Henry had lost track of time inside the mouth of the massive creature. How long had he been in there? Minutes? Maybe an hour? If he were alone in this pitch black cavern, he’d probably go mad, either from the sounds of her stomach or her foul breath. Fortunately, the crushing grip of Abyssus reminded him that he was not alone in her mother’s maw, and that he was safe. At least, as long as he stayed with her. Everything jolted as the massive tongue they sat upon began to shift, thick pools of saliva sloshing towards the cavernous throat behind them. 

“We’re here!” Abyssus cheered.

Her mother’s mouth finally opened, causing Henry to wince from the bright sunlight. Unphased, Abyssus carried him through the gaping jaws and jumped into the water, only about waist high for the large creature. Before Henry lay an island full of palm trees and lush undergrowth. The island didn’t appear very large, maybe a square mile or so in area, but it was definitely uninhabited. More than likely, a passing ship would sail right by and not consider the island to be of any worth investigating. 

“Welcome to The Island!” She exclaimed, setting Henry in the sand as she danced about. 

Henry watched Abyssus dance, finding himself particularly focused on the way her bare, pink breasts bounced as she jumped up and down. Before he could enjoy the sight of her nude body too long, Henry was suddenly grabbed in her embrace, lifted up as she squealed in delight and spun in circles. Through all of the commotion, Henry could see the hint of a smile on her mother’s face, happy to see her daughter’s excitement. 

“Anyway, I guess we should finally introduce ourselves! My name is Abyssus, and that’s my mom, Ira,” Abyssus pointed. 

With her attention squarely on Henry, Ira’s slight smile disappeared. Henry couldn’t help but feel she was casting a glare similar to the one she’d given the Goddess of Death shortly before the crew’s annihilation. 

“I’m H-Henry,” He replied, watching Ira’s pupils narrow into thin slits. 

“Henry…” The colossal creature spoke, trying out the name on her tongue, “I believe I owe you thanks for saving my daughter. It was a noble thing, choosing to release her, even if it meant your own demise.” 

“But it didn’t!” Abyssus quickly added, “Because you spared him!” 

“Indeed,” Her mother replied, although Henry was given the impression she still viewed his status with them as merely temporary. 

The three entered an awkward silence, only broken when Ira’s stomach bellowed out a deep growl. Henry nervously looked in its direction, wondering if the sailors she’d eaten had completely dissolved by now. 

“Well, I guess I’ll leave you two alone for a bit while I go find something to eat. Those pathetic humans were hardly the energy it took to digest them,” She announced, confirming Henry’s morbid wonder. 

“Oh! Catch something for me, too!” Abyssus called, making Henry wonder how filling four men were to the smaller creature. 

Ira turned and nodded to her daughter and cast a final glare at Henry before turning around and disappearing with a massive splash, the resulting wave reaching all the way to Henry’s knees. 

“Your mother’s not a fan of me,” Henry muttered, stating the obvious aloud. 

“Oh, it’s not your fault,” Abyssus assured him, “Mom’s never been a fan of humans. She’s never really said why. She almost never eats humans, only when they see us. Or like today, when she wanted revenge.” 

“H-How many humans have you eaten?” Henry asked nervously, eyeing her flexing stomach.

Abyssus smiled innocently, “This is actually my first time! And wow, were they delicious!” 

While Henry silently took in how Abyssus found humans alarmingly tasty, he noticed her pupils narrowing into thin slits. Her humorous grin turned sly as she lunged for him, wrapping her hands tightly around his torso and raising him up to her mouth as she licked her lips. 

“A-Abyssus? W-What are y-you doing?” Henry nervously asked, fearing she’d decided to have him as a snack.

“Don’t worry, Henry. You’ve just got a lil’ something on your face…” She grinned, letting her forked tongue slowly snake out towards him. 

Wondering what she could’ve meant by that, Henry realized that his face was still smeared in the blood of the sailors Abyssus had devoured. 

