There wasn't a good place nor time to set the nets all over the waters as anyone would think. The sea lived its own fucking life and even Hank Anderson – the old fisherman, couldn't do a damn about this. There were days when they could stay in the same area for a whole week, leaving only to unload their catch at the harbor and then go back, or the days with no luck – like today.
Hank knew the ocean was unpredictable but a couple of hours on the ship with not even a single one caught fish was just troubling. Not something he was expecting from the big load they'd caught here yesterday. But that only meant they should move further, there was no point in waiting for any chances and more important, he wasn't paid for empty containers.
Fowler must've been thinking the same as he came out from underdecks and ordered to pull out the nets.
"Nice seeing you finally crawl out to breathe a good evening air, cap" said Hank when the other came his way with not a pleasant look on his face, and then snorted when he was greeted with a middle finger.
They've known each other for more than one would like to, yet Hank knew Fowler was a good man, even better captain, and vice versa.
Fowler helped him a lot when his life didn't turn out the way it supposed to. When he lost the person he loved the most in the world seven years ago. He changed into a depressed sack of shit back then unable to even care for his own son, only to finally open his eyes thanks to Fowler, who offered him a stable job.
"I'm not only sitting there sipping rum, Anderson. Every frikkin' torn net needs to be reported and I'm gonna tear someone apart when I found out you've got more hidden somewhere."
"It's not something I have control over and you know that" Hank replied, getting kinda annoyed.
As if he could change the fact that their equipment wasn't the best quality. They've got a lot of damaged stuff like nets or reels, but he was in no position to complain.
"Guys, the net reel got stuck again!" someone yelled from behind them. Hank needed to took a big breath just to not scream something near 'told ya so' in Fowler's face, then looked away from him instead to see a crew gather in one place.
"You deal with this shit" Fowler pointed a finger to Hank's chest and then to his men, "and I take care of the reports."
"Aye, aye, captain." Hank couldn't help but roll his eyes when the other was out of his sight already and then hurried towards the crowd.
They managed to pull the net out of the water by hands without any problems since it turned out to be torn again. The only problem was the net itself. Hank knew Fowler's not gonna let them off the hook this time, but fuck, like it was anyone's fault.
Then there was a hand on his lower back, making him jump a little out of fear – he was just so deep in thoughts. He turned around only to meet with that stupid face of Reed.
"Don't be so worked up, old man, I only want to talk."
"Try this shit again and you'll swim with sharks."
Reed face got serious at once as he crossed his arms. "So you also think that sharks' work."
"I'm not saying that."
"Oh, so you need a proof? I've seen this before, Anderson" he said with his eyes narrowed. "They can be quite intense feeling threatened. The best we could do is to leave them alone and get the fuck out of here or..."
The light shake cut him off suddenly and they both got hold of the rail to steady themselves. Hank looked at the man who was struggling with the rope as if trying to pull something out of water and failing miserably. He rushed his way to help the other and after a thought he grabbed handle of the net reel instead and tried to rotate it by his hands.
"Shit, what was that?" He heard a mutter right next to his ear and in no more than two second later Reed's hands were beside his, helping. The mechanism gave up eventually – with some kicks and not so pretty swears – so they could finally pull in the last of the nets, which came out to be full of fishes.
A loud shout of approval echoed through the ship, everyone happy to see that they're not gonna come back home with empty hands today.
Hank was ready to yell to the others that they made a good job when something caught his eyes among their prey. He wasn't sure if he was seeing things but he could swear that a whole arm was peeking out at them. And there were no doubts it was from a corpse judging from the pale – nearly blue – color of its skin.
"Oh my god, is that a human?" someone yelled through the racket, interrupting Hank's train of unpleasant thoughts, and in this very moment the rope broke all of the sudden, casting the fishes all over them. There was also a loud thud and Hank realized that must've been a body hitting the decks, so he looked its way only to find that it was not a body at all.
Actually a body, yes, but with the bottom of a fish tail and skin partially covered in scales. He's seen something like this in old books, heard tales told from some sailors but never has he seen one himself.
The mermaid.
The actual mermaid that shouldn't have existed as the world presumed they became extinct.
