The Silver Siren

Chapter One

A small dancing figure in the distance caught Captain Eric’s eye. It grew closer and he could make out a fish-like creature. The light from nearby stars reflected on their tail, which helped them glide through the colorful skies of the Mermaillise galaxy. The dance looked as if they were graciously swimming in the sky. Astonished with such a discovery, Eric remained fixated on the dancing figure.

The dancing figure swam closer and closer, finally approaching the window. The tail grew more detailed and the upper body resembled the anatomy of a human. The figure had shiny silver hair that barely reached their shoulders and skin that glimmered with millions of tiny scales.

He locked eyes with the figure. He felt a sense of déjà vu and placed his hands on the cold glass, fogging it up with his warmth. He wondered why this figure looked familiar to him, even though this was his first encounter. The figure cocked their head and mimicked him by placing their long fingered hands on the glass outside of the ship.

The figure mouthed out a few words that he couldn’t coherently piece together.

“What are you saying?” Eric asked. The figure repeated itself over and over again. An almost terrified expression on their face. He soon felt a drizzle of wetness from his eyes and reached to find blood streaming down, which now covered his hands and clothes. The figure pounded away at the glass in a frenzy and scared him a few feet back making him slip on his blood on the floor.

In that moment, the glass cracked away and burst into millions of pieces, waking him out of his vivid dream. Startled, he rose drenched in his own sweat and got up to remove his clothes to hop into the shower. He let the water run and stopped by the sink to recollect his thoughts on his peculiar dream. The same nightmare had been haunting him for as long as he could remember.

Chapter Two

Eric splashed water on his face and looked into the mirror which revealed a young man in his late twenties with black hair and striking features. His blue eyes held so much guilt and sadness, it overflowed with salty tears. He didn’t understand why such a strange looking creature haunted his dreams. He had only ever heard of such creatures from the childhood stories his grandparents told him.

After his quick and cold shower, an alarm went off blaring loudly around the ship.

WARNING DANGER DETECTED OBSTACLES ON COURSE. WARNING DANGER DETECTED OBSTACLES ON COURSE. WARNING…

He raced to get dressed and let his wet hair drip on his clothes. He then got out his pod to meet the rest of the crew, who were all franticly awake now and scrambling to get to the main deck. The alarm lights flashed red illuminating the walls and their faces. Their footsteps scurried toward the main deck of the ship with a panoramic view of the galaxy. Beyond the glass windows, a sea of asteroids of different shapes and sizes surrounded them.

Once at the panels, the crew scrambled to manually take control over the ship.

“What should we do, Sir? Do we turn around or-” A blonde haired young man with a single dimple on his left cheek positioned himself at his station nervously overlooking the countless buttons on his holographic screen.

“Let’s keep going ahead. I will steer the ship. Everyone fasten yourselves. It might get bumpy!” Eric stood behind a huge wooden wheel with white metallic spikes on it and spun it around to activate the manual mode for the ship. The alarm went off and the red lights switched to white. The ship dodged asteroids hurdling towards them left and right. Small stray asteroids scratched the surface of the exterior, making loud noises that triggered another alarm.

“How’s the ship’s force field doing?!” Eric asked Asurla, who was the second in charge onboard.

“It grows weaker with every hit we take, sir! I’m afraid it won't hold for very long. We need to get out of here asap!” she answered. With that in mind, he began to raise the speed and tilted the ship once again to dodge another asteroid. Everyone struggled to hold their balance and wrinkled their faces in fear.

BAM

“Shit… Did we take any damage on that one?”

“Too soon to tell, sir!” Asurla scrambled for any signs of damage but the system kept glitching on her. The alarm kept ringing in the background once again. “Finn make that alarm go away!” she said. The young blonde typed away at his screen, rendering the blaring alarm silent again. He gave her a wink and then another asteroid after another hit.

Houra later, they were finally out of the woods when the asteroid belt was behind them. recollecting their sanities, they unbuckled themselves and got up to explore the damage on the ship. Asurla collected data and instructed the others to go to different parts of the ship to look for any interior damage.

Chapter Three

Eric had been outside for a few hours with his white and gray spacesuit that played soft piano music for him to calm down. It helped him not only to fall asleep, but to ease his mind when he finds himself in silence or aloneness. The inside of his helmet fogged up with each breath, a minor design flaw that Asurla overlooked when she made the suits.

