The Invasion

16 | Confidant

The moment I open the refrigerator door in the kitchen, I know that I've hit the jackpot, but in an apocalypse version. Boxes of ready-made meals stack in the freezer. Untouched.

Man, whoever had lived here must have hated cooking.

In the past, I could never find such food products in my house, because Mom hates how processed and unhealthy they are. But right now, I'm so happy to see them. It's a wonder how they have not yet been raided, but that's about to change because of me.

I grab a frozen pizza and place it in a microwave. The beep sound startles Zarius when I set the timer. He stares oddly into the oven and watches as the food revolves on the turntable.

I rest my elbows on the island counter, watching him as he explores the kitchen. He opens the refrigerator door and stands in front of it, feeling the cold air that touches his skin. Right now, he is acting more like a curious child instead of a six feet tall merman.

"Why are you here, Zarius?" I ask. "What made you come up onto the land? Are there more merfolks like you out there?"

Zarius turns, and our gazes instantly connect. "We've been evacuating our people, especially those who haven't turned. Among those you've come across so far, merfolks are superior beings in the waters. We're far stronger than others, so it's harder to be affected by whatever is in the water."

I'm fascinated. "In other words, merfolks rule the oceans."

"Yes."

"And you've a safe place to go? A shelter?"

"Yes," he confirms. "That's the reason I'm here. I came up to find someone—a friend of the family. He disappeared when the mutants went to the surface. I need to take him back with us."

"Is that what we're calling them now? The mutants?"

Zarius blinks once. "I overheard some humans calling them like that when I surfaced. Do you have a better choice of name?"

The corners of my lips lift to form an amused smile. "Not really, but mutants fit them perfectly," I agree. "About this friend that you've been looking for...you haven't found him yet? Not a single trace?"

A weary sigh escapes his lips. "I have not, but I will."

The microwave lets out a loud ding and I pull out the piping hot pizza with an oven glove. Zarius watches as I sit on the island counter, blow on a pizza slice and take a huge bite out of it. As the delectable flavor fills my mouth, I throw my head back and let out a pleasant moan. It tastes a hundred times better than when I last ate it.

Zarius wrinkles his nose at the smell in the air. "Does that...taste good?"

"Of course! It's amazing!" I push the box towards him. "Do you want to have a bite?"

He looks as if I'm serving him a plate of pickles and olives. Boy, I hate that stuff. "I appreciate the offer, but no thank you."

"But aren't you hungry?"

"No. We don't require food as often as humans do."

"Is that so?" I snatch up another slice, munching away to fill my stomach. I must be a lot hungrier than I thought because I haven't eaten properly in days. "Tell me more about the merfolks."

Zarius tilts his head at me. "How much do you know?"

I give a light shrug. "Not much. Just the fact that I can't eat seafood and have a fast healing ability. Oh! I can hear the thoughts of the sea creatures out there too. Well, not all the time, but it has happened twice before."