The Girl and the Naga

Chapter 9

A few days later, when Alec's cuts and scratches had all healed, he left for a short hunting trip. He didn't eat often, except for the occasional small bird. But he had to go out and get a larger meal, and the best way to do that was to leave his territory and search for larger prey.

That means that I would be left alone for at least two days. Luckily, I had become very familiar with Alec's territory by now, and knew not to stray too far from the cave.

I was out for a walk, wearing a blue summer beach dress, and looking for fruits and flowers, when I came across a lake near the edge of Alec's territory.

The water looked clean, though it was deep, and I couldn't see the bottom. I decided that a swim would be good for me.

I put my basket of fruit in the grass and kicked off my flip-flops.

I carefully stepped into the water, still wearing my dress. The water was fairly warm, but not uncomfortably so. There was a gentle slope of rocks and sand, but when the water reached my thighs, there was a sudden drop off.

I swam out into the water a few feet before I dove under and got my hair wet. I sprang back to the surface, pushing my hair out of my face.

I swam around for a few minutes, simply enjoying the feel of the water on my skin and in my hair.

Suddenly, I felt something brush against my foot. I looked down in the water, but I couldn't see anything.

Then something grabbed me, and my head bobbed underwater temporarily. When I came back up, I immediately started heading back towards the shore. My heart rate had instantly skyrocketed the moment I was pulled under, and continued to do so as I frantically paddled.

But something grabbed my foot and pulled me under again.

Before I knew it, I was deep under the water, and I was surrounded by the most beautiful creatures I had ever seen. There were mermaids everywhere, and they were all smiling at me evilly. Two of them were pushing me down farther into the lake.

I struggled against them, but I was in their element.

The pressure from being so deep under was hurting my chest, and my lungs were burning for air, as I hadn't gotten a good breath before being pulled under.

I struggled, trying to lash out at the deadly beautiful creatures, and I managed to kick one in the jaw. It hissed at me, and I was pushed even further down.

My lungs couldn't take it anymore, and I opened my mouth to suck in air. The bubbles that escaped through my lips were immediately replaced by water. My diaphragm heaved trying to expel the water but having no air to replace it with, instead more water filled my lungs. I immediately started choking.

The mermaids stopped pushing me down and just smiled at me evilly.

My vision became blurry and dark around the edges. I stopped moving, and started floating down towards the very bottom of the lake. I looked up towards the surface. Strands of my long blonde hair were visible in front of me. The sunlight pouring through the water illuminated all the mermaids swimming around.

It's so beautiful, I realized. What a beautiful place to die, I thought vaguely.

Suddenly, the beautiful image above me was broken when something dove into the water, causing all the mermaids to scatter.

My vision was too dark and blurry for me to see properly, but I knew that it was a person who had dived into the water.

They swam down to me and grabbed me around my waist before shooting back to the surface.

I blacked out before we made it out of the water.