Chapter Text
One of the things they don’t tell you about working in an aquarium is how the smell of blood tends to follow you.
Will Graham was fortunate that his years of fishing with his father gave him an immunity to the bloody fish smell, but he couldn’t exactly say he enjoyed it. The smell of salt and algae clung to his clothes and wouldn’t come off no matter how much he washed them after years of washing and feeding chum to his assigned tanks.
‘Chilton’s Aquarium of Oddities’ or ‘CAO’ was one of the richest, if not strangest aquariums in the States, one of the only ones in the world to successfully keep genuine freshwater Mermaids in captivity. (All Mers in captivity were from bayous, lakes, and rivers, though it has been rumored that there were even more beautiful ones out at sea.)
Originally beings of mere fiction until some odd sixty years ago, mermaids are still barely understood and incredibly difficult to keep alive in domestic settings. Chilton often patted himself on the back for hiring the best scientists money could buy to create the most complex and self sustaining tanks that could both provide the creatures with the right environmental factors, as well as keep them from escaping by breaking through the glass. Each tank that housed one had to have been two feet deep of thick glass they couldn’t shatter with their speed and the sheer strength of their tails.
It was Will’s job to maintain the mermaid tanks and feed them after hours once visitors had left, something that could be considered one of the worst jobs you could possibly have considering how the creatures were known to attack anyone who comes close. He had quite a few scars riddling his body from where he got swiped with their claws when he first started working there. But he could proudly say he hadn’t been bitten or scratched in almost five years at this point.
He had a bit of an ability (Or ‘gift’ as Chilton would say in his many egotistical critiques over the years) to be able to read the moods and body language of the mermaids he took care of and could easily tell if they were agitated, in pain, or content. It was probably one of the main reasons they were able to keep them all alive for so long. Personally, Will didn’t find it that hard. You just had to pay attention, he found that Mers, while much more subtle, had the same emotions as people did. While it was pretty obvious if they were angry of scared, as they would be more volatile than usual. Apparently only Will could tell if they were literally any other emotion other than pissed or hungry.
Regardless, his ability to placate the creatures had quickly made him a valuable assist to the scientists there, especially Chilton, who made him in charge of their feeding times in addition to the tank cleanings as it was when the Mers would be at their most aggressive. The smell of fish guts those first weeks was enough to make even him gag. He was relieved that he was usually the only one working so late, it would have been embarrassing if someone he knew saw him elbow deep in fish and splattered with blood.
It was a thankless job, but the pay was nearly triple what he was originally paid. So he grit his teeth and dealt with it. Taking showers in the employee washroom certainly helped with a very generous amount of soap. All in all, he was pretty content with his life.
That is, until Chilton acquired something far beyond what he, or anyone really, was properly prepared for.
……………………………………………………………
The night started as mundane as any other.
Will arrived at the aquarium at Eight pm when the doors became closed to the public. Taking care to but on his usual rubber boots and blue uniform he wore when cleaning the tanks. He was just about to begin his usual route when the sound of multiple expensive shoes echoed through the quiet exhibit.
Turning to look, Will inwardly braced himself to see the approaching group of scientists, lead by Fredrick Chilton himself who seemed in the midst of one of his infamous soliloquies. He ducked his head to grab some rags out of his pocket to wipe at a nearby tank and prayed they’d go by him without incident.
“Is that Will Graham?” A feminine voice asked, causing the group to come to a stop next to him.
Goddamnit.
Looking up from where he was pretending to be busy, he was surprised to see Alana Bloom, a rather famous scientist who helped build the Mer tank design some years back in the Slimeball's flock.
“Doctor Bloom.” He greeted with a nod, gripping the bucket he was using to hold his cleaning tools tighter than necessary. It had been about roughly two years since they were ‘involved’ with one another in a domestic sense. She had broken it off pretty quickly once her professional fascination of his unique mind had vanished in favor of arms length friendship. He still liked her though, seeing her still caused a sharp tug at his heart at the memory of those first days waking up alone. He schooled his face easily enough despite the pain, offering her a small smile before turning his attention to the miffed man at her side.
