Keep Her Dry

"Keep Her Dry" by SnakeWinter October 2023 (link: "My Itch.io Game Page")[(goto-url: 'https://snakewinter.itch.io/')] [[To whom may find this note:]] |xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx| |xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx| |xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx| |xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx| |xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx| |xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx|

Please, under no circumstances should you seek out the source of ills. It has caused much difficulty for myself, and even worse difficulties for those who rained cruelty upon its form. [[Indeed, there are many unanswered questions about it.]]

-Was it an animal? -Was it the only one of its kind? -Did it have a soul? -Is it truly dead? [[The answers to these questions are unknown to me.]]

And I hope, by mercy, they remain unknown to anyone. Some questions can only be gotten through death. And if it is somehow still living where I left it, it will make sure anyone who finds it is not. [[It is only by chance which I survive and others do not.]]

I will not go into detail the many horrific acts done upon this once-innocent creature. But let it be known that when it gained the upper hand, its violence was unrestrained. All the villains were killed in spectacularly-gory fashion. [[But as were some of the best and most kindest men the oceans have ever known.]]

I do not blame the creature for its vengeance. From its vantage point, we were all its captors. We were the monsters of the story. And perhaps I was the worst monster of all. I heard what they had planned for it, but I did nothing to help it. [[And since I was the one to free it, its rampage is on my hands.]]

I, Erich Meier, am the only survivor of the massacre aboard the ship, the Cruel Victory. She was a fine ship, but I had to abandon her at port. Someone will find all the blood upon her decks. They will ask questions, which I do not want to answer. They will take vengeance upon my body. [[Like a coward, I have sold the spoils of our victories and am soon to flee.]]

I leave this note within this bible to asuage my guilt and perhaps even save my soul. As such, a confession would not be complete without proof. Thus, I have included the coordinates of the creature's corpse. From a vast distance, I hope it can forgive me. [[But to whomever finds this note, I issue a warning.]]

Please do not attempt to find the creature's corpse. If it is truly dead, then be glad. But if it is somehow still alive, I would not want to be the one to greet it. If by some wicked twist of fate you happen to find yourself near it, remember this: [[Keep her dry.]]

"Signed Erich Meier, Keeper of the Logs for the ship the Cruel Victory, 1723." [["No way."]]

"Yes way, bitch!" Francis slapped the old parchment against the palm of his hand. Francis had a tall and muscular jock-like structure and spiky hair. He always wore tank tops to show off his muscles. "Why would something like that end up in your hands?" Ray tipped his glasses up his nose. Ray was small for his age and had messy brown hair that always looked dirty. "Because I'm awesome, Ray. That's why." [["Or because you snuck into my room and stole it!"]]

Felicia threw open her bedroom door and met the two dudes in the hallway outside her room. Felicia looked and acted as tough as she was beautiful. She had long, wavy brown hair, and a face that only smiled when she needed something her toughness couldn't procure. [[Felicia tried to grab the parchment from Francis.]]

"Fine," Francis sighed as he dropped the parchment to the floor. "I was done with it anyway." Felicia and Ray both quickly hunched down for the parchment. Ray got to it first and handed it to Felicia. She looked at him like he'd slapped her, then snatched the parchment away. [["I don't need your help, Ray!"]]

Felicia went back in her room and slammed the door hard behind her. That was a fact. But, in the instant before Felicia slammed the door shut in his face, Ray thought he could detect a wink. Like she was wordlessly saying to him "I'm sorry, Ray. I actually really like you. This is all just a show. You know how it is. Come to me Ray." [[Francis of course didn't see any of this secret message in Felicia's door-slamming.]]

"Man, whatever! Don't think I don't know why you're here." "Why am I here, Francis?" "Uhhhh cuz you wanna get with Miss Bitch." "What would make you say that? Did she say any--?" [["UGH! I can still hear you idiots out there! Get away from my room!"]]

Francis knocked hard against Felicia's door a few beats, then began a casual walk down the hallway with Ray. "Ya know we're not even related. But mom's best friend just HAD to die and leave that brat behind. Damn shame. She was hot." [[Francis and Ray went into the living room.]]

Francis pulled two books out of his backpack. "Alright, so do ya wanna study for the first aid test or should we work on our superstitious rituals of North America presentation?" *CRITICAL DECISION* [[Study for the first aid test.]] [[Work on superstitious rituals of North America presentation.]]

"Now that don't mean you get to rub lips with Felicia, now. Or me, for that matter." Ray thought about the prospects of being in the same room as Francis any longer. It was true, he was only hanging out with him to be near Felicia. But she wasn't in this room, so why was Ray? (set: $firstaid to 1) [["Actually, can I use your bathroom first?"]]

"Now that don't mean you get to put some love spell on Felicia, now. Or me, for that matter." Ray thought about the prospects of being in the same room as Francis any longer. It was true, he was only hanging out with him to be near Felicia. But she wasn't in this room, so why was Ray? (set: $superstitious to 1) [["Actually, can I use your bathroom first?"]]

Francis waved Ray away. He knew what Ray was going to do. And, yes, Ray did exactly that. He went up to Felicia's door and lightly knocked. Felicia answered the door with her usual angered response. "WHAT!" [["I--uh--just wanted to say--uh--I'm sorry Francis took your paper earlier. He didn't mean to."]]

"Yes he did. He's an asshole. That's what assholes do. Are you an asshole, too, Ray?" Ray sputtered "No! I--I'm--I'm just a friend!" "A friend of an asshole is probably also an asshole." [["I--I--well, not purposely!"]]

Felicia laughed. "Great defense. I can tell you and Francis study together." "Well, yeah we do, but I don't really like him and--well--you know--" "No, I don't know. What the hell's wrong with you? Why are you here all the time if you don't even--" [["I like you!"]]

Felicia's face contorted like she'd eaten something sour. "Aren't you a freshman?" "Yeah." Felicia's sour face turned to a big smile. "I knew it! Big Baby Francis is so dumb he needs to cheat off a high-schooler! Hahaha!" [["I'm a college freshman just like Francis. All three of us go to the same college."]]

"I need you to look at something private." Felicia locked the door. Ray gulped. "Private?" "Not that private, you pervert." "Here." Felicia guided Ray over to her desk, where the parchment was laid. "I saw this already." [["Not the back of it."]]

Felicia flipped the parchment over, revealing coordinates and a map. "Ohhhhhh neat," Ray said. "Do you know where that is?" "I have an idea. But I'd like a second opinion, so--?" Felicia pushed the parchment towards Ray. [[Ray looked closely at the coordinates.]]

"That's--that's not far from here," Ray said. Felicia pumped her fist. "Yes! I knew it! It's at Greyhill Beach, isn't it?" "It could be. I mean, I don't know it by heart. It's close, though. For sure." Felicia pumped her fist again. "YEAH!" [["You're not thinking of going there, are you?"]]

"Uhhhh yes, of course I'm thinking of going there. Why do you ask?" Ray bit his lip, not wanting to offend his crush. But then it came out anyway in a stream of consciousness rant. [["Because the guy who wrote the note warned anyone reading it not to! Because there's some kind of violent creature that may or may not be dead! Because 'Keep her dry''--what does that mean?! And because going there would be DUMB!"]]

"Come on, Ray," Felicia said in a soft voice most unlike her usual tough tone. To further the disconnect, she put her arms around Ray and pulled him closer. "Don't you ever want to do the opposite?" Ray gulped. "Uhhhhhh." [["Ray, I don't wanna get lost. At least, not on my own. We could get lost together, Ray. Hmmmmm?"]]

Felicia slowly started to hug Ray closer to her as she softly hummed in his ear. Ray sputtered "I--uhhhh--that's a lot to--uhhhh--" "Take me, Ray. Take me." [["OK! YES! I'LL TAKE YOU!"]]

Felicia unembraced Ray and slapped her hands together. "Great! We'll leave right away. Or, as soon as Lauren and Wayne get here." "Lauren and Wayne?" "Yeah. Somebody has to drive us. And they wanna see whatever's out there, too. It'll be great!" Felicia turned to her closet. [["I thought it would just be you and me out there."]]

"Yeah," Felicia said as she pulled out a couple of bikinis from her closet. "You and me. And Lauren. And Wayne. And asshole." "Francis? Why is he coming?" "Oh because he blackmailed me right before you got here. Yeah. If I don't take him, he's gonna tell Mom and Dad what happened to Grandpa." [["What happened to your grandpa?"]]

"It wasn't my fault!" Felicia screeched. "Yes it was!" Francis shouted from the living room. Felicia raised her middle finger towards the wall. "I don't know about this," Ray said. "The more people there are, the more it seems like something could go wrong." [[Felicia sighed.]]

"I thought you were cool, Ray. Like, a big strong Ray. But no. You're just a little baby Ray, aren't you? Huh? Tell me which Ray you are." "I'm a big strong Ray." "Great! Now pick which bikini I wear! I'm letting you pick what's on my body, Ray. So make a wise choice!" Felicia held two bikinis out in front. *CRITICAL DECISION* [[Green bikini.]] [[Red bikini.]]

"Oh my GAWD, yes, Ray!" Felicia squealed. "How'd you know green makes my ass POP!" Ray shrugged. "Lucky guess." (set: $greenbikini to 1) [["Don't sell your decision-making skills short! In fact, I'm telling everybody that BIG RAY MAKES ALL THE DECISIONS ON THIS TRIP!"]]

"Oh my GAWD, yes, Ray!" Felicia squealed. "How'd you know red makes my breasts POP!" Ray shrugged. "Lucky guess." (set: $redbikini to 1) [["Don't sell your decision-making skills short! In fact, I'm telling everybody that BIG RAY MAKES ALL THE DECISIONS ON THIS TRIP!"]]

"Oh wow," Ray said without emotion. "I'm so honored." Felicia began to undress as if Ray wasn't there. "Tell asshole to get ready or we're leaving him behind." "Will do." [[Ray walked out of Felicia's room with his shoulders slumped. He felt as if he'd betrayed all intelligence and gotten nothing but a deathly fate.]]

"Francis, Felicia said to be ready or she's leaving without you." "Ohhhhhh did she?" Francis snapped his book shut. "Check this out." Francis pulled his clothes off in one tug, revealing shorts underneath. "Neat." Ray plopped down in a chair. He began to sink down into it, but didn't care to lift himself up. [["Heyyyyyyy cheer up, buddy. I think Felicia really likes you."]]

"Really?" Ray straightened himself up in his chair. "Pffffft I don't know!" Francis laughed. "Why would I know? You think we're like telepathically connected?" {(if: $redbikini is 1)[As Felicia walked by wearing her red bikini, Francis "accidentally" checked out her breasts.](if: $greenbikini is 1)[Felicia walked in wearing her green bikini, Francis "accidentally" checked out her butt.]} [["God, I hate her!"]]

