Kolzek could remember the first time he saw his reflection, trailing his webbed fingers across the bright blue lines, glowing through his translucent skin. He had known his father and siblings to be beautiful, yet he had always doubted himself. Doubted that he too would have those perfect, bright white bones and glowing patches of nerves. But his doubts evaporated when he saw those bright Chasimite features blended seamlessly with the fineness of his long gone High-Swimming mother. The delicateness of the gold and blue in his fins, shined in that sad broken mirror and the flecks of bioluminescent blue twinkled under his eyes back at him. And his loose hair was a deep blue, highlighted with vibrant greens and purples that lured the eyes of admirers and prey. That was another trait he got from the mother his father rarely spoke of. The only part of himself that he found displeasing was his small eyes, too inky black to admire like the rainbow of colors that were his bones and organs. They were the only part of him that did not shine in the abyssal depths.
Father had told him and his siblings from a young age that their glow was not just a strength, capable of making them flawless hunters, but also a deadly weakness. Chasmites were not the apex predators in the Black Chasm, and the same glow that made Kolzek feel beautiful and strong had gotten two of his siblings killed, swallowed whole by one of the countless, large things that never stopped hungering. A spectre eel if he recalled correctly. That should have been enough to teach Kolzek not to glow too bright when something bigger and badder could be watching. But no one had said Kolzek was the brightest of his siblings, and he was ever shocked when a pair of High-Swimmers caught sight of his glow and marked him prey.
The poachers had come well prepared for the task at hand, waiting to throw their harpoons until Kolzek had swam close enough to the rotting wooden Oni vessel that had been stranded on one of the Chasm’s many ledges eons ago. The bone rods shot through the murky water, the first missing Kolzek and alerting him to the assailants. By the time he turned to see his attackers, the second one was speared through his tail fin, pinning him against the side of the boat with a disturbed thunk.
Kolzek did not think to scream. There wasn’t much point beyond attracting the larger predators of The Chasm and he wouldn’t give the High Swimmers that satisfaction. Instead he bore his teeth at the pair who were swimming down, a net in hand. He waited for them to get close enough before letting the electricity ripple across his body, hissing and lashing out with his webbed claws.
The poachers slowed their approach, keeping out of arm's length. They could feel the tingle in the water and knew he was fully charged and ready to fight like an animal backed into the corner. One of them swam down, looking for the spear they had lost early, while the other stayed to keep an eye on Kolzek.
“Be a good little Chasmite and don’t fight. We don’t want to ruin your pretty face.” The poacher purred in a thick accent, a forked tongue running over his lips. He was a pale blue color, with smooth skin. He didn’t have scales, like the other one, but he did have a full head of hair. He was twice the size of Kolzek though.
“Didn’t your daddy ever teach you to stay out of the Chasm, you nasty leg lover!” Kolzek spat back, reaching with one hand for the spear in his tail. He didn’t see the other poacher approach until it was too late. The butt of the lost spear slammed into his temple and the murky water spun, Kolzek’s mind going blank with pain.
When Kolzek came to, it was because of the pain. His body throbbed and he wheezed each breath he took. It was so bright and dizzying too, colors everywhere and voices louder than any he heard before. He reached out and his hand hit something hard and warm. He saw movement beyond his hand and the voices grew louder.
“It is rather pretty but it doesn’t have a water or ice manifest. It won’t sell well.”
“I think it’s male.”
“I don’t know how you can tell. Chasamites all look the same to me. Actually most of you look the same.”
“You can see his genitals are starting to come in around his intestines.”
There was a loud thunking which sent his body throbbing in pain. Kolzek, unable to bear it any longer, lashed out, hitting the translucent walls and letting out a shock. The noise outside didn’t stop for him, however, instead it exploded with coarse laughter and more thudding on the glass walls which sent pain rippling through Kolzek. He curled up, slapping his webbed fingers over his ears to try to stop the noise from penetrating his skull further.
There was more of that painful laughter before the demons outside the glass continued talking.
“Why does he look so miserable? Is it just the wound on his tail?”
“Nah, it’s the water pressure. He may only be part Chasamite but he has never been in shallow water. He’s probably in a lot of pain. If you want to keep him, you’ll need to find a way to increase the pressure in his tank before he starts bleeding internally.”
“That sounds expensive. It might just be better to butcher him and sell him in pieces.”
“He glows in the dark too. He’d make a good pet.”
“Glows? He is transparent and bioluminescent?”
“That’s what glowing means, yes.”
“Don’t fucking start with that smart mouth of yours, Apkallu. I’ll take him and the others. My people will work out how to keep this one alive so long as he doesn’t die before we get back.”
The world jolted and Kolzek whimpered as the tank was lifted from where it was. The pain that came with it washed over his brain and Kolzek willed himself into unconsciousness.
Kolzek tumbled down into refreshing darkness, his aching body drifting several yards before landing on soft, white sand. He kept his eyes shut, savoring the relief of finally being able to breathe clearly. He pushed his fingers through the sand, letting it wash away the lingering pain. The sand drifted up into the water then settled back down. He opened his eyes to watch this. He was in a large, circular tank with a high ceiling. The glass was covered, blacked out to spare his aching eyes.
