Would You Date A Mermaid

"Would you date a mermaid?"

"What? "

"A mermaid.Would you date one?"

"I wouldn't date any unnaturals."

"Why not? Some of them are really hot."

"Most of them want to eat you.Not sleep with you."

"But on the off chance that we run into a succubus you're telling me you wouldn't take that chance."

Alex signed as he looked out at the water.

"I've killed dozens of them. I'm not interested in sleeping with one."

"You are no fun"

" Speaking of fun go check the perimeter" he commanded

"Fine!"

Alex watched Jace as he walked away.The man is still a child.He does not have the heart for this profession.Then again the entire crew was like that.Alex didn't know how such a inexperienced group was picked for this assignment.There are far too many unknowns.The main one being that they didn't even know what type of unnatural is attacking the ship.

The ocean is full of unnaturals. There are mermaids. They typically aren't aggressive.They feed on vegetation.Then you have kelpies.However they tend to stay away from humans.It is rare to even see them.There is also the legendary Kraken species.They spend most of their life sleeping.Only waking 2 times a year to feed.

While Alex waited for the apprentice to return he pondered the facts.The crew from the previous trip had severe self-inflicted wounds.Their limbs were torn from their bodies.The hull of the vessel also showed signs of blunt force trauma.Almost like it had been beat with a sledgehammer.It's a miracle it was still seaworthy.A glass shattering followed by laughter jarred him from his thoughts.

"Idiots" he muttered

"What did I do this time?" asked Jace returning from recon

"Nothing.Did you check the perimeter?"

"Of course."

"All of it?"

"Sir yes sir!"

"Status?"

"I didn't see anything out of the ordinary." Jace explained. "However the water seemed calm.I'm starting to wonder if there's anything out there."

"A calm before the storm."Alex looked out at the horizon.

"The sun will be setting soon. That's when we will separate the men from the boys.Let's see how you do when all hell breaks loose.Hopefully you survive the night."

Once nighttime hit the ship went quiet.Even the newbies knew that at night shit hits the fan.The only noise came from the ship rocking against the waves and the cackling of the lanterns that illuminated the deck.

"Time?"

“Huh?"

"What time is it?"

"4:38am" Jace answered "The night is almost over.Maybe there won't be an attack."

"Now there will definitely be an attack. You jinxed us."

“What?I thought you didn't believe in crap like that.”

"Jace we live in a world where seeing a Phoenix is normal, and a Sasquatch is more common than a bear.Trust me I believe in everything."

"Aw man. I'm such an idiot " said Jace head in hands

Alex exploded into laughter"I think that's the smartest thing you've said since I met you."

"Don't do that?It's creepy."

"Do what?"

"Laugh."

"Shut up," Alex said, slapping Jace in the back of his head.

A voice on the transceiver rang out.

"Uhhh…we have a problem."

Alex sprung to his feet.

"Dante. What is it.What do you see?"

"Just eyes. Watching us."

"Can you identify the unnatural?"

"She's so beautiful. "

A seductive melody could be heard on the radio. Alex's heart dropped.He raised the radio above his head and slammed it to the ground.

“What's going on? “Asked Jace

Gunshots and screams erupted around the ship as the crew members were ripped apart. Jace began to sprint towards the mayhem.Alex grabbed his arm and held him in place.

"What are you doing!" he yelled

"Don't move." Alex warned "They're hunting"

"They?" Jace asked confused

Alex pointed out at the water.Looking at water he could see eyes glowing in the moonlight.A wave of relief washed over him.

"Ha!They're just mermaids."

"Shhh, you idiot. They are not mermaids.They are sirens."

"Well they look like mermaids."

"Yeah,except these mermaids eat human flesh."

"Oh."

It all started making sense.The crew's self inflicted injuries were a result of the sirens song.The crewman missing limbs were their dinner. Even as questions were being answered it only created more questions.From the looks of it this is an entire coven.They reduced a 10 man crew down to 2 in a matter of seconds.These waters should be restricted.How long has this gone unnoticed.

"Why aren't they attacking?"

"They're waiting for us to move." Alex explained." Their eyes don't adjust well to the air.The hunt based off of vibration. That's why we're going to move very slowly"

"Dude,you're like some kind of monster encyclopedia."

"You can be impressed later, right now you're going to do exactly what I tell you." He glanced at the water checking to see if the monsters moved

"You're going to get to the helm and get us out of here. Don't stop until I tell you.Do you understand.”

"Yeah, but what are you going to do?"

"I’m going to stop us from becoming breakfast"

"How?"

"No more questions.You have one job. Don't screw it up."

"I got this.I am a professional after all."

Just as he turned to run off.Alex stopped him again.

"One more thing.This is going to hurt"

"Whaa-?". Before he could finish Alex cupped his hands and hit him in the sides of his head rupturing his ear drums. Jace yelled in pain and fell to the floor with a thud.!With that the sirens rushed the boat.

"What was that for!"Jace yelled

Alex pulled Jace to his feet and pushed him towards the front of the boat.

"No time to explain.Just go." Alex ordered.

He reached in his coat pocket and pulled out a pair of ear plugs.They were originally supposed to be for taking nap on his break.This seemed like a better use for them.Solving the problem of the siren song he now had to figure out how to get the horde of unnaturals to give up on the hunt.As the boat lurched forward Alex ran through the ship trying to think of a plan of action as the vessel crashed against the waves.He could hear hissing and the snapping of teeth as the sirens attacked the boat.

As he rounded a corner a body came into view.Drawing his sidearm Alex closed the distance carefully.He focused on his surrounding not sure if a siren had managed to jump the railing.Reaching the body he recognized as Dante. Beside him was a his rifle.Alex noticed the he had a entry wound to the side of his head.A victim of the song.Everyone else must have been pulled overboard. The hissing of the sirens had become a feral growl.

"I guess they're still hungry."

Alex grabbed on to what was left of Dante and dragged him to the edge.His body leaving behind a trail of blood.He lifted him up and threw him overboard.Blood and water splashed in his face as the corpse hit the water.

Alex with his hand on his weapon peeked over the railing.The water around them was free of the beasts that had pursued them.He ran to the back of the boat to confirm.He strained his eyes to see into the dark.He spotted them in the distance ripping apart what was left of the crew.Fighting each other over the spoils .It was a feeding frenzy.

Alex began making his way back to Jace. He was exhausted.His hands and clothes were covered in Dante's blood.He had seen people die before.He had killed hundreds of monsters. However he had never seen men being ripped apart and devoured.

"I'm getting too old for this"

Walking to the helm Alex looked into the sky and realized that the sun was beginning to rise.They had barely made it through the night.Reaching the helm he looked and saw that Jace was still steering the boat to shore.He reached out and put his hand on his shoulder.

“Good job.”

“What!” Jace yelled, holding his hands to his ears.

‘Never mind.’

“Did we win?”

“No,we survived”

“Cool!”

“Hey”

“Yeah”

“Still want to date a mermaid?’

.