Abject horror flooded her system. Tremors shot up and down her entire body.

"Miss?"

Dea's eyes focused on the server's troubled expression before darting down to the remains of what was once a sea cow—a gentle giant dragged away from home and killed. A white rod of bone protruded from one side. She emptied her stomach onto the floor, and a quivering hand wiped the dribble of sick.

"Miss, are you alright?" The human took a step towards her, alarm saturating his voice.

Dea grabbed hold of his shirt. "Where did you get this sea cow?"

He just stared at her, uncomprehending.

She released him and gripped the ogi. Her fingers shook so much it was hard to type. When she finally got Merlingo to ask the question in Sinhalese, he just stammered a few words in response and closed the dish.

She grabbed his shirt again and asked, her voice breaking, "Where?"

He didn't need a translation to know that she repeated the question, and for an instant, he resembled a cornered crab. "I—I'm not supposed to know this or talk..."

Dea's fists tightened while her heart thrummed away in her ribcage.

The color in his face drained as he whispered, "Sea cows are actually a protected animal here, because they're few, you know. Same as those dolphins. But..."

She waited for him to finish, a violent storm raging within.

He gulped. "Mr. Goonewardane has certain...investments, you know. And he likes going out there sometimes—on exploration, hunting trips...Brought these animals in just over a week ago. That's what I heard. He'd gone back again to the same location on Monday, but a cyclone happened and—"

The need for concealment evaporated, so Dea activated verbal input and croaked Mermish directly into the ogi for translation. "The day he fell overboard?"

"Yes, how did you—"

Her head whirled, and bile rose up. Weak all over, she relinquished her hold on his shirt. Burpy's family...

She glanced at the cloche that covered the monstrous dish—and her brain conjured up the image of the humans tucking into it in all their finery. Darkness descended on her in a veil of hopelessness and despair.

Dea experienced a total overhaul of the world she knew and understood. It was akin to reality flipping into a twisted version of itself. Rose-colored glasses were ripped off her eyes, and now she saw everything in a whole new angle. From a plastic-strangled sea turtle to the decimated deep-sea corals, pieces aligned to form a nightmarish picture of humans. Dilip's face hovered in her mind's eye—what she thought was attractive, but now the face of ugliness.

Then raw fear paralyzed her. It occurred to her that the human ship had ventured to the very borders of Calliathron. The fake jellyfish was the warning the universe sent her way, but she was too blind to make the connection. Dilip's words surfaced, making her skin crawl. You're not a human, so those laws don't apply. She wondered if they would drag off merpeople and chop them up into a hundred pieces like they did the sea cows. The Regent's stony visage appeared on cue to taunt her, accompanied by his words on pro-human youth. They're like the wild cows who know not what's good for them until they perish.

Dea rubbed her face, and her hand came away wet.

"Miss, I should go." The server pushed away from her and made to grab the platter.

Immobilized with shock, she just watched him take off.

She didn't feel the passage of time. It might have been minutes or an hour, but eventually, footfalls broke her out of her trance.

The door opened, and Dilip sauntered in.

Dea was suddenly aware of a new emotion rearing its head—hate. For an instant, it consumed her, spurring a compulsion to make him hurt.

She watched silently as he came to a stop by the table and leaned on it. Pain now throbbed from her skull and tired eyes all the way to her soul. Her hand closed over the pocket knife in her backpack—the only weapon in her possession.

His gaze raked over her, and a frown creased his forehead ever so slightly.

When she didn't say anything, he asked, "So, have you reconsidered my offer?"

Opting for verbal input again, she hissed, "Go to hell."

For an instant, Dilip appeared taken aback by this whole new side of her. His eyes narrowed. He pulled out his phone and made a call. Dea tuned out his voice, and a part of her contemplated taking off, but she knew there was no way she could make it past the cameras and security.

He ended the call and observed her again, smile gone. "It's such a pity."

His utterance was laced with a sinister edge that wasn't lost on her.

"What do you mean by that?" she demanded, her voice quavering.

"Well, did you think you're the first merperson to arrive on land?"

An iceberg dropped to the pit of her stomach, discharging cold that spread to her very core. "What?"

"The existence of merpeople is an era-defining discovery. But we don't plan on making it public." He straightened up and toyed idly with the ornament she inspected earlier. "For instance, Earth's resources are finite, and there's much of the oceans to be utilized. Another player appearing in the scene is...inconvenient."

Dea said nothing, and blood from her face.

