She woke to brightness, blood, pain, and thirst.

Cold water on her legs. Blazing sun on her back and arms. She was half in, half out of the tiny life raft.

She pulled herself further into the raft, panting. It was barely floating, half inflated and drooping by her feet. There was no one around. No water, no food, no land. Only the glittering sea and the lap, lap sound of gentle waves. She touched her sore, itchy scalp.  Her hand came back sticky with blood. Oh, good, blood to attract the sharks.

I need water or I will die, she thought. But exhaustion swallowed her, and blackness followed.

The cold woke her. She was lying on her side in the half-submerged raft, soaked in a puddle of seawater.  She shivered in the salt breeze, despite the heat on her arms, neck and shoulders.  A sunburn. She turned onto her back to soak the burning skin in cool water. The night was beautiful. A crescent moon shared the sky with multitudes of stars.  Was that the Milky Way?  She had never seen such a sky. At least she would die seeing the stars.

She decided to listen to the quiet. It was better than her memories of storm, screams and death.

...

“There is a land creature floating on the yellow thing.”
“Is it dead?”
“I saw it move. It lives.”
“Are they good to eat?”
“It is a mammal, like us. It is forbidden.”
“Will it die?”
“Most of them die.”
“Should we look closer?”
“It cannot harm us.”
“It is a female, I think. The males have their organs on the outside.”
“Solimon found a female land creature once.”
“What did he do with it?”
“He kept it alive a few weeks.”
“Why?”
“He found its cunt between the two lower fins. He said it felt like a female in heat but always open.”
“Always open? That I don’t believe.”
“Let’s see.”

What a strange conversation for ghosts, Sophia thought. Her raft was gliding smoothly. How was this possible? I am freezing and parched, she thought. It won’t be long now. She dreamed of warm rain.

“Can you hear it Altum? I cannot.”
“Yes, it thirsts and it is cold.”
“These land creatures are fragile. They have thin, soft skin.”
“Yes Soliman said the skin is very soft. He said his pheromones were effective. He was careless with his creature, though. He exhausted it. It drowned while he was seeking food.”
“Let’s take it to the Island. To the Grotto. There is a cistern by the hot springs where females give birth in the season.”
“That is brilliant, Tilap.”

When Sophia next awoke, she was much warmer. Night still enveloped her. Her tattered clothing was gone. The raft was gone. She was no longer in the sea. She was sitting on a narrow shelf of stone under water. Her head lay back on sand and rock. The water was much warmer than the sea. It smelled of sulfur and salt. She was in a kind of cave. Its roof cracked open to the sky and pinpricks of stars. She brought a hand to her mouth and tasted the water. Salt. Her heart sank.

There was another sound, a trickling. She located a tiny fall of water. It sprang from a black rock wall and meandered over stones to the pool. She tried to stand, but the shelf was narrow. She slipped off it, scraping her thigh painfully. The pool was too deep for her to stand.  She turned around and tried to pull herself up on the rocks. They were slippery, and there was not enough strength in her arms. She gasped and grabbed the edge of the stone her head had been lying on.  It was a miracle she hadn’t slipped off the shelf and drowned. She edged her way around the pool using her fingers to cling to the slippery sides.

She put the palm of one hand under the trickle of water and sipped it.  Metallic, but not salt. She wouldn’t die today. She drank and drank then, exhausted, edged back to the ledge and rested her head on her arms. Later, she would pull herself out. Hopefully, she would wake up if she started to slip in.

“It sleeps.”
“Can it escape?”
“It is still too weak.”
“I don’t want it to die before we fuck it.”
“Let’s give it food.”
“But then it will get stronger and leave.”
“There are no other land creatures here. We can easily keep one small female.”
“Yes.”

Altum and Tilap exchanged sharp-toothed grins.

Sophia smelled fish. It was close. She raised her head from her arms.  There was a dead fish lying on a bed of seaweed right by her nose.  She brought her face near it to make sure it was dead. Yes. It didn’t even smell fishy. The fishy smell was the seaweed. What a coincidence. Was it a coincidence?

