Timeline of a Fallen Hunter — Part Three
By Gunnar De Winter
Monday, June 12th
Tally: 2 sirens, 1 mermaid, confirmation pending.
213 likes, 30 shares
Hi peeps, Livia here. I know, I know, I should make an effort to post more often. Sorry about that. You know how it is, bruises always get bigger overnight. I took some time off to heal properly. Serum only gets you so far.
From northern mountains to western sea. Told you I had some trips planned. There've been some rumors about mythics in the Strait of the Burst Dam, so I thought I'd take a look. The ferries between the continent and the pearly isles were quick to jump on the trend. There are even mythic day cruises, sightings guaranteed. Which is code for fakery.
I skipped the commercial package and went to a fisher's bar. Best place to get intel. After angling for a while – bad pun, sorry – I talked to an old, gap-smiled fisherman who seemed appropriately scared and wary to have seen actual mythics. Took some convincing but he agreed to take me to a spot where there has been some odd activity, whatever that means.
The sound was the first thing that tipped me off. Like humming that merged with the sound of the waves, leaping over and through it like a group of invisible dolphins. That's how I imagine dolphins in any case; it's been what – two decades? – since the last pod has been seen? My guide shut down the engine and his rickety boat came to a chugging halt. The song was a silk hug but I came prepared. Put on my waterproof headphones blasting beastly old-school trip-hop. Thank goodness Sybil is rust-free.
Gunnar De Winter is a Belgian biologist who works as a science writer and storyteller. He has studied bacteria wars, social spiders, little fish, running lizards, and robot behavior. His fiction has appeared in, among others, Heartlines Spec, Future SF Digest, and The Deadlands.
Copyright © 2025 Gunnar De Winter