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The Rocks

I think I like this fantasy/horror writing thing. Look forward to more of these type of stories in the future, anyway. Enjoy!

There was a disturbance in the water. Usually, I knew everything that was in the frigid depths. The fish that went around and around until their deaths. The plants that waved endlessly in the currents, and the rocks that stood unmoving slowly being eroded by the waves. That day was different, something big was moving through the water and it was coming right for us. I smiled, showing each and every one of my razor-sharp teeth it had been so long since I had tasted flesh, I could barely contain myself.

I barely even thought of the route I was taking, I retraced the route by memory, all my attention was focused on moving my tail as fast as possible. The closer I got to the cave, the more my stomach rumbled. I had swum out pretty far, so by the time I got back to the cave evening light was already filtering through the water. When I swam into the entrance of the underwater cave Katla was already curled up her seaweed blanket covering her tail. I saw that her eyes were open, she was staring up at the cave ceiling spacing out.

“Hey,” I said to her, still smiling from ear to ear, “Guess what’s coming.”

Katla sighed, releasing an air bubble into the dark blue water, “Let me guess, another boat?”

I giggled, Katla was always so crabby when she was tired, “Very close, not a boat, a ship. It’s going to be here tomorrow, just think we haven’t had any real food all month.”

Katla yawn and rolled over onto her side, “If it’s coming tomorrow, then tell me tomorrow. Right now I don’t care.”

I groaned and swam over to our food box. It was empty, as usual, I could feel my stomach eating itself as I thought about all the food that was coming the next day. Katla might have been satisfied eating fish, but something about their scaley, slick skin made me gag. I smiled wistfully, I could almost taste their hearty, bloody flesh on my tongue. I told myself that in the morning I should practice my singing, but I knew that I wouldn’t.

I went over to my sleeping spot and stared up at the cave ceiling. I tossed and turned, trying and failing not to think about all the meat I would eat the next day. I knew that if I didn’t sleep I couldn’t sing, and if I couldn’t sing I would probably starve. I swam sleepily over to Katla’s sleeping place and cuddled up to her. Feeling the tepid warmth of her skin had always made me feel safe, and I was finally able to fall asleep.

The next morning I woke up to the feeling of vibrations through the water. The ship was coming and it was close. Katla was still sleeping, I tell by the steady back and forth motion of the gills on her neck. I knew that it would be better if she woke up on her own so I quietly left the cave. I peeked my head out of the water and saw the clouds gathering in the predawn sky, by now I could hear the ship gliding through the dark choppy water. I knew that I had about three hours before us, and I intended to use every second.

I went over to my usual practice spot and hoisted myself not very gracefully up onto the seat of the rock. When the sun was at its peak it was almost torturing to expose my entire body to the air, but during the morning and at night especially it was tolerable. I coughed as my body switched from breathing with gills to my feeble and underused lungs. I had heard from Katla that other sirens in the tropics stayed above the water almost all day, and I never believed her. Just sitting on the rock on a cloudy day dried out my skin and scales so much that I could barely stand it. I closed my eyes and tried to focus, took a deep breath and began to sing. My voice rose and fell and I could feel the water move with it. I opened my arms and mist swirled around me. My head started to ache as I tried to maintain it. Newly formed waves crashed against the rock as I warbled my heart out to empty sea. After twenty minutes of my voice being in perfect harmony with the oceans I slumped, chest heaving, against the slick rock.

“I must be out of practice,” I laughed to myself, “Alright I can’t rest forever, I have to get back to practicing.”

After a few hours of practicing I could see the ship approaching. Its scratched wooden hull sliced through the icy waves as its sails flapped softly in the feeble breeze. I could see the men on boards ragged clothes and drained slouching. Perfect I thought to myself, they are much easier when they haven’t slept.

“Having fun?” Katla asked, trying to pull herself onto the rock.

I pulled her up next to me and smiled,” Lunch is here, of course, I am excited.”

“Then let’s start the show, shall we.”

I looked at her strangely,” Shouldn't we wait until they are closer?”

Katla laughed and patted my head, “You still have so much to learn, Eva.”

She started singing, her voice dipping low, calling the sea to her command. The waves crashed violently, rocking the ship that was steadily approaching. I didn’t want to miss the action so I started singing as well. I called the mist to my side and released it onto the surface of the water, making sure that no sailor could see us. After ten minutes the ship was finally upon, and our final song could begin. With each note, our appearance changed. Slimy stringy hair became lush and voluminous. Pointed, yellow teeth became small and vibrantly white. Scales appeared so shimmery that they glowed. With our song, we commanded their minds to think of nothing but us. Well not the real us, the us they saw, the us they believed, the us they wanted. As they jumped from the deck of the ship I could see the lust in their eyes, though it was nothing compared to my own hunger. I could smell them in the water and I willed them to come closer so that I could finally feast.

One man, he appeared to be very strong, reached our rock and started to climb towards us. I could see his eyes shining as he got closer and closer, reaching for what our songs had promised him. Katla looked at me and I could tell from her gaze that this one was all mine, she never had liked them muscular. I bent over and looked the man in the eyes, he smiled from ear to ear. I opened my mouth and bent low to his neck, sinking my teeth in as rich, red blood gushed into my mouth. I tried to savor the taste, but I always ended up drinking it as fast as I could. The man looked shocked as I pulled away, the illusions my song had created flickering away one by one. In his dying moments, he could see me for who I truly was, and he was horrified. He tried to call out to his shipmates, but it was too late, our songs had already pierced their hearts, and they were slaves to their desires. I always loved the look that they had right before they died, a look of total shock, mixed with fury, with a little bit or surrender. It was priceless. I tossed the body behind me so that I could focus on the task at hand.

Another man was approaching, this one was Katla’s. I raised my voice as she stopped singing, and kept the illusion alive while she feasted. I stared at her out of the corner of my eye as she bent low to look at the sailor who had come to her. She opened her mouth wide and used her strong teeth to bite through the sailor’s skull and take a bite of his brain. I turned my head to stare at her as she gnawed at the pink squishy interior. I loved the look on her face as she tasted her first bite of flesh, one of pure ecstasy. When the sailor died she tossed his body overtop mine and stared hungrily as the rest of them as they hoisted themselves onto the rock, and climbed to toward the faces their minds had created. The last faces they would ever see.

Thanks for reading, have a stellar day!