Stumbling backwards from the trashcan, I pressed a hand against my mouth. The image of my father burned into my mind----his proud smile, the doting wife, me wrapped in a pink blanket, like a picture on a wall of a fishing trip—gone horribly wrong.
My body screamed. The blood that ran in my veins couldn’t be related to people that would kill a half-human creature and then have the audacity to smile about it. Out of what, pride? Not to mention grabbing the whole family afterwards and posing for a picture like it was normal. What were they planning? To send that cute, family picture out in the next family Christmas card? No, I was not, could not be part of this horrible hunting game. But there I was in the picture, that tiny little foot sticking out had to be mine.
“They hunted them...” My voice shook, and I dropped to the ground, grabbing my knees, squeezing them to me. My world spun. That bloodied Sirenean corpse still pressed into my mind, like it was a part of me now.
God, how much better had my made up stories of my long-lost family been than the reality? Parents with a simple sailing hobby, a hobby that they shared with me, which led to their demise. The idea was laughable now. They didn’t die trying to save me during some storm, they died trying to kill Sireneans and they had brought their child along. They had brought me along.
What type of loving parents brings their infant along on some sick hunting trip? Who exposes a baby to that type of bloodshed? They didn’t love me. How could they? They killed half-human creatures without so much as a second thought. They didn’t know compassion or love.
Selfish and stupid.
That’s what my parents were----Caring only about getting further ahead in their vile hunting game. That’s why they brought me along, because they were only thinking of themselves. And now what? Their own selfish choices had taken them away from me. I was an orphan because they chose to hunt; their choices took them away from me. The thought made my stomach turn.
No wonder Gramps never wanted me to go looking for answers, no wonder he didn’t want me prying into my past. This is what was there. Sirenean hunters, a family that died trying to kill the people who I called family, and they did it for sport? Because they thought Sireneans were a “plague on human-kind”? Saatchi and Nikko were not a plague on humankind. They collected gold. Harmless. They were peaceful. I had never seen or heard them speak of violence. Sireneans were not the problem here----it was my parents, it was Calvin’s parents.
“I know it’s a lot to take in,” Calvin said, coming over to me and kneeling down in front of me. He kept trying to make eye contact with me, break me out of my delirium, the thoughts tumbling through my mind, but I kept staring at the ground, shaking my head. “Kova, look at me.” He took his hand and lifted my chin, until his face was all I could see. “I know. It’s crazy... all of this. It’s easier to believe they’re lying. That your parents are just nuts and make up stories.”
I turned my head away from him. “But it is true... All of this is real. My parents chose this life over me. Don’t you get it?”
He nodded. “Why do you think I’m so angry at my dad all the time? It was always this life over spending time with me. I can’t tell you how many games and birthdays they missed growing up. They’d be gone for months sometimes. No explanation.”
“At least you still have your parents.”
My words stung and Calvin flinched backwards, like I had physically struck him, hanging his head.
A light turned on under the doorway, and the smell of coffee met my nose. I glanced over at the clock, 5:47 a.m.
“Did they ever tell you why?” I asked, breaking the silence between us.
YOU ARE READING
Submerged: The Mer Chronicles
FantasyI am a predator. Humans are the prey. I feed off their fear as they drown in my arms. But life didn't used to be this way. I wasn't always half-human and half-fish. I used to be one of them. A human. This is my story.
