G/t Short Stories

Deep Dive

Cordelia swam as fast as she could, flipping her tail as hard as she could. Her mother warned her about going above the reef, but she wanted to see what was out there. She didn't expect a great white shark to be the first thing she'd run into! It chased her miles away from the reef and Cordelia was growing tired, her blue tail was aching in pain. If she didn't find a place to hide quickly, the shark would surely catch up to her in no time! 
The trench loomed below her. Darkness shrouded the majority of the rocky terrain, Cordelia feared that something bigger and more dangerous could ambush her and she would be as good as dead. But she didn't exactly have a choice. 
She pushed herself downwards into the trench, pushing her long black hair out of her face. Soon her vision grew dark the deeper and deeper she went but she didn't stop swimming until her teal eyes adjusted to the dark world. There she found a crevice in the rocky walls that was just small enough to squeeze into. Perfect, the shark will never get her now! Cordelia wiggled her way into the space, jagged rocks cutting into her dark skin and light blue tail. Once she was fully protected she pressed her back against the cool rocks , slump down on her butt, and let out a deep sigh. 
CRASH!
Cordelia shrieked out as the shark rammed into the formation. It opened its mouth wide revealing blood stained sharp teeth, trying to find away to get into the crevice so it could tear her into pieces. The rocks started to crack each time the shark rammed into wall. There was no other way out, Cordelia was trapped with no one out to save her now. 
Just before enough of the stone caved in, a shadow cast over her view. It was larger than the shark. Then gigantic pale white hands wrapped around the shark's fins in an attempt to pull it away from her hiding spot. However the shark tried to fight back, trying to chomp at the large creature. The giant creature was smart, it put the great white in a headlock to prevent it from biting. As the two wrestled, Cordelia could see more of the mysterious creature. They had slick black orca tail, but their face and torso was humanoid, specifically a male. He had shaggy black hair that swayed past his icy blue eyes. He had large muscles that were covered in deep gray scars. Who ever he was, he had been in a lot of fights.
Finally the giant was able to grab the shark's tail and spin fling him across the other side of the trench, causing the beast to hit the wall on the other side and swim away as fast as it could. Cordelia would have been cheering if she wasn't terrified of the giant merman. She feared what he would do with her once he saw her. 
Sure enough, the merman peered into the crevice. His gigantic blue eye filled her view. 
"A tiny!" He gasped. He brought his hands up to the crevice and pull the weak stone away. 
Cordelia screamed as the rocks caved away with such ease. She was back at square one again. All she could do was cower in the corner as a white hand grabbed her, pulling her away from her only source of comfort. He began to bring her closer to his face.
"Don't eat me! Don't eat me!" She cried out while thrashing in his fist. Despite the huge size difference, he wasn't gripping her very tightly, so she was able to successfully squirm her way free for a moment. 
"Hey, stop!" The giant yelled. He cupped his hands around her, sealing Cordelia into a fleshy prison. But of course the tiny mermaid kept trashing within his hands. He let out a deep sigh. 
Suddenly, Cordelia fell backwards onto the palm of his hand. Pressure forced her from moving upwards at all. What was he doing? Was he moving upwards? Her questions were soon answered when the sound of waves crashing could be heard from outside. Then the water in his hand slowly started to away. Panic took over Cordelia; oh Neptune he went to the surface, even she wasn't crazy even to do that! 
He opened up his hand and bright light blinded Cordelia for a moment. She felt herself being shifted onto his open palm. Cordelia had to push her wet black hair away from her face to see the giant merman scowling down at her with intense blue eyes.
"Can you calm down for five minutes?" He said firmly. 
Cordelia just nodded her head.
"Good." He let out a deep sigh. "Now, do you have a name?" 
"C-Cordelia." 
"Well Cordelia, my name is Ondine. I know what you're thinking, and no I am not going to eat you! Quite frankly, tiny merfolk are rather bland and not very filling." 
"Then wh-what are you going t-to do with me?" 
"The trench is no place for a shrimp like you to be wandering alone." Ondine explained. "Just tell me where you live and I will guide you home."
Cordelia remained silent for a moment. What if this was some sort of trap to set up to capture her people? "How can I trust you?" 
"I dunno, I only saved you from a shark and offering to safely bring you home." He scoffed. 
Cordelia wasn't exactly convinced by his sarcastic remark. 
"Of course, if you don't tell me where you live then I'll have no choice but to keep you with me..." 
"I live near the reef!" She blurted out. The last thing she wanted to do was spend anymore time with a giant mernan, she'll just have to hope he's telling the truth. 
"You're a long way from home little one." Ondine curled his fingers around Cordelia and dived back into the ocean. Once water completely surround the tiny mermaid he let her go. Cordelia was shocked by her sudden freedom, and couldn't help but scuttle back out of instinct. 
 "Stay close to me and nothing will try to come after you." Ondine said as started to swim past her. "If you get tired you cling my shoulder if you want." 
Cordelia nodded and followed beside him. She couldn't help but glance at his body every now and then. The battle scars that scattered throughout his body were simply fascinating, the stories must have told. It was amazing that he didn't get a recent one from the shark. 
"Um, Ondine." 
He glanced over. "Yes?" 
"Thanks for saving me… and sorry you have to take time out of your day to take me home." 
Ondine flashed her a smile. "No worries, Cordelia. It's not every day I get to save a pretty girl from a shark." 
Cordelia couldn't help but blush. He thought she was pretty? She glanced over and saw him still looking at her. Why would he be looking at her that way, surely there was bigger mermaids that he would rather spend his time looking at. Still, Ondine was an interesting merman, perhaps Cordelia wouldn't mind getting to know him a little more during their trip back to her home