I started coughing roughly.
I felt my lungs get rid of the water that ended up there.
The next few moments felt like a dream.
My eyes opened to the harsh light above me.
The sun was shining brightly on my eyes.
I closed my eyes instantly.
I opened my eyes more slowly and felt my eyes dilate and adjust to the light.
I was met with beautiful ocean eyes that looked concerned.
Why would they be concerned?
I felt my eyes droop again.
I slept.
Minutes, hours passed by.
Maybe even days.
At least it felt like it.
When I opened my eyes again, I wasn't met with the calming blue sky.
I was met with the faces of a bunch of scientists.
And I was drenched in water.
What the hell just happened?
"What happened?" I asked.
My voice, raspy.
One of them cleared their throat.
" Hello, I'm Doctor Shaun Davenport. I'm working on Experiment C83U-23."
I looked at him expectantly.
" We were thinking if you would like to participate in the Experiment with the creature."
I looked down.
Why would they want me to be in an experiment with him?
"Why?" I croaked out.
Then it all came back in a flash.
Saving Matthew.
Getting kissed by the merman.
Almost dying myself.
" Oh..." I said.
The dark-haired scientist, Dr. Davenport, looked at me with sympathy.
"Where is Matthew? Is he okay?"
" Yes, he's okay."
I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.
He's okay.
Shaun continued.
"We have tried to make subject C83U-23 interact with humans. All of our experiments with the four people that volunteered ended badly."
I gulped.
" What do you mean ended badly?"
The doctor looked down.
" Did they -
" No, no. They haven't died. But all of them are in a comatose state right now. We have found two possible reasons to why all of them are in the state they are in right now. We believe that there is something on its tail, like venom, that sends its preys into a coma, as you have seen with Matthew. But with the previous ones, he did it differently."
There was a moment of silence.
" How differently?" I asked.
He looked back at me.
" He sang."
My eyebrows raised in disbelief.
" He sang?" I asked repeating him.
Shaun sighed in slight disappointment.
" Have you ever read or heard about The Odyssey by Homer?"
The memory of reading it in middle school flashed inside my head.
Sirens.
" They were portrayed as birds with female heads that sang to lure the men into the ocean," I stated.
I looked at him in confusion.
I wasn't following.
" Merfolk singing is like a drug for humans. A very dangerous one. People who hear it start hallucinating and feel high until they fall into a coma."
" How do you know that people start hallucinating?" I questioned.
" The merman we have there," he said pointing to the door, " has the ability to sing but affect one person he focuses on the most. People who were surrounding that area, like my coworkers and I, felt the side effects. Probably not as strong hallucinations as the people who are now in a comatose state, but they were there."
" All of them are in a coma?" I asked.
He nodded.
" You were the only one who we have awake. We believe that he finds you special and therefore didn't do anything that may have sent you to that state. "
" He finds me special?! He almost killed me! I could have died!" I cried out.
" Follow me. I have to show you something," he said calmly.
He stood up and walked up to the door.
I got off the bed I was on and followed him.
It baffled me how he could stay so calm the entire time.
Shaun opened the door for me and led me to the Camera Room.
He knocked on the door and a tall buff man opened the door.
The man at the door looked at us expectantly.
I gulped.
Damn, he is so intimidating.
While I was about to start trembling on the spot from the hard stare I got from the man, Dr. Davenport seemed completely calm.
" Will I be able to show this young lady something in the D4 Area that happened," he said checking his watch. " about 3 hours ago?"
I was out for three hours?!
The Camera Room man whose name was John, his nametag clipped on his chest pocket.
John walked inside the room and motioned us to follow him.
I was met with the sight of a desk and many cameras surrounding his desk.
" What time?" John said roughly.
Shaun's eyebrows furrowed in thought.
" Try 1:30."
John started to type something on the laptop and then he stopped.
He moved his rolling chair that he was in so I could see what was on the laptop.
Memories flashed back when the doctor played the recording.
The screen showed the aquarium's glass wall.
My eyes quickly found Matthew who was in the tank.
