The washing of waves against a stony shore lulled Eliza into nostalgia. She remembered the beaches she would visit in her adolescence, staring out into the harbor, her fascination with ships and the sea running wild through imaginations. The size of these vessels were mighty impressive to her, even as she grew into an adult -- an engineer, no less, that could operate such complicated ships, while also surviving the trials of the ocean.
Eliza harked on that difference in perspective, that shift from seeing the ocean as majestic and wonderful, to seeing it for the wasteland of dangers that it truly is. When a spray of saltwater sprinkled over her, she felt a shock of fear, a jolt that brought her motionless body back to life. She coughed, realizing then that her throat was painfully dry and numb, and soon after did she learn just how fatigued her body was, battered and bruised all over. She slumped onto her side, her fingers digging into fabric -- a waterproof tarp, like the ones from the Generosity.
After a long squint to unblur her vision, Eliza looked to the ends of this tarp. It was spread out flat on a rock-solid ground, a perfect square that she had laid center of until she awoke. The questions that it begged, however, began to pale as her field of vision widened with increasing clarity. Far beyond the strangeness of the tarp was the mystery of the shipping containers that were scattered around her; mangled and damaged, these dull-colored steel boxes trapped her in a circle made by their haphazard placements.
These, too, were from the Generosity. She recognized the serial numbers, but not the condition they were in. Her curiosity inspired her to crawl up to her feet and investigate, but when she looked further past these initial few containers, she saw even more strewn past them -- many more, some piled atop one another, some twisted and broke open, some halfway into the seawater. Eliza’s throat became dryer as she comprehended the finality of her surroundings; in the middle of the ocean, she was stranded on an island of only stone, a spread of gray ground that went no wider than a soccer field.
Eliza’s face contorted into a pained grimace. She stumbled in her crawl forward, slipping off the wet stones that she used for support before finally finding the urgency to stand. The winds made her sway with imbalance, the cold touch reminding her that she was nude, stripped of her engineering outfit, but that was a weak concern. Upon hearing a rumble that was unlike anything the ocean could produce on its own, Eliza’s head turned to the overcast sky, gawking at what truly cast shade across her desolate location.
A massive figure lurked overhead. A body, a woman’s figure, unmistakably; high above where Eliza stood astonished were two globes of preposterous size, breasts that hung outward with some incomprehensible weight. This giant was topless, putting on display her unnatural skin tone of a teal color. A cascade of black hair ran over this immense bosom, the tips falling over her nipples for happenstance obscurity, but that was the farthest Eliza could see. Other than the creature’s navel, which was pushed onto the beach of one half of the isle, the engineer could view only this much of the giant; the distant picture was in her head, that this gigantic being was casually leaned onto the island with her elbows dug into the ground like utility towers.
And following those arms up to where they met, Eliza nearly fell backwards in surprise. She then heard a metal whining, followed by a powerful pop of steel; in the giant’s hands was a shipping container, turned about in her grasp like it was a palm-sized package. With a single finger from a webbed hand was this monster able to break open the locked doors, peeling them apart so that she could peer inside with one opened eye. Eliza blinked, baffled as the face craned forward into view, revealing to her a glacial-blue eye and ears that jetted aside like fins.
Then, a mighty splash, an explosion of water that no ordinary wave could create. The sound was a slap, followed by a flowing torrent; Eliza shuddered back as it whipped into view, some distance behind the woman. A black serpent-- a tail, of shimmering dark-navy scales, rising up from the water in a playful bout before submerging again with another powerful splash.
A mermaid, like something out of the legends. But while these mythical beings were already remarkable for their alleged size, this was nothing like Eliza had considered. This massiveness had only one comparison: the Generosity.
Upon thinking that, Eliza collapsed backwards, hard onto her rear. Her head was heavy, struck with flashbacks of a terrible, nightmarish sequence of events. Her ears rang as she remembered the crack and tear of metal, her skin crawled as she remembered the cold flood run over her body. The longer she stared at the mermaid, the more knotted her stomach became, but everything, all at once, faded in significance when she felt gravity beam onto her -- that eye locked onto her, and those lips curled with coy pleasure.
