Twisted Tales Contest

Captive
For a moment, everything was normal.
A normal day at the beach. A normal day in life.
My two siblings were splashing in the water, inches away from me. My parents were chatting with each other on the sand, happily soaking up the sun. The world was happy and life went on.
“Run!”
The lifeguard blows her whistle, creating an earsplitting high-pitched noise. Cries come from all over the ocean, people splashing and running away from the water as if it just became radioactive.
The lifeguard jumps into the water, saving the small children who were confused.
That’s when I realize what’s happening.
The shark, a great white, opens its mouth, displaying a full set of yellow teeth. It lunges towards my head.
I retreat as quickly as I can, trying to get back to land.
People always say when you see a shark, slowly back away.
But not me. The shark has spotted me. What is the use of slowly backing away?
I listen to my common sense, swimming as fast as I can to shore, frantically paddling through the water, fighting against the waves.
But it’s too late.
The shark has towered over me, the sunlight reflecting off of its teeth.
It lunges towards me again and I feel my eyelids close.
Three days later…
I blink.
Bright lights swarm my vision, making everything look blurry. Muddy water drips from the ceiling splatting on the concrete floor below.
Where am I?
It’s definitely not a house, as no living being could live here. It’s more like a cement structure with no doors or windows. Only gray walls. The only way of escape is from a pool of water.
“Where am I?” I manage to croak. My voice echoes off the walls and bounces back, heard by no one except myself.
I am strapped onto a machine, needles sticking into my arm. I try not to move, afraid that any sudden movement would result in me being injected.
I clear my throat. “Anyone here?”
I hear splashing in the waves, and then quiet footsteps that echo across the room.
I feel a needle poke into my arm, making me dizzy.
The footsteps grow louder… louder…
Five days later…
My eyes snap open at the sound of flippers. This time, my eyes stay open long enough to see what’s there. A shark flings itself out of the pool of water, flopping on the cement floor, splashing me with tiny drops of water.
The shark quickly transforms into a human.
The human walks towards me, pressing a button on a silver remote.
A needle pokes my arm again.
And everything goes black.
Seven days later…
“Wake up,” a voice hisses in my ear.
It’s the lifeguard.
My heart rises and I smile, knowing that help is on the way. Soon I can get out of this asylum and kiss the land which I once took for granted.
“Get me out of here,” I whisper.
A mocking laugh comes out of the lifeguard’s mouth and echoes across the room.
“And tell me why I should do that.”
I open my mouth, but then close it. Shouldn’t the answer be obvious? I’m trapped, stuck, scared….
“That’s what I thought.” The lifeguard starts unbuckling the straps which tie me to the chair. I breathe a sigh of relief. I stand up, avoiding the needles. I stumble the second I stand, and I lean to the lifeguard for support.
The lifeguard flinches as my skin meets hers and she instantly walks away, letting me fall. The lifeguard slithers closer to me, trapping me on the cold floor.
She then emits another sharp laugh and walks over to the gray pool of water. She dips a foot in, and it instantly turns into half a flipper.
“Yes… I’m a shark.” The lifeguard smirks, lifting her flipper out of the water. I look around for a place of escape, but none is found.
“Cursed to look and sound like a human…”
I bite my lip. “Why do you want me then?”
The lifeguard reaches over to the machine and pulls out a syringe with a metallic purple liquid inside of it.
She stabs it into my shoulder, and I flinch, the pain building up inside my arm and spreading all throughout my body.
One year later….
I dive up out of the water and back in, using my flippers to paddle through the water. The water is relaxing.
The water is my life.
Yes… I’m a shark.
My destiny is to carry on my curse to another human.
This will go on forever with no end….

Word Count (770)