Zeke slid down in total darkness for what seemed a long time, sobbing with terror and fury, until he fell out splashing into a medium-size cave with luminous waves of shallow water. Glowing algae lit everything light blue. Wiping his face, he looked up and screamed.

He had fallen into the middle of a school of large, harpoon-wielding merfolk, all regarding Zeke with surprise and alarm.

Zeke scrambled to his feet and lifted the dread sword into a defensive position.

His opponents were a rainbow of colors, mostly shades of blues and greens, with human-like faces and torsos. They stood upright by coiling their long, scaly, muscular tails, beginning below their navels.

Behind Zeke was a cave wall. There was nowhere to retreat or hide.

The merfolk aimed their harpoons at Zeke, expecting a fight.

Zeke slid his thumb along the Ivory Blade’s edge. A drop of blood rolled down the blade.

The merfolk hesitated. Everyone held their breath and waited for the first strike.

Fortunately and finally, Mama came sliding down with a bright splash as Zeke had moments earlier. Mama looked up and shouted in a language Zeke couldn’t understand, then transformed into a mermaid!

Mama was a shape-changer, so the ability to transform was nothing new to Zeke, but he’d never seen this form before.

Mermaid Mama had blossom pink skin, red hair, and white scales from the waist down.

Mermaid Mama whistled and clicked and signed at the same time.

The merfolk lifted their harpoons.

Mama slithered forward and continued speaking mer.

A large mer slithered forward to greet her.

Zeke found it difficult to discern merfolk gender. Only the oldest and largest-looking merfolk seemed to have breasts. All of them were nude, but their serpent bodies began at their navels. Their most distinctive feature (apart from their tails) was their hair. Each mer had a full mane of uniquely colorful mossy hair.

The largest mer also looked to be the oldest. She (?) had emerald green scales and skin, and long, pendulous breasts. In her hand, she held a harpoon made of bone. She spoke in a series of hums and stops and hand movements. Her incredibly full and curly hair resembled a cloak, cascading down her broad, muscular shoulders, so long the ends were underwater.

Mama was negotiating their escape.

The other mer seemed of mixed sentiment, their human-like faces revealing mistrust and apprehension, but the leader greeted Mama Mermaid like an old friend, smiling with sharp teeth, jovial whistles, and maybe even a laugh? Zeke had never seen a mer laugh before, so he couldn’t be sure.

But the tension seemed to pass, and soon Mermaid Mama turned to Zeke and said, “They’re going to help us and take us to Haven, an ocean sanctuary. We can hide out there for a while.”

Zeke interjected, “Wait! What about Papa? We have to go back for him!”

Mama looked devastated. “Zeke. Papa’s gone. There’s nothing we can do for him now.”

Zeke shouted. His voice broke. “No! He’s okay. He said… he said he was right behind us. He’s coming!”

“Zeke. If Papa is alive, he will find us. But we can’t wait here. Those leaf things will find us first. I don’t know if they serve Adam or Lilith or someone else, but unless you want to find out the hard way, we have to go. Now.”

Zeke’s head and shoulders fell in defeat. He should have stayed. He could have helped fight. Tears fell down his face.

Mama reached into a side satchel, and passed something gooey to Zeke, saying, “Put this in your nose and ears. It’ll seal them shut and protect you from the pressure as we go deeper, so long as we don’t go too deep. I can’t maintain my form underwater, so I’ll have to hibernate in the satchel until we reach Haven.”

Mama turned, whistling something to a turquoise mer with silver hair, who slithered forward in front of Zeke.

“Zeke, this is Toa,” Mamma said. “He will bring you to Haven. Until we reach our destination, Toa will breathe for you. Hold onto his shoulders. We’re leaving.”

Zeke didn’t understand what Mama meant, but he did as he was told, inserting the dense paste into his nose and ears, and then awkwardly held on to a bizarre and alien stranger.

Toa seemed equally uncomfortable, frowning and looking anywhere but at Zeke.

He tried not to be rude, but Zeke had never seen a mer before and was equal parts intimidated and fascinated. He examined Toa’s shimmering scales and taut, muscular body. They were intoxicatingly close. Zeke had never been this close to anyone who wasn’t family. His arms were around the mer’s round shoulders. He felt the unexpected silky smoothness of Toa’s skin, the mossy fullness of his hair. Zeke tried to glance discreetly but Toa was entirely serpentine from the waist down.

Mama gave Zeke the side satchel and then dropped a metal ingot into the satchel, disappearing along with the ingot. Zeke tied the satchel shut and secured it tightly to his belt.

Then, without further delay, every mer in the luminous cave dove underwater, like a colorful school of fish, with one human along for the ride.

Zeke soon understood what Mama meant, as Toa pressed his lips against Zeke’s and breathed fresh oxygen into Zeke’s mouth.

