Merstuck

Chapter 3

Dirk remembers being caught by a particularly rough current and being thrown onto a hard bed of coral. He remembers feeling an awful snap in his chest and crying out, tiny bubbles of blood floating from his mouth up the the surface of the ocean. He remembers trying to claw off the seaweed he had wrapped so carefully around his chest.

He doesn't remember much past that, but he can recall, if he tries hard enough, strong hands pulling him out of the water before everything goes dark.

Dirk wakes with a gasp, flailing. He stops and cringes, a sharp pain under his breasts. Very slowly and very carefully, he sits up.

The first thing he notices is the fact that his breasts aren't concealed. A wave of dysphoria hits him hard, and for a moment he struggles to breathe.

The second thing he notices is that he's wearing a strange, thin material over his torso. He's seen it on a few humans before. He starts to panic when he doesn't recall putting it on.

The third thing he notices is the sharp pain under his breasts, accompanied by a tight, uncomfortable feeling. He feels around that area, and after feeling a strange, bumpy ridge of skin, pulls the material covering his chest up.

Oh god. He has nipples.

He frantically feels for his tail, instead feeling a similar material to the one on his torso covering his scales. He tries to move it to the side, but two human legs sprawl out awkwardly instead. Oh no, how long has he been out of the water?

Footsteps sound down the hallway and he pulls down the thing covering his chest. He sits, clutching the thick cloth covering him as the thing moves closer.

A young human girl pokes her head into the room. She has long, dark brown hair, circular glasses that take up half of her face, and bright green eyes. She grins when she notices that Dirk is awake.

"Jake!" She calls to someone outside of the room as she runs away. "He's awake!"

He can hear her footsteps coming back, accompanied by a pair of louder, heavier ones. She walks back in, and a man, around Dirk's age, pokes his head in.

Dirk recognizes him instantly as the man who fell on top of him in the cave. His eyes follow him as he walks towards Dirk and sits down.

He leans forward, reaching towards Dirk with a tentative hand.

"Mind if I check your stitches?" He asks. Dirk notices that his voice is strongly accented.

"Where did you find me? How long have I been out of the ocean? Are you going to kill me?" Dirk asks. "Don't even think about murdering me for my tail. I don't have to change back."

"Jake, what's he talking about?" The girl asks uncomfortably.

"Jade, I need you to leave. I'll explain later." Jake says. Jade opens her mouth to protest, but she notices the untrusting glare Dirk is giving her, so she closes it and leaves with a huff.

"What's your name?" The man, Jake, asks. "Mine's Jake, assuming you didn't notice."

"Dirk." Dirk says after a moment's hesitation. "Now answer my questions."

"Okay, Dirk. What was the first one?" Jake asks with a smile.

"Where did you find me?" Dirk asks again.

"In a cave on a beach." Jake says. "You were thrashing about like a trout caught in a fishing net! I had to cut that blasted seaweed off of you."

"How long have I been out of the water?" Dirk immediately asks.

"Only about two days," Jake tells him. "I'm sorry if that's bad for you. It was the only thing I could think of doing. You would've been deader than a beached whale had I thrown you back into the water!" Dirk relaxes; he hasn't been out for too long.

"Are you going to kill me?" Dirk says after a moment.

Jake freezes before bursting out laughing.

"Heavens no!" He laughs. "I'm not a monster!"

Dirk stares at him, confused. Humans were terrible, selfish creatures that didn't hesitate to kill merfolk for a bit of cash, right? He narrows his eyes in suspicion.

"Why?" He asks.

"Why would I kill you?" Jake retorts.

"Mermaid tails are valuable." Dirk tells him.

"I'm not going to kill another human for money," Jake laughs. He runs one hand through his own hair. "You're safe here."

Dirk looks away. "Okay," He mumbles, shrugging.

"Can I check those stitches now, mate?" Jake asks.

Dirk says nothing, shrugging as he lifts his shirt over his belly so it just covers his chest. Jake puts one hand over the line of stitches and mutters something under his breath before pulling his hand back and rubbing his chin with it.

"You'll need to stay in bed for another week," he says after a moment. "And avoid rough activity for a month."

Dirk's heart stops. He needs to be in the water in at mist three days before the lack of ocean time starts to affect his merman form.

"I can't do that," he says quickly. Jake looks at him, confused. "I need to get back into the ocean as soon as possible."

"You can't get saltwater in your wound," Jake tells him sympathetically. "You can go back in a few weeks."

"Please, I have to," Dirk begs, panic rising in his chest. "If I don't change back into a merman soon, It'll have a permanent affect on my sea-dwelling body."

"Is freshwater okay?" Jake asks. Dirk nods furiously.

"Anything," Dirk says.

Jake nods and, without warning, leaves.

"Wait!" Dirk calls after him. When Jake doesn't return, he sits anxiously, fidgeting with the bedsheets.

Eventually, Jake comes back in and kneels next to him.

"Can I pick you up?" Jake asks him. Dork nods after a moment, and Jake fits one arm around his shoulders and the other into the bend of his knees before picking him up out of the bed. Dirk's breath catches as he is swooped into the air. Jake starts walking out of the room, and Dirk almost falls out of his arms before huddling into Jake's chest.

Jake carries him down a corridor and into a cool, white room with a small tub on the wall and a larger, human sized one across the room from it, filled with water. Jake sets Dirk down in a sitting position on a white, oddly shaped bowl.

"Jade!" He yells, turning and facing the door. Soon, the other human pokes her head inside.

"Jade here's going to help you out of your clothes and into the tub over there," Jake says as he turns to Dirk. "Is that okay?"

Dirk eyes Jade untrustingly before nodding slowly. Jake smiles and walks to the door, sticking his head into the room one last time.

"Listen to what she tells you, okay?" He says, and Dirk nods, rolling his eyes, biting back a retort about how he doesn't need to be told what to do like a child.

After the door is closed, Jade turns to Dirk.

"Alright!" She exclaims, clasping her hands together. "Let's get you out of those clothes!"