The full Moon hung low over the ocean, casting its pale beams across the beach like a celestial floodlight. It was a perfectly clear spring night, not a cloud in the sky. Twenty-somethings, Mike and Alex, stood in knee-deep water as they fished, and had been doing so since sunset, almost five hours ago.
"I haven't had a bite in ages,” Mike said. “How 'bout you?"
"Nah, nothin'," Alex returned.
Mike started winding his line in. He was done for the night. Unlike Alex, who was wearing waders, Mike had on only shorts and a sweater, and although the water was warmer than the air, both were losing their heat as the night went on. He needed to warm up.
"I think we should call it a night," Mike said. "What d'ya reckon?"
“Yeah,” Alex agreed, much to Mike’s relief.
Alex began to wind his line in. Mike’s was in now and he latched the hook onto the lowest guide, winding the line taut to hold it there.
Mike turned, freeing his feet from their water-churned sinkhole.
“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Mike said, “how are you an’ Karen goin’ on the whole, y’know, pregnancy front?”
Alex’s hook came up and he secured it to his rod, turning to face Mike.
“We’re still tryin’ every night,” Alex said. “She’s gonna go see a doctor about it I think.”
Both men left the water, heading for their gear up the sand.
“Every night?” Mike queried.
Alex turned to Mike, grinning proudly.
“Yep,” Alex said.
“Even tonight?” Mike said.
“Yep,” Alex said. “Just before you came around.”
“Lucky for some,” Mike snorted.
Alex chuckled, realizing how his situation might appear to outside eyes. In reality, their struggle to conceive was proving to be quite stressful, and there had been nights when one or the other had perceived the act as a duty, rather than the pleasure it should be.
The men reached their gear. Both had their own tackle box, but there was also a torch, half a dozen empty beer bottles, a flask of coffee, bags of bait, and a half-filled bucket with three small fish swimming around inside.
Mike reached for the flask before anything else, dropping his rod to the sand.
“I knew I brought this along for a reason,” he said as he unscrewed its top.
Mike gulped the coffee down, directly from the flask, sighing as he felt the liquid warm his throat.
“Want some?” he asked, holding the flask out for Alex.
“No thanks,” Alex said. “You know what I’m like. If I have coffee now, I won’t sleep when I get home.”
“Soft,” Mike said with a grin, before gulping more himself.
Alex collected his box and the bucket off the ground, peering in at their aquatic captives.
“Will you be right to carry the rest?” he asked.
“Think so,” Mike said, screwing the lid back on the flask. “What about the bottles?”
“Ah, leave ‘em,” Alex said.
Neither man had ever been environmentally conscious, so the thought of leaving their rubbish on the beach was dismissed as quickly as it was questioned.
Mike picked up the remaining gear and they both headed down the beach, towards the carpark where Alex’s pickup was waiting.
“So how’s Cindy?” Alex asked, not as much out of curiosity as a need to break the silence.
“Ah, she’s gone,” Mike said. “I got my eye on this new one now.”
“Who?”
“She’s a bartender at the tavern.”
“Not that hipster-lookin’ one?”
“Nah, not her,” Mike said, “the other one.”
“Ah, ok,” Alex said, trying to recall which one Mike was referring to.
Mike had had as many girlfriends as he had birthdays, and Alex often struggled to keep track. It was not something Mike was happy or proud of, he had just never found “the one”. For this reason, he secretly envied Alex and Karen, who had been together since school, all those years ago.
“That hipster one’s pretty cute though,” Alex added.
“Oh, yeah,” Mike agreed. “If she didn’t—“
Mike cut himself off. A large, dark shape, ahead on the waterline, had snatched his attention.
“What the hell’s that?” Mike said.
Alex followed Mike’s gaze and squinted to gain any contrast he could in the soft moonlight. Mike’s eyes were obviously better than his, as he made out nothing but sand and water.
“I can’t—“ Alex began. Straining his eyes almost to the point of a headache, Alex was about to resign, when he caught it. “Oh, yeah, I see it now.”
“Looks like… looks like a person,” Mike said. “Get out the torch.”
Alex checked his hands, remembering he only grabbed the bucket.
“I think you’ve got it,” he said.
Mike checked his inventory, spotting the torch right away.
“I do too,” Mike said.
He put everything, bar the torch, down on the sand and flicked it on. The light caught the sea spray in the air, creating a tangible beam that helped Mike find his target.
Both men gasped in synchronicity. From where they stood, the torchlight revealed a definite human form—naked—with its back towards them.
Mike started towards the body, keeping the light trained upon it. Alex dropped his equipment and followed Mike’s lead.
“Can you see that?” Mike said.
“What?” Alex said.
“On their back,” Mike specified.
It took a moment for Alex to see it, but on the person’s back were several large gashes at an angle to the spine.
“Boating accident?” Alex proposed.
“Maybe,” Mike said. “Whatever happened, they must be dead, their skin’s gone blue.”