“Hullo? Is anyone here?”
Silence.

She wasn’t about to look a ‘gift fish’ in the mouth. She pulled it apart and rubbed the scales off. She was fond of sushi. This piece was full of bones. She ate it all nonetheless, save the fins and entrails, even the seaweed. She drank more fresh water to wash the salt out of her mouth.

Now it was time to get out of the pool. She clutched the slippery rocks. Something was tangled around her ankle.

“No.”
“What?”
“You will stay.”

The voice was in her head! She thought back at it. “I cannot stay in the water. I’ll drown or a shark will kill me.”

“We will protect you. But you must do something for us in exchange.”

This was so weird. Space aliens? “Show yourselves,” she thought at ‘them’.

“We will look strange to you.”

“Show yourselves.”

Two heads rose slowly from the water about 10 feet from her. They were definitely strange. ‘Space aliens’ might work as a description.

She only saw their faces at first. They were humanoid. No hair. Large, round, black or brown eyes with hardly any whites. Flat noses with nostrils that seemed to open and close. Large mouths, small lips. No visible ears. Not grotesque but odd. She couldn’t see most of their bodies. Broad shoulders, smooth gray-brown skin. No scales. The texture of their skin reminded her of a dolphin’s. They had pronounced pectoral muscles on their smooth chests. Further down, she couldn’t see. She thought they had arms.

“O.K.”, she said aloud. “It seems that you are a kind of people. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for the fish. What do you want? I’ll do it if I can, but you have to let me go back to the land.”

The larger creature approached her. She flinched and tried to boost her buttocks onto the rocks. She was still too weak to get out. She wasn’t going anywhere.

“We won’t damage you. We just want to see you, to touch you. If we wished you harm you would be dead already. If you let us touch you, we will bring you food. You can go when you are stronger.”

“I’m a land animal. I need to get out and cover myself. My skin is damaged. It hurts.”

That was a bit of an exaggeration, but her sunburn was tender and her skin was peeling. This was the unluckiest, luckiest, and weirdest thing that had ever happened to her. No wonder Taiwan had monster myths if these creatures prowled the seas.

“Communicate with your thoughts. Your vocalizations are annoying. I will tend your skin. We are not monsters. We are just curious.”

The second being grinned at her. She shivered. Those teeth could tear her apart. Oh God.

(“Tilap, that is not helping. Now you have frightened her. Stay there.” )

The larger being turned back to her. “I am Altum. I will not let him hurt you. Tilap doesn’t want to hurt you. Stay there and do not attempt to climb onto the rocks or I will pull you further into the water.”

Oh good. Now she was being lectured like a naughty child by a Merman. Yes, that was the word for him. His voice was low and smooth in her head. He approached.

She shivered. Those teeth! But his mouth was closed. If they hadn’t eaten her yet, they probably wouldn’t. He was floating upright in front of her. He had to be 7 feet long, but she couldn’t see his feet. He did have arms. His hands were long and slightly webbed. They had long, graceful fingers.

“I will touch you now. It will soothe your skin.”

Okay…she thought. It's not like I can stop him. He’s much bigger than me and he looks really strong. The being moved closer and stroked her shoulders with the palms of his hands. His hands were warm, rather than cold and fishlike. They felt like smooth, oiled leather. In fact, he was leaving an oil on her skin.

“What is that stuff?”.
“It is my secretions. It will soothe your skin. We do this for our females.”
“What kind of secretions?”

His touch was very soothing. In fact, it felt really good. Everywhere he touched her, her skin warmed and tingled. She was feeling relaxed, almost drugged. Her breasts felt heavy.

His hands moved from her shoulders to her neck. Long fingers threaded her tangled hair and gently massaged her sore scalp. The pain there faded. Her eyes fluttered closed. His other hand stroked her back, trailing nirvana in its wake. He coated a buttock with warm oil in gentle circles.

