Nikolai was a merman—a rare species, found in saltwater, and still just a myth to most. And despite any freedoms that came with loneliness, he felt trapped in his wariness and confusion. He was just beginning to consider treading the line of safety—to visit shore, or scare a fisherman to death to cure the everlasting boredom—before he was captured.

It was a whirlwind of shock—or was it fear?—that left him immobile as multiple machines surround him in the dark of night, grabbing him and folding his fins in case he snapped out of his stupor and decided to swim. It was the unfamiliar treatment, rough and methodical, that stuck with him as he felt a stab in his neck. This was more than just the curious kidnapping of a civilian.

Light, pain, cold, and wobbly arms were all he could understand as his eyes decide to stay glued shut. Where was the smell of seaweed and fish?

“What beautiful colors... And this is a.. male? What a wonderful catch.”

When Nikolai finally wakes, he finds himself in a cylindrical tube filled with water, suffocatingly small. He quickly learns that the bright fluorescent lights lining the edges were the culprits straining his eyes. On the other, much darker side of the glass, there’s a strange man standing in front of him with a clipboard. The room behind him was pitch black, casting an eerie glow on his face as his eyes scan Nikolai’s form, like a surgeon looking at an operating table.