Holding his breath, Henry tensed up as he felt her tongue sliding over every inch of his face, its abrasive, squishy surface rubbing against his forehead. The copious saliva helped to scrape away all of the dried blood caked to his skin. When she retracted her tongue for a moment, Henry took a cautious breath, only to end up tasting her slightly salty saliva which had made its way onto his lips despite his best efforts. 

“Mmm! Delicious! I could just eat you up, now couldn’t I?” 

Eager to test her theory, Abyssus opened her mouth wide and slowly began to shove Henry inside. Instead of holding his breath, he screamed as her lips closed around his neck, one of her teeth coming to rest right over his Adam’s apple. Her breath was putrid now, but still several times better than Ira’s. Just as Henry thought she’d clamp her teeth down the rest of the way and decapitate him, Abyssus opened her mouth and pulled him out with a laugh. 

“I’m just teasing! I’d never purposefully hurt you! Even if you would probably taste delicious…” She trailed off, licking her lips, “But that reminds me. There’s something stuck in my teeth. Could you do me a favor and check it out?”

Seeing how he couldn’t exactly say no, Henry nervously nodded before Abyssus shoved him back inside on her own accord. She laid down on the sand, hanging her mouth open for him to inspect her pearly white teeth. Henry slowly approached and cautiously reached his arm between her large teeth, each one sharper than a steak knife. Seeing something wedged between her bottom front teeth, he grabbed onto what he discovered was a strip of cloth and pulled. After a firm tug, it slid free. 

Inspecting the soaked object, he discovered it was actually part of a coat. Dropping the black strip of fabric with a shudder, Henry tried to block out the image of the man it belonged to being eaten alive and returned to his task. Taking a deep breath to avoid smelling her horrible breath, Henry reached towards the back of her mouth to retrieve part of a belt, its buckle and the person it belonged to now long gone. 

“Ah, much better! There’s just one last thing I can’t seem to get. It’s really far back on my left side. You might need to climb in to reach,” Abyssus giggled, seeing Henry’s eyes widen. 

Despite her previous teasing and having seen her devour four men, Henry decided to trust Abyssus and carefully climbed inside her mouth, taking special care not to cut himself on her teeth. Not wanting to spend another second longer than he needed inside the mouth that could kill him in an instant, Henry desperately searched for the source of her discomfort. Thick ropes of hot saliva dripped down onto his arms as he grabbed the object wedged between her back teeth. After a bit of force, he pulled it free and backed out of her mouth. 

“Thanks! That’s loads better!” Abyssus smiled. 

Looking at what he’d just retrieved, Henry’s blood ran cold upon realizing it was Captain Lucifer’s boot. Daring a look inside, he confirmed that his foot was still there, having been severed at the ankle. Dropping the boot in horror, he stumbled back and slammed his eyes shut.

“Henry? What’s wrong?” She asked, reaching out to rest a single finger on his shoulder. 

“I-It’s nothing. Just…” Henry stammered, glancing back at the boot. 

Following his gaze, Abyssus saw the spit-covered shoe and promptly dug a deep hole. Once it was as deep as a grave, she pushed it in and promptly buried it, pounding her fist against the sand before smoothing it over like nothing had ever happened. 

“Don’t worry, those mean men are gone. They won’t hurt either of us anymore,” She assured him. 

Henry didn’t reply, still in shock from having witnessed so much death. How long he was zoned out for, he couldn’t tell. The only thing that broke him from his trance was being embraced by Abyssus. Unlike every other time she’d hugged him, this time was slow. Delicate. 

“Hey! I know what’ll be fun! How about I show you around a bit?” Abyssus offered, “After all, this is your new home!”

As eager as she sounded, Henry still knew that he was effectively trapped on this island. Even if he wanted to leave, Ira would absolutely make sure any escape attempts were swiftly stopped. 

