Rhodoreef

2. The Squiggly Thingies

The body slapped the water, tumultuous waves drowning out the splash, and the ocean swallowed it in a heartbeat. Dea dived.

A problem she did not foresee sprang up to hinder her course of action.

Her muscles had long since adapted to the couch cucumber life, except for sporadic bouts of exertion while at school or work. Now, the effort she demanded of them to defy the violent currents was akin to a full workout at Flipping Flukes Fitness, which Hima liked to haunt on weekends.

Dea gritted her teeth and pushed on, her eyes fixated on the sinking form amidst the gloom. Her heart rammed against her ribcage like a miffed elephant seal. The nearer she got, the more defined the human became.

It was a male.

The skin appeared a matte brown the color of seafloor sediment. Short hair sprouted out of the head, black at the roots. What struck her the most were the bipedal limbs sticking down from the torso, encased in clothes made of unfamiliar materials. It was hard to imagine how the two long appendages could balance body weight while moving.

A bolt of lightning, followed by thunder, provided the fanfare when she reached her goal. Light bathed the body in a ghostly glow for a split second—enough for Dea to discern that the eyes were closed.

He's dead? Humans die so fast? Alarm bells rang in her head. No, he must be dazed!

In one panicky lunge, she reached out her arms and grabbed his hand. For a fleeting instant, she just stared at the point of contact. The skin was smooth but thin—unsuited for ocean living.

This is a real human! I'm touching a human! Worries, pains and the storm itself receded until her brain was as fuzzy as a sea bunny. The only experience with land she'd ever had were rare visits to the cays above Rhodoreef, the coral atoll around her city. Large land creatures existed only in textbooks and the C-Net. The human might as well have been alien.

It was surreal.

She almost reached for her ogi to capture the moment before she came to her senses. Humans can't hold breath for long, you silly gull! He might breathe in water—if he hasn't already!

She hooked him under the arms and swam up, her body screaming in protest at the added strain. Her head throbbed with renewed intensity, pain pulsing behind her eyes.

Just when her vision darkened, she breached the surface. Gulping in air, she pulled the human up with one colossal heave. The dead weight of his body tipped onto her and almost pushed her under. She shrieked, half inclined to shove him off.

As they rocked on the surging seas, she shook his shoulders with all her might. The head just lolled like a lifeless doll while water trickled from his mouth.

"Wake up!" she roared against the thunderous noise and slapped his face.

A spasm in his facial features confirmed that he was alive, and the eyes twitched open ever so slightly. It both thrilled and frightened her.

With great difficulty, she managed to extract her ogi and opened the map. She had no C-wave connection and could not pinpoint her location. Undeterred, she used the ogi's sonar to locate the nearest land mass. Her finger stilled, poised over the screen.

This journey would be nothing short of madness—if she could actually go that far. Fear gripped her anew—raw, visceral and all-consuming. Yet, there was no other way that the human could survive. Her chest constricted, and she sucked in one breath after another.

A heartbeat later, Dea pulled out the leash from her backpack. Each clap of thunder grated on her frayed nerves. Within the next few minutes, she huffed and puffed while her fumbling fingers secured it around the human's torso. She tied the other end around her waist.