Chapter Text
The storm came out of nowhere.
It broke through the dry spell of the summer with a tremendous downpour that left the trees shaking and the animals scurrying back to their dens to avoid getting pelted. Water fell from the heavens, creating a haunting melody as it collided with the branches and absorbed into the ground at a sickening pace. The birds cried out in alarm as thunder shook the ground and lightning lit the sky in a blinding flash of light. Within a few moments the forest was devoid of life, all creatures having retreated into the safe confines of their various homes.
Well, almost all creatures.
Jimmy didn’t mind the rain too much. He was a Mer after all.
He didn’t care that the rain was soaking through his skin, nor did he pay any mind to the way the wind rustled his hair as it sang through the trees. He did, however, care about the strong ocean currents that would toss him back and forth like a lost beach ball if he got caught in their pull, sending him careening into reefs and leaving him tumbling head over tail as he tried desperately to claw unto something to prevent himself from being swept away.
Maybe if he was born with dorsal and pectoral fins like the other Mer, he’d be able to brave the violent storm, to push through the currents and make it out the other side with little to no issue.
But alas, life was never that fair.
Which was why he was where he is now, swaying in a river with his arms crossed on the riverbed, watching the world above the waves. He’d swam much farther inland this time than he usually did to avoid storms. To be fair though, most storms aren’t usually this powerful, with lightning arcing far overhead and winds that overpowered the smaller bushes and trees, pushing them until they were almost parallel to the ground.
But that wasn’t the reason why he’d gone so far inland.
No, the truth was that Jimmy wanted to observe the terrestrial life that he didn’t normally get to see.
Usually, he’d only risk going near land on uninhabited islands in the middle of the ocean, where there was no danger of humans finding him. The downside to this, however, was that he’d only ever see the same wildlife on the 5 or 6 islands that he’d normally visit.
It got boring quickly.
So, when Jimmy saw the dark, ominous clouds forming overhead, blocking out the sun, and when he felt the currents pick up and the waves start growing, he knew that this storm would be a big one.
He’d developed a sense for these things after so long at sea.
He could feel it in the way the air pressure dropped, the way that the hair on the back of his neck would stand on edge before lightning struck, the way that the wind would suddenly pick up for seemingly no reason.
All signs that things were about to get very hectic very quickly.
He may or may not have panicked and swam straight into the closest river he’d found. If he’d had more time (and a clearer head) he would have tried to look for a deeper river. The one he’d found wasn’t the worst, but it also wasn’t the best. In fact, Jimmy was pretty sure that if he let his tail fins touch the ground and lifted his arms as high as they would go, his fingers would probably end up poking up over the edge of the water.
And sure, maybe it was a stupid idea to head down the first river he saw without even checking the coastline for any human settlements, but he was relatively certain that no one would be out in this weather anyways. And even if they were, the forest was as good a cover as any. It would be fine. Probably.
The rain continued to fall, making loud splats as it hit the surface of the river, Jimmy wiped a few drops out of his eyes before continuing to observe some creature he’d never seen before. It was some sort of insect, long and thin; it remined him of an eel, if eels had way too many legs and were the size of his finger. The small bug didn’t seem to be bothered by the rain, trudging its way slowly towards some mystery destination it had in mind.
Jimmy watched it crawl along, reaching out a hand to touch it before pulling away at the last second. He didn’t know if this thing was poisonous or not. As far as he knew, poisonous things usually had strange markings or vibrant colours to act as a warning. This bug didn’t seem to fit that description, it was a solid orange-brown colour, without any stripes or dots. Jimmy didn’t know enough about terrestrial life to know if that was a good thing or not.
The little bug had reached a small rock and appeared to be trying to burrow under it. Jimmy watched, fascinated, with his chin resting in his palm. Was there a home hidden under there? Or maybe a network of tunnels similar to the undersea caverns that some fish liked to live in? Are there other types of bugs living with this bug? Or was it left alone in this grand world, forced to fight and survive by itself just to live another day?
The thought left him feeling oddly sad and attached to the insect, maybe they had more in common than it seemed.
The bug was still struggling to dig, it's pathetic attempts at burrowing barely leaving an indent in the earth. He could help it. Give at least one other creature a kindness that he never received.
He reached over to the insect, not quite sure what his plan was here, but surely he could figure something out, his claws were sharp, maybe he could help-
A blinding light appeared in front of him and filled his vision. A deafening roar echoed through the air moments later. Jimmy yelped and covered his eyes, instinctively diving back into the water and away from the lightning. His ears were ringing, and the earth was shaking from the force of the impact. Water overflowed the river, splashing up and unto the ground, jostling Jimmy around in the process.
Jimmy pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, attempting to recover from the bright spots that he could see through his eyelids. He opened them carefully and blinked a few times, trying to readjust. The ringing in his ear was replaced by the pounding of his heart. He surfaced and took a few deep, shaky breaths to recover from the shock.
