Chapter Seven
I laid on my bed, listening to the hum of the waves in the distance. Ever since Melissa had gotten her new job, the house was silent and still except for my baby brother, of course. However, that night, he lay still, sleeping. The warmth of the sheets felt comforting, and I feel deeper and deeper into a still sleep until I heard the sound of the garage door opening. 'She's finally home.' I sat up with a sign and heaved myself off the bed. The clock sitting on the bedside table read 11:23 pm. 'What is she doing in the lab?' I thought as I groggily walked downstairs. 'Dissecting fish?' I wrinkled my nose at the thought of cutting open fish with little knives and scissors.
When I approached the kitchen, I didn't see Melissa. She was probably still in the garage. I came closer to the handmade oak table illuminated by the dim light. On it were a few sheets of paper stapled together with the words "Bay-view laboratories discoveries guide" It was probably some boring manual on how to cut open fish and research them. I slowly turned to the next page. The title of it was "Subject 3045-Confidential" There was a picture of a male mermaid (a merman?) on it, with a bunch of random things like" 7 feet and 6 inches long" and "found on May 17th, 2021". I almost laughed at the absurdity of it. For some strange reason, it was kind of unsettling. I flipped to the next page titled "Subject 3781-Confidential" There was a picture of a mermaid on it, with the same descriptive labels, except that the date was "April 5, 2024". There was one similarity between the two. Their eyes were wide open with fear and hostility, as if they felt hopeless. Just like me. I frowned. How strange.
***
Pain. The humans cut into my flesh and I was trapped. Trapped. I couldn't be free. It was the same everyday. The blinding light woke me up, and I heard the sound of footsteps echoing in the room. Frozen shrimp would then be dropped into my "tank" or at least that's what the humans call it. Then, I would be lifted out into the dry surface and stay there for a day, my scales drying up. I then would heard the sound of voices talking. It made me angry, but gradually I couldn't feel angry anymore. There was a new human one day; I could tell by the sound. Her feet rustled as she walked in. She gasped every so slightly, and then started to inject something into my neck. I squirmed just for the sake of starting her, but her shaky hands managed to inject whatever it was into me. My vision slowly darkened and I couldn't move anymore. I listened to the noises of them talking as I blacked out.
"Your parents, they were good ones." said an older male human to the newcomer. "Yes." she replied briefly. "You have any other family?" asked the man, attempting to make conversation. "I have a sister and a brother." she replied tensely. "Well, what are they like?" My brother, well, he's a baby." she chuckled. "And my sister is quite independent. Her name's Britney."
