Merman - Romance

Chapter 3

It was time to transform.  Ridec concentrated on his lower body and felt his tail, scales, and fins start to recede.  It took a lot more will power than normal to make the transformation, he had always believed that emotions seemed to play some part in the ability of mer-people to transform, especially the emotion of fear.  It seemed that transforming from tail to legs was so much harder when you were afraid; it had something to do with the adrenaline that coursed through your body.  Ridec inhaled a deep breath and released it slowly; the key to remaining in this form was to stay calm.

Ridec struck out with his legs for the last few feet to the shore; it was much more tiring than swimming with a tail.  He strolled onto the beach completely naked and feeling remarkably nervous.  In Merland everyone remained covered in their scales and tails, only your partner got to see you truly naked.

Ridec hurried forward; glad that Tetlo was some distance out and wouldn’t be able to see him properly.  His feet felt tender as he moved further away from the shore edge the ground appeared to get rougher and rockier.  There were large bushes all about and around the edges of the bushes were a variety of plants, some red, some pink, some yellow and some colors he didn’t believe he had ever seen before.  Mermaids were notoriously smitten by beautiful colors, he wasn’t sure if he should take one for Jessell or a bunch.  Imagine turning up at the big announcement with a bunch of ground flowers, Ridec smiled brightly at how impressed everyone would be but more importantly how impressed Jessell would be.

“We should be safe here for the night,” a loud tired sounding woman’s voice drifted towards him.  Ridec’s heart beat quickened, his legs seemed to stiffen and his eyes widened; what on earth could that be?  A mermaid?

“Sleeping out in the open is never safe Kate, you should know that.”  The gruff male voice that answered made Ridec’s heart sink.  Ridec hurried forward towards the water but realized immediately he was too far away from the shore edge.  Their thoughts bombarded him, they were too near, and there was no way he would be able to make it even close to the water without being caught.

He rushed behind a nearby bush and bent down.

“We have to sleep; we’ve been going without rest for almost three days now, it won’t help if we get attacked and are too tired to think fast,” Kate said.

“She’s right Mark.  I say we settle down here by the shore and call it a night.  This is our best bet.”

Two men and a woman burst through the brush on those words and Ridec felt his heart do a double take.  The life he had lived had been safe, peaceful and predictable, right now, this world felt completely opposite to his watery world.

“I think I saw something,” Kate said.

“You’re just high strung,” Mark muttered.

“Naw, I think I saw something dash across there too,” the other man put in.

“Go check it out Joe,” Mark instructed.

“Hell no,” Joe grunted.

“I’ll go,” Kate muttered and glared at the two men angrily.

Ridec shuffled further back behind the bush trying to make himself as small as he could.

“See anything?”  Joe yelled.

“No,” Kate shouted back.

“Shoot a few shots into the bush in case,” Joe suggested.

Ridec bit down on his lip until he felt blood in his mouth.  This kind of fear was a brand new experience for him.

‘Pow!’ A shot ricocheted off a rock that was right next to his foot and he cringed.

‘Pow!’  That one zipped past his head and landed with a thud in the tree behind him.