Chapter Text
Oh, how Tommy wished he could fly. To be floatless where no one can touch you, travel with the only boundaries in place being the tall mountains and skyscrapers, and–
“Thomas, back to work. We need this place spotless.”
–not worry about money.
Tommy, or his awful legal name Thomas, nodded and continued to mop. He’s still not sure why this rich facility hasn’t bought advanced cleaning equipment for him, where he could just drive this mini car to clean for him. It’ll be so much more efficient, and sanitary too!
Though he supposes he is at the bottom of the power chain and his opinion doesn’t matter.
He’s so far down the power chain that he doesn’t even know why he’s cleaning this room and why it's of the utmost importance we get it sanitized . Their words, not his, he would never have such presumption vocabulary.
So he’s here now, mopping the beige tiled floor with a mop that was nearly as sterile as the tiles with its medical white fabric. At least there weren’t too many tables to hinder his cleaning, though he supposes having tables in this triangular room would be odd. Instead, the left side of the wall had one large counter extending the entire way with cabinets right above it. Three industrial-sized refrigerators and freezes lined the other wall.
And in the center was a floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall, aquarium. The colorful coral swayed with the simulated waves and Tommy could faintly see tiny fish fluttering their fins to stay hidden within the manicured reef. Lush aquatic plants climbed up the rocks that reached the surface of the tank and down below where the tank extended further. From what Tommy can figure out, there seemed to be small caves littered around the aquarium with one large cave just to the middle right with seaweed covering the entrance.
It was beautiful, no doubt about it. He can’t imagine how much money it took to build this beast and how much it takes to maintain it.
Well, he does know one price for how much it takes to maintain it; with an hourly wage of $25, Tommy was the sole person who had to clean that tank.
He’s not looking forward to it.
Does he wonder all the time why he’s the only janitor working this side of the building? Yes, of course. With this sort of pay, he would think that more people would be lined up to be hired. Yet here he is, mopping by himself for reasons unknown to him.
He’s only been here for a week as well. While the cleaning was tedious, that wasn’t the hard part. It was all the regulations.
He can only leave the perimeters on Wednesdays with permission granted from his supervisor, he must sleep in the designated employee rooms, he must follow all protocols and not question them, he can’t wander the building during his time off, and so much more. It was intense and still is.
But overall, he doesn’t mind it too much. He’s guaranteed housing and he can ask for any upgrades in his room, the food is decent and Tommy can’t cook for the life of himself, and the job is simple.
So while cleaning the aquarium will be strenuous with all the scrubbing he’ll do, it’ll be fine. As long as they don’t put a shark or eels in the tank, then he’ll clean with no problem.
As he slowly approaches the aquarium, his mopping slows down once more. The blue surgical gloves squeeze against his fingers and he wishes he could wipe the sweat on his stark-white uniform.
He wonders what will live in there. It couldn’t be for the small fish swimming around or else that’ll be a waste of space. No, this was big. Big enough that Tommy had to sign a contract to not speak to anyone about what he sees in here. Big enough that the facility was located in the middle of nowhere next to the ocean.
Hopefully not big enough to eat Tommy up though. He still enjoys walking.
——
Tommy rolled up his khaki pants before he started to waddle in the ocean waves. Typically only the sound of crashing waves and seagulls could be heard here, but there seemed to be a large commotion near the facility. Trucks beeping as they back up, shouting, and banging against metal.
Not Tommy’s problem though, he’s not getting paid to worry about whatever is going on.
Plugging in the noise-canceling earbuds he just received yesterday, he started to play Animal Crossing music. Bopping his head to the beat, he bent over and started to riffle through the sand. Shells, dead sand dollars, and pretty rocks started to fill Tommy’s hands. He examined them all and decided to take an oddly red shell that almost looked pink, a smooth yellow shell, and a rock with green spots.
Pocketing them, he looked up and breathed in the salty air. The sun floated just above the horizon, its rays starting to turn the sky into cotton candy. The clouds swirled around the sun yet still left a slither for it to shine through. The waves lapped against his calves and…
He couldn’t care less about the beauty at this moment.
Turning around, he walked back to the rock holding his shoes and towel. No phone with him as who would he even call? If he were to take a picture of the scene, who besides him will appreciate it? Certainly, not his parents, whose phone numbers he thinks don’t work anymore, and definitely not the few schoolmates he has the number to.
