Dive In

Chapter Three

*clears threat and stands on my writers podium* yes hello 'tis I, the author. I just want to dedicate this chapter to @darlinyoullbeokay bc they've been voting and stuff and just wowzers thanks. K. You're all dismissed.
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I must of blacked out, because what seemed like forever later I was waking up in sand. Confusion set in me as I quickly sat up, alarmed to find that I wasn't wearing a space suit. I was on what looked to be an island... but in space? And how was I breathing? I stood up and looked around, but no one was in sight. Panic filled me and I couldn't help but let out a frustrated groan. What if I never got back to earth?

I walked around, but it slowly turned into a full sprint. The island was tiny, with only enough room for maybe twenty people. There wasn't any vegetation or actual water. It was just surrounded by space.

"Hello?" I called out feebly, and quite stupidly.

"Hello," a melodic voice said back. I turned so fast that I fell on my ass as I stared at the creature in front of me.

He looked like a mermaid, with green-blue scales that matched his eyes. His skin was a pale ivory color, and his rose colored lips had a faint smile on him as he looked at me. He had black hair that came to just about his bare shoulders.

"W-Who are you?" I stuttered from my spot in the sand,

He shrugged. "Your worst nightmare and your best daydream. Who are you?"

I sighed. That's not what I meant.  "Uh, my name's Vic. What, I... What happened? How am I here?"

The creature shrugged. "Well, wouldn't you want to know, hmm?"

I stood up and advanced towards him. "Uh, yeah, I would like to know! Who the hell are you? What am I doing here? The last thing I remember was this beautiful voice and it lead me through a black hole... and ... and..." I sputtered off. "How am I not even dead?"

"Well, that's something I might know a little about." He smirked and shrugged.

"What do you know?" I questioned, anger boiling up inside me.

"Oh, some things. Yeah, you're real lucky to be alive. You're real lucky I didn't eat you." He snapped his teeth at me and I was startled to see that they were all canines. Suddenly I was back to being fearful.

"Wait... was it you singing?"

He nodded. "Great work, Detective. Tell me more. Use your great deductive skills. Oh, I'm in such awe." Sarcasm dripped off his words and I rolled my eyes.

"Well... You have a mermaid tail-"

"I'm not a fucking mermaid. Don't you dare call me a mermaid." He cut me off.

"I wasn't going to. What I was saying is that your singing was so powerful that I followed it through a black hole. You're like... A space siren... Right?" I thought back to the Greek myths I read as a child and couldn't help but be afraid.

"Correcto. Don't you feel so special, knowing I didn't eat you? I've had plenty of time, what with you being asleep for the past three days."

I frowned. "Oh, shit. What happened to my crew?"

The siren waved his hand dismissively. "I wouldn't worry about them. They turned back around to earth on the second day. Yeah, I'd be more worried about you."

I shook my head. "No, why would I? You've had your chance to eat me, so you're clearly going to keep me around, for a while at least. Anyway," I sat down and rested my head on my knees. "What's your name?"

"Hmm... I'd have to think about that.

I rolled my eyes and leaned back, realizing that I was parched. "So are you going to feed me or is your plan to starve me to death. I'm pretty dehydrated,too. And, hey, how the fuck is their oxygen and gravity here?"

He sighed. "Stop asking stupid questions. I don't know how there's air or anything, I just know that there are several of these floating blobs of ground. And why wouldn't I feed you, huh? Do you think I'm going to not eat you when your well nourished only to let you die from starvation or dehydration?" With that, he threw a couple of water bottles at me that I caught. Immediately I chugged over half of one down.

After I caught my breath I glanced over at the creature. "So... Are there other... beings... like you out here?"

He nodded. "Yep. We've got the mermaids, and the sharks, and the dolphins. Pretty much every water creature you earthlings have in your ocean. Anyway, I'm gonna bounce... Well, more like fly. Would you consider it swimming? Who knows."

"Wait," I protested. I didn't know this guy, and he made me nervous, but I didn't want to be left in the middle of space for god knows how long. "Uh... How, how did you get this water and stuff?"

He rolled his eyes. "Once again, stop asking stupid questions. I've got it and that's all you need to know." Then he waved and pushed away from the island, cutting through space and disappearing among the stars. I sighed and fell back on my side.

This whole situation was crazy. How was it possible that space creatures existed? And if they were humanoid- at least some of them- how could no one have known? There have been drones searching space for years and years, and none of them have caught footage of anything suspicious? I had a hard time believing that. 

I thought back to the vision I had when I had heard the singing. It was of me hanging out with my younger brother, Michael. Mikey had always been the sweetest guy, all the way to the end, when he went through his horrible experience. He had died of lung cancer.

A month before he died he had sent me a poem about it. He'd titled it Cancer, as he was never very creative. I remember crying over it, but by the time I got to the hospital in Orlando, he was gone. It annoyed me how my siren captor new about it. He probably knew all of my dark secrets. But, apparently the only thing I truly wanted was for my baby brother to be back.