Fathoms Deep

Chapter 1

(edited and added on)

I’m walking into the party, of the hotel. I let my friends drag me. Some of us start heading towards the bar, some of us to the dance floor. I hear something; it starts off as someone humming. I like it; it’s intoxicating, mellow and inviting.

I ask Derek, “What song is this?”

He shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders, and we start to weave in and out of people, towards the bar. The lights are kind of neat, going with the beat. I’m served my drink, and I’m leaning against the bar, when I hear the signing again. I start to walk along the outside of the dance floor, looking around and trying to get closer to whoever is singing. I stop, turn, and I see this woman. She is dancing perfectly to the rhythm. She is more like swaying, she is the one I hear signing. Something is off. Her lips, they’re not moving. I must be imaging it, or that drink hit me harder than I thought it did. The way she is dancing, makes me want to dance with her. It’s like I’m being pulled in by her, and before I know it, I’ve got my hands on her waist. This isn’t what I wanted. I swore off women. She smells so good, a little like the sea, and some kind of flower. I can hear the singing again. She still isn’t moving her lips. She starts to pull me off the dance floor, and I’m following along. She pulls me, past all of the dancers toward the opening of the patio. Soon we’re outside and she is smiling up at me, those blue eyes drawing me in, and making me smile back.

Finally, she opens her mouth, “ Hi,my name is Anniliese, but for now you may call me Annie.”

We stop at the edge of the patio, where stairs descend to the sand below. From here I can see the white caps, as the waves of the ocean break on land. Walking hand in hand we walk south along the beach, close to the palm trees. We walk about a mile down from the hotel; I can no longer hear the clubs music. Just her song was playing, in my head. She is so beautiful, with a fantastic body. We sit in the tree line, making out. She gets up and starts to walk towards the water. First she strips off her tank top and then un-hooks her bra, letting it float to the sand. Next, she is taking off her shorts and as they slide over her hips, and fall to her feet, she looks over her shoulder and smiles.

Already at the water, she wades in to her hips. She goes to dive, and as her legs swing up, I see a tail? What? She resurfaces and smiles, and crooks her finger at me to join her. I hear the song again, and start stripping out of my clothes. I wade in and catch her by her waist, I can feel her fin swirling the water as it brushes my leg.

We start kissing, and touching. Before I know it we’ve swam out further than I could have the strength to swim back. That’s when she grabs my hand, and starts pulling me under the water. I’m holding my breath, it seems so calm, and I start to hear the song again. I open my mouth to ask her how she does that when, my mouth floods with water, and she starts to smile, with straight sharp teeth. Just when I’m about to pass out from lack of oxygen, something side swipes her away from me. I can’t really see, and that’s when I lose consciousness.

I wake up back on shore, in the tree line. I sense someone next to me; I look around and find a woman peering down at me. I jump up a little too fast, scared from what I remember.

“Sorry, about my sister, it’s just her nature,” the woman says. She continues, “I pulled you back up here.”

“What was that?” I ask, “What is she?”

“A siren, do you know what that it?” she replies.

I was trying to dig inside my consciousness for the information, I’ve read about the mythical creatures. I start shaking my head. Not believing what she just said to me. I get up to find my clothes and get dressed. I start thinking about sirens, swimming, and then I remember Anniliese and her sharp teeth. Shivering from the cool air or from the memory, I’m not sure. I look back at the woman who saved me.

“How did you save me, from your cousin?” I ask.

“I swam out, and shoved her off of you, and then pulled you back on land.” She replies. “I’m a siren as well, no worries; I don’t wish to drown you.”

I start picturing the whole ordeal that happened with her cousin. I imagine her hair floating around her beautiful face, the song that will not leave my mind, and the tail.

“So you’re both mermaids?” I have so many questions.

“No!” she screeches, with disgust in her voice. “Mermaids just float around, brushing their hair, wishing they could walk on land, Sirens can actually walk on land and lure our men to their deaths.”

I start to walk back towards the hotel, realizing what she just said to me. I start walking faster, to get away from her. She is trying to keep up with me.

Guessing at what is going through my mind she says, “I don’t want to hurt you, if I did, I would’ve helped her drag you to the bottom of the ocean and finish you off.”

Scared at this point I start jogging, and then running. I hear a song inside my mind again. She’s singing, and it’s so beautiful, even more so than her cousins song. I turn to look at her, and she is so gorgeous, the moonlight, makes her look like she is glowing. I can’t look away, and then a flash of a tail and teeth, fly through my mind. I shake my head, and realize I’m standing still, I turn and start running. I hear her yelling for me. I keep going, trying to put as much distance between, myself and the beautiful woman, creature, as I can.

I make it back to the hotels club. Searching for my friends, I find them and we head to the car. I drop everyone off at their own place, except Derek. He comes back and crashes on the bed, in the spare bedroom. I walk around the apartment, gathering my towel and shorts. I get into the shower, to wash away, the strangest evening I have ever had.

Jeremey

I wake up to a knock on the front door; I shift to look at my phone for the time. The light blinding me, the time reads three a.m. Who is knocking on my door this late at night? I walk out of my room to stumble across a bleary eyed Derek.

“Go back to sleep, dude, I got it.” I tell him.

I open the front door and there she is, the second woman, the woman who saved my life. I just stand there, dumbfounded, wondering how she knew where I lived.

“Are you going to let me in?” She asks.

“After you tell me your name and how you knew where I lived” I reply.

“My name is Everlee, and I just knew where you lived, I was walking and the next thing I knew, I was at your doorstep” She says. “What is your name?”

I say, “Jeremy.” I step aside and let her through the door.

Not knowing why I just let a complete stranger into my living room. She walks to the couch and sits down. She just keeps looking around the room, and then her gaze falls on me. I can feel myself flushing; the room suddenly seems small and uncomfortably warm.

“So, why are you here?” I ask. “At three a.m.?”

She clears her throat and continues to stare at me. “Well, I’m a siren. Any siren that bestows the gift of their song on a human, and the human doesn’t die, and then they’re like a beacon. You’re like a beacon. I can feel where you are at all times.”

I can’t believe what I am hearing. I sit at the dining table, to try and absorb everything that has happened tonight. I can’t fathom exactly how I got into the mess. Then I have a bad thought.

“What about your cousin? Doesn’t that mean I am a beacon to her as well?” I ask.

“Yes,” She replies, “That’s why I am here; to make sure she didn’t start searching for you.” She continues with, “When a siren, bestows her gift, it really means she has marked you, so if her prey does get away, she can always find him and finish what she started.”

“Then why didn’t you try to drown me?” I ask nervously.

With a look of pain she replies, “I don’t want to be a part of that life, I don’t believe in hurting any form of creature.”

That’s so weird I think to myself. Does that mean I need to be cautious where ever I go? How does it all work? If Anna is following me and wants to finish the job, how is she going to do it? Will I have to watch my back all the time?

“How long will she follow me?” I ask Everlee.

“Well typically a Siren will continue to follow her prey, until she has finished her duty,” Everlee says.

I sit here pondering the words coming from her mouth. I can’t stop looking at them anyways. They’re perfectly imperfect. Not exactly small, the bow is perfect, and they’re full when she smiles. When she doesn’t, her lips are pouty and sultry when she doesn’t. Wait, finish her duty?

“Meaning, what exactly?” I question her. “She’s coming back for me?”