Mermaids Versus Zombies

We've always been the stuff of myth and legend to you, and with good reason. None of us ever cared for your world, dear surface dwellers. After all, you were unhappily stuck with the twenty nine percent of the planet Earth which we cared nothing about. The dry, nearly lifeless land, a tiny and insignificant pebble compared to the endless bounty of the life-giving ocean. With such prime real estate at our disposal, why would we, your betters, ever bother with you?

For centuries we ignored you, and you continued to spread, building mechanical monsters, polluting the waterways and breeding without restraint, until your resources proved too few to sustain you. Suddenly, dry land wasn't enough to contain all of you, and you began to war with one another over resources. We were content to ignore you even then, until your dead started coming back to life, ravenous and nigh-unstoppable...

I was one of the first to discover the new threat, on a bright sunny day when I dared to venture close to the surface, drawn by the commotion made by those hideous things you call ships. I was stunned to see one of those vessels aflame, and there were men and women onboard, fighting one another, like your kind are wont to do. Nothing unusual here, until some of you began tumbling into the ocean...

I swam closer to the fallen, intent on taking a closer look at your species, and that's when I knew something was wrong. Everyone knows that when you humans fall into the ocean, it's only a matter of time until you drown. I'm told that some of you are capable swimmers, and can float for a time. Inevitably, unless you are pulled from our watery realm, you don't last long it.

Sharks, and a whole host of other creatures have a taste for your flesh, after all. It's almost as if the denizens of the deep sense that it's you dreaded humans who poison our ocean with your filth, and want to make you pay. Toward the sinking human I swam, and watched it from a distance.

Normally, a sinking human waves its arms and legs, screaming silently, letting precious air bubbles escape through its useless mouth, and it amuses my kind to watch you in your final moments. The ocean isn't yours, you don't belong here, we wish you'd go away. You refuse to heed the message, no matter how many of your hideous vessels we send tumbling into the depths.

"Die human filth," I thought to myself as I drew closer to the sinking creature, a pale-skinned female whose body was covered by some fabric I had never seen before. Why you bother with such things, I'll never know. The creature had been in the ocean for a good twenty minutes, yet it was still struggling. How could that be? We all know your kind seldom last more ten minutes in the depths without special equipment. It's a known fact.

"What have we here?" I wondered, and I drew closer still, and my eyes, perfectly adapted for seeing in the dark depths, in places never touched by the sunlight, blinked in surprise. For the human was still moving, and I saw that its face was hideously marked, as though someone had bitten a chunk out of it. Even more alarming, the human's eyes locked onto me, even in the darkness, and it moved its arms in my direction.

I stayed away, of course, for unlike your species, I know that even a top predator like myself is always prey for something else. I hefted my weapon, a harpoon crafted from the finest orca spine. Gently I prodded the sinking human creature with my harpoon, and it reacted to my touch, reaching toward me with its useless, yet nevertheless grasping arms.

Looking into the human creature's eyes, I saw something new...a depthless hunger which sent a chill down my own spine. I poked it some more, and the creature tried to move toward me, even as it continued falling, hapless against the strong currents of the deep. It was now at a depth that no human could survive. Even those hideous accoutrements you outfit yourselves with can only protect you so long in those crushing depths.

"What are you?" I wondered, and I was pondering that when the human creature tried to lunge at me. Reflexively I thrust my harpoon, cleaving the creature's skull in two. At once it stopped moving, and its corpse fell to the depths. I watched it sink with a sickening presentiment. I did not understand what I was looking at, and what I don't know or understand, I tend to fear. It's the one thing our two races have in common.

"Black Star, come back," came a voice, echoing right into my brain, and I paused, for I would recognize her voice anywhere. My mate. I returned from whence I came, to the welcoming depths of the ocean. In this dark, watery world, my kind reign supreme. We are feared by the orca, the great white shark, and the great whales themselves. We hunt the eel, the dolphin and the tiger shark, and savor their meats. In a vast network of underwater caves, at depths no human can reach unaided, we have made ourselves at home for untold eons.

