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    Mermaid
    Mermaid
    Mermaid
    Ebook81 pages1 hour

    Mermaid

    By Kate O'Connor

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Harvesting seaweed for World Food Co. is the only life genetically engineered sea drone Coral has ever known. Nothing in her short, monotonous life prepared her for a chance meeting with a boatful of strangers who force her to question everything she is. When the opportunity arises to change her place in the world, Coral finds herself caught between a powerful company and the family she was so desperate to leave. Struggling to unravel the tangle of politics and love, time is running out as she fights to learn the hardest lesson of all – what it means to be truly human. 

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKristell Ink, Grimbold Books
    Release dateMay 1, 2017
    ISBN9781911497295
    Mermaid

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      Book preview

      Mermaid - Kate O'Connor

      Contents

      Mermaid

      About the Author

      A Selection of Other Titles from Kristell Ink

      Mermaid

      Kate O’Connor

      ki_logo_small_bw.tif

      www.kristell-ink.com

      Copyright © 2017 Kate O’Connor

      Kate O’Connor asserts her moral right to be identified as the author of this book.

      All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

      All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

      Paperback ISBN 978-1-911497-29-5

      Epub ISBN 978-1-911497-28-8

      Cover art by Ana Santo

      Cover design by Ken Dawson

      Typesetting by Book Polishers

      Kristell Ink

      An Imprint of Grimbold Books

      4 Woodhall Drive

      Banbury

      Oxon

      OX16 9TY

      United Kingdom

      www.kristell-ink.com

      For Carrie

      Mermaid

      The changing pressure and shifting surges in the salty water tickled the web of sensors inlaid in Coral’s mottled blue-gray skin, sending a thrill of excitement cascading through her system. The storm that had been hanging off the coast for most of the morning was moving inland. Riding the black waves as they heaved themselves up higher and higher toward the rippling sky, then racing down the glassy slopes, ducking under to watch the lightning color the water—that would make her day different from the endless slog of every other day.

      Coral didn’t mind the job she had been created to do, but she was exhilarated by any change in the monotony of tending her small patch of World Food Company’s vast seaweed farms with her sister sea drones. Tucking her six slender arms tightly to her sides, she sped farther out to sea. If she could catch the storm in deep water, she might have an hour or two to chase the waves before the rising seafloor made it dangerous.

      The long arc of her body cut cleanly through the cool waves, propelled by her powerful, segmented tail. Her head broke the surface just as the first drops of rain dimpled the still insignificant swells. Twenty yards distant, an old speedboat skipped across the wave crests almost faster than she could swim. Laughter wafted back from the deck, piquing her curiosity.

      The people she had been around during her short life rarely laughed. A sharp noise crackled from the direction of the boat, and a light went up in the air. It burst apart in a shimmer of smaller sparks that fell back toward the water. Coral watched in awe.

      She flicked her powerful tailfins, pushing herself toward the boat. Drones weren’t supposed to go near people who weren’t WF employees. She would keep her distance. If the people didn’t see her, no one would know she had gotten closer than strictly allowed. She caught up to the small craft, drafting in its wake as it cut through the gradually growing waves.

      The engine noise ceased, and the boat slowed until it was bobbing along with the current. More of the sparkling lights went up into the air amidst happy shouts. Coral slid closer, ducking down until the water covered up to her eyes. Her long, olive-green hair hung across her human-shaped face like strands of kelp.

      From where she floated, she could just see the tops of several heads. Their talk washed over her, sounding coarse and clipped compared to the underwater songs the drones used to communicate. She understood their meaning well enough—human people used the same words the drones did—but the emotion expressed in human speech always seemed vague and hidden. Drone-song melodies emphasized feelings before words.

      Coral twisted to get a better view. It would be something of a triumph to see a non-Company person up close. At barely twenty-two months old, she had seen very little beyond the seaweed farm where she worked. Impulses raced between her circuits and neurons in a delicious mix of trepidation and curiosity. Her sister drones would be so jealous when she told them— if she could convince herself to get close enough.

      There was a short deck attached to the back of the boat. She caught hold of it with her topmost hands, letting the momentum of the vessel carry her along. Her fingers slipped on the water-slick surface. Lunging forward, she sank the razor-sharp hooks that formed her lowest pair of hands deep into the deck for better purchase. The plastic groaned, and Coral nearly released her hold for fear of being heard.

      When the tone of the talk continued unchanged, she chanced poking her head up. All she could see was the bright white side of the boat, cut regularly with hard-lined black shapes. She twitched her tail in frustration and used the next wave to heave herself up onto the rear deck. The boat rocked under her sudden weight. She froze, tucking herself as close to the stern as she could get. Muscles tensed for a quick escape, Coral sat up and peeked over the railing.

      Eight of them were relaxing on the benches. Two were holding long, shiny poles out over the water. The rest were laughing and talking loudly, passing a large green bottle back and forth. Seeing them up close, the expressions on their faces were more like those of her sisters than the focused, calm scientists who had raised her.

      The scientists and other World Food employees never laughed or sang. They gave terse orders in toneless voices, expecting immediate, mechanical obedience. The people in the boat were boisterous and free. They were beautiful. Feeling overwhelmed, Coral dove back into the waiting ocean.

      She swam under the boat, giddy and torn between racing back to tell the others and staying to enjoy the storm. A sudden sting in the hollow between her second and third arms distracted her. She swatted at it, and the pain worsened. She slowed her pace and twisted around, trying to get a good look at whatever it was.

      A finger-thick piece of gleaming metal protruded from her side, attached to a thin, clear line that disappeared at the surface. The line tightened, pulling the metal piece up sharply. Coral felt it lodge underneath her rib bone. She thrashed wildly toward the seafloor, panicking as it kept dragging at her. She smelled her own blood in the water. The line wrapped around her, pinning her lower arms

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