The Shell and the Star - Part 21

Hello again to everyone following this "aquatic SFR" serialized story and welcome to anyone just tuning in for the first time. If you're a newbie, you can catch up on the story posted to date at this link:

The Shell and the Star

For those about to launch into this new episode, we left Trey and Jinn last time in a very desperate situation to escape an enormous, tentacled sea beast by climbing the steep, rocky slope of the secluded bay. (A very alien experience for Jinn, who has never experienced the crushing weight of 1G before.) 

Here's the terrible spot where we left them last time: 

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Trey threw an apprehensive glance back, and strained to prop Jinn up while he climbed higher onto the rocks.

With a sudden shout, Trey pitched forward, bracing his free hand against a boulder while tightening his grip on her to keep her from the falling. She turned to see a long length of black tentacle extending up from the sea to ensnare his ankle in the flame-red tip.

“Trey!”

“Go!” He pushed her ahead, out of the tentacle’s reach and she sprawled on a flat outcropping as the creature started to reel him in, pulling him down to the next rocky shelf, closer to where it waited in the waters below.

“Trey!” she screamed again, clinging to him with one hand. She couldn’t let the monster take him. Not Trey!

He grabbed the top of one large stone, gaining a handhold, and twisted to wedge his body into a tight V between two boulders, kicking at the tentacle and working to pry it off his ankle with his other foot. His leg muscles bulged and strained as he thrashed, fighting with an inhuman strength no ordinary Perling could possess. The monster began flailing its tentacle, wrenching Trey from the security of the rocks. It raised its horrible head above the water, flashing a circular row of gleaming, pointed teeth.

Jinn hauled back on his hand with all the strength she could muster, but the creature only tightened its hold and gnashed its pointed teeth.

Trey looked up at her, his gaze sought hers and he whispered, “Jinn.” Everything he held inside filled his eyes and went straight to her heart. This was his goodbye. Trey knew the beast would take him.

The monster gave a furious tug, and his hand slipped from hers.

“No!” Jinn screamed.

She wouldn’t let this happen!

Flailing around her, Jinn grabbed a loose stone and scooted down the rock slope after Trey.

“No, Jinn, go back!” Trey shouted.

“Not without you!”

Locking one arm around his chest, she summoned all her strength to smash the rock down hard on the monster’s thick limb, crushing and grinding the appendage against a sharp ridge of stone.

Dark liquid sprayed and the creature let out a high keen. A second appendage slithered up the slope in search of its attacker and found Jinn’s arm. She felt the powerful limb wrap tight around her wrist, and wrested the stone into her free hand to turn her attention on the new threat. Again, she drew dark blood, and arm retracted like a whipcord, just as the first wounded tentacle’s grip loosened on Trey. He kicked free and scrambled up, grabbing Jinn and pulling her with him just beyond the beast’s long reach.

Behind them, three more angry flame-tipped tentacles emerged from the waters and thrashed over the rocks, groping desperately for lost prey and finding none. A furious roar and hail of bubbles rose from waters of the cove as the creature sank back into the sea.

Trey crested the top of the rock outcropping with Jinn stumbling along behind. They collapsed together, entwined in each other’s arms, clinging, clasping and struggling for breath.

“Is it gone?”

“For now,” Trey panted.

“What was it?”

“Razortooth. A predator. From the deep.” He splayed a hand on his chest, fighting to catch his breath. “I think the Boggy game…attracted it. The splashing. It must have…found a way…to squeeze through the barrier…into our bay.” Trey’s embrace tightened. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” Jinn said, taking his face in her hands. “But are you?”

“No.” He gave his head a slow shake, searching her eyes. “I’m alive. All thanks to you.”

She gazed into the blue depths of his eyes. “I couldn’t lose you.” Adrenalin and terror morphed into soul-deep need inside her. “I was so afraid that thing was going to take you,” she whispered. “Before…before we even…”

“Before we even...” he repeated softly. She saw the emotion spark in his eyes, saw the same yearning that she was feeling, felt the gentle urgency of his hands on her body, and savored the sweet, seeking press of his lips claiming hers.

She kissed him back. Kissed him in a way he could never doubt he mattered to her.

Trey hands smoothed over her body from shoulders to hips, then retraced the path back up, his fingers threading into her wet hair. Desire cascaded through her core, heating her blood and making her heart surge like the rushing of high tide. Trey deepened his kiss, leaning her back onto a smooth, flat boulder, pressing closer.

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I hope you enjoyed this week's episode and the shifting tide of emotions between Jinn and Trey. (This chapter was recently extensively revised, and you're the first to read it!) 

These two now realize what they could have lost in the face of near-disaster, but is their reaffirmation of life about to carry them headlong into an unexpected moment of truth?

Check back next Monday to find out in Part 22 of The Shell and the Star.