“It is pre-ejaculate.”

She gasped and looked down. He was inches from her. There were long thigh muscles below his waist but his legs seemed fused together.  There might be a tail down there.  And there was a cock. It was definitely a cock. A very large and thick cock which was by no means flaccid. It was purplish, veined and looked otherwise human. No visible balls. He took one large hand, stroked his cock with it, and spread the ‘oil’ on her other buttock.

“Is that what you want me to do for you? You want to put that in me?"
“Yes. We will fuck you. It will feel good. We will feed you and oil you. When you are recovered and we are spent, we will take you close to other land creatures and release you.”
“You’ll damage me. You’re too long and thick. The salt water will hurt when I bleed.”

A low chuckle sounded in her head. That was so odd.

“You will enjoy my thickness, Sophia. Yes, I know your name. I will not penetrate further than you can accommodate. I will ensure Tilap does not hurt you either. My cock is oiled for you. I know you are aroused by my secretions. I can feel your arousal. Your little cunt is throbbing.” Another chuckle.

He was right.  Every time he touched her with that oil her skin tingled and her pulse fluttered down there. Right between her legs. She could feel her core getting warm and moist with more than seawater. Okay, she thought. How bad could it be? At least she’d be lubricated. No getting pregnant with a merman, she theorized. A couple of hours of alien-fucking, more sushi and maybe she’d get out of this alive.

“You are a practical land-creature. I think this will work well.”

Altum pulled her closer and placed both his palms on her breasts. She looked down at his long hands. His cock smoothly withdrew into his body, just below the water, and then slid out again, shiny with his secretions. Magical. He stroked it and smoothed more pre-cum on the undersides of her breasts and around her nipples. His touch zinged. Heat gathered in her nipples and spread to her core. She gasped.

Tilap approached the small female from behind. It was more delicate than their females. Its back was graceful. Below its waist, two soft mounds protruded in place of the smooth muscles of their race. It’s open cunny would be below the mounds, between it’s land limbs. He felt the mating excitement build. It might be years before the next group of his race’s females came into heat, but Altum and he could fuck this little creature at any time if rumors were correct. He stroked his cock, drew his pheromones into his hand and caressed the creature’s soft buttocks. It nearly jumped from the water, but Altum soothed it with more pheromone. Tilap had never touched skin that soft. He wanted to bite those soft curves.

“That is only Tilap. He will not harm you.”
(“Tilap you moron be gentle and do not startle her. No biting”)

Sophia had never been so horny in her life. There was something odd about the oil. Every time it touched her skin she wanted to rub herself against Altum. She had never been so empty and aching. She wanted to impale herself on that big beautiful cock right now. She wanted to lick the salt off his smooth chest and suck his flat nipples. She wanted to.. Altum gazed down at her in what seemed to be amusement. At least that’s how her brain interpreted his expression.

“Let me prepare you for our cocks.”

The guy had a way with words - not, thought Sophia.

Altum coated his fingers with more pre-cum. He seemed to have an endless supply of it after years of abstinence. He gently parted Sophia’s lower limbs and explored between them. There! Her opening was soft and warm. There was no stiff band of muscle keeping it closed. He stroked the labia with his fingers and coated the whole mound and lips with pheromone. He could feel the open cunt get warmer and more slippery. How far did it go in? He gently inserted an oiled finger.

Sophia trembled. Altum’s graceful fingers seemed so warm. She felt herself tipped back. She was floating on her back, supported by the second merman. That creature stroked her buttocks from beneath while Altum carefully probed her. He seemed to be looking for something. Then he definitely smiled with a closed mouth and drew his finger directly around her clit, applying more oil. Flashes of heat zipped around her core.

