Catching the Prey
1035 Words
I watch the boy run away, but I still can’t move. I’m completely dumbfounded. He climbs the rocky hillside and up to safety, then looks back over his shoulder at me. His grey eyes connect with mine one last time, and they’re full of confusion and fear.
What have I done?
He blinks quickly, shakes his head and turns away. He takes off running again and disappears into the misty distance.
When he’s out of sight, the hypnosis finally breaks and allows me to move once more. I curl up into a ball, pulling my tail to my chest and scratching my head in bewilderment.
So many questions are whirling around my head right now. Who was he? What was that voice in my head? Did he feel it too? How could a human be so… strong?
Amidst all of the uncertainty there is one thing I know for sure.
I have to find him again.
I look down at my tail in disgust. I can’t chase after him like this.
What am I thinking? I’m the all-powerful queen of sirens! I can’t be brought to my knees by a human boy. That would be stupid.
And I’m not stupid.
Mermaids are known for our cunning. So this is simply a problem for me to solve. It doesn’t mean I’m giving up my throne or turning away from my subjects. I just have to taste him again. That’s it. I just need to kill him, and this will all be over. My beautiful life will all turn back to normal, right?
I flip over onto my belly and scoot toward the water. For the first time in my life I truly dread going back there. Knowing that I’m moving further away from that boy… it’s going against every instinct in my body.
I clench my teeth and take a deep breath. I’m on a mission now, and nothing will stop me. I have to find another victim so I can walk on the surface again, find the boy, and kill him.
------------------------
I return to my underwater palace completely alone. The enormous and beautifully ornate structure is entirely constructed of coral and bone, made from the remains of our thousands of victims.
Why do we kill so much? Well, the more we kill, the stronger we become and the longer we live. I’ve lost track of the hundreds of years that have passed me by, but I’ve never become bored of my life in the murky depths. I’ve never yearned for anything more.
Until now.
I run my fingers along the bony wall as I swim through the palace entrance, remembering the addictive feeling of dominance I get from every attack. Feeding on human souls was all I needed to feel whole.
Now it feels like that sensation will never measure up to what I just experienced. I’ll never be content again.
I swim ahead to my throne room and breathe a deep sigh as I drape myself across the giant chair. It’s eerily quiet here, as the rest of my companions are enjoying their tryst on the surface.
I’m left entirely alone to wallow in my confusion.
It feels like an eternity before I finally hear the twittering giggles of my companions in the distance. They sound as if they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The sound of their dark joy fills me with envy. If only I had ignored the falling stranger and gone with them to shore. My life could have continued on it’s peaceful path of death and darkness.
But it’s too late to turn back now. I’ll never be able to forget that encounter.
All I can do is try to come up with a solution… and maybe my companions will be able to help me find one.
I pull myself to a more regal position in the throne as I wait for them to enter the room.
When they do, their mood immediately changes. Their smiles fade and the giggles go silent. “Your highness,” they all say with deep bows.
“We missed your company,” One of them says.
I roll my eyes. “I’m sure you did, Persephone.”
“What happened?” Leucosia asks, “Where did you go? That was very… unlike you.”
I take in a deep breath, not sure how much I should reveal to them. I don’t want to appear weak or soft. I did release a victim after all.
“I saw a human… or at least… a creature that looked human…” I explain to the wary sirens, “... He felt immensely powerful. Stronger than any victim I’ve ever encountered.”
“And?” Persephone asks excitedly, “Did you get to feed on him?”
“I started to,” I answer with a frown as I remember the cursed meeting, “But he escaped.”
“You let him go?” Leucosia asks with a touch of suspicion in her voice. The other mermaids behind her begin to murmur.
“No!” I snap. They are immediately silenced by my fury. “He got away. That’s how powerful this creature is.”
They study me curiously, but don’t say anything.
“I’m going to find him,” I say firmly, “I need to taste that soul again.”
“He sounds delicious,” one of the mermaids says, and immediately the evil giggles erupt again,
“He sure does,” snickers another, “Maybe he has some friends?”
I watch my subjects drooling over my mysterious victim, and a strange feeling comes over me. I want to keep them away from him. Protect him.
What the hell?
These are my lifelong companions, and he is a complete stranger. He is nothing to me. A lowly, disgusting human. A meal.
- Writer
