I checked the preparations I had made and suddenly felt more confident and fearless. I felt like a seasoned adventurer, just like Robinson Crusoe! After that, I had to take a crucial step to determine whether I could successfully escape this cave. I had to dive and swim in the sea with my newly grown gills to help me breathe underwater. I approached the pool that Dicken had used to bring me deep underwater. Then, I crouched down and dove into the water decisively. When I confirmed that I could breathe underwater without any issues, I swam downward as fast as possible. At that moment, some part of me couldn’t bear to leave, but the rush of water currents didn’t allow me to ponder further. I seemed to be swimming into the deeper parts of the ocean with the instincts of an actual fish. I swam at a speed that no regular human being could, then I saw the light above me and broke through the water surface. I wiped away the droplets of water on my face with the back of my hand as I fo
Right then, I felt a stinging pain in my ankle. I looked down and saw three leeches attached to it and were burrowing their teeth deeper into my skin. One of them had already burrowed deeper than the other two, causing the pain to intensify as if a drill was drilling a hole into me. I hated leeches, and I was tempted to jump up and flick them away, but my determination to stay hidden forced me to remain still. Even the smallest of sounds could alert Dicken of my whereabouts. Besides, I couldn’t get these three leeches off me from a mere flicking. Even if I jumped up and down, I wouldn’t have been able to remove them. My movements would only catch Dicken’s attention before being dragged back to his cave. So, I could only grit my teeth to withstand the pain. I remained still and observed Dicken, who was nearby. I could see him sniffing the air, but he didn’t look like he could identify my scent. His solid chest anxiously rose and fell as he couldn’t find me. Suddenly, he crouched l
I was now completely alone. I had to rely on myself to survive and look for Peter and the others. I knew that I didn’t have as much survival skills or experience compared to Jack, but at least I had some experience camping in the wild. Furthermore, I was knowledgeable on matters pertaining to biology. As long as I was careful enough not to bump into Dicken, I believed I could safely get back to the boat. Therefore, I took out the looking glass and looked toward the sea with it. After scanning the sea for a while, I saw a few bright lights coming closer from the west of the islands. I figured that these could be ships, and the bright lights in the sky could be helicopters. I was excited at first, but not long after, I was overcome with worry because I had no way of knowing whether they were Laura’s men or reinforcements that Jack had called for. It was also possible that they were neither. Nonetheless, these boats were my biggest hope of leaving these islands. I estimated when the
I wanted to figure out what was happening to me, but the extreme adverse sensation in my body prevented me from thinking straight. When the wave of coldness hit, I couldn’t help but tremble and curl myself up tightly. And when the wave of heat came, I felt like my skin could emit steam, and my body felt like it was boiling. I tossed and turned around on the ground as my throat released a series of agonizing moans. ‘Good God! What is happening to me? Is this the beginning of the second change? Why is it that this is happening so soon after the first? No wonder Dicken was looking for me. What will I grow this time? A tail? Webbed claws?‘No! I can’t let something terrible like that happen again. I have to withstand the torment and get treated before the next changes come!’ I closed my eyes in anguish and dug my fingers into the soil as I tolerated the extreme sensations. Eventually, the alternating waves of hot and cold started to reduce in frequency. However, a different and stra
I tensed up when I realized those were Gary’s and Laura’s voices. I shrunk myself under the shade of the tree with my back plastered against its trunk. I spied on them through the corner of my eye and saw that they were next to some stone pillars less than ten meters away. If they came closer to where I was, they would have heard the sound of my reggae breathing as well as my suppressed moans. I could only clamp my hand onto my mouth and nose tightly and not move as I listened to my own loud and rapid heartbeat. I couldn’t help but tremble as I wished they wouldn’t notice my presence. “I have a feeling she’s nearby,” said Gary. He looked around and swept the beam of his flashlight around the tall grass. He was headed in my direction, so I shrunk my body further and hid behind the tree trunk. My heart felt like it had jumped up to my throat when he took notice of the tree I was behind. Thankfully, at that moment, Laura called for him. “Stop the search, Gary. It’s getting in th
I gulped in fear. When I saw both of them walk away, I tolerated the sexual frustration and tried to stand up. However, my legs were too weak, and I fell after taking two steps. I didn’t know there was a slope in front of me, so I rolled down it as I fell. I heard Gary’s voice from behind me, accompanied by the sound of his footsteps. “Who’s there? Linda, is that you?” ‘Sh*t! I’m done for!’ I picked myself up and tried to run into the forest, but my weak legs couldn’t keep up. I fell after running only a few meters. The moment I lifted my head, Gary was already in front of me. He extended his hands like he had wanted to help me get up, but he abruptly froze in place. He looked surprised as he scanned my body, noticing something not right about me. My body was hot as my skin blushed red. The fabric of my clothes was stuck onto me from all the sweat, and my legs were trembling. I shrunk myself away from him as his gaze made me feel even more ashamed of myself. I covered my face a
I heard several gunshots, but none of them seemed to hinder Dicken’s pursuit as his low neighs got closer and closer. Bullets whizzed past from behind me, but I didn’t dare turn and look. I simply stumbled as I ran through the forest with all the strength I had in me. I was lightheaded and was panting profusely. I wasn’t even sure whether I was dreaming or not. All I knew was that I didn’t want to be caught by either Gary or Dicken. Suddenly, Gary shouted from behind me, “Linda! Come back! That merman is in front of you!” I looked to see what was happening in front of me, but suddenly there was nothing under my feet. It turned out that I was on a cliff with a large grotto at the bottom of it. But when I realized this, it was too late. I had already fallen down the edge of it. Right then, someone grabbed ahold of my arm, suspending me in the air. I looked up to see Gary exert all his energy in holding onto my arm. My survival instincts caused me to grip tightly onto his arm fo
I thought to myself in despair. ‘This has to be the most horrifying day in my entire life. I didn’t think hell would look like this…’ When I was about to pass out from the sight of all the mermen, a large dark shadow descended from where I had fallen. He opened a rift across the sea surface, causing enormous waves to form. A familiar face revealed itself among the splashes as his eyes looked at the scene around me. He made a neigh without warning, and the other mermen that had wanted to take their turns with me retreated. They hid in the water, only revealing their eyes as they observed their mighty alpha. I laid on the rock weakly, but the moment I saw Dicken, my sexual urges instantly intensified, rendering my legs incapable of running. I could only watch as Dicken approached me and extended himself out of the water. Then, he bent down, enclosing me in his shadow. His thick hormonal fragrance enveloped me as he approached, drowning me within it. Dicken’s claw looped around