He hadn’t thought about it before, but he wasn’t going home. He had been too scared and angry when he was attacked and brought towards the surface to consider it. But in the still water, the quiet, Kolzek realized he was never going home. He figured he was on the surface now, probably going to be sold between Land Demons until one of them decided to butcher him for their own amusement. He had heard stories about it before. Chasamites and High Swimmers alike being caught by Land Demons to be turned into slaves and pets, never to return to the Black Sea again. Of course, that wasn’t what happened exactly. It was the High Swimmers who had captured him and then sold him to the surface dwelling Demons.
Kolzek found the strength to rise from the bottom of the tank, brushing off the pale sand from his skin. It felt dry and rough, contrary to its usual smooth and slimy coating. He presumed it was due to the journey and being dragged up to the surface. His organs were pale, diluted to ugly gray tones under the translucent skin. They looked strange to him, as if they had bloated then shrunk to be wrinkly messes. He couldn’t see any bleeding though, so it seemed he had recovered.
After he gave his body a once over, Kolzek turned his attention to the objects in the tank. A large, porous, black rock jutted up in the center of the tank, fitted with lamp ferns which glowed a rainbow of color and waved in the water. There was a hole at the base of the rock which went all the way to the other side. It wouldn’t provide much practical cover but it would be more sheltering than floating around the edge of the tank. He swam down to it, settling back down on the sand under the rock. It wasn’t exactly comfortable but it would have to do. Maybe he could move some of the ferns to cover the hole entrances?
Kolzek stayed in the hole for a long time, considering his situations and the options he had available. Dying didn’t seem like the best outcome but his other options were just as unsavory. He might be picked up to generate energy with his electricity or satisfy some Land Demon’s perverted desires. In the end, the best option was being picked out as a pet. He could count on being fed and kept alive then. Perhaps one day he would even be able to convince the dolt who bought him to release him back to the Black Sea, though the journey back down to The Chasam would be painful.
His mind wandered to his father and siblings. They weren’t close, there had been too many of them to form sincere bonds, but he was sure his absence wouldn’t go unnoticed. His father would use him to warn his other siblings about the dangers of the world. “Remember Kolzek,” he would say, “that is what happens when you don’t look up when you swim. High Swimmer will come and kidnap you and sell you to Land Demons!” Kolzek could hear the voice clearly in his head, convinced that was exactly what his father was doing that very second.
The smell of blood interrupted Kolzek’s thoughts and he lifted his head, sniffing the water. He bolted out of the hole and turned his eyes towards the top of the tank to see red threads spiraling in the water. Chunks of fish drifted down from the top of the tank where a dimly-lit hatch was open. Above the hatch was a figure, looking down into the dark waters. Kolzek’s lips curled and he shot up, past the chum. When his hand broke out of the water, pain tore through it, almost stopping his attack. Almost.
Kolzek’s webbed claws found purchase on some sort of fabric and he yanked down with all his force, sending the feeder toppling into the water. The Land Demon was as inelegant as he would have imagined, thrashing wildly in the water with puffed cheeks. All four of its gangly limbs thrust out in every other direction and for a moment, Kolzek figured it might just be easier if he let it drown on its own. It wasn’t like it needed his help killing itself from the looks of things.
But his anger was too great to just let the ugly creature off the hook that easily and he looped behind it, wrapping his arms around it’s torso. Even in his weakened state, he found the energy to let electricity ripple through his body, lighting up the dark for a brief moment. The Land Demon jolted and fat bubbles of air lobbed out of its through and flew up to the surface. Kolzek dug his fingers into the creature’s soft red skin, pulling it further down into the water while it was still stunned. He found its hair and before it could regain its motor control, he shoved it head first into the rock’s surface. Blood exploded out of the Land Demon’s head, turning the water pink. Kolzek released the creature, letting it drift down to the bottom of the tank. If it wasn’t dead, it was at least unconscious and would die soon.
Kolzek turned his attention back to the top of the tank, noticing the hatch above it had already been sealed again. He wasn’t really disappointed. It wasn’t like he could escape out of it anyway. With nothing else to do, he settled back in the whole, waiting until the chum made its way to the tank floor before deciding the Land Demon was definitely deceased. He dragged it back to the hole, pulling off the layers of fabric and metal bits from the body. He tested the coat out before tearing the arms down the seams and shoving the cuffs into a crevice over the hole. The back of the coat floated down, partially covering the hole entrance. Kolzek similarly tailored the pants and shirt to cover the hole further before turning his attention to the body.
Kolzek didn’t eat red meat very often. In fact, he wasn’t sure if he had ever eaten anything that bled as much as this Land Demon. Red was still spilling out of its forehead, clouding up the hole with plumes of blood. Kolzek was starting to regret dragging it in, let alone considering eating it, but the thought of the air logged fish bits that the Land Demon had tossed into his tank convinced him to stay his course.
Dismantling the body with his bare hands was a laborious task and even messier than anticipated. Half of its organs floated and the other half fell apart when he touched them. He didn’t even want to think about what was coming out of the ones that turned to mush in his hands. In the end, Kolzek buried most of the organs, deeming them useless and unsanitary. It was only after most of the blood had dissipated that Kolzek began eating what was left of the Demon he killed. It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t good either. It was just better than the half rotted fish bits they tried to feed him. It was also much larger and would last him a long time!