“Finally awake? I knew you’d come around eventually~” giggled out from the beast, an eruptive voice that pierced through the sighing of the sea. The shipping container, no longer of interest to her, was shifted into being precariously held between two fingers. Her attention fell squarely onto the lone, diminutive human, her eagerness teased like the sharpness of her teeth behind her smile. “I heard your heartbeat underwater. I was so relieved when I found you~ I was afraid I was too careless! I never intended for everyone to end up like that.”
Eliza stuttered on the verge of tears. She watched as the mermaid’s free hand gently drifted to her wall-like belly and stroked it with two fingers. Her stomach appeared so soft, but that unbreakable teal skin could only possibly bend to those equally massive digits. Eliza remembered as much, how futile it was to injure the mermaid in the Generosity’s desperate counterattack.
Before becoming lost in those memories, Eliza gasped with a pained voice as the mountain ahead began to collapse after her. She shivered up to her feet and dashed away, between two sideways shipping containers wedged in the rocks. Behind her, noticed in a lightning fast glance, Eliza saw the mermaid’s breasts crashing into the ground, their plushness meaning nothing to the island that they dwarfed; discarded containers were swallowed underneath the flesh, as was a fraction of the island, as the mermaid lounged forward in a pose that put her chin at rest into her hands. That smile persisted, now overbearingly close to Eliza with enough pressure to freeze her in place.
“Ah, swell! You’re actually quite lively!” she continued in a quiet yet daunting chuckle. “I suppose I can go ahead and introduce myself, if you’re so alert and all. I like to be called just Clo.”
Eliza mouthed the name after it had been rumbled from above. A short, quick name that seemed ill-fitting for a creature that stood well over 300 meters above sea level, with surely another 300 meters more in her tail. Even if her scale was disregarded, Clo was a stunning specimen to behold, her figure mythically attractive and adorned with ornaments that heightened her superior presence. Her black downpour of hair was brightened with coral additions, and similarly designed accessories decorated her fingers down to their webbing. Jewelry made from conventional materials also shined from her as fashionable features, including long hoop earrings of gold and a fan-shaped silver necklace that emphasized the broadness of her bare bosom.
Clo giggled again, a breath dispelled out her nostrils that briefly blew away the salt in the air. After that pause, she continued with her explanation, “I’ve got good news for you. I’ve decided to keep you!” As this announcement spurred despair within Eliza, it was noted with a delicate point of Clo’s finger down onto the little person. “I’ve wanted a pet human for a while now~ I expect you to be grateful and be on your best behavior. If you keep me entertained, I won’t have to eat you instead. Do you understand?”
Paralysis kept Eliza from speaking. She was stone solid, staring up at Clo in pure shock. She listened to her words and understood them well, but nothing could seemingly shake her out of her stunned state. Clo remained patient with her, continuing to grin like she had, her head shifting side to side as she waited for a reply. Eliza still did not respond; her head spun sickeningly, just like the vortexes that debuted this monstrous woman. Those vortexes, she remembered, was when it all began, and she gradually recalled what had occurred to lead her to being chosen as this mermaid’s pet.
The sky was overcast with a deep gray, but the navigator had promised that morning a day of smooth sailing. No storms were expected, and whatever winds that were riled up would surely pose no problem for the Generosity, a veteran shipping vessel that had endured many travels. Even if it did drizzle outside like the sea was known to do, Eliza knew she would be safe and dry in the depths of the engine room.
The droning and grinding of powerful machines was an unusual shelter for Eliza. She was accustomed to this environment, adapted to the heat and tight spaces. Following her routine job brought her comfort and content, especially in the wake of so many unfamiliar faces. Only a month ago had Eliza been enlisted in the crew of the Generosity, and not yet in that time had she socialized much with her shipmates. There was the customary camaraderie, that which came from working alongside anyone for days at a time deep at sea, but otherwise, Eliza was slow to form any relationships outside of rank and order.