Chilton made it no secret that he viewed himself superior to those around him. Especially those who worked for him. It was a wonder the long term employees hadn’t formed a union in response to his sheer snobbery and condescending behavior. Chilton, as he oh so loved to say, had a very, very, distant noble relative who he mooched off of to buy this very aquarium. His swarminess seemed to be well liked by the one percent for whatever reason, they certainly weren’t hurting for money thanks to the extremely generous donations they got on a monthly basis. Probably because the rich liked to use their ‘ownership’ of Mers in the aquarium as a show of status. Fortunately, science hasn’t developed to the point where Mers can be kept in human homes without extreme maintenance. Will shuddered at the thought of how much potential abuse and neglect future Mers would get at the hands of wealthy elites who just wanted a fancy decoration. Will was quick to learn as a child that the richer someone was, the crueler they could afford to be.
Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he watched with a neutral expression as Chilton eyed him up and down with obvious disdain. Nose curling in a near comical fashion that would have made him laugh if it wasn’t directed at him. The uppity people behind him weren’t much better, exchanging sly looks with one another or simply looking elsewhere.
Assholes, this is literally the uniform I’m required to wear.
“Oh Graham, perfect timing I suppose. I was just on my way to get your supervisor, we have a new Mer for observation that we will need to transfer to the new tank I had you get ready.”
Will raised an eyebrow at this. The tank Chilton was talking about had been made for large deep ocean sharks. It was still going under major renovation and was certainly not a suitable tank for a freshwater Mer of any kind.
At the look on his face, Chilton laughed mockingly before turning to the other people in his entourage with the flourish of a circus ringmaster.
“You heard that right everyone, I had hoped to keep it a surprise. But by this time tomorrow we will be the first Aquarium in the world to have a genuine Ocean-Born Mer! It was caught just this morning right off the coasts of the Baltic ocean. A real feral creature from what I’ve heard that had caused countless accidents in the area.” He sent a pointed look Will’s way. “But nothing this company can’t handle I assure you.”
Meaning your employees who can’t afford to say no are going to be the one one the front lines of manhandling it while you clap yourself on the back from your office...
The sound of applause and murmurs of both awe and excitement sounded more muted than usual to Will as his ears started ringing. He gritted his teeth to keep his anger in check. Did this guy not understand how dangerous this was? Is he insane? The only thing that was clear about saltwater Mers was that they loved to destroy tourist ships that were unfortunate enough to get too close, causing the loss of countless lives to the point where it was rumored that they actually eat people. They seemed to be solitary creatures, which contrasted heavily with freshwater Mers who would get seriously depressed if not in a tank that housed three others. No, Freshwater mers seemed as harmless as guppies when compared to their oceanic cousins. Will could easily be killed if he made even the tiniest mistake.
Which his father was unfortunate enough to learn before his untimely passing when Will was younger...
Alana seemed to be as worried as Will felt if the paling of her face as any indicator.
“A-are you serious? A Mer from the ocean? How on earth did you catch him? Will the tank even be able to hold him safely?”
Aww, and here I thought she was going worried about me.
“Of course it will. The tank itself is to be one of our largest at holding over 2 million gallons of water with well over three feet of glass encasing it. I already had preparations made to set it to the same ph and algae of that of the sea it was found from and, with time, I hope to have more. I’m sure you and your lovely team will be able to make the proper adjustments should we require them.” Chilton exclaimed gleefully, Will could practically see the money signs flashing in the older mans eyes and turned to leave in disgust.
“Will? Aren't you coming?” Alana called after him. He turned, watching as Chilton's face contorted in irritation that Alana was looking at the cleaner rather than himself. It was pretty obvious to Will that he had a crush on her. Probably one of the reasons why he didn’t like Will since the two had history.
“Sorry but I really shouldn’t be late in feeding the Mers or else they’ll start throwing a fit. Jack’ll fill me in on the new one later once he’s able to.”
He waved before Chilton or Bloom could respond, quickly making his way towards his much more preferred company.
……………………………………………...
They had a total of four freshwater Mers that they kept in the same tank directly in the center of the aquarium. It was a large, cylindrical tank that was halved by two walls on the north and south sides that guests could pass under through glass tunnels on either side. It was easily the largest tank in the aquarium that required a large team of cleaners and maintenance checks. Within the two walls were doors employees used to go over the tunnels to reach the top of the tank for feedings and where you needed to enter in a scuba suit for internal cleaning. It was truly a marvel of modern science, Even Will was still awed by it despite working there for so long.