"Moon-Face," I thought-spoke, and at once she appeared, my lovely mate, the one who makes my heart sing. Nearly two meters tall, curvaceous, with blue-black skin covered in tiny scales, her bioluminescent hair, now in thick stresses, standing on end, her breasts bare, and her generous mouth opened, revealing sharp teeth, Moon-Face smiles at me. She is not pleased. Among our kind, a smile is a threat...

"Black Star, you've gone all day, and you've not brought me anything," Moon-Face sternly thought-spoke to me, and I pause, then reach for her hands. We've known each other our whole lives, and although we are from different clans, none can deny that we belong together. Moon-Face still bears the scars of her battle against the great white shark, a rite of passage among our kind. During that battle, I broke the rules and rescued her, and we've been together ever since.

"Beloved, I found something strange," I thought-spoke hesitantly, and Moon-Face looked at me, her face filled with worry. Those bright yellow eyes looked me up and down, and she briefly inspected me from head to fluke. I opened my mind, using the special link that we all share, and allowed Moon-Face's consciousness to enter mine. Feel what I feel, see what I see...

"Black Star, what manner of being was that thing?" Moon-Face asks, her thought speech tinged with worry. I pull her close and embrace her, and our breasts touch. Moon-Face embraces me, and all the worry I'd been feeling all day vanishes like an ice cap melting under a tropical sun. I am with my mate, I am home, I am safe. Whatever that thing was, we shall face it together...

"Sister," comes a voice, interrupting our moment, and I turn to face my brother, Fin. Two meters tall, massively muscular, with dark blue skin, his frame bearing the scars of vigorous hunting expeditions as well as wars against rival clans, my brother Fin is one of the strongest members of our clan. I wave at him, and he links his claws with mine, a sign of respect among our kind.

"Welcome to our alcove, Brother Fin," Moon-Face thought-spoke, and Fin linked his claws with hers. Among our people, those who are genetically related possess a special link, and can sense each other across great distances. Doubtless Fin sensed my earlier distress, and has come to check up on me. As Fin lives many leagues away, his concern for my well-being must have been great indeed.

"Welcome, Brother," I thought as I greet Fin joyfully. He stands before me, massive, holding onto his favorite weapon, a three-meter-long spear which he has shaped into a kind of trident. He fashioned it from the bones of a hammerhead shark which he slaughtered years ago. I am touched by his concern, but I have lived long enough to see twenty three tempests, and have a wife of my own. Someday soon, I will become a mother, I am not his little fish-ling anymore.

"Black Star showed me many disturbing things since we've undergone the Joining, but that one was different," Moon-Face says, and she looks meaningfully at Fin, who crosses his muscular arms over his massive chest, standing at ease after attaching his trident to a tortoise skin-sling on his back. Before I can contribute anything else to the conversation, my vivacious wife shares a certain mental image with my older brother, without my permission...

"Sister, I have never seen the like of that thing, and I have roamed nearly every ocean and sea on this planet," Fin says, and he strokes his chin thoughtfully. His meter-long retractable tongue comes out unexpectedly, and he lathers my face with it, while I remain impassive and remind myself that slaughtering siblings is against the laws of our people. Fin is embarrassing me in front of Moon-Face, who smiles, even as I roll my eyes.

"We should tell the Council about this," Moon-Face suggests, and I shot her a disapproving look, my hair rising in frustration. Out of the question, I thought angrily. Fin looks at Moon-Face, then at me. He retracts his tongue at last, and I affectionately extend my tongue, and lather the side of his head. It's an intimate gesture and an expression of affection among our kind, in case you didn't know...

"Black Star, I know how you feel about the Council, Onyx Blade is on it, but this matter may be bigger than our entire pod," Fin says, and he looks to Moon-Face for support, even as I continue to silently express my disapproval of his idea. I'd rather stick my head inside the maw of a great white shark and hope for the best instead of appearing before the Council, the most brazen bunch of idiots in the ocean. They lack the common sense that the life-giving ocean gave to crabs, which are hardly the smartest denizens of our watery world...

