The Last Thing

by Gaitan, Briana

  Being in cold, unfamiliar water scared me, especially with all the dead creatures littering the ground below. But the opalescent beauty was not far away. I had to make it a part of my collection. Thankfully, it was dark, making it easier for us to slip into the waters undiscovered. The moonlight shone right onto the pearl, beckoning us to come closer.

  I pushed myself harder, giggling as I neared Tristen. “You don’t play fair!”

  “Do I ever?” he asked as he moved to swim backwards and look toward me. “It’s not like you ever play fair!”

  “No, but you’re supposed to be the responsible one!”

  “Responsible?” he said with a laugh. “I don’t think that has anything to do with this. Look around you. Does any of this look like something a responsible merfolk would—”

  He stopped swimming and motioned for me to come back. His mouth fell open in shock as he shook his head. For a moment, I thought there was something after me, but I wasn’t about to fall for another trick, especially the same one. I swam forward and glanced back at him to point and laugh. I would win; I just knew it.

  Suddenly, I slammed into something large and knocked the breath out of me. Black dots took over my vision as I sunk down into the water. I rubbed my eyes to try and clear them so I could see what it was. Panic hit me at the thoughts swarming around my brain. It could be anything.

  Oh please let it be a whale.

  “Get out of here!” Tristen screamed.

  The creature hit me again, pushing me out of the way and swimming past me at an incredible speed. As I looked up, my fears were confirmed. A twenty-foot giant squid was staring at Tristen with his black eyes and a frown on his face, showing he was definitely not happy to find intruders in his territory.

  The pearl itched at the back of my mind, tempting me to go for it, but this was my best friend, and I couldn’t let him get hurt over treasure. We could always come back and get it. It wasn’t worth either of our lives; we had to escape. My gaze flickered back to the pearl momentarily.

  “Leave the pearl alone, Raewyn!” He knew me too well. He knew the prize was still in the back of my mind.

  “I am!” I insisted and gathered my courage to help.

  “You need to swim and get away!”

  “No!” I exclaimed. “I’m not leaving you!”

  I took off in the direction of the squid, right as it wrapped one of its tentacles around Tristen’s tail. I wouldn’t leave him there alone. We would fight back. Without thinking, I reached out to grab the squid by one of its other tentacles, wrapping my arms around it and trying in vain to pull it back. The monster tossed me aside with no problem, sending me flipping through the water straight toward a tower of rocks. With a shriek, I propelled my body upwards and away from it.

  When I regained my composure, I looked toward Tristen to see the squid’s large, deadly eyes locked on me. My breath caught in my throat, and I froze. He was not happy with me.

  Hands gripped me out of nowhere and pushed me out of the way.

  “I said go,” Tristen exclaimed, and that was all I needed to come out of the sudden rush of fear.

  I threw my arms up in the air and shot off towards the surface. It might be the only place to escape the monster. When I neared the surface, I took one last look down into the darkness below. The squid darted toward me with anger in his eyes. I couldn’t see Tristen anywhere, and I hoped he’d gotten away safely. I needed to make a decision on which way to go. Humans were my only concern above, but this squid would squeeze the life from me without a second thought and eat me.

  As I closed my eyes and broke through the surface of the water, my body twisted into something rough littering the surface. I ducked back under the water, but the tangled web pulled me back. Thick ropes twisted around me and trapped me in their midst. I screamed and thrashed about, but it only made them grasp me tighter. I was stuck and unable to free myself from the rope’s clutches with the squid after me.

  Fishermen.

  I’d heard the tales. The king had warned me many times. Humans were evil, the reason our race was few in numbers. Our history included death and entrapment. It wasn’t all parties and happiness because of humans. I didn’t want to be trapped with them, but the more I moved and tried to escape, the tighter the ropes became. They scratched at me, uncomfortable and making small cuts along my body. My scales rubbed against them and pain shot through my tail as it lashed back and forth.