Since it was freshwater, a vast variety of tall plants were added for both filter as well as hiding places for both the Mers and fish should they tire of the humans eyes on them, as well as make it feel more like a genuine lake. Tall forests of Myrio, Ludwigia, and wisteria were embedded along the faux sandy floor and rocks that hid the employee stairway from public view. Expensive UV lighting lit up the flora from lights suspended above the tank that acted as both a natural way for Mers to get their vitamin D as well as illuminate the tank for better viewing. There were plenty of fish in the tank as well (Nothing too flashy of course, just enough to compliment the colorful Mers and just small enough that the creatures wouldn’t be interested in eating them). Hundreds of green fire tetras swarmed in schools through the foliage, small catfish scoured the sandy bedrock in search of muck. As well as Will’s favorite, Carp that favored swimming near the top of the tank to catch the artificial current pushing oxygen and minerals into the water. In Will’s opinion, even if the Mer weren’t present in the tank it was truly a beautiful work of art.
Speaking of Mers, he could see two of them spot him as he made his way through the tunnel to the employee door across the way. They swam up to the rounded glass above him, clearly excited to see him as it meant they would soon be fed and flashing sharp toothed smiles his way. By the flashes of green and brown beads that he could see through the grass, he recognized them to be Matthew and Abigail. The other two who weren’t present, Tobias and Franklin, had purple and blue beads.
They gave the mermaids names to better get people invested in them through online donations and private events. Each had a colorful beaded bracelet on one of their wrists in the same way zoo keepers would put bracelets on penguins. Plaques stood on either side of the tunnel wall that told curious children what the names of the mermaids were based on their bead colors. It was a pretty clever idea that made people less afraid of them, since, while dangerous, Mers still got the same bad misunderstandings that sharks did.
He opened the employee door by swiping one of his personal cards, making his way up the rickety stairs that wobbled under his weight. Most people didn’t know this, but Chilton deemed anything not viewable to the public or needed for the survival of the animals unnecessary for renewals. In all the years he worked there, not once has any employee rooms been improved or refurbished. All the furniture he came across in the room above the tank looked right out of the eighties, lights flickered overhead and the fridge he opened to grab the Mer food was one of those retro ones that you could easily get trapped in if the door was closed while you were in there.
It was a miracle Chilton hadn’t received any complaints or threats to sue from all the health and safety violations.
Regardless, Will had a job to do. He grabbed handfuls of bite sized chunks of bass, shrimp, and fish blood that he used to fill four buckets, one for each Mer and proportioned with their personal preferences. Will always secretly doubled the amount of shrimp in Abigail's since he knew it was her favorite. He added a spoonful of bloodworms to Tobias’s due to health reasons as well since he was the oldest one they had.
Adorned in his thick rubber gloves, he lifted two heavy chum-filled buckets to bring over to the feeding area. The very top of the tank was lined on all sides with a metal walk way that went all the way around the tank, overhead was a large black dome that had roughly five large UV lights dangling over the water below. It wasn’t all that dissimilar to the way people fed sharks. He had four designated spots he used to feed each Mer that were a respectable distance away from each other so they didn’t end up fighting over food, a method called ‘Target Training’ that helped keep the Mers from hurting both Will and each other.
He also came equipped with a large feeding pole in addition to the buckets that he could use to push the Mers away if they became too rough. Something he rarely used but kept in view to remind the creatures to behave. They couldn’t speak due to the shape of their throats, but have been argued to be easily smarter than the average human.
The sight of four heads bobbing up to the surface shook him from his thoughts. He smiled at the eager faces and gave them the proper hand signals which told them to go to their designated feeding spots. Once they were at their respective areas after exchanging a series of excited clicks with one another, he went back for the remaining two buckets and opened the waist high metal gate, stepping down onto the partially submerged platform that they used for training. It was sloped, its deepest part only going two feet deep before it dropped off into the open water below. He could make out the shaped of curious fish who eyed the surrounding water for any scraps that would fall from the buckets during feeding. It was important for him to be in the water during feedings so they could get used to human company and not view the guests as food.
“Hey everyone, Hope you're hungry.”
This was the most important part, Will had found that the Mers enjoyed when he talked to them as he worked, it was one of the quickest ways he had established trust with them and helped ease his own nerves whenever he had to feed them. He fed Abigail, the smallest and youngest of the four, last so the other larger ones wouldn’t take her food, she swam boldly up to him in the shallow water Before climbing up onto her favorite rock.