But Hank knew better, had the proof before his very eyes. His own father's stories, which no one believed, made sense now and he's never actually thought that such dangerous creatures would ever disappear from the ocean as humans were not that big thread to them.
Most of the stories referred to hunting down the mermaids as an act of selfdefence, people thought it was safer to get rid of such danger before there would be more victims. It was not a secret that every sailor was afraid of being lured by beautiful voice and then get eaten.
But it was more than impossible to clear out the whole ocean, so many lands were yet to explore, not to mention the deepness of the waters. However, the last documented mermaid was seen over hundred years ago, so the world presumed it was safe to think that they were no more in any danger.
"You've got to be shitting me." Reed was the first person to break the silence while the rest of the crew was still deadly staring at the mermaid – no, it was definitely a merman, or so Hank assumed from the flat chest of it – then he nudged it with his right foot. "It's fucking dead."
Hank snorted at this so obvious comment and squatted down to examine the body. "Of course it's dead, I wouldn't expect anyone with a shit-ton of fishing lines wrapped around they throat to be breathing now."
The merman's upper body looked more human than Hank would like to, even with gills located at the both sides of its neck or the scales on some part of the skin. It was so hard to believe it was actually a beast known of killing people. But maybe this appearance was made to fool its prey.
Hank grimaced at the view of dark blood seeping from the wound and deduced it was probably strangled to death by the lines they used to patch up the nets. Guilt was not new to Hank, he's seen a lot in this job already, but he couldn't help this weird feeling creep up his guts.
He heard people speaking about taking it along with them, sold it then to the government as a proof. Without anything to say, Hank made a bee line to grab a railing and watch the sea.
He didn't like the idea of bringing it with them, he was afraid of chaos it could make. When his father started making up stories – it turned out true now – people called him mad. Yet it caused rumors to appear, the growing fear of so calm ocean to be no longer safe.
"Move it somewhere, goddamnit, what are you waiting for?!" yelled Reed pointing his finger at the merman, then at the fishes barely moving at the floor. "And clean this shit up."
When others started doing what Reed had said, he quickly came toward Hank and gave him a pat on his arm.
"It's your lucky day, old man!" Gavin shouted, not hiding his excitement at all. "We gonna make some money out of it."
Hank only sent him a scowl in reply.
"Don't you think it should go from where we forcibly have taken it out?"
"You want to dump it back into the ocean? Are you fucking nuts?"
Reed looked at him as if he couldn't believe his own ears.
"Listen, I don't think we should intervene with something like this. And I know what you're going to say" he quickly added when Gavin opened his mouth to argue. "It's a proof that they're still alive, but you know what? Fuck this. I don't want people to panic just because we found maybe the last living siren in the world. And if there are more of it-"
"That's right, if there are more, we should catch every fucker for the old time's sake."
"What 'sake'?!" The shout came louder thank Hank would like to and after checking if someone wasn't eavesdropping on them he immediately lowered his voice to a whisper. "Do you have any idea what would happen when you show it to the world? Think of people living near the sea and us working on this boat. Don't forget I have a son, goddamnit!"
Cole. Think of Cole, called a voice in his head. When the government declares that there's a possibility of danger, Hank would be done with this job. Helping at harbor wasn't going to afford them a good life. There's food and school to pay for.
"Listen, I-"
"Boss!" Came from behind Gavin's back and they both turn around in unison. "We put the siren in the container along with the fishes. Is there anything you need now?"
"Actually, there is." Reed approached the other guy, then he turned over to face Hank and spat, "This conversation is not over, Anderson."
Hank wished it was.
Loud shouts were digging inside Hank's head making his headache more intense, but who was he to complain? Free beer was always a win and he liked beer more than rum or whisky, especially when he didn't have to pay for it. His insomnia wouldn't let him sleep anyway.
They were celebrating their load at the dining hall, so of course there were lots of people ready to sing, tell jokes and utterly irritate him. And like speaking of the devil Hank's eye caught that stupid silhouette of Reed making its way toward his lonely table.
Hank sighed when the other occupied the chair next to him ready to leave, but when a new beer was offered to him, he decided to grab it and stay.