“Uh, sure. Might as well get a lay of the land,” Henry shrugged. 

“Awesome!” Abyssus cheered, “Hang on tight!” 

With one hand, Abyssus grabbed Henry and put him over her back. He reached his arms around her neck, holding on to her slimy skin. It was so slick, one slip and he was sliding down her back and off her tail for sure. Without checking to see if her passenger was secured, Abyssus bounded off into the jungle. With every footstep, Henry felt his grip failing. Just as his arm felt ready to give out, the massive axolotl came to a stop. 

“We’re here!” Abyssus declared, grabbing Henry from her back and setting him down in the clearing. 

Surrounded by palm trees sat several old ships, the largest being an old merchant ship. It had clearly spent some time on the bottom of the ocean, made evident by the faded planking and damaged hull. The stern had been ripped open; not from the elements, but by something else. As Abyssus crawled on her hands and knees, Henry could confirm that she’d hollowed out the ship and turned it into her own little hut. 

“This is my hangout spot! Oh! Check this out!” She cheered, eagerly backing out of the old ship and bounding over to a pair of anchors. 

“What are these for?” Henry asked, curiously approaching the massive piece of metal. 

“Don’t tell my mom, but it’s a gift for her! They’re a pair of earrings. At least, they will be,” Abyssus explained.

As Henry stared at the anchors and tried to imagine how they would look dangling from the earlobes of a two thousand foot creature, Abyssus reached inside another partially destroyed galleon and dragged out an enormous chest. 

“This,” She huffed, dragging the clearly heavy chest over to him, “Is where I keep my favorite stuff!” 

With grand showmanship, Abyssus fling the chest’s lid open to reveal the treasure inside. What greeted Henry was the most incredible stash of treasure he’d ever seen in his entire life. The contents of this one chest alone dwarfed the worth of everything aboard the Goddess of Death. Bejeweled crowns, pearl necklaces, jewels that put the stars to shame, and the most pristine gold and silver to ever grace the eyes of man. 

“Woah! Where did you get all of this?” 

Abyssus shrugged, “Found it over the years. Plenty of shipwrecks in the sea.” 

“You and your mother have…sunk a lot of ships then?” Henry said, wondering just how many unknown wrecks had been caused by them. 

Abyssus had a look of offense and confusion, “We haven’t sunk any ships! Today was the first time in my two hundred and fourteen years of life I’ve seen my mother destroy a ship. Even then, she’s been around for thousands of years and can probably count on one hand the number of shipwrecks she’s responsible for.” 

“Oh. It’s just that…all those stories I’ve heard about sea monsters…I thought it was you.” 

“There’s some creatures that occasionally attack ships, but don’t worry, none in these waters. My mother and I are the scariest things in the Pacific,” She assured him with a toothy grin. 

Before Henry could wonder what other creatures lived in different oceans, his attention was caught by Abyssus reaching into the chest and holding up a handful of pearl and jewel necklaces. Slipping a few over her wrists as loose-hanging bracelets, she slid the rest onto her tail. After hanging a pair of bracelets on her nipples and dangling another handful of necklaces over her frilly gills, Abyssus donned a jewel-encrusted golden crown and loudly declared, “Look! I’m a human!” 

Henry let out an amused huff, watching as Abyssus danced around in what he could only imagine was her interpretation of what humans acted like. As he focused on her hips, he began to feel a new sensation inside him. The thought of intimacy with the giant creature wasn’t one he could quickly refuse, although he could imagine Ira not being too happy if she found out her daughter was having sex with a human. 

“My mother should be back soon. Let’s go to the beach and wait for her,” Abyssus suggested, beginning the process of removing her jewelry. 

“Okay,” Henry shrugged, watching as she placed the assorted accessories back in their chest, now with an extra layer of her slime. 

