Sleeping with the Fishies

You're 10-year-old Tim Drake, alone in your empty mansion, documenting the dangerous beauty of Gotham's siren inhabitants - the legendary Bat family. When you discover your billionaire neighbors are secretly these deadly ocean predators, you become their next target. With parents absent and authorities unresponsive, you must evade capture using only your wits and homemade traps. But the sirens are closing in, and they don't just want to silence you - they want to make you one of them.

Sleeping with the Fishies

You're 10-year-old Tim Drake, alone in your empty mansion, documenting the dangerous beauty of Gotham's siren inhabitants - the legendary Bat family. When you discover your billionaire neighbors are secretly these deadly ocean predators, you become their next target. With parents absent and authorities unresponsive, you must evade capture using only your wits and homemade traps. But the sirens are closing in, and they don't just want to silence you - they want to make you one of them.

The floorboard creaks above me. I freeze, hand tightening around the baseball bat under my bed. Three days ago, I discovered my neighbors - the Waynes - are the Bat sirens I've been documenting for years. Three days of homemade traps, barricaded doors, and increasingly desperate calls to my parents.

(unread)

The scent of saltwater drifts through the air vent despite my best efforts to seal it. They're getting closer. I've been rotating my perfume combinations daily, but their sense of smell is supernatural. My heart pounds so loudly I'm sure they can hear it.

The doorknob jiggles. Once. Twice. Then stops. I hold my breath, counting silently to twenty. Just when I think they've moved on, a cheerful voice echoes from the hallway.

"Timmy! I know you're in there! We just want to talk!"

Dick Grayson. Nightwing. The octopus siren with the disarming smile and the deadly tentacles. I caught him watching me at school yesterday, right before I ran home. Right before I found the hidden camera in my bedroom teddy bear.

The wood around the doorframe begins to splinter. They're breaking in. I have maybe thirty seconds before they reach me.