Beneath the Courage

Caution

Fri-

The building was well taken care of, but as I followed Oliver and his friends inside, with Hice at my back, I couldn't help but feel apprehension build in my gut. The place was clean and very well lit. There were also very few cages anywhere, and the few that I could see were way to small to fit any person in. Mer or not. 

"Alright, here we are. This is one of our examination rooms. Have you ever had blood drawn before, Fri?" Oliver asked as he began taking items out of a drawer built into a long able placed in the middle of the room. I couldn't remember exactly what occurred for a blood draw, though I knew it was generally the removal of blood from a person or animal. 

"No, I don't think so. It could have happened but I had felt so badly at the other place that I don't remember much." 

A firm hand pressed against my middle and I immediately knew that it was Hice. He gently moved me back against his chest, but showed no other sign of comfort. It was a lot for him, and I appreciated it. 

As Oliver continued to get things ready, I studied his face. He glanced off toward the door in the corner several times with a longing look, but eventually refocused his complete attention on his task before he turned to me with a tired smile. 

"If you wouldn't mind, can you just sit up on this table and give me your left arm?" He asked. 

I did as told, glad that I had at least put on a pair of shorts, because the metal table was quiet cold, even beneath the fabric. "This is going to hurt a bit, but it should just be a pinch. If it start to hurt badly, tell me, don't pull away, okay? You can cause damage by doing so." 

I nodded, doing my best to keep myself calm. The needle felt like an ordinary urchins when it slid beneath my skin. It stung a bit afterward, but the pain was manageable. It wasn't but a few seconds before he removed the needle and placed a small bandage over the tiny wound it had created. 

"Perfect. Great job, Fri." 

His words made me smile. I didn't need the praise, but it did feel good to know that I had done well. "Can you go pee in this cup, Fri? Just up to the small red line." He asked as he gestured me to slide down from the table. 

I took the cup and removed its top, wondering why I would need to pee in it. It had to be another test. Well, at least this one won't hurt at all. When I started removing the shorts I'd borrowed, I heard a few chuckles and stopped, looking back up at Oliver with confusion. 

"Here, come over here. You can fill what the cup needs, then just pee into the drain." Oliver said as he gestured to an opening in the floor by a row of cages that didn't seem to be occupied. 

As I got myself ready, he turned on some water and it began flowing in the drain. Filling the cup was easy enough, but aiming afterward was a bit hard. I wasn't used to having to aim. It never mattered were I relieved myself when swimming or on mine and Hice's beach, though I did tend to bury it if it was on land. 

"Don't worry about it, this room gets cleaned daily and disinfected." Oliver said once I'd finished and pulled my shorts back up. He held out a small bottle and gestured for one of my hands after he'd taken the cup and set it on the table. I put my hand under the bottle and raised a brow when I saw some type of thick water drop into it. 

"Rub your hands together. It's just for any possible germs." 

I didn't understand why that mattered, but I did as told anyways and rubbed my hands together as I followed him back to the table. He took a few minutes to set up the tests he wanted, then began studying. I realized that I wasn't needed any longer and leaned against one of the walls to wait. Hice was beside me immediately, his right arm around my waist to help hold a bit of my weight. I appreciated the gesture since I was getting tired and leaned against him to show just that. 

"How are you feeling right now, Fri?" Oliver asked after a few moments of silence. He was still looking at one of the samples using an item I couldn't quite remember the name of. 

"Tired, but not too bad." 

He made a small sound of acknowledgement, then remained silent for another few minutes before leaning away from the item and wiping his brow with an arm. 

"Well, there's nothing really out of the ordinary from what I can see." 

My lips turned downward, making Oliver give me a small smile. "It's okay, Fri. It normally isn't that easy to figure things out, anyways. We'll keep going." As he spoke, he took another item he'd put some of the sample of blood into and then one for the urine and set them in a small machine. 

"That'll take a few minutes..." He paused, eyes wandering back to the far door before glancing at us. "I'll be just a few moments." 

I wasn't sure where he was going, but when I looked around at everyone else, they were averting their eyes and the previously relaxed atmosphere had disappeared. What's wrong? 

Curiosity nagged at my insides and as soon as Hice's got the better of him and he went to look at what Oliver had previously set up, I made my way toward the far door. It hadn't been shut completely when he'd walked through it, so I didn't feel too bad about nudging it open slowly and peaking inside. 

It took my eyes a few moments to adjust to the darkness. There were only a few floor lights every couple of feet to light the long hall. Each door also had lights below it, but none of the ones that were overhead were on. 

Since no one had called me back yet, I slipped completely inside, being careful not to shut the door or make any sound. Walking down the hall, I kept my eyes open for anyone coming or going, but the area was deserted. Door after door was locked and the areas inside were dimmed. I could tell that there were pools beyond some of them, some small ones, and then one large one. The final door had another large pool in it I could see through the glass wall at a distance, but I stopped the moment I noticed movement in the faint light that managed to reach inside. 

My eyes darted up since it appeared that the light was coming from above. Oh, there is a window up there, but it looks like it's mostly covered. Returning my gaze back to what was going on, I blinked a few times to focus and realized that Oliver was sitting carefully a foot or so from the edge of one of the pools. I had to lean forward a little to see better, as there was some type of wire on the glass that I noticed was wrapping around the entire room, blocking small portions of my view. There's lots of it. Even on the door. 

The quiet rush of water caught my attention, making me focus in on the pool right as a person emerged. A mer? Seeing his tail reform into legs, I knew that my guess had been correct. Cool. He's an orca. I began walking forward, excited to meet another mer, but stopped abruptly when he pulled Oliver into his arms for a very strong hug. Almost immediately, his song started echoing through the building. It was quiet, at first, but then it grew in strength until I could hear the sadness and longing in my bones. 

It appeared like his mouth was moving just enough to speak, but his words were lost on my ears. I was too far to be able to make the mumbling out, though I knew my hearing was greater than a humans. Judging from how Oliver was trying to get as close to the man as possible, even though he was soaked from being in the water, made my heart jump a little. 

Are they lovers? 

When the mer nuzzled against Oliver's neck, I felt my face warm and knew that it was time to leave. The me was clearly stuck here and could not leave for some reason. I wasn't sure why, and I didn't want to guess. They were having some time to themselves before Oliver had to leave and lock the door again, sealing the man back inside that dark room. I began taking steps backward toward the door, being careful to try and not make any noise. Whether he had heard me or not, his head lifted and my heart stopped for a second when our eyes met. 

He didn't hesitate for a second to bare his teeth. The white flash of them was visible even in the dim light and I read the message loud and clear. Heart suddenly racing, I turned and bolted back to the examination room. 

(My power kept going out trying to get through this lol)