Aquata Cove

Chapter 13: Trapped

"Uuuuggghhhh..." Adam groaned as he stirred. His throat feels so scratched up, and he has a horrible salty taste in his mouth. His head is spinning like he just woke up from a horrible hangover. He coughed as he tried spitting out the salty taste; it's like the whole inside of his mouth is caked in with salt!

He can hear... Water... Water drops, and running water. He opened his eyes, glimpsing the orange and pink glow all around him, and saw a whole basin of rippling water. Adam grunted as he dragged himself to the edge, and dipped his hand into the water.

"... A hot spring?" He asked, before coughing, cringing at the unpleasant scathing in his mouth and throat, "Oh God, please let it be fresh..." He groaned as he scooped up some of the water, and slurped it. It's very warm, but fresh.

Adam scooted, and slurped up some more water, swishing it around in his mouth, and spat it aside. He scooped up more water, gurgling, washing the salt from his mouth, and spitting it out. He can really use some ice cubes, but hot water is better than no water.

"Ahhh... *Ahem ahem!* Much better..." He sighed before taking a drink of the warm water. He then splashed the water on his face, washing himself, and shaking his head quickly. Adam looked around, his eyes still dreary, but seeing he's in some kind of cave, with some amazing glowing crystals growing in the rock. "Uunnnhhhh... Where am I...?" He put his hands on the back of his neck, then noticed his bandage is very moist, "Dammit, Gramma's gonna kill me... What time is it?" He dug in his wet pocket, and took out his phone, "Great. Phone's dead." He said as his phone failed to turn on, "Now she's REALLY gonna kill me," He groaned.

"Wh-Who is?" Adam turned his head, and saw someone sitting at the far wall. A blonde, teenage male. He is wearing only a tattered stalk of kelp across his chest, with a few chipped and broken scallop shells on his shoulders.

"Ah! He-Hey... Um..." He blinked as he felt his head, "Uhh... Who are you? How long have you been there and... Why are you naked?"

"My name is Merrick," The teen said, rather hesitantly, "We've been here for a long time now, and... What do you mean, 'naked'?" He asked, with a look of confusion on his face.

"Well, you don't have any clothes on. What're you like, a nudist or something?"

"A nude... Ist?" The boy asked, tilting his head, "I don't understand, what are clothes?"

"Well, here, lemme at least give you my shirt, you can tie it around your-" Adam felt at his left hip, but discovered that the shirt he tucked there earlier has gone! "What the? Where's my shirt??" Adam grunted as he stood up, and looked over the water, looking over, but not seeing his garment, "Where is it? Dammit, I liked that shirt!"

"I... I don't know what this shirt is, but I think it might've gotten lost when you fell into the water... You... You said someone is going to kill you?" The teen asked fearfully.

"Oh, yeah, just my Gramma. I wasn't supposed to go swimming, she's gonna get mad at me, she'll get over it."

"But... She's going to kill you!" Merrick exclaimed. Adam looked and chuckled; this kid seems earnest, if not adorably naïve.

"No, she's not REALLY going to kill me," He said, "It's just an expression, she's going to get mad at me, that's all... Wait..." Adam looked at the naked teen, "... You said I FELL into the water, right?" Merrick nodded.

"Yes, you did. When the Siren was singing to you."

"The... I'm sorry, lemme..." Adam clenched his eyes shut and thought for a moment, wondering how he got here, "Ok... I think... Yeah, I was taking pictures, and I got out to the ocean to take a few snapshots of it, and..." He paused, and nodded, "Oh yeah, and someone WAS singing..."

"Yes, the Siren..." Merrick said. Adam turned to him again.

"Siren... I heard that word before, what's a Siren?"

"Sirens are vicious, ravenous merfolk;" He said, "They are very rare, but extremely deadly. Unlike any other merperson, they have two tails instead of one. They prey on any living creature. They're both maneaters AND cannibals. They lure humans with their singing; their songs are irresistible."

"But... Wait, c'mon," Adam said, chuckling, "I'm gay, how can a mermaid get to me?"

"Their songs work on anyone..." Merrick said, not exactly understanding what the human said, "Males, females, it doesn't make a difference. Their songs make humans sleep and dream... They dream of magnificent, fantastic things, wonders that humans would never think of on their own."

"Huuuh..." Adam sat himself down, and dug his fingers through his hair, "Now that I think of it... I do have a few images in my head... Gah, it's so blurry... Was a dream after all..."

"What... What was the dream?" He asked, a little curious about what humans dream about.

