I thought I couldn't get any more embarrassed than this.

But it turns out I was wrong.

After Zarius leaves me on my own devices, I peel off my filthy clothes and underwear. I sniff at my frizzy hair, realizing that I stink like I've been spending days in a rubbish dump. The thought of Zarius standing close to me earlier and knowing how bad my body stench is has me wincing in mortification.

I grab the shampoo and lavender-scented soap bottles to lather myself clean. This is the first bath I'm getting in days, so I take the time to drench myself. Grabbing a bath sponge that's hanging on the wall, I rub the grime off my skin until it's red and clean.

My mind wanders while I lie in the tub. Frustration surges within me as I realize how weak I am. I haven't even found Mom yet. It hurts to know that I can't go to her when the creatures keep getting in my way one after another. And most of the time, I barely make it out alive.

Something wet rains down my cheeks. When my hand reaches to touch my right cheek, my fingers come away with tears.

Shucks.

I really hate this. Everything.

I sit in the bathtub, crying for at least an hour. It's only when my stomach rumbles with hunger do I realize I can no longer deny my body's needs, even if I don't feel like eating. I pick myself up again, willing myself to be stronger. But before I can step out of the tub, a curse spurts from my lips.

I don't have any fresh clothes.

I give a loud groan, running a hand through my hair in annoyance. Thankfully, there's a shower curtain hanging in the bathroom and I pull it off hastily to wrap around my trembling body. In the mirror, I'm surprised to see that my wounds are almost healed in the brief span of time. My skin is smoothing out into what it used to look like.

Zarius was right about the water.

Once I've the shower curtain tucked securely around me to salvage my modesty, I open the door and peek my head out.

Zarius is nowhere to be seen in the bedroom, and it has me wondering if he's still wandering about the house or has he decided to abandon me? But then again, it isn't like I was expecting him to wait outside. In fact, I'm sure glad he didn't. Especially in this miserable state I'm in.

I tip toe out and make my way over to the wardrobe. Inside, I find several male clothes that are two sizes bigger than me. I pull out a thick sweatshirt, a boxer and long pants that have me rolling the cuffs at the end and putting on a belt to stop them from falling.

Whatever. As long as they fit me, I'm content.

Now that I'm dressed in warm clothes, I squeeze the water out of my hair and dry it with a clean towel. Now, I need a weapon and the first place I think of is the owner's nightstand. He should have kept one right by his side just in case a robber breaks into the house in the middle of the night.

Just as I expect, I find a gun.

My exhaustion wins over hunger. I can barely keep my eyes open as I switch on the lights in the room and hallway, hoping to keep the monsters away. Trudging towards the bed, I dive for the warm, comfy bed in the room and pull the sheets up to my chest. I tuck the gun under the pillow before allowing sleep to tug me away like a baby.

***

Hours later, I wake up and slip right back to reality. My hairs prick on the back of my neck. My instinct immediately alerts me I'm not alone.

Someone is in the room with me.

I sit up so quickly that I almost fall off the bed. I blink my bleary eyes at the tall silhouette standing in the corner and staring at something on the wall. "Z-Zarius?"

His head turns in my way with a frown. His scintillating blue eyes are full of curiosity and mild horror as he holds up a pair of white earbuds. "What are these seed pods? I heard someone singing from inside them. Did humans shove someone's larynx in here?"

Okay, that did it. His genuine innocence of our world's technology is amusing to me and I laugh for the first time in days. "No," I say. "I think you accidentally hit a button to play the music. It's a recorded voice. Not a live performance."

He shakes his head at me, as if he can't comprehend a single thing I've said. He points at the black TV screen on the wall. "And this?"

"It's a television," I explain quickly. "It's something which shows people on screens. We use it to watch movies and play games."

"So you trap humans in there?"

I almost facepalmed myself.

"No, no." I slip out of the bed and reach for the touch button to turn on the TV. An action movie shows up on screen and it continues from where it was last left off by the owner of this house. It's one of those scenes where actors are fighting on a bus. "These characters are acting out a story and this device simply lets us watch it repeatedly. Think of it like it contains a memory box, except that it doesn't fade off over the years in our minds."