He’d only relaxed for a moment before an ominous creaking sound caught his attention. He looked up just in time to see the giant tree careening towards him, branches aglow with flames.
Time slowed for a moment. Jimmy felt stuck in place. He watched in a mixture of terror and awe as the tree came closer and closer.
The flames swirled beautifully through the branches, devouring and destroying everything in their wake. They flickered defiantly in the rain, their orange and red glow casting long shadows on the forest around them, illuminating things in warm light as smoke swirled overhead in large plumes. Jimmy couldn’t tear his eyes away.
He knew what fire was; he’d seen it before on occasion. But never this close and never this wild.
He stared up at it, at this overwhelming force of nature that was so hauntingly majestic and yet so painfully deadly. He was entranced by it.
It beckoned him closer. Like an anglerfish luring in poor, unsuspecting prey.
And he almost listened, almost let himself get lost in the swirling patterns and vibrant colours.
Almost.
As the tree approached, a burst of hot air hit his face and chest. A burning warmth he’d never felt before, a stark contrast to the cold water that he was usually surrounded by.
The sudden change snapped him out of it, he gasped and dove away just in time to avoid getting crushed. There was a loud sizzle as the tree hit the water. As if the flames themselves were screeching out in pain, a horrid, hissing sound that sent a shiver down his spine and made him shudder. The impact caused a large splash and shockwave that further shoved Jimmy away.
He carefully peeked out of the water, his breath caught in his throat and head fins pressed back against his skull at the sight before him. Jimmy froze.
The forest was burning.
The fire was spreading quickly, aided by the dry spell that plagued the land before the storm. Dried leaves and branches acting as catalysts. Flames reaching out to them with thin, wispy fingers. Uncaring about the destruction they’re causing.
He could hardly believe it was nighttime with how bright the sky was. The inferno reflected on the river, as if, it too, were burning.
The steady rhythm of the rain was broken up by various screeches and thundering hoofprints as animals scrambled to move as far away from the chaos as possible. Birds screamed overhead and flew away. Deer and other small critters raced through the trees in a futile attempt to find a safe haven.
Jimmy moved to join them. He frantically swam back towards the tree in the river. The top half of it, the part not submerged, was still burning. The flames stretched up like they wanted to reach the skies and strangle the storm clouds hindering their growth. Diving back under, he tried desperately to find a gap he could swim through.
The branches were tangled together, an intricate lattice that left small gaps between them, but none quite large enough for a panicked Mer to swim through.
He was trapped.
He cursed internally and tried desperately to pry the branches apart. The rough bark dug uncomfortably into his palms. He ignored it.
The temperature was rising even under water; sparks flew from above and landed around him, some of them large enough that they reached him before the water could extinguish them fully. They left his skin tingling and only served to shorten the already small interval of time he had to escape before he was boiled alive.
Jimmy pushed back away from the tree with a frustrated groan that sounded more like a whimper than he’d care to admit. What was he going to do now? He can’t make it back to the ocean and if he swam further inland, he’d only be headed towards where the fire was spreading.
He whipped his head back and forth, looking around as if he was going to magically find some item that would solve all his problems. Come on, think! There has to be some way out of this!
Maybe he could pull himself out of the water and crawl around the tree? No, that wouldn’t work, he can barely move on land, and he’d probably get caught up in the blaze before he made it around. With shaking hands, he grabbed onto a sharp rock, repeatedly slamming it into the branches, putting as much power as he could into the swings. The bark chipped under his blows but the branches were thicker than his wrist and he wasn't making progress fast enough. Every breath was harder than the last, his chest tightened painfully and the remaining strength he had left was quickly sapped away.
Jimmy’s vision filled with dark spots, the ash and soot in the water clung to his gills, preventing him from getting enough oxygen. He sunk to the bottom of the river as he felt himself get lightheaded. His gills burned, and he had to actively stop himself from clawing at them so he wouldn’t accidentally make things worse. He was running out of time yet he couldn’t bring himself to move anymore as a sudden wave of lethargy washed over him. Pulling him down until he was lying on his side.
His eyelids felt heavy, the interval between blinks kept getting longer and longer until he couldn't force them open anymore. His head felt like it was full of seaweed and his thoughts were distant and unattached, drifting away like a leaf on the ocean. Vaguely, Jimmy knew that he should move, that he needed to get out of here as fast as possible before his time ran out, but he no longer had the energy to fight off his exhaustion.
He closed his eyes. Maybe he should just accept his fate.
He had been reckless, he should have never gone so far inland in the first place. And for what? To watch some little insect struggle for a bit? Like how he’s struggling now?
Was it worth it?
His stupidity got him into this mess, and now he was going to die. His pod was right, he was weak and pathetic and useless.