Eliza was not one to make a strong impression, not unless it was related to her job. Engineering was her passion and absorbed most of her life. She felt comfortable underneath the weight of her gear, the water-resistant leathers that often ended up stained with oil and grease. She appreciated the heat and steam of engines, never concerned about how it frizzled her dark hair or flushed her freckled face. When at work, she was most alive; the moment her shift was over, there was little to remark about Eliza, other than her average appearance and passive personality. She managed to live a quiet life -- ironic, for a sailor aboard such a huge and busy shipping vessel.
A review of the numerous engines and their output had been conducted ordinarily when Eliza first heard the groan of the ship. Everyone inside heard the whine of metal, that of the ship’s course being forcefully redirected. Alerts blared for the crew to readjust their angle, orders trickling down the ladder of command until all were afoot. It was chaotic and loud, but there was a calm to it all, an understanding -- this was not particularly new, Eliza thought, for something in the sea to pull the ship aside. Like the other engineers, she assumed it was a change in the current, or perhaps a storm really had brewed into something worthwhile.
When the ship whined again, it ended its wailing with an abrupt quake. The entire vessel jostled, clapped by something heavy and unforgiving outside. The inner workings of the ship creaked in complaint against this pressure, sharing the stress with the diligent engineers within. Eliza was shaken enough to fall onto one knee, but she was one of the fastest to recover, responding swiftly to the barked commands. She applied herself to her job, but she could not ignore the unusual tension that something worse was upon them.
Eliza was realigning dislodged pumps when she first heard the mutterings of what was happening outside -- allegedly happening. She nodded along with the idea that it was an ambush of a storm, sweeping in against them with an onslaught of winds, but there were disagreements among the engineers. Someone must have heard wrong, or had hit their head and came up with a crazy concept: a sea serpent, supposedly, was attacking the Generosity. Camouflaged with the ocean, this beast was apparently lurking around them, spinning vortexes with its lengthy body that rocked the ship back and forth.
It was a tall-tale, whimsical enough to bring a smile to Eliza’s oil-speckled cheeks. Entirely untrue, she thought, but silently did she wish that fantasy world was real. It would be more magical, certainly, than the blunt labor it was to endure yet another storm.
In the midst of work, as steam spewed from pipes that were working under unreasonable pressure, gravity suddenly began to change. The crew noticed only when the tilt became too extreme, when unstable tools and equipment began tumbling in the same direction. Before long, they too were tripping over themselves in a stumble down that incline, which continued to rise steadily. Engineers barked at one another as they scuttled for safety, clinging to anything to maintain balance -- but Eliza, in an attempt to grab someone else that needed help, slipped into the tilt, suddenly in a swift slide towards the other end of the engine room.
Eliza slammed into the wall, collapsed there along with several other engineers that fell like she did. In trying to decipher gravity’s direction, she clumsily stood up, only to be thrown back down when the ship’s angle was put back to normal. Water crashed up loudly outside the Generosity as it rocked violently back into balance; the vessel had just endured an incredible wave that lifted and dropped it. Eliza was in disbelief, never before having experienced such a ride, but when sirens began to wail, she understood there was no time to make sense of it all.
The crack of steel echoed down the compact corridors, accompanied by the distinct gushing sound of water. Leaks were springing across the Generosity as the vessel was battered by the outside storm, tears widening into long gashes as seawater flooded in at incredible force. Eliza, staggering to her feet, first noticed just a puddle at her boots, dripping through the grates ineffectively -- before long, little waves were continuously pouring down the halls, threatening to swipe at her knees if she, and the rest of the crew, did not find highground.
But there were procedures to follow, and machines to halt. Without powering down the engines and the machinery that went along with them, there were untold amounts of trouble that could snowball into even larger problems. Eliza hesitated by a doorway while others rushed around her, stalled under the pressure of decision making, but the ability to choose was swiftly taken from her when a loud break of water suddenly jetted into the engine room.
