Alfred had never been so nervous in his entire life. This was worse than that time his mother entered him in the school spelling bee in 3rd grade, despite the fact that he couldn't spell to save his life. He thought he would throw up, he was so worked up, and that was his least favorite thing on the planet to do. If he survived that, Alfred could do anything (hopefully without tossing his cookies this time).

Everything was going to change today. He could feel it in his bones. That's why his hands trembled and his legs felt weak. Then again, he hadn't eaten anything that day and couldn't sleep at all the night before on the plane. It was a long way from California to Australia. Alfred had the feeling he wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight either.

Even six and a half years later, Alfred still felt like that terrified intern starting his first day in the lab. All of this was so new to him; to all of them. He couldn't help but to feel lost with no direction. They were entering a territory unlike any before, though it was similar to other explorations undertaken in the past. But that was the past, Alfred thought. This was the present, maybe even the future.

He thought about the baby every single day. It was something that would haunt him for the rest of his life, and he had accepted that a long time ago. Alfred saw him in his little niece, who was hardly very little at all anymore. He tried not to connect her with the corpse of the specimen, but he couldn't stop thinking about the future the baby could have had. All of it was silly, really. The specimen would not live life like humans do. It wasn't as though he was going to attend Harvard and discover an alternative method to nuclear fusion, or something, one day. Until more information was found out about the creatures like him, it was assumed they were just another species of animal. Alfred didn't understand how his life held any more value than an animal's.

They had found out more about them, the fish people. Well, Alfred called it "more", Tino called it "nothing". Berwald and the other members of the team remained silent on that matter. Even if they had a personal opinion on it, they didn't share what it was. It didn't matter what the information was. Truly, all it was was a guess. At this stage, they could only hypothesize and hope for the best. So, whether it was more or less was up for debate. Whatever it was, it lead them way away from home in the far reaches of the Pacific Ocean.

There was a little island off the coast of Australia that had been surveyed only a handful of times in recent history. It wasn't good for much else than being a resting spot for migrating birds, so it would make sense that an unknown species could be hiding below the surrounding water's surface. With eight thousand and twenty-one more islands within the continent's maritime borders, and only a handful of them explored by their team, Alfred sure hoped so, anyway. He didn't know how many more deserted, glorified piles of dirt he could travel to before he went mad. The last few didn't go over well, obviously.

Tino was a cheerful thing, even more now since he and Berwald got married mere weeks ago, so he took pleasure in the island hopping. He liked visiting all those new places, documenting snake populations and the like, and he honestly didn't care whether or not they found any sign of the fish people. Of course, if they did, he'd be the second to jump at whatever it was, right after Alfred. Berwald simply seemed to be along for the ride. The rest of the team hadn't been there as long, and they were still skeptical about all this "nonsense", which made Tino angry because they didn't believe his reports were credible. He was understandably offended by their presence alone.

"If we do find them, that will show them!" Tino often said. He never specified the difference between "them" and "them" in anything he did, as though he viewed the fish people and human beings as equals, or even the same thing. Berwald and Alfred always understood what he was trying to say regardless.

Everyone had seen the autopsy report and the pictures to go along with it, though that hardly made any difference to the team. All of the other "mermaids" had appeared very real in the lifeless likeness captured on film. This was no different at all to them. They likely thought Alfred and Tino, mostly the former, were incompetent. Perhaps they had let their excitement get in the way of reality and science. Had they bothered to actually read the reports, they might have had more favorable thoughts on the matter.

The trio set out earlier than the others. They didn't care much for wasting time investigating abandoned lands, especially after the last ones turned out to have no leads. Alfred was ready to see the island, determine if the fish people were here, and move on. Tino and Berwald let him run on ahead, perfectly content with taking their time on the island. It was like a free vacation except they still got paid for it, and they both loved their jobs, so it was a dream come true. They allowed Alfred to do all the hard work he wanted like climbing cliffs or trekking through thick patches of underbrush in the trees. He was like their child, even so many years later.

The thing about Alfred is that he was never careful. He preferred to live life like a race, speeding along as though he had little time left on the earth. This caused many accidents over the years. He received a concussion at the age of eight from falling on the wet tile around a pool because he couldn't wait the few more seconds it would take to get where he was going by walking. Sixteen hours and a hospital visit later, he still hadn't learned his lesson. Alfred probably could have ended up dead several times, but only sustained a couple broken bones here and there. He was as lucky as he was impatient. Fortunately for him, that luck was still with him.