Jimmy snapped his eyes open, he weakly lifted himself off the floor. He had to survive, just so he could prove them wrong. He’d made it this far without them. Surely, he could overcome one more challenge, beat the odds one more time?
Fueled by a newfound determination, he did the only thing he could.
He swam inland.
His vision blurred, and his gills itched as he tried to get ahead of the fire and into a cleaner part of the river. The water distorted the scene around him, muddling the colours and making it difficult to distinguish the outlines of the forest as everything blended into one strange, amorphous silhouette.
He kept swimming, barely taking any time to rest. His tail ached as he forced himself to move faster than he had in years, fear and desperation keeping him going even when his muscles cramped and his head pounded. He tried not to think too hard about where he was headed, or about how likely it was that he’d get stuck at a dead end with no other choice except to wait for an inevitable, slow, painful death.
He shook his head and pushed on. He didn’t have the energy to waste on thoughts like these.
Steering was hard with just his tail fins, but he’d had a lifetime of practice to adapt. Despite this, he kept drifting off course and bumping into the walls, misjudging sharp turns and not changing directions fast enough. The speed with which he was going certainly didn’t help.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d swam before the glow of the fire dimmed, though he couldn’t tell if that was because he’d gotten ahead of the blaze or if the water was getting murkier as more debris fell in.
Either way, he didn’t stop.
He kept going further and further into the unfamiliar forest, not allowing himself to rest until he reached safety. Slowly, clean water began to flow through his gills, washing them out and allowing him to finally take a proper deep breath. The ache in his head lessened ever so slightly, and he felt more aware of his body and surroundings. He hadn’t even noticed that he wasn’t fully alert.
Which is why he only just now noticed the current picking up.
He was being pulled by it now instead of just swimming forward. Strange. Why would the current suddenly speed up?
Unless-
He realized too late what was happening. One moment he was being dragged along the water and the next there was a strange weightlessness in his limbs. Not the kind of weightlessness that came with floating around aimlessly in the water. No, this was different; his body felt heavier as something pulled him downwards faster than would be possible in the water.
He was falling
Jimmy screamed and brought his arms up to shield his face. His stomach rose to his throat as he fell over the waterfall, wind rushing past him and stinging his face. He closed his eyes and braced for impact as the loud crashing of the falls got closer and closer. He broke through the surface of the water with a pained gasp, body stinging all over as he fell onto the water instead of into it. His momentum carrying him all the way to the bottom of the river where he hit the ground, a cloud of dust billowing around him. He laid there unmoving for a few moments, waiting for his body to stop hurting and for his heart rate to slow down.
Thankfully, the water here was much deeper than before, otherwise he probably would have broken quite a few bones. That’s not to say that he got off completely unscathed, he could already feel multiple bruises forming, and he knew that he’d be sore for the next few days. But he was alive, and that’s all that mattered to him right now.
He’s not sure how long he just sat there for, in all honesty he zoned out a bit, brain not quite catching up with everything that had happened yet. After a while though he managed to somehow find the strength to sit up. He still had to worry about the fire after all.
He let himself float to the top of the river, staring up at the waterfall he’d just fallen from. It wasn’t the biggest waterfall he’d ever seen, but it was still almost twice as high as the surrounding trees. Jimmy was grateful that there weren’t any sharp rocks underneath it, that would not have ended up well for him. At least the cliff was high enough that the fire wouldn’t be able to spread down here. He could rest easy now. Although...
Where exactly was he?
Jimmy looked around but was met with much of the same as before. A dense forest filled with various plants and rocks, the river still stretched out ahead of him, though now it was significantly wider. Well, it's not like he could climb back up the cliff on his own, his only options now are to either stay here or keep moving ahead and hope that somehow this river linked back up to the ocean.
....onwards it is!
Jimmy swam slowly, his tail still hurt and his muscles protested every movement. He’d only speed up when he heard lightning strike overhead, and even then, he’d regret it almost immediately as the sudden movement would send a sharp flare of pain through his nerves. Still, he carried on. Winding down the river at a steady pace, hoping that everything would turn out alright in the end. Eventually the heavy rain turned into a slight drizzle before that too, disappeared completely, leaving dark clouds covering the sky, and an eerie silence throughout the woods.
He kept going, mindlessly swimming downstream until a strange light caught his attention through the trees. At first, he’d thought he’d imagined it, paranoia causing him to hallucinate images of fire and ash. But then he looked closer and something was off. This light wasn’t the angry red of a blazing wildfire. No, it was different. For one, the light wasn’t moving or flickering in the wind, nor was it spreading or claiming the forest.
Intrigued Jimmy approached carefully, as he got closer to the mysterious glow, he realized with a start that it wasn’t just one light that he was seeing. There were thousands of them.
Jimmy made his way through the final few trees and found himself at the edge of a ginormous lake. And there, on the other side of the lake, sat the largest human city Jimmy had ever seen.
