#it takes something special for me to be bothered to fly the skull and crossbones bc i am too lazy

[ssaalexblake]

I had no idea that there was a tremors 2, and while it existing is not surprising at all, it Is surprising that the star rating on it is 4.5/5, because traditionally this type of sequel is Spectacularly shit.

[bittysvalentines]

Kissed Like a Storm at Sea

To @redhotchillypoet

From @loveyoutoobits

______________

Chris Chow hadn’t always been a merman. he'd been a regular human being for the majority of his life, until the night he was swimming in Half Moon Bay under the light of the half moon. This shell had caught the light of the moon, some type of conch shell, and he'd reached for it. To give to his mom, or for a special someone someday.

The moment he touched it, the water swirled around him. He couldn’t see anything, except for the shell in his hand, which shone silver, brighter than the light of the moon could allow. When the water settled back to normal, he was nowhere near land, and he no longer had legs. Instead, he had a silver and grey shark tail. He could breathe underwater, talk to sea creatures, and swim great distances. And he was so utterly alone.

It had been five years since he'd spoken to another person. As far as Chris knew, there weren’t other mermaids, and there was no way he was getting close to ships. All the stories he’d heard about mermaids when he was a kid had them captured or killed because sailors had heard of sirens drowning them. Chris didn’t want to take any chances.

The fish weren’t fun to talk to, dolphins were assholes, and as much as he loved them, he steered clear of sharks. He didn’t know how they'd react to a merman with a shark tail. So for the most point, he stayed to himself. It'd been a lonely five years.

Chris didn’t mind the loneliness sometimes. Staying away from fish and ships meant that he didn’t get chased by them. He hadn’t been sure if it would happen, but now that he is, he could only think he picked the wrong time to look through a shipwreck.

He'd watched as the ship sank, and as the crew escaped, and thought there wouldn’t be any harm in looking through what was left behind—maybe something he remembered from back when he was human, a memento to keep of a life he once had. All the other shipwrecks he’d come across had been completely destroyed, nothing worth saving, but a fresh wreck like this one might be fruitful.

Swimming through the debris, he'd hung himself on a plank, looking over something from the ship. He liked to rest his tail like this, never having thought before it happened how difficult it was to swim like a mermaid. Caught up in looking at the item in his hand he didn’t notice the ship approaching until he could hear the shouts of the crew.

He turned in surprise, that quickly turned to horror, when he saw the flag flying from the topmast. Skull and crossbones. The figurehead drained the color from Chris. The fearsome shark that adorned the front of the ship meant this pirate ship was Los Tiburones. There was no way Chris was staying where he was.

Shouts of ‘get him!’ came from the deck, and Chris shook into gear, pushing off the plank and trying to escape into the water. The shipwreck swirled around him, taking out almost all lines of exit. Panicking, Chris tried to swim from one end of the shipwreck to the other, trying to find a way out. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t escape, scraping himself against the planks and jutting pieces of the ship he'd once thought harmless.

Swimming near the surface, he stared up at the boat, hoping they wouldn’t bother going after him if he was underwater. To his horror, they’d lowered a boat, going to where Chris had last been. Some of the pirates looked ready to dive into the water. The only escape Chris could see was by remaining at the surface, and if he did that he would be rediscovered.

The pirates reached where he’d been, stopping their boat near the plank. Chris watched as two of them prepared to dive. As far as he could tell, no one was looking over to where he was. It was now or never. He only had one shot at this. He spun away from the ship, breaching the surface.

“There he is! He’s over there! Capture that merman!” A voice called from the main ship, and Chris knew, just knew he wasn’t going to escape in time. A rope looped around his waist, and as they tightened it, Chris stopped fighting. The rumors about pirates and mermaids were about to become his life. Killed or sold to the highest bidder, his hopes of ever being human again were ruined.

Chris crossed his arms as they pulled him onto the deck, trying not to give them the satisfaction of seeing how scared he was. Once they’d pulled him all the way up, he lay on his back staring at no one, a determined look (he hoped) on his face. A shadow passed over him, and he angled his eyes back to see a pirate peering down at him.

She was beautiful. Teal eyes that shone like the sea framed by auburn hair falling over her shoulders. Better dressed than the rest of them, she seemed to be held in respect by the crew, who gave her space on all ends. Chris’s eyes traveled down to the ornate sword at her hip, and he could see why they gave her space. He wanted to give her space. But on land (or deck), he was useless.

“Hello, Mr. Merman,” she said softly, only for him to hear, wonder in her voice. “You’re gonna fetch me a pretty sum, somewhere.”

She straightened up, eyeing Chris up and down. If he wasn’t trying so hard to avoid everything about his situation, he would have squirmed under her scrutiny.

