-1-

“That’s right, Greta. And up and and over and bounce. Come on , ladies I know you have it in you !” I instruct the small group of rich older women, bullshitting my way through afternoon water aerobics.

I had nothing against water aerobics, it’s just I looked like a complete asshole doing it and had no idea what the fuck I was doing. Even though I was the new guy, the women had requested I teach it and since the members are always right, here the fuck I was.

Googling mermaids and Arizona got me literally jackshit except weird porn,  hipster  restaurants serving mermaid toast and defunct punk bands. 

I thought I’d hit a wall until Stepbrother Movie Night came around and we decided to use it as an opportunity to finally watch the documentary about AquaWorld. I also knew Jayden wouldn’t sit through another Fast and Furious and if I had to sit through The Darkest Hour it was going to turn into Stepbrother Fratricide Night.

I learned that not only had AquaWorld lied to the world about the animal’s welfare they’d lied to us trainers too. All of our training was bullshit. Experts found thousands of incorrect statements and lies in our training guides. What we’d been told was helping the animals was hurting them and they knew it. I’d filled out the class action suit paperwork and joined the Trainers Against AquaWorld  Facebook group before the credits even ran.

Fuck those guys.

But more importantly the documentary focused on Lorne Abbott, the local eccentric billionaire owner of the AquaWorld parks. Dude had a weird obsession with showing his dominance over animals. He trophy hunted across the globe and had an illegal private zoo in his house before opening AquaWorld. He regularly posted YouTube videos of himself killing  animals or showing off his new hides and he seemed to bask in the hate comments.

On social media he hinted that he was working on something big for AquaWorld so if there was anyone who knew anything about AquaWorld’s mermen than it had to be Mr. Abbott. Oceania Fantasy had been Mr. Abbott’s dream project, there was no way he wasn’t behind Søren and whatever happened to Luka.

A little research showed he was a member of The Club at Las Campanas, the same as Jayden's grandma. I was going to have to go to church with Jay’s Grandma for a year but she’d pulled enough strings to get me the lifeguarding and pool activities coordinator job at Las Campanas pool.

Today was the first day I’d spotted Mr. Abbott. He was in his late 40’s and had a mess of hair that seemed perpetually greasy. He’d been in the hot tub most of the time and just when I was about to sneak into the changing room to look for his phone, my water aerobics class had started.

When I finally see the women from water aerobics off, I spot Mr. Abbott heading for the men’s sauna. He has his phone in his hand, but he leaves it at the phone check booth.

I causally walk to the phone check, make small talk with the pretty girl who ran the desk while quietly slipping away with Abbott’s phone.

I post up outside the sauna so I can hear if he comes out.

 It only took a few Google searches and an international eBay purchase to get an illegal device to bypass the iPhone’s passcode. It was expensive as fuck. I hope Søren had a map to Triton’s treasure because I’d had to pay for the device myself.

I don’t have time to meticulously search Abbott's phone so I search the names Luka and Søren and get nothing.

I search merman in Mr. Abbott’s e-mail and get nothing.

I search Oceania Fantasy.

Over 10,000 e-mails going back a year populate the screen. I boil down the search  for words like ‘transport’ or ‘separate’ and get it down to just thousands of e-mails going back six months. I forward as many as I can to a fake e-mail address I’d created for myself in case he went into his sent mail.

I’m so engrossed in forwarding the e-mails I don’t notice Mr. Abbott coming out of the sauna and I palm the phone and give him a cheerful greeting that he straight up ignores.

I make a beeline for the phone check booth, scrolling through his photos as I walk. He has a surprising number of selfies and not so surprising collection of dick picks. I do a quick select all of every image from the past few months and forward it to my e-mail before turning the phone all the way off and sliding it back into the phone check slot.

I have to teach another swim class, this time to pre-teen boys. These rich kids are entitled pain in the asses with sullen attitudes but once I find a drill they like it’s kind of fun to work with them. A few want to be on their high school swim teams like I was.

