As the SCMMOO rose, the jellyfish population became curious. I imagined with our cargo net and glowing magical ball, and enslaved Tuli Monster we were making quite the scene on the jellyfish circuit.

  They clustered around the Tuli Monster as though asking why it had agreed to such drudgery. Briyain, Meredeath's minion, apparently did not give them a satisfactory answer. So, naturally, the great globs floated towards the dome of the bubble.

  This was the beginning of the end of our initial plan.

  I was supposed to follow in the water to help with contingencies. But as the jellyfish slid around the surface of our reverse aquarium, I abandoned our plan. The jellyfish had to be poisonous. They were luminescent with pink and purple jelly heads and long filaments of strands floating from their bodies.

  I swam away from the dome, into the darker waters. A silent observer paddling in the deep.

  The green along the Tuli Monster flickered.

  I'm not sure whether some of the jellies floated through the barrier in their curiosity, or if Meredeath simply panicked. But Briyain shot forward, the bubble blasted through a dense knot of the jellyfish. Whatever problem they'd been having must have gotten worse as the Tuli Monster began zigzagging in the ocean, erratic and out of control.

  My heart clenched. I knew they were in trouble, but I didn't know what I could do.

  Meredeath's magic snuffed out.

  Without thinking, I swam towards the ball I'd casually abandoned. Bubbles escaped my gills as I anxiously sucked in water.

  The [System] threw a [Chilled] notification at me, which I waved away.

  As I drew close, I saw immediately what the issue was. Slime covered the cargo net. When the Tuli Monster had pulled them up, the jellyfish had uniformly popped through the barrier. The bubble was falling and shrinking. Goo covered everyone in the netting, and they looked unconscious.

  I reached for [Heart], willing my companions to be alive. Ash's presence pulsed harshly. The man was alive, but unwell. Meredeath, however...

  As I thought about her, something pulled my consciousness forward.

  Time stopped. Except I could hear the tick of a clock. A lone candle held the darkness back. It was a short, stubby red candle that smelled of beeswax and patchouli. It sat on a small table alone. The whisper of a breeze floated across the suffocating blanket of the abyss.

  I stepped closer, watching the flame dance. It was mesmerizing. My hand reached out, touching the table.

  "COLE, DON'T LET ME GO OUT!" Meredeath's voice screamed at me.

  For once in my life, I acted. I leaped forward and cupped the candle as a gust of wind hit us. No, not a gust of wind. An exhale of breath. The air smelled of rotten meat and decay. The darkness held a grudge. My hand held the flame, Meredeath's heart, safe from the wind. It grew a little brighter.

  A low, ominous growl came from the black underbelly of the abyss. I had nothing on me to defend us. Bare-chested, I turned to the growl, giving it my voice.

  "You will not have her! She belongs to no one!" The gale broke on my chest as my psyche embraced the words. Meredeath was the very definition of a free spirit, and trying to lock her down was like trying to chain the wind itself. My back ached from the heat.

  The candle had turned into a torch. It blazed in the darkness, defiant.

  And suddenly I was in my body, cold. The sea tugged at my body as the SCMMOO rose. Meredeath's fire ran along the lines; the Tuli Monster renewed its ascent. The bubble broke the surface of the sea five yards from the foot of the World Snail. As I swam up to join them, a giant saw-toothed beak snapped down on the bubble with an audible pop.

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  The Pterror Gulls were back, not missing a snack.

  My heart clenched. It was over. With the enclosure done, the Tuli Monster snapped uselessly at its airborne rivals. The net that had kept everyone aloft in the bubble had begun to sink. Air bladders were losing their buoyancy. Many had popped in the fight.

  A second Pterror Gull joined the feast, snapping. As they jostled in the air, a third bird dived, snapping down on the net. I swam under the mix with my knife, trying to find any of my friends in the frenzy and pull them free.

  The net jerked up, caught in the beak of a beast. Blood coated the water. The Tuli Monster's long neck lunged and latched on with its own formidable jaw onto the thin-boned leg of a Pterror Gull. It shrieked in pain, flapping its wings, snapping at the fourth bird to join the fight.