"You see what it's really all about with him, big Ray?" Felicia said. "He can't have me, so he hates me. But don't worry, Francis. I'd hate you no matter what, BRO!" "Screw you." "You wish!" [[Francis flipped off Felicia as he put his backpack on and went outside.]]

Felicia awkwardly looked Ray up and down. With Francis now safely out of earshot, she said "So Ray, you ever--?" [[HONK! HONK!]]

Felicia clapped her hands together. "That's Wayne and Lauren! Are you ready to go, Ray?" "Well, I should probably eat something before--" [["Come on!" Felicia yanked Ray onto his feet.]]

Felicia led Ray outside to where a gaudy yellow jeep was parked. In the drivers seat was Wayne, who was anxiously tapping the steering wheel. Wayne thought he was a lot funnier than he actually was. And as his slicked-back black hair and matching sunglasses indicated, he thought he was a lot cooler, too. [[Seated next to Wayne was his girlfriend Lauren.]]

Felicia got in the jeep and whispered to Lauren. They turned and motioned for Ray to join them. As he started to get in the car, Francis pulled him aside. "You shouldn't come along, Ray," Francis whispered. "Why not?" [["They're just gonna use you."]]

Ray looked over at Felicia and Lauren, who both smiled back. Now they were both motioning for him to get in the jeep. "They can use me if they want," Ray said. "No man. They're not gonna use you like that. Never. No way." "Well then what're you talking about?" [["Just stay close to me."]]

As Ray entered the jeep, Felicia tried to scoot over to sit close to or on top of him, but Francis pushed her back to her own seat. "Ohhhhh is Francis jealous?" taunted Felicia. "I know what you are," said Francis, without any trace of his usual assholeness. [["You're such a dickhead!" Felicia pouted.]]

The drive over to Greyhill Beach was a bumpy one through an unpaved, unmaintained dirt road with an unkempt forest's uncut trees at the sides. The type of gangly trees with branches in every direction--some which hung low and scratched the top of the jeep. The type of trees who had never seen a human face. Wayne, ever the protector of his car took it slow. [["Fucking rock! That's gonna fuck up the paint!"]]

"Can you go a little faster, bae?" Lauren asked as she gently rubbed Wayne's wrist. "Fuck no!" Wayne shouted back a mere seconds after swerving to avoid a large pointed branch in the road. [["But baeeeeeeeee," Lauren moaned. "I'm borrrrrrrred."]]

"Yeah!" Lauren said with a slap to the sign. "They just know there's cool shit in there and they don't want anyone else to see it!" "I don't care what's there or not," Wayne said. "Let's just hurry things along. I don't wanna be out here at night." [[The group helped each other pass over the gate.]]

As Wayne came into close contact with Ray for the first time, he stopped him. "Wowwww, what's a high school kid doing here with us?" Felicia looked over. "He's in college." Wayne's eyebrows raised. "Really?" "So he says." Felicia shrugged. "No way," Lauren piped in. "He's like a baby deer version of a person!" Lauren giggled in her hands. [[Ray didn't care to point it out for fear of embarassing himself or his possible-new friends, but he had been in group projects in college courses with both Lauren and Wayne.]]

By the time the group made it down the hill and to the beach, the sun had begun to set. Felicia and Lauren casually laid out towels on the beach beside the cool, clean water. Meanwhile, Wayne was pacing and freaking out. [["Man! How is the sun already going down! We didn't even find the thing yet! It'll be dark by the time we leave--if we leave!"]]

Felicia gave Lauren a side-eye. Lauren nodded, then rushed over to Wayne's side. "Wayyyyyyyne," Lauren said as she rubbed Wayne's neck. "You know I wouldn't ask you to drive us a long way unless it was something really cool out here, right?" Wayne nodded. "Yeah, I know that." [["Great! So don't be such a whiny bitch, OK!"]]

Francis shook his head. He leaned in to Ray. "You see what they're like, these two? They're like vampires, man. No matter how hot their asses are, it's best to stay away from them." [["Stop talking about my ass, BRO!" Felicia shouted.]]

Francis cleared his throat. "I thought that'd shut you up," Felicia said as she stretched her arms high above her head and yawned. "Ray, you and me are going to follow that map and check out the caves. Lauren, Wayne--you've got the beach. And Francis? You can go to hell." [["I'm gonna stay close to Ray."]]

"Oh Francis," Felicia said. "I didn't know you were gay. But, there's nothing wrong with that. More power to you, rainbro." "I'm not gay," Francis said. "Oh, well then you don't really need to stay close to Ray, do you?" Felicia narrowed her eyes at Francis. "It's for his safety." [["Ray's safe with me."]]

Before the back-and-forth could continue, Wayne stamped his feet into the sand. "Shut up and just let him go with you!" "The Wayne has spoken," Felicia said while motioning to Wayne. "Got anything else you wanna say, Wayne? Wanna make any other decisions for us, WAYNE? Well you shouldn't because that's Ray's job. Anyone got any decisions for big Ray to make, before we go?" [["Oh yeah, I got something for him to decide," Wayne said.]]

"Should I piss in the sand or in the water?" Wayne stood up and unzipped his pants. "The fate of my piss is in your hands." Ray didn't know if he was expected to respond, but then Felicia prodded him. "Come on, Ray. You know what to say." *CRITICAL DECISION* [["The sand."]] [["The water."]] [["Hold it in."]]

"Good idea!" Wayne said as he turned around and began to piss in the sand. "We can't let things get too dry out here. Right, Lauren?" (set: $pissonsand to 1) [[Felicia rolled her eyes, then pulled Ray away from the beach.]]

"Good idea!" Wayne said as he turned around and began to piss in the water. "It's always good to make wet things wetter. Right, Lauren?" (set: $pissinwater to 1) [[Felicia rolled her eyes, then pulled Ray away from the beach.]]

Before they were out of sight, Lauren hopped over and tapped Ray on the shoulder. "Oh Raaaaaaay?" Ray turned to see Lauren tugging at her bikini top. [["I need your big strong brain to help massage a question off my chest."]]

"Dumb luck," Francis said under his breath. "So Francis," Felicia said. "You go inside, drag out whatever's in there, and me and Ray'll stay out here." "No way. I'm not getting killed by some monster we were warned about. That shit's stupid." [["Do you really think a monster would live for 300 years?"]]

Francis took a flashlight out of his backpack, then went into the V-shaped cave without another word. This left Ray and Felicia standing alone together beneath the pinkening sky. Ray, in a baggy shirt he'd worn since middle school. And Felicia in her {(if: $redbikini is 1)[red bikini.](if: $greenbikini is 1)[green bikini.]} [[Ray cleared his throat. "It's really romantic out here, isn't it?"]]

"Did I tell you why I'm so interested in finding this thing?" Felicia asked. "General curiosity is what I figured." "Ha, general curiosity. Like I'm a fucking butterfly just aimlessly floating along." "Sorry." [["It's because of a professor I have..."]]

"A real arrogant prick. He had a whole big lecture about how everything interesting has already been discovered. Every story has been told. And so that means everyone today is boring. Not worth remembering. Just living in a cultural wasteland of re-fried shit. Yeah? Well, let's see how re-fried my shit is when he sees what I found." [["What class was this?"]]

"Philosophy 101," Felicia laughed. "Can you imagine being such a loser that you come all the way out to nowhere just to prove some asshole professor wrong?" "No more a loser than someone who came all the way out to nowhere just to impress a pretty girl." [[Felicia laughed "Wayne is a loser, isn't he?"]]

Ray bit his lip. He liked Felicia physically--a lot. But the more time he spent with her, he started to wonder if she was worth spending any more time with. And Ray, being down on himself, didn't even see his time as being very valuable to begin with. [["I think I found it!"]]

Felicia, for no reason, pushed Ray aside, as she ran to the V-shaped entrance. She called within "What's it look like?" "It--uhhhhhhh--" Francis trailed off. "It looks kinda like a rock." "A fucking rock. Are you kidding me? Ya think maybe the thing you're seeing looks like a rock BECAUSE IT IS A FUCKING ROCK AND NOT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR!" [["No, it's what you're looking for. No joke. And fuck you."]]

"I don't know! Maybe! But I'm not going in there alone. No way." "Go. Or I'll tell Mom and Dad what happened to Grandma." [["It wasn't my fault!"]]

"Either tell me why you're so sure or shut the fuck up." "Because it's got some old net on it--like from a pirate ship. Looks kinda eaten through, or disintegrated I guess. And, oh yeah, there's a big fucking set of chains on top of it." "Chains?" Felicia's smile returned. "That's great! OK, drag it all out here!" {(if: $firstaid is 1)[["Yeah, yeah."]](if: $superstitious is 1)[["I ain't movin' shit!"]]}

Soon, Francis walked out of the cave wearing a pair of latex medical gloves. His right hand was clutched around something. Felicia laughed at him. "Doctor Douchebag, ready to see you!" "I guess you don't want this?" Francis held up a small egg-shaped rock. [["That's it?" Felicia asked, unimpressed.]]

Felcia groaned. "WHY. NOT." "Because this whole cave's full of talismans and symbols from all kinds of different tribes and people and--this thing here's evil as fuck." "What?" "It's probably why Greyhill's blocked off. Everybody agreed over time that this thing is just not a thing to be fucked with." [[Felicia loudly grumbled, then stormed into the cave.]]

Ray waited outside the cave alone. He didn't usually put himself into social situations. He had only recently befriended Francis. He was starting to regret that. Like right now, as it slowly got darker and he felt a cold breeze against his neck. [[Before Ray's thoughts got even more depressing, Francis came running out of the cave.]]

"What happened!" Ray asked, worried about Felicia. "She'll be fine," Francis scoffed. "Course, she woulda done finer in there if she had a source of light!" "Francis!" Felicia shouted from inside the cave. Francis clicked the flashlight on and off. He chuckled. "Good luck finding your way out in the dark!" [[A few moments later, a very angry Felicia exited the cave carrying a small egg-shaped rock.]]

"Ohhhh lame!" Francis lamented. "How'd you find your way out." "By following the sound of your voice," Felicia said with a smile. "So you got your thing. Let's go home." "Not until Ray looks at it." [[Felicia held the egg out for Ray to examine.]]

As Ray looked closer, he noticed the rock appeared to be soft. It seemed to conform to Felicia's hand shape. There were thick lines bulging from it. They almost looked like veins. [[Then, Ray noticed the egg pulse.]]

Felicia screamed. "It's alive!" Felicia waved her hand through the air, trying to get it off. "Help me, Ray!" Ray reached out towards Felicia, but Francis held him back. "Don't touch it, Ray." [[Felicia tried to rip the egg off with her other hand...]]

