My world is in constant motion. Respawn, run, die, repeat- it doesn't end. Sleep is a memory. Sometimes I try to fight, but I am completely overmatched. I don't know what level this place is, but my enemies seem completely unbothered by my blows.

I have been tangled in barbed nets, kebabed on tridents, fileted, broiled, boiled and probably even eaten.

I had hopes for that girl I'd seen, so briefly. She'd brought me the longest respite I'd had from this new world of mine. All 20 minutes of it. But it hadn't lasted, and despair was creeping in.

Come to think of it, where was the next attack?

Wait, there's the girl again.

"I think I can help you," she says. Belated I realize she hasn't spoken it, but signed it. I knew a few words, but when did I learn how to translate sentences?

Query: CURRENT_LANGUAGES

{

Spoken: [ Merese],

Nonverbal: [American Sign Language]

}

The fact that my brain is now a networked device hits home hard. They'd uploaded information into my head. The monsters that had put me in this place had violated my brain... in order to accommodate the hearing impaired.

Talk about taking the letter of the law over the spirit of it.

"What do I do?" I sign back automatically. Now that she's initialized the dialog, I feel like my lips are sewed shut - I don't think I could speak a reply if I wanted to.

"I've cleared the area - we need to get you to shallower water", she starts moving backwards, even though her avatar still faces me. I have so many questions, but I don't stop to ask questions.

I find that I can still sign while swimming, with my tail doing most of the work. "Why shallower? Wouldn't deeper be better to get away from them?"

She pinches her fingers together for a "No" sign. "They have a tracking marker on you, and they can dive to any depth you can here. You need to level up to even hold your own - and the shallows are where you can do it."

"Will they still come for me there?"

She looks sad, but nods both her head and her fist affirmative. "The quest doesn't discriminate - it seems to go to all nearby players as a special event."

She brightens slightly - an interesting expression to see without her lips moving. "But, I think if you're in a low-level area, you at least stand a chance. The big fish... metaphorically speaking, won't be in those areas, so survival may be possible."

She bites her lip here: "But... I don't know where you'll respawn. Could be at the nearest graveyard, could be..." she points a finger back where we came.

I flinch involuntarily at the movement, certain she's pointing to someone behind me, until I realize her meaning.

I feel some hope grow, but also bitter disappointment. Leveling up solves my immediate problem, but what about the long-term?

"Can I... ever get out?"

She shakes her head, and my heart plummets, but she signs "I don't know."

"I could lose my job just helping you. Not that it's not worth it!" she hastily adds. I can't hear the exclamation, but I can see how emphatic she signed it, and it warms my heart a little. "If this is real... Well, I don't even like the thought of working for a place that could do... this."

Again she gestures all around us, and again I involuntarily flinch. "But I can't help you if they cut off my access."

My hand flutters from my lips in the most sincere thank you I've ever given. I also learn that mermen can't cry - but they do have a nictitating membrane that quivers.