The bright pink and blue colors of Mermaillise caught his attention every time he went out, which weren’t many times. There weren’t many places before that have taken his breath away at their beauty. But for some reason, The Mermaillise Galaxy did just that. It was a newly discovered galaxy by his pioneer parents who adored space travel. They were famous back home, having explored so much. But after their mysterious disappearance on a mission, he wanted to follow in their footsteps. Hoping to one day find out what happened to them.

He wouldn’t rest in peace till he finally knew. He was only 15 when he became an orphan and lived with his grandparents. He changed his famous name to less famous one and then trained to be a space explorer. Where he finally got the opportunity to have his own ship and crew. Because of his name change, they didn’t know that he was the son of two famous pioneers, and he liked it that way.

After repairing the broken exterior of the ship, he let Finn know to reel him back in. Once inside he removed his suit and equipment that weighed him down. The ship jerked momentarily and made him lose his footing. He looked at Finn whilst they floated a few inches above the floor. Finn revealed his dimple when the ship jerked once more and their feet touched the ground again.

“Was the gravity reactor damaged too?”

Finn nodded.“Yes sir, there was a lot of damage done to the interior of the ship as well

A ringing went off on a nearby screen and Eric tapped on it, accepting the call. A woman with a low ponytail and bushy eyebrows popped up. In the corner of his eye, he could see Finn smile softly when she appeared.

“Captain you’re needed on the main deck. There’s more damage that was found after our scans.”

“Alright I’ll be there, Asurla.”

At the main deck, the fifteen members of the crew stood and saluted their captain upon his entrance. The interior of the ship’s main deck had glossy wooden walls that shined and reflected the modern white light lamps that were shaped like sharp skinned snakes on the ceiling. The floor had a black tiled sleek design that resembled carbon fiber. A big blue carpet with shiny white flakes hugged the floor with a white long table standing on it. He positioned himself at the head of the white table, awaiting Asurla’s news. She walked up front to the main control panels and pulled up the ship model that appeared via holograms in front of each member. The holograms projected from a couple of round golf sized balls that were attached to the table and acted as holographic computers.. They examined the red points on the ship and looked toward her again.

“After passing through the first asteroid belt of Mermailles, we got into a couple collisions that resulted in slight damage done to both the interior and exterior of the ship. This ship is an older model, so the ship’s shield only covers the upper half, which left the bottom half exposed. Usually in collisions the bottom half can hold up just fine, but since the force field is glitching, the top half is susceptible to any threat. After a thorough scan, we found all the most important areas of the ship that need our immediate attention and we have to repair them all as soon as possible or else-”

“Or else we’re toast.” Finn cut her off.

“Yes, Finn. The engine and shield are top priority. Sebastian just finished fixing the gravity reactor. We can get this done withing the next couple of hours.”

Eric raised his hand to his lower lip in thought. The crew murmured to each other in their matching blue and yellow uniforms. He knew that fixing the ship would further delay their trip and make them vulnerable by remaining in place. After all, a stagnant ship is a dead ship.

“The damage seems to be minimal, but we’re running low on fuel. How are our rations?” Eric asked.

“We’re a tad low on food and supplies, sir,” Asurla said.

“Our only choice now is to stop by a nearby habitable planet for fuel and supplies. Finn, what’s the nearest one?”

“Let me see… Triton X, sir! It’s registered as a fully aquatic planet with few terrestrial properties that-”

“English, Finn,” Asurla said, mocking him. She winked at him and scuffled his blonde hair. He breathed in and continued.

“I’m sorry I forgot you only had a two digit IQ. In basic terms, Triton X is a really big ocean planet.”

She playfully scoffed and crossed her arms.

“It is also three times bigger than Earth and has-”

“Ok Finn, thank you. Sebastian can you find me a safe course to Triton X?” Eric said.

“Yessir, it seems the safe course is two days long.” Sebastian typed away at his holographic keyboard franticly. A new hologram appeared in front of Captain Eric, where he examined the course. He checked the fuel range and shook his head.

“We won't make it in time. We need a quicker route. That way we can stop there, collect and fix the ship asap.”

“Yessir, it says the only other way is through the uncharted area as shown.”

A blurry U-shaped clouded area surrounded the holographic model of Triton X with an UNKNOWN label in red.

Chapter Four

“Wait how was this area not registered? Didn’t the first pioneers discover Triton X?” Asurla asked.

“They most likely took the long way there and back. It is after all the last registered planet of Mermaillise,” Finn said.

“Wait but didn’t they go missing soon after discovering it? Could they have gone through the unknown area?” she asked.