-2-

As soon as my shift is over I shower,  put on the forged GS-9 polo I’d ordered from an on-demand embroidery shop, stop by Sushiholic, my favorite sushi restaurant, and ride back to AquaWorld. The guard at the park entrance once again gives me the nod as I drive inside. It’s not quite dark yet so the main aqua stadium isn’t being guarded. There are no other GS-9 cars so I know I’ll be alone.

I  knock on the restricted door to get Søren’s attention.

“It’s me,” I shout since he seemed to have some kind of heightened hearing.

I wait a beat and get no response. I could get another crowbar if I had to and get the lock off, but that might get Abbott on to me.

Then I hear the sound of what sounds like a small whale slapping against a wall on the other side. It goes in a pattern; 5-6-6-4-3.

I punch the code into the door and the lock disengages.

Søren is hovering at the edge of the pool, he almost looks like a normal dude just hanging out in a pool when his tail is submerged. He’s still got his glare going on and he eyes my takeout bag suspiciously as I sit crisscross on the edge of concrete lip. I pull out a clear plastic takeout box with  Sushiholic's deluxe platter.

“Want some ?,” I offer.

I break open my chopsticks and devour two spicy tuna rolls before setting the takeout box on the concrete floor.

He eyes me suspiciously but then puts both his palms on the lip of the pool and pulls himself up, to sit on the edge of the pool,  the rear of his tail curving into a seat and the fin on the  end dangling in the water like feet. I’m surprised how flexible the tail seems, like less of a hindrance than I imagined.  Sitting on his tail next to me, I realize he might be close to 6 feet— only a few inches shorter than me.

He reaches into the takeout box with his hand and picks up a piece of yellowtail sashimi over a mound of rice. He carefully puts it in his mouth,  delicately nibbling off only a corner before putting it back in the box. The careful way he eats it reminds me how in high school my little sister used to try and eat only 5 calories worth of Snickers bar and the thought makes me laugh.

“What is so funny ?,” he demands.

“Nothing,” I say. “Do you not like it ? I don’t really know what your kind eat-,”

 “I like it very much,” he says like it pains him.

“Ha ! That’s what I thought,!” I gloat, taking another sushi deluxe platter out of the bag. “This one is all yours.”

He shakes his head.

“I cannot eat," he says fingering the constellation necklace that pulsed with a heartbeat. "Not knowing that Luka is suffering…I can feel his heartbeat fading with each day.”

I hadn’t been expecting that.

“If you want to save him, you’re going to need strength,” I say pushing the container toward him. “After we eat I’ll get my iPad and we can go through Abbott’s e-mails.”

He takes the container and picks up a piece of salmon sashimi.  I wasn’t sure if they had salmon where he is from but he seems delighted by it. Still, he eats slowly, making each bite small and intentional.

“I come from a nomadic tribe called the Children of Thelxinoe. Our lives are long and free but have become dangerous overtime with all your homo sapien toys.” he says unprompted. “All of my kind are descended from the sirens-”

"Like from the Odyssey ? That shit was true ?”

"Most of it. But worse," he says. "Or so I've heard. The ancient sirens were cruel and very powerful and I do know they ate and tortured human men for sport. They would also torture and attack each other. There were many wars and reformations for our kind and while females still have the ability to compel others  they rarely use it."

“Luka’s mother is our tribe's leader...she is what you would call a queen. She is a direct descendant of a powerful ancient siren.   Luka’s birth was a blessing to the queen. Offspring are rare and male offspring are even rarer in our kind. During the centuries of siren rule, males were killed before birth because we are weaker and did not have the same abilities or powers as the females. Luka is the youngest of our tribe....he was overindulged and kept too naïve by his mother but I care for him deeply…and intimately.”

I choke on my California roll and he glares at me questioningly

“Wait, so you have like a…”

“A penis ?,” he asks and I realize I so regret even thinking about it. “No, we have no need for such primal activities like fornication  to  spur reproduction like homo sapiens and other lesser creatures. We have other  ways of showing affection”.”

“Forget I asked.”

He takes a drink from my soda and then stares at it distastefully for a full 30 seconds, like he’s trying to make sense of the Styrofoam cup.

