Washed Ashore

 6/25

Sandy rode the latest wave to the beach on his surfboard and shook his head in disbelief. They were still there... He glanced back into the sea to check if his friends were equally bemused but they were paddling around in the foam. He turned back to the girls.

“Give it up, Ariel. The current is way too strong for cute little things like you. You're going to get washed out to sea with those things.” He smirked as about a half-dozen high-school girls glared back balefully. They appeared to be some kind of swimming club for mermaid enthusiasts and were decked out in latex tails of various bright colours. However, the rough conditions were more than a match for their enthusiasm and they just couldn't get deeper than where the waves were breaking on the sand. Sandy rolled his eyes and headed back into the ocean.

“Bwahahaha”, he doubled over in laughter. It was five minutes later and he had just rode a monster all the way in just in time to see a girl with an orange tail get washed straight into her friend in a green one. They collided hard and squirmed around clumsily in the wet sand, unable to stand. “Those are the most ridiculous things I have ever seen,” he scoffed and headed back out.

By now, the wind was really picking up and the water was getting choppy. Sandy's friends decided to call it a day but determined not to let the girls see the ocean best him, he stayed. The next wave was enormous and despite catching it confidently, he found himself unstable at its crest and plunged forward over the front of his board. He surfaced, spluttering salt water just in time to see his surfboard careering straight for his head.

“Well, the good news is we saved your life...” Sandy awoke to the soft female voice. “The bad news...well, you can see for your self...” He tried to shake away his grogginess and was surprised to find he was looking down at the girls circled below him. A gust of wind blew his long surfer style hair across his face and he tried to brush it away but found his arms were stuck behind him. He looked down at himself and was filled with panic. His legs were also tied and his whole body was encased in one of the girls' pink latex mermaid tails. The shiny material wrapped his body like a thick film. He tried to cry out it protest but a ball gag muted him. “It turns out our tails are good for something after all – bringing arrogant surfer jerks down to size,” the girl smirked, “come on,” she beckoned to her friends, “the sea is getting too rough anyway.” Sandy's eyes went wide as he realised they were planning to leave him suspended from the back of the truck.

“Oh, you thought this was ours?” another girl laughed, “no, no, no...it's theirs”, she nodded to where a pair of weather beaten fisherman were unloading a boat further down the beach. “Word of caution...the ballgag is theirs too. We found it in the flatbed. Who knows what those guys are into... Bye now...”