  I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths underneath the surface, trying to calm down, before the ropes tensed and rose from the water. As I grasped desperately for the rope, I felt the natural air leave my lungs, replaced by human oxygen. It burned my throat as it forced its way inside. I wasn’t sure how I would escape the confines of the rope, or how I would get away from the humans once they threw me on their ship.

  I could barely see the full moon from where I was, but I remembered seeing her peering down at me as I neared the surface. It was a night for wishes and prayers, so I did the only thing I could think of. I lifted my eyes to the sky and prayed to the moon to work her magic. I wasn’t sure if it would work now, but it had years ago when I was a child.

  Goddess of the Moon, give me legs.

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  Unbridled

  By Ashley Moore

  Greeks

  Laughter fills our crowded corner booth at Greeks tonight as we set bets on how long it would take Dax to remember the bleach blonde’s name who has attached herself to his leg worse than a dog in heat. Among the five of us excluding Dax, the bets ranged from 3-15 minutes. mine being at the fifteen mark knowing full and well that Daxton very rarely remembered the girl he had taken home the night before, let alone a conquest that he laid weeks ago; it typically made for an interesting night when they came back for seconds. His eyes were glazed over and you could smell the wood burning while the wheels were cranking to try to remember Barbie’s name. Finally after the 15 minute mark I put my best friend out of his misery.

  "Bray, why don't you go to get us another round of shots?" I said while tossing her a twenty. There were shooter girls walking the busy bar floor all around us but I figured it would give Daxton a minute to grasp his bearings. The lights went on in Dax's head; you could virtually see the recognition as his eyes lit up and glossed over with the memory of a night spent with a blond he wouldn’t have be able to pick out of a police lineup not fifteen minutes ago, but had no problem sharing bodily fluids with. I couldn't help but laugh; I don't know how this man gets himself into these predicaments. Truth be told neither of us were angels, but at least I was able to keep my names straight. Bray removed herself from Dax's leg and began walking towards the bar.

  "Alright everyone pay up. I gave it fifteen minutes before I dropped the bomb, meaning I win and you bitches owe me twenty a piece." I said looking at our friends." When are you going to learn not to bet against me when it comes to Dax's sex life?" With that, our whole table began cackling like a bunch of hyenas while tossing twenties at me. Hey, what can I say? It was easy money made; I knew the minute Bray acquainted herself with his lap that he was clueless. It amazed me that he did so well in his classes with his evident lack of recognition.

  "Shit, G. You saved my ass. There's a reason I call them all honey. Can't say the wrong name if they all have the same one," Dax said with a devil could care grin.

  "Hey, what are friends for if not to help you keep your sex life straight?" I said with a shrug of my shoulders.

  "Wanna do me a solid?" he asked.

  "Why don't I like the sound of that?"

  "Now that you said her name, I remember her in bed. Let's just say her "o" face was enough to make me go limp several times. Don't make me endure that again."

  Shit, I knew where this was going. We always looked out for each other even if it meant playing cock block when needed.

  “Alright, I'll save your ass again; as long as you promise not to rock
a hard on while I'm kissing you this time," I said. Dax has been my solid and best friend since we were toddlers. I guess our parents figured since they didn’t want to give us the time of day they could shove us together to keep each other busy.

  "I make no promises, Gwenny. I may be your best friend, but I'm not blind to your rocking body, or immune to your luscious lips and talented tongue," he said with a shit-eating grin. Dax swore on everything holy that he was going to marry me some day.