But her fingers stuck into it. As it morphed around her skin, a faint sucking sound could be heard. Felicia screamed again. "Help me, you bastards!" Ray again tried to get closer to Felicia, but Francis pulled him back. "No, Ray. Don't touch it." [["I'm not an it! I'm your fucking sister!"]]

Felicia tried to remove her hands from the egg, but it had become like a finger trap. The more she pulled, the more absorbed she became in it. And the more absorbed she became, the larger the egg grew around her. And so larger did the sucking sound coming from the egg. Francis pulled Ray aside. "It's too late for her, Ray." [["We're gonna have to go warn the others."]]

As Francis and Ray rushed down the hill towards the beach, Ray got a final look back at his crush. The egg had completely consumed her. What was once five feet, six inches of a beautiful woman {(if: $redbikini is 1)[with perfect breasts in a red bikini was now one big egg-shaped blob.](if: $greenbikini is 1)[with a perfect ass in a green bikini was now one big egg-shaped blob.]} [[Ray had seen and heard the moment his crush went from screaming to not existing.]]

Francis, recognizing the moment for all it was even as they ran down the hill, touched Ray's back. "I'm sorry, Ray." Ray looked back behind them and saw nothing up the hill. "What happened to her? What was that thing?" [["It doesn't matter other than we need to avoid it."]]

Ray nodded at Francis and looked back again. Nothing. The disappearance of the human-sized blob that Felicia had become was not a relief to Ray. It had made nothing of Felicia so fast. And to Ray anyway, she was a lot stronger than him. [[Selfishly, Ray wondered how long he would last if it got to him.]]

As Francis and Ray arrived back at the beach, Francis noticed something was off right away. He uttered an audible "What the fuck?" {(if: $pissonsand is 1)[[Lauren and Wayne were nowhere to be seen.]](if: $pissinwater is 1)[[Lauren was lying on the beach drinking from her flask, but Wayne was nowhere to be seen.]](if: $holdpissin is 1 and $topoff is 1)[[Lauren was being chased around the beach by Wayne, who was wearing Lauren's bikini top atop his head.]](if: $holdpissin is 1 and $topon is 1)[[Lauren was being chased around the beach by Wayne, who was running after her with his dick out.]]}

"What!" Wayne exlaimed. "That wasn't an option, you little shit!" Right, Felicia?" Felicia shrugged. "What Ray says goes." "Fine! But if I piss my pants, it's on me!" Wayne chuckled some more. (set: $holdpissin to 1) [[Felicia rolled her eyes, then pulled Ray away from the beach.]]

Ray's tongue got caught in his throat. "Um! Um! Uhhhhhh!" Lauren smiled deviously and took another step towards Ray. "Come on Raaaaay." Lauren took another step closer so that she was now rubbing up against Ray with every breath she took. "You know what you wanna say. So say it. Top on? Or off?" *CRITICAL DECISION* [["Top on."]] [["Top off."]]

Lauren frowned. "You're no fun." Wayne clapped as he joined the group. "Good call, Ray. Now, understand if you made the other choice, I woulda punched your fucking face in. Now get away from us before your decisions piss me off further." (set: $topon to 1) [[As Wayne tugged Lauren back towards the beach, Felicia tugged Ray back up towards the hill leading to the caves.]]

Lauren grinned and undid her top. "Great choice, sleazy Ray." Lauren then dropped her top to the ground. She did this so close to Ray, he nearly fainted from the sudden pressure changes within him. "So Ray, whatdya think?" "Uhhhhhhhh." Ray could hardly form a sound, let alone a response. (set: $topoff to 1) [[Not having any of this was Wayne, who in one quick action punched Ray's nose and pulled Lauren away.]]

Ray, Felicia, and Francis all looked back just in time to see Lauren take a flask out of the front of her bikini bottom and drink from it. Felicia chuckled. "That's a nice and direct way to get a yeast infection." Francis laughed back. "She's your friend!" [["Just because she's dumb doesn't mean I am!" Felicia protested.]]

"God, I hate her." Francis shook his head. "She's like the bitch that keeps on giving. And all she gives is bitchiness, ya know?" Francis flipped off Felicia's door. "Nothing good about that one in there. Just a big pile of suck." [["You shouldn't be such an asshole to her."]]

Lauren screamed "What the fuck, Wayne?!" "No, what the fuck, Lauren!" As the couple argued, Ray held his nose to try and stop the bleeding. {(if: $firstaid is 1)[Luckily, Francis had brushed up on his first aid that day and knew exactly how to correctly stop Ray's nose bleed.](if: $firstaid is 0)[He failed because he and Francis didn't study first aid that day. So, blood continued to drip from his nose like water from an icicle.](if: $firstaid is 0)[(set: $bloodynose to 1)]} [[As Wayne tugged Lauren back towards the beach, Felicia tugged Ray back up towards the hill leading to the caves.]]

"Ohhhh," Felicia's smile faded. "You're so...small." Ray looked down at his body. He never felt anything about his body before that very instant. But suddenly, he hated everything about how he looked. Why did he have to be so small and weak? Suddenly, Ray felt a throbbing between his ears, like a big bloody heart was in his skull. [[Felicia continued, "I've never seen you around campus."]]

Ray rubbed his temples to ease the heartbeat in his head. He took a deep breath and calmly said "You're in my creative writing class." "Oh really?" Felicia raised her eyebrows. "We must sit at different sides of the room." "Uh!" Ray's voice pitched up higher than normal, then-- [["We wrote a poem about ourselves together! You said you love pranks and you're majoring in Marketing because you want to psycho-fuck people into buying stupid shit!"]]

Realization came over Felicia. "Ohhhh yeah." Her smile returned. "Ray. You're a bird scout, aren't you?" "Eagle Scout." "And, so being a scout, you're reliable with maps and coordinates?" "Yes. And I think I'm good at listening, too. That's what all my professors say anyway." [[Felicia's face lit up as she grabbed Ray's hand and pulled him into her room.]]

"Do you see either of them anywhere?" Francis asked Ray as he scanned the area. Ray shook his head. "No." "Lauren!" Francis shouted. "Wayne!" Francis looked up and down the beach and as far as he could see in the water, but saw no sign of them. [[But what Francis did find was even better.]]

"Where the fuck is that asshole Wayne?" Francis said. "Well his shorts are here--" Lauren said as she reached underneath herself. "I like sitting on them because there's something pointy in them and--" Lauren trailed off as she pulled out Wayne's shorts. "But the rest of him is out swimming in the water somewhere. Why do you ask?" [["Felicia is dead and we have to go now before we die, too."]]

"I got boobies on muh brain!" Wayne rapped. "Boobies on muh brain! What! Boobies on muh--" Wayne suddenly stopped chasing Lauren and she stopped running as they both noticed Ray and Francis. Wayne cleared his throat and slowly took Lauren's bikini top off his head. [["SUP!" Wayne said in a deeper voice than normal. It was also much louder and far-reaching. It echoed far into the caves in the distance.]]

Instead of pants, Wayne had on a lame Darcula accent. "I yam Count Dickula und I VANT to fuhh--!" Wayne suddenly stopped chasing Lauren and she stopped running as they both noticed Ray and Francis. Wayne cleared his throat and walked over to his pants, quickly pulling them up. [["Hey guys, vut's--I mean, what's up?"]]

"Felicia is dead," Francis said bluntly. "Oh no!" Lauren covered her mouth. "What happened?" "The specifics don't matter right now," Francis said as he inadvertently took a quick look back towards the caves. "What matters is the four of us get the fuck out of here while we can." [[Wayne scoffed "This is a fucking joke."]]

"No it's not, Wayne. Ask Ray." Francis tapped Ray on the shoulder. "I don't give a fuck what Ray thinks," Wayne said as he pushed Francis. "I'm sick of you and your shithead sister--especially your shithead sister--pulling these goddamn pranks on us. And now you've got this little asshole here to back up your bullshit? I'm not buying it." [[Lauren rubbed Wayne's shoulders. "Calm down."]]

Ray had a unique social problem that caused him to sometimes laugh at the exact wrong times. And as soon as Wayne was starting to calm down, Lauren said something which was the exact wrong thing for Ray to hear in that moment. "That's a good boy," Lauren said in a soothing voice that relaxed the tensed-up Wayne, as she now massaged his back. [["Nice and tame, lovely as a dove, wonderfully wise and Wayne-y."]]

Ray sputtered a few tuts of air out his tightly-sealed lips. Just enough for Francis to hear and give him a look like "What the fuck, man?" But not enough for Lauren or Wayne to notice. But of course, Lauren had to continue. [["Wash away the rainy day and make today a Wayne-y day!"]]

Ray bit his lip. A few more pockets of air escaped his mouth, but the only change in Wayne was a brief look to the sky above. It was a monumental act of holding in uncontrollable laughter at an inappropriate time. Something that should have earned the adult Eagle Scout an extra badge. Unfortunately, no hypothetical badge would be had because Lauren continued further. [["Wayne-y day! Wayne-y day! Make everyday a Wayne-y day! Wayne-y day! Wayne-y day! Wayyyyyyyyyyne YAY!"]]

Lauren ended her sing-songy massage session with her hands waving in the air above Wayne's head. They slowly trickled down like fireworks. Wayne was now completely calm and cool. But then Ray, who had valiently tried and tried to hold it in, and had managed through the entire song, lost it at the sight of Lauren's waving hands. [[Ray laughed so hard, he nearly fell over backwards.]]

"You think that's funny!" Wayne started out at Ray. He threw a fist out towards him, but Francis caught it and squeezed it tight. "Get the fuck back," Francis said, as his fingers dug deep into Wayne's knuckles. Wayne winced. The pain was so great, he didn't even notice Francis reaching into his pants pocket. "OK, man, OK! Leggo my fist-o!" Francis let go of Wayne's fist. [[Wayne, always the smartass, shouted back "If I piss my pants cuz I've held it in so long, it's on both of you! So look out!"]]

Francis gave Wayne a sarcastic thumbs-up, then tapped Ray on the back. "Come on, Ray. We better be going." As Francis and Ray started up the hill leading to the car, Wayne waved them off and marched himself over to the water. Lauren followed Wayne. She lightly pulled on him. "Wayne, we gotta go now. Remember?" [["They're not going anywhere without my keys and I'm not--"]]

"--going anywhere til I've taken my piss." Wayne unzipped his pants at this last word. Soon, he was standing there with his dick in his hands. Lauren crossed her arms nervously, then nodded. "OK, but hurry up, please. We don't know what happened to Felicia yet, so we'd better--" Wayne laughed. "You're really gonna fall for another Felicia prank? Bae, they're lying. All of 'em." [["They didn't look like they were lying to me."]]

