A faint ringing echoed through the dark narrow corridors that snaked ten feet beneath the earth's surface. Light from flickering incandescent bulbs cut through the darkness at regular intervals. Deep scratches criss-crossed the stone floor as if something heavy was dragged over it. A metallic door stood at the end of the corridor from behind which the sound emanated.

Clink. Clink. Clink. 

"He is so well preserved. Where did they find him ?" asked a raspy male voice.

"Iceland. Vatna glacier to be precise," a female voice replied. She chiseled the ice block carefully and methodically without harming the specimen encased within. 

"A scary freak isn't he," the man tapped on the block of ice.

"Stop that James. If anything happens to him, it's my ass on the line," she glared at him and continued to clear the ice particles around the torso.

"Oh calm down Jessie. What can happen to him. He has been dead for god knows how long," James pulled the gas heaters closer to thaw the ice faster.

"The professor said that he has been frozen for at least 40000 years maybe more," Jessie swung the hammer with more force than she intended to and this caused a thin crack in the ice. It traveled up along the block and shattered the ice that surrounded the being's face.

"That will surely save us some time," James chuckled and turned to Jessie who was staring straight ahead with a shocked expression on her face.

Takk's eyes flickered open and a loud earsplitting roar filled the room.

"Khaaa Aaaa Rhaaa. Kraaa." Takk was seated on a rusted iron chair bolted to the ground in the middle of the windowless room. Thick copper coils were wound around his arms and chest and his feet were dipped in a water bath. Steel link chains fastened his arms and legs to the chair, restricting his movement.  

The professor pounded his fist on the oak wood table in frustration. "No no no. It's not kra or caa or corr. C.. A.. R.. car. How many times must we go over this today Takk." He gritted his teeth and gave an imperceptible nod towards James.

"I told you professor, its a huge waste of our time trying to educate this freak," he turned to his right and pressed the little red switch on the wall.

"Aaaahhhh," Takk cried in agony as the current flowed through him. James looked on with a contemptuous smile on his face whereas Jessie flinched and turned her head away, unable to watch the cruel treatment.  A moment later he lifted his finger from the switch to end the torture.

"Don't be daft James. Think of the possibilities once he learns to communicate. The things he could describe about the upper paleolithic era. Haven't you wondered what creatures roamed the earth eons ago, the types of fauna and flora and the tools they used. So many unanswered questions."

"Err yes sure professor," James murmured unenthusiastically.

"I'm tired. Let's wrap it up for the day. Take him back to his cell James," the professor stated and picked up his notes before leaving the room.

James ambled toward Takk and secured the chains from his arms to a collar on his neck. After making sure that the mammoth of a man was properly bound, James led him out of the room followed by Jessie.

"James, bring Takk to the observation room," the professor said quietly as he sipped on his morning coffee. " I have plenty more questions for our big friend. He passed out before we got to the interesting part yesterday."

"Alright professor but I don't see what is so interesting about prehistoric tools and flora," he replied and turned to Jessie. "You coming?"

Jessie shook her head, "I need to get my notes. You go ahead James."

***

"Rise and shine freak," James banged on the large steel door with his fist. Peering through the small slit in the door, he saw Takk lying motionless on his cot. "Wake the fuck up. The professor wants another chat with you," he pounded against the door repeatedly till his fists were sore.

"Damn him to hell," he muttered under his breath and unlocked the cell door. Firmly grasping the iron chain he ventured closer to the giant, sleeping on his back with his hands shackled to the wall. The hairs on the back of James' neck stood up as he neared Takk. As he fastened the chain to the collar on Takk's neck, he spotted a loose bolt jutting out of the wall. "What the.."

The large hairy arm thrust at his face, gripping the sides of his forehead in a vice like grip. "Let me go you... aaahhh," James screamed in pain but the grip grew tighter. Takk's fiery eyes bore into James' skull right before it popped like a grape.

"Who freak now?" Takk wiped his hand on the sheets and dashed towards the open door. The sounds of his footsteps echoed through the narrow corridor as he ran as fast as he could. Turning the corner, he came face to face with Jessie.

"Takk. What are you..," like a deer caught in the headlights she watched him as he closed in on her. "Please no.. don't hurt me."

The sweet smell of lavender wafted up to his nose as he towered over her. Extending an arm forward, he gripped her hair and brought it closer to his face. The scent transported him to the past and for a moment he was lost in it. He opened his eyes and looked at her before brushing past her. Without looking back he carried on forward till he reached a smaller door. He gripped the handle and tugged it open before stepping out.

The bright sunlight blinded him momentarily and he raised an arm up to shield himself. The warm desert air caressed his cheeks carrying with it the scent of dust and sand, but to him it was the scent of freedom.