Alfred found himself on a rocky surface that was riddled with large holes. Some of them were a basketball's size. Others, wider and longer than he was. He knelt to run his hand along the rounded edge of one of these openings and found there was some sort of cavern beneath him. Erosion alone could not have done this - at least, not like this. All of the holes were uniform in shape, circles or near rounded squares. Alfred was less than enthused. He didn't come here to discover an ancient lost tribe! That's what he thought he had found evidence of. He wasn't exactly wrong.

To continue on, he had to cross the rock. There was no other way around. Lacking the caution of the common man, which everyone knew was worrisome to begin with, Alfred began jumping across these mysterious holes to get to the other side of the stone bridge. Perhaps he should have taken the time to edge his way between them, but he didn't feel he should waste any more time than he already had. Halfway across, Alfred leapt toward a rather thin stretch of rock, not bothering to wonder if it would hold his weight. He landed on it, but it was too late for him to rethink his decision as the bridge became shards of rock beneath his feet.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!"

He managed to grab on to the edge of the hole before he fell through, most likely to his death. Had he a better grip, Alfred might have been able to pull himself out. At this moment, he cursed the pack slung across his back when it slipped from his shoulder, yanking his right arm away from the edge. It fell away, though it never made a sound to tell him when it hit the bottom.

"HELP!" he cried, though no one would hear him. "Help me! Someone!"

Alfred tried not to panic, but his other hand couldn't hold on much longer. The rock was too thick to get his entire palm around, so he was essentially dangling from a single hook his hand made. As he scrambled to regain his hold, legs flailing about under him, his fingers buckled. He plummeted into the unknown with a long lone scream.

Alfred hit the water below after what felt like an eternity of falling. His arms were reaching out for something to grab onto the entire way down, but it wasn't necessary, or possible. His fall was a straight shot to the underground lake over which he had been leaping across. He gasped in surprise, genuinely shocked that he was alive, but at the wrong moment. Water filled his mouth with its saltiness and then his lungs. Alfred began to panic before he could think about how simple it would be to swim toward the surface. He was frantically jerking about in a way that did not benefit him by any means. He was bound to drown.

Just as it began to sink in that he wouldn't survive long enough to tell Tino how he'd been careless so they would both have a good laugh, something bit Alfred's leg. At least, he thought it did. There was a sharp prick at several points on his calf and a decent amount of pain. He kicked harder, hoping to deter whatever curious animal took a nip at him. The jaws clutched onto him more tightly. Then another set of teeth latched onto side above his hip. Alfred prayed that he would go unconscious before these things ate him alive.

Only in fucking Australia, he thought, still trying to knock the creatures off with his legs. It was a matter of time before Alfred blacked out from lack of oxygen. His struggling only made it worse, further depleting the little he had to begin with. He was holding his breath, trying to prevent more water from entering, but it was getting harder by the second. He'd soon succumb to the inhalation reflex once enough carbon dioxide had built up in his muscles and organs.

The creatures began pulling him in the same direction and Alfred feared they were dragging him down. His vision would have gone black at the edges had he been able to see better in the dark cavern, so he was not able to discover that he was floating toward the surface, not away. He thought about all the things he had yet to do in his life, and was angry at these things that decided to take the future away from him. Alfred wasn't ready to die. Unfortunately for him, drowning was a long process, longer than most thought it took. His lungs may have felt as though they were collapsing and exploding at the same time, but he was still far from dead. A few more minutes and his brain would have irreversible damage, though he would still be alive.

Somehow, Alfred broke the surface several seconds later and was pulled away from the center of the cavern by the creatures. He spat and coughed and choked, but he still couldn't catch his breath. Alfred was now afraid he'd inhaled too much water, especially since the salinity was higher than he would have liked. Humans drown in salt water much faster than fresh, so he was scared. He was a marine biologist, not a doctor, and he didn't know how long he would suffer before death finally claimed him.

Alfred's hand brushed something. It was a ledge, smooth and flat enough for him to pull himself onto, submerged only a few inches inches the water. Whatever it was that had a hold on him before released him and he clammered to the rock on his hands and knees. He sputtered and gasped, trying to expel the water in his lungs. No matter how much he coughed up, it still felt like he'd swallowed the ocean in its entirety.

An unfamiliar hand grabbed on to his side. Alfred let out a yelp and he collapsed in the water in an attempt to get away. He scraped his shins hard enough that it drew blood. The owner of the hand let out a low hiss, similar to a child scolding another for talking during class. Alfred froze as the hand stroked his side soothingly. He was petrified by everything going on in this damned cavern. Whoever was touching him moved their fingers to his ribs, but became frustrated by the clothes that were in their way. They grabbed his shirt from either side and tore it away from Alfred's body, tossing it aside.

