La Grotta Azzurra

Chapter 1: The Discovery

"Truth or dare, Giulia?"

The question came from a girl that I stumbled upon at a party. Not my friend, I didn't even know her, really. She was just there. An acquaintance. Rosalia. Beautiful rose.

I sighed and thought for a moment before deciding, "Dare."

"It's almost midnight. When the clock hits 12, you'll break into the nearest gelateria and steal some chocolate."

I scoffed, "Really? Petty theft? What's next, a lollipop from a baby?"

Rosalia rolled her eyes, "If you don't want to do it, you're aware of the consequences."

She was right. Over my dead body would I strip down naked in front of everyone and run into the ocean to become some sharks' midnight snack. "Fine."

I stood up and dusted the beach sand off of my bottom, before glancing around the circle of about fifteen kids from the party. None of them uttered a word as I began heading towards the nearest gelateria. How illegal is too illegal?

I think any amount of illegal is too illegal, I thought back to myself.

This night could not get any worse. When we all met on the beach, we were sweaty and without light. A couple of the boys decided to put years of boy scouting to use and start a fire for us. Illegal? Not sure. Then, we passed drinks around. I asked for a water and received vodka. Illegal? No. But still nasty. I spit out the vodka and... guess where it sprayed? The fire, which nearly doubled in size. Bonfire. Now I was about to break into a gelateria and steal. Definitely illegal.

The shop looked cute, and was painted light pink. I decided to check first if the door had been left unlocked. It was, of course. I rolled my eyes and entered. Behind the counter of course would be the stash. I grabbed a handful of chocolate flakes and stashed them in a bag. Putting everything back into place, I ran out, and back to the shore.

"You actually did it, I'm impressed," Rosalia acknowledged my abilities and began stuffing her face with the chocolate flakes. I gave her a weak smile and the game continued.

2:13 A.M. I watched Luca, one of the boys who started the fire, begin to strip down and head towards the ocean. His dare was intense: Stick his arm in the fire. I would have chosen being shark bait, too.

Waist deep. Still swimming away from the shore. Neck deep is how far he will go. Chest deep. Almost there. Shoulder deep. A tad more. Neck deep. Now he waits thirty seconds.

I looked back towards the fire for a moment. Serene and burning bright. My eyes wandered back to the ocean in search of Luca. For almost ten seconds I searched for him. No where to be found. I looked back to the group, "Where'd he go?"

No response. I stood up slowly and made my way down to edge of the water. "Luca?" I called out. Some of the others followed me down and began looking for him as well. We stood for at least ten minutes, calling for Luca and searching for him in the waves. A girl that I knew as Stella began shrieking. Stella. Like a star.

One by one, as we saw what Stella did, we ran and screamed. Luca's arm, bloodied and fleshy, had washed up on the shore, next to Stella's foot.