We were counting on the ammonites being a favorite dish of the sea.

  Our entire plan hinged on it.

  So, it shouldn’t have been terribly surprising when someone noticed that I was rapidly depleting the local population of sea snails. It may have been the twelfth or thirteenth mollusk I'd taken down. Honestly, I wasn't thinking too well after that point. It all gets a little fuzzy after the Mosas crushed my head. I had a vague impression that it dragged off my inked body, ammonite still firmly stuck to my hand.

  [You, Cole Thornfield, are [Dead].]

  [Skill Acquired: You have gained a new [Dead Wrong] skill, [Animal Intention]. This skill was acquired through [Cheat Death]. You have a psychic sense of the animals and monsters around you, gaining an understanding of the intention and attention of predator and prey alike. Senses scale with level differential.]

  As I dropped through the interdimensional portal, I got a bird’s-eye view of Leyla's disgust as she watched my head reattach to my body as I fell. I grinned at her in that thready moment when the sinew and skin stretched to mend the tears.

  I floated for a moment until the weightlessness turned off and landed squarely on the dead ox’s head. Completely impaled, I knew I was in trouble. I shifted trying to dislodge myself. This resulted in a deep grinding in my chest, and my next breath was flecked with blood.

  The horn pierced through my chest. I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t move. Hot tears ran down my face.

  What the hell? I haven't [Replenished] you. Richard's mental voice held all the panic I couldn't muster in my own. TANDY, HELP!!

  I wanted to get off the horn. I needed to. The desire was overwhelming. It was in my chest. I pushed with the little strength I had in my arms. I had to get off the ox.

  "Cole, don't!" Meredeath shouted a few seconds too late as the horn pulled out of my chest. I flopped off the ox's head, my elbow catching awkwardly as I tried to catch myself in the sand. I looked down at the gaping wound. Were those ribs? I tried to use [First Aid].

  [Your skill [First Aid] has failed. This wound is beyond your skill level. Maybe you should have used it before you removed the horn.]

  The Everbear-damned [System] was trolling me now of all times?

  "H-el-p," I wheezed out like a desperate cat choking on a fur ball. Each breath twisted the knife in my chest. Every attempt to breathe made my body convulse. Every breath made my body shutter with a wet gurgling burble. I needed air.

  "Richard," Tandy's voice sounded frantic, but distant. "Use your spell."

  I can't. He's below 50% health. My other skills are on cooldown. Even Richard's voice sounded removed as the world faded. The gaping tear had started to numb. The idiot had to fall on his land lung.

  I smiled, knowing the last words I was going to hear in this life were Richard insulting me. It was fitting, really, for the pet of a slug.

  Ash said something, and I felt my body drag against the floor of our enclosure. Sand caught in the waist of my trousers, dragging my pants off my hips. I didn’t want to die naked. I flailed, trying to fight them.

  Richard bit me, his teeth sinking into my neck. [Animal Intention] triggered, telling me Richard was trying to help. A wave of a fang-induced drug entered my body, and the urge to thrash subsided. What did I care anyway? His fangs let go.

  Suddenly, someone shoved my newly knitted head into the water. My gills burned in the salty brine which made me take an instinctive breath. My water lung inflated as I watched blood seep from the other side of my chest.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  [Your skill [First Aid] has failed. This wound is beyond your skill level.]

  It'd been worth a shot, but the skill failure confirmed what I already knew. They'd bought me a couple more minutes, assuming the Mosas didn't swim down for a snack, but the puncture in my chest was more than could be healed normally.

  Tha-thump. My heart pounded against my soul. The water completely muted my friends. I watched them, and they looked like they were moving through water as they frantically ran around. Tha-thump. Ash grabbed the makeshift spear, poking it threateningly around my head protectively. Tha-thump. Meredeath stood on the other side of me, her eyes and daggers flaring like a vengeful goddess of death. Tha-thump. Tandy's eyes were wide as she stuffed her practice cloth into the hole in my chest, her eyes glowing golden.

