Eva wasn't ever sure things had ever been so bad. She was stuck in the abyss of the ocean with a pair of flippers, a first aid kit, a fishing net, a small knife, an empty water bottle, a pair of goggles and a box full of packing peanuts with nothing but a small envelope.
She removed the envelope from the box and pulled out a small card with Ms. Diaz written on it in fancy cursive. Talbot was such an asshole.
Dear Ms. Diaz, I hope you find your new home suitable. I'll be checking in periodically through the computer system by the door. If you can get me what I want then I will be more than happy to return you to the surface. There's a tap on the other wall so you don't die of thirst and plenty of food for my mermaid so she doesn't get the bright idea to snack on you. Best of luck. Yours truly, Talbot.
What an utter fucking asshole. He was acting as if this was a game. As if he hadn't just left her here to starve. She couldn’t even get him what he wanted because it was fucking impossible! On second thought her original assumption about him had been entirely accurate, he was a spoiled entitled rich brat who always got what he wanted and didn't take no for an answer. He also happened to have a cult of people willing to do whatever he wanted. This was utter insanity.
Her stomach gurgled in frustration. She was already exhausted. The cold had drained what little energy she had from her body. Her clothes were soaked through and she was shivering despite the sunlamps. Eva could swear they had moved since the last time she had looked. Actually, she was fairly sure there were other unlit lamps all across the support beams. It was too bright to look at directly but even more so than the research facility she guessed this place mimicked the day cycle.
She shredded the card and tossed the bits into the air. Viola whistled with concern from her perch. Her upper body was out of the water, her long tail splashing on the shallow ramp.
At least she wasn't alone down here.
She reached into the box and pulled out a packing peanut. If it was biodegradable and made from cornstarch then maybe she could fend off starvation. Not that they were remotely appetizing. The fact that they did not melt against her damp hands meant they were plastic, she was entirely unsurprised that Talbot hadn't chosen the more environmentally friendly option.
“What?” Viola croaked, looking at the packing peanut with confusion as she slid over.
“It's a packing peanut, used to take up space in packaging so things don't slide around,” Eva explained. It was a routine they had figured out a while ago when she was teaching Viola English and by now it was practically automatic.
“No,” Viola replied with a frown, shaking her head. “Eva said, what help?” Viola asked, struggling to find the right words.
Eva’s gaze snapped to the mermaid who was looking at her with compassion. Viola was trying to comfort her. Eva didn’t even know what would help. This was such a shitty situation. Her stomach gurgled to remind her she hadn’t eaten in far too long, only running on a few pieces of bread since she had left for work however long ago. The problem was there was no food and of what she could theoretically eat there was no way to cook it.
She grabbed the empty water bottle and walked to the tap on the wall. Turning the nozzle and filling it. She gulped it down, the cool clean water refreshing which helped calm her. Now that all was calm she was painfully aware of how run down she was. She looked back to Viola who was still watching her carefully. “I don’t know, Viola, I don’t know.”
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Hours had passed, assuming the artificial day cycle here was the same as the real one. The lights were now doing the equivalent of the sun setting on the horizon. Eva was already freezing. She had drunk plenty of water but that didn’t provide energy. On top of that, she was still damp. Her teeth were chattering as she lay under the fishing net trying to warm up.
Talbot hadn't bothered to give her clothes or a towel let alone a blanket. She was going to die of hypothermia before she had the chance to starve.
Viola surprisingly hadn’t gone far. She had returned to the water and occasionally dove to go explore but otherwise stayed near. Eva hadn’t felt like chatting, Viola’s visible enjoyment of this place wasn’t helping as she splashed, ate fish and explored.
Eva was stuck with a room barely bigger than her bedroom that offered no privacy and no comfort. She was going to have to sleep on the floor, she didn’t want to even think about the bathroom situation.
However creepy this place was when lit up it was far more eerie in the shadows. The dark water beyond this place consumed what little light there was. It felt claustrophobic as if the void was closing in. The darkness was already steadily approaching and drowning everything out.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Eva rubbed at her arms wishing she had worn more layers when she had gotten dressed that morning. Even a jacket would have been a saving grace instead of the simple T-shirt and pants she wore.
She knew the net wasn’t doing anything but it was the closest thing she had to some kind of blanket. It was that or try to bury herself in packing peanuts.
A splash alerted her to Viola pulling herself out of the water with something between her teeth. A large fish. Her cute excited clicks made Eva stop herself from pointing out how wet Viola was making everything. Viola dragged herself over before holding out the fish proudly. “Dinner for…. you.”
Eva took the fish, her hands immediately becoming covered in a layer of slime. She couldn’t tell what kind of a fish it was in the dim light but there was no way she could eat it regardless.
“Thank you but I can’t eat this,” Eva replied with a sigh. The knife she had was small but she had no idea how to prepare a fish nor did she have any way to cook it. Felisha’s fish expertise would have been quite handy right about now.
Viola cocked her head curiously.
