

His eyes narrowed and he hissed as his gills flared.

God, he looks so much like Callem it’s ridiculous.

When he just tried to bite me again, I sighed and glanced around the room, noticing the excess water was beginning to drain at a height nearly level with my shoulders.

Ah, no wonder she said I likely wouldn’t drown in here. It must be a cell to frighten people or maybe hold marine life that needs to breathe air.

Right as I finished thinking that the water flow stopped, leaving me stuck standing unless I wanted to hold my breath.

“Hey, Kipper? Can I make you a deal?”

The boy’s head tilted, gills settling partially closed. It seemed I’d caught his interest, so I quickly spat out what I wanted to say before I lost it.

“What if I could promise you food for your entire life, and shelter if you wanted to stay on land? I’ll even keep your dad away from you as much as I can. You wouldn’t have to work for any of it, either. No tests or activities. You can eat whenever you’re hungry, until you’re full.”

He didn’t seem to believe me, but he wasn’t attacking anymore, just floating there in my arms. I was glad that the devil woman had left us alone instead of spurring him on until I was dead.

“I get food… and not have to do tests? Not work?”

I was just opening my mouth to reply with a ‘yes’ when he added. “And you keep annoying man away from me?”

That got a chuckle from me, then a nod.

“Yeah. I can do my best with that. He does love you, though that seems odd for your species. I’ll try to talk with him about it and maybe calm him down so he doesn’t crowd you.”

We were both silent for several moments before he answered. “I not kill you.”

Relief flooded my body, forcing a sigh from my lips as he continued to speak. “But ma’am will if see you alive.”

He had a point, but I knew what to do then.

“Call her over and have me in one arm, just hold my head above water enough so that I can get in some air. I’ll play dead, then when the water drains we’ll see if we can’t take care of ‘ma’am’ and go find the others.”

He nodded slowly, then licked his lips in thought.

“Can just not get father?”

Darn kid really doesn’t like Callem.

It was funny but sad at the same time. Most kids would love how much Cal doted on Kipper. Well, except for the constant licking.

“No, unfortunately he’s part of the deal. I promise I’ll work with him so he doesn’t bug you so much, though.”

“Okay. I call ma’am now.”

I didn’t get much time to respond because he immediately gave an ear-piercing shriek. It had my vision blurring, but thankfully he grabbed my arm and let my head drop onto his shoulder. I had to time my breathing since we were bobbing in the water, but it worked pretty well. The water began to lower soon after, eventually leaving me on the floor, though Kipper still had a tight grip on my upper arm.

“Good boy, Eight. Give him here.”

A hydraulic door sounded like it was being opened after Marilyn’s voice was heard over the speaker and then the sound of a few sure footsteps entered.

“No. Want to keep him.”

There was a short pause before I heard Marilyn move again, likely straightening back up after having leaned over to grab me.

“You would like to keep him? I can get you something far more nutritious since you did a good job.”

Thank god it looks like he had actually killed me with all the bites.

“No. Want him.”

I could hear a slight pout in Kipper’s voice and had to hold back a smile or risk giving myself away.

“I guess that’s okay. Just eat him in your room, alright? I don’t want a mess everywhere.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Holding my breath, I waited until I heard her footsteps begin to walk away before jumping up and lunging. She had her gun out by the time I was close, but I never let her shoot. Instead, I wrestled the gun from her hand and tossed it behind me, then did my best to knock her out. It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. She had obviously had some training in hand-to-hand combat, and was actually blocking nearly everything I threw at her. That was until a loud bang echoed off the large room’s walls and Marilyn dropped to the floor, red beginning to pool from her body.

What the hell?

Kipper walked over, stopping in front of me with the gun nonchalantly held in his little hand. He lifted it to show me, honestly looking like a little kid wanting to show off a toy.

“You use this to stop people being bad. Dupid human.”

It’s stupid… and how the heck do you know how to fire a gun so well?

“Um, yeah. I forgot. Here, give me that please.”

I took it from him without resistance and tucked it into the waistband of my pants after being sure the safety was flipped on.

Okay, now where are the others?

“Come,” Kipper said as he walked to the opposite side of the large room we’d stepped into. It was dimly lit and had multiple tanks built into the walls. At the far end, a good thirty or so yards away, was another that looked very similar to the previous one we were in. As we got closer, I noticed several things darting through the water. The tank was full to the top, so I wasn’t surprised to see Jayson and Mellac exchanging air as Callem swam after Hice. There wasn’t much blood in the water, but it would definitely be building if I couldn’t get them out of there fast.

“Kipper, how do we open this?” I asked, staring down at him as he glanced up at me with disinterest.

“I don’t know.”

Darn it!

Growling, I looked over the control pad on the door and frowned. It had at least twenty different keys and none of them were numbers like I was used to. It had to be something for extreme security purposes.

I’ll show them extreme security…

Grabbing the gun, I flipped the safety off and fired three times at the keypad, smirking when the light illuminating the keys dimmed, then flicked off.

“I see. So that is how it is opened,” Kipper said in a thoughtful voice. A second later, the door creaked, then began to slowly open. I bet it was a fail-safe since the room had chairs floating in the back of it. It likely wasn’t meant to be filled with water at all times.

I slowly backed up as Kipper stepped to the side and water began to flood the room. We watched as Jayson and Mellac slid across the floor, breaking their kiss so that Jay could take in some fresh air. Callem came next, jumping to his feet the moment he was able and facing the draining room. I had the gun out and pointing straight at the last mer to be flushed from the room. He lay on the floor, panting with what was more than likely anger over exhaustion as his legs reformed.

“Don’t move. Hice.”

Escape

-Oliver-

I would have thought that they’d put me in a similar cell like the one Ocar had been in when I’d been brought to him, but evidently there was something going on and they needed me to stay put while they went to deal with it. Connor was already gone, and after fastening my wrist to a random door handle with a new pair of handcuffs, Mark also vanished. Slipping down the wall beside the door, I took a few calming breaths and then lifted my gaze to skim around the hall. It was pretty big and there were also a few computers near some of the doors.

If only there was a computer near me.

It was a long shot even if there was, because they were likely passworded. Not that I couldn’t crack a code, but it would take a while. I thumped my head back against the wall, wincing when the bump I’d gotten from Marilyn’s gentle handling stung.

“Oliver!”

My head jerked up, eyes widening as they stared in shock at Ocar.

“How in the hell…?”

My words trailed off as he got closer, stopping in front of me a moment later before going straight for the cuff around my right wrist. I couldn’t stop staring up at him, utterly confused. When I felt the handcuff fall away from my wrist and clatter to the floor, he finally looked into my eyes and actually smiled.