  Tha-thump. Leyla and Argin held each other as they watched on; their lives had not prepared them for the realities of an [Adventurer's] fate.

  Tha-thump. I thought of my mom. I hated that she'd been right.

  I could feel myself slipping away. My heart weakened with each beat as my health points dropped. Time slowed as though to focus on the last syllables of my life.

  Tha-thump. Four. White, crinkly bows hung from the rafters of the barn. Lanterns decked in lace and delicate daisies centered five elegant tables. Fennel twirled Share on the makeshift dance floor. It was the happiest day of her life, but her eyes kept darting to my empty chair. Galen bounced on my mom’s lap. Had she aged? He pushed on her wrinkled face trying to stop her tears.

  A cold draft of seawater slipped into my gills, the breath I needed cooling my chest.

  Tha-thump. Three. I opened my eyes to the smell of jasmine as light framed Minvi’s face mere inches from mine. A few strands of her hair awkwardly draped across her nose as she snored. Impulsively, I brushed them away, only to have her wake. She smiled with a warmth I didn’t remember as my hand slipped lower, pushing her against the lumpy mattress. Her giggle sounded like wedding bells as I kissed her lips, my one and only.

  Salty brine burned in my chest as the blue-green shadows of the ocean peacefully danced in my eyes.

  Tha-thump. Two. I hadn’t expected to see Leo at Eddie’s Mill. He stood looking at the quest board in the center of the Adventurers Guild, brow furrowed, flipping through options. I yelled. He looked up irritated, but as his eyes caught ours, his anger dissolved. Leo dropped his pack and helm on the sticky tavern floor and in two steps wrapped me in a hug. I slapped the steel of his armored back. When he looked up at Tandy, the tears flowed as she held out the pink sweater we’d dragged through hell and back.

  My gills ached to draw in icy water. Darkness encroached, and I almost let go.

  Tha-thump. One. A last moment in the kitchen. Rust put another sliver of kindling into the stove. Eryn belly-laughed at my joke as I stirred the beef stew. The smile lines around her eyes crinkled. The kids danced around the kitchen, ready for dinner. My hand was stuck as I tried to stir, as if the potatoes were turning into stones. Eryn came up behind me, her warm hand on mine as she took the spoon. She’d take care of our kids.

  Thump. Zero. Richard curled along my neck one last time. I'm sorry, Cole. I thought you were the one. He tucked his head in as though he were taking one last nap. My gills closed. He didn’t need to apologize. I’m the one who was giving up.

  The end was brighter than I had expected.

  Tandy glowed with a golden halo framing a frown of concentration. She'd be okay, she'd figure it out, find Leo without me.

  Richard uncurled, the back of two eyestalks popping into my limited vision.

  Oh, my sweet Everbear. Is she going to do it?

  Something pulled at my [Chilled] body. Heated threads of magic, the warm touch of Tandy's hand. A memory floated in my head, and it took me a moment to realize it wasn't mine.

  Two boys chasing each other through the forest, laughing. The tall blonde Leo tackled a young Cole as we tumbled to the ground. I yearned to join them as I plucked another gooseberry for my grandmother.

  This was Tandy's memory. Thump. A heartbeat thrummed in our chests.

  "You can join them," came the soft voice of my dad. A pang of longing pulled at my present heart, at Tandy's heart. It'd been a long time since she'd heard his voice.

  "They won't want me." Young Tandy, self-assured in her rejection, had already built the wall.

  "Then you risk nothing in trying," her dad, my dad, said gently grabbing her basket.

  I remembered this day. Thump. Another heartbeat.

  "Can I--" before I could get the words out, the brown-haired boy, Cole, interrupted me.

  "Grab a stick." Cole's face turned towards me with a wide smile. My chest burst with joy, a small death, as he continued. "See if you can trip him!"

  With a wicked grin, I grabbed a thread.

  "I've got a better idea," I said, flicking the thread across Leo's path with a grin.

  "Oof." Leo hit the forest floor to our delighted giggles.

  Thump. Our hearts beat together one last time.