Challenge Submission Crap! Its just another Mermaid Tale.

[TrashPanda]

Warning: Story contains gore. Sorry in advance.

-December 3rd, 2076-

"Doctor! Are you even listening?" Shelly's voice cut into his thoughts. Doctor Norton Kilrogg looked at his pupil.

"My apologies. I was deep in thought. It's what happens when you are my age of 90. What was your question again?" Placing an old withered hand on his pant leg. Using that small bit of stableness to adjust his seated position. It had become much harder to move now in his old age.

The young redhead smiled as she adjusted her glasses. "I was asking you about what happened during the Water Bubble Incident. Being that last surviving member of Water Bubble Experimentation, what is your recount of the events leading to the disaster?"

Kilrogg placed a shaking hand to his scraggly gray haired chin. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"It was 2026, I was assigned to the project Water Bubble. I was Twenty and just out of college…"

-June 24th, 2026-

The elevator came to a slow and easy stop. Dr. Norton Kilrogg looked up at the displaying number that told them just how far they were below the sea. The bright red numbers read that they were ten thousand five hundred meters below sea level. He looked down at the folder he had in hands. He had been immediately assigned to the Water Bubble Project. Marine Biologists everywhere had been fighting to get on the project. Norton had been one of the lucky few to be accepted. Straightening himself as the door opened. The long hallway before him led to a large commons area.

Standing just inside the room stood four of what he assumed was his peers. He stepped up to them. A man stepped up and held out his hand in greeting.

"You must be Dr. Kilrogg. The names Dr. Robert Handlin." He said with a smile.

"Norton Kilrogg." Norton said, taking Handlin's hand with a firm handshake.

Handlin then turned the other three. "These are our colleges. Dr. William Shomaker, Dr. Daniel Holdens, and Dr. Heather Gold."

Giving each of them a handshake. Norton took in a glance of who they were.

Dr. Shomaker was a slightly rotund man that wore large framed glasses. Norton could have sworn the lenses were a half an inch thick. He sported a lab coat that was open to show the iron maiden shirt under it and khaki pants that were hiked up over his pot belly that seemed to raise up the legs to just above his socks.

Dr. Holdens was a small thin man with messy hair. He didn't have much of a grip behind his handshake. He wore his lab coat properly closed and seemed to have already collected a good amount of pens already.

Dr. Gold walked up and with a quick handshake introduced herself. She wore a lab coat open revealing a red sweater and black skirt that hugged her figure. Norton tried not to stare as she said. "Dr. Heather Gold. Masters degree in Marine Biology and daughter of Dr. Gilbert Gold."

"Dr. Gold, Creator and lead of the Water Bubble Project. He did mention you being one of the Five new recruits during our last conversation." Norton smiled. This was the team he was joining today. He will have to see just how well they worked together.

Before they could conversate more. The intercom came on and across the entry chamber it rang out the voice of a woman. Dr. Holden, Dr. Shomaker, Dr. Gold, Dr. Kilrogg, and Dr. Handlin. Please report to Lab 4. I repeat…"

Handlin with a soft clap of his hands says. "Well. That is us. Off to Lab 4."

Norton watched them head towards the lab. With a sigh he followed. He had just arrived and they already needed him in the lab.

Arriving to Lab 4. They took in the sight. Many different tubes. Held different forms of plant life and fish. Norton could assume they were using them as ways to observe inside the station. They passed all the tubes before coming one in particular.

Norton stopped after seeing what was inside the tube. A woman floated within the chamber. Well, he thought it was a woman. The top half of her was a woman, the bottom half was scaled and formed to look like the back fins of a fish.

The others seem not to be bothered by the woman in the tube. Norton moved forward, not taking his eyes off her.

Dr. Gold noticed his staring and said in a tone just loud enough for him to hear. "It seems this is one thing that my father failed to mention."

Norton looked at her. Confusion still on his face. "He failed to mention this, yes. Is it a…."

"Mermaid… That's the theory. In Mythology it is. However in science. We are unsure."

He looked back at the woman as the man at the computer started to explain the situation.