“It’s too tough, I can’t bite through it. Raw fish would make me sick anyways,” she clarified. Considering how hungry she was she would probably give it a shot sooner or later.
Viola shook her head “Safe.” She took the fish back from Eva and brought it to her mouth, biting a chunk out of it before using her fingers to pull it apart as she licked her lips. “Just dead. Safe food.”
Eva watched with grossed-out fascination as Viola practically dismembered the fish before finally holding up a long soft piece of slimy white-grey meat. It did not look remotely appetizing but it seemed at least edible. Viola’s hopeful puppy dog expression was far more convincing.
She tentatively took the piece of fish, it almost slipped out of her grip as warm juices trailed down her arms. The dim light was honestly a blessing as she brought it to her mouth. Despite her best attempts to imagine it as sushi it was very much not. Sushi wasn’t so… juicy and very much not in a good way. Eva forced back a gag as she swallowed.
It was surprisingly soft and Eva couldn’t really taste the fish itself. Just the tang of iron from its blood. She would really need to drain the blood next time. It was one thing to know that cetaceans got all their water from the food they ate and another to experience that firsthand.
Eva finished the piece of fish but refused any more. She felt very gross all covered in fish blood and she still wasn’t sure she wasn’t about to throw up. She did her best to clean herself up in the water before drinking an entire bottle of water to try and get rid of the taste.
Cleaning up did not help with the cold, now even more soaked than before. She was a bit sticky and certainly covered in fishy oils but at least she didn’t feel as hungry, granted that was because of the lingering revulsion. “Thank you,” she told Viola, trying to hide how much she had not enjoyed that. She was extremely grateful that Viola was thoughtful enough to take care of her, Eva had no idea how to use a fishing net nor what was safe to eat.
It was dark now and she could only see the silhouette of Viola. The temperature had dropped fast as the last of the lights clicked off. Only a faint glow from the underwater lights prevented everything from being snuffed out.
“Better?” Viola asked.
“Y-yes,” she replied.
“Why are you… shaking?” Viola asked after a pause. Apparently, the mermaid had better night vision than her.
“It’s called shivering. O-our bodies do it automatically when we’re cold to try and warm us up.”
Viola moved forward and Eva felt a tug on her shirt. “Wet. Take off.”
“W-what?” She laughed weakly.
“Your skin is… thin. Not good for cold and wet. Take off,” Viola insisted.
Eva could feel the blush that spread across her face. “There's nothing else for me to wear,” she protested weakly but began to wiggle out of her pants anyway. Wet clothes were worse than nothing at all but she hadn't wanted to strip down to her birthday suit.
She could only faintly see Viola but she could certainly feel her presence. Even lying down Viola was massive compared to her and Eva could feel the heat radiating from her as she kicked off her underwear and pulled off her shirt and bra. Without a breeze, just doing that made her feel better though she felt more exposed naked. Still shiveringly cold, but a little better.
A large hand gently pressed against her back. “Come, I will keep you warm,” Viola reassured. Her chorus of gravelly voices made Eva’s stomach do a little summersalt. Viola had to hear how that sounded. At least Eva no longer felt cold, in fact, she felt rather the opposite all of a sudden.
It took her a second to realize what Viola was doing as she gently rolled Eva onto her chest. Viola’s tail was partially in the water but she positioned herself to keep Eva dry as Viola held her close. Eva couldn't help but snuggle in, Viola was quite warm to the touch and after being so cold she was a relief.
Viola’s skin was smooth and surprisingly soft, and where Eva was resting was suddenly very clear. Viola was naked, Eva was naked and all snuggled up while using Viola’s breasts as a pillow. The whole thing felt very… personal and Eva felt quite flustered, the feeling not helped by the way Viola traced her tattoo.
“You are… drawn,” Viola murmured.
“Y-yeah,” Eva managed to croak.
Despite how not sexy this entire situation was, heat pulsed between her legs. Her mortification was only made worse by the fact that Viola was just trying to keep her from freezing to death. Her stupid horny lizard brain was making this something that it very much was not. This had been probably the worst day of her life and yes she might have a bit of a crush on Viola who was also taking care of her but her inability to control herself made her feel gross.
She hadn't dared talk to Viola about her crush. The power imbalance had been icky and she only got to interact with Viola because she was a prisoner. Not to mention the language and species barrier, she didn't even know if mermaids had relationships like humans let alone if Viola liked girls.
These sobering thoughts doused her libido and exhaustion was quick to take its place. Even if nothing like that was possible it was nice to have a friend, some kind of support and safety in this fucking hellhole.
Hopefully tomorrow she would be rejuvenated enough that they could try to figure out some kind of plan. If she wasn't in fact going to die down here then she needed something to do to not lose her mind. She was looking forward to more English lessons, despite the time they spent together Eva knew practically nothing about Viola and they had just reached the point where they could hold a conversation.
Eva let out a lazy sigh. It had been a very long time since she had been pressed against someone and cuddling with Viola was relaxing enough for her to comfortably fall asleep. The mermaid was big, warm and soft, the tug of sleep was irresistible.