“They must not have other whale mers… their doors in the new place they put me were much weaker than I thought they would be.”

He seemed so sure of himself, but beneath his awkward smile was definitely a jittery need to get out of this disturbing place. The ocean. He needs to go back to his home. I thought as I let him help me up. I knew he wouldn’t let me just hop around, so I kept my mouth shut when he picked me up into his arms and instead wrapped my own around his neck so that I could hold on. He hesitated once I was settled, turning several times before going farther down the hall and pausing.

He’s lost.

We both were, but I knew he would just begin to worry worse if he thought I was having just as much trouble. I was the human, after all, I should know how to get out of human dwellings.

Yeah, well. This place looks like a damn maze.

Instead of saying that, though, I swallowed my unease and looked around until I found a glowing EXIT sign. “There,” I said, pointing at the sign so that he would turn and look. “Follow those signs. They should lead us outside.”

He nodded and quickly followed the sign out into another corridor. The place really did seem like a maze as we stepped through another doorway a minute later. Every single place looked like the last, minus a few cosmetic changes involving machinery or door sizes. Ocar carried me through two more before we came across a giant, circular room that was evidently two stories, with us being on the second floor. The lower area was sealed-off with glass but as Ocar walked closer and we looked down, I couldn’t believe what, or who, I saw.

“Oh my god. They’re here!” I whispered in a rush of relief, watching as Parker pulled a gun on Hice. The others were getting up off the floor or already standing. All except Marilyn that is. One demon down.

My gaze roamed over the second floor across from us. The door we had come from was right next to a cement wall, so it was pretty obvious that the second floor didn’t loop all the way around like one normally would. In fact, there was another impassable wall about halfway around from what I could see, along with a staircase next to it that likely led down. As I thought, Ocar began to move, heading for the stairs. By the time we got there, I was pretty sure I knew what was going to happen… but not too sure what should happen.

“Ocar?”

He stopped at the bottom of the steps and turned his attention to me.

“Do you think we should let them kill Hice?”

His response was immediate, and a little upsetting.

“Yes. He is on their side, just like Eight is.”

I didn’t bother to correct him on Kipper’s name as he pushed his way through another door and out onto the first floor. All eyes were instantly on us, but when the clicking sound of a gun sounded twice, everyone’s attention was jerked over to the only other entry doors.

Of course.

Mark and Connor stood in front of the closing set of doors, pistols in their hands, raised and pointed at the group. They were specifically trained on Parker since he was the only one with a gun.

“Drop it,” Connor said. I honestly thought he might do it, but to my surprise, he handed it over to Callem’s kid when he walked over with his hands up in a gimme gesture.

He did not just give a one-year-old a gun!

I wanted to run over there and snatch the deadly weapon away from Kipper before he hurt himself, but when he lifted it and squinted slightly, then pulled the trigger, I about had a heart attack. Connor went down. His gun clattering to the floor, going off from the impact but only embedding a bullet in the wall off to the side instead of hitting anyone.

Silence followed the gunshot. From Ocar and I, it was mainly because of shock, but judging from the others’ reactions, they already knew what was going to happen. At least that meant that Kipper was on our side… I think? Either way, Parker snatched the gun back the second Mark ducked behind the heavy steel door and aimed, waiting for the guy to appear again. That, of course, left Hice without a weapon trained on him, but Mellac and Callem were both closing in on him. Ocar began walking again as well, moving straight toward the shark.

“Don’t kill him.”

They paused, glaring at me for a split second before turning their attention back to Hice. “There is no reason to keep him alive. There are no other shark mers, and he is only going to attack us if we let him live.”

What they were saying was true, but I couldn’t just let them kill something so important. Hice might not ever be friendly, and if he ended up being intent on hurting people, he could just be housed at the new holding facility at our lab. I was just about to tell them that when Hice actually spoke up, his back straightening as frustrated words hissed from his mouth.

“There is another shark.”

Silence immediately fell for a second time.

There’s another? So there’s nine? But is it even a female?

A gunshot snapped me out of my thoughts, but when I looked over toward Parker, he was still standing, the gun in his hand pointed toward where Mark had been. Well, was. The man lay on the floor, a small pool of blood forming from somewhere in the middle of his belly.

Damn good aim.

Since Mark obviously wasn’t going to be bothering us any longer, everyone’s attention returned to Hice. His eyes moved to Parker, holding his gaze without worry as my friend finally spoke.

“Where is it?”

I expected Hice to scoff and flip him off, if he even knew that gesture, but he actually seemed to be thinking the question over. When he looked back up at Parker, it was only for a brief moment before he turned and eyed me.

“He’s sick.”

They didn’t mention anything about a sick ninth mer… and neither had Ocar.

I looked back at him and got a frown in response. Obviously he didn’t know about it, just that it was there.

Returning my attention to Hice, I heaved a frustrated sigh and shook my head. “I’m going to be of no use in helping him get free and I doubt Ocar will leave me alone.”

Ocar growled not a moment after I finished my sentence, answering without words. Figured. “Anyways, Park, I think you and Mellac should go with Hice and see about that other mer. For some reason, this place doesn’t have very high security, which might be because they are so secretive. Either way…” I narrowed my eyes on Hice. “I am an aquatic doctor and will gladly help the other mer if you cooperate and help get him out. I’m sure you already know that the people here aren’t particularly concerned about your best interest.”

He slowly nodded before speaking. “The director knows what is going on. This whole facility will flood when we start heading toward an exit, so I suggest we refrain from doing so right now. If you humans would like to live.”

At first, I agreed with him, but then I realized that we had plenty of mers with us to share air. Of course Ocar needed to breathe since he didn’t have gills, but he could still hold his breath far longer than I.

“We’ve heard of him but haven’t met. Hopefully we never will. I think we’ll be okay even if we head for the exit, but I suppose we should stay together until we’re ready to leave.”

He gave me another nod, then headed for the doors where Mark’s body had fallen, leaving one of them slightly ajar. We followed him only a few short yards to another door farther down the hall. Hice typed in a code on the keypad without pause. When the door slid open, my heart lurched in my chest.

“Holding cells,” I whispered, not even sure my words were loud enough to be audible.

Hice was already stalking toward the two occupied cells. He typed in a code for the first one that had two females, then nearly ran to the others’. Inside was a male that was definitely not in good condition. He was hunched in the back corner of the cage with his hands tied with thick twine rope. No food or water was present in either cell and it was very obvious that all three mer were suffering.

