Sitting down in her makeshift home Sera began to reflect on the day as her eyelids began to droop and her legs began to slow their movement.

Overall there were three areas within The Shipwreck zone.

There was The Temple which had lots of hills and lots of black iron scattered around, it was also the most elevated location in the zone… which meant it was also the zone most likely to get attacked by the monster hiding in the shadows.

Then there was The Caves, after exploring one of them it didn’t take long to notice the dark holes nearby were also a part of the same cave system, which meant rare materials but which proper equipment getting attacked by one of the octopus monsters could mean death.

And lastly there’s the seagrass area, which seems to be a calm and serene environment, perfect for setting up a shelter or a place to rest but… there turned out to be more than expected.

These are the three areas that are close enough to the surface to see and don’t have any sudden drops or murky water, which blocked further exploration.

Sera was now laying down on the makeshift bed, which was just a seagrass tuft with her bag acting as a headrest.

Turning over with a small yawn she saw a small shadowy shape laying down on the other side of the room.

Staring at it, Sera remembered that exploring wasn’t all that happened today.

Where did they come from? Sera thought to herself as she stared at the scene over the small sand hill.

In the long seagrass tufts small creatures were rapidly swimming in and out of the organic maze, with bubbles and the flowing grass being the only indicator of their presence.

They looked like baby seals but with sleeker bodies made to move quickly.

Further, where the seagrass tufts reached the same height as the sand hill Sera was holding onto there was a big vibration of movement which Sera could barely track, as if there was a whole pack of the smaller creatures but all moving as on.

Or a much bigger creature was hiding within them… but if it was trying to hide would the seagrass really help a creature of that size?

Sera couldn’t help thinking, easily tracking the large tufts of seagrass being pushed to the side until finally with a deep hum the creature burst out of it's hiding place.

But instead of seeing a massive creature she instead saw a mass of the small green seal-fish chasing a red patterned fish.

Sera was about to look away until she noticed something odd.

“Their… attacking their own kind but why?” The red patterned fish, was actually one of the seal-like ones she had seen earlier.

Still moving rapidly out from the grass tuft the mass of creatures which had two green flippers that looked like underwater wings aggressively began to hunt the outlier.

At the head of the mass was a seal-fish three time bigger than the others but with a trail of red across his body, which reminded Sera of a patient she had seen fighting the staff constantly.

Damon, even the name fit the ugly looking fish which looked like a hulk of muscle hunting the darting red seal.

Sera followed their erratic movements and the many near misses of Damon catching it’s red foe, outside the seagrass it was missing the element of surprise, it needed a way to escape.

That's when Sera saw it.

A large coral tube, a massive version of the ones she had seen scattered around, was nearby with one end trailing up one of the highest sand dunes, if she could trap them into going up it then…

Moving into action Sera quickly got her knife out of her pack and began swimming near the top of the tube.

Watching the fight from below again and again Damon nearly caught the red fish, Sera felt like she was watching herself fight against the masses each time they got too close.

“This...point should be perfect,” Cutting into the tube Sera wasn’t surprised to feel her knife going through the tube like butter, with a piece of coral this big if it were too heavy it wouldn’t be able to support itself, even if it were underwater.

Cutting a small box out at a hard right turn Sera tested out the hole before turning back to the hunters, a gasp escaping from her mouth.

Damon was gnawing on it, its hide was bleeding wildly and just as it was about to swallow the seal whole, Sera saw a hint of green past all the red blood.

It had eaten the wrong one.

Whipping her head back to the seagrass she saw a red shape glide close to the seafloor back towards the grass tufts-

But then she saw the mass move as one, they realised they were juked!

Damon lead the charge, slower than before, it’s wound was finally slowing it down!

Just as it was about to head into the grass tufts and as Sera was about to let the tension in her body go another one of it’s kind burst out of the grass and tried to attack it.

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“They can use tactics? How smart are these fish,” Sera watched in bated breath as the red seal once again was getting chased, encircled.

Quickly grabbing her knife and the piece of coral she cut out Sera desperately swam to the rock near the top of the cliff above the seals.

Jabbing the coral between one of the larger rocks balancing Sera began heaving.

Why am I trying so hard to save it?

The rock barely swayed.

Why am I trying so hard to save the princess?

The rock began tilting.

Why am I trying to make a new life for myself?

The rock was beginning to leave the hill.

“I want to save someone instead of needing to be saved!”

Abandoning her lever Sera put both her arms on the rock and heaved.

Then it began falling to the ocean floor.

The escapade of seal fish fled away while the red fish went under it-

Flowing to the other side as the water exploded in a leap of sand, acting as a smokescreen as the red fish looked towards Sera then tried gliding up towards her, before noticing the coral tube.

It quickly swam inside, but just as the sand smokescreen ended, where Damon quickly saw the glint of red.

The mass of fish now moved as one with a purpose, this wasn’t just an attack on their leader, it was an attack on their tribe.

Sera stopped watching as she saw the mass quickly vanish into the tube, she had to be fast and fill the hol-

“Crap!” Sera’s eyes desperately glanced around for the piece of coral she cut out.

Finding it on the ground where the rock had been Sera quickly swam to it, grasping it before hearing the sound of bubbles and water thrashing behind her.

Echoes came from the tube.

She could hear the seals come closer.