"Ahhhh..." Adam thought hard, "It's so foggy... I think I was in an orgy with a bunch of guys... Oh yeah, and my two exboyfriends were there."

"Ex... Boyfriends?" Merrick asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah. I was with two other guys before I moved."

"You..." Merrick looked a little saddened by this, "You... Mated with someone else before?" Adam chuckled as he scratched the back of his head.

"Haha, nah, nothing like that. We didn't have sex, they were just two guys I went out with, nothing serious." Adam said.

"... Tell me about them?" He asked. Adam shrugged and continued.

"Sure, uh... Lets see..." He put his hands together, "My FIRST boyfriend was this big, buff black guy. Now that I think about it, he was a bit old for me; like, 6 years older than me. He was really sexy, but he was also a bit too... Well, he just seemed a little domineering for me. Anyway, it didn't last long; he joined the military, and we broke up.

"My SECOND boyfriend was this really sweet guy I met at school. He had a bit of a belly on him, but he was sooo cuddly," Adam said with a smile, "He always had his orange hair in a buzz-cut with a light layer on his face. He was really cute, but we were too different, and we ended up splitting up when I told him I was moving to Hawaii.

"So yeah, I had two boyfriends, and I'm currently single right now," He nodded to the teen, "What about you? You look kinda young. Have you started dating yet?" Merrick blinked again.

"Dating? What does that mean? I don't... I don't have any mates, of that's what you mean..."

"Oh, ok." Adam said.

"What else did you dream about?" Merrick asked.

"Ummm... Gah, hang on..." Adam said as he thought hard, "Uhhhh..." He then looked at the blonde teen. "Wait... I think... I think you were in it." Merrick blinked and raised his eyebrows.

"I-I was?" He asked.

"Yeah I think..." Adam blushed as a clear image came into his head, "We were, uh-um... Kissing, I think..." He said, feeling his own member stirring as he remembered the one image.

"We were..." A pink tint played across Merrick's face, "We kissed?"

"Y-Yeah so um..." Adam said, feeling very awkward, "Wh-Where ARE we? How did we get here exactly?"

"I don't know, it's a cave I found... I brought you here when the sirens attacked..." Merrick said, feeling a bit bewildered.

"Wait, waitwaitwait, SirENS? I thought there was just the one?"

"No... A pod of them was nearby. When that siren sung to you I..." Merrick looked up into the human's eyes, "I killed it, before it could eat you. But when you fell into the ocean, they came. I was able to take you, and get us away from them before they could devour us..."

Adam blinked as he took a few steps to the teen. He crouched down, and looked at him, "You... You saved me?" He smiled as he sat down, "Wow, I... I don't know what to say... Thank you..." Merrick smiled back at him "You risked your life for me but... We've never even met. Why would you put yourself in danger for the sake of random stranger?"

"But..." Merrick said, "We HAVE met!"

"What, my dream? That's just dejah vu, that's all-"

"No, it's not... Don't you remember me?" Merrick said, shifting in his spot, "A few suns ago, on the night of the red moon."

"Huh? What do you..."

"We saw each other for the first time." Adam's mind flashed back to that dizzy spell when he was listening to his iPod that night. He remembered seeing someone hiding behind a rock.

"The next sun, you were swimming in the water... I think you were looking for me, until that eel bit you..." Adam looked wide-eyed as he flashed back to when that sudden attack on the reef, when that eel sunk its sharp fangs into his flesh, "I killed it before it could do you anymore harm, and then... You came back down, even though you were bleeding, and you came to look at me..." Adam flashed to when he saw that blue, fish-like creature, looking up at him from the sandy bottom.

"On the next sun, you came back again, with that crab... You tried to give it to me, and then we touched... For the first time, we touched..." Merrick said, "How can you not recognize me???" Adam looked, feeling on the edge of himself as the teen spoke, "After we touched, I stayed away from that reef because I thought we shouldn't meet again, but then you found me... You called out to me on the cliff..." Adam remembers waving at a far-away nude guy on a rock in the ocean, wearing a cross-belt and a black headband through his grandpa's camera.

"No..." Adam said, his eyes going wide as he backed up, "No, no no no no, that-that CAN'T be..." He pointed a shaky finger at him, "That CAN'T be right, you-you're just a teenager, a regular person, just like me!" Merrick looked down, and at his own hands, "I met a merman on the beach, I-I-I remember FEEDING a fish-man thing, I never seen you before in my life!" He stammered.