"You'd probably think that bird up in the sky is a UFO or something weird." Wayne shook his dick, trying to jar his piss loose. "Goddamnit, I knew I shouldn't have held it in." "What bird?" Lauren looked up in the sky. "That big brown one up there." Wayne's head vaguely pointed up to the sky. Then finally, a stream started. "Ahhhhhhh." Lauren backed away from the water as she tried in vain to look for a big brown bird, but saw nothing. [["I don't see any--"]]

As they walked down the steep hill, Greyhill Beach came more into focus. The beach itself could be seen, but it was not the dominant feature of the landscape. That would be the sharp jagged rocks that stretched across the landscape. [[A series of caves were amongst the rocks. And that was the true destination.]]

Just then, Lauren saw as the big brown blob that had consumed Felicia SPLASHED into the water. It was close enough and a big enough splash that Wayne got completely soaked. And knocked off his feet. "The fuck!" Wayne exclaimed as he slowly got back up. As the water cleared, he looked around until he finally saw Lauren. She was already running up the hill towards the car. "Bae!" Lauren didn't look back. "I said, 'BAE!'" [["Get away from the water!" Lauren screamed.]]

"Bae, I'm so soaked in the stuff, at this point I AM water!" Wayne laughed. Wayne joked and laughed a lot during in his lifetime. This wasn't his best joke or best laugh. But it was his last of each. For in that moment, large bubbles began to pop at the water surface. Slowly, the brown blob's outer casing was shed and floated to the surface. [[Slowly, a beautiful woman's face began to rise from underwater.]]

She had long brown hair that shined even in the darkness. Her eyes were far apart at the sides of her beautiful face. Her cheekbones were high. Her lips were large, but authentic. As were her breasts. She was a beautiful woman in every way. [[Except her lower half was that of an aquatic nature with gills, fins, and a tail. For all intents and purposes, she was a mermaid.]]

Wayne was so focused on the beautiful woman's naked breasts, he didn't even notice her tail at first. But when she opened her mouth--revealing long and pointed gel-like teeth--well, Wayne noticed that. "What the fuck are you?!" [[The mermaid made no sound. Instead, she flipped on her back and disappeared under the water.]]

Wayne was as curious as he was terrified, so he only slowly backed away from the water. This was his undoing, as before he knew it, the mermaid's long tail shot out from the water and speared him through the chest. [[Wayne helplessly screamed as the mermaid held him above the water. Then, her beautiful face reappeared from under the water. She opened her mouth wide enough that her jaw bones cracked. Slowly, her tail fed Wayne headfirst into her large open mouth.]]

Francis sat in the driver's seat of Wayne's yellow jeep. He had just finished turning the jeep into position. Now with the jeep pointed away from the gate, Francis looked over at Ray in the passenger's seat. They both their seatbelts on. "You ready?" Ray nodded. [[As the car slowly started forward, something ran up and grabbed Francis by the hair.]]

Despite her being two years older than the douchebag, she was two heads shorter. Frustrated, Felicia tried jumping to reach the parchment, but even this ended in failure. "Haha!" Francis laughed as he held the parchment high above his sister's head. [["Man, give it back to her."]]

Lauren wore a bright yellow bikini that matched her bug-eye sunglasses. She was a freckled redhead who, even though it hurt the hell out of her, loved being in the sun. She loved how it felt in the moment, but she hated sunburns. Yet she refused two things in life: sunscreen and seatbelts. Francis stood off to the side of the jeep, looking guilty. [["Greyhill Beach! Woooooooh!" Lauren called out as she honked Wayne's horn.]]

"You were going to leave me?!" Lauren screamed as she shook Francis's head. Francis ducked out of Lauren's grasp and pointed in the back. "Get in!" Lauren got in the backseat and slammed the door shut. "Fucking asshole." "What happened to Wayne?" "The mermaid killed him." [["What fucking mermaid?!"]]

"Just drive!" Lauren screeched as she slapped Francis arm. Francis let his foot off the brake and let the car slowly go forward. "Go fucking faster!" Lauren screeched. "I don't wanna hit a tree." [["Don't worry about a fucking tree! Worry about the fucking mermaid!"]]

"OK then," Francis nodded. "But it's your fault if we die." Francis put his foot down on the gas. As the car sped up, the rocks were back again to hit it some more. "We're not gonna fucking die on some stupid road," Lauren said with confidence. "We're only gonna fucking die if that mermaid catches up to us. Which it won't if you fucking listen to me and haul some fucking ass! Now go faster, goddamnit!" [[Francis reluctantly put his foot down hard on the gas.]]

Eventually, after a lot of Lauren yawns and Wayne expletives, they were outside the gate that blocked entryway to Greyhill Beach. They all got out of the jeep at once, anxious to stretch and walk. Ray read the warning sign at the gate out loud: "Trespassing on these lands is a violation of the Sacred Lands Act." [["Sacred my ass," Felicia scoffed.]]

Wayne took one hand off the wheel and rubbed Lauren's knee. "Does that help?" Lauren sighed. "Not really, but maybe if--" Lauren took Wayne's hand and slowly pulled it up her thigh. [["JESUS!" Wayne exclaimed as he swerved to avoid another large branch in the road. He put his Lauren-rubbing hand back on the wheel. "Sorry, bae, but this road's a two-hander!"]]

As the car sped through the unmaintained dirty road, Lauren was finally happy again as she "WOOOOH!"ed in delight. This, despite what she had seen happen to Wayne. She was finally having fun on the once-boring road. [[Then the jeep hit a downed large branch in the middle of the road.]]

The jeep's tires awkwardly rolled over the branch. As Francis lost control of the errant vehicle, it headed towards a large tree. Francis quickly slammed on the brakes--narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with the tree. Francis and Ray were safe. [[But Lauren, who never wore her seatbelt, had went flying through the windshield, and hit the tree.]]

Ray got of the jeep to check on Lauren. Her face suffered the most physical damage, but it was her neck that was instantly broken. Lauren was dead. He looked over at the dumbstruck Francis and shook his head. Francis anxiously tried to start the car back up. With a little difficulty, it was still in good working order. [[As Ray got back into the jeep, Francis said "We're going slow the rest of the way.]]

As promised, Francis slowly drove down the rest of the unmaintained road. Eventually, he found his way to real, maintained roads. And soon enough, Wayne's jeep was back where it had started at Francis and Felicia's family's house. It was nighttime. [[In the morning, five passengers had departed, and now only two were left.]]

Francis turned off the ignition and looked over at Ray. He took a deep breath and exhaled even deeper. "Ray, Wayne and Lauren are dead." Ray nodded. "Yeah, I'm sorry." Francis nodded back. "I didn't like those two AT ALL. But Felicia? We talked shit to each other all the time, but--I'm really gonna miss that big fucking bitch." Francis closed his eyes hard. [["I'm really sorry, Francis."]]

Ray was unsure how else to respond. He had never been in a situation anything like this. Social situations of any kind were foreign to him and this was an especially tricky social situation. Ray waited in silence for ten minutes while Francis sat there with his eyes firmly shut. It was only his breathing that indicated to Ray that Francis was not dead. [[Eventually, Francis, his eyes still closed, spoke up and said "Ray, I need you to make one more decision."]]

"I will, Francis, what is it?" "Open the glovebox, Ray." Ray opened the glovebox. His heart tensed as he saw a .38 revolver slide down. [["Pick up the gun, Ray."]]

"I--I--I--" Ray sputtered nervously. "I don't like guns." "Fair enough." Without opening his eyes, Francis reached over and pulled the gun out of the glovebox. He put the gun against his temple. "Francis, stop!" "Make the decision for me," Francis said as he pulled back the hammer of the gun. "Should I pull the trigger or not?" [["Yes, pull the trigger, Francis."]] [["No, don't do it, Francis!"]]

[[Francis silently nodded, then pulled the trigger.]]

Francis nodded and put the gun back in the glovebox. He sighed again. But his eyes were finally open again as he looked at Ray. "So what do we do now?" "I already made my last decision," Ray said with a hint of sadness. "I shouldn't make decisions. I just got everyone killed." Francis touched Ray's shoulder. "Hey, you've still got me, right?" [[Ray nodded.]]

Nothing happened. He pulled it again. Still nothing. He pulled the trigger five more times--just to be really, really sure--and it was all nothing. He lowered the gun and, with his eyes finally open, checked the cylinder's chambers. All six were empty. "Fucking Wayne," Francis said. He turned to Ray, who looked as if he was staring at a ghost. "I'm sorry I didn't die, Ray." THE END (link: "Restart")[(reload:)]

"So," Francis continued. "We can either spend the rest of our lives blaming each other for what happened. Or we can accept that shit happens and we just got caught up in some of it today. Right?" Ray nodded. "Right." "Right. Good. And let's stay the fuck away from water from now on." THE END (link: "Restart")[(reload:)]

"Oh no!" Lauren covered her mouth. "What happened to her?" "I'll tell you when we're safe," Francis said as he inadvertently took a quick look back towards the caves. "We have to get out of here now. Get your boyfriend--and give me the keys." [[Francis reached for Wayne's shorts.]]

"Fuck you!" Lauren said as she pulled the shorts closer to her. "Don't waste our time," Francis said bluntly. "Me and Ray can go ahead and get the car ready to go, while you get Wayne and--" "You're not leaving us behind!" Lauren yelled. [[Lauren ran up the hill towards the car, with Wayne's shorts in her hands.]]

"Oh my God," Francis threw up his hands. "Can you believe this shit?" Ray shook his head. "WAYNE!" Francis shouted as he started up the beach. "Where is that asshole?" [["WAYNE! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU! WAYYYYYYYYYNE!"]]

While Francis walked one way across the beach, Ray went the other, both shouting "WAYNE!" as they went. Their loud calls echoed far up the hills on both sides--even going as far as the caves. After minutes of searching, Francis and Ray found their way back to each other. "I don't think we're going to find him," Ray said. "Yeah, no kidding." [[Then a large brown shape screeched loudly as it ran at Francis' legs from behind and knocked him into the water.]]

"Wayne, you fucker!" Francis shouted at Wayne, who stood at the shore, covered in brown weeds. "You're such hot shit, I thought you could use a dip to cool off!" Wayne laughed as he cleaned the brown weeds off of himself. "That's NOT fucking funny!" Francis shouted back. "You twisted my fucking ankle! Give me a hand!" [["Here ya go!" Wayne flipped off Francis.]]

"Ray, can you come in here and help me out, man?" Francis asked in a pleading tone that was unfamiliar to him. As Ray started towards the water, Wayne was distracted by something he saw in the sky. [["What the fuck is that big brown thing?"]]

Francis' eyes widened as he looked up and saw the big brown blob flying overhead. It was flying in a targeted manner and it was going straight towards Francis like a dart. "Ray, quick!" Francis anxiously tried to paddle closer to Ray's outstretched hand. [[But Ray was too late to help Francis. Because no sooner had he reached out for help had the big brown blob landed square on Francis.]]

