The Merman from the West Coast - Chapter 1

A colony of merfolk lived along the beautiful West Coast, and I was one of them.

That day, I lay sprawled across a reef, basking contentedly in the sun. My five-foot tail rose behind me and slapped lazily at the water. Before I knew it, it had gone still and begun to droop.

Then an icy raindrop struck my cheek.

I opened my eyes blearily. In the distance, black clouds had swallowed the sky. A towering tsunami surged toward me like the end of the world, its dark wall of water deep enough to devour everything in its path.

I jolted awake and dove into the sea with a splash. An immense shadow pressed down from overhead. I swam with all my strength, but the wave caught me anyway and hurled me high into the air.

Vertigo and weightlessness seized me at once.

Then everything went black.

When I opened my eyes again, I was floating in a dim, unfamiliar stretch of sea.

I stared blankly at my surroundings.

Strange.

All of it was strange.

The realization that I had been swept away and gotten hopelessly lost made my eyes sting.

Where was my home?

Before I could decide which way to swim, my stomach let out a loud growl. I was starving. Maybe I should hunt first.

I swam out—and fled back a moment later in disgrace.

Where in the ocean was I? The deep-sea fish here were nearly twice the size of the ones back on the West Coast. It was honestly hard to tell whether I was supposed to eat them or they were supposed to eat me.

Sniffling, I wiped away my tears and chewed miserably on seaweed.

Then an unfamiliar scent drifted through the water.

I immediately hid among the coral. A moment later, my eyes widened in disbelief as a mer-creature twelve or thirteen feet long swam past.

No. Not a merman. Merfolk didn’t grow that large.

The details clicked into place, and a terrifying possibility flashed through my mind.

Was this… jiaoren territory?

If I remembered correctly, my ancestors had warned me that the Eastern Sea was home to jiaoren, brutal creatures by nature. If encountered, one must run for one’s life!

Once my thoughts stopped spinning, I swallowed nervously. No wonder the deep-sea fish here were so aggressive. With predators that powerful hunting them, any fish that failed to evolve would have gone extinct long ago.

I took a deep breath, tucked a bundle of seaweed under my arm, and cautiously poked my head out. It was quiet nearby. For the moment, at least, I seemed safe.

Avoiding every place where a jiaoren might appear, I struck out west as fast as I could. Yet the farther I swam, the more desolate the seafloor became.

Eventually, I stopped.

Currents whispered through a weed-choked cavern ahead. It looked dark, eerie, and thoroughly terrifying.

I—I must have taken a wrong turn.

Pressing my lips together, I slowed my tail and started back the way I had come. The West Coast had frightening sea witches lurking in its depths. What did the Eastern Sea have? Sea monsters?

My imagination had just begun to run wild when the coppery scent of blood reached me.

Before I could locate its source, my tail went rigid.

I stared stupidly at the broad back before me.

A tall, powerfully muscled jiaoren had his teeth buried in a shark. The muscles bulging along his arms were almost as thick as my tail.

My lips trembled. I wanted to cry.

I tried to slip away without making a sound.

In the blink of an eye, the white-haired jiaoren appeared directly in front of me.

Terror crashed over me. My mouth opened, but I was too frightened to utter even a last word.

Then he raised one clawed hand.

I squeezed my eyes shut.