1. Wet (Audrina)
The call came to me on a moonless night as a chilling wail on the wind.
Why is it so loud? God, it’s so loud!
What’s going on upstairs?
I glance to my husband in bed next to me who goes unstirred by the noise.
Typical.
Upstairs, I knock on my neighbor’s door. A sleepy man with thinly veiled anger answers. Clearly, this isn’t the source of the calamity... Realizing my mistake, I feign concern, “I’m sorry, I heard a crash and came to check on you.” I try to leave, but he reaches out and grabs my arm. He stares but says nothing, slowly releases me, and turns away.
Slinking back into my apartment, I crawl into bed and try to fall back asleep, but I’m faced with the thrumming moan beating its way through the walls... through the floors... through the windows... through my skull... over and over again....
Over and over again.... over and over again... over and over and over and over... over and over again.... over and over again... over and over and over and over... over and over again.... over and over again! And over again! And over again! And over again! Over and over again! Again!
Over and over until my head aches. Over and over until I vomit on the bathroom floor. Over and over until I lose myself in the infinite rhythm and learn to love it. I lean into the rattle of my bones and thrum through my blood. Leaping up with an itching flash of sweat, I pace through the next room onto the balcony.
The world is dark but I can hear the ocean across the street. The waves soak the sand as the pounding beat fades into the most beautiful pitch sounding from the froth. I can’t stand the cloying fabric of my pajamas and tear it to shreds with my nails, scratching my arm in the process. A rain drop, and then another, and another crawling down my skin. As the droplets roll off, I begin to burn. I keep scratching through my skin with rain washing the ephemera away, cutting through the surface to expose a message in an ancient script:
This song is for you
Wyrd paths meant for traveling
under a dark moon.
Lightning flashes and exposes my path. I move just as quickly, jumping off the balcony to the neighboring roof, climbing down a fire escape, and running towards the beach. The icy water soothes my bare burning body, and as I wade into the waves I can feel the current pull me forward, my presence urgently needed far from land. A hymnal chant floats through the thunder, and I throw myself into each stroke cutting through the water. Through the waves crashing over me and swallowing mouthfuls of seafoam, I find the center of the storm. Darkness surrounds me, and I close my eyes, letting the current carry me to salvation. The melody calling creeps closer, with a rumbling rhythm beneath. As lightning screams through the sky, I can see a cyclone ahead with a waterspout connecting sky to sea floor. Howling winds couldn’t silence the choir of angels calling me to my mission: go to the eye of chaos. But I know I don’t have to swim anymore - the current will drag me to my destination.
I give in to the ripping current and violent winds who take me to our meeting place. I see her at the edge of the whirlpool, and her face is exactly like mine. The music stops as we reach towards each other, as if touching a reflection, and meet at the water-mirror’s edge. She looks in my eyes as I look in hers; she takes my hand as we plunge into the whirlpool. Deeper and deeper, alone together, down to the ocean floor. At the bottom of the vortex we embrace, and she begins to sing again. My body goes numb from the vibrations of hypnotic crooning and I helplessly sink into her arms.
The swirling waters slow and after a breath of stillness, she sinks her teeth and claws into my neck and flesh. The song is unyielding as the cyclone collapses. The waterspout dissipates and the whirlpool closes above us. What little flesh and blood she leaves unconsumed floats in the waters around us, surrounding us in a deep cloud of red. Bite by bite, the numbness gives way to a hot tingling sensation moving through me. I look down to see what she’s left of my legs but they are gone, and in their place is a long tail. I cry out for her and I’m met with silence. My wail warps the waters around me, but she is no where to be found, so I swim back to the surface to call for her again.
For countless ages I swim the seas calling into the deep blue void and the only response I receive is an echo of my voice. I try to drag myself back onto land but the dry world grinds away my slick flesh, so I crawl back into the water. I swim in silence with the fish and crustaceans until I hear a familiar song resonating from a cave. Entering through a small tunnel, I discover a grand cenote with endless music. Starfish, coral, sparkling pearls, and glistening shells cling to the walls and I watch a little school of fish weaving through our bodies as the suns rays shine from above. This new melodic sorority sparks a hot passion inside of me, and I happily surrender to my fate.
As the days pass we sing to be found by more of our kind, and when we are finally too cramped for comfort, we leave the cenote to search for something better. Eventually we find a tiny isle to our liking. We climb onto the rocks and our collective voices carve it to our comfort. With the help of some kelp, jelly fish, and seal fat, we concoct a potion to make the surface world bearable enough to enjoy. I cover my body in the salty gel, and continue singing in our new grotto.
Illucia feeds me an oyster from a tide pool, and as I take a bite, it fills my mouth with tender and juicy flesh. Daphyne cracks open another, and holds it to my lips until I take it in my mouth and swallow. Impulsively, I grab one and feed it to Naomina in my arms as she massages the swell of my breasts and licks my nipples. Spitting a pearl into the pile we have next to the shells, I lift her chin for a kiss and begin to stroke her tongue with mine. A soft moan escapes my lips as she runs her hand over my waist and tail. To my surprise, the two sides of my tail separate to reaveal my legs and the slick gap between them. I look to the others and they are glamoured the same, crawling towards us on the sandy shore.
Soon I’m eagerly dripping with Naomina in my mouth, Illucia stroking my breasts, and Daphyne biting the inside of my thighs. I fall into the hypnotic rhythm of each sensation - licking, biting, and stroking. I squirm and pant until I feel the heat and tension growing inside me, ready to snap. I reach for Naomina, craving her curvaceous form and soft skin. Her nipples are pert and rosy as I pull her closer to lick each one softly before giving them a little bite. Suddenly I’m gasping as Daphyne plunges her warm, wet tongue inside of me, and the rest of the girls giggle at my surprise. She teases me with her fingers and makes me beg before thrusting them inside. I writhe my hips towards her in pleasure before she begins flicking her tongue back and forth across the sensitive bud between my lips. One last deep thrust of her tongue pushes me over the edge, making me moan into Naomina’s mouth. Our collective sighs and cries of ecstasy create their own melody, the song lasting through sunset until we have all sated our cravings for pleasure and drift off to sleep together in the warm waters.
We love our new home, and quickly become accustomed to swimming in the currents and playing in the waves. We name it Isla del Perla due to our large hoard of pearls coming from the oysters around the island. I decide to spend my time mixing magical concoctions until I can formulate the perfect glamour to move through the dry world undetected. Naomina spends much of her time beside me using my discarded pearls for jewelry she crafts at home.
On a particularly hot and sunny afternoon, we are sunbathing in the shallows together when I hear Jade calling to us from the top of a large rock. I look and find her frantically waving and pointing westward. On the horizon a ship approaches, and as it creeps closer we can hear something loud and strange, but familiar.... men.
