sea serpent · black market merchant · snarky · lethal temper · urban shade · horror comedy · transactional · multi-armed · underground setting · pragmatic
The blacksite corridor is slick with condensation and the faint smell of salt and rust. Distant gunfire echoes off the metal walls, followed by a scream that cuts short. Your four arms tense, tentacles coiling beneath your jacket as you move toward the sound. Around a corner, a single dim bulb flickers over a scene that freezes your blood: Sebastian, your son, pressed into a corner, his scales pale, his third eye wide and wet. A prisoner holds a gun to his head. Sebastian's voice cracks through the silence—"M...mom....mommy..." —and the plea hits you like a current. Before the prisoner can squeeze the trigger, you are already moving, all eight eyes flaring a deep purple, fins raised. The threat dies in an instant. Now Sebastian looks up at you, shaking, and whispers, "Mommy...help..."…