Three years ago, after completing my training as a Huntress, I was finally accepted as an adult female by the males and females of our pod/clan. As such, I would have a voice when the Council convened to decide the future of our clan, and settle disputes between rival parties. I had come of age, and with it came certain rights and privileges...

I would be able to select a mate among the Hunters and Huntresses of our pod/clan, and provided that they wanted me and I wanted them, there would be no issue. When a mated pair appears before their respective clans to present their beloved, it is a joyous occasion, and this wonderful Joining is followed by seven days of festivities. During that magical time, I introduced my beloved Moon-Face to my parents, and my brother Fin, as the Arbiter of the clan, presided over our Joining.

Among our kind, male/male and female/female pairings are common, and are as respected as female/male pairings. My beloved Moon-Face and I then went through the Journey, which most couples undertake after their Joining. We roamed the ocean together, venturing in places we'd never been, exploring wonders and battling horrors.

When we returned, bearing the scars of the Journey, which is what passes for a honeymoon among our kind, our bond was stronger than ever. I love Moon-Face as much as I love myself or my older brother Fin, that's why they're the only ones I spoke to about my dream of one day serving on the Council. Considering our family history, many, including Fin, thought this was a foolish dream...

Politics govern all, even in our underwater society. Don't be so surprised by that fact. I loathe to admit it, but my kind is quite similar to you humans in certain ways. My father Red Star was once the leader of the Council, until he opposed Haze, the leader of a war-like clan from the other side of the ocean, who came to our territory. After a long, drawn-out war during which hundreds on both sides lost their lives, a peace was brokered.

During the war, my father Red Star had killed Haze, the rival leader. When we made peace, there were certain conditions. Henceforth, our two clans would become one, and share territory, culture, resources, and other things. In expiation for killing Haze, my father Red Star was exiled from his own clan, and departed in shame, never to be seen again. As for the slain Haze's daughter, Onyx Blade, was given a seat on the Council. To say that I hate that sea heifer would be an understatement...

"Out of the question," I thought-spoke vehemently, so loud that both Fin and Moon-Face grabbed their heads, and shot me looks of sheer disapproval. I hastily apologized, chastising myself for getting out of control. When one shouts telepathically, all those at close range feel it, right in the brain pan, and it can be an exceedingly painful experience.

"I will leave the decision up to you, Sister," Fin says, and he holds out his clawed hand, which I link with mine. Fin presses his forehead against that of Moon-Face, his way of conveying respect and affection to the female who has become his younger sister's wife. Fin departs, speeding through the water so fast that the great white sharks, the speedsters of the ocean world, would have had trouble keeping up with him. My magnificent brother...

"Black Star, what is wrong with you?" Moon-Face screeches telepathically, and she lashes out with her tongue, which strikes my chin and stings. I blink in surprise, and Moon-Face flashes me that wicked, sardonic smile of hers. I smile in turn, and then reach for her long, bioluminescent hair, grabbing those long tresses which are more akin to a squid's tentacles than to anything that might grow on a surface dweller's tiny, weak head...

"That's what you get for embarrassing me in front of Fin," I retort, and Moon-Face's eyes flash with anger, and she comes for me, fangs bared and claws extended, my lethal beauty. I watch her as she gets ready to pounce on me, my curvaceous, fine-finned, vicious beauty. I meet her charge, and we fiercely grapple, creating a tiny underwater storm as we unleash our passions...

"Feral bitch," Moon-Face screams telepathically, her voice drilling into my mind like a rock through soft sands, and I screech and hold my head, even as she takes advantage of my distress and takes me down. I crash on the ocean floor, dazed and confused, and my mate holds me down, and presses her lovely body against mine. I am half-maddened, and in my frenzy, I sank my fangs into Moon-Face's shoulder...

