Page 51 of Devilish Debt
Pretty,but not infallible.
Things can be missed.
Mistakes made.
And just to be clear, missing a ruby necklace or creepily stacked dishware are theonlytypes of mistakes that I’m okay with making here.
Others could cost me my life.
After a reasonable amount of time and distance have passed, I prepare to head back empty handed when unexpected movement occurs to my left.Certain it’s a dark color marine creature yet unable to ignore the niggling in the pit of my stomach that it’s something else is what pushes me to swim towards the unknown.
To brace myself for a whale or a shark, sharks who like me often get a bad rep.
Unfortunately, the next time I manage to catch sight of the creature in hopes of discovering what it is, it’s too late.
An underwater speargun is instantly fired, damn near tearing through my drysuit.Gratitude that my tank – the literal gas I need not to die the watery death I know I’m inevitably going to one day – hasn’t been hit is short lived due the swift retraction of the device, indicating whoever fired is planning for a second round.
Panic does its best to pierce my entire system only to be met by composure.
Because composure will aid in keeping me alive.
Freaking out all but guarantees I end up dead at these depths.
Swiftly swimming away, keeping natural barriers between us, works in my favor.
The individual who is undoubtedly in pursuit of me – which I’m now wondering what the fuck for – does their best to keep up and take another shot.Their relentless nature – despite their lack of success – pushes me to continue weaving and working the water rather than executing a straight shot back to our boat.
Diving deeper manages to slow down their efforts and present a struggle in visual range, a factor that plays to my benefit when I decide to slip into a narrow opening, one that results in them becoming stuck when they try to follow me through.
Torn between fighting to free themselves and taking another shot in my direction allows adequate time for me to swiftly cut through the water, stroke after stroke, putting more and more distance between me and the unknown assailant.
Who the fuck were they?
Were they targeting me?
They had to be, right?!
You don’t just follow a stranger to unalive them for sport.
Okay.
Typically,that’s not something people do.
Yeah, I’ve read the horror stories and see the want ads on the dark web, but ingeneralthat’s not super common.
Oras commonas fear mongering online makes it out to be.
Maybe they think I saw them doing something?
Dumping a body?
No.
You just throw that shit overboard and chum the water.
Illegal fishing?
No.