It was another detail Alex hadn’t noticed until Mike pointed it out. However, it wasn’t the color that put Alex on edge, but its texture. The skin seemed too… smooth; too shiny. To him, it resembled that of a dolphin or frog. This set his Spider-Sense blaring.
“Wait,” Alex said, realizing that he had unconsciously whispered it.
Mike paused, turning to Alex. “What?” he said, whispering in kind.
“I don’t think that’s a person, dude.”
“What are you talkin’ about?”
“Look closer at the skin.”
Mike turned back to the body. He hadn’t noticed it, but Alex was right. That skin was not human.
“What the hell, man?” Mike said. “Wait there.”
Mike kept his current distance and circled around the head end of the body. Alex stayed in place as instructed, a slight sense of anxiety coming over him. Mike reached the front of the corpse, shining his light upon its face.
“Holy—,” Mike interjected, self-censoring.
“What is it?” Alex said, his curiosity peaking.
“You need to get over here, now,” Mike said.
Alex hurriedly circled around in Mike’s footsteps. What was revealed to him induced a disturbing mix of excitement and fear.
Centered within Mike’s torchlight, attached to an otherwise human frame, was the face of a fish. Its large, lidless eyes sent chills down Alex’s spine.
“What—,” Alex started, but found himself lost for words. “What should do with it?”
“What d’you mean?” Mike said.
“Well we can’t just leave it here,” Alex said.
“You’re right,” Mike said. “This could be the scientific find of the century.”
“Exactly,” Alex said. “And if the tide comes in, it’ll prob’ly wash back out to sea.”
“Should we call someone?”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“I didn’t bring my phone with me anyway.”
“Damn, me neither.”
Both paused in deliberation.
“Why don’t we just get it back to my place,” Alex said, “and then we can figure it out from there.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Mike said. “Don’t think we’re gonna be able to carry it though.”
“We’ll just have to drag it,” Alex said.
“So…” Mike pondered, “an arm each then?”
“I guess.”
Alex moved in cautiously and kneeled in front of the creature. He reached forward, hesitated briefly, and willed himself to put his hands on its side. With a heave, he rolled the body over onto its back.
Alex stood. The momentary contact had confirmed his prior suspicion. The skin felt just like that of a dolphin’s he had petted while on vacation years ago.
“Thanks for the help,” Alex grunted.
“What,” Mike dismissed. “I didn’t even know what you were doing.”
“Whatever,” Alex said. “Just grab a hand.”
Both positioned themselves by an arm and leaned down for their respective hand.
Mike scrutinized his.
“Geez, look at these things?” Mike said. “They’ve got claws and, like, webbing between the fingers. Freaky.”
Alex examined his own, as if to confirm Mike’s observations. It certainly was “freaky”, and its cold, soft texture only added to the effect.
“You ready?” Alex said, secretly wanting this over as quickly as possible.
“Yep,” Mike said, clutching the hand. “Let’s go.”
In unison, both men pulled on the creature’s hands as hard as they could.
It didn’t budge.
“Oh… my god,” Mike strained. “This thing… weighs… a ton.”
“Just keep… pulling.”
The creature’s bulk eventually shifted, and once out of its groove in the sand, was easier to move; albeit marginally.
Alex and Mike dragged the body to where the sand met the footpath at the edge of the carpark. Luckily the place was deserted, because they both knew how suspicious this would appear from a distance.
Alex’s pickup truck was only a few meters away under a streetlight. He always parked under a light for security reasons, but regretted that decision now as it meant dragging this thing that little bit further.
Once at the truck, both let go of the creature, its arms flopping limply to the ground.
“My god,” Mike sighed. “Our reward for finding this thing had better be worth all this.”
“I’m sure it will be,” Alex replied absently as he opened the tailgate. “Are you ready to lift this thing?”
“Not really,” Mike joked.
They positioned themselves on either side of the creature.
“I think our best bet is to lift the torso,” Alex said. “What d’you think?”
“Let’s just do it,” Mike said.
“Ok then,” Alex said as he crouched down.
Mike followed suit, scooping his hands as far under the creature’s back as he could. Alex looked at Mike, visually assessing his readiness.
“Ok, on three,” Alex started. “One. Two.”
With an unspoken, “three,” both men lifted with all their strength. The creature was muscular, and had to weigh upwards of 100kg. The limpness of its body only added to the difficulty. Despite the strain, Mike found himself facetiously wondering how serial killers do this on their own.
With a final heave, they had the body on the tray of the truck.
“Let’s… never do that again,” Mike said, catching his breath.
“Deal,” Alex said, lifting the tailgate back up.
“Ah, crap, our stuff,” Mike said, remembering the fishing gear they had left behind on the beach.
Alex winced as he considered their options.
“I think I have a tarp in here somewhere,” Alex said. “We’ll just cover this thing up and go back and get it all. There’s no one around, so it should be right.”
Alex rummaged around the tray for the tarpaulin, constantly glancing over at the unsettling corpse in the middle.
“Here it is,” Alex said, unfolding it onto the bitumen at his feet. “Give me a hand to throw it over.”
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