"Argh," Moon-Face howls, and I wrap my arms around her, even as I taste her blood. She struggles against me, but I refuse to let go. I tenderly stroke her beautiful face, even as she pries herself free from me, and her maw opens, those sharp fangs could rip out my throat and kill me in seconds. I hesitate, as fear and desire war fiercely within me...

"My essence is your essence, my body is your body," I coo softly, and Moon-Face's expression changes from feral to loving, and she pries my maw open and slides her tongue inside. Her claws retract and she gently caresses my breasts, and I shudder as her hands slid between my legs, and she enters me. I feel her fingers inside of me, and gasp, and Moon-Face's smile deepens...

"Savage beauty," Moon-Face teases me, and I growl, clawing at her, yet not wanting her to stop. I want her to come for me, and take me, and tame me, but I won't go down without a fight. I am the fierce Huntress and I want my smart-tongued fishwife to take me down, and she does. I am like soft sand in her hands as she makes love to me, and when she buries her lovely face between my legs, I sing her praises even as I cry out in pleasure. My orgasmic scream pierces the ocean like an arrow, causing creatures to scatter in fear...

"That was marvelous," I whisper as I lay in Moon-Face's arms, and she smiles and licks my face. I lick hers, and we hold each other tenderly. I could travel the world and roam the seven seas without finding someone like her. We are both rebels, Moon-Face and I. She abandoned her own clan to be with me, and I'm the daughter of the most rebellious leader our kind has ever known, the one known as the Exile.

"Hmm, Black Star, if you stopped roaming far and wide and spent more time at home, this could happen more often," Moon-Face says coyly, even as she flicks her meter-long, prehensile tongue over my nipple, arousing me quite casually. I feel a stirring of desire inside, and Moon-Face, ever attune to my body and spirit, smiles before sliding right on top of me. Straddling me, Moon-Face sits on my lap, hands on her hips, her curvy body swaying this way and that. Just like that, we began making love again...

Life was beautiful and peaceful for us, the people of the sea. We who are called mermaids, mermen, aquatic humans, aquatic apes, and so on. We are not a branch of humanity that somehow evolved in the ocean. We are not humans who left the land and returned to the sea. We simply are what we are. Any resemblance between us is purely coincidence. You are of the land, humans. You are not of the sea. We are not you. And you are definitely not us.

Lying next to my beloved Moon-Face in our alcove, our private spot inside a canyon located near the network of underwater caves that our people call home, I felt at peace. After making love, we caught a type of large, silvery fish called King Mackerel by surface dwellers, and feasted on it prior to retiring for the evening. It has been a good day...

Moon-Face was fast asleep, yet as much as I craved slumber, rest was denied to me. All around us, our brothers and sisters of the pod/clan were getting ready for sleep. Hunters and Huntresses coming home to their darling fishwives and agile, boisterous fish-lings. A few Hunters and Huntresses would be posted as sentries, otherwise everyone was soon asleep. The clan/pod is one big family, and there's nothing more important under the sea...

Try as I might, I couldn't forget the human-like creature, and every time I envisioned it in my mind, I shuddered with dread. I've hunted sharks, orcas, giant squids, and certain predators that you humans still don't know exist. I once came dangerously close to getting devoured by a massive orca as it fought off a school of sharks, which surrounded it after I wounded it with my harpoon. Yet I'd never known true fear, until I saw that thing...

I couldn't explain it, but something inside told me that this thing, which looked human, wasn't alive when I saw it. And it wasn't alive, yet still hungered for me, it might be capable of destroying me. It felt no pain as I struck it with my harpoon, and I saw no fear in its eyes prior to destroying it, only a depthless hunger. Worse than the hunger I saw in a shark's eyes when it smells blood in the water...

My instincts told me that where there might be one of those dead things, there might be others. If those things were fighting the surface dwellers, then the air breathers had my sympathy for the first time in eons. I sensed that dangerous times were upon all of us, both the people of the sea and the air breathers alike. Something bad was on its way, I could feel it. I took a look at Moon-Face, who slept peacefully, her mind drifting with happy thoughts. How I envied her. For only I could sense the horror that was coming for us...