"The subject is experiencing subtle brain wave spikes. The subject has been unconscious till now it seems. When it awakes is completely up to the subject in question. Norton walked over to the screen and inspected the results. The wave length looked to go from a slight rise and fall to now a very erratic spike.

Norton said in a low tone. "She is experiencing what some of us would call a nightmare of sorts. Dreaming."

Shomaker approached and took a long look before speaking. "It seems you are correct. There is a difference indeed between here and here."

Norton looked at the woman in the tube. Her blueish hair floating within the water slowly about her form. What were they doing with her in there anyways.

"Where was she found?" Norton said suddenly.

Dr. Gold then spoke up. "My father said they found her floating unconscious in the water just outside the Bubble. They brought her in and placed her in the tube. It's been a year since then."

Norton went silent for a long moment before saying. "Will you notify us as soon as she wakes? I just arrived and would like to get settled in my room before I get to work." The man at the computer nodded then got to work on his own work.

Norton looked to the others before excusing himself to his quarters. He could hear behind him as Shomaker told the others that he would like to stay and observe.

As he exited the lab, he could hear that he was followed out by Dr. Gold. She hurried to his side and began speaking. "Interesting stuff we got going on down here."

"Interesting is not the word I would use for it. Fantastical is more like it. To think that a being like a mermaid would exist." Norton responded.

She laughed then said. "I told my father that I wasn't a child anymore to believe in mythical creatures. Till I saw her for myself. Now I wonder what else could be out there."

She was then interrupted by the chime in her lab coat. She pulled out her phone and glanced at the screen. She then sighed in frustration. "It seems I am being immediately called to the surface. Father's orders. I'll leave you to get settled as I head to decompression. Don't do anything exciting till I return."

Norton nodded. "Will try not to." He said as she left. Making the rest of his way to the sleeping quarters. He found his room on the top floor of a large open chamber. Opening the door he found a decent sized room that was possibly just smaller than his college dorm. It contained a desk, chair, dresser and a bed. The sheets and blanket folded in a stack in the middle of it. Norton began to unpack his things and set up his desk.

When he finished, he sat down in his chair and began to look at the folder on his desk. He had yet to open it. He wanted to wait till he was down here. However after seeing the Lab and what it held within it. He was a little afraid to look into the file.

He stared at the file a moment before reaching onto the desk and pulling the folder onto his lap. Taking deep breaths to bring up his courage. He flipped the cover of the file over and began to read.

The file in his hand contained multiple recounts of different mythological retellings of Mermaids. Stemming off the other mythical creature known as the siren. After reading the file for a better part of an hour. He found himself beginning to feel tired. The adjustment from how far below the water's surface was starting to take its toll.

He closed the file. Setting it down and moving from his desk to his bed. He hit the pillow and began to fall into a deep slumber.

It was until this sudden bit of noise began to blare throughout his dream that he started to wake. Norton began to sit up and began to notice it was an alarm going off. Wiping the sleep from his eyes he moved to his desk to retrieve his phone. There was a message on his phone from Dr. Gold. He unlocked the phone and read the message.

Norton. What is going on down there?

"What does she mean?" Norton said as he went to press the call button to just call her back. Putting the phone to his ear just to hear the tone of the line cutting off. "What the hell?"

He looked to see that he had no bars. "Seems the Bubble's Signal Transmitter must be offline." Norton stood up and began to walk towards the door. When there was a sudden tone change to the alarm. A sweet tone that began to fill his ears. He stopped and stood still for a moment. It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard in his life. Something felt off though. He shook his head and again came the blaring sound of the alarm again.

Norton reached the door and opened it.

Moving outside his room he started to see the blinking of lights. He looked down the balcony he was on. Door had been flung open and items were scattered about. "What the…" It was then that Norton looked over the railing. His eyes went wide to see a large amount of water was below him where the commons were. "What is going on?" He said as he moved towards the stairs. He moved downward, coming a step or two away from the water before stopping.

A chill began to creep up his spine as he looked around. He then spotted something floating just a bit aways from his position. It then turned to show that it wasn't just something… it was someone.

