"Beware the Shores."
In the mid-1960s, within the small town of Mermaid Lagoon, stayers at a seaside hotel experience strange phenomena. People disappeared mysteriously, leaving their rooms without a trace, their luggage untouched and left where the...
A/N: This Story will contain dark themes of thalassophobia, murder, violence, psychological play, supernatural horror and somewhat mature stuff (though not going too far) etc. etc. TIGGER WARNING: READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
With that aside, enjoy your stay at... 🧜♀️Mermaid Hotel🧜♀️ ********************************************
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(Marina: Illustration by DracoRiot)
August 17th, 1959
The Moon gleamed like a pearl nestling on black velvet. Such beauty taunted Marina.
So close yet so far.
She reached for the unfeeling glow.
Only for her to sink away from reach.
As the darkness swallowed her whole, the depths became unforgiving. Ice pierced Marina, seeping into her bones. But her lungs were aflame in red-hot coal. Waves crashed inside her skull, drowning out silence.
What happened?
Marina frowned–unable to recall anything. She willed herself to swim towards the moonlight above. Except agony surged within her like lightning.
A scream lodged halfway in her throat as she was struck, ceasing all movement. Eyes widening, Marina glanced down, streaming tendrils of dark hair about.
Her heart froze.
A gash peeked through her favourite bathing suit. Crimson ebbed into the white, staining torn taffeta as it escaped the newfound wound. Marina's mind became a maelstrom while she watched her blood cloud the crystal-clear water.
I'm injured! But how-!?
The puncture throbbed from salt, resurfacing an unpleasant memory.
He reeks of sweat and bitter alcohol. The same booze stings while lingering on her lips. She struggles to break free from his iron grip.
"L-Let go of me!"
His large hands still roam, branding her skin despite her protests. Marina tries to push him away;
"Stop!"
His fingers reached the straps of her swimsuit, inching them over her shoulders-
Whack!
She slaps him. Hard.
Shaking with contempt, she could only watch him rub his reddened cheek. His eyes were awash in disbelief... Until anger flashes in them. Mirroring the glint thrusting towards her without warning.
White-hot mixed with cold when it enters her belly. Marina couldn't breathe or scream as the air knocked out of her. Blind by pain, she staggers away, swaying a little. Marina manages a few steps before keeling over onto damp sand. As she fades to the thundering shores, the man bellows;
"-NOT FAIR!"
Horror thrashed within Marina like a fish entangled in a net. Bubbles spewed past her lips, yet who could even make out her scream?
Cast and discarded into the sea. By the one who wronged her.
Fresh brine invaded its way inside, flooding her chest. Tears mingled with seawater. But the undertow still pulled her flailing towards the awaiting abyss. In desperation, she belted out a final note.