"Hey! I n-need that, asshole," he snapped and slapped the hand, knowing he would lose body heat twice as quickly when submerged. He gagged and began choking once more.

The other made a series of sounds Alfred would never guess were a reply. They ran their hands over his ribs again in a way that made him really uncomfortable. Whatever they were looking for, they couldn't find it, and Alfred sensed they were worried about that. They made more sounds that were like chirps and Alfred would have been intrigued (despite not being an anthropologist) had he not been so scared and still recovering from a near drowning.

"I didn't k-know p-people lived here." The other did not respond this time. "Why do you live in this fucking p-place? How do you g-get out?"

Their hands moved toward the gashes on his legs, probing the wounds with something sharp. Alfred yelled at them. That really hurt!

"If you're done h-hurting me, I n-need to go."

He thought they must have understood him, for they dove back into the lake. Alfred knew better than to try to stand and walk around when he didn't know how far this surface extended, so he crawled toward a beam of light that came from one of the holes above. It was a good thirty, perhaps forty feet to the surface. Alfred hoped Tino and Berwald would happen by and send a rescue team after him. Then again, the other had to know a way out of here. Maybe they would return soon.

The other found him only a moment later if the splashing was evident of their approach. Alfred wondered where they had gone and why. He was given the answer when the other began binding his legs with something slimy. It made Alfred squirm, but they made the hissing noise again, and he stopped moving. When he examined the one they had finished, he could see seaweed wrapped over his wounds. He wasn't sure if it made for a proper bandage. What other choice did he have though?

"Thank you for... whatever it is that you've done."

The other reached out to touch Alfred and he saw the inhuman hand pierce the light shining down from above. He screamed. They flinched at the sound, their hand pulled back from the visible field of his vision. Alfred's breathing became more rapid and labored. He did not know what in the hell had just touched him. That's when he realized that it had looked eerily similar to something he'd seen before, long ago. The baby flashed through his mind.

There is no fucking way, though, he thought. Alfred extended his own hand, hoping they would do the same. He waited for a long time, his breath still audible and echoing slightly off the nearby wall.

They overcame the fright Alfred had caused, and their arm came in to view once more. Alfred carefully took it so he could examine it more closely. The same webbed fingers and claws were present, except these were living, attached to a being that was still alive. That's what had "bit" him before. He pulled gently on the arm, praying they would move into the light where he could see. It was bad enough he wore glasses, and fortunate that they remained intact during his ordeal. Alfred couldn't see the other until they chose to let him.

"Please? I have to see you," he whispered. The other made some utterances, unintelligible things, or so he thought. They inched forward until their silhouette was distinguished from the background, and then until Alfred could make out the minute details of the face. And she was beautiful.

Her head was shaped like a human's and absolutely hairless. Perhaps more like Voldemort's, Alfred said to himself, noting her lack of a nasal bone so that two little slits replaced her nose. She also had no lips, as her face was a continuous, smooth contour of flesh. Alfred was cautious when he stroked her face so that he didn't scare her away. (He wasn't quite the Casanova with human ladies either) He couldn't feel the bones beneath because her skin was so thick. Tino had mentioned they had a layer of dense fat protecting them, but Alfred had guessed that was only for babies. He was often wrong.

She blinked, bringing Alfred's attention to her large eyes. They were black as night and luminous. Breathtaking, really. He had never felt more attracted to a woman (or any woman, for that matter) in his entire life. She tried speaking again. Alfred would never understand. So instead she felt his skin in return, making concerned little noises when she brushed his ribs for the third time. Alfred glanced down. Sure, her talons had hurt, but they hadn't done any real damage. Then he saw the delicate flaps that ran horizontally across hers and understood.

"Oh, I don't have gills. I breathe just fine. See?" He took some large breaths and exhaled loudly in demonstration. "Well, when I'm out of the water."

Alfred thought he saw her smile. They continued to explore each other's bodies until both were satisfied with what they had learned. She came to understand that Alfred was okay despite almost drowning and a handful of scrapes from the rock and her nails. He must have appeared to be someone like her that had gotten himself into some trouble. She was trying to save them and was concerned when there were no gills to be found. How strange Alfred had to seem to her. He could only imagine it was surprise greater than his own. At least he had an idea that her kind existed. Speaking of which, Alfred needed to get back to his humans.

"You're very beautiful, and I'd totally like to stay here forever, but I have to get out of here before everyone thinks I'm dead. Can you help me?"

She blinked at him. He traced the ridge of her cheek with his thumb. Alfred truly never wanted to leave her. He didn't know if he would ever see her again, even if they found the others like her. What was he to do? Well, he'd have to wait.

A/N: And so will my readers for the next chapter! An apology for OutToGarden.