Patting his legs dry, he put on his shoes and walked back to the facility. Following the faint trail he’s been making through the tall grass, he was soon at the back entrance of the building. Swiping his ID on the door, he opened it once it turned green.
Taking off his earbuds, he was reminded once more how void this facility was. Beige tiles, baby blue walls, and bright fluorescent lights shining away every shadow. Labeled doors lined both sides of the walls, doors which he supposedly has access to but he hasn’t needed to enter because there was no mess to clean.
He straightened his back and kept his gaze up when a group of scientists turned into his hallway. Making direct contact with the head scientist, Tommy nodded his head when they crossed paths. The scientist, with a raised eyebrow and judgmental apple-green eyes, nodded back.
Yeah, there’s a reason why Tommy doesn’t have a lot of people who like him. He’s too intense, too demanding for his boundaries to be followed, too much self-respect, and too annoying . But the facility hired him and not the other candidates, so he’s just assuming they know what they’re dealing with.
Swiping his ID on another door, he finally entered the employees' common area. No one was in here, not even by the kitchen area brewing coffee. Maybe that commotion dragged everyone back to work? Either way, it wasn’t his problem.
Passing the dining area since he already had his dinner, he walked into the sleeping dorms. Going to the very end of the hallway, he swiped his ID on his door and let out a sigh once he was inside.
He hoped this job would be a break from his mundane barista job in the city. And it was, he’s never lived this close to the ocean nor been in such a professional environment. Yet he couldn’t imagine working here for months. It was too boring and not enough social interaction.
Maybe he should start talking to the fish? At least they’ll have to listen since they can’t go anywhere. Yes, maybe he’ll do that.
Knocking his shoes off and leaving his ID badge near the door, he walked into the hotel-inspired room. Placing his newfound shells by his ever-growing collection on his desk, he flopped over to his bed. Turning on his TV to a random movie, he looked up at the smooth ceiling.
He closed his eyes and pretended he was high above the sky. Flying in the middle of nowhere, perhaps the middle of the ocean where only dolphins can see him.
Tommy slept like that, peaceful and lonely.
—
“Thomas, please come to room A105. You may pick up your duties after this.” The Walkie-Talkie crackled to life and Tommy stopped wiping the windows. Furrowing his eyebrows, he took the device and pushed the button to let him speak, “Roger, be there in five.”
Leaving everything where it was, he exited the cubicle office. Trusting his memory to bring him to the right room, he walked down the identical halls. About four minutes later, he opened the door to A105.
Closing it very softly, he neared the group of scientists. They were all whispering to one another, each one aggressively pointing to their iPads that contained some sort of notes. Very quickly though, they noticed Tommy’s presence and quieted down.
Silence took over the room.
Not wanting to waste his time, Tommy spoke up, “You called me? Did a spill happen somewhere?” A young man with eyes that looked like green grass, shook his head. Tommy zeroed in on him and waited for the supposed leader to speak.
“No, not at all. We called you here to expand the procedures you’re expected to take when entering this room from now on. As you can see,” he pointed to the aquarium and Tommy let his eyes follow suit, “we’ve had major changes.”
For a moment, Tommy didn’t process what he was seeing. At first, it looked like a shark due to its size, but when hands took the place of fins and sharpened ears when he expected scale, he blanked. The creature– no creatures looked down at him, round eyes with round pupils, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Mermaids .
Half-fish, half-human, he was seeing the impossible. Human faces that didn’t show any struggle at breathing underwater with a tail that flicked ever so often.
“From now on, wear your noise-canceling earbuds. No one is wearing them right now because the creatures are too drugged to use their powers. If they are misbehaving in any way, notify us. Most importantly, your procedure for cleaning the aquarium has changed.” The young man, or Dream as his name tag says, walked to a set of controls by the aquarium.
Meanwhile, Tommy was mentally shitting his pants. He’s supposed to clean the tank with those things in there?! That’s practically asking for a death wish.
Dream continued speaking like this was all normal, “These top buttons are the jets. When we want them to go somewhere, we click these. You’ll mostly want to move them into their caves because these buttons,” Dream glided his hand to the second row of buttons, “will close them inside the caves. The iron bars are very well designed, so don’t worry about them breaking out.”