"Hm," he muses thoughtfully. "This thing is several times larger compared to the ones I've seen humans holding in their hands when they occupy the shores."

Beach. He's talking about us swimming and suntanning. "Oh! You know about smartphones?"

"Not really," he murmurs. "But after decades of observing humans, I would know enough."

"Decades?" Now that revelation has my curiosity piqued. "I don't mean to sound rude, but how old are you?"

Zarius pauses for a moment and ponders about it. "Two hundred and eighty-eight seasons have passed since I was born."

"What?" I did a mental calculation in my head. "So... Seventy-two years old?"

"I would suppose so."

"Wow. You're really old, but you look really young, big guy."

I swear he looks almost amused. "I do not understand your words, halfling. Our race considers me as a young adult at this age. Calling me 'old' is an exaggeration."

Shrugging, I turn off the TV. "Well, I guess merfolks don't know their math as well as we do."

Zarius lifts a brow slightly and crosses his thick arms. "Unlike humans, we don't age as fast as humans do. The oldest merfolk in history lived a little over a thousand years."

"A thousand years?" I gasp. The realization hits me, and I lapse into a pensive silence. "You don't suppose a half merfolk like me might have a longer lifespan than most humans?"

"Without a doubt, yes," Zarius says confidently. "Half merfolks have always been a rare occurrence in the past centuries, but that doesn't mean they don't inherit our abilities."

So it means if the invasion didn't happen and life had gone on as usual, I would have outlived my friends and our descendants in time. I would have watched them all die before me and be forced to live a long, secluded life where no one would notice my strangeness. Alone.

"Why am I such a rare occurrence?"

Zarius blinks at me once. "Although our lifespan is long, reproduction is rather difficult. It takes years for a female merfolk to conceive an offspring, much less having a female human to give birth to one of ours. And even since the last Ripple with humans thousands of years ago, a law was implemented to forbid our race to interact or conceive with a human."

In a nutshell, Mom is a supermom and I'm a miracle baby. "What do you mean by Ripple?"

"It means war."

"Wait a sec—humans had a war with your people?"

Zarius's eyes visibly harden as unspoken emotions swim in his eyes. "The Ripple, yes. A bunch of humans captured some of our kind out at sea and they used them for their own means. They burned some alive for rituals. Others had their blood extracted and drank because the humans were foolish enough to believe it would grant them longevity. Of course, that's not true."

"That's horrible," I gasp. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he adds on, his voice devoid of emotion. His fists clench tightly. "My ancestors massacred all the humans involved and gave them the same treatment that they did to our people. Afterwards, their ships were destroyed, and we avoided having contact with humans ever since then."

The history that Zarius is sharing with me has reignited his anger. But if I were in his shoes, I would be too. "I understand if you hate humans, and I'm so sorry that we have been extremely unkind to your race. But this time, the sea creatures are destroying our homes and lives—"

But Zarius cuts me off. "Is it really our fault? The humans have once again disrupted our peace. Whatever wastes they have been discarding into our seas have affected our race. Now, my friends from the sea rampage the lands and I do not know how to stop. We're at war with the humans again."

His voice cracks a little, sounding torn. I open my mouth to speak, but shuts it when I realize I don't know what to say. His words have reaffirmed my suspicion. For a long time, I've always had a feeling that the horrendous pollution in the waters would have a detrimental effect on us someday, and Zarius confirmed it. When I saw the monsters who took the lives of my friends and townspeople, I got momentarily blinded by grief and forgot the fact that humans are the culprits here.

But was it Avery's fault? Did she deserve to die?

I shift awkwardly between my feet, rubbing my temples because of a throbbing headache. Now, in my mind, the blame game begins. But does pushing the blame help with our current predicament?

No.

Zarius stares at me for a long time, before his shoulders relax and he takes a step back away from me. As if he doesn't wish to scare me farther with his imposing stance.

"I think this is enough talking for now," he says softly. "You need to put food inside your stomach, halfling. You're growing weaker."

His words have never sounded wiser.

Because right on cue, my stomach embarrasses me with a loud growl.