Under Crimson Waves

My mum and dad said that I shouldn't go to the surface world. If I had known what was really going on, I would never had wanted to go to the surface world. My parents had gone off to talk to the matriarch that night. Of course, my rules were to keep an eye on my older brother.

"Don't huff, you know why he needs to be watched." I grumbled something about trying his luck with the matriarch's daughter. "Exactly."

They both said their goodbyes to us and headed out. I sighed softly as my brother looked at me with those luminescent eyes.

"What? It's not my fault that you tried to court the matriarch's heir." He just shook his head.

"Not like you can go anywhere either." I made a face and I heard the conch horns for the usual hunt.

I looked up at the surface and the colorless moon, feeling that calling. That calling to the surface, to see what was up there. My brother followed my gaze and smirked.

"Still have many curiosities about the surface world? Sister, I'll make you a deal." I turned my attention to him.

"Mum and dad said that you are not leaving this cave. And I am inclined to agree with them."

The conch horn blew again. Part of me desperately wanted to find out what was up there. What the few of us hunted for on land. God, I was starting to actually have that tingling feeling down my spine. I guess I had that feeling of exploring the world above for a long while. Even her parents said that she had too much of an adventurous soul for a mermaid.

"Come on Sis. I'll promise to stay away from the matriarch's daughter and just hang out with my buddies in the coral beds. And I'll even get you to the surface while I am at it." I blinked in surprise. "Deal?"

He stuck his hand out in a business-like way. Throwing me a shark bone as it were.

"Come on sis. I'll keep my promise. No matriarch daughter." I sighed softly.

"Are you going to stay in the coral beds." My brother nodded. "Alright then. Deal."

I shook his hand and he grabbed my wrist to pull me up toward the surface. My brother's fin was faster than my own, but I felt like I had never really tried. I was stuck at home, doing random chores. I sighed and shook my head. I wanted to see the world just above our own.

As we broke the surface, he ducked my head down as some veteran Mers swam closer to short. I looked up at my brother as he finally let me go and I broke the surface. At fist, I felt like I was gagging. But it became little easier. Practicing on the islands had done me some good. I waded up to the shore as my brother watched. When I got to shore, he ducked down below the surface. I was on my own I guessed as I sat part of myself down on the beach.

My fin slowly and painfully split into two and I stood up slowly. It was still hard to walk around on two feet after swimming around with only one find for years. I peered around to make sure there were no stray Mers. They would probably let me be, but I didn't want to take the chance that they would send me home.

I walked toward the forest and headed more inland. I knew that the hunt was important, and one day, I would join them. Many of the Mers had already started before my age, but I was told to stay home. I never truly understand what that could mean. I stumbled out of the woods and toward the town. I stuck to the shadows and traversed the court of the town. I wasn't sure how I would ask, but I hoped someone might have an answer.

I came to one house with lights on, but on hindsight, I should have thought about the fact that the lights were on really late at night. But I went over to the house and knocked gently on it. Maybe the locals had answers that my own kin didn't have. I waited a few moments as I heard shuffling inside. The jostling for the door handle was enough for me to wait. Though, that probably was not my best decision that night.

The man who answered the door was tall, with dark hair and dark eyes. That's probably when I realized just how much my eyes glowed against him. But my attention was brought to the thing in his hand, a gun. I put my hands up in surrender and bit my lip as I stared down the barrel of it.

"What do you want?" He growled, glaring at me. "You're not going to eat me." Though he kept an eye on me, "Why'd you knock on my door? Not very stealthy of you."

I bit my lip and whispered, "Why would I do that? And I wasn't trying to be stealthy." Why was he acting like this? Did I look like a cannibal? "Why do you think I'm going to eat you?"

I watched his tense figure and tried to stay calm myself. I tilted my head curiously.

"Does the gun really need to be there?"

A frown spread across his face and a look of disbelief.

"You don't know why you come to the mainland to hunt?" I shook my head. "You hunt humans, mermaid!" He snapped.

My eyes widened. We do what? At first, I couldn't be sure that I heard him right.

"You kill our kind because you grow tired of fish! And the gun is necessary. I'd rather not join my siblings in death." I blinked slightly. He was joking, right?

"No. I didn't know why. This is the first time I've been able to go." Well, technically. "That can't be right. We don't hunt humans. We eat mostly sea food. The fish have gone scarce in most of the ocean." I chewed on my lip, growing more worried. "I really don't see how we have grown tired of fish. that is something we are suppose to eat. We've been surviving on fish for centuries.

I looked at the gun that was 'necessary'. Though, to be honest, I thought it was a bit excessive.

"I'm apparently not one of them. I was not part of your siblings death." I know that if something had happened to her brother, even as annoying as he was, she would probably be in the same predicament.

There was a glint in his eyes as he grabbed my wrist.

"How many of you are out here tonight?" He yanked me inside and slammed the door behind me.

My last glance outside was a pyre in the middle of town and Mers and screams, though I couldn't be sure who was screaming now. The Mers, or the humans.