“Alright men. Take him to my cabin. Put him in the pool.” She turned her back on him, and Chris was hoisted by his arms by two of the men. He didn’t have time to question how there was a pool on a pirate ship, as he was dragged along the deck.

He stared after the girl, who might’ve been the captain. he'd heard of Captain Farmer, of how feared she was—never that she was a woman. She sailed the seven seas, sinking ships but never murdering the crew. No one ever saw her ship until it was too late.

 Chris had fallen right into her trap.

Or rather, he'd accidentally placed himself in her scheme, by being curious about the shipwreck. Now he was a captive of the Pirate Captain Farmer, sold to the highest bidder at her earliest convenience. At least he wasn’t lonely anymore.

The men holding him shoved open a door, and he looked over his shoulder, curious to see what this pool was. But, when he looked through the door, there didn’t seem to be any pool at all. Just a normal ship’s cabin.

“She musta turned it off, then,” one of the pirates grunted. He let go of Chris, who watched as the pirate moved to a mirror in the corner. He pawed at the back of it, muttering to himself, before giving a satisfied huff, as the mirror began to glow. He placed it on the ground, and Chris watched in awe as it expanded into a sizeable pool. The pirate walked over and grabbed Chris again, and they dragged him over to the pool.

Chris moved his tail in order to make it easier for them, and slid into the water. He didn’t think it'd be wise to fight back. There wasn’t anything he could do in the center of the ship. he'd resigned himself to his fate. Five minutes ago, and five years ago.

~

It took another hour before Captain Farmer entered her cabin, slamming the door shut and sitting at her desk with a huff, waking Chris from a nap. He lazily looked at her, wanting her to make the first move.

She finally looked at him. Chris had seen the sea too much over the last five years, yet he loved her sea colored eyes. Ironic, considering the glare she fixed on him.

“So, Mr. Merman, are there more of you?” She couldn’t hide the curiosity from creeping into her voice, but her question only amused him for a moment, before he remembered his predicament.

“Not as far as I know. I haven’t seen any,” he said. Thinking for a moment, he added, “My name’s Chris.”

“I guess Mr. Merman isn’t a name.” She shook her head, moving on. “I wonder if you’ve heard about me. I’m Captain Caitlin Farmer, and you are my prisoner aboard my ship, Los Tiburones.”

“I’ve heard of the captain of Los Tiburones. No one ever said it'd be someone like you,” Chris said, laying his head down on his folded arms. This probably wasn’t the time to flirt, but if this was to be one of his last chances, he might as well take it.

“What, a woman?”

“No, a beauty.” He smirked up at her, catching the flush of her face before she turned away with a huff. He smiled wider. This might be fun.

“Well, Chris, you’re going to earn me more money than I could get selling trinkets.” She turned back to him, the blush gone and her manner all business. Chris flicked his tail in agitation. The first time he got to talk to a human in five years, and it had to be a pirate.

“Rest up, because this will be quite the journey for you.”

~

The next morning, Chris awoke to Caitlin sitting at her desk, huddled over a map of the area. He was content to watch, but she noticed him staring.

“Chris, what's that shell you’ve tied around your waist?” She pointed to the water, and Chris resisted the urge to look down. he'd kept the shell that'd made him a merman, hoping it'd turn him back someday.

“What, no ‘good morning’?” He joked, but before she reacted he sighed, pulling the shell out to show her. She reached out as if to touch it, and Chris pulled it a back. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

“What do you mean?” Caitlin pulled her hand back anyways.

“I wasn’t always like this, you know.” He flicked his tail out of the water. “A merman, I mean.” He told her what had happened to him, and she looked at him in sympathy.

“You haven’t talked to anyone in five years? Yet you talk to me so easily. If I were you, I’d be more apprehensive,” she responded when he finished.

“I couldn’t escape the shipwreck. The moment you caught me, I decided not to fight it. If I was going to be sold and probably killed for whatever magic they thought I had, I might as well have the first actual conversation I’ve had in five years, you know?” He sighed, remembering his fate. It was easy to forget when talking to Caitlin.

“You think when I sell you, they’ll kill you?” She asked. Her voice seemed impossibly small, like she hadn’t considered that possibility.

“Haven’t you heard? Mermaid scales have magical properties—to heal, to make someone fall in love with you, anything anyone could want. I haven’t found mine to be any more magical than this dumb shell is now.” He glared at the shell in his hand, but even if he knew it wouldn’t get him anywhere, he held on to it. It was his last bit of hope.

Caitlin looked at him with sad eyes. He didn’t want the pity of a pirate who was going to sell him away. He dove into the pool as deep as he could go. He’ll just stay there until the end.