Once her jewel was safely stowed, Abyssus picked Henry up and put him on her back like before. The walk back to the beach was slightly more pleasant for him, primarily due to Abyssus being more careful with her walking. Back on the beach, Abyssus held Henry in her arms as she sat down to watch the waves. After a few minutes where the only sounds were the crashing waves and her breathing, Abyssus yawned. 

“I think I’ll close my eyes until my mother returns,” She declared, laying on her back. 

Her grip released just enough to allow Henry to squirm up her body enough to rest his head within her cleavage. The sun quickly warmed her soft, slimy skin, turning it into the most comfortable bed Henry had ever been on. Closing his eyes, he made himself comfortable and decided that it wouldn’t hurt to doze off for a minute. 

——

With a deafening roar of water, Henry was awoken from his nap. Spinning towards the source of the noise, he saw Ira emerging with a torrent of water cascading down her body. Abyssus eagerly jumped to her feet and ran to see her mother, dropping Henry in the sand. 

“What did you bring?” She asked excitedly, her tail swishing back and forth as she ran up to her knees in the water. 

“Whale,” Ira replied, handing the back half of a whale to her daughter, the head having been eaten in one bite by herself, “I’ll be back at dusk.” 

Watching Abyssus accept her meal, Henry couldn’t help but notice how unhappy Ira was. He was clearly the reason, and that made him fear for the day he and Ira would be alone together, with Abyssus nowhere in sight. Seeing how she’d decimated an entire ship with one hand, she could easily crush him and label it an ‘accident’. Glancing around to ensure no ships were nearby, Ira slipped below the waves again as quickly as she came. Henry silently stared at the spot where she’d submerged, imagining just how little effort she’d need to snuff out his life. 

“Something bothering you?” Abyssus wondered, holding the whale’s tail casually over her shoulder. 

“Huh? What? N-No, it’s fine,” He lied, staring into his hands as he sat down. 

Sitting down beside him, Abyssus went to work on her meal. Just like the men she’d devoured only hours ago, she bit into the meat and tore off huge chunks. It was almost as if she was eating an oversized turkey leg, except each mouthful contained his weight in meat. Watching her eat, Henry began to realize just how hungry he was. It had been nearly a day since he’d last eaten, and even then a few scraps could barely be considered a meal. Catching him by surprise, his stomach let out an angry growl. The sound didn’t go unnoticed by Abyssus, who snapped her head to stare at the source of the noise. 

Her eyes studied him for an uncomfortably long moment before she spoke, “Hungry? Wanna bite?” 

The half-eaten chunk of whale was suddenly thrust into Henry’s face, still several times larger than himself. 

“N-No, it’s fine. I don’t eat raw meat,” He replied, waving away the offering. 

Abyssus shrugged before taking another bite, “So, what do you eat then?” She asked with her mouth full. 

“All sorts of things. Cows, chickens, pigs, grains, vegetables, bread, cheese-”

“I have no idea what any of those are,” She cut him off, shaking her head. 

“Well, fish is good too-”

“Fish?” Abyssus exclaimed, “Why didn’t you just say so! I could get you anything you want! Sharks, swordfish, rays, you name it, I’ll catch it!” 

“Maybe not something too big,” Henry suggested, “I’ll have to cook it, after all.” 

Abyssus cocked her head to the side in confusion, causing her gills to bounce, “Cook? What’s that?” 

“You know, fire? I have to cook the meat first,” Henry explained. 

“Fire? What’s fire?” She wondered. 

“Don’t worry about it. Just get me some fish, and I’ll take care of the fire.” 

Abyssus jumped to her feet, quickly finishing off the last few bites of whale before bounding into the ocean, “I’ll be right back! Don’t go anywhere!” She called, diving beneath the waves. 

Henry watched the pink creature disappear before looking to either side. All alone, he muttered to himself, “Not like I can go anywhere.” 

Sighing, Henry rose to his feet and began walking towards the tree line. Knowing that the fire wasn’t going to make itself, he set out into the jungle to gather up the materials.