Of Land and Sea

Nightmares

The waters were darker than they usually were. So cold, so foreboding, so very unwelcoming. In fact, it didn't even feel like proper water; the taste, it was off, it was... disgusting. The color was all wrong, being a foul brown instead of the clear blue. And a burning coursed over Elliott's skin, a sickening amount of bubbles all around, clinging to him as if they were leeches.

No life seemed to be around for miles, from what Elliott could see; but his eyes stung in pain to make him not even want to open them long. Instead, he kept them clinched, rubbing at them in a vain attempt to ease the scratching feel. His fin felt on fire, the liquid oozing into his wound and making it pulse horribly. Every bit of his body felt wrong, felt like it needed out, but blinded by the sheer toxicity this water held, Elliott was surely trapped.

As Elliott thrashed about, body twisting in a most uncomfortable way, Elliott could feel something hard and cold touch his aching flesh. Opening his eyes just enough to see, he could see a blue cylinder floating nearby, crushed from its normal shape. He could see holes in its body, oozing out a black substance that mixed and turned into the sludge that surrounded him. Desperate to make the pain and taste go away, Elliott reached for the blue cylinder, but as he touched it, his hand felt a searing pain course through it.

He tried to release his hold on the object, but it did no good; it stuck to him and refused to budge, continuing to leak the gross goo over his hand. It hurt so badly, as if his skin was being stripped away, replaced with the black liquid itself...

"Look at what you've done, scavenger," a click sounded out, deep in the murky depths, beyond his touch. "Did we not warn you want these creatures would do? Did we not tell you they threatened our existence, that they only cared as long as they thrived? And yet, you still failed to heed our warnings. Yet you abandon your brothers to a bloody grave, instead to save taint!"

Elliott wanted to click out as well, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he could feel the liquid course into him, the taste so foul that he gagged out. As if that wasn't enough, the liquid seemed to dissolve his tongue, melting it away as if it were foam. His was silenced, unable to communicate in any way to the condemning tone that echoed around him.

"You saved one of those things, and look what it did to repay you! It contaminated our home, killed our kind without so much as a hint of mercy! Our school is gone, our culture stolen! We are to be forgotten now, in the mess of filth it so enjoy!" the clicks continued on, anger so very clear.

"Please, I'm sorry, I just thought..." Elliott was pleading internally now, knowing that he couldn't physically retort back.

"That is the problem, scavenger. You never think, you just do. You react, never taking into consideration the dire consequences your actions lead into. You are like them, scavenger. You only care for yourself, and not for the good of others. Your own self-preservation matters more than the stability of your school, of your environment!" the clicks responded to Elliott's thoughts, as if it knew what he was thinking before even he knew.

"P-Please, no! I, I do care for others, I just..."

"Oh really? They why do we swim in this filth, our waters once clean and pure now filled with taint and agony! Where are these ones you "care" about, why do they not stay before you! Why does life no longer live among these waters, and instead only rot and corpses remain! You do not, care, scavenger, you never did!" the clicks were so forceful, it almost felt like Elliott had been punched.

As Elliott tried to think of something, anything to defend himself, his eyes were forced open to a most horrifying sight. All around him were the cadavers of his people, half rotted away, with gore following behind them. All around were fish, trying to swim with half of their bodies gone, their fins dissolving before his very eyes. Debris floated about now, replacing the fish as they faded away from sight, gone forever to the dark, tainted waters.

Completely speechless now, Elliott tried his best to close his eyes, but instead they remained open; forced to see what he had done to his world. In desperation, he went to try and cover his eyes, but soon found his body paralyzed, frozen in place. Letting out a pained wail, Elliott could only float in place as a dark figure made itself apparent in the sludge.

"You will not hide from your mistakes anymore, scavenger. You will not ignore the plight you have caused to us, to our beloved home. You will face it, you will realize. And you will join with this taint, never to know peace like your brethren," was clicked out now, a cold decisiveness to each sound.

As Elliott stared in horror at the figure, his mouth was suddenly opened, forcing into his body the disgusting taste. His eyes began to bulge, a pressure so painful cracking his skull as he bloated in a most horrifying manner. It was as if the entire taint was forcing its way in, stretching his skin and organs until they ruptured. His thoughts were so panicked, but soon even his mind was filled with the filth, flooding his entire being both physically and spiritually.

"You always had too much of her in you, scavenger. I was hoping her example would've taught you better, but instead you will now join her," was the last thing Elliott heard before feeling his body tear apart from the taint.

——————

Elliott was jolted forward as the nightmare came to its bloody end. Doing so caused a pain to go through him, making him hiss out as he seized his body. As the pain gradually subsided, Elliott became vaguely aware of a bizarre feeling not only over his torso, but underneath his head as well. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was a feeling he was not used to. Soft, delicate, and fluffy.

Moving his body to get himself in an upright position, Elliott could feel the foreign object fall from his form, making a light splash into the water. His eyes weren't very well adjusted to the dark, but he could make out a vague, white shape floating in front of him. The material was something he had seen before, in terms of debris he collected, but he had a feeling that from its size and detail, it wasn't mere trash. Little patterns adorned the surface, showing shapes Elliott never seen before. Twirls and swirls, making a most beautiful appearance.

Turning his body around just enough to see behind him, he could see another, more fat square was on the ground, as well. It was white, and not nearly as detailed as the thinner square, but it wasn't something he could really recognize as being the same thing. Moving a hand over to touch the square, his fingers were graced with a soft texture, so tender and pleasant that Elliott couldn't help but let out a gurgle of approval.

Likewise, he did the same with the square that floated in the water, and was greeted with a different, but equally pleasurable sensation. Another gurgle sounded in the merman as he picked it from the water, rubbing it against his skin. He wasn't sure where these objects came from, but he couldn't help but welcome them, especially after his terrifying experience just moments ago.

These objects, he felt, must've been human-made, but to call them debris he felt would be insulting. Their texture was just so amazing to the touch, so blissful to his gilled skin, that he envied how his people had nothing of the sort in his school. Smiling as he wrapped himself around the now soggy, but still so very pleasant substance, Elliott went and laid himself back down, resting his head on the cozy square underneath.

Indeed, his head tentacles reacted much like his arms before, rubbing on the square while his eyes idled upon the now dark sky. Feeling the water lap around him, Elliott felt a peace as he saw the twinkling of the bright lights above, those he couldn't even find a name to, but found invaluable for the guidance and beauty. So many adorned the black above, all of various sizes and brightness, but none that hurt to the eyes of the merman.

The horrors of his dream just moments ago were lost to him, as the beauty of the world above caught his attention far more than the nagging regret he felt in the back of his head. But still, he couldn't shake the mental image of him bulging and exploding like he did in his dream, the bizarre brown liquid filling him to bursting.

But he wouldn't dwell on it now, he decided. Instead, he would relax, and enjoy this most pleasant feeling that draped over his body.