Sophia tilted her head down to watch Altum. He held her pussy open with one hand and stroked his cock with the other. He pressed his fingers to her open pussy, circling her clit. She could see her pussy getting pinker and pinker. Her clit felt so hot, so swollen. Her core pulsed in time with an accelerating heartbeat. She watched two long fingers disappear into her pussy, while his thumb continued circling her clit. So good but not enough. The heat and electricity moved inside and outside now. Her breasts ached.

“Touch them. Touch my breasts,” she thought desperately.

In response, the other merman put his long hands on her breasts and coated her nipples with heat. She could feel his slick cock sliding up and down her crack. She was lying on his chest and on his big stiff cock. She squirmed and groaned in arousal.

Another presence touched her thoughts, but it didn’t speak as Altum did. Instead, it projected images. Altum’s fingers disappearing into her pussy. A view of her breasts with shiny pink nipples. A view of her buttocks slick with oil. A large purple cock disappearing between her shiny buttocks. A deep sense of yearning suffused her.

“I will penetrate you now,” said Altum. He did not sound calm and detached anymore. It was a rough voice, almost a growl.

The three of them had floated to the middle of the pool. Their movements created small waves that broke against the stone and pierced the silence with soft lapping sounds. Altum rose in the water so that his thick, veined cock aligned with her pussy. He was treading water gently with his tail. He gripped her thighs and pushed them further apart. The slick member pushed against her entrance, and penetrated slowly. She was stretched, filled, impossibly stuffed with hot, throbbing energy until she could take no more.

Altum seemed to take her measure. He withdrew almost entirely and smoothly reentered, stopping precisely before he hit her cervix. He changed the angle of his approach and pressed inside again. He grazed a sensitive spot, setting off ripples of sensation.

“Shall I go faster, little female?”

Without waiting, Altum leaned toward her face and started pulling her rapidly onto his cock by her thighs. They were all moving around the pool as he fucked her. Sophia couldn’t think in sentences anymore. Faster. Harder. Squeeze me. Yes. There. There. Again. Oh. Fuck. Images flooded her: Pink labia stretched around a giant cock. Stiff cherry nipples pinched by long narrow fingers. Her face, mouth open, eyes rolled back, cheeks flushed. She tensed and tensed again. She couldn’t breathe for the pleasure.

She clenched her rear against the other cock sliding rapidly between her butt cheeks and tilted her pelvis up so that the big male above rubbed harder against her clit. She was climbing, reaching, about to explode.

Altum had never mated like this before. The female was slick and soft. His cock wanted in further and faster. Smooth tissues caressed and squeezed him. She must run several degrees hotter than his species. He released more pheromone in a flood of pleasure. He wanted to feel her climax before he spent. He took a hand off her thigh and wet two fingers with his tongue. He pressed them on her clit as he slammed in to the hilt.

The little female screamed and thrashed, almost dunking Tilap. She convulsed around his cock. He felt intense pressure building at the root of his cock, flooding his groin. Years of frustration released. Altum groaned as hot cum spurted repeatedly through his whole cock, triggering exhilarating relief.

He pulled out slowly, loathe to disconnect, and floated on his back, breathing hard. The stars blinked at him. He could hear the waves at a great distance. A ghostly aurora of pale secretions billowed around them in the black water.

Sophia had never come so hard, or so long. Her pussy pulsed with little aftershocks.

She’d just made a fish sandwich. Oh, that was funny. She was full of mer-cum. Her butt was coated with sea-man. She might have mer-babies. She giggled.

“She is giddy,” thought Altum.
“It must be the pheromone”, replied Tilap. “I want her cunny now.”
“You just came on her backside.”
“Okay. I want her cunny in 10 whale clicks.”
“Give her time to come down.”

Tilap pulled her over to the side of the pool. Altum brought her a flat shell filled with drinking water. Sophia lay her head on her arms on the rock and let her legs float back. She dozed.

….

When Sophia awoke, she was floating stomach down. Her cheek rested on a smooth chest. It was Altum’s chest. His round dark eyes did not look as alien anymore. In fact, he had an oddly warm expression.

