Adella and Thomas were relaxing in the water, splashing each other and laughing. Thomas was the happiest he had been in a long time.
Adella was singing a strange song, and her voice was the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. He couldn't help but smile. "I must be the luckiest man in the world to have you," he said. She smiled at him and gently tugged on his shirt, pulling him closer to her. She went to kiss him, but as she did, her face turned monstrous, and her body became covered with scales. She grew sharp claws and teeth, and her eyes were bright yellow with only a slit of black in the middle. She jumped on him and pushed him down, down into the depths of the water. She bit at his neck, tearing flesh from his bones, and his blood began to pour into the ocean -
He awoke abruptly, awoken by the sounds of screaming. It took him a second to realize those screams were his own. He was drenched in sweat, or was it water?
What the bloody hell was that? Adella would never do anything like that. Mermaids aren't really like that. That's just some dumb old wives tale.
He looked down to see he was in a bed.
How did I get here? he wondered. What happened?
Pieces of the night before came back to him. Adella, a strange song, a kiss, water, drowning, the look in Adella's eyes, a gunshot, blackness. His head began to pound with an intense pain as he tried to remember.
He tried to lift himself up, pushing himself up with both of his arms, but before he could check out his surroundings, he feel into a coughing fit. Unable to control himself, he put his hand to his mouth. He felt water coming out of him and fell back on the bed. He heard the door open, and called out a single name.
"John?" He had no idea why he had believed it was John but he needed to know.
"No, laddie. Smith's been gone for a while now."
He looked up to see a familiar face.
"Ben" A wave of relief washed over him. "Where am I? What happened? How did I end up here? How long have I been out?"
"Woah, slow down there, lad." Thomas now just realized Ben had been carrying a tray with a teapot. "Here, boy, have some tea. It'll warm ya." Ben poured him a cup and handed it over.
"Thanks," Thomas said as he took the cup graciously. He took a sip and waited a few seconds before continuing. "So what happened to me?"
Thomas looked into Ben's eyes, and he saw pity reflected back at him.
"Lad, this isn't an easy story to tell." Ben sighed and looked down, full of grief. "Your girlfriend attacked ye. She tried to kill ya, lad." He looked back up to Thomas, his eyes swimming with pain. "You...you're joking, right?" Thomas looked into his eyes, searching for some sort of amusement, something to prove that this was just a lie, but he found none. His chest constricted, and he was unable to breath. Then, Ben went into a detailed account of how they had spotted them together, but thought nothing of it until they saw they struggle. He told him how they began to shoot at them, how she ran off, how he had dove into the water to save Thomas, and how he brought him aboard. "Ya passed out somewhere between bringing ya ashore and when ya coughed up all that water. Ya must've swallowed about a barrel's worth the way ye was coughing it back up. Me and Lon brought'cha here to rest after. Ya only been out for a couple o' hours." After a long pause, in an attempt to lighten the mood, he said, "Well, I guess ya shoulda listened to us when we said those mermaids were notin' but trouble". He cracked a small grin, but it fell almost instantly.
Thomas was overcome by emotion. Panic, terror, heartbreak, longing, betrayal. He couldn't control himself. He began to shudder uncontrollably. Ben got up and wrapped a thick, wool blanket around him. Then, Ben rested one hand on his shoulder and he raised his eyes to meet Ben's gaze.
"I'm sorry, lad" was all he said before he walked out the door.
Thomas was left alone to his own thoughts. He couldn't stop shaking.
Adella, how could you? How could you do this to me? I...I thought you cared about me. I...I was starting to believe that I loved you.
He felt a pressure, a pain in his chest. He felt his heart break in two. He didn't know what to think anymore. He couldn't take another heartbreak, not after the last one, which had already tore him apart. A tear silently rolled down his cheek.
I wish they had let me die.
He buried himself under the covers hoping no one heard him crying.