"The boat's sinking!" One girl cries. We watch as the other boat slowly loses air.
"There's something in the water!" A frantic girl in the sinking boat points to the water. We all look over the edge and see dark shapes in the water. My first thought is sharks but these don't look like sharks.
"Get in our boat," I hear Lauren cry to the other girls.
"Our boat's sinking too," Greta says beside me. She's looking at the shore which is now only 25 meters away.
I have this terrible thought that we could make it. If those things were occupied with the other girls we might make it. It's a selfish and dark thought that I immediately push away. I can see the same thought has already crossed Greta's mind as well. Mia could make it for sure if she would just leave us behind. More screams are heard as a girl is suddenly pulled into the water. The boat is barely floating. Some girls are jumping into the water and swimming for shore. Several heads disappear under the sea.
I grab Mia and Greta's hands, "together," I say.
"Together," they repeat.
The 3 of us jump in then start swimming as fast as we can for shore. The water is choppy from all the splashing but as we swim it becomes quieter and more still. We are the only 3 left. I'm swimming between Greta and Mia as hard as I can when something wraps around my ankle pulling me under. I didn't have time to even cry out.
I try to kick with my other foot until it connects with something solid and I'm released. I swim back to the surface and take a big breath. I panic when I don't see Mia or Greta. I struggle when a band is wrapped around my waist pulling me back under. I kick and try to pry whatever it is that has me off. I'm running out of air and my lungs are starting to burn.
"Breathe," a deep voice whispers in my ear. Now I know I'm going crazy from lack of oxygen. I still struggle to get free but my movements are becoming slower and black spots are doting my vision. I watch the last of my air bubbles escape up from my mouth.
"Breathe," the voice insist sounding a little more frustrated this time. Lungs burning, I close my eyes and let go. The last thing I feel is the band disappears and soft lips touch mine. I smile. My first kiss. Then I die.
*****
There's little huts on a cluster of tiny unknown islands in the middle of the ocean. Each Island has one hut. There's 12 Islands and 12 huts. Each has a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen with running water and solar powered electric. Little gardens make these individual islands almost self sufficient.
I woke up to the sound of waves. Blinking my eyes I stared up at a yellow straw covered roof. As I sat up, despite my muscles protesting, I was startled by a man sleeping in the bed next to me.
"Ahhhh!" I screamed.
Just as he raised up I kicked him in his side, out of the bed. He fell on the ground with a loud thud and a few words mumbled under his breath. Something about human females not being worth this. I didn't understand it but wasn't sticking around. First I jumped out of the bed then ran into the little kitchen. I pulled drawers open looking for a knife or something to defend myself with. I found a spatula, forks, and spoons. I grabbed the spatula then ran out the door. I could hear the man moving inside. The hut was off the beach. I could see another island a short distance away. I would have to swim for it. I ran as fast as my short legs could carry me but could hear the man coming up behind me. Just as he caught up to me, I dropped down in the sand covering my head as he tripped over me. I was up and running to the waves again before he could get back up. I made it to the water and swam as hard as I could towards the other island.
As I swam I felt something brush up against my side. I stopped to look around. The man wasn't on shore and I didn't see him swimming behind me. I flinched, when a dark shape swam up against my other side. I was still closer to the island I came from and decided to swim back to it, when something wrapped around my waist pulling me under. Not again! When I opened my eyes I saw the man had me in his arms. I quickly realized he wasn't a man. His eyes were completely black like a shark with razor sharp teeth and gills on the sides of his neck. He even had a black tail like a mermaid! I screamed letting all my air out. Remembering I still had my spatula I hit him in the face until he let me go then swam up to the shore.
Gasping for air I laid sprawled out on the beach. There's a sharp pain in my side from running and I can't feel my legs anymore. I'm very out of shape and the adrenalin has completely left me. My mind is in chaos. Mermaids are real!
A tall shadow comes over my face and I look up at a gorgeous angry merman. I threw my hands over my head trying to protect myself. "Please don't kill me!" I panted because I'm seriously out of shape. Mia would be very disappointed in me.
When nothing happened I peeked between my fingers and saw that his fins had changed to legs with black shorts and his eyes were now a dark ocean blue. I noticed my spatula gripped in his tight fist like he wanted to strangle something or someone.
"If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead," he ground out between clenched teeth. He turned and went back into the hut. I flinched when he slammed the door shut but I'm relieved that he left me alone. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding.