Washed up

The Blue... axolotl?

Many people compare time to an arrow, flying through the sky so fast you hardly notice it. I think time is rather like sand. At first glance you think the sand nestled between your fingers is plenty, you think you have so much you won't need to worry. You look away for a second and it's suddenly slipping through your fingers, fast and silent, without any warning. you look away again and your hand is empty, leaving you grasping for phantom grains of sand that no longer exist. It deceives you, makes you think you have so much, and so when you stop paying attention you lose it all. Time is so precious, more then I ever could have imagined. I never thought I'd run out of it so quickly.
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The first thing I noticed was the light. It shone into my eyes, a bright glare against my close lids. I groaned and slowly turned over onto my side before opening my eyes. As my vision adjusted I saw that I was lying in the middle of no where. All around me was red sand and a few azalea trees providing some shade, which was probably the reason my pale blue skin hadn't been burnt to a crisp already. My mouth was parched and my lips cracked, as if I had not drank anything in days, which as far as I knew I hadn't. You see, the second thing I realized was that where my memory should have been was a frustrating black hole that held no information that would be useful to me. I sighed and searched my mind for literally anything inside my brain. What I came up with was that my name is Nixie, I am a blue creature, and I should probably get to a body of water before I shrivel up and die. Wow. Helpful stuff. I decided to do something about that last thing as I could feel myself drying up. I shakily stood feeling the pangs of hunger and looked around as I leaned on the nearest azalea tree. I scanned the area and saw a speck of blue to my right. Hoping it was water I pushed myself off from the tree and started off towards it. As I limped over, I assessed myself. I didn't seem to have any injuries other than my lack of water. I got the feeling that I was a water creature, and though I wasn't sure how much time I'd spent in this desert it was far too much. I stumbled over the hill to discover that the blue was in fact water and I felt a wave of relief hit me. I would have ran towards it but I still felt unsteady. As I reached the ocean I examined myself in the smooth reflective surface. My blue hair that was a teal a few shades lighter than my skin was dirty and seemed like it had been put up hastily. How peculiar, I thought, squinting hard at the hair in my grown out bangs on the left side of my face. That strip of my hair looks almost green. That's odd. I had a disturbing moment of déjà vu, like this information was something I should know. My reverie was shattered by a movement in my peripheral vision. I looked up to see a girl staring at me from in the water wide eyed. She scattered as soon as she noticed me but I jumped in after her. Maybe she knew something about this stranger world, about me. I dove below the surface and chased after her. She looked back and squealed in a panic when she realized I was still following her. "Hey wait! I'm not gonna hurt you I promise!" I was momentarily surprised at how well I could speak underwater, but then the girl ahead of me slowed down and finally turned around to talk to me. She seemed skittish, like a nervous sea horse seeing a shark for the first time why did I think of that? I suddenly wondered. The girl twitched nervously bringing me back to the moment. Her skin was paper white, though her hair was a bright pink and blue. Her hands were webbed and she had fins along her arms. She looked like a similar creature to me, only I didn't have webbed fingers or fins on my arms. She turned a small amount and I saw that a tail sprouted from her back to help her swim better. "What's your name?" I asked, finally finding my voice. She turned back to me and was quiet a moment before answering. She seemed like an anxious creature, she fiddled with her dress like robe and looked over at the right not  meeting my eyes. "I'm Vivian." She said softly, finally looking me in my eyes. "People call me Vivi though." She added. "My name is Nixie," I told her. "I'm not really sure what people call me, since you're the first person I've met." I said, trying to lighten the mood. She still seemed  skittish. "Are you alright?" I asked her taking in her discomfort. "What?" She seemed surprised at my question, like it was the last thing I'd ask.  "Are you okay?" I asked again. "I- I'm fine I just..." she trailed off not meeting my gaze and looking over at the right again. I waited patiently for her to continue. "I haven't seen a newcomer before." Well she had just confirmed my suspicions that there were more people somewhere near here. "There are more of you?" I asked. She didn't seem very willing to answer, and I opened my mouth to tell her that it was alright when she a burst of confidence hit her and in the loudest voice I'd heard her speak in she yelled "NOW!" I was confused and I acted too late. I realized she wasn't this timid shy creature she was pretending to be just as 3 other creatures popped out from behind their hiding places holding weapons. It was an ambush. Vivi had been the bait. And I fell right into their trap.