Mer, Part 4

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Summary: Sequel to Fish Boy. Ryan’s Mermaid-descendants live in seclusion at the bottom of the ocean. Each is asexual, except for the occasional unlucky Mer born with the deformity of legs. Cona's responsibility is to birth the next generation of Mers. Contains: Female: pregnancy, belly expansion, breast expansion, butt expansion, eggs.

-

Cona was struggling to breathe. She felt so very heavy. “Wa…ter,” she gasped out. The world was vibrating beneath her, making her body rock.

“We’re taking you to the hospital,” said a male voice, the words strangely crisp to her ears.

“No,” she croaked again. “Take me…to…” But Cona didn’t have the energy to continue. She felt her tense muscles yield to the weight of her body. Before she knew it, everything went dark.

-

When Cona awoke, she was mercifully submerged, but everything was…different. In lieu of the sandy earth, she encountered a hard, flat floor that was cold and unpleasant. The water felt…drying somehow, and tasted of chemicals instead of salt.

Cona laid her hands on her bloated body. It was still plumply tense—if not worse than it had been before. Her torso was straining to contain the brimming contents, her abdomen flushed and trembling periodically.

Above her was a bright light, which was strange to her. How could she be so close to the surface? Where was the sand, the rocks, the seaweed, the fish—in fact, there was no life around her, just smooth, unnatural surfaces. With some struggle, Cona pushed herself off from the bottom of the pool, and after only seconds, felt her face breaching the water’s surface.

Careful to keep her gills submerged, Cona blinked around, her eyes burning. As her vision adjusted to the brightness of the artificial light, the finally encountered a Mer, who, startling, was completely dry, and stood outside of the water. Strangely, he had legs like she did, though she had never seen him before. This Mer was clearly older than her age of eighteen, though his abdomen was completely flat, unburdened by eggs. Cona could merely stare at him in shock.

The feelings were mutual. The male had fixed Cona with a scrutinizing gaze. “You’re up,” he said in his strange, crisp voice.

“What happened?” Cona managed. “What am I doing here?”

The man frowned. “Apologies. This is the bottom floor of my house. This pool is where I used to do my physical therapy. I was driving to the hospital, but you kept mumbling about needing water. And then I—I saw your gills.” The man continued to stare.

Cona’s face reddened as her belly tightened. She clasped it. “Oh gods…” she breathed. Her young would be coming soon. “I have to go b-back…you need to…to take me home.”

“To the beach?”

Cona wasn’t sure, but she nodded anyway.

“Miss, you’re in no condition to move. You look ready to pop.”

He had no idea how right he was. Can’t hold them…can’t hold them in much longer…

“You’re about to have a baby. Multiples I presume? You need to stay put for the time being until we get this whole thing sorted out.”

Cona furiously shook her head. “N…no…you’re don’t understand,” she managed.

But the male was already walking away. “I know someone. A doctor. Don’t worry. She’s pretty discreet.” He picked up a strange contraption, pressed some buttons, then placed it against his ear.

Feeling weak, Cona sunk back into the water, nearly gagging at the foul taste of it. She allowed her body to lower against an uncomfortable corner at the bottom of her shallow prison. This was bad. How was she to continue the Mer race if she was so apart from her home?

Her belly heaved, her navel bulging as it throbbed. It wiggled, causing Cona to release a burst of bubbles. She feebly rubbed at it.

She didn’t know how long she tried to relax there, willing her young to be easy on her, though she could feel their mass increasing, slow and perpetually.

She still couldn’t make sense of what was going on. It was like she had been transported to a new world, and she wanted little more than to hide.

But before she knew it, her belly was grumbling and stirring fretfully. She knew that she had to appeal for food before it got even worse. Despite all of her instincts urging herself against it, Cona pushed herself off the floor and swam back to the surface of her pool.

The same legged male was present, and holding a shiny hollowed stone, against which he pressed his lips and slurped. “Coffee?” he said to the female standing beside him.

But his companion was not listening. She was staring straight at Cona. The woman had curls of dark hair, a long white cotton coat, and small plates of glass over her eyes. “Hello, there,” said the woman, kneeling down. “Don’t be frightened. This is John. I’m Tina. And what is your name?”

“C-Cona,” she stammered.

“Cona?” Tina gave John a curious look. “I need you to come out of the water.”

But Cona was frightened. She submerged herself again.

Tina had legs just like John, and she looked as though she was over eighteen as well! Why were they not carrying? And how was it possible for them to be outside of the water? None of it made any sense. It left Cona overwhelmed and confused.

As she sunk back down to the uncomfortable bottom of the pool, the squirming with her belly worsened, as though her children were infuriated that she would deny them sustenance a moment longer. Cona’s bloated mound bulged out in places, her navel reddening more. She grunted out in discomfort as her abdomen was assaulted with hunger pains.

