Time to fish

“Fishing sounds like the safest bet, right?” You half state, half ask Sam.

He smiles, knowing more than he reveals as he replies “well... it’s all relative, right?”

You glare at him, knowing he isn’t going to reveal more. A smart person would walk away... but the timid also never prosper. “Show me what I need then brat.”

Sam sticks his tounge out at you, but leads you to an entrance to a tank. This pool is connected to the main one by tubes underwater, but it stands alone at the surface. The top is a circle, with a diameter of about 15 yards. Along the edge are connecting grates that hug the wall, about a foot above the water and with a depth of about two yards.

You stand on the grates, your bare feet slightly uncomfortable on the metal. Sam hands you a fishing pole, a sturdy metal pole with alittle flexibility. “This can handle the weight of any mermaid.” The end of the line, which is a thin rope, where the bait would normally be is replaced instead with a thick lasso knot. Apparently the goal is to pull the lasso tight on a playful mermaid.

Sam closes the door behind you, and you cast your line into the water. You leave the loop loose, wide enough for someone to swim through. You see multiple colored tails deep in the water notice, and a few swim through the tubes to play in your tank. Some swim close, only to swim away. Some tug playfully on it.

As you wait patiently, a grated platform collapses near you, after returning back to its place. ‘Well, fuck.’ You think. So the fishermen are not safe. If you are standing on the wrong platform at the wrong time, you will fall into the mermaids domain, with little chance of getting away.

This ups the pace and pressure. You don’t want to rush the catch and fail... but if you wait too long you will lose.