09 May Beach Betrayal

“Hey, did you hear?” Gunnar waved his phone as if he could manually fling the information at Dylan. “Aiden’s having a beach party this weekend.”

Dylan glanced at his watch. “And he thought late Thursday evening was a good time to let people know? Bro’s got a lot to learn about planning ahead.”

Gunnar shrugged. “He was supposed to be meeting his family, I think. Something must have come up, but the place is already rented.”

“So what, he’s looking to get us to come down and cover the cost?” The frosh was probably going to be looking for fifty or a hundred bucks apiece, and the guest list was bound to be weak due to the last-minute nature of the invitation. There were sure to be better, cheaper parties around campus.

“Nope,” said Gunnar. “Totally covered! Whole house, beach access, the works, all the way through Sunday!”

Dylan perked back up. “Now that’s what I like to hear! Don’t suppose he’s got the beer?”

“How’s he gonna have that? You know he’s not twenty-one yet.”

“What, like it’s hard to get a fake ID?” Dylan shook his head. “All right, fine. For a free beach house, we can bring some drinks. Who’s he inviting?”

“Text says bring everyone!”

Dylan grinned. “Smart guy. All right, let’s get the word out. Tell them the caravan leaves tomorrow at 10 AM.”

“I’ve got a 9 AM class,” Gunnar complained.

“Not tomorrow you don’t! You’ve got a 9 AM beer run. We’re storming the beaches at ten.”

“But my—”

“It sounds like you’re about to say something might be more important than going to a free weekend party at the beach. I want you to think about that, Gunnar. Is that who you really want to be? Someone who skips a free beach party because he doesn’t want to miss class?”

“…Nine AM beer run, then.”

“Nine for the beer, ten in the car, beach by eleven! The weekend starts early, my friend.”

Dylan’s phone buzzed. It was the same message Gunnar had mentioned, and included a picture from inside the house. The beach was visible through the large picture windows. The back porch opened out onto the sand. It was the perfect place for a party.

“This place looks primo,” said Dylan.

“Oh, he finally got around to inviting you directly?” Gunnar said jokingly. “Guess we know where you rank on the list.”

“The very top, if he knows what’s good for him,” said Dylan. “Only way he’s getting anywhere in this frat is on my say-so. This beach party’s a good move to make a name for himself, but it’s not any of you he has to impress. It’s me.”

“Uh huh,” said Gunnar, clearly only half-listening. “Didn’t you just say you were impressed when you saw the picture of the house?”

“We’ll see once everyone shows up. The house is nothing without a good crowd. That’s why he was smart to tell us to invite everyone. We’ll bring the party.”

“So you won’t be impressed with him until you see if the right people show up, but you’ll be the one bringing the people?”

“Hey, Gunnar? Shut up.”

“I can sign out a campus van,” said Gunnar, ignoring him. “If you think you can find enough people not to disappoint yourself at Aiden’s party.”

“You’re about to disappoint my fists, bro.”

Gunnar laughed as he left the room. “I’ll get the van, then. Don’t let me down. Don’t let yourself down.”

Despite the late notice, by the time ten o’clock rolled around the next morning, all of the seats in the fifteen-passenger van were full. Gunnar piled backpacks into the narrow space behind the last seat, shoving the rear doors to force them shut and trap the luggage in place.

Dylan leaned on the door, helping Gunnar close it. He looked satisfied with himself.

“Full van, and more girls than guys,” he said. “Not bad for last minute, huh?”

“Yeah, takes a good salesman to talk people into a free beach trip!” said Gunnar.

“Just admit it’s a good crew,” said Dylan. He nodded at Mariah, who was currently climbing into the first row, sliding over to sit behind the driver’s seat. “Look, Mariah’s here. I know you’ve been thinking about her. She’s even sitting closest to you.”

“Everyone’s just getting in wherever. You didn’t plan that.”

“Maybe,” said Dylan, affecting an air of mystery. It was spoiled a moment later when he yelled, “Hey! Get in the back, Troy. I called shotgun!”

A few minutes and a few brief arguments later, everyone was seated, and the doors were closed.

“Where’s all of the beer?” Todd complained.

“Under the seat,” said Gunnar, starting up the van. “We got everyone?”

There was a chorus of agreement.

“Then let’s roll!”

“Hey,” said Todd, feeling around under the seat. “There’s a big metal bar here. How’d you get the beer in?”

