Chapter 14: The Call

The person who answered the phone sounded bored.

Not cautious.

Not suspicious.

Not even remotely surprised.

Just bored.

"As in the Department of Anomalous Entities. How can I help you?"

Damien stared at the telephone in his hand.

For several long seconds, he said nothing.

He had imagined this conversation to be different.

He had imagined alarms ringing as he told them, a room full of government officials suddenly realizing that a young man from a small coastal town had uncovered something that they had spent decades trying to hide.

He imagined power.

Instead, he heard a man yawn.

His fingers tightened around the phone.

"This is Damien Rivers. I'm reporting a marine humaniod living in Port Haven."

There was a pause.

"Sir, filing a false report is a federal offense."

"I'm not lying."

"That's what they all say."

Damien's jaw tightened.

"I have pictures."

The boredom in the man's voice dissapeared, replaced with something slightly more serious.

"Sir, what pictures?"

"Of her."

"Who?"

"Her name is Marrine Child."

There was a pause.

A very short pause.

Damien narrowed his eyes.

The man on the other line had paused, just for a fraction of a second, but he had paused nonetheless.

As if Marrine's name was something he recognized.

He leaned forward.

"She lives in Port Haven. She's twenty years old. She was raised at St. Mercy's Church after being abandoned as a child."

The man on the other end said nothing.

Damien continued.

"I've personally seen her walk into the ocean at night. She can hold her breath for an abnormal amount of time.

The fish swim around her and the birds react to her presence.

She sings in a language I don't recognize."

"Sir-"

"The water responds to her."

There was another pause.

Damien smiled.

The man had finally become intrested.

"She can control the sea."

The line went silent.

Then, finally, the new voice spoke.

"Hold please."

The call disconnected.

Damien sat back in his father's chair, his heart beating too fast, his palms sweaty.

His mouth was dry.

He looked around the study.

Nothing had changed.

The expensive books lined the dark wood shelves.

The polished wood desk took up most of the room, along with the paintings his mother had insisted on hanging on the walls.

The large glass windows looked out over the cliffs.

Nothing had changed.

And yet, somehow, everything had.

Damien glanced out the window at the ocean.

It was black water and white caps, the thin sliver of silver where the moon met the sea.

Somewhere out there, Marrine lived in a world that Damien could never hope to understand.

A world where the ocean knew her.

Where the fish and the birds and the monsters below the surface bowed to her.

Where Zeke could stand beside her and know that he belonged there.

Damien's jaw tightened.

That would no longer be the case.

The phone rang again.

Damien answered it.

"This is Agent Marcus Webb."

He sat up straighter.

The man's voice was calm, composed.

Not bored, not surprised.

Just calm.

"You believe you have seen a hybrid?"

"I do."

"Tell me about it."

Damien hesitated.

Something about Webb's voice unsettled him.

Not because the man was lying, but because it was so utterly nonchalant.

As if he wasn't really listening to what Damien had to say.

As if he was listening to some kind of boring government report.

"She lives in Port Haven," Damien began carefully.

"Her name is Marrine Child."

A pause.

"And her age?"

"Twenty."

"Her biological parents?"

"Unknown."

"Are you certain?"

"She was abandoned as a child."

"Where?"

"At St. Mercy's Church."

Another pause.

This one longer than the last.

"Port Haven?"

"Yes,"

Damien frowned.

"You know the location."

"We know several," Webb replied shortly.

"You know her."

"I didn't say that."

"But you know something."

Webb didn't respond.

"Describe the subject."

Damien allowed himself a small smile.

Now he was enjoying this.

"She looks human,"

"That wasn't my question."

"She has dark hair. Pale skin. Blue eyes."

"Physical anomalies?"

"None that I'm aware of."

"Then why do you believe she's anomalous?"

"Because I've seen what she can do."

"What can she do?"

Damien wasted no time listing everything that had happened that fateful night.

"She can walk into the ocean without fear."

"That isn't anomalous."

"She can hold her breath for an abnormal amount of time."

"How long is abnormal?"

"I don't know."