Swimming back to her place next to the hole Sera kept one of her hands ready while the other grasped the piece of coral.

Am I fast enough? What if I mi- No, I’m faster than even Damon was.

I can do this.

Hearing a thump below her Sera got poised her arm at the sudden turn.

She barely saw the red and could only see the tail as it swam by-

Like a hawk catching it's prey Sera’s hands were lightning fast.

Quickly grabbing the fish that started thrashing the second she got it.

“Stop movi- They’ll see you from the top,” Trying to communicate to the fish while plugging in the whole with the cut-out coral.

Hearing and feeling a heavy thump below her, Damon was coming.

She shoved the piece of coral in the hole with a piece of it jutting out, but after the turn hopefully they won’t-

A flounder of bubbles and water current burst through the gap pushing Sera and her small red seal away form the hole.

The second she regained her feeling Sera could feel a small tug from her left hand-

“OH- Sorry I didn’t mean to squeeze,” Still holding onto the small seal Sera looked up at the coral opening eight meters above her trying to keep herself still.

Then they flooded out.

Like people in a waterslide they flew out disorientated and tried to survey their surroundings before another fish bumped into the writhing mass.

And in the middle of it was Damon, taking hit after hit with almost numberless seals popping out Sera began to think her plan was going to fail until she heard the screams.

She could feel the red seal trembling as the shadow emerged from the depths.

It was so large the sunlight reaching down to the seafloor was blocked out for what must’ve been twenty-no thirty Sera’s.

Its flesh looked soft and supple but as it pushed through the water Sera noticed that it did have scales, but they were so small and numerous that it was almost unnoticeable.

Its body was thick and looked like a long tail with red spiky ridges among the top of it and then came the head...

The sight made Sera try and hold her nonexistent breath.

Its jaws were like oversized quartz stained yellow with use, its eyes were black almost colourless, almost sucking in all the colour around it, then it’s head.

Like its red ridges came an immovable horn that looked like it was a part of its spine.

That’s when the second high-pitched scream came.

The mass moved as one.

Damon lead the retreat towards the tube.

Trying to escape the deadly predator they barely reached the top of the coral tube before the monster had caught up to them.

That was more than a football field.

Sera watched transfixed until she realised it was coming her way.

Trying to escape into the tube the mass of seals were cut off with Damon promptly cleaved in half before being swallowed whole with half the fish following him.

Her body still wasn’t moving until she felt the struggles of the seal she rescued.

Looking around her, she was in plain sight and so was the seal.

Swimming to the tube she could hear the water pounding away from the monster above her each time it moved.

Grabbing the piece of coral she shoved in Sera tried pulling it away before it popped off.

Hearing another one of it’s loud piercing screams and so close by Sera’s hands went to her ears.

She saw a brush of red flash by into the tube before looking for her knife-

“There-” Thrown to the hill besides her Sera picked it up and started cutting before she saw a shadow begin to cover her.

Sera barely looked up before she saw the last of the seals were heading her way!

One by one they we-

The screeching grew to another level with Sera almost fumbling her knife despite being underwater.

Quickly sawing at the coral the shadow grew larger until it was almost right on top of her.

Sera spared a look before seeing the last seal explode into the monster’s jaws.

But the monster didn’t slow down.

It sped towards her!

Sera heard the water whooshing around her, she felt herself rise towards it, almost getting pulled into it's jaws just from the creature’s movement-

The coral piece square was finally cut and Sera dived into it, pulling herself away, trying to escape certain death.

Her legs barely got inside before she heard a loud snap outside and the tube right above her was skewered!

Not wasting a second Sera’s legs went into overdrive as she began swimming down the tube.

Hearing the screams behind her, her legs moved faster than they had ever done before, pushing off the wall at the sharp 45 degree angle Sera saw the seal she saved.

It swam downwards seeing her.

No seeing something behind her-

Not taking a second to check her arms cleaved through the water.

She could hear the coral breaking as her body worked and worked, but the sound never stopped.

That's when she got to the bottom of the tube and saw the red fish there waiting anxiously.

“Move we have to-” Trying to push past the seal, it looked like it did a double take before trying to stop her.

“What are you doing? It’s right behind-”

Her head snapped behind her expecting the jaws bigger than her head to snap down.

But there was only the white of the inner tube.

Frozen in disbelief, she tried focusing on the screams or the ripping of the tubes before she noticed something else.

She couldn’t hear anything.

“What the hell…” Even her voice was soundless to her.

That’s when she realised it.

My eardrums burst.

Was the sound of the coral breaking actually just…

Putting the gruesome thought to the side, Sera looked back at the opening of the coral.

I need to check if it’s still there, it did destroy the piece of coral above me… if it's waiting there or circling nearby, this isn’t going to be good.

Swimming towards the opening the red seal tried to stop her again but Sera barely spared it a glance before her head poked out.

There in front of her was a massive piece of white shredded coral.

It looked like after the monster killed the mass of fish it tried to hunt her down before thinking she went up the tube, rather than down it.

If it followed her down…

Sera shivered before remembering her reason for looking out of the coral.

Peeking around she couldn’t see any movement, looking at the ground she saw no shadows around her either.

Deciding to be sure rather than scared, Sera swam out despite the seal lightly grabbing the back of her clothes.

Looking directly up she saw-