No wonder they only labeled eight but had known of nine. They obviously didn’t care if the male one lived or not.

Mellac grabbed the females, ignoring their struggles. Hice was far gentler with the male shark mer. It was pretty surprising, actually. With him being such an aggressive killer, it was truly awkward seeing him gently scoop the wounded male into his arms as if it were a small child. I wasn’t going to question him, though, because quite frankly, he was now the least of our worries.

“Alright, let’s get the hell out of here. Mellac, Callem.” I paused, looking at Ocar as he turned his attention to me. “Ocar. If this place starts filling with water, we’re going to need you guys to help us breathe.”

Ocar nodded, his expression serious as he turned and headed back out the door. It was no surprise when water began to trickle down from the sprinkler system above our heads. Everyone sped up, but pretty soon the devices were on full-blast, raining torrents on us with far more pressure than normal fire sprinklers should have. I had to admit, it was a good plan on the director’s part since the halls were obviously built with flooding in mind, but he hadn’t planned on us having mers that could help breathe for us.

When the water got too high, that’s exactly what happened with Callem and Parker, and Jayson and Mellac. The other mers had gills so they didn’t need any help, leaving Hice without the added hindrance of needing to breathe for the one he was carrying or us having to worry about the females. I waited until the water was completely up before accepting help from Ocar, knowing that he could only take one deep breath and had to make it last.

We went down the long, circular corridor, the mers pulling us along with ease. I took the time to observe where we were going and also the sickly male mer. He barely showed signs of life, but his legs had transformed and gills were present and flaring along his neck, taking in water to acquire oxygen.

When we finally got to an exit, Hice got busy pulling out bolts holding the door in place. There was a tiny window near the top of it, allowing me to see that water was indeed slipping out from beneath the door to pool on the other side, but it looked like nothing more than a small spill. People won’t question it. It was a disturbing thought, but all too clear an advantage to Cal-Waves. Any visitors would hardly even notice it, let alone question it, especially because the glass was tinted.

The size of the puddle suddenly grew as the door in front of us jerked once, then twice. Hice darted back and then rushed it, slamming the metal enough to force it to fall. The pressure of water built up on it probably helped, too, but I honestly could care less what really did it because we were finally back on solid ground, even if water was shoving us along the slick tile floor to the middle of the room. We all gulped in a fresh breath of air and stumbled to our feet when given the chance. I knew we weren’t out of the woods, or the facility yet, but as Ocar finally got back on his feet with me, I’m sure he was as surprised as I was to see that there were no guards or even a single normal person present in the large lobby.

No one else seemed to complain about the lack of people, though. They were all carefully running over the slippery floor toward the door, only stopping when they realized there were nearly twenty patrol cars just beyond the glass doors with their lights flashing wildly.

Beginning to Calm Down

-Oliver-

I wasn’t surprised the police were there in the least. No doubt the director had called them. It also didn’t help that Parker and Jayson had run-ins with them on their previous fishy endeavors, making this one probably more negative-looking than it would have without that history.

Perfect.

Rolling my eyes, I watched as Parker set the gun he’d been holding down and raise his hands as his own eyes rolled. I was going to tell Ocar to set me down so that I could comply as well, but I knew he wouldn’t listen when his arms began to tighten around me. He started to growl quietly as well when a few of the officers began to creep forward, but I shook my head just enough to get him to understand that standing up to them wouldn’t help us at all.

While Ocar relaxed, to a point, Hice seemed to only be getting more worked up. His gills were fully open, the filaments and skin within them pulsing as he took deep breaths, warning growls slipping into them just in case the cops couldn’t figure out that they would be gutted if they tried to get closer to him. I really had no idea what to think about Hice right then. He hated humans, which was obvious from the beginning, and I thought he hated other mers to a point as well, but with the new one…

Just as I was thinking about it, Hice gave out a particularly loud screech, making everyone flinch before he ran the few short feet to the rocky shoreline and jumped. A few gunshots followed him, but as far as I could tell, nothing got close to connecting. I didn’t like the idea that he would be out of our sight, free to continue killing, but hopefully with his friend free, the hold Cal-Waves had on him was now null.

Either way, with him gone, the police were much more forward about getting us into their cars. They didn’t try to cuff anyone yet, which was probably for their own safety.

Smart.

We rode to the station in silence, Ocar licking at my hair every few seconds. It was annoying, but I knew he was stressed and if it kept him from acting out, then by all means. I’ll just have a weird hairdo until I can wash it.

When we arrived, we were all herded into a single large room with several chairs on either side of a metal desk. Parker, Callem, and Mellac were cuffed to the chairs, which were bolted to the floor. Not that a few rusty bolts would keep the mers there if they wanted to move… and they kind of forgot to cuff the most dangerous one. Kipper. As the officers got situated, standing on the other side of the table, I noticed the little mer reaching for a gun at a man’s waist and inwardly winced. If he began shooting them, then this situation would get far worse.

“Kipper, come here please,” I said, watching as the boy bared his teeth for a split second before quietly stomping over to stand behind us. The officers seemed a bit confused, but not really concerned.

Idiots should be.

A blonde female officer stepped in front of the other four present, all of whom were males. She looked familiar, and judging from the looks on Parker and Jayson’s faces, she was the same person I could slightly remember from the last time Jay and Park had found themselves in jail and I’d been called in to help with Mellac’s injury.

“Well, I’m not surprised to see you people here. We have been sent the video from Cal-Waves, showing you,” she pointed to Parker, “causing bodily harm to another person with a deceased female and male nearby as well.”

Of course he would only give them the videos that point to us being the bad guys.

“Listen,” Parker said, trying to keep frustration out of his voice. “Did you get the other videos? The ones that showed the halls flooding and killing your officers? Or the ones where that dead woman tried to drown me after we escaped from the hall?”

I silently wondered why he didn’t mention Hice, because he had to have had something negative to do with the situation since I’d seen Parker pointing the gun at him earlier, but I kept that to myself. He had his reasons, and Hice was gone for now, possibly not to return since he finally had the person being used to make him obey Cal-Waves.

The officer looked back at the others, then to us again and licked her lips as Parker continued to speak.

“I didn’t shoot her, and I only shot the one man because he was shooting at us. It was completely self-defense.”

