I fart in your general direction! I anxiously watched as Richard cut around another tall rudist, as he let loose a less powerful sulfurous bomb at his pursuit.

  Richard emerged from the cloud of his own stench and rocketed towards the bubble. He flattened his body, undulating wildly with almost thirty feet of bare sand separating him from the relative safety of the shimmering barrier.

  The Mosas had picked its moment, diving like a boulder as it tried to ambush my slug. Jaws agape, its webbed feet provided thrust as it torpedoed down towards Richard.

  I watched in horror. My psyche reeling from the loss of Tandy. I couldn't think.

  Richard, sensing the danger, weaved back towards the kelp only to come face to face with the snapping mouth of the hungry Plesio.

  "Cole, we need to act." Meredeath was in front of me, putting one of our stuffed ammonites in my hand.

  Richard pulled his eyes close to his body as long needle-like teeth clamped shut around his body.

  I numbly looked down at the oozing mollusk Meredeath had handed me. A mental flash of Richard, broken and oozing, hanging from the serrated mouth of the Plesio, froze me in place.

  "Cole!" Meredeath had shoved an ammonite into the ocean. Ash was working on one as well. I stared at her blankly, as though [Chilled] had struck my brain. She walked over to our pile of ammonite carcasses and grabbed a second one. "Cole," she said, stopping in front of me. "We need you to fish him out."

  Her words rebounded in my head. Fish him out was meaningless. Fish who out of what?

  She slapped me hard across my face. My cheekbone stung, my head rocking back. My hand rubbed my cheek as the fog receded from my brain.

  "I'm here, I'm here." I blurted as she drew her hand back for another smack.

  "Get the rope." Meredeath was already at the wall, shoving another ammonite through the watery barrier. I went for the rope, trying to tie it to my ankle as I held my ammonite like a baby, tight against my chest. The last thing we needed was for me to trip and spring our trap. My shell was painted black. The trigger for the whole net we'd set up.

  Wide-eyed, I couldn't believe we were doing this without Tandy.

  [Replenish].

  [[Cheat Death] has been [Replenished] and is available for use.] I got a feeling that the [System] was tired of us cheating.

  Diving into the deep was like plunging into one of the glacier-fed rivers in the Ursine Wall. It was shocking, and I was instantly awake. The Mosas and Plesio had turned from Richard and had begun feeding on the ammonites Meredeath and Ash had pushed into the barrier. Both beasts seemed pleased that their favorite nut had already been cracked and sucked in the juicy meat.

  With a powerful kick, I held my ammonite tight.

  Meredeath and Ash had shoved in a couple more of the dark, ink-soaked shells. Our special ones.

  It was a good sign that the monsters were sucking in the contents. It meant our little additions should hopefully go unnoticed. The rope tied around my ankle floated out behind me as I swam close to the ground, aimed at Richard.

  I'm getting tired. Richard's mental voice was exhausted. Everything's on cooldown. He sounded like he was giving his list of excuses as to why he wasn't saving the day this time.

  I sent him a mental hold on a couple more seconds and kicked. A fin scraped me, twisting my body so I was belly up. I had a view of the Mosas as it used its belly to push the Plesio out of the way as its jaw worked on an ammonite.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  The beast was trying to territorially claim the other floating mollusks leaking ambrosia into the sea. The fish that had been pursuing Richard with their pointy teeth had started to get in on the action.

  The Plesio clocked me with its massive fluke. I ground against the gritty floor of the ocean, an unpleasant reminder of the power of the beasts.

  Surreally, I watched these toothy monstrosities jostle for position. The shadows of the deep that wreck ships and chew on the survivors. I kicked for a moment, my back against the sandy bottom. Mentally, it was hard to flip my body back over. To blind myself to the predators, but I had to get to Richard.

  I saw a flash of yellow. He was moving slower, with a slimy trail rippling in the water. Two smaller fish pursued him. They looked like the runt of the school, those who didn't even bother trying to compete against their larger cohorts. Their teeth, small but no less sharp, flashed.

