CHAPTER 15

HEAR HER SONG (COMPLETED)

Niylah was still unsure about where they were going, but Tom and Harris were best friends and nobody would know where he was taking Joy better than her dad. Especially, when he knew what his intentions were.

She tried to distract herself by looking out the window, but the endless glittering stars were consumed by thick, grey clouds. Niylah looked past the clouds and tightly clasped her hands together, silently begging the Creator for Joy's safety.

“Hold on,” Tom said, breaking her from her prayer.

She grasped onto the panic bar attached to the ceiling; dull nails dug into her fleshy palm. Before she could comprehend what was happening, Tom floored it through a metal gate. The metal shrieked against the pavement, gate bending to compensate for the force of the truck plowing through. Tom slowed the truck as much as he could before abruptly stepping on the break. Niylah slumped forward, inertia suspending her there for what seemed like a few heartbeats until her back slammed against the seat. Her clavicle felt bruised, but she ignored it.

They were stopped outside of a garish, red warehouse. The roof was tin and probably grew uncomfortably hot whenever the sun broke through the clouds. There were several large, metal doors that lined the wall and Niylah guessed they were used to transport things in and out of the warehouse. Florescent light flooded out of one open door, casting Tom and Niylah in a ghostly glow. Harris's pick-up was sitting idly near the door.

“Where are we?” Niylah asked.

“One of Malden's warehouses. This is where we usually drop off our catch so it would make sense for Oli to take Joy here.”

Niylah pressed her lips tightly together as she tried to quiet the fear inside her.

“That son of a !” Tom bolted out of the truck and Niylah followed him with her eyes as she spotted Harris coming out of the warehouse, hugging two boys close to him. One boy looked to be about her age and he was smaller than the other. His hair was dark like Harris's. The other one looked to be few years older than her and his hair shined white against the fluorescence. They had to be the boys that were mentioned earlier – Harris's sons.

Seeing Tom coming his way, Harris ushered his sons into his truck, but he didn't have enough time to scramble away as Tom lunged at him. He grabbed Harris by his shirt collar and him against the vehicle. Niylah sprinted out of the car as Tom pulled his fist back and it forward, connecting with Harris's cheek. He held Harris in place by his collar as he kept landing blow after blow. As Niylah grew closer, she could see Harris's cheek was split and his eye was already getting swollen with the force.

“Dad!” Niylah and one of the boys called at once. Niylah looked over to see one of the boys hanging out of the truck window, watching in horror as his dad was being pummeled.

“You pulled a gun on my daughter?” Tom screamed in Harris bloodied face. He had his arm cocked and ready for another blow, knuckles blistered, but he held back.

“He had my boys, Tom. I wasn't going to hurt her! I-I just needed the fish-girl!” Harris' cried pathetically. He had his hands held up in defense, but he didn't fight back.

Tom's arm twitched as if he were going to attack again, but stopped as soon as an alluring song came from the warehouse door.

“That's Joy!” She heard the familiar captivating sound several times when the two had interacted before officially meeting.

Tom pushed himself away from Harris and the beaten man struggled to his feet. The older boy immediately went to his aid. He and Niylah shared a momentary look before he helped his father into the truck. Niylah held no malice towards the boys. She knew it wasn't their fault they ended up in this situation.

The melodic sound continued as Tom and Niylah hurried into the warehouse, leaving Harris and his boys to sort themselves out.

However, the beautiful song was followed by a screech so horrifying, it sent a chill down Niylah's spine.

“Joy!” There was no delay as she ran in the direction of the screams.

 

Niylah stopped dead as she took in the scene before her. Joy was still bound by rope, her cheek bruised from where the gun hilt had impacted with her face. The corners of were raw from the rope and she was writhing against the ground as a man gingerly poured water over her legs. Her lower limbs fused together whenever the liquid touched her legs, but it wasn't enough water to transform her tail completely. All it was doing was causing her immense pain as her body tried to shift. Niylah had never seen Joy turn back into a mermaid before. She didn't know it hurt her to turn back, but it made sense if her body was changing its anatomy completely.

“That's shutting you up, huh?” The man cackled as he tortured the siren, forcing her to change little by little, but never fully giving in. He was facing away from them but Niylah didn't need to see his face to know that he was enjoying the torment. Niylah recognized this man! He was the one who threatened her dad on the docks the one day!