“I put it in from the back,” said Gunnar.

“Well, how am I supposed to get it out?”

“It’s enrichment, bro. It’ll give you something to do on the drive.”

The rest of the van laughed. Todd ignored them as he continued to wiggle his hand back under the bench seat. A few minutes later, he let out a triumphant grunt as he pulled forth a slightly dented can of beer and opened it.

“Todd, can you grab me one?” asked Madison.

“What’s in it for me?”

“Enrichment,” she said with a sly smile. Todd passed his beer over immediately and began fishing for another.

“You just do anything a girl tells you, Todd?” called Dylan from the front seat.

“Yup,” said Todd, cracking a new beer. “It’s worked out so far.”

“Then would one of you ladies please tell Todd to get beers for everyone?”

By the time they arrived at the beach house, the first case of beer was empty, and Todd was attempting to find his way into another.

“All right, time for sweet beach freedom!” said Gunnar, swinging out of the car. “Whoo! Something nasty must have come in on the tide. It stinks out here!”

“The ocean always smells funny,” said Todd. He clambered out, took a breath, and shook his head. “All right, but not like that, though. Something must be dead on the beach.”

“Hey, everyone!” Aiden was waving at them from the front door. He scanned the group as they disembarked and gave an overly broad smile. “Full van, huh? Great! That’s great. Come on in. I’m glad to see you all here.”

He sounded oddly nervous, but his smile never wavered as he ushered them all inside. “Just dump your stuff anywhere! We’ll sort out rooms in a bit. How was the ride? Everything good?”

“Relax, bro,” said Dylan, clapping him on the shoulder. “You need a beer?”

“No, I—you know, yeah, actually. I do.”

Todd, who had just deposited an armload of cases on the table, pulled a beer out and handed it to Aiden. “Here, take a sniff of this and get that fishy stink out of your nose.”

“Oh man, is that reek still around?” Aiden’s laugh had a shrill tinge to it. “I stopped smelling it a while ago. Must be something down at the beach.”

“That’s what I said,” said Todd. “Let’s go see if we can find it later. Maybe it’s one of those deep-sea squid or something.”

“So your family ditched you this weekend, huh?” said Dylan.

“There was a family emergency,” said Aiden. “My grandmother. I was already down here, but they all ended up going to stay with her in the hospital.”

“You ditched your sick grandma to party? Aiden. Wow! I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“It’s not like that,” said Aiden, looking offended.

“I’m just messing with you, bro. Anyway, this house is awesome. Sorry about your grandma, but this is gonna be a killer weekend.”

“Yeah,” said Aiden. He took a hasty swig of his beer. “Glad you could make it!”

“We gonna go find this squid or what?” asked Todd.

“I’m getting changed and going swimming,” said Mariah.

“Swimming it is,” said Todd. He saw Dylan smirking at him and added, “What? Finding the dead squid can wait. It’s not going anywhere. That’s how being dead works. Right now it’s time to be alive.”

The afternoon flew by in a blur of sand and surf. The weather was beautiful. The waves were rambunctious, but not dangerous. The smell was the only thing marring an otherwise perfect day, and just as Aiden had said, they all stopped noticing it after a little while.

“Hey, what’s in that shed?” Dylan asked at one point. He indicated a weathered outbuilding sitting a short distance from the house, perched on a small rocky outcrop at the edge of the sand. “Any good beach stuff? Looks like the sort of place they might keep kayaks or something.”

“I don’t even know if that’s part of the property,” Aiden said.

“So?”

“Besides, it’s locked.”

Dylan grinned. “See, I knew you wouldn’t let a little thing like property rights stop you from having fun at the beach. Want to go see if we can pick the lock?”

Aiden shook his beer can to show that it was empty. “I’m gonna go grab another drink, actually.”

“Yeah, all right,” said Dylan. “I’ll come with.”

Back at the house, they found Gunnar and Mariah in the kitchen. Gunnar was dabbing at Mariah’s back with a paper towel.

“You’re just giving her a sponge bath in the middle of the kitchen?” Dylan asked. “You two don’t want any privacy for that?”

“Funny,” said Gunnar. “She cut herself on something while swimming. I’m just trying to get it cleaned up.”

“I’m telling you, I didn’t cut myself,” said Mariah. “I was just standing there. Something scraped me as it passed by. I think it was a shark!”

Dylan examined the thin red line across her back skeptically. It stretched diagonally from her waist to just below her ribs on the left side. It looked like a scratch from a rock or shell.

“So you think a shark swam by and what, forgot to bite down? Just got you with one tooth?”

“Shark skin is rough, stupid,” said Mariah. “I just think it scraped me.”

“That thin line?”

“It could have been a fin!”

“Look, it doesn’t matter,” said Gunnar. “It’s a cut, and the ocean’s full of all kinds of gross stuff. We have any sort of antibacterial anything?”

“There’s a bottle of vodka,” said Dylan.

Gunnar looked at Mariah, who shrugged. “Yeah, close enough.”

“Aiden, would you go get the doctor his antiseptic?” Dylan asked. “Doctor, make sure the patient gets her shots. In fact, we should all take one. We’ve all been in the ocean.”

He took the bottle from Aiden and poured a generous amount into four cups. “To shark attacks!”

“Give me that,” said Gunnar, reaching for the bottle. Dylan slid it out of his reach. “Come on, I’m actually trying to do something useful here.”

“So am I,” said Dylan. “I’m trying to get my friends drunk so we can have a good time. Do the shots, and then you can go back to playing doctor with Mariah.”

All four clinked their plastic cups and drank. Dylan smacked his lips and clapped Aiden on the shoulder. “Come on. Let’s leave Dr. Gunnar to examine the patient in peace.”

Outside, he added, “I’m proud of my boy. You see his move there? She gets a little cut, and he’s right there being sympathetic and taking care of her. Girls love that sort of stuff. They’re gonna be hooking up tonight.”

“Maybe,” said Aiden. He was staring out at the ocean. His eyes were troubled.

“What, did you have your eye on her? Don’t sweat it, bro. Plenty of chicks here to try it on with. How about Bri? You probably got a shot with Bri.”

“Todd’s been chasing Bri all day.”

“Todd chases every girl he sees. All that means is that they’re running from him. You want it, take your shot. It’s your beach party! C’mon, don’t let your grandma have gotten sick for nothing.”

“Yeah,” said Aiden. He was still staring out to sea. “No, yeah. It’s gotta go this way.”

“You even listening to me, bro?”

Aiden turned and gave Dylan a big smile. “Definitely. Hey, I’m gonna go snag that bottle of vodka. It’s about time to start getting everyone warmed up for the party, yeah?”

“There you go! Shots all around! Now we’re talking.”

By the time the sun set, the party was in full swing. Empty beer cans littered the back porch. Six people were crammed into the four-person hot tub. Todd had set up a speaker and appointed himself DJ, which meant that every time he wandered too far away, the music would begin to skip and stutter. After being yelled at by the entire party for the fifth time, he just left his phone by the speaker with a shouted warning not to touch it. He hurried back out to the beach, following the sounds of shouting and laughter in the dark from the partiers still in the ocean.

“Hey, are y’all skinny dipping? Wait up!”

Gunnar and Dylan, teamed with Mariah and Bri, respectively, were facing off in a game of beer pong. Dylan held the ball up to his eye level, carefully sighted along it, and took his shot. He missed by half a foot.

“Dude,” said Gunnar, retrieving the errant ball. “Bri has been carrying you all night.”

“I’m just trying to make you look good in front of your girl,” said Dylan. “Anyway, give me a break. This is like my fifth game.”

“Coupla beers knocking you out?” taunted Gunnar. He sank his shot flawlessly. “Well, have another. If you were better at this, you wouldn’t have to drink so much.”

“Oh no, drinking, what a terrible punishment,” said Dylan, downing the beer.

“Where’s Todd?” Madison called from the hot tub. “His playlist is repeating! We’ve already heard this song, and like the two before it, too.”

“Down in the ocean, I think,” said Dylan. He walked over to Todd’s phone, stumbling slightly. “Hang on, I’ll fix it.”

As he looked at the phone, a smile spread across his face. “Maybe not in the ocean. Look at this! Todd’s got a text that says ‘come to the beach shed.’ Todd, you sly dog!”

“Who’s it from?”

“Unknown number! Who wouldn’t he have in his phone? Who else isn’t here?”

Everyone looked around.

“Ashleigh’s not,” said Bri.

Madison laughed, covering her mouth. “There’s a whole house right here they could have used to hook up in, with beds and everything. Going to that shed is something else! She must be doing it for attention.”