"An estimate."

"Long enough that a human should have drowned."

Webb was silent for a moment.

"She attracts marine life," Damien continued. "Fish swim around her and the birds react to her presence."

"How?"

"They respond to her."

"Commands?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

Damien's irritation grew.

"I've told you what I've seen."

"And I'm asking what you know."

Damien leaned forward, his tone darkening.

"She sings."

"What kind of singing?"

"I don't know."

"Language?"

"Unknown."

"Have you recorded it?"

"No."

"why not?"

Damien's jaw tightened.

"Because I wasn't exactly standing there with a microphone."

That almost sounded like amusement from Webb.

Almost.

"What happens when she sings?"

Damien looked out the window at the ocean.

He could still see it clearly, remember the night as if it had happened yesterday.

Marrine, waist deep in the water, her hair flowing around her shoulders, the first notes of the song escaping her lips.

He could almost hear it again.

"I've seen the waves move towards her."

"Move towards her?"

"Yes."

"Explain."

"I can't."

"You can try."

Damien looked up at Webb's face.

"I've seen the ocean listen to her."

There was a pause.

Then Webb asked,

"Did anything else happen?"

Damien swallowed hard.

"Yes."

"What?"

"There was something beneath the surface of the water."

"What kind of something?"

"I couldn't see it clearly."

"Size?"

"Large,"

"How large?"

Damien stared out the window, remembering the great shadowy shape that had moved beneath Marrine.

Larger than a ship, and yet it's eyes had glowed with an unearthly blue light.

"Larger than a ship."

"How much larger?"

"I don't know."

"Did it surface?"

"Partially."

"Describe it."

Damien hesitated.

"Eyes."

Webb went silent.

"Eyes?"

"Two of them."

"Color?"

Damien looked out the window, remembering the faint blue glow beneath the waves.

"Blue."

Another pause.

"Did the subject interact with it?"

Damien's voice was quiet.

"She called it something."

"How?"

"I don't know."

"Did she speak?"

"Yes."

"What did she say?"

Damien looked down at the floor.

"My father is here."

There was a pause.

It wasn't nearly as professional this time.

Something about Webb's tone gave the impression that he was afraid.

Not frightened, not horrified.

Something more like unease, or perhaps doubt.

"You said 'my father,'" Webb said carefully.

"Yes."

"Did she identify him?"

Damien swallowed.

"She called him the King of the Deep."

The phone went deathly silent.

Damien smiled.

Now he finally knew.

"You've heard that name before."

Webb didn't answer.

"You know what he is."

"Where did you get that information?"

"From her."

"Directly?"

"Yes."

"And you remained alive after the encounter?"

Damien's smile faded.

"Barely."

Webb's voice was colder now.

"Explain."

Damien hesitated, remembering every frantic heartbeat, every sound of the waves crashing against the shore.

"She told me to leave."

"She didn't attack you?"

"No."

" Why did you leave?"

"Because something was coming."

"What?"

"I don't know."

"Then how do you know?"

Damien stared out the window, his jaw tightening.

"Because the ocean changed."

Webb said nothing.

Damien could almost imagine the man sitting in some sterile government building, surrounded by other agents.

"Agent Webb."

"Yes?"

"I can give you proof."

"What kind of proof?"

"Photographs."

"Of the subject?"

"Yes."

"Send them."

"But I want something first."

A pause.

"What?"

"Money."

Webb didn't seem surprised at all.

"How much?"

"Fifty thousand."

There was a pause.

"Fifty thousand dollars?"

"Yes."

"For photographs?"

"For information."

"What else do you have?"

"Her location. Her patterns. Everything I know."

Webb's voice was still calm, but there was something else there now.

"You've been observing her."

"Yes."

"For how long?"

"Long enough."

"Does she know?"

Damien's expression darkened.

"She knows I know something."

"That wasn't my question."

"She saw me."

"Did she threaten you?"

"No."

"Did she ask you to stop?"

"Yes."

"And you continued."

"Yes."

There was a pause.

Then Webb said,

"Why?"

Damien didn't hesitate.

