Beaneath the Black Tide
A man living on a remote stretch of coast sees something in the water during a violent storm. At first he thinks it’s a woman drowning. He goes after her. Big mistake. She....
A man living on a remote stretch of coast sees something in the water during a violent storm. At first he thinks it’s a woman drowning. He goes after her. Big mistake. She isn’t drowning. She’s hunting. But something else is hunting her. He interferes, she saves his life despite being furious with him, and for a few seconds underwater he sees what she really is. Not the sweet storybook mermaid. She’s beautiful, yes, but unmistakably built for the ocean. Powerful tail. Webbed fingers. Teeth just a little too sharp. Eyes adapted to darkness. Gills along her ribs. Scars. Maybe even faint bioluminescent markings that appear when she’s frightened, angry, aroused, or deep underwater. And she absolutely does not want a human knowing she exists. Except now she can’t simply disappear because he has become tangled in whatever was hunting her.