Captain Eric thought back to when his parents went missing and how he researched all kinds of possible ways to excuse how. He had read about blackholes and everything, until one day his grandpa told him a story about how thousands of years ago a female pilot was lost on planet Earth and flew over a mysterious area and was never seen again. His grandpa told him that there could be areas like that out in space.

“Like the Bermuda triangle,” Captain Eric said.

“Oh I read about that. An area that existed back on Earth a long time ago, right? Where things and people disappeared. Could it be like a blackhole?” Asurla asked.

“Perhaps, but whatever that area is comprised of, whether it be more asteroids, blackholes, wormholes, dark matter or territorial alien species, we will have to take that risk. But I won't go ahead with that plan unless I know we all are agreed. So I’m asking you all to decide our fate through a group vote. Those in favor say ‘I’”

A few days later, Eric was in his room jotting down some ideas in his small leather notebook as he peered out from his spaceship window. For the first time, he was glad to have left his small planet to explore the nearby galaxies. He had heard of stories of different galaxies containing planets of many kinds. Planets that had living dinosaurs, or flying humans, and even some with giant talking animals and insects. He knew he had to go out on a voyage to see what he could find. He dreamed of discovering new planets, new species, and languages. Just like how his parents did before him.

He glanced at a medium sized black picture frame with a mother and father holding a small boy in a tight embrace. They all had lasting faces filled with joy, that he could almost hear them laughing and snorting away at something his father said. He felt grateful to have had a time in his life like that, but also felt depressed it wasn’t his present reality as well. He missed his parents, even though he never got to fully know them. Their quirks and thoughts, were they like his?

The interior of his room resembled the main deck’s, it was almost as big as it too. Flower vases with a variety of withered and unwithered roses of different colors decorated the nearby countertops that flowed with the wooden walls. The same style as the rest of the ship’s interior. White and blue modern decorations filled everything. He then looked back out the window and saw a twinkling star move closer to the ship. His pupils widened as the figure from his dreams looked back at him. He set down the notebook gently and hesitantly approached the window. He whispered to himself, is this a dream? Why is this creature haunting him?

His record player’s volume slowed down during the song transition when he heard brisk footsteps echo from down the hall that bounced off the metal and wooden walls. After turning his head to the noise, he looked back out the window to see nothing but his reflection off the glass. Since his door was wide open, Eric got up to go see who it was. There he found Finn, who held himself with one hand on the wall trying to catch his breath.

“Captain, you’re needed on the main deck! There’s something you need to see, sir!”

Chapter Five

He followed Finn to the main deck that was filled with a worried crew. Dumbfounded, they were all staring out at the countless dancing figures in the sky. The faint noise of the ship’s engine whirred in the background. The condition of the shield made it glitch and the view would occasionally lose focus.

“What do you reckon they are, sir?”

“I don’t know.”

Thousands of the mermaid-like creatures decorated the Mermaillise galaxy sky like stars at night. Slowly swaying side to side next to each other. Soon, they began to harmonize a high pitched noise and the ship’s shield dissipated, leaving the crew to scramble to get it back up and running. Asurla and Sebastian take their posts and try to bring up the shield immediately. Wine glasses and flower vases fall from the countertops and shatter following the seismic waves caused by the creatures.

“Without the shield we’re done for! Get it back up!” Captain Eric adjusted his stance, holding onto the table and counters while making his way to the control panels. Everyone else tried following protocol whilst wobbling as the ship shook. Shards of glass were crushed under each panic-stricken footstep.

Soon small cracks erupted on the ship’s windows, branching out into thicker lines.

“We’re losing oxygen at a rapid pace!” Finn said. Asurla’s pupils dilated when she saw how fast the oxygen levels dropped on the corner of her screen. Soon most of the crew had tears streaming down their faces and were gasping for air. The faces of his parents flashed before Eric’s eyes as he held on to his neck. Why did it have to end like this? He never got to accomplish anything like his parents did. He can’t possibly make them proud now.

“At this point we’ll--”

Noises of choking and gasping filled the main deck among the crew. Their eyes and ears started to bleed profusely. The sonic pressure and vibrations grew stronger with the shield gone, making their ear drums burst and turning their brains into mush. One by one they fell to the floor clawing at their faces in pain. Their screams drowned out the sirens’ song. What felt like forever lasted only milliseconds.

The window broke and everyone started to fly out into space with the little air left sucked out of their lungs. Their faces turned pale and their bodies froze up due to the lack of oxygen. The blood from their eyes and ears dried up and cracked off bit by bit. Time stopped itself to watch their frozen bodies float freely in the Mermaillise galaxy.

