Chapter 17
Seventeen
Angie
As she emptied out a can of whitefish and tuna paté into Lulu’s food bowl, Angie’s mind was glued on the three teens the mer took a week ago. The authorities had closed the beach to analyze the area.
The teens had been identified as attending the local high school and had a reputation for stirring up trouble and starting fights.
Angie drove by Shoreline Park and the beach twice that week.
The desolate parking lot and endless stretches of rock and sand haunted her mind.
The debris the mer had washed up still littered the shore.
The water was tranquil and there had been no sign of the mer resurfacing, at least, not to her knowledge.
She remembered how fast news of the mer had spread in her tiny Creston town. Here, with people having easy access to each other because of their phone reception, the news spread much faster.
The last image she had of the park was of rows of signs blocking off the entrances, the words ‘PARK CLOSED’ harsh and thick in red ink.
The details of their investigation sounded on her television while she walked back to the kitchen, tossing the empty cat food can into her recycling bin.
What happened that day? Why were the mer there in the first place?
She asked Kaden, but with him being in Alaska, he didn’t seem to have the first idea.
“I didn’t know the mer were attacking humans again,” he had said. The horror in his voice when she told him about the killed teens was unmistakable.
She opened her rice cooker to check the fluffy white rice inside.
Tonight, she was making lǔròufàn, or braised pork belly over rice, topped with bok choy and sauteed in oyster sauce and braised eggs, for lunch for the week.
The smell of soy sauce and spices wafted through her small kitchen, delighting her senses.
Lǔròufàn was the first dish Māma taught her to make.
Where she normally would slow down and savor every step of cooking this simple, yet hearty dish, today, she only wished to put the dish together as fast as she could so she could get to bed and rest her body, and hopefully, her mind too.
The newscaster on her television’s words drifted across her apartment. “The search is still ongoing for four missing divers around southwest Alaska. We have reason to believe the mer are responsible...”
She swallowed hard while removing the five-spice packet from her pork belly, braised egg and vegetable mixture, turning up the heat to let the sauce thicken, and gave it a stir.
The newscaster’s voice drifted in and out of her ears. “...deeming the mer potentially dangerous.”
Angie’s rice cooker shut off automatically, making a joyful ringing noise—contrary to how she felt inside—and she grabbed five Pyrex containers, setting them out in a line. A test bite of the pork belly revealed it to be melt-in-her-mouth tender, just the way she liked it.
“...Mer-Queen Serapha was murdered, leading to concerns about mer retaliation. Parts of the eastern Aleutians have gone undersea, forcing evacuations further inland.”
Tāmāde. This wasn’t good at all.
“Governor Jena Taylor is ordering Alaskan residents to stay away from shorelines, deeming it ‘no man’s land’, and the National Guard has been mobilized...”
The usual temperate air in her apartment became stifling, and after shutting off the stovetop, she strode to the nearest window by her living room and opened it a crack, letting the cool air through.
Better.
The newscaster continued. “The mer have been informed that if any of them are caught within a mile of the coast, they will be shot on sight.”
What mer did they inform? How? To Angie’s knowledge, non-royal mer didn’t speak or understand human languages.
She couldn’t begin to venture a guess to the answer.
Angie scooped out the lǔròufàn into each Pyrex, topped each with two eggs, lined the edges with oyster-sauce, drizzled baby bok choy, and switched to another news channel.
“Washington State’s National Guard is still searching for three missing divers plus a divemaster who never resurfaced from their guided dive at Seacrest Cove two days ago...”
She couldn’t bear to listen to the news anymore and after marching to her television and shutting it off, she put her lunch in the fridge. Her appetite was gone.
The news reports from last night reverberated in Angie’s mind as she nibbled on a soy sauce braised egg in between classes. It was the first thing she’d eaten since last night.
The health science building’s cafeteria was bustling, students rushing to grab a bite before their next class began.
Bàba had sent over a list of staff on duty from the day of Serapha’s murder, mostly security guards, maintenance technicians, cargo handlers, and terminal truck drivers who usually transported fish, along with everyone’s phone numbers.
Reesa poked Angie’s triceps. “Next time you make something so delicious, make some for me. All I have is a shitty sandwich.”
“Your sandwich looks amazing though.” Angie motioned to her friend’s Italian sub.
“I’d take Leo’s, too,” Reesa continued.