"Because she belongs to me."

There was a pause.

Damien realized what he'd said.

He didn't take it back.

Webb spoke carefully, as if he was afraid of saying the wrong thing.

"She doesn't belong to anyone."

"You don't know anything about us."

"I know enough.“You've never met her.”No."

"You don't know what she did to me."

"What did she do?"

Damien's jaw tightened.

"She made a fool of me."

"That's your reason?"

"She chose Zeke."

Webb paused.

"Who is Zeke?"

Damien allowed himself a bitter laugh.

"You really don't know anything, do you?"

"Tell me."

"His name is Ezekiel Thompson."

"His relation to the subject?"

"Childhood friend."

Damien hesitated for only a fraction of a second before adding, "More than that now."

"You're jealous."

The words hit Damien like a physical blow.

"I'm not jealous."

"You're asking a government agency to intervene because a woman rejected you."

"I'm giving you information about a dangerous anomaly."

"Both things can be true."

Damien said nothing.

Webb continued.

"Your request for payment is acceptable."

Damien blinked.

"You'll pay?"

"Assuming your evidence is verified."

"And Marrine?"

"What about her?"

"I want you to make it hurt."

There was a pause.

Damien's voice was dark.

"I want her to suffer for making a fool of me."

Webb didn't say anything.

"I want her to be afraid."

Still no response.

"I want her to know that she's not untouchable."

Finally, Webb spoke.

"We can work with that."

Damien smiled.

"I knew you could."

But something in Webb's tone gave him pause.

Not fear or surprise, something closer to inevitability.

"We'll need everything," Webb said carefully

“You'll get it.”Photographs."

"You'll have them."

"Dates."

"Yes."

"Times."

"Yes."

"Locations."

"Yes."

"Names of anyone who may have witnessed the subject's abilities."

Damien thought about the church, about Father Thompson and the nuns.

About Zeke.

His smile disappeared.

"I can give you all of them."

"Good."

"When do I get paid?"

"After confirmation."

"How long will that take?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"On what we find."

Damien leaned back in his chair.

"You're coming to Port Haven."

"We may already be there."

Damien froze.

"What do you mean?"

Webb said nothing.

"Agent Webb?"

The line went dead.

Damien slowly put the phone down.

He stared at it for several long seconds before allowing himself a bitter laugh.

"They're coming."

He stood and walked towards the window.

The ocean was black water and white caps, the same as always.

Except it wasn't.

Something about the tide looked wrong.

It was too far out, reaching further than it should have at this time of year.

Damien stared at the waves.

One.

Two.

Three.

The fourth wave rolled in.

And then it stopped.

Not naturally, not because of the pull of the moon and the gravity of the planet.

It simply stopped, a wall of water standing upright before falling back into the ocean.

Damien's phone vibratord in his hand.

He looked down.

Unknown number.

SEND THE FILES.

He stared at the message before opening his camera roll.

There were dozens of photos, none of which he particularly wanted to send.

Marrine walking towards the ocean, Marrine standing waist deep in the surf, the fish swimming around her and the birds in the sky.

The moonlight reflecting off the water around her.

And one photo he almost deleted, of Marrine looking directly at him with eyes that glowed faintly in the darkness.

Damien stared at it.

For a brief, foolish moment, he felt ashamed.

She looked sad, rather than monstrous or angry or any of the things he'd expected.

Like she already knew what he was going to do, and it hurt her more than it would hurt him.

He deleted the thought as quickly as it came.

He sent the photos, the message disapearing as soon as it was sent.

For several long seconds, nothing happened.

RECEIVED.

Another message appeared.

DO NOT CONTACT THE SUBJECT.

Damien frowned.

A third message appeared.

DO NOT APPROACH THE WATER.

He stared at it for a long moment before responding.

Why?

There was no reply.

He waited.

Nothing.

He tossed the phone onto the desk.

"Games."

He walked away.

But something about this whole situation had changed.

Across town, Marrine stood barefoot on the beach.

The night was silent, save for the sound of the waves.

Zeke was beside her, saying something, but Marrine wasn't listening.