He had the same terrified expression he had when I was on break.
I could see the annoyed expression on the merman's face with his arms crossed over his well-muscled chest.
There was the bench where all the scientists were sitting on at the bottom of the screen.
A sense of deja vu hit me.
It was the moment I got on my break.
The actions unrolled quickly.
Matthew approaching.
The lethal yet beautiful creature hitting him with its tail.
Blood.
Me jumping into the water.
Everything happened so fast.
The merman grabbing me by the ankle after I saved Matthew.
Me struggling.
The kiss.
I felt my breath get trapped in my throat.
All the emotions kept rushing back to me.
I felt my cheeks redden.
Then things became... weird.
Something that I would have never expected to happen... happened.
I was already unconscious, and instead of drowning me like I expected the merman to do, he did something else.
His eyes opened and I saw a wave of panic build upon his features. He picked me up, his arms below my knees and neck.
His hand cupped my face and his gaze softened.
What the hell?
But it didn't end there.
His beautiful features tightened and a frown formed on his face.
He swam to the surface.
I had to turn my head to see the moment from a different angle.
He placed me on the ground and things that I thought only in Fairy Tales happened.
He put his open hand just above my still chest.
Have I died?!
The space surrounding his hand started to glow a light blue color.
Then, like a magnet, his hand absorbed all the water.
Seconds later, I was coughing roughly. Coughing up all the excess water that was still in my lungs.
" He saved me."
I was in a daze.
Why would he try to save me after killing me? Out of pity?
Questions rushed to my head in a flash.
How? Why? What is the reason behind these actions?
I shouldn't be feeling what I am right now.
But from the two choices he had, he decided to save me.
The doctor, on the other hand, didn't really care about my reactions for this.
" We have learned that these creatures have the ability to absorb water out of anything. They may even be superior to us. It is amazing that we have one there."
I couldn't talk. No words were willing to come out.
"And that is why I'm asking you if you will be able to be a part of our experiment."
I felt anger rush to the surface.
" Why do you think that I will agree to this? He tried to kill me!"
But somehow, Shaun was still calm.
" And yet he decided to save you," he said matter-of-factly.
I felt a shiver down my spine.
The way he said it looked as if he didn't even seem to care about my well-being, or any of the humans' well-being when it comes to this experiment.
" No. I can't. I'm sorry." I said.
I was not going to put my life in danger willingly.
" I know this is a lot to process right now, and I will give you some time to think. But my offer still stands."
I was about to argue with him, saying that I really didn't want to be a part of it but he walked out of the room.
Leaving me with my mess of thoughts.
What am I supposed to do now?
~
I thought about it.
The rest of the day.
It plagued my mind the entire time.
I sighed.
This is too much for me.
Just a few days ago, no one cared about me here.
Now well, let's just say that I never had this much attention on me.
I was opening the door to my house with my key, struggling a little bit in the process.
I finally succeeded in opening the door and let myself in.
" Dad!! I'm home!" I said.
I took off my jacket and put my backpack on the counter.
My dad's face emerged from the door and he stepped into the hallway.
" Hey Aria." he smiled warmly at me.
His brown eyes shined with happiness.
Eyes so similar to mine.
I smiled back at him and walked up to hug him.
" Hey, dad," I said while in his embrace.
We let go and we both walked into the living room.
" So how was work?" he asked.
I went into the kitchen and got myself water.
" It was crazy."
I sighed and looked up to him.
I found a frown forming on his face.
" Did something happen?"
Dad looked at me with concern etched at his face.
You don't want him to worry, do you?
I put on a fake smile and said,
" No Dad, everything is fine."
He didn't look convinced but let it go.
We then talked about a lot of things before we went to sleep.
The last thing that was in my mind was the thought of the whole situation that happened.
I fell into a dreamless sleep.
thank you so much for all the votes!! now that i see that people like the crap i write about, i will start updating more often. i'm planning on making a posting schedule, what day do you think i should post? comment down your favorite parts, or feedback. i would appreciate both!