The next morning, Zeke walks to school, his mind still occupied with the mermaid he drew.
He can't shake the image from his thoughts, its melancholic beauty and unique shape captivating him. As he navigates the busy hallways, he barely notices the other students, his gaze distant and unfocused. He absentmindedly bumps into a locker. "Excuse me..." He mumbles an apology without really looking at the person he bumped into.
He sits at the back of the class, his eyes twinkling. His hand snakes into his backpack, pulling out his worn notebook and pencil. He looks around surreptitiously, ensuring the other students and teacher are engaged, before opening the notebook to a blank page. His pencil begins to move, easily drawing the mermaid's face. As he works, he loses himself in the drawing, his surroundings now fading away. What happens next? The pencil hovers over the page, ready to bring its story to life
His pen moves, each new drawing more bizarre than the last. The mermaid's shape shifts, twisting, her serpentine body twisting at impossible angles, scales morphing into grotesque patterns. In one drawing, she coils around a drowning man, her eyes wide and hungry. In another, she lies on a bed of broken shells, her tail forked like a snake's
Staring at his next drawing, a mermaid looms over a tiny, helpless infant, her jaws wide open, ready to devour the screaming child whole. He can't look away from the scene, as if some invisible force is holding him back, forcing him to continue...
Zeke's pen moves again, seemingly of his own volition, drawing a horrifying scene. The mermaid's body is wrapped around a woman, her loins glistening with blood. The woman's torso is ripped open, her internal organs spilling out in a gruesome display. But the most shocking detail is the mermaid's face...
The mermaid's body bursts from the woman's ripped belly, and she is smeared with blood. The woman's face is a mask of agony, her mouth open in a silent scream. Zeke's heart poundes in his chest. His hand continues to move, adding finishing touches to the scene. The mermaid's eyes glow with an otherworldly light, and the woman's intestines are wrapped around her like ropes
Zeke rushes home, his heart racing and his mind reeling from the disturbing visions he's been painted. He bursts through the door of his apartment and, without a second thought, closes it behind him. He heads straight to his room and locks the door, as if trying to keep the horrors at bay.
"I need to... I need to understand"
He mutters, collapsing onto his bed, notebook clutched to his chest. He flips through the pages, staring at the twisted images with a mixture of fascination and disgust. What do these drawings mean? he whispers, tracing the lines of the mermaid's serpentine form with a trembling finger.
Zeke's eyelids grow heavy as he stares at the disturbing drawings, the exhaustion of the day and the emotional toll of the strange visions taking on him. Despite his best efforts to stay awake and comprehend what's happening, his body betrays him. His hand slips from the notebook, falling to his chest as he drifts into a fitful sleep.
"...No... not again..."
He grumbles in his sleep, his brow creased as the remnants of disturbing images haunt his dreams.