Someone was playing with her feet. She looked back over her shoulder. Tilap gave her another toothy grin. This time she wasn’t frightened. He pressed her arches with his thumbs and pulled at her toes. It felt heavenly.

“Tilap thinks your fins and tail need oiling,” said the deep, droll voice in her head. Altum, she thought.

(“Here’s what we do,” thought Tilap. “I’m going to wind her up good and get her so hot she’ll start wiggling. Then I get to fuck her hard while you hold her still.”)

“Sounds like a plan,” Altum thought back wryly. His young friend Tilap couldn’t pass an hour without trying to fuck something. Altum had pulled him off dolphins on numerous occasions. Tilap would fuck a sea anemone if Altum let him.

Sophia’s foot rub progressed to her thighs and between them. She felt Tilap close behind her. His arms came around her and she slipped off Altum’ chest. Tilap clasped her against his hard length. They floated upright in the water. He slipped one hand around a breast and another between her legs. Her nipples suddenly ached. Her core warmed and pulsed.

Tilap probed between the land-maid’s soft cunny with his fingers. There! A snug opening instead of an impenetrable slit. He coated his fingers in pheromone from his cock and plunged two fingers inside. She startled and whimpered.

“So smooth,” he thought. “So soft. So hot. So snug.” Tilap couldn’t hold off any longer. He rubbed her little pearl and plunged his aching cock into her from behind. She squealed in pleasure. It was paradise. Her tight passage clutched him. He pumped violently as he clasped her, one hand grasping a breast and the other holding her hips. They started to tilt forward.

“My Lord. He’s going to push her underwater and bash her head against the rocks,” thought Altum.

He darted in front of Sophia and blocked their progress. Pulling her arms around his waist, he braced himself high against the edge of the pool. “Hold on, sweetheart.” Tilap rammed her enthusiastically into Altum’s body. Her soft breasts rubbed against Altum’s rising cock.

Sophia felt frantic. Tilap had placed a finger on her clit. Every time his thick cock stuffed her, it rubbed the little bud. Waves of heat and tension streaked from her breasts to her pussy and back. Something firm and slick rubbed her cheek. It was the tip of Altum’s cock. There was nothing to do but turn her head and suck it hard. Altum jerked and groaned. Sweet, salty cum poured down her throat. She convulsed repeatedly against the big cock inside her. More hot cum flooded her pussy. Her climax zinged like lightning until she saw white spots and blacked out.

…..

“Sophia. Wake up. You have to leave.”

Sophia raised her head from the hard black rock. Someone was gently licking her pussy. Her feet were dangling in the water, but her body was well out of it. Altum gazed up at her from between her legs. Tilap slept like a dead fish behind him.

“How did I get up here?” she thought. She scrambled backwards.
“I boosted you out.”
“You’re letting me go now. How come?”
“Tilap was going to kill you with fucking. If I don’t release you I’ll have to fight him to prevent it.”
“Thank you. Where should I go?”
“Land creatures live less than a day’s slow swim from here. Go through that small opening to the beach and walk with the water to your right. The land creatures do not know of this grotto. I will trust you not to tell them.”

Sophia hesitated. “That was amazing. I almost don’t want to leave.”
“I almost didn’t let you leave. If you want to see me again, walk to the beach near these tall black rocks the first night the moon is full. Put your cunny in the sea. I can track your taste in the water. I will come to you.
“Will you let me go again if I come back?”
“Probably.”

She would think it over.

…

“You son of a giant squid!” railed Tilap when he recovered. “Why did you let her go?”
“You would have fucked the little creature to death.”
“Maybe, but she would have enjoyed it til the end.”

Tilap sighed. “I’m going to hunt for lunch. Then maybe I’ll look for a female dolphin.”

The sun rose delicately pink over Jibei Island. Altum resolved to come back to the beach near the grotto every full moon. He would taste the sea for her. It would be another 7 years before the local mermaids came into their heat. What did he have to lose? At least he’d have his dreams.