"The Mermaid Legend"

It's funny how our human history has been with holding on to legends. They lay down the ground work for some of the greatest stories ever told. They form the basis for some amazing films and even have mass cult followings and conspiracy theorists surrounding them. But the thing we fail to take into account is that legends are often based in truth. For the real situation that took place is far darker than what is being retold.

Sitting around the councilor's lake house at Camp Crystal Waters was something I'd been waiting to do since I attended this place is a kid. I was finally old enough to chill out with the big guys and boss kids around. I was beyond ready for this summer.
I was sitting around a campfire with some of my fellow councilors. We'd all done our toasting of marshmallows and we were nearing the end of doing our rounds for scary stories. The one left to go was this gorgeous red haired girl with a body that was hard to keep your eyes off of. She was sitting next to me, which the way she kept turning and looking at me, made it so hard to resist her.
If I'm being completely honest, I don't remember what her story was. It was something about mermaids. It was like a weird obsession of hers. Ever since I laid eyes on her, she won't stop talking about mermaids.
After we finished up outside, talking and having a good time, we headed back inside and sat on the couch in the middle of the cabin we all shared. The gorgeous red head, Jamie, sat right next to me.
"I wanna go swimming," said Brad, another one of the councilors.
"We can't," Jamie shot up from her seat. "It's against the rules."
"But rules are made to be broken," I chimed in. "Besides, we're the ones in charge this year. We can do whatever we want."
"No you can't," Jamie glared at me. "There's a reason that rule is in place. It's because of the mermaids in the lake."
"There you go again with the mermaids," I laughed.
"Sounds like you wanna hear the story," Jamie said, sitting back down next to me. "It all started seventeen summers ago..."

There was an ornery boy named Marshall. He was known to rebel against anything the councilors had to say to him. He'd start food fights in the main hall, he'd often go off exploring on his own. He even went swimming after he knew everyone was asleep.
He talked one of his friends to go out there with him. The friend was afraid of getting caught and tried saying no. Marshall still persisted that he go. At least to keep look out. He agreed to that.
That night they both snuck out and headed to the dock overlooking the lake. Marshall took off his shirt and jumped slowly climbed in. He didn't want to make too much noise in fear of being caught.
As he was swimming in the lake, all was calm until he felt something cold and slimy brush up against his ankle. He began frantically splashing around, trying to get out. His friend was too far away to pull him out of the water.
He then felt something wrap around his ankle and began to pull him under. Marshall kicked and screamed. But by the time his friend got to him, he was nowhere to be found.

"I think he was bitten by a mermaid," Jamie finished. "After all, when you get bitten by a mermaid you become one."
"You honestly expect me to believe that?" I asked.
She leaned forward, her lips so close to mine. She whispered, "I don't care if you believe me, see for yourself." She launched forward and sunk her teeth into my neck.