There was a splash, and a figure fluidly dipped into the water. Cona stared. It was the female, Tina. Only now most of her body was concealed by a tight blue suit pasted to her skin. Her hair freely floated above her.

Cona stiffened as the female swam over to her. Cona didn’t know how, but she realized that this female was not a Mer. There was none of the warmth or comfort that Cona felt around those of her kind. Worse, this woman was wearing a strange contraption on her face that made horrible sucking sounds.

As the female carefully rested her hands on Cona’s exposed abdomen, Cona’s maternal instincts told her to lash out, though Cona’s body seemed paralyzed by fear—not of the threatening female—but of her fretful young, and the flesh that enclosed them, her navel beginning to positively shudder.

The female took Cona’s hand, and was pressing something into it. It was only then that Cona’s eyes made out two plump fish, kinds that she had never seen before. It was all the same. Cona hastily began to stuff them down. As the cool flesh slid down her throat and into her stomach, she could feel her young beginning to calm again.

Tina’s attention had returned to Cona’s gut, poking, prodding, and examining it. She pulled out a container, and began to apply a glimmering salve to Cona’s skin.

The results were instantaneous, Cona’s skin softening dramatically, causing her eyes to widen. She nearly choked on her fish. Her gills flapped as she felt her tense abdomen relax for the first time in days. Cona sagged in relief as the terrible pressure subsided.

After spreading another layer of salve to Cona’s gut, Tina continued to examine Cona’s body, now with strange instruments. Cona felt so blissful, she hardly noticed. Before she knew it, she had slumped back against the sleek wall, and promptly fallen asleep.

-

“She has lungs,” said Tina.

“How…how is that possible?” said John, as he refilled his mug. He then settled himself opposite Tina at the small kitchen table.

“I don’t think she knows how to use them. Yes, she has functional gills as well, I mean, how else could she be surviving under water? I wouldn’t be surprised if she actually came from the ocean. She seems human enough, though she has some truly remarkable, ah, irregularities.”

“What is she?”

“No clue. Some sort of gene mutation or sub-species.” Tina sipped her tea as she gazed off in thought. “I wonder if there are others?”

“And the pregnancy…” said John.

“According to my preliminary scans, she’s carrying strange, quivering—cysts. No—globes. I think they’re eggs.” Tina breathed hard. “Hundreds of them. Could you believe it? This is insanity.” Tina was already envisioning her studies on the girl.

John nodded numbly. “So what’s inside? More creatures like her?”

“I have no idea.”

John looked uncomfortable at this.

“But whatever impregnated her, certainly…overfilled her, so to speak. Her body’s straining and she seems entirely uncomfortable. I’m beginning to suspect that the mothers within her species might not be designed to survive the birthing process.”

John’s eyes widened. “That’s horrible. She’s young. And…what exactly do you mean by that, Tina?”

“She’s growing rapidly. She looks far past term by normal standards, yet her body shows no sign of preparation, or dropping. I know this is getting redundant, but I have no clue how far this will go. Not that I imagine it can go much further.”

“Do you mean to say that she’ll burst?”

“Most likely, yes.”

“Christ.” John looked sick. “Well we have to do something.”

“That’s what I was thinking.” Tina was contemplative. “I mean, what if my theory is wrong? What if the offspring won’t survive without the mother? In that case, I may not get another chance to study the species at all.”

John gave her a disbelieving look.

“And of course, there’s the moral interest in saving a human life,” said Tina nonchalantly. “Or a…mermaid life? Whatever she is. Well, tell me everything, John. How did you discover her? What was your interaction like?”

John sipped from his cup and gave a shrug. “She kind of just washed up on the beach when I was walking along last night. At first, I thought she had drowned. Then when I saw she was moving, I thought she was some woman in labor. I mean—she’s huge. And her stomach almost looked like it was contracting.”

Tina nodded. “Yes, the congestion of eggs. It’s likely just her muscles struggling to contain it all.”

John swallowed uncomfortably. “I managed to lift her into my car. I was headed for the hospital, and she was conscious, but out of it. Kept mumbling something about needing water—”

“She spoke English?” Tina’s eyes were wide.

“She did,” John confirmed. “Finally, I saw the gills, and kind of freaked out. Brought her here. This morning, I called you. She’s been in and out ever since.”

“Anything else? Any other details?”

“Just that she’s terrified,” said John. “And uncomfortable. I mean, you saw her. She’s tiny but huge. Christ, Tina, what the hell is the plan?”

“To gain her trust,” said Tina promptly. “And try to get her through this pregnancy. If we can make it that far, we can worry about the rest later.”