Darker On The Inside

Baby There's a Shark In The Water

I opened my eyes and found myself laying on a rock. Where in the hell was I? As I stood up and went to take a step forward I realized I didn't have legs, I had a fin! I was a mermaid! I twirled around quickly. I was really breathing under water, and moving with a tail! The light around me was so magnificent, it was colorful and bright. The fish around me swam as if I wasn't even there!

But, how exactly did I get here? Was I dreaming? I remember leaving the club, and feeling dizzy while driving. Did I get into an accident? Was this heaven? I was so confused, I felt as if I could pass out again.

After swimming around for what felt like an hour, I had seen a large mer tail like mine swaying in the distance. The closer I got I had seen short blonde hair swaying. The merman had back muscles, on back muscles, on back muscles. As he turned towards me I had seen the curvature of his jawline and realized who I was looking at. You see, this wasn't just any familiar person.. Oh no, it was Zeek!

"How did we get here?! What is here?" I shouted to him in anger. What had he done to me? Or did we both die and end up in whatever this is? Purgatory?

"Relax Ali, everything is fine!" He calmly said swimming over to me to take my hand.

"Everything is not fine! What is going on? How is this even happening?"

"I'll explain in a little bit. Come with me, I have something to show you.." He pulled me up a mountain of beautiful colored coral. Once at the top I had looked down to see a bunch of old buildings, with Mer people swimming around them. "..this is your home Alianna."

"This is not my home! I'm not even supposed to have a fin, I'm hardly half breed!" I was so upset and confused, I just wanted to be with Demetrius!

"That is my fault.. You see, you aren't supposed to have a tail unless an actual mermaid kisses you. Which then you would be a full-term half breed who can swim with us under water, and walk with humans on land."

"Why would you do this to me? Did you drug me?" I was so in shock and more scared than ever now, what was his goal here?! "Did you think if you brought me here I'd choose to stay here with you and fall in love with you?"

"No, no, that's not what's going on at all! Someone very close to me, sent for you. It was my job to bring you here so you could stay safe! I followed you leaving the bar, and once you had passed out at a light, I pulled you from your car and brought you here."

"You kidnapped me!!! And stay safe from what? And who sent for me? I don't know any Mer people, I thought I was a rare being as it was!" What was going on.. Vampires, Lynx, and now real mermaids?

"We have to stay secret, we can't have anything get ahold of our blood, Ali. No one knows of our existence anymore, it's too dangerous. Vampires hunted our kind down in order to be bulletproof. And as for who sent for you.. I guess it'd be best to show you, rather than say." He grabbed my arm again and pulled me down into the big town, which was trafficked with Mer people, and other fish like creatures.

He stopped at a large city hall building, "We have to be as quiet as possible, There are meetings going on today." He whispered, continuing to pull me up a hole in the ceiling and to the back of the building. "I have located the girl sir."

"One second Zeek, let me finish this paper work." I heard a new familiar voice say from behind a doorway. I hadn't heard this voice in a lot of years.. Almost 6 to be exact.

"D.. Dad?" I stammered out. My eyes felt weird, how do you even cry under water?

"Alianna!" He flew from the room and held me tight. I was so happy to see and hear his voice. But I was also so angry! Where had he been? I was at his memorial, and I mourned. I had mourned for years, heart broken from losing him. "I'm so happy to hold you again.. I'm so sorry."

"Sorry? You're sorry? You make Mom and I believe you're dead, and you think the word sorry is going to cut it?" At this point I had wished he was really dead, regretting it as I thought it. I had just finally begun to move on with my life.

"Alianna, believe me.. I didn't want it to be the way it was, but I had to pretend to die. I was tracked by vampires, and I had to find a way to not put you or your mother in danger. No one could know who you were or where you were. So I pretended to take my flight, and flee'd the airport to the ocean. I later found out that everyone on that plane was massacred, and the evidence was destroyed. This, this is our home." He waved his hand out, "this is where it's safe for us to live, far away from all those monsters. And I've seen your future Alianna, you are wrapped up with them where you shouldn't be."

"You don't know anything." I growled.

"I know that you're in love with a vampire, a vampire who has a clan you shouldn't be around. And Zeek showed us just who your boyfriend really was. So you will be staying here, with me."

"He loves me, as does his family. You don't know anything about his clan, or him. And that's what Zeek was sent for? To piss off Demetrius?" I was Livid. "This is not your place father, you don't know me or them."

"His family isn't the problem Ali, his new friends are! They do not have the best intentions for you! So this is where you need to stay! And that was Zeek's job as your brother!" What..?

"Brother? Did you have a double life going when I was born?" And right then, all the color had left my face. Who was this monster in front of me?

"No, Alianna I loved your mom dearly. I married Zeek's mother over a year ago."

"So you fell out of love with my mom, faked your death, started a new life and remarried?"

"No.. We are very off topic here! I couldn't return home Ali, and I don't think you should either."

"What, and leave mom alone for the rest of her miserable life? Make her think her husband's dead and her daughter abandoned her? I won't do such a thing to her. Shes the only one who's been here trying to support me my whole life."

He dropped his head and turned away from me. "Go back home Ali.." He whimpered out.

"I will. See you in another 5 years, dad."

I swam off as fast as I could, not knowing where I was going. I just knew, anywhere was better than here.

"Wait, Ali!" Zeek's voice shouted far from behind me.

"No, I'm going home!" I screamed out in anger.

"I know, and I will take you there safely! You need to trust me!" He was quick, as he was now up next to me.

"Just because my dad ran off and married your mom, does not mean I have to trust you."

"Well, then trust me because I haven't given you a reason not to." He pouted to me.

"Oh, you havnt? Home on a break from college?" I was so irritated with all of this. Who did everyone think they were?

"Ok, other than that. Your dad said do what it took for you to get here! And I'm sorry for what happened with your boyfriend, I will apologize and explain to him everything."

"Don't bother, that ship has sailed. Just get me home, please."

"Whatever you ask, Princess Ali."

"Excuse me?" I had no comedic bone left in my body for his sarcastic comments.

"You are princess to our people. Your bloodline is a strong one in our world." I needed this nightmare to end, maybe I was drugged and thats all this was. It was all just one big hallucination.

"I'm just going to pretend you didn't say that. You are going to get me home, and I will wake up and this will all just be a dream."

"Im afraid not, Ali. This is your reality, as is the future your father has seen. Don't take any of this lightly, please. Be as careful as you can be."