“It’s cherry Coke”

“How unnatural,” he coughs. “I was in the queen’s guard, though because I don't have telepathic abilities like the female protectors I was mostly an errand boy. Since I am close to Luka’s age and also male I  was to protect and keep him company when he went on his little adventures away from the tribe. He mostly wanted to see the deep sea fish but he also liked to get close to humans. He thought you were all harmless and fun to watch—the same way you humans view puppies in a window I suppose.”

“Is that how you know so much about humans ?,”

“I am older than I look to you,” he says. “My people have had a long time to observe humanity. It helps that you love to keep records of everything. We know everything about you. I thought I’d found a safe place for Luka and I  to observe, a small island off the coast of Guam. We went there all the time for years. But someone must have noticed. One day we were swimming back and a helicopter chased us. Little tranquilizer darts rained down over us and I tried to get us away but I felt my body growing lethargic as a net was dropped.

“Luka and I awoke in the back of a moving truck. Our bodies weaken when we are away from water too long. Luka was…terrified. I told him we shouldn’t let on how much more intelligent we are than your people. I told him not to speak and if he did not in your native language. I had hope, but we both sensed this was a bad place the moment we arrived here. We were put in this pool and they treated us like the animals, they explained nothing. When one man laid hands on Luka I lost control and tackled him. The next day I woke to the sounds of Luka screaming as they took him away. That was…what you would say ?  Three months ago. Luka has never been on his own. It is my fault we were separated…I failed him.

The homo sapiens in this place promised if I behaved the would reunite us. They say I will see him but I am beginning to see that was a lie.”

His food is gone and his eyes are wet and fuck so are mine.

“Look, man it wasn’t your fault those guys are dicks. We’ll find him and--”

He suddenly shoves one of the food containers into the water, slams his tail into the pool causing water to splash all over me and I’m soaked to the bone. Before I can say anything he jumps on top of me.

“They're coming. I am attacking you for your lunch, ” he says in a low voice

“What--”

I hear the door to the guard observation deck open and hurried foot steps coming down the stadium steps.

-3-

“BACK!,” a voice shouts.

An electrocuted  pole is shoved into Søren’s back and he grunts in agony before slinking back underwater.

I stand up  to see Mr. Abbott and another balding middle-aged  man, Dr. Woods, who I recognized from the documentary and some of Abbott’s YouTube videos.  He was Director of Training and Veterinary Services at AquaWorld, though us trainers had never met him.

In the doc, the documentarians had ambushed Dr. Woods to ask about having his vet licenses revoked in the 90s and his history of lawsuits for  inhumane practices toward animals. The end of the documentary had noted that he’d been fired from AquaWorld when his shitty record was made public.

Guess that had only been for show.

“Do I know you ?,” Mr. Abbott says to me. He doesn’t sound suspicious, just like he really wants to know.

I resist saying, yeah, dickbag I just saw you at the country club.

“I was a trainer here, sir.” I say, keeping it honest and gesture to my forged polo. “I just started with GS-9.”

“Look like you got a little too familiar with our little Neptune,” Mr. Abbott smiles pointing to the  still pool. “What do you think ?”

Neptune ? How fucking original.

“It’s…uh, unbelievable,” I say.

“You haven’t seen unbelievable,”Mr. Abbott says turning to Dr. Woods with a congenial smile. “C’mon Woods,  give  the new kid the show.”

Dr. Woods shakes his head but goes to stand at the edge of the pool putting on a mic, the same mic we trainers used to use during shows.

“NEPTUNE ! RISE!” Dr. Woods’ booms, his voice coming from the speakers surrounding the aquastadium.

The water remains still, I can see Søren swimming in his peaceful spiral just below the surface of the water.

Dr. Woods reaches into his utility belt and pulls out a collapsible staff. He jabs the pointed end of the staff at Søren until he pokes his head out of the water.

“RISE TO ONE,” Dr. Woods orders.

Søren closes his eyes and slowly rises higher out of the water, showing off where his muscled back turns into tail.

