“Little help dad” Cora called from the kitchen table. “Sure thing Cora” Cater answered as he walked in and picked his daughter up to carry her to the pool. Reason being was the light-blue mermaiding tail Cora was wearing limiting her movements.
“Honestly why can’t she get that thing on by the poolside?” Laura complained while lying down on a deckchair by the family’s pool and rubbing sunscreen on. “She prefers to do it safely Laura. “If you’d join her on her mermaiding swimming lessons you’d learn and understand all the requirements and risks that comes with it” Victoria from the edge while helping Liam stay above while practicing.
“Need some help dad?” Scott asked as he walked up to Cater and Cora. “I’m fine Scott. Just remember this is for Liam’s benefit today” Cater assured. “And as with the community pool dad, just place me by the edge” Cora followed with Cater doing so and from their Cora sliding herself into the water. “I still can’t believe it’s been 3 weeks since we got this finished” Scott then remarked.
In all honestly it was lucky the Morgan family got the pool. Main payment came from the results of a windfall after Victoria won a lawsuit over a royalties rights case from her late father, something over who stole whose novel plot with questions raised when some big-time movie producer asked to adapt the novel into a movie trilogy. That said besides the new pool the Caucasian-Japanese blended background Morgan family chose to save the money as opposed to spending it all quickly.
“Besides sis. It’s better than tanning” Cora insisted to Laura. “You know I prefer jogging to swimming” Laura countered. “And we’re meant to be twins” Cora muttered before diving down to swim about. “Then try letting your hair grow to a decent length and go more for bikinis” Laura muttered while adjusting her green a bit. “You two are 11. Not ideal age for such exposure” Scott stated while on his way to the diving board “Mind, Tankinis combine to benefits of both-”. “Don’t you dare finish that Scott” Laura warned.
“And please... keep your trunks on Scott” Liam then asked while holding onto the edges to rest. “Honestly to allow yours to be yanked by a bully right after diving one time” Scott muttered before making sure his orange swim-shorts was tightly tied on and climbing up the diving board ladder.
However just before Scott could dive the company logo on the floor of the pool started glowing with a wired energy barrier suddenly forming around the backyard trapping everyone “WHAT?” Cater shouted. “Mummy...? Daddy...? What’s happening?” Liam asked in fear while Scott climbed back down. Just as a few figures suddenly came out of the logo.
“What the- How’d a child get through before us?” this mysterious African-skinned woman with flowing dark-red hair with seaweed wrapped around her chest questioned as she emerged from the water. “OK? Who are you and how’d you get in our pool?” Victoria demanded while Cora swam closer to her. “Actually Neris. I do believe the young child here is but mermaiding” this Chinese-looking man with a goatee assured as he appeared “Lin said in her reports humans have developed dressing up as us as a pastime the last few decades”.
.”Lin? Lin Carroway? Branch manager of the local Mermaid Pool Company we worked with to get this pool put in?” Cater inquired. “Very same and from that we best start explaining” the Chinese man answered as he and this Neris swam to the edge and pulled themselves out a bit to reveal the deep-blue and bright yellow tails they had in place of legs. “Oh you’re into mermaiding-” Laura started. “Actually no... Have a feel” the Chinese man interrupted. “DUNE” Neris shouted. “This is but the start and we need to get them at ease” Dune assured.
Showing little fear Cora moved closer and started rubbing and poking Neris, her tail compared to Cora’s felt perfectly scaly. “OUCH. That hurt” Neris cried from a deep poke with her tail flailing about, flailing about in directions imposable for legs in a costume “OH my- you- your real merfolk” Cora responded while clasping her mouth, the rest of the family just staring in silence. Until Cater asked “OK then, how did you get here and what do you want?”
“Well as you may have noticed the ‘logo’ on the company products like this pool are actually portals to our world” Dune started “All their ready for days like today”. “No offence, but you can’t exactly go about with your tails without wheelchairs” Laura pointed out. “Actually what we’re here for isn’t exactly world, or worlds, travel but recruitments... recruitments for more merfolk” Neris confessed. “More...merfolk?” Scott asked.
“Best explain. See for reasons no-one back home can surmise, while your world’s population has been growing steadily generation to generation while ours have been failing. Point being right now it’s one-hundred-thousand humans to one merperson while last generation it was ten-thousand to one” Neris explained. “Does sound bad? But how and why?” Cater asked “And that’s this recruitment thing?”. “We’re part of a project to find and collect humans to transform using the company as a cover” Dune answered.
“As in... I could become...a real mermaid?” Cora pondered in wonder. “Depends” Neris answered. “But what happens when authorities start investigating?” Victoria questioned. “Yeah. Millions of customers to the company vanishing someone’s going to connect the dots” Scott followed. “Actually those of you who accept the offer will learn how” Dune assured “So who’s coming?”: