Author`s Note: The comments and likes really keep me going to go on xD. Thank you guys.
Only for those who are interested. When I wrote the chapter, I listened at the Soundtrack of the Game "Journey", most these two: Reclamation and Apotheosis.
I hope you enjoy it ^^
New edit: Ferric corrected this chapter, the phrases now more intense to read, giving the reader the chance to feel with the story. Thank you very much, it is amazing now!
Chapter 3: Lost
His lungs began to burn when he tried to pull oxygen into them. Breathing air had become impossible for him, causing him to duck his head into the saltwater. He opened his wide mouth to pull water inside his lungs.
It felt much more comfortable, the warm and soothing feeling flowing from his upper body to the rest of him, leaving his muscles alive with energy. The high and thick fins of his back remained in the cold air, the blueish veins in them cooling the rest of his body and creating a strange sensation.
He got used to the swimming in the water, the movements around him creating a relaxing pattern of sound and vibrations as he held his arms and legs close to his snake like body, which undulated from side to side, from the right to the left in a slow, rhythmic movement.
Small air bubbles, churned up by his movements whirled around him and drifted to the surface. The fins down his back cut through the water like a knife, the streamlined form of his body allowing him to travel far faster and more efficiently than would have been possible for a human. After a point momentum took over and only minimal effort was needed to maintain his momentum. When he lifted his head out of the water he was moving so fast the wind caused his eyes to burn and he had to close them.
His tail wriggled behind him, the fins pushing the water to either side, churning the water into white and greyish eddies where he swam.
He swam, he didn`t know what else he could do. He swam for a long time, diving down and resurfacing to take a look where he was. All around there was water, the big waves moving over the surface like rolled carpets.
The stars and moon lit up the ocean, the water glittering in different colors. If he hadn't been losing more of his memory, all the things he had thought and learned throughout his life that had made him human, he would think of beauty.
He would have enjoyed the beauty, forgetting his fears as he swam onward.
What he did notice was that his transformation wasn`t finished yet. Even with his whole body altered, nothing about him even reminiscent of the human form, there were things he could feel growing on and inside of him.
There were two appendages that kept stinging right behind his thighs, on either side of the base of his tail. They were moveable, still short but he had some control over them. When he lifted them away from his body, out to either side the water pressure forced them into their place again, indicating that the muscles supporting them weren`t fully developed.
Somewhere nearby there was a sound which drew his attention very quickly. The sound was deep, he knew it from somewhere but he couldn`t place it. Images raced through his brain. Pictures he didn`t recognized anymore. He saw strange metallic boxes, which continued moving quickly. He saw a pipe, which turned with a high speed around its own axis.
He saw humans, the one thing he knew. Different memories of them, they all looked different, but he was unable to tell them apart. In his memories they laughed, ate, they ran and they cried.
There was a strange stick, fire shooting out of its end and he quickly opened his many eyes. Far away, even in the dark he could see the loud thing which was heading towards his direction. The pipe was turning around its axis, blocking the light of the stars. It was frightening.
He didn`t hesitate to dive down, submerging his whole body to avoid being located. His fins warmed up in the saltwater, his tail swinging back and forth, his muscles straining to increase his pace. The weak light of the moon penetrated only a few meters below the surface before it was dark around him again.
The blueish colored parts of his body began to glow with bioelectricity, giving him light to see. He couldn`t think as he used to when he stopped to watch the strange loud thing flying past him, heading out to the nothingness of the open ocean.
But still he could not shake the feeling that urged him to follow the thing. He ignored it, somehow knowing it would be dangerous, knowing that he could be hurt or even be killed. He stretched his legs and arms to the sides and pressed them backwards to push himself forward through the water.
His tail and upper body began to move of their own, fastening his pace as he pulled the legs against his body and he resumed the undulating movements that carried him through the water. With the help of his glowing body he was able to see fishes in schools that parted to either side of him, passing him without being touched.
Fishes of all shapes and sizes, varieties that he never could have imagined were seen by his curious eyes. In the water the soundwaves were different as in the air. They were a lot slower through the liquid. He couldn`t hear his own stomach growling, but he felt it.
He didn`t remember when he last ate something. His eyes rolled from the left to the right wildly, studying his environment and each possible food source. The schools of fish all around him would be perfect.
And as he considered the situation he noted that there were more small fishes appearing in the weak blue light around him. He pushed his arms against the water, spreading the claws apart so that the webbing between them created drag that quickly brought him to a stop.
He opened his mouth, the sharp teeth and long fangs finding a fish, stabbing easily into its skin like a knife through butter. He closed his mouth and instinctively shook his head, causing the fish to die immediately. It was the first time he had eaten in his new form and he found it to be a strange feeling.
He could still remember holding a knife and a fork, holding the food as he chewed on it, swallowing it down. He opened his mouth to release the dead fish, biting the upper part and tearing it apart. Instead of chewing it he bit down on it once, twice before he swallowed it down.
He caught the other half and did the same thing. It tasted good though. His stomach didn`t ache as before when he resumed swimming. He decided to surface once again, changing direction with his hands he approached the surface.
This time when he tilted his head into the air he could see dark hills across the water. He had almost reached the land. The moon had moved across the sky so that it was almost touching its glittering reflection in the water.
He quickened his pace and soon reached shallower waters. He felt the smooth sand under his feet as he swam around the shore, not daring to leave the water. He examined the area. This place was much louder, the water pounding against the sand, making loud rushing noises.
His tail wriggled on the sand beneath him. He smelled the air, putting his head into the water for breathing while his legs felt heavy beneath him. It was a familiar feeling to be walking and because of that he kept going.
He reared up, giving him a better chance to watch over the land behind the beach. He looked down to look at the water as he saw something on its surface. In the water he could see his reflection, letting him to get his first look at himself.
He froze in place, able to see the many eyes that covered the front of his face. The two central eyes were larger and a different color than the slit-pupiled reptilian ones that surrounded them. The countless smaller eyes started directly behind the nostrils to and went back nearly to the corners of his mouth. A horn grew out of the top of his nose.
Smaller fins ran down the center of his head, sticking up like his hair used to. Even with his mouth closed two long, sharp fangs were visible. When he tilted his head to the side he could see outgrowths coming out of the sides of his skull with fins between them. He looked like a freak, a monster, not at all like what he'd expected.
Unable to stand the sight of his own appearance, he slashed a clawed hand through the water.
He opened his mouth and let as much water rush into his lungs as they could hold. His legs carried him onto the beach, the dry sand warming up his feet.
He looked around curiously and headed farther inland, still holding the water inside of his lungs. Damn curiosity... It brought him farther into the land, looking around and wondering about the high plants.
The air was filled with sounds coming from different animals, different things which were rustling because of the wind. It felt cold, but concurrently the ground was so warm, he really enjoyed that.
After a short while his muscles began to burn, his lungs demanding more water. Lifting his head he smelled the air and headed towards a box with wooden. There was a container, filled with water.
He sped up until he reached the container. He opened his mouth, allowing the water rushing out of his lungs and after that he placed his claws on the edges of the container, pulling him up.
He looked into the greenish water and dipped his head inside, breathing the water in, his lungs filtering the needed oxygen. The water was different from the ocean. He jerked his head away, his nostrils closed while he kept his mouth shut.
It was disgusting, sweet warm water, the seaweed in it ruined the taste. Saltwater tasted much better, but the water from the container worked. He let himself fall to the ground, crawling his way back to the beach, dragging his tail behind him.
He picked up his pace when he felt the warm dry sand underneath his feet, almost jumping into the salt water. His tail twitched behind him on the sand before it touched the water, the familiar feel of the waves guiding him.
He focused on breathing while he dove down into the water, disappearing in the darkness of the night.
His explorations hadn't gone unnoticed. An older woman was sent searching through her purse, frantically looking for her phone to call the police.
"Hello? Hello! This is an emergency! I saw a monster on the beach of the western part of Sanya!"
e western part of Sanya!".