I am a predator. Humans are the prey. I feed off their fear as they drown in my arms. But life didn't used to be this way. I wasn't always half-human and half-fish. I used to be one of them. A human. This is my story.

(Sample): I opened my eyes, waiting for the transformation to happen. Less than three seconds later, the change occurred. The transformation never ceased to amaze me and as I watched it, I remembered the times when the water was salty instead of clean, house water. Oh yeah, you still don't know who I am. Well, I'll give you a little summary. My name is Aquarina, Aqua for short. I just moved to Dallas, Texas from a little town called Fort Myers in Florida. I will be a junior in high school this year. Oh and let's just say I'm not your average 17 year old girl. I mean I dress like a normal girl, minus the face cake of makeup and the heels.(Yeah, sorry. I don't do high heels. I only go for 1-inch heels if anything.) I listen to normal music and I talk like everyone else. Normal American accent. I also have a phone, computer, laptop, and all those other electronic necessities. I don't have any mental issues. I was born like any normal baby. Well, that's not entirely true. I am anything but normal or average. You see, my DNA is different. No, I'm not a werewolf. Or vampire, fairy, wizard, witch, or ghost. When my skin comes in contact with water, I change. My eyes and hair change. My eyes become a clear silver and my hair a solid blue, lighter than navy but darker than aqua, sorta like the Crayola color. I get a tail for feet and my scales are the color of my eyes. So now you think "Scales? Like a fish or something?" Actually that is half true. I'm half fish and half human. Yup, that's right. I'm a mermaid. That's not all of it. My family are as well. (End of Sample):

Enter Elly Moss, The quirky 16-year old with hopes that something special will happen when she finds herself cooped up in a car on the way from her comfy New York high-rise to the beach manor in Cape Cod. While shopping at a mysterious book store and stumbling over a book that 'calls to her', she finds a mystical spell that could make her vacation a little more sweeter. Soon enough, Elly is singing under the mooon, growing scales and even finding herself a handsome merman himself. But when her hometown love is found missing, she has no choice but to risk her legs for his life.

The first mermaid is discovered rotting on a rocky shore. The second is found, freshly dead, across the ocean. But the third mermaid... the third mermaid is caught alive. Dr Ian Woon heads the scientific study bent on understanding this new, fascinating organism. But to him, it's hard not to feel more personally attached to the mermaid in their tank. Her existence has excited the world, but it's only confused him. Especially when she starts singing. And when she lets him know that she has a soul. *a loose retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid* DISCLAIMER 1: This is a NaNoWriMo 2013 novel. While I'm trying to be very careful with all the scientific stuff I talk about in this story, I will of course make mistakes, because it's NaNo and I don't have time to research. If I ever catch myself talking about something that I know is wrong, I'll (maybe) make a note of it. If you do see something wrong, I would appreciate you bonking me on the head and correcting me. :) DISCLAIMER 2: Story is not actually complete. Repeat, STORY IS NOT ACTUALLY COMPLETE! I'm very sorry, but the final chapter does explain why. Images used in the cover: Tail: http://deviantroze.deviantart.com/art/Mermaid-Tail-05-317149745 Background: http://koko-stock.deviantart.com/art/underwater-312310525 12/4/15 #823 in Science Fiction!