Eliza screamed, feeling the ship tilt and teeter as torrents of water filled the lower chambers. It came with bull-like power, pinning engineers into walls or trapping them in the railings, more than a few being flooded out from corners they took refuge in. Eliza watched, but was helpless to their plights; with the water constantly rising to her, she stuttered an apology to the crew she was leaving behind, and closed the door in a rush away from the engines.
The lights flickered and faded as the vessel continued to rock without a steady rhythm, knocking Eliza into wall after wall as she raced through the halls. Water, it seemed, was seeping in from these areas as well, likely breaking in through portholes or filling in from above deck. Stretches of the halls were ankle-deep in water, but anything lower would be a swim -- Eliza thought only to continue up, feeling as though that breaking through the door to the outside would be the daybreak to this nightmare, fresh air that would relieve her of these dangers.
As soon as Eliza stepped outside, she stood still, only moving because the panicked crowds around her ushered her forward. A mist of saltwater sprayed all over the outside of the ship in clouds sparked up by sloshing waves crashing up against the hull. The large and numerous shipping containers whined and shifted with imbalance, demanding crews of sailors at a time tend to tightening their harnesses. Yet none of this is what put such a gawk in Eliza’s expression as the very source of this ordeal, the cause behind this unpredicted storm -- a sea creature, whose form conquered the horizon with an awe-inducing size.
Eliza was shoved aside to the railing in her motionless stare, her head locked into an angle that struggled to comprehend the impossible beast -- the thing she would come to know as Clo. Even beginning to understand the start and end of the monster was difficult as the tail swirled around their ship, ripping up waves in its circular motion that kept the ship destabilized and trapped. It was this realization, that this one sea creature had surrounded them completely, that was draining the hope from other sailors, a plague of doubt that brought many to an exhausted collapse.
But far up in the sky, bellowing with chime-like noises that could be heard over the crashing currents, was the shape of something human. The tail transformed part way up its length, the shimmering navy scales ending at the hips, where the body then became teal-colored skin. This human half rose like a skyscraper out in the middle of the ocean, the harshest waves bouncing off her waist and tail without repercussion, but any movement she made posed dire consequences to the Generosity. None of that seemingly weighed on her as a responsibility; though nearly out of view, eclipsed by a far-forward bust, her expression was unmistakably jolly and eager, a long smile nearly connecting her two fin-shaped ears.
“I thought I noticed something swimming in my waters~ I didn’t expect to find such a big ship for humans! Look at how cute you are~ There must be so many humans traveling inside you…”
Clo was giggling over what she had discovered -- hence the chiming that haunted the sailors. Their misery was her entertainment, though the sheer lack of malice in her tone could be interpreted as her interest being merely curious. Indeed, it was known by all beneath her that a creature her size could sink the ship with as little as a free hand. To her, the proud Generosity floated at the surface like a toy, small enough to be picked up in both hands with as much effort as it would take to lift a handbag. At any moment, that judgement could swamp the ship; the sailors desperately wondered what, then, she intended to do.
Eliza blinked back into the chaos around her, having nearly fallen deaf in a trance focused upon the giant -- A giant mermaid, she specified, wishing she had something to log this moment in. As fantastical of an encounter as it was, survival was more important than marveling at what could destroy the ship. She stumbled back into the flow of traffic, unsure of what to do other than to keep moving. There was plenty to help with, of course, as men and women were slammed around the deck anytime Clo cast a wave their way, or whenever the ship steered into a dip of a vortex.
The snapping of cords came with a pained chant from a crew of sailors. Any shipping sailor would recognize the pattern, that a container was breaking loose -- if not more. It was inevitable under such conditions, and it had been the priority of the crew to fortify the cargo before anything fell overboard. When the tilt of the ship became severe enough, top-loaded containers slipped off their perches and dove into the water, instilling a domino effect on all those beneath what fell -- a wall of containers was bound to collapse if they were not reeled back into position.
