Drowning Mermaids

Chapters 1 - 4

We are tied to the ocean.

And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch—

we are going back from whence we came.

John F. Kennedy

Chapter 1: Change in the Seas

“To our lost friend.”

“To Leander. I hope he’s in a better place than this—one with more tolerable temperatures.”

“So anywhere? Including hell?”

“I’m not sure what I believe about the afterlife,” the young man responded thoughtfully, “but I am positive that the fires of Hades are a tropical paradise compared to Alaska.”

The older man laughed at this, temporarily transforming his sorrowful face. “Cheers, kid.”

“Cheers, Captain.” The two men nodded at each other solemnly before clinking their mugs together. The younger one took a long, satisfying swig of the brew before smiling in appreciation. “You know, this club is a lot wilder than I expected. I figure if I’m going to kill myself for money, I might as well spend it on some quality entertainment in the downtime.”

“Kid,” said the grey-haired man, shaking his head disapprovingly, “too much of this kind of ‘entertainment’ will be the precise thing that gets you killed on the job if you’re not careful.”

“I’ve been lucky in my life so far. I don’t intend for that to change. Want to get a seat closer to the stage, Captain?”

“No, thanks, Arnav. You go ahead. My leg’s aching something awful.”

“An excellent excuse to save your dollar bills!” Arnav joked before clapping his friend on the back and heading to the center of the action.

Captain Trevain Murphy leaned back in his chair, mulling over the details of the previous days. He had always been fortunate on the waters; he had always somehow scraped by until the end of the season without a single casualty.

He was a firm believer in not allowing the sea to collect the souls of his men.  Although they took their food from the sea’s open mouth, he did not believe it was necessary to offer up human sacrifices for this privilege. He had stayed in business long enough without appeasing any pagan gods—and he was quite certain that the gods did not pay close attention to Alaska anyway. Trevain did not accept that losses were bound to happen as most others did. He held that they were the result of carelessness and inefficiency, and he chose his men cautiously to avoid having either of these blights on his boat.

The conditions of Leander’s demise had been strange. The captain had begun to wonder in the moments before the incident whether the man had been feeling all that well.

“Did you hear a strange noise, Captain?” Leander had asked in his suspicious but respectful manner.

Trevain had briefly paused, as if to listen, to satisfy the man. Perhaps his mind had been too occupied with the remaining tasks on board, but he had heard nothing. “Just the whistling of the wind, Leo. A storm’s not far off, but we’ll be home long before it hits. Why are you so agitated?”

“I just… I swear I saw something in the water earlier.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know.” Leander had been so tense that he twitched when Arnav dropped a coil of rope a few feet away from him. “I am a bit tired and feverish. Might just be coming down with something and seeing things.”