Chapter Six

The sirens stopped singing and went back to their home planet nearby. Proud that they accomplished their attack by getting rid of the pesky threat in their territory. The silver-haired siren made her way to Eric’s floating corpse. Her scaly fingers traced the small ridges of ice on his blue lips. She read the name on him tag. It was him.

The rest of the sirens called out for her mockingly, gossiping to each other about her. She paid them little attention and decided to carry him along back with her. His body rigid as a statue. Pulling him along, the silver-haired siren and her sisters arrived at their home planet. She was the only one amongst them with short silver hair, most had black or white hair that were as long as their tails. Because of this, she was known as an outcast and was unfavored in the eyes of the elders.

Their home planet had several floating islands that connected through cave-like tunnels and structures. Different sized crystals of every color decorated the cave formations on each floating island. Thousands of sirens glided about from island to island as they went about their usual lives. Congratulating each other on their pitches and strength.

The silver siren retreated to her own crystal cave that had elaborate rooms. One in particular had a high ceiling that brought in light from the cosmos above. In that room, several hundreds of frozen corpses stood, propped up against each other or hung on crystals on the higher parts of the cave walls like ornaments.

She dragged in Eric’s body and placed him in a corner next to others that resembled him in an uncanny way. They had similar clothing but with different details and colors. She swam back to the front of the room to take in another admiring glance at her Captain Eric replicas. The combining shine from the ice of their bodies and the crystals made the room glow like Christmas lights at night. She floated, mesmerized by the sight before her.

It reminded her of her time as a human before. Earth held all her precious memories. Her life as a Siren was different and primitive. The old humans were far advanced and less animalistic. She recollected fragments of her past, with each decade her memory faded further. She could vaguely remember the face of her young boy, Adreil, who she left behind. Her mind had deteriorated since then, now with the mind of a wild beast, she only had her instincts and blurry memories to rely on.

Chapter Seven

Every night for the following decade, the corpses took turns sleeping on her bed. She cuddled them like they were her valuable stuffed animals. Like they were babies, like they were her Adreil. She craved company more than anything, being the only outcast of her society. They provided that for her, without the judgement or the rude looks. They listened to her every word and thought. She liked that about them.

One night during her switching routine, she heard a strange noise from the Mermaillise sky surrounding the floating islands. A frequency that only space sirens can pick up. She recognized the noise and rushed herself. She dropped a Captain Eric corpse from three decades ago from her grasp, shattering him into thousands of micro pieces and swam out of the room.

On her way out, she glided through the dark cave tunnels. Light from the crystal lamps on the walls shined on her scaly skin as she swam by. Once out in the open air she and the rest of the sirens flew toward the incoming soundwaves. She glided fast and pushed her way in front of the others. Once at the front line, she looked around to confirm what she thought it was. Waiting for it to soon pop out into the view before her. She felt tense. In her head, she pleaded for it not to come again. Not again. Will she do something different this time when it comes? Or will it happen all over again?

Soon a ship appeared. It was an old model, a 17th century pirate ship with a barely functioning shield dome that encased the upper half. It was an older model this time. She shook her head. She was tired. Agitated at the world. Each time she went through the same roller coaster of emotions and thoughts. Disappointed with her failure for the past couple of thousands of years. Why does her memory fail her each time?

No wonder she was an outcast.

The ship’s engine whirred, frustrating the sirens’ sensitive heads. The silver siren, with a built up immunity to the pitch, made her way to get closer to the ship. Wanting to warn the innocents on board. She passed by the elders, who stared her down with displeasure. She quickly glided faster than her sisters in pain and the ship grew closer and closer in her sight. She was the only one that was able to get this close to the ship. Her sisters spread out and got in positions. Preparing for their attack once more.

The silver siren, with the ship right in front of her, found a close window. There a specimen stared at her from the other side. The specimen looked just like the others in her cave. She wondered why she felt a sense of belonging and care for them. She tried to recollect her blurring memories once more which always fail her at this time. Why was she here again? She wondered why his poor soul was stuck in a time dimensional loop. Where he came back to Mermaillise every decade as a different version of himself each time. At least she remembered that.

She pitied him. Who was he again? She loved him. Who was he again? An obsession to know more about Eric was reflected through the hundreds of frozen corpses of him stuck in time in her cave. She placed her hands on the cold glass, admiring the familiar body of the specimen. The fogged up window, broken glass, and blood all haunted both of them. She thought to herself, is this a dream?