~

 For a week, Chris stayed at the bottom of the pool. Someone would toss food in, and was grateful, but he missed talking to Caitlin. The first time he'd talked to anyone and the only chance he would get, and he was avoiding it. He decided, rather than stay down there for the rest of his life, he’d let it go. It wasn’t Caitlin’s fault, he figured.

He swam to the surface, breaching the water, and connecting hard with something solid. Rubbing at his head, he looked over to see what it was, only to find Caitlin doing the same.

“Chris! I thought—you were—sorry. I’m sorry that I didn’t know.” She looked apologetic, but she didn’t say she wouldn’t do it.

“Why were you leaning over the pool, Cait?”

“Oh, that… I didn’t know how to apologize with you down there. I don’t know… I was trying to figure out how to talk to you. I considered jumping into the pool, but it isn’t really big enough for two people,” she answered. She was sincere. Chris didn’t know how to deal with that.

“I’m glad you didn’t. It’s not even big enough for me. My tail was getting cramped.” As if to prove this, he flicked his tail, spraying her with droplets that made her laugh. Chris thought he liked her laugh. He smiled at her, accepting her apology.

They talked for awhile about in particular, avoiding the topic of his eventual sale. They found that they’d grown up not far from each other, though of course Chris’s reason for leaving and Caitlin’s reason for leaving were far different. They talked about the irony of his shark tail and her ship’s name.

They talked right up until one of her crew members called her away. She didn’t want to leave, but her duties as captain required her to go. Chris was sad to see her leave. He would be sad to leave her when it came time to do so. He swam to the bottom once again and began a tally counting down the days until he had to leave, but until then, he’d make the most of it.

~

For the next few weeks, he and Caitlin talked daily. He looked forward to their talks more than anything. He didn’t know if it was because he’d gone the five years without it, or if he really did like her.

After three weeks, he thought he loved her. She was easy to talk to, and the more they talked, the more they found they had in common. He flirted with her, and he thought she flirted back. But he knew it wasn’t going anywhere. They only had a week left together, before they reached his final destination.

Chris knew when they’d gotten to their destination when he heard the call for land. Caitlin had gone silent for a few moments, before turning back to Chris.

“That means I should go. Today is your last day here… but by the end of tomorrow you’ll be gone.” She looked so sad for a moment that Chris wanted to reach out and touch her face, wipe away the tears if they fell. But the moment ended, and she left her cabin.

Chris swam to the bottom. The four weeks’ worth of tallies stared back at him, and he drew the final tally. One more day, and then he would never see Caitlin again. One more day to live. He didn’t want any more regrets. He couldn’t see his family or go home ever again, but he didn’t want to leave with this last regret.

He went to wait for Caitlin. He thought he loved her, and he wasn’t going to die regretting never saying anything.

She came back a few hours later, but she didn’t look at him at all, instead going to her bed, where he couldn’t see her. He wanted to say something but couldn’t. It was only when he heard the stifled sobs that he said anything.

“Caitlin… I need to talk to you,” he said, and he heard her shift.

“There’s nothing you can do to save yourself,” she said, but she still moved to the pool. Her eyes were red, and Chris reached out to wipe away the lingering tears. She leaned into his hand, closing her eyes to the touch.

“I love you, Caitlin.”

She opened her eyes, and looked at him for what seemed like forever, searching for something, though he couldn’t figure out what. He stayed where he was until the tears began to stream down her face.

“No, please don’t say that. Please,” she whispered, and Chris pulled his hand away. She closed her eyes, and her tears dropped into the pool. This wasn’t the reaction he expected. He knew that she couldn’t do anything about it, with her crew expecting the money they'd get from his sale.

“It’s the truth, Cait. But it's ok. You don’t have to say the same.” He really wanted her to say the same. “I know that you have an obligation to your crew. I just didn’t want to leave with any regrets.”

She cried harder, sobbing softly. He moved to pull away, and her eyes snapped open, fear he didn’t expect painted over her face.

“No! Don’t go. Please. Chris… I love you too.” She put her face into her hands, and Chris stared in shock. He didn’t expect to hear it back. He reached over and pulled her hands away gently, holding them as best as he could while holding himself up.

She looked at him with such sadness, Chris decided he would leave without any regrets. He pushed until he was level with her face and kissed her.

The water swirled around him, like it had five years prior. But instead of growing a tail, he lost it. He was human again. He pulled himself out of the water, marveling at his legs.

“What happened?” Caitlin moved to where he sat, and Chris shook his head in amazement.

“Have you heard of true love’s kiss, with the power to break any spell?” He smiled at her, and she pulled him into another kiss. And he could keep kissing her for the rest of his life.