Norton then began to start moving into the water. Finding that it was about waist high before he touched the floor. Moving through the water he reached the body floating. He had to find out who it was and to see if there was any clue to what had caused their untimely death. He had guessed it was due to either injury or unconsciously floating facedown. Drowning to death. Taking a bit of strength he flipped the body over. However, what he found terrified him. The dead man had the entire front of his throat torn from him. There were also claw marks down his chest that look to have tore into him enough that innards seem to start to slip out from him.

Norton backed away from the torn corpse. "What the fuck?!?!?!" He began to feel a bit of panic come to him. He took a few deep breaths to try and calm it.

"Is someone out there!" Norton then yelled to find no answer. "Damnit." He then began to continue to move through the water. Perhaps he could make it to one of the Labs and see if anything was working just enough for him to call for help.

The water below felt so cold that he could feel his legs almost go numb. However he decided to fight it and move forward. If not then he is for sure going to die down here.

He soon came to one of the labs. Looking at its number. He was now shivering uncontrollably. The large number 4 stood out above him. "This…This is the l-lab that had the m-mer-maid in." The door was open just enough for him to fit through. Looking inside he could only see more water and the flashing lights. He then forced his way through by turning to the side.

He moved through the lab heading to the back end. Things under his foot keep stopping him from moving straight through. Several things that his foot kicked felt like other bodies who had sunk down to dark water. But he didn't want to think about that. Moving into the area with one of the computers. He could see that it still was atop the rise and the screen seemed to be still working. Moving quicker he grabbed the railing of the steps and began to pull himself up onto the rise.

His leg felt heavy. Not only from his soaking wet pants, boots, and socks. The numbness of the cold had taken a toll on his legs. He pulled and stumbled his way to the computer. Taking the seat with a wet splat as his wet form hit the chair. He pulled the keyboard and mouse close. He looked to see that there was still network connection. He quickly opened up the browser and found a messaging app open. One of the contacts was Dr. Gold. Which one was a good question. Either one was fine.

He then struggled to type.

This is Norton. I need assistance. The bubble has flooded and something is down here killing.
After he pressed send. He looked around and something caught his eye. The chamber that held the woman from earlier was smashed wide open. He moved over to the chamber. Then followed the way in which the chamber would have spilled out onto.

What he found made his stomach churn. Dr. Shomaker, or what remained of him, laid on the landing. His stomach tore open and seemed to have been ripped and dug into frantically. His innards were pulled out and bites taken from several of them were seen. Whatever had attacked him had shredded his face to where he was nearly unrecognizable. Blood was everywhere on the landing. A large amount of it was in between his legs. Norton looked away from the horror to his feet. At his feet finally made him move over quickly to a waste bin to throw up. The man's genitals had been torn from him and tossed off to the side.

Norton wiped his mouth away the bits that he had thrown up into the waste bin. The sound of a chime reached his ears as he moved back over to the computer. He had a reply sent back to him.

Thank God. Norton. We are working to send you a rescue now.

Quickly Norton went to reply and slam the enter button. Only to find that the Network had gone dead on him. He then slammed his hands down on the desk. "Damnit!"

A sound came from somewhere in the Lab. Norton looked up in panic in the direction of the sound. "Who's there?" Fear began to swell within him as he stood up and began to search the desk. Opening one of the drawers to find a pistol in it. He pulled the gun from the drawer and pointed it in the direction of the sound. He did have the thought in the back of his mind. Why was there a gun in the drawer in the first place? He decided to push that out of his mind and looked out into the flashing room.

Movement caught his sight off to the left and he turned towards there and fired the pistol. The bullet bounced off the metal of one of the machines with a sharp ping. As Norton ducked and covered his head.

He looked at the gun and then over the rail to see nothing. "What was that?" The beating of his heart began to pound louder. He had to find somewhere to hide till rescue arrived. He slowly stood and looked into the room. "Where did it go?"

Deciding to return to the computer to see if the network had luckily returned. He did. What he found made his heart and everything stop in horror. The face of a woman was only mere inches from his. She then bared teeth and her mouth seemed to begin opening wider. Jaw unhinging to open wider. Norton panicked and brought the hard steel of the pistol upwards and slammed into the bottom of her jaw. She then screeched and fell backwards. Diving into the water. Norton brought the gun up and began to unload into the water. Yelling. After a few empty clicks of the gun did he stop. Breathing hard and falling onto his butt. "Shit. I gotta get out of here."