It was the closest thing to a kiss Zeke had ever experienced. The salty cave water stung Zeke’s eyes, but he opened them with shock and saw Toa’s stunning blue-green eyes looking back at him.

The mer wrapped his arms around Zeke with incredible strength, and kicked with his powerful tail, pushing them down into inky darkness. The water was frigid, but Toa was warm. Zeke shivered and wrapped his legs around Toa’s swimming torso. In response, Toa held Zeke in a tight embrace.

Zeke could see nothing, and when he opened his eyes to try, the salty sting forced them closed again. Zeke could hear nothing. He could smell nothing.

But he tasted the ocean in every breath Toa breathed for him. It wasn’t an unpleasant taste, but a strange, salty, wild taste.

Zeke felt every powerful thrust of Toa’s body and tail. Every muscle in Toa’s body tightened and released as the mer moved through the water. Zeke felt strangely safe, cradled in Toa’s sinewy arms.

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And Zeke felt something else, too, something he’d felt before, but not like this, not with anyone else. With Toa’s abs rubbing against his crotch, Zeke was erect before even realizing he was aroused. Zeke was embarrassed and shied away, trying to untangle his legs from Toa’s gyrating body, but Toa’s left hand moved down to cup Zeke’s right butt cheek, pulling him closer.

Toa breathed deeply, sealing their lips with a gentle kiss, and pulled Zeke into his shoulder. Their chests rubbed against one another, Zeke’s erection pressing deeply into Toa’s soft belly.

Zeke held his breath for as long as he could, his face buried in Toa’s neck, their bodies entwined until he had to breathe again, and then Toa’s soft, full lips were there to meet his own. They carried on in the watery abyss for what seemed an eternity, yet it ended all too soon.

At some point in Zeke’s blind, passionate interlude, they had ascended, and Zeke returned to himself and reality as his face broke the surface of the ocean. He brushed the hair and saltwater out of his face and opened his eyes to blinding sunlight.

Zeke had never seen the open sky before. He had never seen the ocean or the sun or clouds. He had never seen the island from the outside of its caves. It was a mountain of jungles.

It was overwhelming.

He looked around but saw no one else. Zeke and Toa were alone together, surrounded by endless ocean horizons.

Zeke tightened his grip on Toa’s body, suddenly and acutely aware of how vulnerable he was, how dependent he was on Toa for survival. He looked at Toa, and for the first time since their first “kiss,” Toa looked right back at him. His eyes were emeralds and sapphires, with shards of silver, sparkling with curiosity at Zeke.

Then Zeke noticed Toa’s mossy silver hair. It was getting bigger? It almost seemed to unfurl in the air and soak up oxygen, like a sponge soaks up liquids or the way a blossoming flower soaks up sunlight. Was the merfolk’s hair in truth an external lung? Or an oxygen container?

Zeke was so taken with speculative wonder that he had forgotten to be afraid. Only the unexpectedly rhythmic sound of Toa’s voice broke the spell Zeke had fallen under.

“My school is a short way ahead of us. We mustn’t linger. Merfolk need air to breathe, but the surface and shallow waters are dangerous to us. I will need to surface again before we reach Haven.”

Zeke was too stunned to say anything but to stupidly exclaim, “You can talk!”

Toa answered with dripping disdain, “Yes, human, I can talk. I even speak the human language.”

“How?”

“A long time ago, our people traded goods and shared secrets.”

“What happened?”

Toa looked at him as if Zeke had asked why water was wet.

“Adam happened,” Toa answered, ultimately. “We should hurry to meet the others.”

“Wait!”

Toa paused to look curiously at Zeke, his striking blue-green eyes sparkled like the sun-kissed waves.

“About earlier… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

Toa squeezed Zeke playfully. “Don’t fret, human. It was fun.”

“Ezekiel. Zeke. Call me Zeke.”

Toa nodded, and his countenance softened barely. “Let’s go, Zeke.”

Back under they went. Again, their lips locked, and their bodies pressed hard against each other, and Zeke lost track of time and of himself.

‘It was fun,’ Toa had said.

Zeke felt emboldened as if he’d been given permission. As the water rushed past them, Zeke’s hands explored Toa’s body. He caressed Toa’s rippling back. He felt Toa’s smooth skin transform into smooth scales, starting just above where a human’s butt would be. Toa’s spine was wiggling forward and back, propelling them forward in powerful, rhythmic strokes.

Toa breathed into Zeke’s mouth again, holding him tight with one arm around his back; cupping Zeke’s butt with the other arm, pressing his erection into Toa’s soft belly.

Zeke was in ecstasy. He’d never done anything like this before, and it felt good. It was like a dream.

Countless questions came to him. He wanted to know everything about merfolk. At the moment specifically, he wanted to know how merfolk gender works.