  I found Meredeath first. She was still glowing, her body stiff as she controlled the Tuli Monster. I pried her hand off of the net. The goo from the jellyfish stung my hand. A giant gull snapped down next to us. Its teeth clamping onto the net and then immediately releasing, tongue out. It looked at me confused, as though asking why I didn't taste better.

  The beast roared, giant wings flapping as it lifted into the air.

  Another gull screamed its defiance, shaking a big leathery head. Yellow foam flecked with red flew out of its mouth, hitting the water next to us.

  As violently as they'd descended, the squadron of predators flew away. They snapped at each other, screeching as though warning off any of their friends who might think to join.

  The Tuli Monster's head popped up, almost stopping my heart with its creepy grin. It swam under us, and it took me a moment as it slid between Meredeath's thighs to realize that she was using it to hold her up above the waves. Her feet dangled on either side of the handlebar eyes. My services were no longer needed.

  I found Leyla floating on her back. Her dark hair spread out, floating in the surf. Her sightless eyes stared at the blue sky.

  Ash was wrapped by a dormant SCMMOO. Panicked, he clutched the magical orb as if it were a child’s favorite stuffed animal. All I had to do for him was flick him on the forehead and point him toward the shore.

  Argin was my last find. She'd gotten tangled in the netting and was the source of the red blood. I used my knife, untangling her barely conscious body from the flotsam. Locking my arm around her chest, I backstroked to the gray beach of the World Snail. The sea was calm, but I still had to fight a sloshing surf. Three yards, two. Ash and Meredeath were there, pulling us in.

  I lay out on the rubbery snail. The [Chilled] debuff shook my body.

  Argin had passed out, I'm sure from blood loss. She'd lost her right foot. It was sheered clean off.

  My [First Aid] skill clamored for my attention, but Ash was already tying off a tourniquet. He seemed to know what he was doing. I lay back, exhausted, numb. My mind wouldn't let go of Leyla floating.

  "Cole, you've got to stay awake. We've got Leyla." Meredeath clawed me back to consciousness.

  "She's dead." The blunt words fell out of me.

  Meredeath's face came into my vision, with the ever-present tinge of green. She shook her head.

  "No, she's alive. I saw her move. Briyain’s fishing her out of the sea, but I need you awake. I need your [First Aid] skills." Meredeath's plea was low and urgent. With a groan, I sat up on an elbow on the squishy snail foot. The Tuli Monster had clamped down on Leyla's green dress and was dragging her towards us. The girl's limp body flailed behind the beast as it picked up speed.

  "Meredeath, I don't," I turned to look at my friend and stopped myself. Her eyes stopped me. Her face had the same stricken, haunted look she'd had back in the warehouse at Eddie's Mill. I drug myself up, and kneeled by the shore waiting for Meredeath's minion.

  My fingers were shriveled from their repeated dunking. The ink stains had mostly worn off, although my nipples were still stubbornly purple.

  "While we're checking on Leyla. Can you have Briyain get our packs? Once we're out of the dungeon, we're going to need them." My mind tried to say this was a waste of time, but I kept it close. Even Leyla deserved the respect of an attempt.

  The Tuli Monster pulled close to shore. Leyla's body was white. I coaxed my numb fingers around the collar of her dress and pulled her out of the surf. The beast returned to the depths, hopefully to retrieve our packs.

  Leyla was deadweight in my hand. She didn't have any obvious injuries, but her eyes were bloodshot. Feeling at her neck, I tried to find a pulse. My head bent low, trying to sense any breathing.

  "I don't—" I spoke the words when Ash pushed past me.

  He began thumping on Leyla's chest and breathing into her mouth. If I hadn't experienced him doing it before, I would have pulled him away in disgust. I slouched over to Argin. She was shaking. My [First Aid] skill told me it was shock and offered several hot teas I could try to reduce the feverish glint in her eyes.

  We were in rough shape, but I was alive.

  I watched Ash work on Leyla.

  Was it wrong to feel guilty for being alive?

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