by J. J. Egosi
“There is, but you won’t like it,” Alexa said.
“Anything!” Isabella said as the water closed in on her.
Alexa looked the sea humanoids in their eyes. She nodded and tightened her fist then broke through the window in a single hit.
“Everyone, evacuate!”
“You mean go where they are?” Isabella asked.
“Are you dumb? I’m not going out there!” Isabella argued.
“Move your fucking ass!” Alexa demanded.
She and Julianna pushed through the window and swam into the abyss. Ursula followed suit. Isabella bit back her fear amidst the weighing of circumstances before choosing to pursue the same path.
They all escaped the ship as it began to sink into darkness. However, the threat of their new enemies would endure.
“Damn. We’re surrounded.” Julianna noticed a different creature in each direction she turned. Their grins beamed down at her. “How fortunate you had those tablets or we’d either be food or sinking into our coffin.”
“Speaking of which, what about the ship?” Ursula asked.
“I can always build a new one.” Alexa bit back her frustration as it sank into the black abyss. “Right now, we’ve got bigger issues to contend with.”
The others looked with a sense of sadness, wishing they could retrieve it for her. They knew how much she loved that ship, but she was right; greater dangers stood before them.
They looked at the creatures swimming in their way: four female fish hybrids, each of them containing the lower half of an eel, a shark, a squid, and a smelt whiting fish respectively. All of them looked at the girls menacingly through their empty eyes as they reached out their talons.
“What should we do? Fight them?” Isabella asked.
“Not when we have Michael to look for,” Julianna said.
“She’s right. There’s no time to deal with them. Swim for your lives!” Alexa shouted.
The four of them nodded as they rushed through the dark sea, evading the clawing grasp of their enemies just in time. They began swimming as quickly as they could, refusing to look back.
The sea creatures charged toward them, swimming at a rate far faster than anything a demon could muster.
“They’re too fast. And our wings won’t work under water,” Ursula said.
“Look like we have no choice but to fight!” Julianna said as the sea creatures came within an arm’s length of them. The creatures snarled and snickered as they closed in.
“I was really hoping we could avoid combating these horrid things,” Isabella said, growing flustered.
She and the other girls stopped and turned to face the creatures. Alexa looked at her fellow demons with great conviction on her face.
“Quick! Use all the fire magic you can!” she said.
“Who died and put you in charge?” Julianna asked.
“Besides, we’re demons. We wield shadows. Not fire,” said Isabella.
“Demon magic ignites a great deal of heat under water. With the pressure of being so many leagues down, they’ll ignite like a wildfire.”
Alexa held out her hand and began harnessing her shadows into an orb to demonstrate. The orb appeared normal at first. To their surprise, a spark within it ignited and the black shadows turned to a roaring fire.
“Incredible!” Isabella said. “Fire under water?”
She and Julianna marled at the sight of the cluster of dark flames flickering in defiance of the water.
“As much as I love my technology, there are just some things only magic can do.” Alexa grinned.
The creatures hissed and covered their faces with their arms in terror.
“Underwater denizens are terrified of fire. We have the advantage now.” Alexa smiled.
“But, how long will these flames last?” Julianna asked.
“At the very least, they should buy us some time,” Alexa said. “Now, come on. We need to wipe these creatures out and fast.”
The others nodded in agreement and followed her instructions. They manifested their shadows that sparked into a black flame that sent the creatures shuttering.
“It worked,” Isabella said.
“Yes, now attack!” Alexa exclaimed.
“Got it!”
The four combated their enemies one-on-one. They hurled their infernal orbs from their hand with immense force.
The creatures countered back with orbs of water contained in thick swirling layers of pale white. The now opposing element, along with the current it created upon release, began to put out their flames.
“Shit. The water’s putting out our fire faster than we can cast it!” Ursula said.
“Wouldn’t it be more efficient to use our weapons?” Julianna said, struggling to maneuver through the streams of orbs rushing her way.
“There’s no time to take our chances. Just keep pushing. The monsters can’t get near us or they’ll be burned alive,” Alexa said.
“But”—
“Remember, these are creatures of water, which means they’re highly susceptible to fire,” Alexa said. “Just a spark or two should be enough to finish them off.”
Alexa pushed her flames forward in the shape of a wall as the sea creatures grew closer. She attempted but failed to break the barrier of water.
“Right.”
Ursula nodded as she used her flames to expand to the point where the sea creatures could no longer be seen. With the help of Julianna and Isabella, they began to form a cylindrical flaming barrier that kept the sea creatures out.
“I think we’re really doing it now,” Isabella said, growing her part of the barrier of flames around them.
“We’ve trapped ourselves amidst the flames, haven’t we?” Julianna gritted her teeth as the heat began to crawl under her skin with intensity.
“Not quite,” Alexa said.
“What do you mean?” Julianna’s eyes widened.
“On the count of three, we’re going to release all these flames as far as we can, alright? This’ll set everything aflame. Including these monsters. Once that happens, we can make our escape.”