I knew he wouldn’t get out of being booked just by saying that, but at least the officers seemed to relax a little, their tense shoulders lowering slightly. The female officer holstered her gun after another minute and walked over, getting her cuffs out. Parker rolled his eyes and turned around, letting her cuff him without issue. They were smart and didn’t bother trying to get Callem or Mellac in handcuffs, and considering I was stuck in Ocar’s arms and he wasn’t exactly smiling in a friendly manner, they left us alone as well. We did end up being taken back to the main room of the station, but only Parker, Callem, and Mellac had to stay. They technically had nothing to hold Mellac on, but hell if they would be able to get him away from his little brother without needing an entire firing squad.

Ocar, Jayson, Kipper, and I were all given a ride to Jayson’s home. I had no interest in going to my own, and when Ocar set me down in Parker’s spare bedroom, I felt my head try to fog over with a wave of sleep. When the bed dipped beside me with Ocar’s weight, I forced myself to turn onto my side and look up at him with a tired smile. He returned it, but I could tell by the tense lines around the edges of his eyes and furrowed forehead, that he wasn’t relaxing at all.

“Hey. Lay down, you. We’re both still alive. Gotta celebrate with a little rest.”

He eyed me awkwardly, and I stuck my tongue out, my usual serious self gone as the adrenaline drained away. I knew I needed a good shower and change of clothes, but I just didn’t care right then. All I wanted was a good few hours of sleep and for Ocar to be able to rest some. Opening my arms, I gestured for him to lie down again and scoot into them, but of course he couldn’t just do as asked. Well, he did lie down, but instead of moving into my arms, he took me in his own and squeezed gently as his nose nuzzled against my neck softly.

“I’m here. Just a few bruises. No real harm done.”

I let my hands wander into his hair, getting a content grumble from his chest that I knew wasn’t any kind of aggression.

“You are not Lyric.”

His words caught me off guard.

“No… I’m not.”

He gave out another quiet growl that rumbled through his chest and into mine.

“You are not Lyric.”

I wasn’t really sure what to say to that so I just kept quiet until, a few minutes later, he heaved a long sigh. “Oliver.”

It didn’t exactly sound like a question, but when I waited for a moment and he didn’t continue, I replied, “Yes, Ocar?” He was quiet for another long stint of time before finally squeezing me once.

“Do I bother you?”

Bother?

“No, not really,” I replied, still unsure of what he was getting at.

“Um, then. May I request something?”

His voice sounded wary. So unlike his normally sure, cocky one.

“Yes. What is it, Ocar?”

When he didn’t reply and instead was unable to look at me in the eye, I raised my brows and smiled.

“It’s okay. I’m not going to be upset or anything. Go ahead and ask what you wanted.”

He hesitated for another few seconds before finally giving in.

“Oliver…”

His eyes narrowed in concentration, then widened as nerves took over. Then he promptly leaned over and attacked my face with licks! Ew! I was not a dog person, but I knew better than to shove him away. So I forced myself to keep my mouth closed and waited until he finished three minutes later and flopped down onto his back with a grunt of contentment.

“Uh, what exactly was that, Ocar?”

Not that I didn’t know, at least part of it. I’ve seen Callem and Parker, and even noticed Mellac do it to Jayson once or twice while visiting me in the hospital. They were unwanted displays of affection, but if what he’d just done was any indication, he now wanted me like he had wanted Lyric. When he hugged me tighter, I squirmed and he loosened his hold.

“I want to say that you are mine, but I believe that is not fair. Maybe. So I think I must ask to your permission?”

His lack of knowledge on the subject was pretty cute. Not that I was going to bullshit and say that I wasn’t gay. I was probably bi since I didn’t care that he was posing the question to begin with. The only real problem I saw in the possible situation to come was the fact that he was a slightly aggressive orca mer that I wasn’t sure was in control of his emotions. I knew I couldn’t just say no without upsetting him, but I wasn’t going to accept until I was sure he was actually safe. Kind of like Callem. Not like Mellac. When I didn’t reply right away, his hopeful face fell slightly.

“I um, think I can try if we can go slowly. I’m not very good at relationship stuff. As in, uh, I’ve never really gone down that road.” Mainly because of my temper, but that didn’t seem to flare nearly as much with Ocar around. Maybe he was good for me. And maybe I’m insane.

Either way, Ocar was nuzzling against my face lovingly after I spoke, so perhaps he took it well.

“I shall inquire about love from Mellac.”

Whoa. Brakes. Hit those. Right now.

“Um. Perhaps we can just work things out on our own?”

He seemed a bit surprised by that, but nodded after only a moment of deliberation.

“Very well.”

The sound of the front door opening had both of us quieting. Footsteps could be heard, and then Parker and Callem’s voices. Since we heard three sets of steps, though, I didn’t doubt that Mellac was also home and just brooding per usual. I thought Ocar might want to get up since they were home, likely on bail or something of that sort, but when I tried to get up, he only snuggled in more.

“No,” he groaned, answering my silent question. Since there weren’t any worried-sounding voices in the other room, I decided to just relax and close my eyes. “Okay. Let’s get some rest. I’m sure we’ll be busy again soon enough.”

I felt him nod and smiled.

“Sleep well. We will figure things out at a later date,” he mumbled quietly.

I nodded at that. We would.

What They Did

-Oliver-

Waking up from an uncomfortable feeling in my gut was unpleasant, yet not quite as unpleasant as what I saw when my eyes blinked open.

Alright. Who gave Hice a gun?

Since he didn’t seem interested in shooting me, yet, I pushed myself up with my arms and rolled my shoulders a little. They were stiff from the position I’d slept in, and as I looked behind Hice, I realized that Ocar had gotten up, likely when the other mer either broke in or was allowed inside. Most likely the latter.

“Good morning, Hice. What can I do for you today?” I mumbled, my attitude shining through my sleepy mind perfectly. He seemed to ignore it, though, which was probably for the best, and instead just began speaking.

“I can’t fix him. They said you can, but so did they and it did not help.”

His voice was stern at first, but as his words wound down, so did the volume and strength. His eyes lowered, but then refocused on me, as if I would attack him and he had to be wary. If I had a gun, I probably would have tried to get in a shot at first, but now that I knew why he was here in the first place, I also knew that he didn’t want me dead.

He wants me to save his friend.

“I would be glad to help your friend, Hice,” I stated calmly, trying to ignore the gun still pointed at me.

Even though I had told him that, he remained still for several seconds and I could tell something else was going on inside his mind. When he didn’t say anything a full minute later, I tried again, smiling softly to try to get him to relax a small amount.

“It’s okay. I don’t want to study him or move him from where he is right now. I’d be glad to come with you, and I’ll only bring my basic bag of things I use to help others. I’ll just check him and try to figure out what’s going on, then we can maybe go from there if you’d like?”

