Mike blinked against the sunlight, confusion clouding his face.
"Where… am I?" he muttered.
Above him stretched an endless wash of blue. For a moment, his thoughts spiraled into panic before settling into a chilling realization.
This must be the ocean bed… but why are there no coral reefs, no kelp, no fish? No boats above me either. What is this place?
A darker thought crept in. Could this be heaven? No… not quite. It feels too empty. Too strange.
He pushed himself upright, the sand shifting beneath his palms. To his surprise, a breathtaking shoreline stretched out before him—strewn with seashells and starfish glittering in the sun. Beyond, the vast Pacific shimmered to the horizon, dotted with fishing boats, steamers, yachts, and cargo ships.
Mike staggered to his feet, disbelief etched across his face.
"I can't believe I'm at the shore. How did I even get here?"
He glanced down at himself. Not a scratch, not a scar. Even his clothes were perfectly dry.
Then he saw them—faint handprints pressed into the sand near where he had lain. Someone… or something had been there.
I wasn't alone.
A memory flickered through his mind: a girl's tearful eyes staring at him before vanishing into thin air. Her face lingered, haunting and beautiful.
Who was she? An angel?
Before he could unravel the mystery, the distant silhouette of a cargo ship approaching the harbor yanked him back to reality—and with it, the terrifying memory of the Flora-T61 capsizing.
"My parents!" he gasped.
Spinning around, he took in the vast beach—the palms and coconut trees swaying in the breeze, the port buzzing with life, skyscrapers rising just beyond. His eyes landed on a tall white board with bold blue letters:
WELCOME TO SAN DIEGO
Heart pounding, Mike rushed into the city until he found a telephone booth. With trembling hands, he dialed his father's number. To his shock, the line connected.
"Hello? Who's speaking?" came the deep, familiar voice.
"Dad! Where are you?"
A pause. Then, disbelief. "Mike… is that really you, son?"
"It's me! I'm alive!"
"Oh, thank heavens… we searched everywhere. Where are you?"
"I'm at San Diego port."
"We're here too—your mother and I!"
Mike's throat tightened. "Then… come find me."
"Stay put, son. We'll be there soon."
"I'll be waiting, Dad."
An hour later, they found him. The reunion was pure tears and trembling embraces—a family torn apart by the sea, miraculously stitched back together on the shores of San Diego.
**************************************************
Meanwhile far in the ocean,
The ocean was calm for only a moment, the currents whispering secrets through the dark trenches. Then Annabelle's sharp eyes caught the shimmer of movement—shadows gathering like a storm tide. She tightened her grip on her sword, her blue tail flicking once to steady her.
"Pacilngs," she said, her voice cutting like knife through water. "They're coming. Shields ready, blades firm."
The circle of warrior mermaids closed in around her, shields flashing, swords gleaming with the faint glow of enchanted coral steel.
From the murk emerged the first wave of Pacilngs— purple grotesque shark-like creatures, each one a nightmare carved in flesh. Their mouths opened wide, releasing wind-like vacuums that pulled at the mermaids, while octopus-like tendrils shot out to ensnare their prey. Webbing followed, sticky threads designed to bind and drag.
"Hold formation!" Annabelle,who was their captain, roared.
The clash was instant and brutal. Swords slashed through tendrils, shields deflected webs, and the water churned red with the struggle. A Pacilng lunged at a young mermaid, mouth agape, teeth like jagged coral ready to snap shut.
"Not today."
Annabelle's body stretched unnaturally, rubber-like arms snapping forward. She hooked the mermaid by the wrist and yanked her free just as the monster's teeth snapped down on empty water. Annabelle's eyes burned with fury. She drew in a deep breath—then unleashed her sonic scream. The water around her fractured like glass, and the Pacilng exploded into shards of violet gore.
The warriors pressed on, slashing and driving back the tide. The Pacilngs faltered, their grotesque army scattering. A few tried to flee into the abyss.
That was when Klara arrived. She was the Chief Commander of all warrior mermaids. Her orange tail lit the waters like fire as she spun her spear once, then hurled it with deadly force. The weapon shot through three fleeing Pacilngs, pinning them together like skewered eels. Before the others could escape, Klara's eyes glowed in bright orange colour. Beams of searing energy shot from her eyes and tore through the last of the monsters, leaving nothing but fading purple smoke.
Silence followed. The mermaids floated in the eerie calm of victory, their breaths hard, their weapons still trembling in hand.
Klara turned to Annabelle. "Your leadership saved many lives today, Captain. We owe you." Her eyes, however, held no triumph, only the heaviness of truth. "But this war will not end. Against the Pacilngs, there is no final victory—only survival."
She turned to address the others, her voice carrying the weight of command. "Return to your mer-pools and villages. Check on your children. Trouble finds its way even where we think them safe."
The warriors nodded, dispersing into the vast blue, leaving Annabelle and Klara in the stillness of the aftermath, the shadows of the Pacilngs still lurking in their minds.
Klara's gaze lingered on the fading clouds of purple ichor. She swam closer to Annabelle, her voice dropping to a quiet but pointed tone.
"You should follow the others, Captain. You need to check on your children as well… especially the powerless one."
For a heartbeat, Annabelle's eyes widened, a mother's heart piercing through her warrior's armor. She whispered the name like a prayer and a promise.
"Celestine."
In the next instant, her blue tail snapped and her form blurred, vanishing into the currents with impossible speed.
Klara remained, watching the direction Annabelle had gone. Slowly, a knowing smile curved her lips. "She's already in danger," she murmured to the silence of the deep. "Probably an outcast now."
The water around her darkened, as though the ocean itself shared her foreboding.
TO BE CONTINUED...