19 Days - One Shots

The Prince From the Depths - Part Two

Once they reached the shore, the strange man let Mo Guan Shan go in the shallows and he crawled away fast, tripping over in the water until he sank back into the rocky sand. He was breathing fast, his mind racing trying to understand what had just happened. He had so many questions but only one was spoken aloud.

"What the fuck are you?" More than anything, Guan Shan was freaking out over the fact that this was no mere man. Instead of legs, he had a tail like a mermaid. But there was no way that was true. Mermaids were fiction, legends, and tales. He surely had just drank too much salt water and was seeing things.

The creature, sitting in the shallows with his tail coming in and out of view from the waves, glanced around before stretching his fins out. Guan Shan's eyes widened as they slowly became legs. He slowly stood up fully naked and stretched his legs out. Guan Shan blushed and turned away. He was definitely going crazy.

"Are you okay?" The deep voice startled Guan Shan, looking back up at the man's concerned face he did nothing but stare. The dark-haired boy tried again. "Did he hurt you?"

"What? Who? She Li?" Guan Shan shook his head in confusion before his face dropped. "She Li. Why did he leave?"

"He left you to die." He said matter-of-factly.

"That's bullshit!" The redhead shouted but even to his own ears, the words didn't ring true."He-he wouldn't just leave me like that. Something must have happened."

The merman walked towards the frightened boy sat on the shore and bent down just in front of him. He reached for the rope still attached to Guan Shan and looked at the end before showing him. "The rope was cut." He leaned forward and gently tugged Guan Shan's oxygen tank off his back and looked at the valve. "This was also tampered with to release more oxygen. He set you up and you're not the first."

Shock was the only thing Guan Shan felt. He didn't want to believe it but it made sense. The last part of his sentence reached Guan Shan's ears and he looked up. "What are you talking about?"

"We noticed recently more and more bodies ending up in the sea and we've kept an eye on him. He brings one or two men out here a month and does exactly what he did to you, except they don't make it back to shore. I was told not to interfere, that this was human business but I couldn't sit back and watch anyone else die. It seemed like the police were getting no closer to catching who was doing this. Now there's a witness, a survivor. You need to put a stop to this."

Guan Shan suddenly felt overwhelmed. "I can't do anything! Who would believe that I survived? What do I tell them, that a fucking mermaid rescued me?"

The man frowned. "Uh, I'm a merman." He looked down at himself. "Mermaids don't have this."

"Shit! Don't grip it in front of me!" Guan Shan's face exploded with embarrassment as he looked away.

"You've got the evidence - the rope and your tank, which I presume is registered in his name. Plus I can help you. Not sure if you noticed but no one would believe you if you told them I'm a merman. No tail." He grinned and wiggled a foot.

Guan Shan was silent for a couple of minutes before he looked up at the taller man. "He tried to kill me." He whispered. "I trusted him."

The stranger bent down and put his hand on Guan Shan's shoulder. "I'll be with you every step of the way. You won't ever have to see him alone. So, I guess you have a lot of questions about me. I'll answer all of them as we walk to the police station if you tell me your name."

Guan Shan took his swimfins off and his wetsuit, thankful he was wearing clothes underneath and gave the wetsuit to the stranger. Together they walked to the road. They introduced themselves and Guan Shan asked the first thing that came to mind. "How does the whole tail-to-leg thing work?"

He Tian looked down at his legs in the tight wetsuit. "I'm not sure. I just think it and it happens." He shrugged.

"How can you speak?"

He Tian raised an eyebrow, an amused look on his face. "I'm a merman, not an alien. We're exactly the same in all ways except for the fact we can breathe underwater."

"And the whole tail thing." Guan Shan added.

"Right." He Tian grinned. His grin faded as he looked at Guan Shan. "How are you doing? About the whole situation.

Guan Shan shook his head. "Honestly, I think I'm still in shock. You being a mythical creature doesn't help."

He Tian wrapped his arm around Guan Shan's shoulders. "You'll be fine, Redhead. I'm here for you."

Guan Shan looked at him. "Thank you. You know, for saving my life."

He Tian smiled gently at him. "It was my pleasure."