He seemed to still be warring with himself on letting me anywhere near his friend, but soon after I had spoken, he finally managed a small nod. Instead of returning the gesture, I carefully got myself to the edge of the bed and allowed Ocar, who had walked over, to lift me into his arms. Hice probably didn’t want him coming, but he clearly knew that he best just keep his mouth shut on that idea, because I wouldn’t be going anywhere with just him. I was crazy, but suicide wasn’t something on my to-do list.

We followed Hice as he ran out the back door, which, surprise, was shattered as if a car had driven through it… or a mer. Now that I actually looked closely at him, his hands were cut up, along with a few marks on his arms that were all steadily losing blood. My instincts told me to get them treated and wrapped up, but my other, smarter instincts said to wait. Ocar’s injuries had already begun to heal so I didn’t doubt that Hice’s would also be okay. His friend was the most urgent, so I would tend to him first and then perhaps Hice would be more open to having his own injuries treated if necessary.

On our way out, Ocar grabbed my medical bag from where it had been placed next to the sofa. It was misting outside and the sun was nearly down, but I had just enough light to be able to see for at least another fifteen or twenty minutes. Hopefully that was enough time because I doubted Hice would let me move his friend inside.

At least my bag has a small flashlight in it if I end up needing some light.

I wasn’t too surprised when Hice took us over toward my own home and the river in the back. He had probably checked to see if I was home before trying Jayson and Parker’s. At least he hadn’t broken the glass at my house, likely because I had obviously not been home. When he finally stopped, Ocar walked until we were about a yard away and gently set me down on my foot. He then handed me my bag as I used his help to stay upright and keep an eye on Hice. After looking around for a few moments, he seemed to find what he was looking for and carefully began tugging it free of a large clump of weeds and water plants.

The sick mer…

I thought it might look worse, or even have passed away, but to my surprise, it seemed to be visibly breathing a little better than it had been before. Not wanting to waste any time, I carefully let Ocar help me to my knees and got busy taking out some exam tools. Knowing Hice’s protectiveness over the mer, I used each tool on myself just to prove that they wouldn’t hurt him, then quickly checked his heart rate, pulse, mouth, eyes, ears, and just about anything else that could give me a clue as to what was going on with him. He was extremely dehydrated, his skin loose in places it definitely shouldn’t be, and he also had several areas where his pale skin was discolored. It looked almost like he’d been abused, which was definitely possible, however, as I checked the bruises, I couldn’t feel any tense muscle beneath them and the mer gave no reaction of pain from them either.

Not bruises.

“It’s not physical abuse, but these bruises could be caused by several other things…” I mumbled to myself as I dug through my bag to see if I had brought anything I could use to take blood.

“They are caused by you disgusting humans and your pollution,” Hice snarled at me, speaking as his fingers gently stroked at the mer’s light blond hair. His words took me back to the first time I’d seen him, or at least thought of him. His image in my memories wasn’t exact to what he actually looked like, but that wasn’t important. The message he had given me was. I wasn’t sure how I had heard his words in the first place, unless perhaps he had actually said them from outside and I’d managed to hear them somewhat through the glass door he’d clawed, but now wasn’t the time to think of that.

“I know pollution is our fault, but if he was taken care of at Cal-Waves, then the poison it caused in his body should have been flushed out long ago.”

Hice’s face tensed for a moment, then relaxed when he glanced down at the other mer. “But they told me that is what had caused them.” His head jerked back up, our eyes meeting. I could see the fear in his as things began to come together in his mind. “They gave him shots. Said it was medicine? They said it would make him better.”

My heart hurt as I reached over and gently took one of his hands that was now tightly tangled in the sick mer’s hair. After a gentle squeeze, he loosened his hold a little.

“It’s okay, Hice. I think I know what happened, and I also think I may be able to help him.”

His face lit up with the faintest inkling of hope. I turned to Ocar, giving him a reassuring smile since I knew he wouldn’t be happy with what I was about to ask of him.

“Can you please go get something in the house for me?”

I knew he was going to say no so I just kept talking, hoping to get my point across before he could disagree. “Please, Ocar? Just break the back door and walk into the bathroom. In the back of the mirror cabinet should be two bottles tied together with a rubber band. I need those as fast as possible.”

He wasn’t happy about me cutting him off, and I had a feeling he wasn’t done arguing either, but thankfully he got up without another word and ran up the hill to my house. Hearing the glass break made me tense, but not a minute later, he was running back through the opening he’d made with the two bottles I’d asked for. The moment they were in my hands, I set one aside and undid the cap on the activated charcoal and handed Hice several small pieces.

“Crush that a little, then get it into his mouth. He needs to swallow it.” I tossed a piece in my mouth, chewed, then swallowed to show that it was fine. Hice did as told as soon as he saw my example and very carefully got the mer leaning against his chest before he pried his mouth open and slowly began feeding him the crushed pieces. I gave him a few more once he had run out, then opened the other bottle and offered a small white pill.

“He needs to take this too.”

Hice took the pill, but then eyed the bottle before staring at me.

“I can’t take that one, Hice. It’s for specific poisons. I can’t prove that he has them without a lot of blood tests and time, but he doesn’t have much more of that. Please, just trust me. The signs are there and considering you said they gave him shots and what not, the poison I’m thinking about seems like the most logical. Give it to him, Hice, please. I don’t want him to die because of them. He deserves to get his life back.”

Droplets of cool rain began to fall around us as we stared into each other’s eyes. Tensions ran high, especially Hice’s. I was asking him to trust the one thing he hated most in the world. Humans had used him and nearly killed his friend to do so. If I were in his place, I would question even being near me. By the time we were both soaked, he finally decided to give his friend the medicine. It was strong, but if it and the charcoal worked together and my guess on what was causing his illness was correct, then Hice’s friend should hopefully get better over time.

I watched as he crushed up the pill, then used the rainwater on his palm to condense the dusty medicine. When it finally disappeared between the other mer’s lips, I gave a shaky sigh of relief. As much as I wanted to bandage Hice’s hands from the glass he’d broken and have him bring his friend inside for the night so he could rest out of the storm, I knew neither was going to happen right then.

So I licked my already-wet lips and began speaking. “I’m going to assume you don’t want him inside, but I need to get back to Parker’s and get some food and rest. If anything changes, come get me, but please, don’t bring the gun. We don’t want to hurt you or your friend so please leave that here.”