Eliza, needing a purpose to stay alive, rushed up the slick stairs to get to where others were pulling hard at broken chords and ropes knotted to a container. She approached a cluster of strong sailors, all putting their weight into retrieving the cargo, and joined them by grabbing at someone’s shoulders. She wanted to be more proactive, noticing others breaking protocol and standing atop other containers to push back what was about to tumble into the water.
Suddenly, the gathering of nearly twenty sailors was completely overwhelmed. Where it had before been a close contest between their strength and the container’s weight, an unexpected shift in power took them off guard. The container was not just pulled away, but plucked by two fingers and thumb, each digit thicker than several men put together. As simply as that, their efforts were defeated, and the container was removed from the ship not by nature, but a mermaid’s whim.
“Mm! So this just comes right off, does it?” Clo had ripped out the container into her grasp, casually rocketing it away into the sky without understanding how much weight was balanced between her fingertips. If she were to drop the relatively matchbox-sized rectangle, it could potentially blast into the Generosity’s deck.
Releasing it, however, was not Clo’s will. Her eyes narrowed on what she had taken, specifically the tails of ropes and those clinging to them. In front of her face, several sailors dangled helplessly, having been pulled along with cargo when it was spontaneously ripped away from the ship. They struggled to keep their grips, but the high-altitude winds were choppy, their bodies were heavy and wet with seawater, and of course, there was a ferocious smile ablaze beside them, taunting them with a glimpse of huge teeth curved into a smile.
When a rope broke, and a man went spiralling in a scream to the ocean far below, Clo’s reaction was delayed and lackluster, like watching dust be scuffed off an old object. Her attention beamed back onto the others; “Aha! Humans! Hmm? Was this something you were trying to keep?” Clo bobbed the container in her fingers, creating peril for those clinging to it. “Well, it won’t help you much now, whatever it is…”
Whether noticed in her long stare, or heard in the subtle shift in pitch, there resonated an air of suspense after Clo’s words trailed off. The shipping container, they began to understand, was not what interested her; it was the sailors clinging to the box, desperately trying to climb atop it. Their struggles were just amusement for the mermaid that held them, but when that entertainment ran dry, Clo lurked forward and extended her tongue outward from her grin.
The sailors were in an uproar, shuffling up the container with greater urgency, though it could provide them no defense against the serpentine tongue. It coiled around one side of the container, its adhesive touch abducting the toughened sailors like rice off of a fork. Their little bodies simply disappeared from the perspective of the Generosity, the crew of which had slowed under the horrorshow playing out above them. Five men, hardened by a history of the sea, were licked away to their demise; Clo’s eyes continued to sparkle above the five that remained, which she then licked off with even less concern.
Having witnessed fellow crewmates disappear behind those devilish lips, those aboard the Generosity rushed in a fluster, to anywhere but the sides of the ship. They sought refuge towards the center, but it was there where the shipping containers were most unsettled, forced loose out of their bindings and slamming around the deck. Eliza was among them taking that risk, ducking and lunging between faces she barely recognized.
There was a heavy splash beside the vessel, a geyser of water created where Clo’s shipping container had fallen. Since it had been licked clean of humans, the container itself was unimportant, and so she dropped it into the ocean like discarding trash. “I’ll just fetch that later~” she hummed to herself, her stare angling down at the ship. Her fingers curled excitedly, “What to take next…? What else are you humans shipping?”
Clo hovered above the ship with that earnest curiosity drilling into whatever flat color caught her eye. With just a push of her fingers, she was able to unload a large square of containers into the water, shoving overboard a duo of sailors with them. Their time in the water was dangerous, their struggles quickly consumed by the ravaging waves -- Eliza caught as much happening, when she glared out from the ship and at the mermaid’s powerful tail whipping out of the surface.