He knew the fundamentals of human sex and gender because Mama taught him those words a long time ago. So Zeke thought he knew how it was supposed to go; then again, the day had been full of surprises, and it was still early.

But he couldn’t ask any questions, because he was still underwater, and his lips were locked onto Toa’s lips. And though sensory deprivation disoriented Zeke, it wasn’t all bad, because he got to run his hands along Toa’s firm, muscular body.

Toa seemed to be enjoying himself. He grabbed Zeke’s neck and squeezed it gently, fingers caressing Zeke’s ear. His other hand explored Zeke’s back, waist, and butt, pressing Zeke’s crotch against his gyrating abdomen, feeling Zeke’s erection through his pants.

And so they passed the distance. One breath at a time.

Eventually, they surfaced again.

Feeling the air break against his skin, Zeke wiped salt water from his eyes and looked around, squinting in the bright sunlight. Toa’s school of merfolk surrounded him, splashing cheerfully. The island they had fled was now a tiny green spot on the horizon.

“We’ll descend again soon,” Toa said. “The fastest route to Haven takes us through a cthulian stratum. Cthulians are deadly hunters. They’re solitary, but even one is dangerous enough, so no more grab-ass. You’ll need to hold your breath as long as you can. It’s a long distance to travel, and we need to cross it as quickly as possible. It won’t be safe to surface again until we reach the gates.”

Zeke’s heart dropped and then started racing. He had been so engrossed in the moment, he hadn’t considered the dangers all around. He had never been outside the caves before. There was so much he didn’t know. Zeke felt scared. Instinctively, he reached for the satchel. It was warm to the touch and still securely tied to his waist.

“Hey,” Toa said softly, holding Zeke a little tighter in his arms. “I’m gonna get you to Haven safely. You’ll see. You’re gonna love it there. It’s beautiful. And safe. The safest place in the ocean. Probably the whole world.”

Zeke was so surprised by Toa’s thoughtful kindness, he forgot his fears and smiled in spite of it all.

Toa smiled back and said, “Take a deep breath. Here we go.”

And with that, they went back under.

Zeke could sense the difference immediately. While Toa swam swiftly before, now he was rushing. Zeke felt the rapid tension in Toa’s muscles as he raced down and forward.

Toa’s breaths, once tender and passionate, were now quick and formal. He released Zeke and used his arms to swim faster.

Zeke held on tight to Toa’s chest and shoulders, legs still wrapped around Toa’s body.

Zeke’s eyes were still shut, and his ears were still filled with waxy gunk, but somehow he knew all the mer were racing forward. He felt the water rush around him as a school of shimmering mer swirled in the water, spears at the ready.

He felt their steady advance, their agility and elegance, as over a dozen mer danced and swam in well-versed harmony.

And Zeke felt that harmony shatter.

A sudden burst from below sent the school scattering.

Zeke lurched sideways, holding on tightly to Toa.

Zeke opened his eyes. The saltwater stung, but Zeke could see a large and terrifying monster barrelling toward him.

It was almost humanoid with a chest and shoulders, but instead of human legs, it had four tentacles. And instead of a head, it had eye stalks like an enormous cave crab. Two crab-like legs protruded from its back, which it used to stab and deflect the mers’ harpoons. Instead of hands, the monster had two enormous claws, one resembled a giant pincer, the other a serrated blade. The mers’ spears and harpoons had no effect against its hard shell carapace.

The bizarre crab-octopus-humanoid creature broke through the mers’ defensives and sped toward Zeke and Toa.

It made sense. Zeke was dead weight in the water, slowing Toa down, making them both vulnerable. Several mer fought the monster, trying to defend Toa and Zeke, but the monster was massive and fast. In an instant, it was upon them.

This is the end, Zeke was sure of it.

But surprisingly, Toa twisted around, protecting Zeke with his own body. The monster grabbed hold of Toa’s tail and pulled him down.

It was over in seconds, and all Zeke could do was watch. Toa reached up for help, but there was nothing anyone could do. He looked scared to death.

Zeke didn’t think. Instinctively, he pulled the Ivory Blade from its sheath.

And then he doorwaed himself.

It was like remembering the steps to a dance. One instant, Zeke was far above Toa; the next, he was on the monster’s back, stabbing the Ivory Blade deep between its alien eyes and down into its body. Zeke twisted the Blade. As the monster died twitching, one of its crab-like legs slammed into Zeke’s chest, knocking the wind out of him. He coughed, inhaling ocean water, and then everything went black.

Toa freed himself from the monster’s grasp, grabbed Zeke, and carried him upward.

Meanwhile, beneath them, the monster’s body drifted down into darkness so profound no light would ever reach it, Ivory Blade still embedded in its body like a sinking stone.