Pulling himself up he moved over to the desk to check if there was an extra clip or ammunition to the pistol. Finding none. He swore to himself and threw the pistol in frustration. He had to stay out of the water as much as possible. The cold water would make him easy prey to the mermaid.

Looking around he found a group of machines just a bit away from the platform. He would have to jump to them. But where to go from there was another problem. Looking up he saw a duct opening that he could try to crawl through.

It was a risk but it was either that or just to let the mermaid turn him into her own late night snack.

Norton walked over to the end of the platform and looked to see how far he would have to jump. Finding that he would have to run and jump as far as he could. He looked around to find something to use as an impromptu weapon. Finding an extra pipe that had some weight to it. He then tossed that over to the machine where it hit with a loud thunk to the top of it. It nearly rolled off into the water but stopped just a bit off from the edge.

Norton sighed in relief to see that it didn't. Then took a few steps back. The feeling in his legs had returned since he had been out of the cold water. He then kicked into a run. Coming to the edge using all the strength in his legs he jumped towards the machines. As he started to approach it. He knew he was gonna have to catch himself on the edge of it. He slammed against the machine and caught himself hanging off the side. He began to pull himself up when he then felt something reach up from the water and grab hold of his leg. "Shit!" He cursed as he tried to pull free from the hand. The claws started to dig into his leg. He had to bite back the pain as he reached up to grab the pipe and swing down at his leg. Hitting the hand with the metal. It let him go and he then pulled himself fully. He then looked over the edge. The head of the mermaid emerged from the water and stared up at him.

Norton caught his breath and turned away from the mermaid and moved into the vent. Pulling himself into it and crawling through it.

Norton moved through the vent for five minutes before coming to a room that had some flicking of light. Candle light he could guess. He came above the light source and looked down. This seemed to be one of the rooms that were a bit off the ground floor. He began to lift the vent grate slowly and off to the side. Moving to his belly he looked down into the room. There was no one in there from what he could see. When he looked to the right he could see no one again, then suddenly a pair of hands had grabbed him by his shoulders and pulled him roughly out and down to the floor below. Hitting the ground hard. He heard a voice say. "Kilrogg, is that you?"


He looked up to see Handlin standing there in a lab coat. Norton then began to get up. Handlin helping him to his feet. "I am sorry. When the grate moved I had feared the damn thing had gotten into the vents."

Norton looked at Handlin. "What the hell is going on?"

Handlin frowned and moved to the door leading out to the commons area outside. "The bitch woke up and began to thrash about the chamber. It began to pound against the glass. Shomaker then panic and started to say that we had to release her before she would hurt herself. He then moved to the damn console and opened it. After that she pounced on him and began to… eat him!" He stopped a moment and then continued. "She then began to trill and sing. At first it was beautiful but I was able to cover my ears and get out of the lab. They began to march towards her like puppets."

Norton had seen the brutal end that was Shomaker. "I was in the lab just a moment ago. She is in there. From what I was reading before taking a nap in my quarters was that the mermaids seemed to be an off creature of the siren from Greek mythology. Which explains the enchanting song you are talking about. It was their way of leading ships to them and the crew into the waters. To be eaten. What we had in that chamber is one of those beings."

Handlin shook his head. "Well that is just great." Handlin then moved to the door and sighed. "If we intend to survive until we can contact outside. We have to kill it."

"I was able to contact Dr. Gold on the outside. They are working on some sort of rescue. We have to just survive." Norton said as he looked out the window. Looking for any sign of the creature.

"The bitch needs to die, Kilrogg. What if she finds a way out and seeks to attack others." Handlin said.

Norton looked at Handlin. "With what? No Handlin. We need to think about getting out. Let them worry about the mermaid later."

Handlin sighed and they both went silent. Norton took a few steps back and settled himself into a chair. He then closed his eyes to calm himself. However, that was a mistake. He soon fell asleep.