  Richard folded in the water and shot sideways, surprising both fish as the attacker sunk into its competition. The two flailed at each other angrily before returning to Richard, who undulated slowly, his stamina obviously bottomed out. They approached cautiously. I dug into my pocket, not expecting to fight fish. Digging out a small dagger, I got into range.

  My stamina was slowly draining as I swam, with the [Chill] affecting my speed, but I was still three times larger than these fish. I kicked sideways off the sandy bottom and caught the first one unaware. My bladed tooth bit into its underbelly. Not a fatal blow, but as blood flowed into the water, I knew it'd be enough.

  The other fish, already pissed at its companion, went into some sort of bloodlust transformation as it smelled the blood. Its glassy black eyes glowed red as its teeth elongated. The injured fish began swimming away. This gave me the opening I needed to grab Richard.

  He was cold. Motionless. I couldn't tell if he was alive or dead, but I cradled him close, dropping my knife to hold both him and the ammonite. Using [First Aid] on the slug, it offered several suggestions for treating his numerous wounds. Plantain, yarrow, mullein, nettle tea, the list went on offering compresses for wounds, tinctures for the pain, and tea to rebalance nutrient deficiencies. None of which I could act on in the middle of the water.

  At least he was alive.

  I twisted my body back towards the enclosure, putting my back to the kelp forest. I'd handle Richard's state once we were safe.

  None of our ammonite traps had gone off yet, which was good. I had the control switch in the ammonite I held, and if I didn't get to use it before I was back in the bubble, I'd count myself lucky. My stamina had drained by 40% and the water [Chilled] debuff was taking a toll. I stayed close to the sand, using my feet to push instead of kick. I leaped forward with my two precious packages like an underwater frog.

  That's when my [Animal Intention] went off, as the back of my neck lit up as a source of food. I don't know whether they'd finished with the ammonites we'd collected, or if my leapfrogging had sent off a predation instinct, but I was about to be ambushed by the Mosas. I twisted in the water, feeling the pressure of the oncoming Mosas. I spun my last ammonite into its path.

  The beast closed its fanged snout over the treat, grinning at me as though promising I was next. I took the moment to kick off the bottom of the ground. With all the audacity I had from [Dead Wrong], I swam up the side of the creature, pushing off of its leathery skin.

  I knew I had only moments as I clambered around Mosas’ body, dodging a spiked fin. I brought my feet up and kicked against its belly as hard as I could. Richard and I shot a few yards away from the beast when the first explosion rocked the water. I watched as the Mosas's face blew apart as a tooth hit the hair-triggered shell.

  Ash's magical cascade started as two more of his bombs went off in the beast's stomach. Blood and viscera filled the water as the Mosas went belly up.

  The doomed Plesio dived to scavenge the large snack when another series of explosions ripped through the creature’s neck.

  The concussion hit my body hard, twirling me around as another explosion rocked the water. I held Richard tight, curling my body protectively around him as fish exploded next. Up and down were meaningless as we were tossed around by the bombs.

  Eventually, the chained mechanisms finished, and the water stopped churning.

  The ocean was cloudy with blood and chunks of fish. I swam forward, only to find the Plesio’s bodiless head floating away like the castoff leftover of a seagull.

  A tug at my heel pulled me towards the bubble. Relieved, I stopped swimming and just let my teammates pull me in.

  My [Animal Intention] skill twinged. Looking up, I saw a new beast float overhead. It was oblong with a long, wiry, clawed appendage almost a third of its body length in front. The beast looked like a child's drawing, oddly proportioned with a singular pincher. It rolled on fine cilia that repositioned its body upside down. Two eyes sat on bar-like tentacles that pierced the ridge of its face.

  The monster watched me, unblinking.

  [Animal Intention] screamed that I was under attack, but the creature lazily watched.

  Too late, I realized the genuine threat as giant teeth came into my vision as the largest fish I'd seen yet closed over my body. Its rigid palate compressed as it swallowed me whole.

  I owed Richard an apology this time.