Mers were semi-aquatic in the same way seals were, they could go roughly five hours underwater before needing to come up for a quick gasp of air. They seemed to adore the UV lights, often seem stretching out on the warmed fake rocks that scattered the feeding area. Will placed Abigail's bucket on one such rock, smiling as he watched her eagerly shovel handfuls into her mouth. He would never say it out loud, but he ended up doting on her over the years.
She was one of the youngest Mers the aquarium had ever had, he had known her since she was in her toddler phase and she seemed to view him as a parental figure. Which, considering he practically raised her after she was brought here, seemed pretty fitting.
“Hey Abby, I got you extra shrimp as usual. How have you been?” He smiled, sitting on the rock next to her as he watched the other Mers eat from across the room. She hummed in response, continuing to eat bloody chunks from the bucket that turned the surrounding water pink. None of them were exactly clean eaters, but Abigail seemed to pace herself at the very least. By the time she was halfway done the other three Mers had already retreated back into the water below, occasionally swimming back to peek at him and Abby curiously before continuing on their way. Matthew in particular liked staring openly at Will from his favorite spot in the water, smiling on occasion whenever Will looked his way.
It still marveled humanity just how similar Mers were to themselves. Abigail herself had long black hair, skin as pale as the bleached rock she was on, and a lovely, iridescent turquoise tail that shimmered with yellow reflective light when she moved. Despite being female, she had no external indicators besides her tail, which would grow to nearly double the size of a males once she was fully grown. Her tail was long, nearly 20 feet of corded muscle that curled occasionally in the water that eventually tapered out to a large rounded fin that resembled the shape and coloring of a Discus fish. But what marveled Will more than her tail were her large blue eyes that reflected a nearly painful amount of humanity back at him. She was so human at times, so much like a child it hurt his heart. His familial bond with her was one of the main reasons he was able to tolerate Chilton's verbal abuse for so long. Though, that wasn’t to say she wasn’t harmless, he had a few scars still from her teething phase. Mers could also wrap themselves around others in the same way snakes could, causing quite a few near-drowning accidents when she got bigger due to her overly-affectionate nature.
“I got you something.” He said once she finished eating. Producing a soft comb from his apron pocket. She whistled happily, she always loved it when he brushed her hair before he had to leave to clean the rest of the non-Mer tanks, and happily turned her back to him so he could ease away the snarls and knots that had formed since last time. He told her about his day, about what he read or watched before coming to work, and whatever else was on his mind. Eventually, he also spoke of the new Mer.
“Chilton’s crazy if he thinks this is even remotely a good idea. The poor thing will likely die within the month if we can’t figure out how to keep it alive, let alone how to keep it from killing people. I have no idea how Jack’s going to get everything ready for it’s arrival tomorrow. It’s insanity.” He trailed off, finishing off the last know in her hair before standing. She pouted, an expression she likely learned from watching the children that come by the tanks, and crossed her arms in a way that made him laugh.
“I know, it’ll probably be okay, right? I’ll just have to be extra careful when he gets here. We know next to nothing about them after all, I don't even know what they look like!” He patted her head before grabbing the empty buckets and making his way out of the water. “I just hope he doesn’t try to eat me.”
She clicked angrily in response, clearly miffed at the idea. But waved all the same at him when he closed the metal gate behind him before she too disappeared below the water.
Now alone, the sloshing of water and the buzzing of the UV lights was near deafening and he quickly made his way to leave.
Thoughts of the new asset came to the forefront of his mind as he removed his bloodied clothes and changed into one of the many spare uniforms in the main room. Disposing of the used clothes in a nearby dispenser where they will eventually be cleaned and repurposed for another employee. Will felt as though he had probably worn every single spare uniform by now considering how much he had to change on the reg.
He knew Chilton's distaste for him would play a major role in just how much he would be involved in maintaining such a dangerous creature. He could only hope his intimate knowledge of freshwater Mers would help somewhat, but he had to be open to adjusting said knowledge to this new one if he wanted to survive. If even one was enough to take down a ship, he could only imagine what it could do to him.
Regardless, he couldn’t exactly say no, despite how many grievances he had with his boss, he still enjoyed working here.
So, without much else to do, he continued on his way to clean the other fish tanks…
………………………………………
Meanwhile, on a supply ship some odd miles away, something looked out into the world with eyes as deep as a blood filled sea...