He was then startled awake about a half hour later. The sound of singing. He looked around to see that Handlin was no longer in the room. The door stood ajar. "Damnit!" Norton cursed as he got up quickly to head out to hopefully catch Handlin. He grabbed a hammer from the table and ran out.

Reaching outside the room Norton was met with Handlin being led on. Enchanted by the Mermaid song.

"Handlin!" Norton yelled. The Mermaid then stops her song a moment to look in Norton's direction. His eyes went wide as she then turned back and opened her mouth wide intending to chomp down on her newest victim. Before she could chomp down. Handlin raised his hand that held a knife in it and jammed it into her shoulder. The mermaid screamed in pain and then backed away falling to the ground holding the wound to her shoulder. She curled against the wall, eyes glaring at the man with the knife. Handlin then began to move towards her again. This time the knife in hand. "We have to kill her Kilrogg. She is too dangerous."

Norton caught up to Handlin. Both ready to strike. The mermaid then took her final stand and attack one more time. Hanglin catching a facefull of the inside of her mouth.


-Back to the present-

Norton stopped speaking for a moment and shook his head. "Sorry. Where was I?"

Shelly smiled. "No worries. You were telling me about how she attacked Dr. Handlin."

"Ah yes. Well I ended up taking the moment to cave in her skull. Hoping to save Dr. Handlin. However the strikes just ended up locking her jaw up and well it was too late for him. They soon were able to rescue me. Spent years in therapy due to PTSD." Norton sighed and gave her a smile. "The end."

Shelly smiled warmly at the old doctor and patted his leg. "Thank you for your time Doctor." She looked down at her watch which displayed that it had been a few hours since they started. "I should be going. It was wonderful to be able to talk with you on the matter."

Norton chuckled. He got up and walked over to the counter where he had a yellow folder. It was worn from years of storage and dust. He walked back over to Shelly and held the folder out to her. "Take this. It's the folder I received the day I went down to the Bubble. It may help you with your post to the journals."

She thanked the old doctor and took her leave.

It wasn't till later that evening that she held that folder in hand and asked herself. When did he go back for it in his room?

Norton stood outside along the beach. His pant legs were rolled up and he began to walk into the waters. The cold water splashing onto his pant legs as he kept walking. As he went about waste deep. He felt something swim around him. He looked down and smiled. "Come my sweet. I wish to lay eyes on you once more."

The form of the woman began to emerge from the water. He smiled as he reached up to caress the mermaid's cheek. "It has been a long time since then." A trill came from the woman as he then frowned. "However, time is up for me, my dearest. It is time that I join the dead in the sea." The mermaid let out a sad little trill that broke Norton's heart. "All will be well, my sweet. Those that die at sea join those in Poseidon's waters."

The mermaid smiled and took his fragile hand in hers before they began to move deeper into the waters. Fully submerged into the ocean waters.

Back then Norton hadn't killed the mermaid.

He had saved her from Handlin. He tackled Handlin into the glass of the bubble, leaving a crack in the glass. The collision had killed Handlin, breaking his neck. The mermaid was writhing in pain from the wound. Norton then used the sharp part of the hammer to attempt to weaken the glass. When it had weakened enough to about to burst. He ran over to the mermaid. She moved away in fear and pain. He then moved around to pick her up and moved her to the crack. "When this opens up. Go! Get out of here." He then ran to the door leading to the room before the elevator. He closed the heavy door shut and hit the decompression button. They found him afterwards.

After rescue Norton continued researching the mermaids. Secretly making visits to the shore to meet with the mermaid. It took some time for her to understand him. But she seemed to be just as interested in him as he was to her. Wondering why the man had saved her.

Shelly sat there reading the folder and went to grabbed her coffee. When a photo had slid from the folder onto the floor. She then bent down to pick it up. Looking at the photo her eyes went wide. "Son of a bitch."

The photo was of Norton and the mermaid in a passionate embrace staring into each other's eyes. Her arm draped on his shoulders. It all then clicked in the woman's mind. "She had him entranced from the beginning."

In a few days time, Doctor Norton Kilrogg was reported missing.