The girls nodded with smiles. Together, they pre-wired themselves for their attack as she began the countdown. Almost instantly, the slimy grip of one of her enemies wrapping around her arm stopped her.
“No way. How are these things resistant to flames?”
Alexa watched with utter disbelief as the sharp teeth of the beast penetrating their barrier.
“Who knows and who fucking cares? We don’t have time to figure that out. Just release your flames as planned,” Julianna said in a frantic tone as the other three creatures began breaking through the barrier, too.
“What good is that if they can withstand fire?” Alexa said, panicking.
“I know this much. Like any other enemy, they have a fatal flaw. And that flaw lies in their gills,” Ursula replied.
She held back one of the enemies with her fire as it reached for her neck with one of its sticky tentacles, looking at her with a horrifying smirk on its face.
Alexa looked at the gills on either side of their hips and noticed that half of their bodies were still outside their fire barrier, safe from the burning touch.
“I see now. Only a fragment is impervious to our magic, so brute force can still do the trick here in the end. Wonderful.”
The girls looked at one another and nodded.
You all know what to do,” She continued. “Roast these oversized fish freaks alive!”
In one massive blaze of fiery rage, they unleashed their fire at once. Miles upon miles of ocean water were set aflame by their inextinguishable inferno, completely scorching their enemies.
“We did it.” Ursula’s face lit up.
They watched as the creatures sank toward the ocean floor. The sounds of their screams were a testament to the girls’ victory. The girls called off their flames and the ocean returned to its original fireless state.
Ursula looked down and recognized one of them.<
br />
“Hey, that’s the mermaid that kidnapped Michael, isn’t it?”
“Hmm, I don’t think so.”
Isabella remembered the mermaid that took Michael having a much more captivating presence. It definitely wasn’t the ghostly fish-eyed one they just faced.
“That’s a completely different beast.”
“It’s the same one. I’m certain of it,” Ursula insisted.
Alexa and the others looked at one another with confusion before staring back to entertain her theory.
“How can you know for sure with its body incinerated?” Isabella asked, staring at its blackened body floating into the abyss.
“And if it was, how did it turn into the creature we just saw?” Julianna asked.
“That was probably a concealing enchantment it used before to make luring men in easier. This is its true form.”
“But, how can you be sure?” Isabella asked.
“I could sense the same aura as before. The same nasty energy that took Michael away from us,” Ursula said.
Alexa thought about it for a brief moment of silence. “If that’s the case, it’s really unfortunate because that mermaid would most likely know where Michael is.”
“True. For now, though, let’s get out of these waters and somewhere safer,” said Julianna. “Once we do, we can focus on looking for him again.”
“Is there anywhere safe in a place like this?”
Isabella looked all around. She could only see darkness and the faint flecks of marina snow from high above then she spotted a chasm in the distance.
“Hey, is that a cave?”
She pointed toward a trench-like structure glowing a faint shade of blue buried deep beneath the ocean.
“If it is, it’ll be a long swim through that trench. Let’s hope we don’t run into any other monsters,” Alexa said.
“I second the sentiment,” Julianna replied.
The rest of the girls nodded and then swam toward and into the trench, hoping the rest of their search would be obstacle-free.
As they approached the trench, they heard a series of rumbling noises in every direction as if something shifted through the darkness.
“What do you think that was?” Isabella asked.
“Let’s no worry about it until we see something,” Alexa said.
“That doesn’t make me feel better.” Isabella gulped.
“It wasn’t supposed to. Hurry up.”
She reluctantly followed them toward the trench. They swam until they could plainly see the two jagged walls and the narrow path between.
The girls trembled with fear in the presence of such tight, uncomfortable quarters. Still, they persisted and entered the black stone walls.
Strange sounds echoed all around the cave. They couldn’t discern the sounds between sea monsters or prey struggling.
Isabella looked at the walls to distract herself from the terror of the cave and noticed writings and symbols across it like none she’d ever seen before.
“This looks like some sort of language.” She peered at the scriptures and the depictions of gilled soldiers accompanying them. “What does it say?” she asked.
“Who’d know? Hopefully a welcome note,” Julianna said.
“Maybe we could decipher it?” Isabella asked.
“Are you kidding right now?” Julianna replied. “What time do we have to waste?”
Lost in a trial of thought, she was startled by Julianna’s tone. She turned toward her and noticed the girls had reached the mouth of the cave below and were waiting for her with a frustrated glare.
“So sorry.”
She left the writings behind and hurried toward the rest of the group. Where they approached the cave together. As they advanced, the writings grew increasingly intricate. They could no longer be ignored.
This writing… who were those creatures? Isabella thought. They looked sort of human.
After swimming under a rock, they noticed an opening ahead where a blue light shining in the distance turned green.
“I think that’s your cave there, Isabella,” Alexa said.
Isabella looked ahead, half smiling and unsure what to make of everything.