Right because those long claws are harmless. Let’s just ignore the multiple, deep and long , scratches on the aquarium.
“If they ever misbehave, simply call us and we’ll deal with it. Do not worry about disciplining them, that’s my job. My responsibility,” Dream snapped his eyes to the creatures with a smile in his eyes, “to make them obey. Do you have any questions?” Everyone looked back at Tommy and he simply shook his head. He doesn’t think they’ll appreciate an are you fucking serious as a question either way.
Dream nodded and looked back at the creatures. Two of them were having an intense staring contest with Dream while another one stared at Tommy. Tommy froze as he stared into glistening brown eyes, the wonder of having his bedtime stories come true right in front of him.
“You are dismissed. Your first cleaning will be tomorrow morning. I hope you get enough sleep.” Dream spoke up once more and Tommy broke eye contact with the brunette creature. He nodded with all the confidence he didn’t currently possess and walked out.
He ignored the prickle at the back of his head and wondered if the creatures or Dream were staring at him. Tommy didn’t know which one he would prefer.
Walking back to his station, he felt his brain slowly pick up speed.
The contract, the odd location of the facility, the commotion the other day, the strange rules, it all made sense now. He supposes if he ever captured a unicorn he wouldn’t want the whole world to know about it. With these mermaids, or were they sirens he doesn’t know, it would change the entire narrative of what they believe lives in the ocean.
Which was certainly exciting news, but it still felt… peculiar. He may not be an expert in animals, but the tone when Dream was talking about disciplining didn’t sit right with Tommy. It sounded excited . A restraint with a lock that Tommy couldn’t see and hoped to never see what was barged inside of Dream.
Guess that’s one sign to steer clear of Dream.
He just hopes this doesn’t turn out like when orcas are held captive; the orcas kill the humans due to how they’re treated. Especially since Tommy will be the one with the closest proximity to them… yeah, he’ll be using those jets so he doesn’t become a meal.
Reaching the room he was previously cleaning, Tommy sighed. At least cleaning the tank will be more exciting than cleaning the same tiled floor.
—
With a sports shirt clinging to his skin and his back carrying too much equipment, Tommy was ready to clean the tank. Double checking he had all his cleaning supplies and scuba equipment, he pressed his diving mask and weight belt close to his body before taking a big step forward into the pool below him.
A chill rose across his body from the temperature change but he adapted to it quickly. Those yearly summer lessons of scuba diving he was forced to go on didn’t disappoint him now. Making sure his regulator was giving him a good oxygen supply when he breathed in, Tommy dipped his head underwater.
Doing a quick procedure checkup to make sure everything was going right with the equipment, Tommy slowly descended into the pool until he reached a wide tunnel. Due to reasons the scientists won’t tell him, he was currently in a pool that connected the aquarium to this private room.
The room looked like where the scientists were collecting all their data on the creatures. With syringes, tubes, bunsen burners, too many computers, and those stupid-looking beige floor tiles. The only reason why he was allowed in such a secure place was that this was the only entry to the aquarium. With the aquarium being one story tall, Tommy was currently on the second floor and supposedly entering through the top of the tank.
The creatures were also supposedly in their caves, all snuggled up Tommy hopes, or else he’s about to become sushi.
Slowly swimming through the tunnel and making sure his ears are equalized to the pressure, he enters the tank. It’s odd, that’s for sure. Everything looks more real, more tangible, than his flat perspective from the floor. It was no longer a picture frame that he got to get a peek at, but a diorama from a fantasy world.
Looking down, the same group of scientists from yesterday was down at ground level. White lab coats and iPads in their hands, it was odd to be watched so intensely and not know what they were writing down.
But a job was a job and he needed to start cleaning.
Swimming over to the glass, Tommy took out his scrubber and sighed, which only let out a swarm of bubbles in front of his eyes. This was going to be a massive pain in the ass. At least his cleaning sessions were limited to twice per week, not twice per day as he was complaining. Today it was cleaning the glass and next time will be cleaning everything else.
Hurray.
Not wasting any more time, Tommy started to scrub the algae away. He cleaned in rows, slowly lowering his body so his lungs don’t need to adjust to too much pressure from the water. He tried to ignore the deep grooves in the glass made from sharp, angry claws and the scientists looking at him and the creatures behind him.