It was glorious.
Glass buildings loomed high above the trees, towering over the landscape like mighty mountains. Lights were on in almost every corner of the city, illuminating the place in various shades of yellow, white, and orange. With his heightened vision, Jimmy could see humans bustling through the place, some just walking about and others in their fancy vehicles, having either stepped out after the storm had passed or not having bothered to take shelter in the first place. Jimmy took all of this in with wide eyes and a ridiculously large grin on his face.
This was the first time that he’d ever gone near a human settlement, he had heard stories about them when he was young of course, but never would he have expected something of this scale.
Jimmy had never seen a place look so alive.
He knew that humans were incredible creatures, he’d seen their creations before, intricate clothes and trinkets lost at sea, washed away by the waves however long ago. He knew they were capable of inventing incredible things. He’d witnessed them firsthand when he swam under their boats and saw their planes fly high above his head, defying gravity as easily as they breathed.
Still, he’d never have imagined the sheer magnitude of their creations. This close up, it felt magical, like he’d somehow fallen through a portal to another world. Staring up in awe at the structures before him, Jimmy had never felt so small in his life, and he wasn’t even that close to the city yet!
For a moment, he forgot about the situation he was in, too preoccupied trying to trace every edge and crevasse of the humanmade wonder before him. Then his eyes landed on a dock and he froze. He was trapped in a lake. The humans’ lake. A lake that the humans clearly ventured into quite often, judging by the amount of boats lining the shore.
ohnonononono this was the worst thing that could have happened he needs to hide before he gets spotted and captured and experimented on in a little room with no sunlight or water oh what if they steal his scales and cut his tail off and throw him back in the water to die a horrible painful death-
A sharp stab of pain brought him back from his spiral with a hiss. He hadn't even realized that he was clawing at his hair. The action unintentionally brought him back to his senses and gave him a bit of clarity. He needed to calm down. Panicking would only cloud his thoughts and increase his odds of being found.
Jimmy took a deep breath, only releasing it when his gills started to flutter to compensate for the lack of oxygen. Okay. He can handle this. Definitely. He just needed to think rationally and focus on one problem at a time. Everything will turn out fine.
Right?
First things first, he was bruised pretty badly. Usually, he’d check for any nearby medicinal plants and carefully (haphazardly) treat his wounds, but he doubted that he’d find what he was looking for in this lake. Okay, then. If he can’t treat the wounds he’ll just have to wait for them to heal on their own, which means he needs a lot of nutrients to get his strength back.
Jimmy dove underwater and began searching for fish. The storm clouds still covered the sky so there wasn’t much light coming through, and while his night vision was better than a human’s, it was nowhere near as good as the other Mer. He’d have to rely on his other senses then.
Jimmy slowed, barely moving anymore as he closed his eyes and flared his head fins out, pouring all his concentration into the surrounding area. Water enveloped him entirely, carefully cradling him with its soft, delicate touch. Hiding him from the world outside.
Water was the lifeblood of aquatic creatures, it sustained and supported them, flowing through their gills and between their scales, weaving through their fins and tentacles, carrying them in its winding currents. It was their home. Their heart. Their salvation.
It provided everything they’d ever need.
In the same way a mother could not be called a mother without her daughter, and a daughter could not come into existence without her mother, the ocean could not be called such without the innumerable amount of life it in, and that life could not exist without the ocean nursing it in return. The two were connected, as all things in nature tend to be.
As such, they leave small traces of themselves in one another. Traces that a predator could learn to detect.
He felt the movement before he heard it. A small disturbance in the vibration of the water to his right, only noticeable if you knew exactly what to look out for. Jimmy stayed still for a little while longer, not daring to move until he’d accurately pinpointed the exact location of the fish. In a sudden twisting motion, Jimmy flung himself towards his prey and clamped down with razor sharp teeth. The fish didn’t stand a chance.
It didn’t occur to him until then how long it had been since his last meal. Now that he was aware of it, the dull pang in his stomach was all he could focus on, and before he knew it, Jimmy had devoured about a half dozen fish. He probably would have kept going if the day’s exhaustion hadn’t caught up to him.
His bones felt like they were made of rocks, and his muscles throbbed with every movement. As vulnerable as sleeping out in the open made him feel, he knew that the chances of there being a cave nearby was slim to none.
So Jimmy laid down in the sand, his tail curled protectively around him. He expected sleep to evade him, for the paranoia of being trapped within the reach of humans to keep him up all night until he eventually passed out from exhaustion. He expected to be so on edge that the slightest sound would jolt him awake and throw him into a panic, or for nightmares to plaque his dreams and prevent him from getting any rest.
Instead, Jimmy fell into a deep sleep.
He dreamt of soft twinkling lights and beautiful steel structures stretching endlessly into a vibrant blue sky.