In an instant, Francis was gone underneath the water. In that same instant, the naked Wayne ran up the hill towards the car. Ray was about to follow Wayne up the hill, but then a few bubbles in the water aroused his attention. [[Ray walked closer to the water. "Francis?"]]

Ray took slow measured steps into the water as the bubbles continued to grow and pop on the surface of the water. "Francis?" Ray called out again as he took some more steps forward. [[Suddenly, the bubbles stopped forming.]]

Ray was halfway in a turning motion back towards the shore when from out of the water burst a creature unlike any Ray had ever seen. It had the face of a beautiful woman with eyes far apart and high cheekbones. Its hair was long and golden and somehow seemed to be made of light itself. It had large human breasts and large muscular arms. The creature could be called a human woman at this point of description. [[But that would be ignoring its long fish-like bottom half that was long and muscular. And its tail fins and gills. It was a real, live mermaid. And it was hungry.]]

Ray's tears clouded his vision, so he didn't see it when it happened. But suffice it to say, Ray felt it when it happened. It may have been quick. And perhaps it was quick enough to be considered painless. But for one instant there, Ray was still alive as the mermaid grabbed him from both sides and ripped him in half. [[The only mercy is that since the mermaid's next actions were to eat Ray's two halves, his family did not have to see him like that.]]

Lauren sat unbuckled in the driver's seat of Wayne's yellow jeep. As she waited for Wayne, she had had enough time to reposition the car so they could leave once he arrived. She'd also drank some more of her bikini bottom flask. But the worst something she'd done was something that pissed off the naked, death-defying Wayne upon arrival. [["Bae! Why the fuck'd you put the top down?!"]]

"Wayne!" Lauren exclaimed as Wayne sat his bare ass in the passenger's seat. "You're safe!" She hugged him. Wayne patted Lauren on the head, then broke up the hug and buckled himself and then his stubborn eye-rolling girlfriend in. "You didn't answer my question. Why'd you put the top down?" "Who cares about the top? What about the others?" [["Pretty sure Francis and Ray both died on my way up the hill."]]

"Oh, great!" Lauren started the car, then she paused. "I mean, not great that they're dead, but great that we can get out of here." Lauren lightly pressed on the gas. "So how did Francis and Ray die? Is it the same way Felicia died?" "Felicia's dead too?" Wayne asked. Wayne shook his head. "Damn. And I don't know exactly. Some big brown thing flew outta the sky and hit Francis, then there was a monster in the water and--" [[Lauren slammed her foot down hard on the gas.]]

Wayne grabbed the side of the jeep as it jostled on the bumpy road. "Bae!" "You said there's a monster out there! It killed all our friends. I don't want us to be its next victims!" "We're gonna be a victim of your driving if you don't slow down. Bae! You shouldn't even be driving with your shitty record!" "Hey! All my incidents were on real roads and involved other cars driven by ASSHOLES who don't know how to drive! I don't see any traffic here, so its fine. I'll slow down when we get to a real road." [["LOOK OUT! BAE!"]]

Wayne tried to duck, but it was too late, as a long gangly tree branch that earlier had scratched the top now scratched its way through Wayne's brain. Lauren screamed as she looked back and saw her boyfriend's limp body speared on the tree branch--still connected to the tree. [[Lauren's whole body shook with a constant tremor like she were a giant redheaded vibrator.]]

The fear of death from either a tree or a generalized monster was enough to make Lauren hyper-focused on the situation at hand. And that situation was driving as fast as she could out of the road that had earlier bored her so. [[Like some kind of arcade game frog, she weaved and darted past the obstacles in front of her.]]

She couldn't avoid all the bumps, but somehow she was able to right the car with every one. And the rocks that had earlier bounced against Wayne's prized jeep's paint job now bounced towards Lauren. But with incredible timing and a lot of luck, none of the rocks were able to hit the speeding redhead. [[And then like a twist of fate, the road twisted and up ahead were two gangly branches outstretched. They pointed their sharp wood talons towards Lauren's head like they somehow knew they wanted her just like their kin had gotten Wayne before.]]

Lauren screamed and, unlike Wayne, was able to duck in time, and avoided being speared by either branch. She breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed like death wasn't going to give up its mark on her. [[Lauren's sigh of relief came at a bad time, as just then, a large pointed branch in the middle of the road went unseen by her. She ran over the branch without slowing down. Most unfortunately, this led to the premature death of--]]

--Wayne's yellow jeep's tires. Like tire spikes, the pointed branch popped all the tires of the jeep. Lauren screamed and slowed the car to a complete stop. She got out of the car and picked up the branch. "Stupid branch almost got me killed!" Lauren threw the pointed branch into the forest. She would have to walk the rest of the way. {(if: $topoff is 1)[[Lauren walked for thirty-two minutes until she had made it to a main road. Unfortunately, she was soon spotted by police and arrested for public nudity.]](if: $topon is 1)[[Lauren walked for thirty minutes until she had made it to a main road. She was soon picked up by a busload of college beach volleyball players headed to a tournament.]]}

It was then that Lauren, in a jumbled mess, told the police exactly what had happened to her friends. [["OK, so Felicia died first! I don't exactly know how. Then, I HEARD, but didn't see it happen, that Francis and Ray were killed by some water monster! Then, my boyfriend Wayne got speared through the head by a tree branch! Oh, and I was driving his car when it happened! I would have driven better, but T.B.H. I'd been drinking."]]

Since Lauren was not a member of the team, she couldn't compete. But it was a long trip to get there. And in that time, she made a lot of new friends. That was great for Lauren because all her old friends had just died. [[But in the ensuing weeks, the four missing college students were looked for and eventually Wayne's jeep was found.]]

Investigators, reporters, bloggers, vloggers, and podcasters all looked into Lauren's story. They could easily confirm that, yes, a topless college girl named Lauren had been picked up just outside the road leading to Greyhill Beach. And Wayne's tree-speared body and his car were both recovered. [[But no one found any sign of a monster or her friends at Greyhill Beach.]]

Lauren's Blood Alcohol Level was found to be above the legal limit. And since she was the one who had been driving the jeep when Wayne died, she was found to be at fault in his death. [[Lauren was charged with vehicular manslaughter.]]

"And nowwwww," Felicia said with a calming exhale. "With all the important stuff out of the way, we've got a cave to find." Felicia, Ray, and Francis walked alongside the rocky hills that extended as far as the eye could see. After a half hour of Felicia's walking, stopping, and map re-checkings, Francis was the one to roll his eyes. "You really think you're gonna be able to find the exact right cave somebody wrote about 300 years ago?" [["There it is," Felicia pointed to a V-shaped cave entrance.]]

In addition, due to her many prior and new convictions which included an expired license, vehicular theft, public nudity (multiple times), for trespassing on Sacred Lands, and for being the only person of interest in the disappearance of her other three friends, Lauren was sentenced to twenty years in prison. For every day of her sentence served, Lauren cursed the decisions Ray had made that had led her to this horrific experience. THE END (link: "Restart")[(reload:)]

Luckily for Lauren, there was no evidence that she had been anywhere near Wayne's jeep when he and the others had gone missing. No bodies were ever found. And as many would attest, Wayne was too protective of that jeep to let anyone else drive it even for a moment. [[So with four college students missing who may or may not have had anything to do with each other, and no bodies to discover, Lauren was in the clear.]]

Lauren made a new life for herself by moving far away so she could join her new friends on their beach volleyball team. She didn't like being sunburnt, but she loved being in the sun. Her teammates all loved her and soon forgot what life was like without the unforgettable Lauren around them. [[But what they couldn't understand was why Lauren loved being on beaches, as beach volleyball players often were, but she was so afraid to go near the water?]]

Lauren never told anyone why she was so afraid of water. Whenever they asked, she would deny it, then take a swig of her bikini bottom flask. Eventually, she did in fact get a yeast infection. And that hurt a lot. But what hurt the worst was the not knowing what exactly had happened to her friends. She knew how Wayne had died of course, but what happened to his body? And her oldest friend Felicia--what exactly had become of her? That question would haunt her forever. THE END (link: "Restart")[(reload:)]

Abandoned next to a towel was Wayne's shorts. Francis picked them up, reached inside, and pulled out the keys to Wayne's yellow jeep. He smiled faintly, but noticed Ray still looking up and down the beach. [["I'm sorry, Ray, but we tried to find them. We couldn't, so, we've gotta go now."]]

Unbeknownst to the others, Lauren and Wayne had in their time alone on the beach discovered a secret cave. It was accessible by the water, which everyone knew about. But what they didn't know was it looped around the area. Lauren and Wayne, expecting to play a prank on Felicia, jumped out with brown weeds on them screaming. [[They were so covered in brown weeds, they didn't notice a critical bit of information.]]

Mainly that not only was Felicia nowhere to be seen, but Ray and Francis--whose voice they'd heard--they were gone, too. "Well ain't that some shitty shit!" Wayne lamented as he threw the weeds off his naked body. He went over to his shorts and pulled them back up. His eyes widened as he felt around in his pocket. [["They stole my keys!" Wayne's voice echoed far. Like a sad mother bird's wail.]]

"Are you sure?" Lauren asked as she cleaned herself of brown weeds. "Extremely sure," Wayne said as he squinted his eyes in the distance, towards the hill they'd come down. "You don't happen to have a telescope on hand, do you?" "HMMMM!" Lauren mock-felt around her bikini-d body. "I don't think so, no!" "Well, how 'bout some cooch hooch?" [[Lauren giggled and took her flash out of her bikini bottom. She liked when Wayne called it that.]]

Lauren held the flask out to Wayne, but he was soon distracted with anxiety. He paced about in the sand. "They took it, they took it, THEY TOOK IT!" "Waaaaaaayne-y," Lauren called in a soothing tone. "Calm down. I'm sure your jeep will be alright." "But we don't even know Ray!" Wayne called out in another loud tone that echoed far into the caves. "He could be a chop-shop-suey-Louie-Louie-salesman!" [[Lauren chuckled. "I don't think that little boy could sell a flamethrower to a pyromaniac."]]

"Ya never know!" Wayne kicked the sand near where he'd pissed in the sand earlier. "And we don't know! That's the whole thing! We're just a couple innocents caught up in some big conspiracy to steal awesome-ass jeeps and rip 'em apart like they're fucking Christmas gifts!" "I think we have too many priors to be innocents." [["Yeah well--what the fuuuuuuuck?" Wayne's attention was completely transfixed to the sky above.]]

Lauren slowly crept up behind Wayne, without looking up at what had him transfixed. As she put her hands on his shoulders, his jaw slacked. "I think Wayne-y needs to calm--" "NOOOOO!" Wayne pushed Lauren back so hard she went flying backwards and hit the ground hard. Wayne, too, lost his balance, and landed in Lauren's lap. Lauren soon recovered, then slapped Wayne. "What the fuck!" [[Wayne pointed forward with a shaky finger. "Look at that shit."]]