  Although there was nothing romantic or sexual between us, he still insisted I was the perfect women for him. Probably because I was the only women he has never had and really didn't want in that way. I was the complete opposite of what Dax took home on a daily basis, he liked his blond bimbos where I had long wavy auburn hair, and they’re typically petite where I was tall and slim yet curvy in the hips and chest. The only real resemblance was the bust line. Dax was a boob man and that there was the only thing me and these Barbie bitches who actually received his attention had in common. Don’t get me wrong I’m not self-conscience in the least bit, I know with my looks and personality I’m the full package but it seems no matter what I did I would never get the attention I wanted from the man I wanted it from. I know my own worth and seductive abilities but unlike some of us, I chose not to flaunt it. I had no problem receiving attention from men other than Dax and only used my looks and charm when it was necessary like the night Dax decided to beat the shit out of Xander for his loose lips. I flirted with the balding, middle aged campus security cop (who looked like he spent more time eating donuts then serving and protecting) till he let Dax go with a warning because he felt so bad that “a beautiful young women” like myself was taken advantage of.

  "If you can't control your raging hormones so I can save your ass then I guess you will just have to endure her "o" face. I don't need you fallen in love here," I said making an exaggerated scrunched up face.

  "Sweetheart, I fell in love with you ages ago, it's a shame you won't let me see just how talented you really are."

  Seriously, Dax is probably the only man I would consider off limits. Have we kissed? Yes, but it was always for a mutual benefit such as this. It isn’t that I’m not attracted to him because he's the walking definition of sexy with his caramel colored shoulder length hair that I dreamed of running my hands through.

  "All right you horn ball, let's get this over with." I said grinning. It wasn't as bad as kissing your brother per say but it wasn't anywhere near passionate either, it was empty and lack luster. It was like I turned off a switch in my head so I wouldn't feel anything when Dax's lips touched mine.

  "Oh, just what every man wants to hear. Ok, hurry she is on her way back with the shots," he said while quickly grabbing my arms and pulling me onto his lap. I didn't get a chance to shut down before he cradled his hands around my face and began taking my lower lip into his mouth. He kept a hold of me while his tongue glided along my lips coaxing them open. Once in my mouth, he began caressing my tongue with his own. I used my hands to trace along his chiseled face that belonged on a sculpture of Greek Gods rather than real life, then began to lose myself as I glided my hands down along his chest to his abs that were well defined into an eight packing that he obviously spent a considerable amount of time creating.

  The Barbie put the shots down on the table and huffed before walking away while our friends began hooting and hollering. Dax began flicking the roof of my mouth with his tongue while a whimper released from my chest. I began to pull back as I felt his erection against my heat. "Holy shit that was hot," Aline said. "Are you guys sure you don't want to have just one night of hot wild monkey sex, cause if that was a preview I'd pay to see it in action." I began giggling while climbing out of Dax's lap before giving him a quick tap on his cock that was erect against his jeans.

  Aline is one of my roommates, we're all crazy in our own ways; it's what drew us together. You know the whole ‘thick as thieves’ statement; well that was us minus the thieves' part. Aline was probably the craziest of us all though. There were many times that I walked into our apartment only to find our living room set up with cameras and a mass orgy surrounding her. She would tell you she wasn't biased and that was why she was bisexual, I just believed she's selfish and wants it all. She's beautiful with short spiky blond hair and a hint of chocolate low lights in the front. She's as small as a pixie, with a "c" cup chest (which is common knowledge from the bra she leaves thrown around), and according to the stories was a real freak. When it came to Aline, I knew the stories were true; that girl rolled in her sexuality.

  "Damn G, if that's any pretense of your skills, I would love to see how you work 'um personally." Brycen said while Dax reached over and hit him in his arm. Brycen is one of Dax's dorm mates. He takes yummy to a whole other level with his dirty blond shaggy hair and a six pack for abs. The man was scrumptious, and he knew it.

  "Now dude is that any way to talk to a lady?" Dax asked. We all began abruptly laughing at him calling me a lady; lord knows I’m not prim and proper by any standard.

  "Dax, we all know you love G, but she ain't a lady, that girl is fierce and sexy as hell." Adrian said, while throwing me his 100 watt smile that dazzled most girls' right out of their panties. He had his black hair spiked up today with a snug black sweater and designer pants on.