"N-No, I can prove it!" Merrick said as he then moved, and reached to the water. He dipped his hand into the water, and stirred it about. The teen then pulled back, and held up his hand. Adam gasped as he saw the teen's hand, which has turned blue and silver, with a wide webbing between his fingers, "... See? ...It's me..." Adam got on his hands and knees, and crawled to him. Adam came up to the male, and slowly raised his shaky hand up, and touched the young male's dripping, estranged hand. He felt his thumbs and fingers on that hand.

"Hoooww... How is this even possible??" Adam said, his heart pounding as he examined it.

"We merfolk... We change when the water leaves our body... When we come onto dry land, we look like humans..." Adam noticed a few strands of beads of water along his arm, showing a few, scaly lines on his arm. Adam then put his hand onto the teen's belly, feeling the incredibly smooth skin. He blushed when he saw his genitals, he brushed his hand along Merrick's side and stomach, before he flinched and giggled, "Hehehe!" Adam couldn't help but smile, "That's... I never felt that before..." Merrick said.

"Huh..." Adam said as he looked closely, noticing that there isn't even one bit of fuzz or hair on his legs, or his arms, and none on his torso, "How many times have you... You know, got like this?"

"This would be my fourth time I've dried like this..." Merrick said. Adam felt along his hips, and put his hands onto the blonde's knees.

"You ever walked before?" Merrick chuckled and shook his head.

"Don't know how." Adam chuckled as Merrick let him touch and feel him, spreading his legs and exposing his genitals, "How is this even possible?" He asked.

"Your... Your name is Adam, right?" Merrick asked. Adam looked up, and smiled.

"Yeah... And, Merrick right?"

"Mhm... Adam... How did you find me?" Adam looked up curious.

"Huh? What do you mean?" He asked.

"When we last met... I stayed away from that reef because I was afraid... And then you found me on the cliff..." Adam chuckled as he sat back.

"I wasn't looking for you actually. Well, I WAS. Past few days, I kept looking around the reef, trying to find you, but you didn't turn up. My Gramma didn't want me to go swimming today though, so she sent me to go take pictures around the woods. I just saw you, and I thought you were just some random naked guy taking a dip. And that's where the Siren got me, I guess... Hey, wait a minute, you said the Siren's song is irresistible. Why didn't it get to you like me?"

"Humans are just easier to lure... It affects their minds quicker than it does for merfolk."

After a pause, Adam, blushed, and stood up, having keep looking all over the blonde's naked body. "Right, so... We need to get out of here..."

"We can't!" Merrick said, "The Sirens might still be there!" He said.

"Oh... Well... Can't we check? We can't stay in this cave forever."

"I... I guess I can..." Merrick said, hesitantly.

"Hey," Adam said reassuringly, "Do you want me to come with you? I can go if you're scared..." Merrick shook his head.

"No... It's better if I go alone to check... Just... Put me in the water..." He said, blushing.

"Ok," Adam said as he then stood himself up and bent over to pick up the blonde. He wrapped his arms around him, and picked him up. Merrick blushed as he put his head against Adam's chest, taking a moment to enjoy the closeness, if only for this one moment.

Adam then came near the edge of the basin, and gently lowered the naked teen down into the warm water. Adam watched in wonder as Merrick's flesh turned from light peach to a gleaming blue, with a twinge of silver. His feet flattened and widened into a large tailfin, his legs melded together into one, lone appendage, and a frilly veil-like membrane on either side of his tail, with his junk blending into the array of blue and silver scales, smoothing out into a flat area.

Adam huffed and sat back, and looked as Merrick's body drifted down, most of his body submerging until it's up to his shoulders. Inch by inch, as Merrick went into the water, his body converted its blue/silver/white color scheme, his flesh riddled with a coat of scales as he looked up at Adam with those stunning blue eyes.

"I'll be back..." He said, before submerging himself completely. Adam watched as the blonde hair spiked into an array of fins on his head. The blue mass would move under the water, and to the left of the cave.

Merrick swam to the entrance, and towards the concave darkness. Once there, he called out a signal, sending a wave of sonar forward, hearing his voice bounce off the rocky tunnel... A lot sooner than it should. He entered into the entrance, and reached out to feel a rock wall! He gasped as he felt at the solid, collapsed wall! What happened?! This wasn't here before! There wasn't an earthquake either! How did this wall get here?!

The merman turned around, and moved to the right, swimming to another section of the basin. He looked, checking for any other way out! He darted from large crystal to crystal, checking at all spots on the wall for another hole, but nothing! Merrick turned around, and swam up back to the human on surface.

