Subject S-51
You’ve been a security guard at the facility for almost a year now. They moved you down to S-Level after some sort of accident opened a position. You didn’t mind. It made no difference. You were just as damned to this place as any of the mutant, mythological, or alien subjects locked up deep within. The reason you didn’t need a clearance to work here wasn’t because of any meritorious discretion, it was because you could never leave. You’d taken this posting over the only other, grueling alternatives they offered someone like you, and you didn’t like thinking about them.
It’s not bad here. You don’t mind it. The amenities are actually quite nice, and you get three days off every week and every fifth week off entirely. There’s plenty to do even if there aren’t that many people with whom to do it. But you were never that social.
As much as you don’t mind it here, one of the subjects under your watch has been starting to get to you. She’s not that weird considering some of what’s down here— just a big blue aquatic woman of some sort. But she keeps catching your eye in the camera whenever you check her feed. The timing is uncanny. You flip to her channel, check her out for a moment, and then her big golden eyes flit right to the camera. It never fails to make you shiver, and yet, you struggle to look away. The other day your relief walked in and had to nudge you after saying your name several times to break you from her gaze on the screen. He had asked how long you’d been checking her feed. You hadn’t had an answer.
You’ve been dreaming about her. You’ve never heard her voice, and yet you hear her calling.
The other day you flipped to her channel while she was feeding. You stared as she pulled the lone fish out of the bin that automatically wheeled itself onto the center of the catwalk near the edge of her room. She dangled it over her outstretched tongue and placed it’s still struggling body upon it before closing her lips, slurping it up, and swallowing it in one, easy go. You watched transfixed as she appeared to enjoy herself, that is, until her eyes darted to the camera again.
She grinned.
You can still remember your panic just thinking about it. This time you had quickly killed the feed, switching over to check on some weird kind of half-tree person. Later in your shift you’d gotten curious and checked what they were feeding her lately. It was a fully grown bluefin tuna. You hadn’t paid much mind to her profile until the implication of that struck you. That wish was probably three-hundred pounds.
You brought up her bio. There wasn’t much information.

• Height - 57ft
• Weight - 55 tons
• Origin -
• Diet - Obligate Carnivore/Marine Animals
• Security Precautions- Refrain from audio. Do not enter enclosure.
• Handlers notes -

You had scratched your head at her bio. Her size shocked you, but you were even more perplexed by the redacted information. There wasn’t any reason to keep secrets down here. One thing stood out to you. “Refrain from audio.” That was the first time it occurred to you that her feed was always silent. None of the others were, and some of them made quite disturbing noises. Refrain. But were the mics in her enclosure still hot? You had flipped to her channel without thinking and toggled the mute for her feed.
Her voice rang clearly in your booth.

“I like your attention,
It means oh so much,
A shame your intention,
Is ‘look but don’t touch,’

I’d so like to meet you,
My sweet little guard,
I just want—"

Upon realizing she was singing to you, you cut the feed in a frantic fumbling with the keys. Was she always singing that? No. You had never seen her lips move save for eating. Later it dawned on you that was the only time she hadn’t looked at you through the camera.
That was only a few days ago. Since then, you’d been skipping her, flipping right through her feed onto tree-person’s.
You’d dreamt of her every night since; her song swelling and being filled with new versus. They clung to you all day, but you could never remember the words.
You asked your relief if he’d ever heard her sing or speak. He had stared at you like you had a third eye. He told you no, that he’d never turned on her audio, and that he was pretty sure she couldn’t speak English anyway. This hadn’t helped.
Tonight, you’re dreaming of her again. The song is getting louder. The verses more intimate. She knows you.
You wake. You step out of bed but don’t put on your boots. They’re no good for swimming. Your feet slap the cold metal in the empty hall. You pass the security booth. It’s dark inside. Day shift might be in there. You pay no mind, sauntering down the corridor. You come to a lift and take it down three levels. You’ve never been here, but you push on through several doors and halls, navigating the dark maze until you arrive at an unmarked door with an extendable track. You type a code into the pad you aren’t sure how you learned. The door slides open.
There’s salt on the breeze. It’s warm. You step into the giant room, taking confident strides down the catwalk. You arrive in the center of it, suspended several meters above the shimmering water below, shimmering under dim floodlights.
She arrives, her emerald hair breaking the surface many meters off in the deep side. Her colossal body rises from the water that cascades down her blue skin and off of the odd, black swimsuit she always wears. The water nearest you is shallow, not reaching her knees as she arrives before you. She towers above, even though the catwalk is quite high.
The beautiful woman stares at you silently, her golden eyes glinting as they size you up. Her skin is freckled, and her cheeks have a faint glow as if she’s blushing.
Her eyes meet yours, finally, and you’re frozen in place. All you feel is a sense of longing and lightness. You smile sillily. She returns the smile, and bends at the waist, quickly bringing her head down to your level as her hands clang loudly onto the steel platform that serves as a “shore” below you.
Her face is less than a meter from yours. You see yourself reflected within her golden eyes, your form the same size as her slit pupils. Her mouth opens, the flesh within a deep blue. It’s sticky with strands of goo as thick as your wrists. Her massive tongue unfurls and touches the glass safety wall of the catwalk. Your heart flutters. You’re so glad. No. You’re ecstatic. You smile and nod at the general “rightness” of it all.
You hastily climb over the short glass barrier separating you from your love. Your hand touches the bubbling froth of her thick saliva and slips up the smooth yet fuzzy flesh. You falter, landing face first in spit, and laugh. She makes no sound and does not move. You get your bearings and continue to climb inside.
Once done, you lie on your back and fold your arms across your chest. You wait for the song to start—for your dreams to guide you. Her melody directs your thoughts as her tongue retracts and her lips seal shut. In a moment, you’re squeezed softly and feel yourself plummet down a shallow angle before you are squeezed more tightly before you enter a small, softly padded, pitch black, and slightly hot chamber. There’s a bit of water within. You begin to sing her song as you gently slosh around. All you know is peace and contentment.
She slowly rises and turns back toward the deep end of the chamber. She wades back in, but just before her head is submerged, she turns to look at the camera. She smiles at it knowingly, then vanishes below.
Your day shift relief stares at the feed in almost disbelief. He just can’t understand how this could happen, again. He thumbs the radio and informs his superior that another night shift guard somehow dodged other security personnel and wandered into S-51’s enclosure. He confirms that, yes, you did what the last one did, and she seemed all too happy to passively oblige. He’s told not to worry, and he’ll be provided a new night shift relief on time. He’s reminded not to tell them what he saw, to delete the feed, and to ensure he keeps the audio muted, but not disabled. He affirms his orders, thinking he understands them.
Better she has someone to play with, because God knows she’s only in here of her own free will. He’s just glad she never messes with the day guards.

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