Author's Note: Don't know why, I just felt like writing in this game for a little bit.
He recalled the first time he'd seen her, when he'd been in the small submarine. She had swum near to him and he had felt fear, near to his heart for so long, seize him again. His light had seemed to cause her pain and so he had used it to ward her off as he drove through the dark waters. She was barely a flicker, a shape flitting around that he tried to get away from. Similar, and yet different from all the other creatures and obstacles that had attempted to harm him.
He had managed to close a door to block the way behind him, and he'd thought that that would be the last he'd see of her. He'd gone on for awhile through a new section of the place There had been little to no deep water, and so he'd moved on in his mind. But then, after continuing forward, he'd seen her floating beyond a glass window. At first he had been a afraid, but she hadn't moved and he had become curious. He'd gone to the glass and they had stared at each other. Her eyes had been intense as she matched his gaze. He hadn't known what to make of her then.
And yes, he had noticed that she was naked. He . . . well he'd noticed and he'd leave it at that. Though, given his circumstances and the near constant state of anxiety he was in, it hadn't mattered as much as you might've thought. Especially given the fact that she'd been trying to chase him down before.
But even so, he had taken her in. She was pale, her eyes piercing and dark, perhaps the better to see in low light. She had had something like a clamp with some sort of chain or rope wrapped around one of her legs at that moment (though she seemed to have gotten rid of it later.) Her long hair had drifted out above her, seeming to indicate that she had never cut it, and that by extension she had lived alone for a long time.
And when he'd been forced to get into the same water she was in, for a moment he'd thought she'd calmed, for she didn't react to him. But as he'd swum away, she had restarted her chase. Things had then taken a new phase, one that he liked much less than before. He had swum himself through water, and she had followed. He wasn't sure how she kept finding ways to come after him as he passed through doors and other obstacles, but it was likely she was simply using passages further underwater that he couldn't see.
She was fast, frighteningly fast. Only through some careful trickery and planning had he managed to avoid her grasping hands. And the final time, this time, he had thought he was getting out. He had seen what he took to be sunlight. Actual sunlight! But then the platform he had climbed onto had shifted. The change in angle had caused him to overbalance, and he had fallen back into the water. And there she was, waiting for him.
She grabbed at him and he kicked, tried to hit her, tried to fight her off. But he was not a water creature, his strength was greatly reduced here and she was in her element. She pulled him down as he tried to fight his way back to the surface. His lungs were screaming and he tried to push her off again, but she, almost effortlessly, knocked his arms aside and continued to pull him deeper into darkness.
He had felt the air leaving his lungs, felt the pressure of the water as he sunk, felt the arms and legs of the girl wrapping around his body felt . . .
. . . felt the lips of the girl upon his?
His eyes flickered slightly and he managed to open them just long enough to realized that, yes, the Mermaid (for that is how he had chosen to dub her) was kissing him. For a moment, he wondered what she was doing, but another moment later, he felt the Mermaid take a deep breath, then exhale. But as they were linked by the lips, he felt air rushing into his lungs.
He was too shocked to move as she breathed in and out, and in so doing, seemed to pass water and carbon dioxide out of his lungs and replace it with oxygen. All the while, she continued her hold on him, firm but, gentler now?
She held his head softly, almost caressing him. Her hair had curled around them, blending in now to the darkness as they drifted deeper and deeper. Then, she reached out to the side and seemed to grab something attached to a cable. It was a small device that she pressed against his chest, an orange light on it slightly illuminating them. Her face didn't look as strange now as she stared at him with a look of concern. She seemed to be deliberating something before she moved in and once more pressed her lips to his and breathed for him.
Then she turned, and he realized that she was about to leave. In a split-second decision, he reached out, suddenly finding that he had the strength to do so and grabbed her arm.
"Don't go" he tried to say, but only bubbles came out. She seemed to get the gist however and, though she looked a bit uncomfortable, she continued to drift downwards with him.
For a few long moments, they looked at each other. Then he registered that she wasn't breathing for him anymore. He struggled and kicked, but then realized something. His chest was no longer bursting, no longer screaming at him for air. He was breathing!
He could breath underwater!
He looked over at the Mermaid, who was watching him cautiously. There was a small jerk and he realized that he had disconnected from the thing that the Mermaid had pressed to his chest. Twisting around, he saw that they were approaching some sort of bottom or floor. He kicked his feet and drifted over slowly towards the girl who had saved him from drowning. He reached a hand out. She pre-empted him however by turning and starting to swim away. He called out (or tried to, once again only bubbles came out), and she turned and made a gesture. She obviously wanted him to follow her.
She lead him into a smaller section, which looked like flooded office spaces. He felt a bit uneasy as he realized that, bobbing in the water nearby were bodies. One even seemed to drift out of the watery fog towards them. Even so, he pressed on, following the girl as she lead him at a quick swim until they came to a section where his head finally broke the surface.
He coughed slightly as he adjusted to breathing in normal air once again. Thankfully, he reflected as he pulled himself up on land, the changes done to him didn't seem to have robbed him of the ability to breath above water. Even so, going from breathing water in through his lungs and breathing air wasn't especially pleasant, as he had to empty the water currently in his lungs out. After a minute of coughing mixed with throwing up water., he turned and saw that the girl was still there, her head bobbing slightly out of the water as she watched him.
