Not too far, but also not too close, from where Brenden and his family are located, a guy in royal blue swim trunks was relaxing on his back, taking in all the sun he could muster and making the best out of the shipwreck situation.
Colton was one of the passengers who were on the cruise that Brenden won. He was a recent college graduate, focused on taking where life leads him. Little did he know that life had other plans for him.
You see, Colton was a simple man. A young guy in his early 20s, even when on a seemingly deserted island, still had his manly instincts. Those instincts flared up when he caught a glimpse of a girl named Emily.
Emily was another fellow college graduate, a young attractive woman who interested Colton when he spotted her on the cruse.
In fact, he was about to ask her out when the storm happened.
A champion swimmer at her high school and college, as well as a former mermaid performer at an aquarium, Emily was able to make it to the island - Making her one of the earliest survivors of the shipwreck. In fact, she's not too far from where Colton laid on the sand - She's just barely inside the island's wilderness, gathering fruits and materials for the day.
From the brief glimpses that Colton got from watching Emily having fun on the cruise and being an expert survivor when the time called for it, he could tell that he wanted to be with her.
But what conflicted Colton was how we could ever make a good first impression. She seemed to be the kind of woman who came around once in a lifetime but she was simply out of his league.
"If only there's a way I could be more special than Emma."
As if on cue, Colton heard a voice. "Maybe I can help with that."
Colton turned to see a young woman with dark green hair and light green skin laying right next to him, forest green octopus- tentacles were in the place of her legs.
Before he could scream, Colton's mouth was immediately shut by one of her tentacles. "Let's not get too hasty here. I'm Alora and I'm a sea witch, here to help you find love." She said with an assuring smile.
Colton calmed down as he looked into Alora's face. She seemed to mean it.
Eventually, Alora let her tentacle go from Colton's mouth.
"Help me? Why would you want to help me? I'm just a human." Colton said calmly.
"I've heard you desire to be something more special than that Emily fellow."
Colton's ears perked up at that. "I'm listening."
"Allow me to make a proposal." Alora pulls out a contract and a pen." Just sign here and I can change you into a merman."
"Wait… A merman?!" Colton said, eyes wide open.
Alora chuckled, she found his reaction endearing. "Why not? What kind of champion swimmer like Emily wouldn't want a merman as a lover?"
"Isn't that… Just a bit of a jump from a champion swimmer? I don't know about giving up my humanity like that." Colton replied.
"You'll be all the more surprising to Emily then. I'll even keep your swim trunks intact so you can show her proof that you were a human. She'll appreciate that."
"You think so?"
"I know so. Just think. A swimmer girl and a merman? What's not to love about that? Who wouldn't want that?"
Colton smiled. "Good point. I could even swim underwater and get all the Emily underwater gifts she could ever want. I could even be the breadwinner if I found valuable pearls and gems under the sea"
Alora grinned. "That's the spirit." She pushed the contract to Colton's face. "Now, would you like to sign?"
"Wait a minute," Colton said. "What's the catch? This seems… fishy. Giving me the ability to be a merman so easily, what would you gain from that?"
"Aren't you a smart cookie?" Alora giggled. "Alright, here's the thing. Usually, when I turn humans into merfolk, and vice versa, I give them three days to find a mate or they'll turn into polyps as my property."
Colton gulped "Usually?"
Alora frowned. "Unfortunately for you, you have such a strong attachment to the girl that if you were to be rejected by her, your heart would break in a way that would essentially remove two days out of your lifespan. Once you get rejected, you'll be dragged into my cave by the tail and be mine as a polyp."
Colton sighed. "So it's an all or nothing contract, basically?"
Alora nodded.
Damon knew it was a risky idea to make a deal with her. But he wanted to be with Emily badly. There was no way he was going to pass up a strong yet cute girl like her. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
"Alright, Alora. You got yourself a deal!" Colton takes the pen and signs the contract.
As soon as Colton finished signing his name, his back fell onto the ground as his legs quickly fuse together. Quickly, his toes turned into his new tailfins. Colton looks as slits appear on the sides of his torso as he now had gills. His legs became his fish tail as it grew royal blue scales. His upper body also became stronger, more muscular. When it was over, Colton was now a merman.
Awed with his new body, Colton eagerly grabs his swim trunks and crawls up to the island, with the help of his stronger arms, to meet with Emily.
Alora watches carefully.