"What do you want, Reed?" Hank took a sip from the bottle, then put it back down on the table when Gavin looked at him with his brows furrowed as if asking what he meant. "Oh, come on. We both know you're not nice to anyone without wanting something in return."
Gavin looked around cautiously, as he leaned forward and said, "Let's just talk."
"Go on."
"I talked to the cap, it was actually his idea to throw this little party." Hank tried to hold back the sigh escaping his throat, but to no avail. Reed seeing his reaction continued with a smirk, "Don't be such a sourpuss. Tomorrow is a big day so better get some sleep before you actually pass out here."
"Don't tell me what to do" grunted Hank and he emptied the rest of the beer in one go.
"I just wanted to inform you that there's that one friend of mine who's dealing with... "Reed looked up in thought as if trying to get his words sound right, "unique cases as ours."
"Wait, you have a friend? The world is ending..."
"What I'm trying to say is that he would pay us hella money for our precious prey. I don't trust the higher ups to go to them with it."
"I'm starting to wonder if there's anyone worth trusting."
"You're still mad? What the hell man!" he snapped, standing up. He grabbed with one hand the back of Hank's chair then put the other on the table, leaning toward Hank. "You said it before, about your son. Don't you want a better life for him? You need this fucking money as much as everyone else."
Hearing him babbling about his son made Hank stand up as well. Gavin straightened up at the sudden move and crossed his arms.
"I am thinking about him right now, that's why this idea is awful. I'm not putting my own son in danger only because you want to earn some money."
"He was already in a danger, the difference is that you're aware of it now. Don't fool yourself, Anderson."
Oh, how he wished to wake up in a world where they didn't fish that stupid siren, it would be so simpler.
"There must be a reason they've been hiding all this time. Think about it. I..." Hank was already out of the words. He couldn't believe he was the only person out here to think showing it to the world was actually the worst decision. "We don't need another war, especially not one like this."
"It's not a human, so what war?" he snorted, giving Hank a doubtful look. "Think of it as just another fish and stop giving me that shit."
The reply didn't leave Hank's mouth as some guys came to them with more beers and Gavin took one. He winked at Hank before he exited the room and Hank did the same apart for grabbing two drinks with himself instead.
He didn't want to go underdecks to have some sleep, the room was probably occupied anyway. There were only two room down there – Fowler's office and one spare room to rest – as this was not an ordinary ship with cabins. The times they had a night cruise like this evening Hank could probably count on his one hand.
He leaned his back against a wooden balk and let his knees give up to sit on the floor.
Was he really getting paranoid or was it just his imagination? Gavin was right in one thing – what they saw a few hours earlier was certainly not a human being, he was just afraid of Cole getting attacked when he would near the sea with Hank or his grandmother.
He drank half the bottle in one swing when his eyes wandered toward the container with fishes. His bladder was screaming at him in need but he felt too tired to move a finger and before he realized the darkness embraced him integrally.
When Hank woke up it was already a morning. The sun was peeking at him from the horizon but he was in no mood to admire it. He grimaced at the pain in his stomach and was really surprised that he hadn't pissed himself already. With a little of fight he got up eventually to make a trip toward the edge of the ship. He grabbed the rail to steady himself feeling that he was still a little drunk and then he took care of his need.
When he was in the middle of it, he heard a loud thud at his left making him nearly fall down with his dick still out the pants. When he calmed down his breath, he looked that way only to find nothing at all, so he blamed it at the ship. Not first time it was making weird cracking noises.
He managed to empty his bladder at last and when he turned around the view of someone crawl on the floor made him stop in his tracks.
"Holy shit..." he forced out his raspy voice to speak with more intensity than he thought, because the dead merman they put in the container earlier was staring at him with big brown eyes.
Hank could not move a bit for some time which felt like eternity. He came back to his senses when it made a move toward the ledge, all in hastiness. There could be heard some quiet cries as it slowed down to pull at the lines digging into its tail which made it probably difficult to continue the escape.
Hank noticed a line of blood on the floor from where it freed itself to its actual position. So it was injured heavily, actually Hank couldn't believe that it was still breathing, still has a strength to move.