“Well, then let’s give them some,” said Dylan. “You want to go bang on the walls?”

“Hey, let’s just—” Aiden began.

He was cut off by a sudden, piercing scream from the beach. It sliced through the conversation, music and laughter, freezing the entire party in an instant. The scream ended as abruptly as it began, and it did not repeat.

“Stop the music, stop the music!” said Gunnar. “Hey, you guys okay out there? Dylan, would you turn that off?”

“Hang on, I accidentally turned off the screen,” said Dylan, poking at the device. “I think it’s—”

Suddenly, he fell backwards, shouting and throwing Todd’s phone at the creature that loomed up out of the darkness. Details were sparse in the dim light, but it stood as tall as a person and hissed through a mouth full of bladed teeth. Water flew from its scaly skin as it stomped at Dylan’s prone form. He shouted and scrambled backward, narrowly avoiding being disemboweled by the prominent talons on its webbed foot.

Everett scrambled from the hot tub to help, only to be seized from behind by another of the fishlike creatures and shoved back into the tub. The bubbling water turned red as its edged scales cut into his unprotected neck and face. Madison and the others in the tub screamed and flung themselves out, tumbling down to the wooden porch in terrified haste.

More of the creatures appeared, sliding out of the darkness like eels. They formed a threatening net around the porch, corralling the trapped partygoers.

“Get into the house!” shouted Gunnar, grabbing Mariah as he ran. “We don’t have a chance out here!”

“Screw that,” said Dylan, grabbing for the foot of the first one as it tried to stomp on him again. “They can—ahh!—ulck”

His sentence faltered in a cry of pain as he seized the fishman’s foot in both hands, only to have the flesh shredded from his palms by the jagged scales. Even that cry died away as the creature ripped its foot free and swung forward with a lethal kick, driving its sharp nails up through the soft flesh of Dylan’s jaw and spearing into his head. The lower half of his face exploded in a red ruin. Dylan flopped briefly as the creature tore its foot free, and then was still.

The scene was carnage. The hot tub frothed a garish pink, casting strange shifting shadows across the deck as Everett’s body was pushed about by the jets. Dylan’s corpse lay in a spreading puddle of beer and blood. The music still thumped on, mostly hiding the muffled sounds of panic coming from inside the house as the frantic students tried to hide.

Only Aiden remained outside. The monsters closed in, hissing. He swallowed as their stench engulfed him, but he did not flinch.

“Okay,” he said. “They’re all inside. I got their phones. I got the keys. All you have to do is go take them.”

The closest creature hissed, holding out its webbed hands. It tapped one finger across the others, counting something.

“I don’t understand,” said Aiden. Panic started to creep into his voice. “I did what you wanted. You said you’d let my family go if I brought you more.”

The fishman held up two fingers, then one.

“Yeah, two for one. I brought you fifteen! That’s way more than you asked for.”

It gestured to Everett, drowned in the hot tub. It nodded at Dylan, his body a broken ruin. It ticked two of its fingers.

“How is it my fault if you killed them?” demanded Aiden.

The creature hissed, chattering its teeth. Aiden shrank back.

“Fine, fine! Still, that’s only two. There are thir—”

It waved languidly toward the beach, then tapped its fingers again. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. Five more times.

Aiden swallowed again. “All of them? I…okay. But still. That still leaves eight inside. My mother, my father and my sisters. That’s four. Eight for four. Two for one, like you said.”

The creature tapped its fingers once more. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Tick.

“Five? But—”

It reached out and tapped one deadly claw against Aiden’s chest, drawing the merest pinprick of blood.

“But that’s—”

It took a step closer. Aiden’s voice rose in pitch.

“Okay! Okay! Just let me…I can get more people out here tomorrow. Just don’t—”

In a sharp, darting moment, the fishman buried its face in Aiden’s neck. Blood fountained as it bit down, chewing and swallowing. The others rushed in, tearing chunks from Aiden’s flailing form, ripping flesh from bone, and eating him raw.

By the time the frenzy subsided, nothing recognizable remained of Aiden. The fish creatures rose to their feet and, in unison, began to stalk toward the house. They would catch and kill the ones inside. They would add their bodies to the stockpile in the beach shed. And perhaps, if they were lucky, they would find another one gullible enough to believe that there were any left alive, to barter for or rescue.

Fishing was always easiest in a stocked pond.