Lauren peaked over Wayne's head and finally saw it. It being the large brown blob. It had soared high in the air from the caves in the distance to the beach. By some twist of fate--as well as by Wayne's quick maneuvering--it had landed square on the spot of Wayne's piss in the sand. [[The brown blob seemed to screech and claw from the inside as it slowly changed form.]]

Lauren and Wayne held hands as they slowly walked over to see more closely what the brown blob had become. "Bae?" Wayne asked. "Can you go ahead and gimme a description of exactly what you're seeing in the sand here?" [["It looks like a tiny mermaid suffocating in the sand."]]

"That's good to know," Wayne said. "Means I don't have to give up the cooch hooch. Speaking of which--" Wayne held out his hand. Lauren handed him the flask. He took a big long swig of it. Lauren looked down sadly at the mermaid as it flopped around in the sand and made coughing sounds. [["We have to help it--no--her. We have to help her."]]

Wayne finished his big long swig and burped. "No way. I've got a seventh sense about this shit--and that shit's trouble. You didn't see it up in the sky. It was flying down right at us. It wanted to kill us, bae." "//She// wanted to kill us," Lauren corrected. "Fine. SHE wanted to kill us. So, let's let her die, find Wayne--no wait--shit that's me--" Wayne burped. Lauren's cooch hooch was strong stuff. [["I meant, let's find RAY--and Francis, and beat their asses for stealing my jeep!"]]

Wayne pumped his flash-holding hand in the air, which spilled out some alcohol. And by yet another twist of fate--and another of Wayne's maneuvers--it landed right on the tiny mermaid below. {(if: $redbikini is 1)[The tiny mermaid shook violently, then coughed out a tiny human skeleton wearing a tiny red bikini that somehow made its skeletal breasts look larger.](if: $greenbikini is 1)[The tiny mermaid shook violently, then coughed out a tiny human skeleton wearing a tiny green bikini that somehow made its skeletal ass look larger.]} [[Lauren and Wayne both said it at the same time: "Felicia?"->theyfinddeadfelicia]]

"It fucking ate Felicia!" Wayne shouted as he pointed down at the tiny, twitching mermaid in the sand below. Wayne raised his foot over it. "Wait!" Lauren pulled Wayne back. "Oh, for fuck's sake--fine, SHE fucking ate Felicia!" Wayne raised his foot again. "Goddamnit!" Lauren pulled him back again. "I'm not saying save her." "Then what duh fuck are you saying?" [["I want her to suffer."]]

{(if: $topoff is 1)[Lauren picked up her discarded bikini top from the ground. Then, she dug her hands into the ground scooped the tiny mermaid out, along with Wayne's pissed-on sand. She put it in one of the bikini top's cups and put the other atop it.](if: $topon is 1)[Lauren untied her bikini top. Then, she dug her hands into the ground scooped the tiny mermaid out, along with Wayne's pissed-on sand. She put it in one of the bikini top's cups and put the other atop it.]} "Let's get this tiny bitch outta here." [[Wayne was awestruck by his girlfriend. "Holy shit, bae! You're like, the hottest-ass genius ever!"]]

Through careful maneuvering by Wayne and Lauren, they were able to safely transport the tiny mermaid out of Greyhill Beach. And it took a long walk, but they were able to walk the whole distance of the boring, unmaintained road without incident. Wayne anxiously, hopefully looked around for signs of his jeep, but found none. "Don't worry, Wayne-y. Things will work out." [[As the tiny mermaid tried to escape, Lauren blew some of her drunken breath onto it. It coughed and went back into its bikini top prison.]]

Even with Wayne and a tiny coughing "pet" with her, it wasn't hard for the topless Lauren to find someone willing to give her a ride. And, once home, it wasn't hard for the pair to use the internet to prove the existence of one tiny mermaid to the world. [[And from there on, the bidding wars started for the tiny monster. And luckily, the cruelest and most unsual scientists were able to bid the most for the monster that had killed Lauren's closest friend.]]

As a vegetarian, Lauren wasn't happy about the harm she had effectively caused to a living creature. But she also wasn't happy about what the living creature had done to her best friend. She didn't know exactly what would happen to the tiny mermaid and she didn't know if Felicia still existed somewhere. It should come as no surprise that she had started drinking a lot more. [[And then the cuttings started. Deeper and deeper, the depression and the cuts became. None of the external pain could match her internal pain. The only thing that made her happy was when she broke up with Wayne. At least he wouldn't have to see her like this.]]

It didn't take Lauren's former bae Wayne long to figure out what had happened to his beloved jeep and those thieving assholes Ray and Francis. "I'm standing here live on the scene," the on-the-field TV reporter said into their microphone. "It was here that a busload of beach volleyball players collided with the yellow jeep near the train tracks. Everyone on the bus was unharmed, but after the collision, the yellow jeep was hit by a train, killing the driver and passenger instantly." THE END (link: "Restart")[(reload:)]

"Felicia died," Francis said bluntly. "Oh no!" Lauren covered her mouth. "Did she fall in a cave?" "She didn't fall," Francis said as he inadvertently took a quick look back towards the caves. "But it isn't safe here." [[Lauren nodded and held her hand out to Wayne.]]

Wayne slingshotted the bikini top towards Lauren, but it went way over her head and into the water. Wayne broke out in laughter. "You asshole!" Lauren punched Wayne's arm in a very non-playful way. "It was an accident, I swear!" Wayne rubbed his arm, but didn't say anything for fear of getting hit again. [[Lauren was too shocked about Felicia to roll her eyes or respond, but in her head, she briefly thought "Sure it was."]]

As Lauren waded out into the water to find her bikini top, Francis stood close enough to Ray to talk in secret. "Man these two are a couple of dumbasses, huh?" Ray didn't like talking bad about people, so he nodded instead. But secrecy wasn't needed. Because Wayne wasn't paying attention to the happenings at the ground level. He was more preoccupied with the sky above. [["Is that a fucking UFO up there?" Wayne asked as he pointed up above.]]

Now Francis rolled his eyes, as he was expecting this to be just another stupid thing Wayne had said. But then Francis' eyes looked up. They widened as he was shocked to see the big brown blob that had earlier consumed his sister. It was now falling from the sky towards the water. Francis grabbed Ray's arm then lunged forward and grabbed Wayne's arm, too. He pulled them away from the water just before [[The big brown blob landed hard on Lauren, sending her underwater in an instant.]]

"LAUREN!" Wayne shouted as he tried to pull himself from Francis' grip. "Let me go!" "It's too late for her!" Francis tightened his grip on Wayne's arm and pulled him closer. "We've gotta get out of here while WE are still alive." "Can you let go of me please?" "No. You're too stupid to be trusted not to do something stupid. Usually that wouldn't matter, but we need your keys." Wayne nodded and started to walk with Ray and Francis--who still held a firm grip on his skinny arm--up the hill that led to the yellow jeep. [[But then from out of the water, a shriveled-up and smaller-looking Lauren popped out and in a very dry voice called out "Waaaaaaayne!"]]

"LAUREN!" Wayne elbowed Francis in the stomach and broke free of his grasp. He ran towards the water. But as fast as he ran, it didn't matter. Because with every second that passed, Lauren got a little bit more shriveled and smaller. "Waaaaaaayne," Lauren's voice got smaller and smaller, as did she. [[By the time Wayne had reached Lauren, she had shrunk and shriveled to the size of a doll. So small, she fit in the palm of Wayne's hand.]]

Wayne stood motionless in the water, just staring at the doll-sized Lauren. His eyes were so red from sadness, but for some reason he couldn't cry. Eventually, Francis and Ray went out to get Wayne--each taking him by an arm. They led him out of the water and up the hill that led to the jeep. Francis looked closely at Lauren for a few moments--relieved to not see any sign of the big brown blob. [[The whole walk up the hill, Wayne continued to stare at Lauren in his hand. He didn't even notice when Francis reached into his shorts and took the keys to the jeep from him.]]

Soon they were all inside the yellow jeep. Francis was the driver repositioning the car away from the gate. Ray was in the passenger's seat--terrified about the social situation he had found himself in. And Wayne was in the backseat, still staring at Lauren. [["OK then," Francis cleared his throat. "I'm gonna drive us out of here now. Alright, Wayne?"]]

Francis looked back at Wayne and saw that Wayne had now gone into a fully catatonic state. He had stopped blinking. He breathed so lightly that it hardly counted as movement. Francis, despite his height and bulk and long-standing sibling rivalry (when Felicia was alive anyway), was usually capable of connecting with others on an emotional level. But on this occasion, he had difficulty. [["Hey!" Francis reached back and slapped Wayne hard against the face. Wayne looked up at him. "Lauren is dead. I'm sorry, but it's true."]]

And then, the tears finally fell. Or burned, as it felt to Wayne. "That's progress at least." Francis nodded and started the jeep's slow trek through the hazardous road. [[No one in the jeep noticed--not even Wayne whose eyes were now focused ahead--what happened as Wayne's tears fell upon Lauren.]]

Her tiny body flopped around in Wayne's hand. The heels of her feet dug into his palms. As did her hands. Perhaps it was a miracle and Lauren was slowly being restored to life. Perhaps her height would return as well. And maybe even--somehow--Felicia was still alive. Someday, they would all gather together and laugh about the absurd events of this day. [[Unfortunately, none of these possibilities were real because Lauren and Felicia were both very dead.]]

The unmaintained road had come to an end. Francis looked over and nodded at Ray. They had survived a horrible day. Francis, imitating as a form of flattery what Lauren had said earlier pumped his fist in the air and said "Fuck you, Greyhill Beach! Woooooooh!" [[Francis turned out onto a real, paved, and maintained road.]]

Not having to go slow anymore, he instantly sped up. Not wanting to risk an accident, he said to Ray "Ray, can you check on Wayne?" Ray nodded and turned his head towards the backseat just in time to see as [[A full-sized redheaded mermaid with freckled skin opened its mouth wide around his head. It used its long jelly teeth to bite Ray's head off in a single bite.]]

"FUCK!" Francis shouted as the mermaid chewed through Ray's head. Then, it unlatched its jaws further and began to swallow the rest of Ray's body whole like a snake. Francis slammed on the breaks, but Ray's seat-belted body kept the mermaid anchored in the car. [["FUCKER! FUCKER! FUCKER!" Francis punched the mermaid with the side of his fist, but it continued its swallowing of Ray's dead body.]]