He continued, his voice lowered, "You creatures are surprisingly elusive, I must say. That's why we take utmost care in guarding the specimens we do find—the scientific value alone cannot be overstated. Extracting information has been challenging, however. This app you're using would be a game-changer. It must be a relatively new advancement, I presume?"

"Where are they?"

"You'll find out soon enough," he said with an air of nonchalance. "This wasn't what I planned for you, but you've made your choice."

"You're evil," she whispered, trying to quell the riot of overpowering emotion.

"No, merely resourceful. How do you think we humans number by the billions and conquered the planet? While you hide in your little colonies under the waves?"

Only wisps of air emanated from her mouth in response. Her brain reeled from this devastating new revelation. Light-headed and sick to the stomach, she sagged back in the Cypod. On another occasion, she might have panicked about her safety, but now she wanted to resign herself to whatever fate that awaited her. You deserve this. How stupid and arrogant of you to think you knew the answers. Now you imperiled your people. You deserve what's coming. You deserve it! A sob rocked her form.

Rapid footsteps approached, and the two men from earlier marched in.

Dea's mind dipped in and out of focus as they mentioned a "temporary holding tank" and a "plant", which she thought could be a translation error. Her ears also picked up what sounded like "Kadol Doova".

She slackened her hold on the pocket knife and transferred it to her waist pouch—she couldn't see any favorable outcomes by attacking them with it.

Soon after, one of the men, who had a tattoo behind his ear, grabbed hold of the Cypod and pushed her out, while the other followed behind.

As she was whisked away again, Dea stared over her shoulder at the beguiling human she traversed miles of the unknown for. The cruel hand of irony struck her then—she was doomed by the very human she had saved. Maybe she should have let nature take its course and allowed this monster to sink to the bottom of the sea. Now she paid dearly for trying to play hero.

The trip through the gilded prison of a house flashed by in a blur. They emerged into the open air through a secondary exit at the back. Greeted by a wailing gust of wind, she made out the crooked shape of a lane that disappeared into the night.

Then her swimming eyes fell on a truck, swathed in darkness.

Within minutes, she was bundled into the back while the tattooed man clambered onto the passenger seat, his jacket now gone and shirt sleeves rolled up. She had a moment to catch a glimpse of the driver—none other than the corpulent feral human.

The rear doors closed, cutting off all light. The blackness pressed all around, sinking her further into the darkest depths of her mind. Anger and hate brewed within, mingling with the sludgy cocktail of pain, regret and guilt.

The vehicle growled to life and droned on in sync with her inner turmoil. The occasional bumpy patch cranked up the vibrations, sending her bouncing up. That was when her dazed brain noticed the Cypod was tethered into place.

Dea lost track of time again.

It seemed like a short trip when the truck braked to a stop.

Tattoo Guy opened the rear doors and shone a flashlight, making Dea squint. Then he approached her, holding a lump she couldn't discern against the glare.

A second later, he zip-tied her wrists.

Just when she opened her mouth on reflex, he stuffed a rag into it. Without missing a beat, he tore off a strip of duct tape, emanating an obscenely loud screech, and sealed her mouth shut.

It happened so fast that she was too shocked to react. A greasy tang hit her tongue. She retched and struggled, but to no avail.

He proceeded to cover her with a dark sack, which reached down to the base of the Cypod. The coarse, stiff material rubbed against her face. No words were spoken while he pushed her down a ramp.

The Cypod's wheels clattered onto concrete. That was when realization crept through the haze in her mind.

She was back at the "port".

Her heart plummeted.

Dea's eyes panned over the gloomy interior, though visibility was scant due to the material that veiled her. They seemed to have arrived through a different entrance, judging by the closing roller door. Her quaking soul tuned into the sound of waves—her only comfort in what had turned out to be the blackest night of her life.

Snippets of conversation that Tattoo Guy exchanged with a human revealed to her that she was "special cargo" to be kept isolated.

As they pushed her further into the building, she descended into total despair. The place seemed to be deserted, which might have been due to the late hour.

Led into the bowels of the compound, Dea found herself in an overbearingly dark chamber. It was a mishmash of concrete, pipes and dirty tiles. The door shut with a creak, and silence dropped as heavy as an anvil.

Tattoo Guy pushed her next to a rusted railing that enclosed a large tank, its water level beyond view from Dea's low vantage point.

Abruptly, he snatched off the sack and her backpack. She jerked and blinked up at his hardened face, partially obscured by shadow.

An instant later, he lifted her bodily off the Cypod and tipped her over the railing.

Animal: Toadfish

https://youtu.be/7ayMhV0hALw