The Oceans Enigmatic Love

Ravenous Friends

One of the things they don't tell you about working in an aquarium is how the smell of blood tends to follow you.

Will Graham was fortunate that his years of fishing with his father gave him an immunity to the bloody fish smell, but he couldn't exactly say he enjoyed it. The smell of salt and algae clung to his clothes and wouldn't come off no matter how much he washed them after years of washing and feeding chum to his assigned tanks.

'Chilton's Aquarium of Oddities' or 'CAO' was one of the richest, if not strangest aquariums in the States, one of the only ones in the world to successfully keep genuine freshwater Mermaids in captivity. (All Mers in captivity were from bayous, lakes, and rivers, though it has been rumored that there were even more beautiful ones out at sea.)

Originally beings of mere fiction until some odd sixty years ago, mermaids are still barely understood and incredibly difficult to keep alive in domestic settings. Chilton often patted himself on the back for hiring the best scientists money could buy to create the most complex and self sustaining tanks that could both provide the creatures with the right environmental factors, as well as keep them from escaping by breaking through the glass. Each tank that housed one had to have been two feet deep of thick glass they couldn't shatter with their speed and the sheer strength of their tails.

It was Will's job to maintain the mermaid tanks and feed them after hours once visitors had left, something that could be considered one of the worst jobs you could possibly have considering how the creatures were known to attack anyone who comes close. He had quite a few scars riddling his body from where he got swiped with their claws when he first started working there. But he could proudly say he hadn't been bitten or scratched in almost five years at this point.

He had a bit of an ability (Or 'gift' as Chilton would say in his many egotistical critiques over the years) to be able to read the moods and body language of the mermaids he took care of and could easily tell if they were agitated, in pain, or content. It was probably one of the main reasons they were able to keep them all alive for so long. Personally, Will didn't find it that hard. You just had to pay attention, he found that Mers, while much more subtle, had the same emotions as people did. While it was pretty obvious if they were angry of scared, as they would be more volatile than usual. Apparently only Will could tell if they were literally any other emotion other than pissed or hungry.

Regardless, his ability to placate the creatures had quickly made him a valuable assist to the scientists there, especially Chilton, who made him in charge of their feeding times in addition to the tank cleanings as it was when the Mers would be at their most aggressive. The smell of fish guts those first weeks was enough to make even him gag. He was relieved that he was usually the only one working so late, it would have been embarrassing if someone he knew saw him elbow deep in fish and splattered with blood.

It was a thankless job, but the pay was nearly triple what he was originally paid. So he grit his teeth and dealt with it. Taking showers in the employee washroom certainly helped with a very generous amount of soap. All in all, he was pretty content with his life.

That is, until Chilton acquired something far beyond what he, or anyone really, was properly prepared for.

.....................................................................

The night started as mundane as any other.

Will arrived at the aquarium at Eight pm when the doors became closed to the public. Taking care to but on his usual rubber boots and blue uniform he wore when cleaning the tanks. He was just about to begin his usual route when the sound of multiple expensive shoes echoed through the quiet exhibit.

Turning to look, Will inwardly braced himself to see the approaching group of scientists, lead by Fredrick Chilton himself who seemed in the midst of one of his infamous soliloquies. He ducked his head to grab some rags out of his pocket to wipe at a nearby tank and prayed they'd go by him without incident.