The four of them swam toward the greenish glow, hugging the rocky ceiling appearing above them as they dove deeper.
The walls were covered in glyphs, too. The rest of the group began to notice interest and relayed questions about the meaning behind them. Ursula took a particularly strong interest.
Haven’t I seen this before? She thought.
As the rock ceiling came to an end, they emerged from the water, sticking their heads out into an underwater cave, only partially taken in by the seas.
“A cave underwater? I think I’ve seen it all now.”
Julianna noticed the amount of dry land there was around them. The shore was like the ocean’s—where they lost Michael. It seemed like an entire ocean compressed to fit into a glowing chamber.
“No kidding. Not even I knew such a place existed. At least not outside of stories,” Alexa said.
The four of them swam toward land. As the water grew shallow, they began walking, feeling the strange sensation of sand trickling across their legs.
Once they were a safe distance from the treacherous water, they sat to catch their breaths.
“Well, that little excursion was unpleasant,” said Julianna.
“Agreed. Although, I have a feeling there’s a lot more to that mermaid and her fish-lipped buddies than we initially thought,” Isabella said.
“What do you mean?” Julianna said, tossing the seaweed out of her hair.
“I’m sure you noticed them, too. These carvings across the caves, I mean. Take a look.”
“Carvings, you say?” Alexa studied the walls with intrigue, wondering what it was she could have discovered.
“I think those monsters make up only a small part of a much bigger picture,” Isabella said. “But what it is they’re painting, I honestly couldn’t tell you.”
“You could be right.” Alexa’s eyes widened at the images of soldiers with gills surrounding temples and statues. “It doesn’t seem like they’re the feral beasts we thought they were. Quite the contrary, they seem to be part of some sort of civilization, much like the lizardmen.”
“This is incredible!” Julianna said.
Ursula stared intensely at the writings and whispered something under her breath.
“Hey, Ursula. Are you alright?” Isabella asked, looking toward her.
“Yes, I think so. It’s just that these writings look awfully familiar.” Ursula remarked.
“Really? Where could you have encountered them?” Alexa said, surprised.
“I can’t tell for sure, but”—
She had a vague recollection of a time years ago; walking upon the shores in the safety of solidity when she came across a tablet of sorts with the same writing.
She walked to the tablet and attempted to pick it up. That was the last she could recall from that island before a flashing green light had appeared.
“I can tell you this much is the language of the merfolk. The citizens of the lost city of Atlantis.”
“Hold on there, Ursula. Did you say a lost city?” Alexa said, wide-eyed.
“And did you say merfolk?” Julianna asked.
“Why, do you know something about it?” Isabella said.
“Yes,” Alexa said. “During one of my raids in another dimension, I heard from locals about such a city located here in this dimension that mysteriously disappeared ten thousand years ago.”
She recalled her various meetings in the cobblestone streets of another world, asking many questions that left others weary. Frightened, they would storm off.
“I always thought it was a rumor or simply someone talking about the lizardmen, instead. I never would have thought there’d be life in such an unforgiving place.”
“If that’s true, how do you know of this city?”
“This was before I met any of y
ou.” Ursula took a deep breath. “I remember finding something like this that washed ashore. I touched it and, well”—
She paused for a moment, unsure of how to share her experience.
“Well, what?” Isabella asked.
“If you made a discovery of this city before, you need to tell me. Such a find is worth well over any bounty one could find from capturing lizardmen. Not to mention the notoriety,” Alexa said.
“Well, there was more than just a tablet.”
“Wait, what else did you find?” Alexa asked.
“It was strange. The moment I touched it, there was this glowing from the water. I followed it to see what it was.”
“And what did you find?” Isabella asked, growing all the more intrigued.
“This rock. It was unlike any of the others. It glowed green, just like this cave.”
“A stone that glows a bright green?” Julianna wondered.
“I wanted to see where it came from, so I swam in search of more.”
Ursula remembered the hypnotic glow of the stone rather fondly the day she dove down for it. Like a call from the depths, she was more than happy to pursue it.
“This is all rather ominous,” Julianna said, gazing at the cave walls.
“I wanted to know more about this rock.”
Ursula recalled dragging it out from the sea and carrying it back to her hut of leaves and branches back into the jungle.
“So, I took it home with me to study it.”
“I never knew you were so motivated back then,” Alexa said, surprised.
“I think it was really just my childlike curiosity. Anyway, after weeks of comparing it to other rocks in the area, I couldn’t find any matches. I was no closer to finding where it came from than where I began.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Julianna said.
“So, what happened next?” Isabella said, fascinated by her story.
“I decided to return to the shore and hope the other object I found was still there.”
Alexa’s eyes widened. “The tablet.”
Ursula smiled. “I figured that must have been the key to all this. The slab that made the stone glow…”
She recalled the tireless journey of reuniting with the tablet and placing it beside the stone. Soon, something remarkable happened.