Eelsa: A Short Horror Story by Alyanna Poe

It had been Richard's dream to dive in the Pacific. Michigan born and raised, he thought it would never happen, but one summer a winning lotto scratcher whispered to him,

“Take me to California.”

And to California he went. 

The diving instructor, a thirty-something year old woman with sun bleached hair, thought Richard was nice and competent enough. He seemed excited to see the sea life and reefs. He even got all the trivia questions she asked right.

Little did she know, Richard wasn’t there to see fish and dolphins.

As the group of five bobbed on the small boat, pulling on wetsuits and making small talk, Richard daydreamed about finally finding love with a mermaid.

It'd been his fantasy since he was a child; since he first laid eyes on that red-headed Ariel. 

Sitting on the edge of the boat, his excitement was hard to contain. He rolled backward, splashing into the water. The cold enveloped his warm body through the wetsuit. He imagined a mermaid's hand must be cold like the water, possibly slimy. It must be soft and colorful and beautiful though. All mermaids were pretty in his mind. 

Ignoring the diving instructor completely, Richard put his face underwater, captivated by a colorful reef down below, and pushed off the boat. He'd been given gigantic flippers which aided him in swimming away from the group as quickly as possible.

Into the deep, dark valley just beside the coral reef.

While the reef hosted vibrant life, Richard knew something about the dark valley. 

Mermaids existed for as long, if not longer, than humans. This Richard was certain of. And to remain out of sight of humans, they'd moved to deeper portions of the ocean. Many late-night Reddit conversations only solidified this fact for Richard. Thousands of pictures of mermaids plagued the internet, and they were always at the deepest points; the darkest places. 

The group, busy gawking at octopi and clownfish, didn't notice as Richard descended into the dark valley.

He'd brought along a torch meant to cut through dark waters like a hot knife through butter, but he waited to use it until it was entirely necessary. Further and further he went, his body entirely vertical as he pushed downward. The rays of sunlight slowly lessened. From bright blue waters, to dark blue, to black, to entirely pitch black.

Richard swam farther down, unable to even see his arms in front of him. 

The feeling was odd. 

His brain told him to rush back to the surface where he could see. His heart beat heavily in his tightening chest, and he could feel himself growing weary of the swim. 

But something drove him deeper. 

That childhood fantasy.

A dream.

He pushed on, finally taking a break when he felt he'd traveled far enough. Lord knows, he couldn't see how far he'd gone. 

Letting the air in his body turn him right-side up, Richard retrieved the torch from his belt. He flicked it on and across the beam of light, dozens of black figures scattered away.

Richard gasped, swinging the light around. 

He was near a rock wall, something he'd never know in the dark. He clung to it, propping his back against it, and moved the light around. 

The valley below him was certainly much deeper than he was willing to go, fathoms deeper than he'd expected. But just as luck would have it, something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. 

A tail.

Richard followed the feathery white tail with the beam as it looped around a rock crevice and into a cave. The tail was giant, surely big enough for a human-sized mermaid to be attached. Richard smiled and quickly swam to the end of it. He touched it, feeling the soft, slippery scales under his fingers as he trailed upward to the cave. A wave of excitement washed over him. Certainly she was going to be beautiful. 

At the mouth of the cave, a voice came to him, seeming to come from inside his own head.

My name is Eelsa.

The voice was soft, tender, and calm. Richard knew a goddess-like beauty must be in that cave.

Eelsa? he asked without opening his mouth.

Yes. I've been here an awfully long time, with only these ugly fish to keep me company.

Richard felt sad for the mermaid. He knew what it was like to be lonely.

Why don't you come out so I can see you? he asked.

You'd like to see me? There was a bit of hope in Eelsa's tone.

Yes, I'd love to.

Before Richard could revel in her beauty, the head of an eel the size of a Volkswagen beetle jutted out of the cave. Its jaw unhinged, sending razor sharp teeth forward. These teeth sank into Richard's legs, and as the jaws closed, pulled him inside. 

He was ground into chum and swallowed in mere seconds, but his flashlight sank deeper into the water.

The eel peered down, the light reflecting in its ugly eye as the flashlight spun, illuminating, just for a second, the tails of hundreds of other giant, man-eating eels.