Her eyes trailed down his arm and stopped at the thing clutched between his hand. A gun. Every inch of her was screaming at her to run but she couldn't let her fear consume her. She couldn't abandon Joy like that.

Using his sick sadistic pleasure as an opportunity to get closer, the pair crept into the room unnoticed. Niylah walked on her toes to conceal any noise her shoes could possibly make. They had the upper hand at the moment and she didn't want to risk losing it.

Joy eyes widened as she spotted her saviors. This was enough to alert the man to their presence. His hand lifted in an attempt to raise the gun, but Tom was quick as he tackled the man. The gun skidded across the floor as they tumbled to the ground. Tom was smaller than the man, but that didn't mean he wasn't a force to be reckoned with and this was a fight for life and death. If Tom lost, it meant that he'd also lose Niylah. These men looked serious and she had her doubts they'd let them walk out of here alive.

Tom swung down in a fury of fists while the man covered his face. Niylah wondered if he was letting the anger from being harassed by this guy get to him. The man managed to Tom off of him and began trading punches. The man was bigger, but Tom was quicker and years of hauling heavy fish made him strong. Her dad managed to get on top of the guy again, landing hits wherever he could.

As the two men scuffled, Niylah raced to Joy's side. Joy's breathing was heavy as her body tried to compensate for the torture it was put through.

She immediately began untying her friend, unbinding her hands. As soon as she was free, Niylah wrapped her arms around Joy and held her tight, afraid that if she let go, she'd lose her again.

“I am okay,” she said when was free.

Among the noise of grunting men and bodies being struck, a certain sound stood out. The click as a gun was cocked. Every single head whipped out to find the source of the sound. Had Tom lost to the strange man?

No.

Tom was straddling the man as his hands were wrapped around his throat, constricting his airflow. The man underneath him was struggling to breathe, clawing and thrashing in a feeble attempt to escape.

However, he loosened his hold as the gun was pointed at him. Behind it, a different man, much younger than Tom and the guy he'd been fighting, was holding it. He wore a fitted black suit, making him stand out from the pair of men standing behind him and the guy who tortured Joy. He was obviously in charge.

His hair was a tawny brown and parted down the middle. His hair framed his forehead in a widow's peak, adding to his sinister appeal. His green eyes were unafraid and the corners of his thin lips curled up tauntingly as he stared at Tom down the handgun barrel. His hands weren't shaking and his gaze didn't falter as held his aim. Niylah knew this man had done this before.

“Let him go,” the man barked.

Tom hesitated for a second but climbed off the man. Now that he was free, the man choked and spluttered as he scrabbled to his feet and stumbled off to hide behind the man with the gun.

Slowly, Niylah and Joy got to their feet. Niylah's hand curled around Joy's middle, holding her close to her as the siren gathered her strength back.

“We didn't want trouble, Malden,” Tom said. “We just wanted the girl back.”

“Awe.” The man – Malden – clicked his tongue in mock sympathy. “You and I both know you're in no position to be the decision-maker.”

“I'll pay you back some other way.”

Niylah could hear the familiar wail of police sirens in the distance. She felt a rush of relief wash over her, hoping that the sirens were coming for them. Tom must've called the authorities!

Malden's head tilted to the side. “I know you will, but actions come with consequences.”

Suddenly, the gun Niylah. “That loudmouth partner of yours mentioned your daughter had grown attached to that awful creature.”

“No,” Tom pleaded. “Don't! I'll do anything.”

“You should've thought about that before getting in my way, Thomas. Like I said, consequences.”

“No!” Tom yelled.

His lips curled up in a sickening smirk and Niylah closed her eyes tight, bracing herself for the impact. She heard the gun go off and felt the force of something hitting her. She hit the ground hard but didn't feel any pain. Slowly opening her eyes, she looked herself over but couldn't find any evidence that she had been shot. Disoriented, she tried to piece together what happened. Then, she saw her.

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Recca1 #1
Chapter 6: Haha thought Joy was trying to save her, glad it went with the traditional mermaids drowning people. Loved how she tried to do it three times too lol. Interesting can’t wait for next Monday.
Recca1 #2
Chapter 5: Glad I found this story. Really drawn in and intrigued. Loving the build up as well. Want to see how is goes for OC and Joy. Keep it up!
Ghad20
12 streak #3
this sounds amazing