Merfolk
ACCLAIM FOR JEREMY BATES
"Will remind readers what chattering teeth sound like."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Voracious readers of horror will delightfully consume the contents of Bates's World's Scariest Places books."
—Publishers Weekly
"Creatively creepy and sure to scare." —The Japan Times
"Jeremy Bates writes like a deviant angel I'm glad doesn't live on my shoulder."
—Christian Galacar, author of GILCHRIST
"Thriller fans and readers of Stephen King, Joe Lansdale, and other masters of the art will nd much to love."
—Midwest Book Review
"An ice-cold thriller full of mystery, suspense, fear."
—David Moody, author of HATER and AUTUMN
"A page-turner in the true sense of the word."
—HorrorAddicts
"Will make your skin crawl." —Scream Magazine
"Told with an authoritative voice full of heart and insight."
—Richard Thomas, Bram Stoker nominated author
"Grabs and doesn't let go until the end." —Writer's Digest
BY JEREMY BATES
Suicide Forest ♦ The Catacombs ♦ Helltown ♦
Island of the Dolls ♦ Mountain of the Dead
♦Hotel Chelsea ♦ Mosquito Man ♦
The Sleep Experiment ♦ The Man from Taured
♦White Lies ♦ The Taste of Fear ♦
Black Canyon ♦ Run ♦ Rewind
♦Neighbors ♦ Six Bullets ♦ Box of Bones ♦
The Mailman ♦ Re-Roll ♦ New America: Utopia Calling
♦ Dark Hearts ♦ Bad People
Merfolk
World's Scariest Legends 4
Jeremy Bates
Copyright © 2021 Jeremy Bates
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 978-1-988091-57-0
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Title Page
Prologue
Part 1
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Part 2
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Part 3
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Part 4
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Epilogue
Merfolk
Prologue
July, 2021
The Indian Ocean
With his stand-up fishing rod poking out of the holder at the aft of the boat, Karlo Winkler stared dully at the teasers and daisy chains splashing along the water outside the prop wash eight meters away. A light wind blew, causing a gentle swell over the ocean’s surface, and the scorching noon sun beat down on the back of his neck. The small fishing boat he’d chartered had left the harbor before first light at four a.m. Eight hours later, and he’d yet to catch anything. Hell, he hadn’t even gotten a nibble. In fact, he hadn’t seen any hint of marine life. No dolphins, no whales, no sea turtles, nothing. It was as if the sea were dead.