Adam looked as the merman came back up to him -- that same aquatic creature, the blue humanoid with those dark and sapphire blue eyes, "The tunnel collapsed! A section of rocks is blocking our path!" Adam blinked, and felt a tinge of fear.

"Oh no..." Adam said.

"I think we can move the rocks! Come on!" He then flipped into the water, his tail riding one the surface, before flopping the white fin onto the surface. Adam then climbed into the hot water, and took a deep breath before dipping his head in and peering in as he swam. Adam can make out a blue blur among the orange brightness, which he followed into a dark mass.

He came up beside Merrick, and blindly felt for the rocky wall. He then pushed at it, exerting his strength into one bulky rock. Adam can feel Merrick wave his tail up and down as he too pushed at the wall.

The wall wouldn't budge an inch. Adam held his breath for as long as he could -- which was only about a minute and a half, before coughing a cloud of bubbles, and retreating. Merrick looked with sudden repulsion. He quickly followed up to the surface and met the human there.

"What are you doing?! We can't give up now!" He asked. Adam shook as he panted.

"I'm not!... Just, gimme a sec..." He said. After collecting a short breath he ducked back into the water, and swam back to the tunnel, and made for the wall. He pushed as hard as he could onto the upper left of the wall, while Merrick pushed at the lower right. Both males grunted at the wall, trying with all their might to shift any of the rocks. Alas, none of them would move.

Adam huffed again as he quickly backed off, and went off back the surface. Merrick looked, and growled angrily as the human went away again! He followed him once more, and came to him.

"Stop playing around! We need to get out of here, Human!" Merrick exclaimed. Adam huffed and breathed deeply.

"I'm trying! That wall won't budge!" He panted.

"We have to keep trying! Please don't go back up again!" Without waiting for an answer, Merrick dove back in, with Adam following after him.

More and more they tried to sift the rocks, but none of them would even turn, as if they were welded on the spot. Adam kept going back to the surface, earning a scolding from the merman before going back to the wall to try again.

For the seventh time, Adam couldn't hold out any longer, but still, he tried to stay. He grunted and gritted his teeth as he pushed as hard as his arms would push. His lungs were starting to burn from all of effort, swimming, and from holding his breath for too long. He moaned, and huffed as he let go of a mass of bubbles from his mouth, turning to retreat once more. As Adam grabbed onto the entrance, he felt a webbed hand grab his ankle! He can hear a weird, echoic sound screeching out to him as Merrick tried to pull him back into the tunnel! With a huge amount of effort, Adam yanked himself out of the tunnel and out of the merman's grip. He quickly swam to one of the shallow formations of the basin to get out of the water.

Merrick swam angrily out of the tunnel, and came up, "Stop DOING that, Human!!" He yelled out, "Do you want to get out of here or not?!" He demanded. Adam was too busy coughing and wheezing. "Get back into the water and help me with the wall!"

"I... *Cough cough* I can't..."

"If you would stop quitting every few moments, we could push down that wall!"

"It... It won't..." Adam shook his head.

"Stop this! We need to keep pushing the rocks, or we'll never-"

"I SAID I CAN'T, ALRIGHT?!" Adam roared as he faced the merman, coughing for a moment, "I'M TRYING, MERRICK!! But I can't last long!!" Merrick gasped as the human yelled at him, "In case you haven't noticed, humans can't breathe underwater! We can't hold our breath longer than a couple of minutes!!" He exclaimed. The bewildered merman quivered, looking up at him.

"They... They can't?" He asked, his voice now meek and scared.

"No, we can't Merrick! I can't hold my breath any longer than I already have! I'm trying Merrick! I REALLY am trying, but if I hold my breath for too long, I'll black out!" He huffed and panted as he sat onto the stone, "... If I keep going like this, I won't last long at all..." He shook his head, and said in a raspy tone, "I'm sorry, Merrick... But we're trapped in here..."

Merrick slowly made his way to the edge of the stone, and pulled himself up. He curled up at the wall, whimpering as he laid down. He had no idea Adam was struggling... He was trying his hardest there, and he kept trying anyway, even with him nagging him to stop playing around. And then he just yelled at him... The man he fell for... And now he hates him...

Adam turned, hearing the whimpering and sniffling. He got up, and approached him, "Merrick... Are you crying?" The merman sniffled and shook his head, "Awww, no..." Adam said softly, "Oh no, I'm sorry," He said as he knelt down, "I'm sorry, it's gonna be ok..." He sat down next the aquatic male and pulled him in for a hug, "I'm sorry, Merrick, I didn't mean to yell..."