Mermaids are Menacing (Book 2) Complete

21.) Beach

Finding the right spot was important and there were several factors to think about. Picking the wrong place to sleep on this side of the river meant an early death. My new temporary home needed to be well hidden and near the water. Although, I was begining to second guess my thought process because the Chief has lived in this area his entire life and he chose to go in the opposite direction.

It was really making me second guess my choice but I can't go in the same direction as him. This way is better...probably. Fire, water, and daylight kept the Red Eyes at bay. Since there was no such thing as a land without night and I couldn't sleep in a burning fire pit, living next to the water seemed like the best option.

I combed the area. The beaches was a rough combination of sharp jutting rock and sand. If the water had been safer I would have taken my boat and tied it to the shore with a long rope, that way I could sleep peacefully on the water without worrying if I might be attacked in my sleep.

Yet, the water was just as dangerous as the land. Hungry teeth below, hungry teeth in the forest, and if a dragon shows up the skies would also be scary. No place was safe and tomorrow isn't guaranteed.

I continued my walk along the shore line, tiny paw prints were left in the muddy colored sand. They looked like small human-ish hands, Raccoon tracks. The flat footprints of birds were scattered here and there along with the occasional blob of white poop. Animal life was a good sign, there had been no signs of activity where I met my first Red Eye. I'll be out here for a month on my own, the best choice of places to live will be where other things live.

Close enough to the shore to keep the monsters away but far enough from the shore that fish can't throw rocks at me again. I touched the back of my head remembering the blows I took from the rocks.

Fire was needed to keep the Red Eyes away but it also attracted fish. I might get a meal out of it but did I really want to have to worry about fish infront of me and Red Eyes behind? My thoughts ran wild as I walked.

When I finally found a place that I didn't hate, the sun was nearly at its apex. I thought I had found the end of the beach when a small sliver of beach wrapped around a tall mound of earth that I couldnt possibly see over. When I followed the sliver of beach to the other side I found a cove blocked off on all sides by high cliffs  the furthest one back was twice my height. The farthest one was tall enough that If i stacked two trees on top of eachother they still wouldn't be tall enough to see the top.

As far as hidden places this one was perfect. I'll build a house here in the furthest place from the water. The cliffs and mound will act as a good wind break. It will be difficult to spot the light of my fire at this vantage point and even if the fish see it the beach area is to long for them to reach me. The only draw back is that I would be very exposed from the sky if someone were to fly over. If they had ever looked for me they would have stopped a long time ago by now, I assured myself.

Let's just focus on what I have to right now.

I went out of the cove and kicked down trees along the beaches edge. Trees that were a thumb length thick were just the right size. Knocking them down was almost to easy, a single kick to the base of the trunk and they splintered. But with every hit I wondered if the sound would bring an enemy or that the familiar  I pain in my stomach might come. Those sentiments had to be brushed aside.

Shelter, water, and food. Those were the priority. To my relief, no wayward attacks came and neither did the pain.

My house on the beach wasn't pretty. It had been awhile since I made a hunting hut, and I had never had to build one alone. The hut was both tall and wide. To measure how big I wanted my A-frame hut, I put a stick under my heel and layed down with my back on ground. In my hands I held a second stick and reached back as far as I could and dropped it. This is how I measured the length.