𝗔𝗠𝗕𝗬𝗦 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗥 · 23x FEATURED · An Asian sci-fi retelling of The Little Mermaid that steers the tale you know in a whole new funky direction |
An ambitious teen mermaid must venture beyond her guarded underwater city and brave the...
Her arms tightened around herself, knuckles taut and fingers digging. She became aware of a keening noise that filled the air. It took a minute to register that it issued from her mouth.
She kept rocking.
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The noise subsided to a whimper.
Dea tipped over the side of the Cypod and thunked to the floor. The pain that blossomed on impact was but a mere prick compared to the white-hot agony within.
She crawled forward, the dizziness making her tilt.
A lone light, caged in black, dispersed stark white irradiance that brought out discolored walls and ugly metal. Holding tanks and containers rose up on either side in featureless greys, casting innumerable shadows.
The collar lay shaded in penumbra. One starfish stud caught the light, bright pink popping out of the bleakness. Something cracked inside her.
Dea's hand reached out and fumbled on the damp floor, as cold as her skin. Her fingers finally closed over the precious item.
Nothing moved. A minute dragged by—and another.
It was as if the universe left her behind while she struggled to cling on to what was no more. Her thumb rubbed the scratch on the band—the result of Burpy rubbing it on a rock the night before she left.
The world spun again. Dea crawled to the wall behind a tank and summoned the Cypod to block the glare of the light.
Then she cradled the band and sank into a fetal position, imploding in on herself like a faulty craft crumpling under extreme pressure.
Her vision swam, and her ears blotted out the sound of waves. Face pressed to cold metal, the vantage point from the floor skewed her view. It faded in and out of focus.
The rocking continued.
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Through the fog in her head, she finally sensed movement—vibrations other than the uncontrollable shaking of her own body.
A deep rumble coursed through the vessel—the bellow of a beast awakening from slumber. Patters and clangs formed a melody as dissonant as her keening cry.