He hasn't moved an inch till now, like in a trans, but he felt the urge to leave it be, let it save itself. But... The knife in his pocket suddenly weighted a ton as if trying to remind him that its ready to use, so without a thought he grabbed it and pull it out.
The merman was staring at him again with a face full of fright. It maneuvered its body to be facing Hank now and Hank looked at the traumatized tail – probably the effect of dragging it across the floor. Tiny sobs got stuck in his ears, so he moved his sight higher to watch the tears run down the scaly cheeks.
Hank could swear he has never felt this way before, so anxious and nervous at the same time. It was no way in hell that this scared thing before him could hurt anyone, Hank had eyes and they were telling him now that it only wanted to go back home. It reminded him of human child losing its parents in a crowd, so much for a murderous monster. The only thing eating him now alive was guilt.
He moved eventually, but as he predicted it only made the merman panic even more. It tried to flee once again injuring itself further and Hank wasn't sure if he didn't imagine things but between all the cries he swore he heard pleas of help.
He had no idea if sirens could talk the human languages or had their own, but it looked like it was babbling incoherent words so fast Hank couldn't copy at all.
"Don't pull at it!" he demanded when the creature tried to free itself once again "'m gonna cut them but don't move."
It suddenly calmed its breathing and let go of the fishing lines as if it could understand him. The brown eyes were still full of unshed tears ready to fall again.
Hank guided the knife under the line but when he tried pulling it to cut down, the cold hands were on his in a second. "I know it hurts like a bitch, but just stay put, okay?"
The hold only tightened further for a moment but then it let go eventually and Hank still couldn't stop thinking about how they were not freezing as he expected. They were actually slightly warm, just not the Hank's temperature level.
He managed to cut all the lines down and tug it out from the between of the tail's scales without any signs of protest, which seemed weird. But then the wheezing noise hit his ears and he then remembered the lines around the neck. Shit, he had no idea how it could just wake up after being strangled, but he didn't want it to die now for sure.
Hank furrowed his brows seeing the teeth peeking out from its open mouth – they were slightly sharpened at ends, sending chills down Hank's spine – as it tried to catch a breath. He had no time earlier to examine the merman thoroughly and... Fuck, like he had time now!
He quickly changed his position to have better access to its neck, then he noticed that the line got catch on the old nail sticking out from the wooden floor. After cutting it down, the merman started coughing heavily and then there was quiet again, so Hank took care of freeing it completely.
Should he leave it be now or help it to the water? One look at the shaking merman made it clear, so Hank put the knife back into his pocket and stepped behind it.
"I just..." he murmured as he helped it sit by grabbing its arms. "I'm gonna put you in the water, is that ok? You'll be fine on your own now?"
He seriously didn't expect any answers, so when it looked up at him with its eyes nearly shut from the fatigue and nodded, he felt his insides twisting in a weird way. The thoughts of it being more human than everyone presumed made a mess in Hank's head.
He wondered if it had any chances of survival with such wounds, but it shouldn't discourage him from helping it. Maybe even if the merman died later, it would at least go somewhere out of the fishing area and no one ever find its body again. But Hank still had a small hope that everything gonna end happily.
With that thought he took a hold of the railing with one hand to pull them both closer to the ledge. Shit, it was so heavy Hank's old knees buckled slightly at the pressure, but he finally managed to get it to destination. One push was enough and it landed in the water.
Hank needed to take a big breath to calm himself down, he was way too old for lifting weights and if he wasn't sober the moment he'd woken up, he was without a question now.
He was leaning against the railing with his head down, asking himself in mind if he did the right thing, but then when he opened his eyes, he caught a sign of the brown ones. The merman seemed fine now in the water, dipped to the bridge of its nose and staring up at him like it could not believe what happened. Hank could barely follow himself, so he just stared back until it dived showing the whole tail, which illuminated in shades of blue under the sun light.
For a moment Hank was simply mesmerized by the sight but then it all came to stop. The voices from inside got louder by the seconds meaning that everyone just got up, ready to start a day. And here he was, standing alone at the edge of the ship all covered in dark blue blood as he wondered what big trouble he got himself in.