On The Beach

The water sparkled in the mid-day sun as the three treasure hunters wandered along a stretch of beach. The sandy shore wove past large fingers of rock that stretched for the water and somewhere down the way came the low boom of the surf as it exploded onto the stone.
The three young men had been travelling for much of the day, but in their conversation, they hardly felt tired. They had talked back and forth, sharing a story or two, and kicked sand along as they went.
They were laughing at a story Lee had told when Romin stopped short. The other two halted in their steps, looking back at him.
“Do you hear that?” Romin asked, gazing to the sky.
“What?” Asked Lee.
“Singing,” Romin murmured, his face becoming strangely dreamy and distant.
Kale’s cat-like ears swivelled. “Ai hear it too.”
Romin started forward, following the sound, and Kale was not far behind. But something frightened Lee, and he held back. He had encountered this before.
“Wait!” Lee ran after his companions as they rounded a point of rock. Before them was a little bay, and lounging on the sandy beach were many beautiful girls, maids of the sea. All eyes turned to them. A silent song seemed to surround them in a haze, the pure notes hanging in the air.
Lee gasped, terror bubbling up within him. Seeing the newcomers, many of the finned creatures made for the sea, their tails flapping in the surf as they disappeared beneath the waves. But four remained, their black eyes fixed on the three young men that stood in awe. Soft smiles lit the sea maids’ faces, and they began to sing a lovely tune, weaving their hair through their webbed fingers.
Lee’s eyes went wide, and he clapped his hands over his ears. “Don’t listen to them!” He cried. “Cover your ears!”
But both Romin and Kale’s eyes had glazed over, and they did not respond. They stared longingly ahead. The sirens beckoned them, the tune enveloping the adventurers like a soothing mist, clouding their minds and ensnaring their thoughts in a spell. Kale and Romin started forward and Lee reached out to grab them, but as he did, the song flooded his mind, and he clamped his hands back onto his ears to block it out. Panic raced through him as his two companions joined the sirens on the beach, and they smiled at them and stroked their cheeks while the tune grew louder and the spell more powerful.
Lee could feel himself being pulled forward by a force he could not detect. He fought furiously to resist, but could feel his eyes growing heavy and his mind growing weak. He stumbled into the sand, and called out to Kale and Romin, trying to wake them from their stupor. But all he could do was watch helplessly as his friends were completely overtaken by the enchantment. Lee fell to his knees, pressing as hard as he could against his ears. It seemed there was nothing he could do to block out the sound. A lovely siren wrapped a chilled hand around Lee’s wrist, her round child-like eyes imploring him to stay.
A sea maid cradled Romin’s head. She was smiling down at him, her golden hair glowing in the sun. She gently brushed a strand of hair from Romin’s face. Then she took the stupored young man and pulled him backwards with her as she slid into a deep tide pool. With sudden resolution and a playful grin, she pushed his head down beneath the water until even his shoulders were gone.
“Romin, no!” Lee cried. He looked over. “Kale!”
Kale was completely entranced by a siren with long auburn hair. She kissed him passionately, pulling him into a tight embrace.
The siren by Lee now had her arms around his shoulders. He tried to pull away, tried to go to his friends, but she held him back, her cold, scaly skin against his.
The song was becoming too strong. He could not fight it anymore. “No…” Lee murmured, his eyes beginning to close. “No…” Then he slumped forward and his mind faded to black.

Written by
Illustrated by myself.
Story by us! ^^