Mermaid Hunter's Lesson

Ending the hunt

The ocean's depths concealed a multitude of secrets. Among them, a group of enchanting mermaids. Their iridescent tails shimmered in the oceanic twilight, drawing attention away from their fleshy halves.

Hiding amidst a city that looks like underwater ruins, they lived their lives in harmony for the most part. However, their tranquility was being threatened by an unexpected hunter— a researcher's lapdog named Elina. Her lean and athletic form trained by years in the ocean, despite not being native, she was a force to be reckoned with.

On this day, the hunter was hot on the mermaids' trail; the propellers attached to her back like wings pushing her through the aquatic labyrinth swiftly. Despite lacking fins, she was fast and agile, imposing a game of cat and mouse upon the inhabitants of the sea with her dart gun.

However, the chase had taken a toll on the mermaids, who tried as hard as they could to defend themselves by pretending to not exist. Among the mermaids was Seraphina, a mermaid with long, flowing, purple hair. The most daring of them all, a protector of her people. Her emerald eyes reflected a plan, honing in on the two clasps holding the helmet in place. She moved with the stealth and grace of a marine predator as she approached the hunter from behind. With a swift motion, Seraphina reached out and sliced at the straps of the clasps with her clawed fingernails, then tore the helmet from the woman's head.

A gush of tiny bubbles erupted around them as the woman gasped in surprise. Her world was muted, the hum of her suit's engine and her own steady breathing replaced by the solemn, haunting quiet of the deep ocean around her head. Panic blossomed on her face while her blonde hair spread out in the water, her eyes widened as the realization set in. She attempted to ascend, to break free from the depths and gulp down the sweet, saving air from above.

But the mermaids rushed to her. One of them, a lithe creature with a tail as purple as twilight, shot forward and held the woman's arms behind her in an embrace as intimate as it was malicious. The hunter struggled, her desperate thrashes echoing silent turmoil into the sea. The mermaid's strong arms bound her.

Another mermaid swam forward, her dark eyes meeting the woman's. Her slender fingers reached toward the zipper of Elina's swimming suit, it yielded to her pull. The fabric parted, revealing the bare skin underneath.

The contour of the hunter's ribs, the curve of her breasts, the subtle play of muscles under the skin. The hunter's chest was heaving, a futile attempt to draw breath from a source that no longer existed.

The mermaid reached out, her fingers tracing the lines of her captive's body. Her face was expressionless, her eyes absorbing every detail, every nuance. It was as if the creature could see Elina's lungs clinging desperately to the precious air that remained trapped within, huddling to the warmth of her pounding heart. The mermaid's arms wrapped around the hunter, pressing their bodies together. Elina could feel the strong beat of the mermaid's heart against her chest as a dark plan expressed itself in her eyes. She could see a terrifying, meticulous thought brewing but she was helpless to do anything other than find out in its unfolding.

And then, the final act of their underwater ballet commenced. The mermaid leaned in closer, her mouth covering the woman's with an unsettling tenderness, tongue slipping between her clenched teeth. A gasp, a struggle, but it was futile. The mermaid's gills billowed, and she began to pull, to drain the very life-giving air from Elina's lungs. It was a violation unlike anything she had ever experienced, a theft of the very essence of life itself. The mermaid's eyes remained open, watching her face as it contorted in desperation and agony. There was no malice in her gaze, only an intense study and a dark satisfaction. The hunter's lungs contracted, the vacuum increasing with each passing moment, a relentless force that seemed to reach into her very soul.

Those gentle arms squeezed around her chest, tens of the creatures gathered around to watch her slow and deliberate torment. It was as if the mermaid was tasting her fear, savoring her suffering, getting back at her for every moment she spent in the ocean. A vast emptiness that spread through her body, consuming her from the inside.

Elina felt her body give in, her futile struggles becoming slow and heavy as a flurry of bubbles stolen from her lungs passed through the creature's gills and drifted toward the surface. Her vision blurred, her thoughts scattered, her very existence narrowing down to the sensation of the mermaid's mouth on hers, her helpless little heart's frantic march towards oblivion into the arms of an unforgiving creature, and in the presence of many more. The hunter's world dimmed to blackness for a moment... Then the feeling of those cruel, uncaring lips returned. As if the punishment had continued in the afterlife... they felt more vivid. The pressure on her chest felt rhythmic and forceful, then gentle, as if a head was placed upon her chest... then it all disappeared. A sudden return to consciousness was violent, filled with confusion and disorientation. Elina's lungs spasmed, a relentless cough forcing water from her system as she heaved on the shore. Her mind was a tumultuous whirlpool, unable to grasp the reality of her survival.

The water around her legs receded with each wave. Her eyes, clouded with pain and disbelief, sought to make sense of her surroundings. The feeling of sand under her hands and the salty sting of the sea breeze seemed surreal.

A movement in the sand caught her eye, a shadow darting towards the ocean. But it was gone before she could focus, leaving her only with the haunting sound of retreating waves. An uncanny chill crawled up her spine, a realization that something inexplicable had occurred, something far beyond her comprehension.

She staggered to her feet, her body aching and her mind foggy. Something felt different, a sharp stinging of her abdomen. Glancing down, she gasped at the sight of her belly. There, etched in raw, reddened flesh, were words that sent a jolt of terror through her very soul: "Stay out."

The meaning was clear, a warning. A message from the depths, from the creatures she had sought to hunt.

As Elina staggered away from the beach, her mind replayed the horrifying experience, the faces of the mermaids etched into her nightmares.

She heeded the warning. The ocean, once a realm of fascination and conquest, had become a forbidden territory.