Then suddenly, Francis remembered the last time he'd been in the jeep with Lauren, Wayne, and Felicia. Wayne--who was still catatonic in his current state--had shown something to him that finally had a purpose beyond swagger. Frantically, Francis--while still driving forward at a fast speed--reached over to the glovebox and opened it. Carefully, despite his eyes having to look forward and at the dangerous mermaid, he was able to reach into the glovebox and withdraw Wayne's .38 revolver. [[Just as the mermaid had finished with Ray and was now eyeing Francis as her next meal, Francis pointed the revolver at her and pulled the trigger.]]

//CLICK!// empty. The mermaid flopped into the passenger seat. //CLICK!// empty. The mermaid slowly reached towards Francis' large, meaty arm. //CLICK!// empty. The mermaid slowly unhinged her jaw again. //CLICK!////CLICK!////CLICK!// [[Suddenly, the mermaid lunged at Francis.]]

The mermaid bit deep into Francis' arm. As Francis repeatedly punched the mermaid in the head with his other hand (as much as he could while also driving), he looked back desperately at Wayne. "Wayne! Where are the bullets?!" It was useless. Wayne was totally mentally gone. Francis knew there was no way he could survive. [[And so that's why Francis drove towards the train tracks, where a train was approaching.]]

Francis struggled to drive as he felt himself become more consumed by the mermaid. He did entirely mean to hit the train--so it wasn't chicken when he pulled away at the last instant and accidentally hit a busload of college beach volleyball players--sending the entire busload to its death by train. [[Francis had failed in his attempt at a seemingly-less painful death. And in fact, he had actually made it worse.]]

After the collision with the bus, the jeep had went off a hill and flipped enough times to break both Wayne's neck and the mermaid's neck. Unfortunately, this did not kill the mermaid. It only weakened her enough so that her consumption of Francis became an agonizingly slow and much more painful death. THE END (link: "Restart")[(reload:)]

"If you don't want it, I can chuck it back in." Francis turned and readied his arm back. "No!" Felicia grabbed and held back Francis' muscley arm. "I'll take it." Felicia held out her hand. Francis reached his free hand into his backpack and pulled out a pair of medical gloves. "Put 'em on." "But they look really lame. And it's just a freaking rock." [[Francis, having studied first aid that very day, knew enough to respond to this as such: "You don't ever wanna touch an unusal object with bare hands. Wear 'em or I'm tossing it back."]]

Reluctantly, Felicia put the medical gloves on even though she hated them. Only then did Francis transfer the egg-shaped rock to her. Then he carefully removed his own gloves and put them in a ziplock bag and sealed it, ready to dispose of it later in a proper place. [[Francis cared more about just having big muscles. He cared about the environment.]]

When they returned to the beach, they saw their friends having their own form of fun. {(if: $pissonsand is 1)[[Lauren and Wayne were swimming in the water.]](if: $pissinwater is 1 and $topoff is 1)[[Lauren was lying on the beach with her top still off, while Wayne was nearby swimming in the water.]](if: $pissinwater is 1 and $topon is 1)[[Lauren was lying on the beach sunning herself, while Wayne was nearby swimming in the water.]](if: $holdpissin is 1 and $topoff is 1)[[Wayne was hopping around the beach trying to hold in his piss, while Lauren swam in the water.]](if: $holdpissin is 1 and $topon is 1)[[Wayne was hopping around the beach trying to hold in his piss, while Lauren swam in the water.]]}

"Hey, Wayne!" Felicia smiled a devious smile. "Come on out so I can show you something!" "It better not be a fucking prank." a bareassed Wayne trudged out of the water towards Felicia. "So what is it?" [["This!" Felicia slapped the egg-shaped rock into Wayne's hands.]]

Lauren waved as the group walked up. "Find anything interesting?" {(if: $topoff is 1)[["Yeah, catch!" Felicia said as she tossed the egg-shaped rock at Lauren's naked breasts.]](if: $topon is 1)[["Yeah, catch!" Felicia said as she tossed the egg-shaped rock at Lauren's bikini top-wearing chest.]]}

Wayne continued to hop as the group walked up. "Find some cool shit?" [["Yeah, catch!" Felicia said as she tossed the egg-shaped rock at Wayne.]]

The egg-shaped rock stuck to one of Lauren's naked breasts. "OOOOOOH it feels like jelly!" Lauren giggled. "Awesome prank!" Felicia giggled back. "I know, right?" [[As Lauren went to remove the egg-shaped rock, she was horrified as her fingers sunk into it like it was made of quicksand.]]

The egg-shaped rock bounced off Lauren's bikini top-wearing breasts, then bounced over to Felicia's, and then it bounced off Felicia's and into the sand. As soon as it hit the dry sand, it shriveled up, then disintegrated into nothing. "Goddamnit," Felicia said as she bent over to check. "It's all gone." [[Felicia started her fingers down towards the sand]]

The egg-shaped rock didn't bounce off Wayne's bare chest. Instead, it stuck to him like a piece of crap, which it also kind of looked like. "Nice prank," Wayne said as he put his fingers around the rock. "Ya know, one of these days, your pranks are gonna--what the fuck?" [["My fingers are stuck to it!"]]

Felicia scoffed. "I'm not about to be pranked on a prank, smartass." Wayne shook his head hard as he fingers went deeper into the rock, like it were made of liquid. "I'm not kidding!" Lauren rushed out of the water. "What's wrong?" "This thing F-bag threw at me's stuck to my chest! And now my fingers are stuck to it!" [[Lauren pulled on Wayne's arm, but couldn't unstick his fingers. She glared at her best friend to help. Felicia rolled her eyes, then took her own grasp of Wayne's arm and pulled.]]

As those three pulled on the egg-shaped rock stuck to Wayne's chest, Francis pulled Ray aside. "We have to be smart," Francis said. "There's something off about that rock. No matter what happens, don't get caught up in the fray, OK?" Ray nodded. Just then, Felicia screamed as the egg-shaped rock had started to quickly expand across all of Wayne's skin, then to Lauren, and it was nearing Felicia. [["HELP! It's going to eat me!"]]

Without thought, Ray ran over and put his hands around Felicia's waist. "Ray, no!" Francis shouted. Before he could run over to help Ray, a single strand of brown shot out from the rock onto Ray and pulled him closer to Felicia. He was now in the fray, much to Francis' discontent. "FUCK!" Ray tried to pull Felicia free, but soon, the expanding brown of the rock had made its way all through Lauren and was now onto Felicia. She cried "I'm sorry, Ray." [[As the brown egg-shaped rock expanded to Felicia, she turned her head as much as she could--barely--and kissed Ray. Soon, where there stood four people, now stood a huge brown blob. And it was rolling itself into the water.]]

Francis was immature in some ways, such as his propensity to swear. And for the childish feuds with his sister. But, if nothing else, Francis was a prudent person. And he was always big for his age. Always the biggest, strongest kid in any room. There were many times in his life that people had told him he should play sports. And he considered it. Until he saw videos of a great many sports injuries. And he also read about retired athletes having various mobility troubles. [[This is all a long way of saying that, instead of waiting around to see what the big brown rolling rock did after rolling into the water, Francis simply left Greyhill Beach.]]

It was unfortunate that Francis did not have the keys to Wayne's yellow jeep. But, a long walk down a dirt road leading away from the action was better than a beach stroll near it. He would never step foot on a beach again. [[Francis hitchhiked home and tried to get the image of the egg-shaped rock-turned big brown blob out of his head.]]

For many years, Francis was asked about the disappearance of his sister and their friends. The public opinion was that he had killed them--somehow--and hidden their bodies--somewhere. The truth, in addition to sounding absolutely crazy, was something Francis considered to be too dangerous. Unlike Erich the ship logsman for the ship the Cruel Victory, Francis kept it to himself. [[One day, part of the mysterious disappearance of the four college students was solved.]]

By a twist of fate, a wandering hunter had found his way into the forest outside Greyhill Beach. It was there that Wayne's yellow jeep was discovered. The years had been harsh to it. Animals had clawed it, branches had broken through it, and its once-bright yellow paint had long-since faded away. If Wayne hadn't already been dead for years at that point, the sight of this would have killed him. [[Even with Wayne's yellow jeep discovered, Francis didn't say a peep.]]

He, unlike his sister and their friends, went on to have a long life. It was a life filled with many nightmares. Many times, he saw Felicia in his dreams. She would return as if nothing had happened. She had simply been gone for some time and now she was back. He never stopped wondering about what the egg-shaped rock really was, what it had become, why it rolled into the water, or where it was now. The answers to these questions didn't matter because none of them could bring back Miss Bitch Felicia, his new friend Ray, dumb Lauren, or even that stupid asshole Wayne. THE END (link: "Restart")[(reload:)]

But Francis quickly grabbed her wrist and shook his head. Felicia nodded and stood back up. She looked at the others and said "Well, time to go." As Felicia, Francis, Ray, and Lauren started their walk up towards the hill that led to Wayne's jeep, Wayne was still in the water. [["Help!" Wayne shouted. The others all looked over as Wayne's disappeared underwater.]]

"What the fuck?" Wayne asked as he looked closer at the rock. "Is this shit?" Wayne sniffed the rock. Francis cursed under his breath, then he confronted the laughing-Felicia. "Why did you do that?" "Because it was funny!" [[Just then, the egg-shaped rock's surface began to expand across Wayne's skin.]]

"WAYNE!" Lauren screamed as the ran out of the water towards the ever-rockening Wayne. Francis grabbed Lauren and pulled her away. "Let me go!" "Where are the keys to Wayne's jeep?" Lauren tried to break free. "I don't care! I have to help Wayne!" And just like that, a loud sucking sound was heard and Wayne was now completely gone. The egg-shaped rock had consumed him, turning him rock-like. And then that rock-shape took on more of a blobbish structure. [[And it then rolled into the water and disappeared.]]

"WAYNE!" Lauren screamed again. Francis tightened his grip on Lauren. "That isn't Wayne!" Francis shook her. "Wayne is dead! And we will be, too, if that thing gets to us." Felicia audibly scoffed. "It's just a prank to get me back. He'll be back out here in no time." "Fuck you!" Francis took one hand off Lauren to point in Felicia's face. "This is all your fucking fault! So you shut the fuck up!" [[Bubbles could be seen forming on the water surface by anyone paying attention. Which in this case, was only Lauren. She stomped on Francis' foot and elbowed him in the stomach to break away from him.]]

"WAYNE!" Lauren screamed as she ran towards the water. Francis turned back to Ray as he started to run. "Find the keys, Ray!" Before Lauren could reach the water, Francis took a long jump and tackled Lauren down against the sandy beach. Lauren spit out some sand. "Wayne?" [[The bubbles stopped bubbling, then the brown blob's outer casing was shed and floated to the surface.]]

Francis helped Lauren onto her feet--but kept a firm hugging grip on her. Her embraced her so tightly, she would be unable to elbow him again. Felicia casually walked over and sighed. "Francis, will you please stop trying to rape my friend." "Yeah!" Lauren said as she tried to worm her way out. "I need to help Wayne out of the water!" [["Wayne isn't in the water, you dumb girls! He's DEAD!"]]