He was doing a fantastic job to ignore all these factors, his mind going on autopilot at one point. But when he pushed himself off the glass and turned around to maneuver around a rock, he stopped dead in his tracks.
Not even an arm's length away was one of the creatures.
Almost hysterically, Tommy noted how much bigger these beings were. Enough to spell them as predator and Tommy as prey.
Tommy was stuck staring at the creature, this one not the same one from yesterday. And as Tommy was taking in more of their features, he realized with eeriness how similar he looked to them. Blond hair that floated to their shoulder and aqua blue eyes, both features just a few shades off from Tommy’s hair and eyes.
The creature leaned forward, their face nearly touching the iron bars, and Tommy flinched back.
Fuck, what is he doing?
With no priority besides that he had to move away, Tommy waved goodbye to the creature and moved past the cave entrance. He checked on his equipment to distract himself and not mentally slapped himself.
Waving, really? That’s his first response to leaving a situation? He hopes none of the scientists saw that.
Seeing that his scuba gear was still good, he continued to clean. Learning from his mistake, Tommy didn’t abruptly turn around anymore.
Not nearly soon enough, Tommy finally reached the bottom of the aquarium. His feet floated just above the sand, a small school of fish swimming a couple of feet away from him. The scientists migrated to the back of the room now, none of them paying attention to Tommy.
Seeing that his job was complete, Tommy slowly ascended to the top. And perhaps he wasn’t as anxious as when he got in the tank or he was just a fool, but he let himself face the inside of the aquarium instead of the room.
Like always, the scene is exotic.
The colors were more vibrant up close, even with the white led lights washing everything a cold white. Either way, he doubts any photo could do justice to how grand this place was. Even the sand pulsed with its aburn grains and twirled with the seaweed embedded in it.
As he swam up, he saw the blond creature again. He noted how the creatures didn’t have any eyebrows and instead had flat noses and thin, blue lips. It was hard to know if the face the blond was making was neutral or aggressive, but either way, Tommy decided to wave goodbye once more.
To his surprise, the creature waved back. Tommy’s jaw would’ve dropped open if it wasn’t for the tube in his mouth making sure he has air and doesn’t drown.
The creature then stayed there and watched Tommy as he climbed back to the surface. Surprisingly, Tommy’s heart didn’t thump in his chest by this act. Maybe it was because of the humane communication or how non-threatening the creature acted. Still, Tommy supposes he should get used to them since he’ll be seeing them a lot more often.
Once he reached the top, he went through the tunnel and breached the surface. Swiping the hair that stuck to his mask, Tommy went to the ladder and climbed up. His muscles strained at having to lift the heavy equipment away from the water’s buoyancy. But with a quick unbuckle, the backpack with his oxygen tank was set on the ground.
He swiftly took off his fins from his feet and anything else on his body. Patting himself dry and changing into a thick hoodie and some sweatpants, he was ready to leave and take a nice, hot shower.
Just as he was putting all his equipment away in a storage unit, the door opened. Tommy turned around and blinked at Dream, almost surprised his army of scientists wasn't behind him.
“Hello Thomas, it’s nice to see you once again. Thank you for cleaning the tank, it’s much easier to see now.” Tommy waited for Dream to add more, the real reason why he came here. When the silence went on for too long, Tommy figured he should respond.
“Oh, it’s no problem. It’s my job after all.”
Dream nodded at that statement and just stared at Tommy. Tommy was slowly getting annoyed by how often he was staring at things without any outcome, so he turned around and finished putting his equipment away.
When he turned back around, he half expected Dream to not be there. Though there weren’t any footsteps to indicate Dream left, it was too silent in the room with another person’s presence. No breath or shuffle of clothes, just stillness.
Tommy slung his backpack on and gave a tight smile to Dream, “Excuse me.” Dream smiled back and didn’t move.
Well then, guess he’s a prick.
“You know Thomas,” Tommy raised his eyebrow at his name, “we were very impressed that the specimen didn’t try to harm you. They were very erratic before you entered the tank. My group and I decided it would be best if you come to our research appointments from now on. We’ll update your schedule as well.” Dream stated, not even asking if Tommy wanted to be a part of their experiments.
“We’ll also raise your pay as compensation, of course.” Never mind, Tommy has no more complaints.
He’ll do whatever it takes for him to retire earlier with more bank in his pockets. Even if that’s courting danger herself with her mysterious sea creatures.