First Contact
As I ascended, the dark water gradually gave way to a soft, silver glow. Moonlight refracted through the waves above, revealing the silhouette of the ship—and it was unlike anything I had ever seen.
The hull was massive, sleek yet jagged, as if forged from both steel and bone. Dark plating curved along its sides, reinforced with an iridescent material that shimmered like the scales of a deep-sea predator. Strange, organic-looking ridges pulsed faintly with bioluminescence, tracing along its frame in intricate patterns. It was alive, or at least something more than just metal and bolts.
No rust. No obvious signs of decay. It hadn't been down here long.
A row of curved, fin-like structures jutted from the stern, resembling both wings and the gills of some great beast. But it wasn't just the ship's design that sent a shiver down my spine—it was the energy it radiated.
I felt it before I reached the surface. A hum beneath my skin, a subtle pressure in my skull. This ship wasn't normal. It didn't belong to any standard deep-sea vessel I'd studied.
CHIP's voice crackled in my mind.
"Unidentified technology detected. Caution advised."
No kidding.
I slowed, letting myself hover just beneath the surface, peering up at the towering structure above me. Lights flickered along the deck, subtle and controlled—someone was inside.
I exhaled sharply, flexing my claws before retracting them. This was a risk. But turning back wasn't an option.
Steeling myself, I broke the surface.
The submarine's searchlight cut through the inky water like a scalpel, exposing my shimmering pink tail for half a second before I twisted away. Too late.
"Contact! Bearing 270 degrees!"
Sonar pulses pinged against my skull. CHIP translated the metallic screams echoing through the hull:
"Human vessel. Designation: NOAA Deep Explorer IX. Crew complement: twelve. Mission: Investigate oceanic collapse."
I counted shadows through the portholes:
- Dr. Lianne Cho
(marine virologist, mid-40s, shaking hands clutching a sample case)
- Captain Markus Rye (ex-navy, scar across his throat where a reef knife had nearly ended him)
- The Twin
(sengineering prodigies, barely 22, already modifying sonar to hunt me)
- And nine others - some praying, some prepping harpoons, all terrified
Their submarine was bleeding oil, one propeller mangled by what looked like... bite marks.
HUMAN PERSPECTIVE: FIRST ENCOUNTER
Lieutenant Shaw's hands shook as the sonar pinged. "Captain... we've got visual confirmation. It's definitely humanoid."
The crew of the *Deep Explorer IX* crowded around the monitor, watching the thermal imaging resolve into something impossible – a feminine figure with a long, shimmering tail, its pink scales glowing faintly in the abyssal black.
"Jesus Christ,"whispered Engineer Torres. "It's a fucking mermaid."
Captain Markus Rye's grip tightened on the console. He'd seen classified Federation bioweapon reports. Nothing like this. Nothing alive.
"Prep the capture drone," he ordered, voice steady. *"And someone get Dr. Cho up here. Now."*
CAPTURE: SHOCK AND DISBELIEF
The net closed around me with electric finality.
I thrashed, my tail sending arcs of pink light through the water as they reeled me in. Through the haze of pain, I saw their faces pressed against the submarine's portholes – eyes wide, mouths moving in shouts I couldn't hear.
*Humans.*
*Alive.*
The last time I'd seen another person, Earth was still broadcasting distress signals.
The docking bay flooded with light as they hauled me into the airlock. My gills flared uselessly, lungs burning as I gasped for water that wasn't there.
"Sedate it!" someone shouted.
A dart bit into my shoulder.
The world went black.
THE INTERROGATION TANK
I woke suspended in a transparent prison.
My tail hung limp in the chilled saltwater, its glow dimmed by whatever drugs they'd pumped into me. Beyond the glass, a dozen faces stared back – scientists in lab coats, armed security, and at the center, a grizzled man with a scar across his throat.
*Captain Markus Rye.*
*"Can it understand us?"* one of the scientists asked.
Dr. Lianne Cho adjusted her glasses, studying me like a specimen. *"The CHIP implant suggests higher cognition. Probably military."*
Markus stepped forward, his boots echoing on the metal grating. *"Who made you?"*
I opened my mouth – and choked. My voice came out warped, alien even to my own ears.
*"N-no one."*
The crew exchanged glances. The twins – two young engineers – looked ready to bolt. One of them muttered, *"It talks."*
Then the lights flickered.
INFECTION REVEALED
CHIP's warning flashed across my vision:
[BLACK TIDE DETECTED IN HOSTILES]
STAGE 1 SYMPTOMS OBSERVED:
- Pupil dilation (82% of crew)
- Biofilm traces in saliva (43%)
- Auditory hallucinations (17%)
The twins were the first to show it.
One moment they were whispering over a modified sonar device. The next, they were *humming* – a low, discordant tune that made the hair on my neck rise.
*"Shut that noise off,"* Markus snapped.
But it wasn't the twins.
The submarine's hull groaned as something *enormous* brushed against it.
LEVIATHAN'S LULLABY
The emergency lights bathed everything in red.
"Breach in sector three!" someone screamed.
The twins' humming rose to a shriek, their voices harmonizing perfectly with the creaking metal. Dr. Cho's biofilm samples *twitched* in their cases, straining toward her.
Markus drew his sidearm. "What the hell is happening?!"
CHIP's analysis scrolled rapidly:
**LEVIATHAN COGNITIVE ATTACK IN PROGRESS**
**INFECTED CREW MEMBERS ARE COMPROMISED**
**RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE EVACUATION**
The first tentacle punched through the observation deck.
ESCAPE AND RESCUE
The glass of my tank cracked under the pressure.
I didn't think. I moved.
Water exploded outward as I smashed through, my tail lashing to keep me upright. The crew scattered – some screaming, some *laughing*, their eyes glazed black.
Only Markus seemed partially immune, his military CHIP implant sparking against the Leviathan's song. He lunged for me, not to capture – to *free.*
"Go!" he roared, shoving a harpoon gun into my hands. "Before it takes us all!"
I didn't hesitate.
Grabbing Markus and Dr. Cho – the least infected – I *slammed* us through the emergency hatch just as the Leviathan's maw filled the compartment behind us.
AFTERMATH: BLOOD IN THE WATER
We breached the surface into choking darkness.
Rain fell in thick, oily sheets as I dragged Markus and Cho onto a floating debris field. The submarine was gone – swallowed whole.
Dr. Cho vomited black sludge. Markus' pupils were dilating, but he fought it, his teeth gritted.
*"What... are you?"* he gasped.
I looked down at my glowing pink tail, then at the writhing black ocean.
"The only one who can stop this."
[CHAPTER END]