Across from them, Leo was absorbed on his phone, chewing on his packed lunch of grilled fish, mixed vegetables, and brown rice, and his gaze flitted briefly to meet theirs. “Sorry, what was that? Was talking to Pops.”
“Nothing. Yours and Angie’s food looks good.” Reesa grinned.
Angie stirred her rice and took a bite. “You all see the news last night? About what’s going on with the mer in Alaska?”
She could have sworn Leo flinched, but she could have imagined it.
“Yeah, I saw. Is that close to where you lived? Does your family live there?” Reesa asked.
“Yeah. I live in Creston.” Angie inhaled deeply. She lowered her voice. “The mer attacked us last year.”
Reesa’s eyes went wide and Leo’s fork hovered over his lunch.
“What? Wait, did you–” He looked down and shook his head. “Never mind.”
“Did I what?” Angie leaned in.
“It’s nothing,” Leo said quickly.
She sat back in her hard, uncomfortable chair.
“So, uh, I was thinking. I befriended some of the mer when they attacked. They’re not animals and they’re so human.
They have their own societies, hierarchies, language, personalities.
” Angie thought of Kaden, Serapha and Aqilus, Cassia and Varin, and Adrielle and Cyrus, but she wasn’t ready to tell them she was in love with a Mer-Prince. Not yet.
“Woah.” Leo held his hands up. “You know the mer? Like, talked to them and everything?”
“Some of them can speak human languages,” Angie replied.
Her friends were still gaping at her, and she continued, forcing the next words out before she could change her mind again.
“I think we should try to spread awareness of safe interactions with mer. They’re being taken for study, and they’re being treated like other animals are sometimes treated in labs. ” She shuddered. “It’s not right.”
Angie searched Reesa and Leo’s faces, tensing for their reaction that she knew mer and didn’t tell them and she wanted to help them when they were mounting a defensive response.
Leo’s expression was neutral, unreadable, but Reesa lit up. “That’s a great idea!” she said. “I think Williams would be totally on board with this. Maybe he can help us get on the news and we can get him the exposure he wants as a celebrated marine biologist. Win-win for everyone.”
Angie nodded along enthusiastically with Reesa. “That’s what I was thinking too.”
“Count me in. And in the meantime, you’ll tell us everything you know about the mer, right?” Reesa wagged a finger at her; her lips parted in an excited grin.
“Of course!” Angie glanced at her other friend, who had remained mum. “Leo? You in?”
“Oh. Yeah, sure, I’ll help,” he said, still staring at his phone.
“Should we go talk to Williams? After we’re done for the day?” Angie asked.
“Can’t. My family is in town just for today, and if I don’t spend time with them, they’ll lay the guilt trip on me and never let me forget it.
But if you want to, just tell me what he says.
I’ll join you next time.” Reesa took another bite of her sandwich.
“I’m all in, promise. I need to get through this one day with them. ”
“Yeah, you go ahead,” Leo echoed. “Just let me know what you need from me, okay?”
Angie sighed with satisfaction that at least Reesa was on board, placing her hand over her heart. She had to do this as a preventive measure. What happened in Creston couldn’t happen again, and people needed to be properly educated on them.
She could no longer sit back and watch people, including Dr. Williams, treat mer like a subspecies.
Dr. Williams’ office was locked when Angie knocked, and when she peeked under the door, nothing but darkness peered back at her.
Dr. Farley, Angie’s Evolutionary Biology professor whose office was next to Dr. Williams, stepped out, adjusting the neat bun at the back of her head. Angie called her name.
“Hi, Angie, what can I do for you?”
“Do you know where Dr. Williams is?” She gestured to the closed door.
“He’s in his lab. Been there for a couple hours,” her professor replied. “Just keep going down the hall, last door on your left.”
“After waving goodbye, Angie followed Dr. Farley’s instructions and knocked on the unmarked door.
“Yes?” Dr. Williams’ deep voice sounded as if he were on the other side of the room.
“It’s Angie, do you have a minute?”
“Sure.” The clip-clop of his dress shoes approached and the door swung open.
Angie stepped in.
“How’s it going?” He strode back to the center of the lab where the dead merman from class lied sprawled on a worktable, his copper tail illuminated under the yellow lights. Dr. Williams tapped his chin while staring into the merman’s chest cavity.
Angie’s stomach pitched at the sight of the merman, but she forced herself to take another step forward. “This won’t take long. I wanted to ask you something.”