Knowing that I couldn’t really stop him and that trying to take the gun away from him could end very badly, I left the conversation at that and packed up the medicine, then motioned for Ocar to help me up. He didn’t hesitate to do so and began carrying me and my bag back to Jay and Parker’s home without a word to Hice. I knew he didn’t like him, but I also knew that you didn’t have to like everybody, you just had to accept that they were different. Right before we stepped into the next yard a loud boom of thunder rumbled across the sky, but beneath that, I swear I could hear an awkwardly shouted “Thank you.”

Rearranging the Pieces

-Oliver-

I wasn’t surprised when I was woken up sometime around two in the morning. I also wasn’t surprised that the person doing so was Hice. What was weird as hell, though, was that he was actually hugging me. Not in a friendly sort of way, but more in an ’ I’m glad you helped me but don’t you dare try to hug me back or I’ll castrate you’ way.

“Um?” I tried, keeping my arms perfectly still so that he had no reason to misread a gesture. His arms unwrapped from me immediately, and he sat back on his heels, giving me a chance to actually glance around the room. Ocar was there, looking obviously pissed, but to my surprise, Mellac, Jayson, and Parker were also there. Parker stepped forward, probably reading the confused look on my face.

“Well, I’ll start from the beginning and make it quick. Mellac let the female mer go while we were busy talking to the cops and the other darted off before we were taken. Hence why they didn’t ride with either of us in the cars. She was already long gone. Second, we were all released until the case can actually be configured. They admit they were missing several hours of footage that should have been surrendered so they are currently talking with the director about getting it. He wasn’t happy, if what I overheard on the phone was any indication.” I smirked at that, glad that the cops aren’t as stupid as they had appeared.

“So that’s why we’re back here and not in handcuffs. Callem and Kipper are both asleep in the other room after they had a long talk about personal space… that Callem didn’t understand a bit of. But I think they’ll figure things out eventually. And now we’re at huggy Hice.”

Indeed. Huggy Hice was the thing I was most curious about from the start.

“Anyways, we uh, have a new guest resting in the pool outside, and Hice wants you to check on him.”

I looked over at Hice where he still sat on the bed and he fidgeted, looking down at his folded hands as they tightened against each other.

“You said to tell if things changed,” he mumbled, unsure of himself all of a sudden. My lips tilted up into a smile and I nodded as Ocar walked around to the side of the bed. I expected him to lift me into his arms like usual, but instead he got down on his knees and maneuvered my left knee into a new prosthetic leg. I had no idea where they had gotten it from, but it fit and as Ocar helped me to my feet, I couldn’t have been happier. Sure, I didn’t mind being carried around anymore, but I wasn’t a kid and having normal mobility back was awesome.

With renewed energy, I followed Hice as quickly as possible, only stopping when he did in front of the pool outside. I expected him to have to go in and bring his friend to the surface, but the mer actually surfaced a moment later. I hadn’t expected him to be mobile so soon, but he wasn’t human. Hard to forget, I know, but it’s been quite a trying week.

“Hello there,” I said calmly, smiling down at the young man. He still looked quite sick, but his face actually had some color now, from what I could tell by using the light coming from inside and the one they had on behind me for the lanai.

“His name is Fri.”

Fri?

“I learned the word friend, but the first time I said that instead of the word correctly.”

The other mer, Fri, actually seemed to look happy for a moment when Hice spoke of him. It was kind of cute. If only Hice wasn’t a serial killer. Ignoring those awkward facts, I nodded and carefully got myself into a sitting position next to the pool.

“Do you understand English fairly well, Fri?”

He glanced up at Hice, then back to me before answering quietly. “Yes.”

Hice sat down beside me. It was obvious he wanted to sit between Fri and me, but held himself back and took the other side instead.

“Can I see one of your hands, Fri?”

He gave me his right one immediately. I checked the discoloration I’d noticed there previously. It hadn’t gone away, which I knew wouldn’t happen for a while, but it was slightly less obvious. Definitely a good sign.

“Alright,” I said as I let it go, allowing him to pull it back beneath the surface of the water.

“You have obviously been feeling better. Have you peed a lot recently?”

I’d normally say bathroom, but I also didn’t normally talk to my patients. Or at least they didn’t tend to talk back. So using the version he would most likely understand was my best bet. When he nodded, I felt myself give a quiet sigh of relief.

“Great. Here, Ocar?”

He knelt down, offering me my bag. Guess he had assumed I’d need it, smart. “Thank you,” I said as I dug through it and retrieved the bottle of charcoal. I wasn’t sure the dosage for a mer, but considering it seemed to be working quickly, he should be able to handle another few pieces, so I took some out and offered them to him.

“Can you eat these please? They may taste a bit funny, but they are what’s making you feel better.”

His eyes went to Hice, whom I saw nod in my peripheral vision. He then returned his attention to me and took the offered charcoal to begin chewing.

“Good. I think my guess was spot-on and you should get better as long as you keep drinking and peeing a lot and eat that whenever I give it to you.”

He nodded, then looked back up to Hice with a small smile.

Ah, time for the annoying doctor to take his leave.

“Well, I’ll leave you be now. Thanks for letting me know how he’s doing, Hice. Feel free to wake me whenever he needs something, and there’s some small fish in this pool that you can help yourselves to. If you’d like anything bigger, just ask.”

I was already being ignored. Hice slipped into the water, disappearing beneath the surface, with his friend joining him not a moment later. Ocar helped me up and we both headed inside. Breakfast, a very, very early one, was already ready and waiting on the dinner table, and I didn’t hesitate to drop into a seat and begin stuffing my face. Ocar joined me but didn’t eat as much, having likely already eaten while I was asleep.

“No word about the females,” Parker mentioned as he sat beside me, putting his phone away as he did so.

“The coastguard didn’t bother searching for them much, even though they’re likely chipped. They weren’t in good shape when we saw them, but I’m going to figure that they’re going to get better staying in their natural habitat over another lab or theme park.”

I gave a quiet laugh at that, remembering what Callem and Mellac had had to go through.

“Do you think they’ll give Hice a break like they did with Mellac?” I asked after finishing off the last bite of food on my plate. Parker thought for a moment, then nodded. “They have to. He doesn’t understand the rules, and honestly, he was forced to do it. He thought that doing as Cal-Waves said would somehow help his friend. Unfortunately, I think it ended up being the exact opposite.”

I nodded at that, knowing all too well that he was exactly right.

“Sick people.”

He grunted in agreement, then got up and headed over to the sofa.

“Mellac and Jayson went into Park’s room with Cal and Kipper. They decided to sleep on the floor but knew there was going to be some activity in here, so they just went in there.”

