Chapter 6
Sam–who couldn’t stand even a speck of dust–dropped to his knees on the filthy floor, like he’d forgotten all about his precious hygiene.
He wrapped what little was left of me in his arms.
Like he didn’t care how dirty it was.
Like he didn’t care about anything… except me.
His eyes widened in disbelief, like he was trying to memorize every inch of me before I completely vanished.
“Nerissa–what the hell are you pulling this time?”
Sam’s hands were no longer able to hold on to my shoulders. The foam was spreading faster now.
Even my mouth had started to dissolve.
He shook his head in denial, shouting at me like he could scare away.
“No! I won’t let you die! You hear me? Not without my permission!”
“You haven’t told me what happened yet!“>
Tears fell down his chiseled face as he turned toward his dad for help.
“Dad! Didn’t you say she needs seawater?“}
His father’s voice cracked as he nodded fiercely. “Go, you idiot! Get her
to the sea-
-NOW!”
Sam clutched me tighter and bolted out of the room.
I remembered there was a marine tank in the basement lab that connected to the ocean…@
But
But it was too late.
“Nerissa… why are you so light?”
His voice reached my ear, the only one I had left.
“You can’t leave yet… not before you explain everything…”
His voice faded as my consciousness slipped further and further into the dark.)
Sam submerged me in the lab’s ocean tank. My body floated–drifting up, then down.
By then, I was almost entirely gone. Even the seawater couldn’t stop it. It only slowed the process. And then… I felt it.
My soul–dislodged from my body–started to float free.
I hovered there, detached, watching as Sam broke down in front of the tank.
The man who’d always prided himself on his genius–now screaming in helpless rage.
He stayed there for a long time, red–eyed and shaken, before finally turning around.
His voice was raw. “Dad. Mom. Where the hell have the mermaids been keeping you all these years? Were do to you?”
kidnapped? What did they
His mom didn’t answer right away. Her gaze was locked on my half–dissolved body in the water, her pain so deep it eclipsed the joy of reuniting with her son.
When she finally spoke, it was through gritted teeth.
Then–a loud slap echoed through the lab. Years ago, she used to dote on me. I was like a second daughter to her. Now, staring at my broken, dissolving body, something inside her cracked. Even the sight of her long–lost son couldn’t hold back the storm in her chest. She struck Sam across the face, hard enough to make his head snap to the side.
“I can’t believe that you’re my son,” she spat. “This is what you’ve become? You did all of that–without even knowing the truth?“} Her voice trembled with rage.”
“The merfolk–they’re not our enemies. They’re humanity’s saviors. And Nerissa–she’s your savior.”
Sam stared at her, stunned. “But I saw them take you away.”
His mother clenched her jaw. “That wasn’t a kidnapping,” she snapped. “It was an agreement. A trade.”
She took a breath, trying to steady herself.”
“Some humans are born with degenerative genetic conditions–like you. Mermaids have regenerative capabilities we could only dream of. Your father and I were part of a covert research project. The core data had to remain classified. No one outside the inner circle knew what we were doing.”
“Years ago, your father and i saved Nerissa’s parents by the shore. Later, when we found out you had a genetic disorder, it was Nerissa who stepped in–she used her own blood and tissue to heal you.”
“She saved you, Sam. She’s your savior. And mermaids–they’re the saviors of humanity.”
Her voice cracked with pain and bitterness.
“But what did you do? What did you repay her with? If the lab hadn’t been sealed, if the experiment hadn’t locked us inside, your father and I would’ve returned long ago.”
Sam stood there, frozen. His lips parted, but the words came out in a whisper.@
“Why didn’t she tell me? Why didn’t she just say it?”
8:59 AM
His father, who’d been silent until now, shook his head with a heavy sigh.
“Because there was a traitor,” he said quietly. “Nerissa came ashore to find them.“}
The room fell into a heavy silence. Nothing moved–except the slow burst of air bubbles rising from my body in the tank, each one breaking with a delicate pop in the still water.
Eventually, Sam sent his parents to rest in the guest wing. But he didn’t follow. Instead, he walked down a narrow hall to another part of the lab.
The storage room that had become my bedroom. It had no light, so he carried a small lantern as he opened the door.
As soon as he opened the door, he flinched. The stench hit him instantly.
He hadn’t noticed it earlier, not in the panic of trying to save me. But now, standing in the quiet, the smell of rot, rust and something darker filled the air.
the p