Just then, Wayne's slicked-back blair hair could be seen rising from the surface. Ever so slowly. "That Wayne rising out of the water sure is dead," Felicia said as she thumbed towards the water. "Now, if you please, stop raping my friend." Francis was dumbstruck enough by the sight of Wayne's hair to loosen his embrace of Lauren. Felicia took this opportunity to slowly pry her loose of the fingers on Francis' right hand. [[The slicked-back hair continued to rise out of the water. But as soon as the face could be seen, it was realized that this was not Wayne. And as not-Wayne continued even further out of the water, the presence of naked breasts was another indicator.]]

Lauren's face scrunched up. "When did Wayne get breasts?" "That's not fucking Wayne!" Francis restored his firm grip on Lauren's arms. He looked over to Ray, who had just found the keys hiding under the towel. They were in Wayne's shorts. "Ray, take her!" "EEEEH!" Lauren squealed as Francis forcibly pushed Lauren over to him. Ray valiantly tried to catch her, but all his small body did was cushion their fall. [["OK, now, let's all go!" Francis took hold of Felicia's hand and pulled her towards him.]]

Felicia was awestruck at the sight of the creature rising from the water. It had Wayne's hair, the breasts of a woman, fins, gills, and the tail of a giant fish. "I've discovered a mermaid," Felicia said. "You can name it after we're safe at home!" Francis said as he yanked Felicia closer to him. [[As Francis walked away from the water, Felicia stood firm like an anchor. In a pure test of strength, Francis would have won. But then, the mermaid flashed forward in the water and grabbed Felicia by the head.]]

Now it was Francis' turn to dig into the sand like an anchor. As the mermaid pulled on the still-living Felicia's head, Francis pulled on her hand. Soon Francis had both hands pulling on Felicia's hand. If Ray and Lauren were paying attention to the scene, it would have looked like some hellish version of tug-of-war. But luckily for them, they were running full speed up the hill that led up to Wayne's jeep. [[Unfortunately, Francis would win the tug-of-war. But Felicia would lose, as he head was popped off in the grip of the mermaid. Soon, her head was chewed upon and swallowed like some milk dud.]]

Francis fell to the ground with Felicia's bloody neck-stumped body in his hands. He cried as he held her. The immediate and gory death of his sister--and his role in it--were the only things that he paid attention to in the final moments of his too-short life. [[The mermaid, newly-energized, and seemingly getting bigger by the second, grabbed Francis' head with one hand and Felicia's torso with the other. In one quick motion, the two were then mashed together. A human burger for the monstrous mermaid.]]

Ray and Lauren were far away from the water and were thus spared of the carnage. Ray, not being a driver, handed the keys off to Lauren, and she quickly drove them down the boring road. Thankfully, the jeep's top was up, so no gangly branches from above would hurt them. The two would go their separate ways after that day. Lauren slipped even further into alcoholism. She dated many men after that day, but none would make her as happy as Wayne had. Ray, having become even more afraid of social situations, and feeling bad about the choices he had made that day, became a hermit. THE END (link: "Restart")[(reload:)]

Lauren screamed. "HELP!" Wayne saw the commotion and started his way back to the beach. "I think I can get it off," Felicia said as she started to reach towards the egg-shaped rock. "No," Francis said as he grabbed Felicia's hand before she could reach the rock. "There's something about it--just--no." Felicia rolled her eyes. "You're such a big, spiky-haired baby." [[Just then, the rocky surface of the egg-shaped rock expanded on Lauren's skin.]]

As Francis slowly pulled Felicia away, Wayne ran up past and the skin-changing Lauren and over to Francis. "Hey man!" Wayne grabbed Francis' arm. "You're the smartest one here. You gotta help her!" "No," Francis said with a shake of his head. "I'm only smart enough to know not to get involved with what's happening to her." "Oh yeah?" Wayne said with a nod. "And you both feel that way?" [[Francis nodded fullheartedly, while Felicia nodded more carefully. Lauren meanwhile had been completely consumed by the egg-shaped rock and had lost her shape. Now what stood there was a big brown blob.]]

"HELP HER!" Wayne yelled as he grabbed both Francis and Felicia's hands and pressed them against Lauren. "No!" Francis yelled as the brown blob had started on his and Felicia's hands. "You fucker, Wayne!" Felicia yelled. "It's alright," Wayne said with a nod. "I'll get some water and--and--the three of you will be just fine in no time. And that rhymes so it must be true, right?" Wayne ran out to the water. [[As the brown blob began its ascent up Francis' and Felicia's wrists, Francis turned to Ray and said "Run, Ray."]]

Ray took his only friend Francis' advice and ran up the hill that led out of Greyhill Beach. Meanwhile, Wayne had returned to what was once Lauren, Francis, and Felicia, and had become just one big brown blob. "OK guys," Wayne said as he held his hands above them. His hands were interconnected like a bowl with water he'd gathered. "Here comes--my plan!" [[Wayne slowly poured the water onto the big brown blob. As water touched its skin, bubbles formed atop it. Wayne smiled as he was sure his plan was working perfectly.]]

Ray didn't bother to look behind him as he rushed over the gate. And he didn't bother to stop at Wayne's yellow jeep because even if he knew how to drive--which he didn't--he didn't have the keys for it. So, Ray instead ran through the entire unmaintained road. He made it to a real road--the type that led far away from Greyhill Beach--and then he just kept running. [[It was running from problems that had kept Ray alive, and so he kept running from them.]]

Ray never wanted to set foot on a beach again. Nor did he want to see a rock again. And Ray especially did not want to make decisions anymore. That's why Ray went to work on an oil rig. He wasn't a strong type that could do much of anything physical. But he could work in a kitchen. [[Thus, Ray went to work at an oil rig as a cook.]]

This was a good life for Ray. He took commands from people who knew what they wanted. He didn't have a lot of decisions to make. And he served a useful purpose. Since Ray had left Greyhill Beach so quickly, he survived, which was great. But he also missed something pivotal: water was a key ingredient in the terror that befell his friends. [[If Ray had stayed a bit longer, or had even looked back while he was running, he would have known what was coming for him.]]

Ray had just started a soup in the kitchen of the oil rig when he heard the alarms going off. Usually when this happened, someone would eventually come by and let him know what had happened. But this time, Ray had finished making the soup and no one came to tell him. [[Ray left the kitchen to investigate.]]

Ray looked for his fellow oil riggers in their usual spots, but found no one. Then he circled around the deck--and that's when he saw it. In the water was a gigantic mermaid woman. As big as a whale, but sticking far, far, out of the water. Her hair was an even mix of golden, brown, black, and red. It seemed to glimmer based on the angle, like oil. [[Ray was unsure of how to respond.]]

Ray had given up decision-making when he became a cook. So he just stood still and stared at the gigantic mermaid. It was in those moments he thought he sensed various hints about the creature's movements. It seemed to be internally-fighting itself. Something about it wanted to eat Ray, but a much stronger part of it still identified Ray as "Friend." It was that part of it that forced itself to swim far, far away from Ray. Somehow, some way, Ray did not die that day. THE END (link: "Restart")[(reload:)]

Lauren and Felicia quickly ran towards the water, while Francis grabbed Ray's arm and shook his head. "WAYNE!" Lauren screamed as she ran into the water. Felicia waded in just after Lauren and surveyed the area. [["I don't see any--AHH!" Felicia screamed as she disappeared underwater.]]

"FELICIA!" Lauren screamed back. She swam over to where Felicia had disappeared. She reached underwater. "Felicia?" She panted nervously. [[Lauren SCREAMED as something pulled her underwater.]]

Ray looked at Francis anxiously, but Francis shook his head. "We should be going now," Francis said. Ray shook his head back, then broke free from Francis' grasp and ran into the water. "F--F--Felicia?" Ray stammered as he lightly swam in the water. Ray wasn't much of a swimmer, but he always wanted to help others. "L--L--Lauren?" [[Unfortunately, it was then Ray who was pulled underwater.]]

Francis waited in the backseat of Wayne's yellow jeep, impatiently tapping his fingers against the door. He knew exactly what had happened at Greyhill Beach. And he knew exactly what was going to happen next. [[So it came as no surprise to Francis when eight wet hands smacked against the windows and shook the jeep.]]

"Are you done playing or what?" Francis asked with a sigh. Soon, the jeep's doors were open and in piled the wet, lively Lauren, Wayne, Ray, and yes, even Felicia. They all entered the jeep and sat in their respective seats. "You're such an asshole," Felicia said as she flicked some water into Francis' eyes. [["Yeah, I'm the asshole," Francis said while blinking the water away.]]

Felicia tut-tut-tutted. "You miss the point." "Tell me then, Miss Bitch. Once and for-fucking all, what was the point of today's adventure?" "To make a new friend!" Felicia pointed at Ray, whose face went beet red. "Bullshit," Francis scoffed. Felicia took a deep breath to indicate she had a lot to say all at once. "You've been bringing him around the house for months now and I didn't know who he was. I didn't even know he was a college student until today. I didn't know if he was a tutor, or being tutored, or what... [["But now I know for sure what Ray is..."]]

"Because it was my brilliant idea to come all the way out here based on some writing in a book you found in a thrift store. You found nothing of value. But hey, at least you got to do another Felicia-patented prank which didn't fool me at all. But to be fair, you did all just wreck the seats of Wayne's prized jeep. So that's something." [[Wayne, not having realized this, slammed his fist on the horn. "Fuck!"]]

Felicia took Ray's hand. "Ray's our friend. All of ours. His helping us pull a prank on you sealed it." Francis looked at Ray. "You were part of that dumbass water prank?" Ray nodded. Francis shook his head back. "Fucking asshole!" Felicia stared at Ray like she was trying to fit in the last piece of a puzzle. "There's one thing I still don't know about Ray, though," Felicia said as her voice paused for suspense. "Ray, what's your name?" Ray had trouble understanding when people were messing with him, so he simply replied "Ray." [[Felicia chuckled. "No, your last name, too, silly!"]]

"Pelone," Ray responded. "Ray Pelone?" Felicia asked. "Yes." Felicia smiled. "Ray Pelone, you just won everything." [[The group of friends went home that day not with the mysterious creature they had followed an old map to find.]]

Instead they went home with a different mysterious creature. A mysterious creature who they let into their lives. A mysterious creature they allowed, for at least one day, to make all their decisions for them. Could that mysterious creature have made better decisions and gotten them a better day? No. That mysterious creature could not have done any better. This was their best day possible. And that mysterious creature's name was Ray Pelone. And this was the first of many days he would spend with his new friends. THE END (link: "Restart")[(reload:)]