Made sense. Silence was beginning to take over the room, and I was just getting up to head into the other room for some more sleep when Parker’s phone rang. He fished it out, and when I realized it was the police, I walked over, just close enough to overhear the conversation. It was simple but extremely important, in a good way. They had managed to get all of the tapes, even though some had visibly been tampered with, likely from the director having tried to erase certain parts. He was also in custody and we were due at the station the next morning. Or, well, later this morning.

When Parker hung up a minute later, he stretched and yawned, flopping over on the sofa, obviously planning to go to sleep. It was a good idea. However, I still had a patient outside, and it took me another few minutes and a few nudges from Ocar before I finally relented and let him lead me back to the other bedroom. I sat down and he quickly undid my prosthetic and gently pulled me up toward the pillows. When his arms then came around me instead of a blanket, I found myself snuggling up against him, his warmth enough to warm me.

“Thank you for helping me with Hice and Fri,” I whispered, already feeling myself beginning to drift off as I spoke. A deep rumble ran through my back from his strong chest, making me grin a little.

“You are welcome. I am glad that things are okay.”

That made me chuckle.

“Even with Hice and his friend?”

Ocar’s breath caught for a moment before he let it out on a sigh.

“I believe I need to think about Hice in a different… position?”

I rolled over, looking up at his bewildered face in the dark room.

“Angle?”

He nodded, glad that I gave him the correct word.

“I agree. I thought he was bad at first, and technically, he was. But now we know why.”

Ocar yawned, nuzzling into the pillow his head was resting on. “Yes.”

“We can talk about this for a good while, but I have a feeling sleep is more important right now.”

His eyes were already closed by the time I finished speaking, and considering I didn’t get a response, I just decided to follow him and pass out. Later that day was going to be very eventful, so might as well catch the few Z’s we could manage before then.

Through Your Fingers

(Last chapter notice. This book does end of a cliffhanger for the third book to open. The third book is not written yet, though. (The first two were already done when I uploaded them again) so updates will not be very fast.)

-Oliver-

The next morning, we were awoken by Parker as he knocked on our open door. I knew he would wake us up early since I usually didn’t get up right away. Just to keep the pattern going strong, I snuggled in a bit more against Ocar, milking the calm atmosphere for a few more minutes of dozing before forcing myself to wiggle free and sit up with a big yawn. My hair was definitely all over the place, but caring was the last thing I intended to do right then.

“Mm, shower,” I mumbled sleepily, shaking my head to clear some of the clouds that insisted on trying to blur my vision and bring me back to sleep. Looking down at Ocar, I noticed him grinning up at me sleepily and chuckled.

“What are you looking at, ya weird whale?”

“Mine,” he replied, his smile growing wider as he sat up and leaned forward, wrapping his arms around me from behind. It forced him to lean over a little since we were sitting next to each other on the bed, but he didn’t seem to mind at all and instead used the movement to nuzzle at my neck.

“Oh? I don’t remember signing anything saying I belong to a cocky whale.”

There was a long moment of silence, and he stopped moving, his lips paused against my skin. Did I upset him by saying that? It probably wasn’t the best idea, considering he didn’t completely understand humans.

That made me begin to open my mouth in order to tell him that I was joking, but then he squeezed me gently and pressed his forehead against my right shoulder as he mumbled out, “Then I can belong to smart, cocky human?”

His words made my own catch in my throat.

“Ocar…”

I felt my heart stutter in my chest, and he must have felt it too because his arms tightened a little more. My face heated, and I squirmed until his teeth latched onto my ear, making me squeak.

Shit. Men don’t squeak!

The sound would have normally turned off a guy, at least it was definitely embarrassing to me, but Ocar didn’t seem to find it any kind of odd. In fact, I found myself on my back before I could even regain my composure. I didn’t struggle, though, because Ocar wasn’t forcefully holding me down. His right hand lay atop my left shoulder while his other one rested on the blanket to the right of my face. It wasn’t close enough to quite be touching, but it did stop me from being able to look in that direction… to look away from him.

Since he obviously had the upper hand at the moment, I thought he might try to use it to his advantage. I was partly right, but when I finally focused enough to read his expression, he actually looked like he was super nervous! Just to prove my thought right, he flopped down onto me, making me grunt from the impact.

“Hey, Ocar? You okay?” I asked. His face was now hidden in the crook of my neck, breath misting over my skin, sending slight shivers down my spine every few seconds. He took a minute before pushing himself up just enough so that our faces were inches apart, his warm breath now fanning over my face.

“I am fine,” he whispered, eyes looking everywhere but at my own.

“You look like you got caught with your pants d— uh, nevermind. Anyways, what’s wrong?”

It took him several more seconds before he finally heaved out a frustrated sigh and pouted at me.

“I see Mellac and Jayson doing kissing, and even Parker and Callem.”

My brows rose, a smile forming on my lips.

“You… want to learn how? There’s nothing really special about it. You just press your lips against someone else’s.” I stated a little blandly. Not that I wasn’t eying his lips at the moment or anything, but it really was a simple way of showing affection. Of course I knew that mers didn’t do that, as Parker had told me a while ago. He had needed to teach Callem what it was, and then the goofball got addicted to doing it. With Ocar being so much more serious than Callem, I doubted he’d be too bad with excessive kissing.

“Is that all? It looks like it could be more, but then again, I guess it doesn’t,” he said, seeming a bit disappointed.

Welcome to life, bud. It’s one big disappointment after another.

I didn’t mean that when it came to literally everything, but everyone’s going to go through crap. Hopefully we just get it out of the way earlier rather than later. That way we can grow from it, or in my leg’s case, lose from it.

“Look, I’ll show you.”

I wasn’t adverse to kissing guys, since my two friends… probably my only friends, were gayer than fruitcakes for two dolphins.

That sounds all sorts of weird.

Ignoring that thought, I grabbed a good fistful of Ocar’s hair and yanked his head forward until our mouths crashed together. I didn’t think it would mean anything to me. That I would feel anything, since I never felt anything. Well. Fuck. If a loud bang by our bedroom door hadn’t sounded at that very moment, I might or might not have had a certain mer naked beneath the blankets. Well, he was already naked, but that just meant I wouldn’t have had to remove anything to get to what I suddenly wanted.

Dammit.

Glaring, I turned my attention to Mellac’s back, since he was now walking away as if he hadn’t just interrupted something important. If he wouldn’t kill me for it, I’d totally do that when he was about to get Jayson in bed.

As it were, we couldn’t stay in bed all day.