“Up and over,” Dr. Woods barks.

Søren sinks back into the water and then shoots back up and out of the water. His back arches in mid air and his tail flips over his head. The gravity defying backflip is both powerful and graceful, it barely displaces water when he comes down in a near perfect dive.

“Circle!”

Søren  makes several laps around the entire pool at  an unbelievable speed.

“Jump!”

He sinks beneath the pool again and then jumps straight up and out of the water, he turns himself in mid air like a spinning top, completes three magnificent rotations, then arches back and plummets backwards in the water making another clean splash.

“Come,” Dr. Trainer orders. “Present.”

Søren swims to the edge of the pool and jumps up on the  concrete, balancing on the thick curve of his tail and opening his arms like a stage actor taking a final bow. His body is beautiful and strong, he was like a Disney produced perfect mix of both the little mermaid and Prince Eric.

Dr. Woods pulls a thick chain that had been anchored to the side of the pool out of the water and attaches it to what I had thought was a steel choker around Søren’s neck.

“Smile.” Dr. Woods orders. “C'mon, boy. If you want to see your little friend you better learn to smile for us.”

This one kills Søren, I can see him thinking about if he wants to obey or not. In the end he just looks down. Dr. Woods jabs him twice with the electrocuted staff until Søren smiles, his eyes bloodshot.

 Mr. Abbott approaches inquisitively and  reaches to pet his tail,   Søren lunges, and this earns him  a longer more sustained shock from the staff. He grits his teeth against the pain, his body shaking from how much he is holding back.

“Neptune. Still.” Dr. Woods warns.

“The kids’ll want pictures,” Mr. Abbot says, slapping Søren’s tail like it was the hood of a used car. “Will it be docile enough ?,”

“I’m not sure, we’ll need to get some kids in here at some point to test but first, I want to file away the teeth and work on the temperament. He's a rowdy son of a bitch.” Dr. Woods says grabbing Søren’s jaw. “You should given this one to Maria."

“I knew you could handle a challenge,” Mr. Abbott laughs. “The scales look better today,”

I look at Søren’s tail and  notice more of his scales are sparkling than they were before I came in. Like he was getting stronger.

“Not sure what’s causing that. It’s probably finally eating. Either way, we’re getting some synthetic replacements made, we’ll have to attach them,” Dr. Woods says.  

Dr. Woods snaps his fingers twice and Søren goes back into the water, it was the same kind of signal we’d given the trained animals when we were done with them.

Dr. Trainer reaches into a silver bucket of smelt and tosses one to Søren.

“Good boy.”

Søren turns his head in disgust and the slimy fish slides down his chest and into the water.

“You will continue to eat,” Dr. Woods barks.

Dr. Woods unfurls a whip from his belt, it’s made of thick cord with a metal tip, like what they used on horses. We’d never used whips on the animals here. I don’t know why Dr. Wood’s is so angry, he lashes Søren’s back with an almost psychopathic ferocity but Søren doesn’t break.

“Your little friend will be getting every punishment you get until you learn how to fucking behave,” Woods snarls, pulling the whip away and yanking the strange gold necklace with Luka’s heartbeat  from Søren’s neck.

“No-,” Søren cries but then immediately seals his lips.

He and Dr. Woods have a staring contest and then Søren puts his hand in the bucket of smelt and shoves a handful sloppily in his mouth, swallowing them bones and all.

Instead of giving the necklace back Dr. Woods puts it into his bag, Søren looks like he is on the attack but I give him a small nod that I hope tells him that I’ll get the necklace back. He must understand this because after eating the fish, he slinks back under the water.

The men make no move to leave and stand there talking over plans for the Oceania Fantasy show, a show they still planned to do and  make Søren the center of somehow. They were completely ignoring me, but I decided to shoot my shot.

“Um, excuse me,” I say. “Did you say there was  um, another...one of him ?”

They both turn on me.

“What makes you think that ?”

“I—I mean you said--”

They look over at me  and Dr. Woods smiles

“Don’t worry. You'll only have to worry about guarding this one.” he laughs.