He stared at her, unsure of what to do. After a moment however, he decided that some thanks might be in order. She had saved him from drowning. Though, then again, he likely wouldn't have been in a position to drown if she hadn't dragged him under. Still, it would probably be worth it to act grateful to her.
"Thank you," his voice almost sounded strange to him. Had it really been that long since he'd spoken?
She twitched and withdrew a foot, her eyes narrowing as she stared at him. He kneeled down in the water, a concerned look on his face.
"Can you understand me?"
The girl opened her moth, as if to speak, but immediately she started retching too. After she'd gotten all the water out of her mouth that would come, and she'd taken a few fortifying breaths, she turned and looked at him with those dark eyes.
"Y-y-y-you're . . . " the girl's voice was hesitant, raspy, but he could make out the words regardless. "l-li-ike m-meee. Fr-fr-freee."
Not marching in lockstep to their experiments, whatever they were, she meant. He nodded.
"Not like . . . the people up above you mean?"
She nodded vigorously, her hair flowing around her.
"Wh-who a-a-are-re y-y-you?" She hesitated as she tried to form the words.
He sighed slightly, how to answer that complicated question?
"I-" he chewed on the thought for a moment, then forged on. "People were rounding us up. Families, workers, anyone they could get their hands on. I barely managed to get away into the woods." He paused yet again. How to explain the feeling that drove him on, perhaps past the point of insanity.
"I . . . I wanted to find my family. But something else called me here. It's further on and I need to find it. I just . . . I don't know."
She was staring at him, then she moved forward suddenly. Crawling on her hands and knees, she moved up to him and wrapped her arms around him. He felt his face heat up a bit as she hugged him.
"I-uh . . . what's this for?"
"You-ou m-must mi-iss your f-family" she said quietly.
A spike of pain seem to enter him as he remembered his parents, how they had told him to run. Of his siblings who had screamed as they were dragged from their beds. Of how they might nothing more than shambling bodies now, subject to the whim and beck of the scientists and madmen who ran this enormous facility.
He felt his body shake for a moment, and felt wetness gather in his eyes and begin to move down his face. He desperately tried to convince himself that it was just leftover water and not him crying. But the girl tightened her hug and, in spite of himself, he felt a sob break out of him.
He sniffed for a little bit before managing to get control of himself. She let him go, a part of him missed the warmth of her body, and they sat in silence for a moment.
Finally, he asked a question that he had for a while now.
"Why did you help me? And why were you chasing me like that?"
She bit her lip. He had to smother a laugh for how cute it looked on her.
"I . . . you're . . . y-you're the f-first person I've . . . s-s-seeen-" the words seemed to come easier to her now that she'd started talking, "-that w-wasn't trying to st-stick me back in a t-t-t-tube."
She seemed to blanch slightly, as if remembering something unpleasant. The boy felt his face fall as he reached out a hand and softly took hers.
"Did they take you too?"
She looked down.
"I . . . I do-don't remember much. Just s-some faces . . . I thi-think they were my fa-family."
She shivered.
"But there was always the t-tube. They'd stick things into m-me. Flood my tube with something l-like water. Sometimes I th-thought they were trying to d-drown me."
She took a deep breath.
"But one d-day, I could breath in the water. Th-they seemed happy about that. I was getting stronger too."
She paused, then looked back at the water they had come out of, as if lost in thought. Then she seemed to focus again.
"Then one day something w-went wrong. Water got e-everywhere, it flooded. I've . . . I've been h-here ever since."
The boy nodded as he absorbed this information. He supposed that, with it being all she knew, that it would make sense for her to stay around. Still, why had she instantly come at him like some sort of monster when they'd become aware of each other?
As if she sensed his question, the girl spoke up.
"I w-was lonely for a long time. Th only people who came down was the scientists, I think they were looking for me. But then, you came."
She looked t him with an intense look again.
"I . . . I hadn't seen anyone in so l-long and I . . . I didn't want you to go."
She looked a bit sheepish. He absorbed that info.
"How did you know that . . . kissing me would let me breath underwater?" his face reddened slightly.
Her face got very flushed as she looked away from him.
"I . . . uh . . . I just kn-knew somehow."
After a moment, he nodded, it made about as much sense as anything else in this place.
They both sat there for a bit, contemplating each other. While his future still looked uncertain and rather grim, the boy couldn't help but feel a bit lighter by having someone to talk to. For a moment at least, he was content.
He hoped the moment lasted a long time.
Author's Note: So yeah, this game is interesting. Very sparse on explanation, heavy on mood and atmosphere. I played Limbo before this one and it left an impression on me, despite the fact that I haven't finished it as of yet.
I, like everyone else I'm sure, wondered what the Mermaid (the underwater person who chases you) was up to. Why did she/it chase you? Why did it drown you those times up until the final encounter? Why did she seemingly help you in the end?
The game never gives an explanation, so I figured I'd have a bit of fun and do it myself.
If you want to see more of this, leave a review please. I don't know if I would write a lot more, but there is a bit left that I think I could work with.