Coral was use to standing on her own her mother was a  Siren and her father was a sailor. Her mother as usual had a sexual tryst with her human father and then lured him to his watery death  and permanent grave in Davey Jones locker.  The Sirens feeling they were the superior race  of the Sea People sent the small scarlet haired mermaid to live with the other half breeds.  The humans feared her kind out of sheer ignorance of knowing  nothing about her kind and shunned her deeming  her a beast of the seas. 

So she swam the seven seas till she found the remote island off the West coast of what the humans called the United States. She enjoyed her peace on this remote island till one day fate would change everything for her.  The scarlet haired half fish, half woman breached the water  her body silhouetted against the moonlight sky. She had been happy here there weren't many merpeople a few here and there in this paradise of islands.  The fact that not many of them inhabited these seas of the West coast, made it easier for them to stay hidden from the humans.  Merpeople didn't think like the humans they had a more feral drive inside them.  This animal instinct was exceptionally strong when they were in the water in their merform. In human form they were cold, calculating not entirely uncaring as they slowly grew to trust the humans they lived around.

There was and odd floating thing bobbing and shaking on the waves as they lapped past. Curious of the humans as all mermaids are she swam closer not realizing this was a trolling boat that had just set its nets out.  She had never seen ones of the huge floating things in all years at these islands, and was surprised when she grew nearer that is was filled with sailors.  It had been so many years since she had seen a human she was lost in trying  to count them when she suddenly found her self ensnared in one of their nets.

She thrashed and rolled while ripping at the net with her slender fingers to avail she could not unravel herself from the net. The sailors grew excited as they watched the  large bobber they had set to the net sink and pop back out out the water. They knew they had something big in the net and it would be a pay day. They just didn't realize how big of one.  As the heaved and pulled the net from the water first the huge tail was visible. one of the sailors hollared out," This b a biggun boys."  The men continued to haul the net  and the first sailor nearly dropped the net as he saw before his face the form of a woman. He looked back to the men and hollard again." Seems we caught us a lass with this biggun fish." The men pulled with more might. One of the sailors knelt down and unraveled the net around the woman as he pulled the net from her body the men all let out a singular gasp.

Her tail flapping slightly in the air as she sat there covering her upper body with her arms across her form as if warding off danger.  One of the sailors tossed sheet at her as the men sat there in awe watching her fin turn into two shapely legs as the mermaid dried out. Once her humans legs fully appeared she stood wrapping the sheet around her form. 

The captain of the ship had her locked  into his quarters as he sailed back to town. The port authorities were not going to believe this, why they may even commit him if he told them no no better not go to the port authorities with this catch the captain continued his train of thought. Maybe that institutional laboratory  where the professors do experiments,that one a top the hill on the island ran by the university.

A week later  he presented the woman to the head scientist at the laboratory who only laughed at him and mocked him for believing in such tales as told to children to instill fear in their minds of the dangers of the sea.  While mocking him the sailor picked up the large pitcher of water that a servant had previously brought in. In throwing the filled pitcher at the head scientist of the institution he got the woman wet and her merfin started to form as she fell from the chair she was sitting her form no longer able to hold the pose of sitting a chair.   Water would forever be her nightmare and her comfort.

 Weeks after her capture Coral realized she had to find a way to get away from these awful humans. They only hooked her up to electrodes and flipped switches that made her body jolt hard and horrifically. when they had her hooked up they kept her under a misting thing that  sprayed her down with amidst to keep her in merform. This only exacerbated the electric shocks they gave her. 

She knew her only chance to get away from this torture was in her human form. So she would bide her time and wait for a moment  to escape when they are transporting her between this horrible place and her room.  That day came quicker than she thought as two custodians one on each side of her dragged her reluctant form to the testing room a commotion arose in another wing causing alarms to blast and some voice from above telling people to hurry to a certain sector a patient is out of control.  This was her chance what were the odds these humans could deal with two out of control patients. She quickly kicked one guard in the ankle and then grabbed the wrist of the other guard and spun the both of them around she squealed wee in delight as they spun then let go of him as they neared the pane glass window. CRASH he flew out the window as she let  go of his wrists. " That was fun," she smiled at the other human as it stood to face her.  "You want to play" she smiled wickedly at the other guard as she grabbed his wrists and spun him in the same fashion and then let him fly. She watched for a moment  with a gleeful smile on her face as she waved at his falling form," Bye, Bye Birdie." she squealed happily as she skipped  out the door and down the stairs.  She found it easy to walk out after she made the stairs there was no one in sight. They were all probably busy with that first patient that went out of control on them. 

The sun warmed the soft skin of her face as she stepped out of the university doors. She slammed the door shut behind her  and headed away from the laboratory. Unsure of what would happen next, but relieved not be someones science experiment anymore.  After many hours of walking in this new land of sand and sun the heat of  the desert was unbearable. Bearing down on her sapping all the energy from her form cracks formed in  her delicate skin as the suns heat blistering her relentlessly. While the sweet smell of salt water was gone from her memory and filled  by the dry hot air as she strolled across to desert floor.