Mermen in Melbourne

The Realization

Austin quietly sat at the far end of the breakfast table, with Mason sat on his left and Tanner on his right. Mason, behaving oddly, was glancing everywhere but Austin. Tanner, behaving infinitely odder, was glancing nowhere but Austin. Either way, he was sick of sitting between the two over a breakfast of uncooked seafood.

"So Austin. Welcome to the Teach. I trust that Mason and Tanner educated you well on the charter," Russell said calmly, and Austin nodded. He knew some of the junk, true, but he didn't have any idea how to get the hell out of here, the one thing that really mattered to him. He had planned it all out in his head; if he escaped, he would wake up from the coma. There was no other way.

"Well, it was mostly me, considering Mason didn't want to be bothered to wake this morning," Tanner said begrudgingly.

"Excuse me? You told me that my help would not be needed, that you had it covered!" Mason called back, speaking a little too soon to be anywhere near causal. It was clear, to Austin at least, that this was a touchy subject.

"No, you told me that you were too tired," Tanner argued, leaning over Austin to speak to Mason.

"No I did not."

"You did, too!"

"I did not!" Mason protested, leaning over Austin to face Tanner. Austin backed up his chair, standing best he could.

"I'm, uh, gonna go get some fresh air." Austin said, limping towards the door.

"You do know that we're underwater, right?" Wyatt said, speaking over calls of Mason's 'I did not's and Tanner's 'you did, too's.

"Oh," Austin said, standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"I did not!" Mason argued a final time, before Isaac decided that it was enough.

"Oi, you two. Shut up, before shit gets bloody, you hear me?" Isaac threatened, glaring at the two of them. Tanner huffed, slouching back onto his chair. Austin could have sworn that he heard him whisper 'youdidtoo' a final time under his breath.

"Now, Austin, if you would like to rejoin us, that would be lovely. I apologise for the conflicts of the two, but that is only to be expected during courtship," Russell said calmly. Austin nodded once again, sliding back into the seat between Tanner and Mason.

"What does he mean by courtship?" Austin whispered to Tanner. As much as he didn't want to speak to the boy, he couldn't do this alone. Tanner double checked to make sure Russell nor Mason was looking.

"He's trying to hook you up, preferably with one of us," Tanner whispered back, grabbing another piece of shrimp from the table. Considering that Austin would never eat another human, the Teach offered a seafood meal as a compromise. This would be great, if everything wasn't completely raw.

"What?" Austin asked, not even bothering to whisper. "You're trying to hook me up?"

"Austin, it is no big deal, he does it to everyone-"

"No, you know what? It is a big deal. Up until yesterday, I was in a long, serious relationship. Up until yesterday, I had my future, my career, planned out entirely for me. I was going to be a music teacher! My life was great. I go on a single boating trip and all that's gone. My boyfriend, Noah? He's dead. He was eaten, probably bloodied, pained, by the very people sitting before me. And now you're trying to hook me up. This is gee jolly good and all, but I just have one question," Austin said, anger boiling. "Did he scream? When you killed him, I mean? Did he cry? What the hell is wrong with you people, is what I'd like to know!" Austin's voice had escalated to a shout.

The air around the table was very quiet after that. Ian grabbed another shrimp, watching the conversation unfold calmly.

"He did not scream," Trent said, looking up to look Austin in the eye. "They put him down humanely, I watched them myself. I might be against their way of doing things, but at the end of the day, at least they refuse to torture." Austin took a deep breath, tugging slightly at his hair.

"You know what? I don't think I'm hungry," Austin said, standing up once more. This time he wasn't so lucky. Slipping off his chair, Austin felt himself fall to the floor.

"You need any help?" Tanner asked, and Austin felt like screaming.

"I just want to go home," Austin said quietly, squeezing his eyes shut. The stone ground smelled salty, grimy, disgusting, and most unfortunately, back-breakingly realistic. "Please take me home."

Russell and the others shared a look. Austin looked up, pulling himself onto his back.

"Austin, we have done some digging on the information of your type- Scorpios born into the above, growing to live in the below at the call of the Siren's song. And, um, Austin, I regret to inform you..." Russell said, swallowing audibly. "The effects are irreversible."

Austin took a deep breath yet again, finding no courage left. He couldn't do it. He couldn't not go back on land, where his family lived, where Noah lived, where he should of lived. He wanted to go there so bad. If what Russell was saying is true, then he couldn't. He could never return.  

a/n: so this one's short, but the chapters around it are long so. don't shoot or whatever.