Fishtail

1.Sing a Song of Sirens

The water lapped incessantly, against the old rotting dock as fog swirled around it, making strange visions, and playing tricks on the eyes. The only sounds were the moving water, the creaking of the dock, and an eerily enchanting song, sung by an unseen singer, that filled the wet air.

The waters break,
The winds rise,
And I sit here
In my disguise.
I am the Fish
That lives in the Dark,
Though not of my Wish,
I Am The Siren of the Sea.

Under the dock, with her head just above the water and one arm wrapped around the pole, Maria sang her song. Her voice was full of the melancholy she felt so intensely; it poured out from her, and mingled with the cold mist.

So come, oh come,
All ye who dare,
Come hear my song,
From the Ocean Depth
The Watery Gong,
Upon The Kings Steps
Of The Siren of the Sea.

A ships horn blew, close but slightly muffled, across the dark water. A ship coming into port. The dock she hid under was unusable, but there were more not far off that were slightly better. It was unusual for any ships to be using this port at all, actually, and it rather surprised Maria, and frightened her. She felt the intense need to leave- to hide -but also was very curious as to what the ship was doing there. The island to which this port belonged was small and uninhabited. She knew this from the birds and turtles who lived upon it. it was mostly this reason that she was there at all. It was a safe place to sing her song, away from human ears. No temptation.

The ship could just barely be made out through the fog, and she heard men's voices shouting.

The ship had docked, and the men we're getting out. She could vaguely make out their forms, 3 of them. One held a lantern and the other 2 carried a large something between them.

"Where should we put'im then, Jim?" Asked one of them.

"Where do you think?" Replied the one with the lantern. "In the wat'r."

He laughed at his own poor joke and then added, "that there dock looks like a good 'nuff spot."

They had some kind of thick English accents, and the one named Jim looked like he had a cigar in his mouth.

"Ah, I'll be glad to be rid of 'im. He's right heavy," Said the first.

"You sure this dock 'ol 'old?" Said the third.

They were stepping onto the dock above Maria, and she couldn't see them anymore. The wood beneath their feet creaked, the rotted boards protesting to the unwelcome weight.

"Arr, looks al'rig to me." Said Jim, "just dump 'Im 'in right quick 'an get back."

From the sound of his voice, Maria could tell he had stayed on the firmer wood, and not ventured onto the doc with his fellows. A good thing, she thought, doubting it could hold all of them at once.

There was the sound of their heavy boots over her head, and then a loud splash at the end of the dock. She heard the men retreating.

Curiosity overcame her again and with a slap of her tail on the underside of the dock, Maria disappeared under the surface of the water.

The retreating men heard the slapping noise and paused, nervousness dripping down their necks with sweat.

"'Di'ja hear that Jim?" Said the second speaker whose name was Klep.

"Aye. That I did. I hear there's strange happenings on this island, Witches and Sirens to say the least."

"Gor Blimey Jim," said The one named Rich who was an Irishman. "Ya don't believe in it really, do ya?"

Jim shook his head solemnly. "Im'n not one to say 'yay' or 'nay'. Alls I know is I've seen a thing or two before that had no right explanation."

"Let's get on," said Klep. "This place is might creepy, and I don't know how long that pole will hold the old girl."

They went on and we're soon far out on the rough sea.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maria had found the bundle. It drifted slowly down, and for a few seconds she could make neither head nor tail of it. It seamed to be some sort of dark cloth bag tied up tightly with a great large something in it. Then it had started to struggle, and Maria had retreated in fear, but soon swam back, overburdened with curiosity.

After some seconds she realized it was a human, tied up in a sack. Upon realizing this she grasped the top (or what she took for the top,) and struggled upwards with it.

Breaking the surface, she pulled and pushed the sack onto the dock, and then dragged herself up and sat with her tail in the water. She couldn't make sense of the crafty knot work, And for a few seconds sat in dismay. Finally she was able to cut them loose with her sharp teeth.

Out from the sack came the face of a man, who began chocking and coughing, which scared her even more. She had never head coughing before, and she thought he was dying for sure.

He sat up, eyes wide and terrified, looking around frantically. His eyes were blue- a deeper, yet clearer blue Maria had never seen -and his hair was dark from the wet. As his eyes met her green ones, they widened even more.

There was fear in his eyes, fear and confusion and disbelief. His mouth opened and he choked some incoherent syllables.

Under his look, she suddenly felt trapped, caged. Terrified, Maria dived into the sea again.

The last thing he saw, was her luminescent blueish green scaly tail as it slipped beneath the water with the a wash of ripples.