  "Adrian, you can stop staring at G like she's a piece of meat, you know she ain't never gonna give you a ride. She likes her kitty too much to taint it with the diseases your likely to carry," Darian said in her smooth sophisticated way. She was the epitome of sexy art chic and had the brains to go with it.

  "Dari, put your claws back in. We all know I don't carry any STD's, isn't that right Ali?" Adrian said. If the girl wasn't so secure in her sexuality she may have blushed. Instead, she turned towards him.

  "Awww. Adrian, baby, we both know you still pine for my kitty, too bad you couldn't last longer than 10 minutes to make it worth my time as well," Aline said with her ever quick cutting tongue.

  "Ahhh burn, damn dude, you might wanna make sure it was good before you go and call a chic out on it," Brycen said.

  We have all been close since freshman year when we were thrown together by the on campus housing. We're young, beautiful, popular, and unattainable and we knew it. The Greeks would chew their left arm off to have any of us apart of their houses. Problem was, we lived by our own set of rules and abide by none of societies. I suppose that's half our glamour. Everyone wants what they can't have and none of us do commitment in any form that didn't include declaring a major. It doesn't mean we are all the local merry go rounds that everyone waits a turn to ride on, but we are sexual creatures. Most of us just reuse and recycle what we have already had, but Dax, well he just likes a different variety most nights. I look over at Dax and see the wheels turning.

  "Hey, are you ok over there?" I asked

  "Really princess, if you gotta ask that you have no clue just how good you are at what you just did," he said, while I looked down at his pants and my mouth fell open.

  "Oh my god, Dax I am sooo sorry," I said in between fits of laughter. He was rocking a full on woody still. Maybe I over did it a little this time. Poor guy is gonna have to find some action soon before his blue balls get any worse.

  "It’s all good G, I asked for your help. I just didn't expect you to give me so much help that I would be sitting here damn near 30 minutes later still hard." yeah well neither did I, problem was he didn't give me any time to shut down before he pulled my lip into his more than capable mouth.

  "Sorry seriously, but you know better than to nibble on my lower lip. You know what that does to me."

  "Hmm... well princess you can obviously see what that whimper did to me. I swear girl, I'm gonna marry you one day." Oh for the love of all that's holy… here he goes again. I turn and grab his shot of SoCo and lime and hand it to him.

  "You are so delusional Dax, but I love you anyway. Here drink up and get your head out of the gutter before you cause yourself anymore pain
."

  "Ladies, lets toss these down and go grab us a dance." Ali said while we all grabbed our red headed slut shooters and tossed them back before making our way out of our booth. I went to crawl over Dax to get out when he grabbed a hold of both of my arms and pulled me back down against his length. He griped my face in his hands as he kissed me again, while gently coaxing my lips to open as a groan was released from his mouth this time.

  "What was that for?" I asked now suddenly at loss for words.

  "For one I wanted to know how good those lips tasted after such a sweet shot, and for two Xander is staring at you like he wants a piece and we both know you don't want that again," He said gesturing where Xander was standing and staring like a love sick puppy while Dax shook his head warning him off.

  "Good call, but if you keep this up you aren't gonna get laid tonight and that damn hard on isn't going to take care of itself."

  "Baby, I'm far past the point of this thing going down on its own. Wanna help me out tonight?' he said while I grinned as I hit him on his chest.

  "Go find a playmate, while I go dance," I said while Dari grabbed a hold of my hand and pulled me up and onto the dance floor.

  Dari was staring as if contemplating what she wanted to say until I said ”Just spit it out already.”

  “G, when are you two gonna stop lying to yourselves?"

  "It's not like that; he's too good to me to fuck it up like that." I can't do a real relationship I'm tainted. No use ruining the best thing I have to see what could be. Besides Dax jokes but it's all in good fun, he's as jaded as I am and not the least bit interested in me for real.

  After about an hour of dancing my feet were beginning to hurt and I was ready to hit my bed. Today was the last day of classes before spring break and I still had to get my things packed up for the beach house.