She was watching the water.

"What is it?" Zeke asked.

She didn't answer.

" Marrine?"

She took a step forward, the water lapping at her ankles.

She shivered, though it wasn't from the cold.

Something was wrong.

The ocean was watching her, or maybe it was listening.

Either way, it was afraid.

Marrine closed her eyes.

Deep down beneath the surface, she could hear voices.

Voices that no human ear could hear, not without the help of some strange and unnatural ability.

Wales calling from the deep, fins brushing against rocks, the very pulse of the ocean itself.

And underneath it all, something else.

Something warning her.

Her eyes flew open.

"Someone called them."

Zeke frowned.

" Called who?"

Marrine looked out at the dark ocean.

"I don't know."

Something was approaching, not one thing but several.

Metal.

Engines.

Human machines.

Ships.

Marrine's stomach twisted.

"Zeke."

He turned towards her.

"What?"

"We need to leave."

" Why?"

"I don't know."

That terrified him more than anything else could have.

Marrine always knew when something was wrong.

Always knew when the ocean was afraid.

But now she looked as if she was afraid herself.

Zeke took her hand.

"Then we leave."

She held his hand for a moment before speaking.

"Someone betrayed me."

Back in the Rivers estate, Damien stared out the window.

He couldn't see Marrine, he couldn't see Zeke.

He could barely even see the beach.

But he could see the ocean.

And the ocean was changing.

Far out past the cliffs, he could just make out the shapes of ships.

At first he thought they were fishing boats, but then he noticed how fast they were moving.

They were military vessels.

His heart pounded in his chest.

He grabbed his phone.

No messages.

He waited.

Then the screen lit up, and his breath caught in his throat.

AGENTS HAVE ARRIVED.

Damien allowed himself a small smile.

"They're here."

But another message appeared on his screen.

DO NOT INTERFERE.

Damien frowned.

"Why would they tell me that?"

He had called them, he had given them everything.

He had made this happen.

He walked closer to the window.

The ships drew nearer, and he could see them more clearly.

They were old, their lights blinking in perfect formation.

They were all around the cliffside, surrounding the house like wolves circling their prey.

Damien's smile vanished.

His eyes were drawn to something else moving beneath the waves.

A black shape, larger than anything he'd ever seen.

He couldn't see it's eyes, or it's mouth, or any part of it's body really.

Only the water around it, bending and twisting as if it moved with the current itself.

The ships slowed, and one turned away.

Another followed its lead, then the next, and the next.

The entire formation turning away from the cliffs.

Then the ocean exploded, a great wave rising into the air with enough force to swallow the ships whole.

Damien stumbled back, his heart hammering in his chest.

For a long moment, the entire world seemed to disappear behind the wave.

Then he heard it.

A great sound, deeper than anything he'd ever heard.

Not from the ships, not from the sky, but from beneath the surface of the ocean itself.

Damien dropped his phone, it hitting the floor with a resounding crash.

His reflection in the cracked screen seemed to stare back at him, it's face pale and frightened.

For the first time since he'd discovered Marrine's secret, he felt human.

He had thought he was hunting some kind of monster, that he was doing the right thing by uncovering her.

But now he realized that he might have been just another fool being led around by someone far more powerful than he could imagine.

His phone vibrated in his hand.

Damien slowly picked it up, the screen blinking rapidly.

One final message from Webb.

YOU WANTED HER TO SUFFER.

Damien stared at it.

Another message appeared.

YOU SHOULD HAVE ASKED WHAT SHE WAS PROTECTING YOU FROM.

The message disapeared.

Then the entire phone went black.

Damien looked out the window.

The ocean seemed to be holding its breath.

Everything was still, the ships motionless in the dark water.

Something was coming, and for the first time, Damien Rivers was afraid.

He wanted fifty thousand dollars.

He wanted Marrine to suffer, to pay for embarrassing him.

But more than anything, he wanted to know what she was protecting him from.

And now, it seemed, he would get his chance.

Far out in the black water, something massive moved.

And the ocean began coming home.