Virgil shut his eyes and blew a deep breath out his nose, biting on the unlit cigarette between his lips. He reached into the small cubby he’d installed under the seat and removed a crowbar. Taking a second to gather his bearings, the boy heaved all his weight into one swing.
For a split second they made eye contact. Damien was already turning, a switchblade in his half-cocked wrist ready to unzip the delicate flesh of the boy’s belly. It only managed to skate unevenly across his shirt, tugging a rip in it, as the cold metal collided with his skull.
There was immediately a visible dent. His thick brown hair was matted with blood, and the man collapsed heavily against the side of the canoe. His knife span away in open air before sinking under the surface with an unremarkable ‘plink’. “What they hell do you think you’re doing?” He managed. Blood trickled across his brow.
“I don’t have to explain myself to you.” The teenager spat. “I’m finishing what you started.”
He got another heavy-handed swing, this one eliciting an unpleasant crunch from his ribs. He screamed. This was the first time Virgil had ever heard it. Knowing that, it was terribly unsettling. The young man took a deep breath and shook his head to clear it. It was too late to go back and he smiled.
 “You know what Damien, you were wrong.” Virgil struck the older man again across the cheek and snarled between his clenched, grinning teeth. “I did learn my place, I guess that’s what you were going for since you couldn’t even kill me.”
He couldn’t look up, staring down as well as he could into the water. Blood dripped into the water from his deeply split lip. The shadow of something large stirred not far below. It made his heart thud hard, as if somehow his cousin’s anger had drawn some incomprehensible beast from the depths.
Virgil got tired of waiting on his statement to be justified with a satisfying answer after only a few seconds. “I realized my place was several rungs up the ladder from scum like you. And I finally decided to shoot down the one who just won’t stop grabbing at my ankles.”
The silhouette was circling the boat now, growing steadily more discernable in shape. Damien had taken too much damage to care much about what exactly it was, as far as he was concerned it was just a blob. It continued to circle, and soon pale green fins were cutting through the water, passing directly in front of his unfocused eyes.
But then, there was the singing. The clouded midday light became sudden sunset. It was so warm, so sweet. “So pretty.” The brute sighed as a beautiful thing came out of the deep, took him by the collar, and pulled him into the comforting dark with but a splash and whispers of sweet nothings almost entirely outside his senses.
Virgil didn’t wake up fully until the boat had stopped rocking. He wheezed softly, falling backwards. The cigarette he’d held between his lips jittered and fell out, rolling across the hollow of the boat. It felt like the sea was boiling around him. He closed his eyes and tried to rest, one arm slung over the seat. The crowbar slipped out of his hand and sank. It came clattering back into the boat, followed by the merman. He sighed and brushed a few strands of hair away from his face.
“I killed somebody.” Was all the boy felt like saying.
Fisch looked over and rested a palm on his elbow comfortingly. “He would have killed you first. Look.” The siren pointed out his torn, blood spattered shirt. A small red scrape was all he had to show for it.
“I’m tired.” Virgil looked down at the mark.
“You’ll feel better.” Fisch sighed. “Let’s not talk about it.”