“Time to get up, Ocar,” I said, and I did just that after securing my prosthetic leg. Standing was a bit of a struggle, but I managed without falling. Ocar was in front of me after a minute, looking half asleep even as he knelt down and tugged my underwear off, then replaced them with a clean pair, followed by my loose black cargo shorts.

“Thank you,” I told him, getting a sleepy nod from Ocar as he stood and got a white T-shirt over my head with a graphic I didn’t care about on it. Once I was all dressed, I headed out of the room, letting him get into something. He probably didn’t want to, but it was best to be wearing something when appearing in public. That was, at least if he wanted to be taken seriously.

When I stepped into the living room, I noticed everyone else was already up, including Hice. Wow. He was actually sitting on the couch and not killing or threatening anything. I wasn’t sure how long he’d been there, but it had to be a record.

“Hey, guys,” I mumbled awkwardly as I made my way to the kitchen and grabbed a piece of bread, not really feeling that my stomach could handle much more than that. As I nibbled at it, I made my way back to the living room, where Parker was just sitting down, keys in hand.

“We’re going to head out as soon as Ocar is ready. Hice actually went overnight while I watched his friend.”

The hell? He did? How in the heck did he get back here then? There’s no way they would have let him go.

“They let him go because they put a tracker on his leg and he’s already chipped in a few places by Cal-Waves’ system, which is now being used by the police. Even with those tools, they planned not to let him go, but he mentioned Fri was ill and after a cop came and checked, they finally said he could remain free to take care of his friend. Of course, if he decided to become hostile for any reason again, he would be detained or killed, if necessary.”

I winced at the word kill , but I knew the cops were only doing what they had to. If Hice tried to kill any of my friends, I probably would shoot him too. Now he knows that humans aren’t free passes to kill, but considering what I did for Fri, hopefully he doesn’t see all humans as negatively as he had before. There was no time for another conversation to start up as Ocar joined us and we all headed out, taking Parker’s truck, along with my own. Hice decided to come as well, though he chose to ride in the back of mine… much to everyone’s relief.

The station seemed pretty busy when we arrived, and the amount of paparazzi already out front was a bit unnerving. When we slid out, Callem grabbed Kipper, much to the boy’s dislike, and toted him inside, trying to shield him from all of the camera flashes. There weren’t too many turned toward us, though, because Hice was the only one still naked, and boy was he making a scene. It probably helped a lot that he looked like a celebrity with his build and face. Beautiful image or not, he was definitely not happy about all the annoying cameras and people and literally shoved through them until he was inside behind us.

We had obviously been expected because not a second later we were rushed into a small courtroom off to the left side. I knew the main one was straight ahead, but it was nice to be in a smaller area. The doors were also barred, making it impossible for any of the annoying reporters I could hear storming the waiting area to get more photos.

Since we weren’t going to be bothered, all of us walked to the front and took the seats we were directed to. The judge seemed to be quite bored, which I didn’t doubt since his eyes had very obvious dark circles beneath them. I figured we wouldn’t get a normal trial or jury since this wasn’t a case that would likely ever come up again, or had been seen before.

Kind of like Parker, Jay, Callem, and Mellac’s.

The system probably didn’t know what to do since its normal rules didn’t make sense to those who lived by different ones all their lives. When the judge just began reading off different documents, we settled in, knowing that we were in for a long bout of listening and not much discussion. They noted that Kipper was too young to be charged with any crimes first, though they did make sure that he understood any further offenses would lead to rightful punishments not resulting in prison sentences or death. Next, Jayson and myself were notified that we were not being charged, as no evidence was incriminating to the point of causing an indictment. Parker, however, didn’t get off so easily since he had killed Mark. He was to be under house arrest for the next month and had to wear an ankle monitor like Hice.

He was also not allowed to have any weapons in his residence, which he didn’t anyway, so that part didn’t matter so much. Both Callem and Mellac were required to have tracking chips inserted, but besides that, no charges were filed against either of them. What caused all of us to suddenly wake up as the judge was reading his final verdicts, was the one that came when he spoke to Ocar. He flinched, and three cops had guns trained on him in a literal second. I would have fidgeted as well if I was sentenced to prison. It was because of what he had done to my leg, though I don’t remember any of us telling of that situation. No doubt the director had managed to figure it out and was now trying to use it against us… But we couldn’t argue when the judge said he had enough proof and the sentence would stand. I even tried to tell him that I didn’t want to press charges, but he wouldn’t hear it. The bastard.

While I was sitting, staring at Ocar as he did the same to me, both of us disbelieving, Parker questioned the judge about the director of Cal-Waves and what was to happen to him. He was only told that the information he wanted was confidential as officers began to lead Ocar toward a hall off to the side.

That son of a bitch paid his way out. I just know he did.

I wanted to be mad. Hell, I was. But I forced myself to fake a reassuring smile as I limped toward Ocar, who had managed to keep the three guards currently pulling on him from moving him the last few steps that would take him away from my sight. I stopped in front of him, my heart heavy in my chest. It was an odd, uncomfortable feeling that I’d never really had in my entire life. Like I was about to lose a part of myself.

“I haven’t even gotten to really know you yet,” I whispered, knowing that he could hear me, even over the commotion my friends were making behind me.

Ocar smiled, and it somehow looked genuine. When he leaned over, I expected him to kiss me, but instead he moved his mouth close to my right ear and calmly replied, “Take care of Hice’s friend. Of your job. Of you.” His grin stretched further, and I blinked several times, then sniffed once.

“I will be back for my cocky human doctor.”

When he leaned back, I licked my lips and nodded.

“And I’ll be here. I’ll fight for you. I’ll fix this. You don’t deserve to be taken away.”

His chest rose and fell with a deep breath, then he nodded and allowed the guards to force him through the doors and out of sight. I knew he was gone several minutes later when Parker’s hand gently settled on my shoulder, but the sudden pressure made me snap. Tears filled my eyes as I stepped forward, nearly falling as I put most of my weight on my prosthetic leg and yelled.

“I promise I’ll get you your freedom back! I don’t fucking know how, but I love you and I swear you’ll be out of there soon!” My voice quieted when Parker squeezed my shoulder and wrapped me in a hug from behind. I felt hollow as I stood there, panting and shaking.

Don’t give up, Ocar. We won’t give up on you. I won’t. I’ll help Fri and Hice. I’ll get back into my job.

My lips pursed, shaking. But you’re the most important thing I really need back in my life.

-End

Book 3 to start hopefully sometime this weekend/slow updates.

Thanks for reading and tissues are on the table near the donuts.

Book 3

Book 3 start chapter is now up on my profile :)