The tail was huge, of course. Its fan-like shape made its descents slower when it smacked the water, but it also expelled harsh winds and controlled the pattern of the waves. As Eliza raced with others to a higher deck, she kept an eye on that tail, watching as it sank underwater. It was not long until it rose again, heavy with water, on the opposite side of the ship. It cracked upwards like a bolt of lightning, before falling down over the Generosity.
A flood of water blasted through the main deck, sweeping sailors off their feet as the tail’s shadow darkened all they could see. Many were blind to the torrents that barreled down stairs and between shipping containers, blasting them into piles of people that the water would trample over. Eliza was nearly among them, lunging to grasp the railing of a stairway when the tail came careening over the ship. She was fortunate enough to grab hold and withstand a hard splash in the face, but it was a debt paid with the soreness of her arms, pulled to their limits as they were tangled around the bars.
When the water was finally relieved and washed off most of the desk, Eliza still struggled to breath, unsure if she was able to. She staggered up the stairs like she had been, enduring forward onto the next level of the Generosity, but along with all her bruises and aches, she was slowed by the beast’s wicked cackle; a giggle, truthfully, from Clo’s amusement. Though Eliza and the other victims were fighting for their lives against an impossible storm, Clo was playing around in the water, entertaining herself with their turmoil.
And now that her tail was coiled around the ship, everything and everyone on board truly belonged to her. They were now possessions to this mythical creature, and would be for as long as they stayed. There was no effort they could scrounge together to resist the mermaid’s whims, but there was the bleak possibility of escape -- a select few evacuating on row boats and praying for the best. If ever they had the chance, it was going to be as soon as possible.
Ahead of Eliza was a group of sailors clustered together, wrestling over each other in a complicated attempt to arrange the next emergency row boat. More people gathered over time, creating more chaos and confusion with their own shouts and additions; Eliza found herself helpless and pushed around in the crowd, drowning between burly men and women just as much as she would in the raging waters. Her heart raced like never before, wondering with uncertainty if she would even reach a lifeboat, or if they would all be taken up by then. But there was always a greater worry hovering above it all, the literal shadow that haunted this miserable effort of escape. Unlike her peers, Eliza always looked up, gawking at the amazing creature that had decided their vessel should be sunk.
Loud cracks and creaks of metal were heard behind the sailors. Another coil of Clo’s tail had formed around the hull, and within its twists was a tightening pressure. Her strength openly teased how she could cut open the huge vessel whenever she pleased, but that she chose to draw out the ship’s suffering was specifically for her own fulfillment. Unfortunately, where the sailors had hoped this would occupy her attention, they were gravely wrong, and when the first of the inflatable, bright-orange rafts were prepared, so too was Clo’s interest drawn to them.
More than a dozen men at a time crammed into the lifeboats, with several more jumping on top of them out of desperation before the rafts could be undocked. As they were being lowered, Clo’s face drew near, highlighting her utter massiveness with how every feature was fantastically big; no one could ignore the glimmer of interest in her pool-like eyes, how her lips curled with mischievous intent, or how her nostrils flared at the scent of human discord. Suddenly, as a result of her frightening presence, the tides of the crowd shifted, spreading out in all directions; Eliza was again carried by their movement, forced away in her paralyzed state.
But those on the lifeboats were committed to their getaway and could not change their course. As they were being lowered, a webbed finger pointed out towards them, driving itself effortlessly through the ropes the rafts were attached to. Instantly were the lives of many wound up in a tangle hanging by the mermaid’s finger; Clo rose them high into the air, swirling that digit once more so that it was tightly wrapped for her to appreciate.
“Trying to run away? Hah, I don’t think you can possibly get away from me, you know~” Clo laughed into the faces of horrified sailors, her serene calm in total contrast to the bloodied and beaten humans that grappled her finger. Some hung by the the torn ropes of the raft, kicking in the wind, while others clung to her skin, constantly searching for a place to hold themselves -- but many others were cast aside, dropping from the finger down into the sea. “There’s no reason for you to even try, so you won’t be needing the rest of these, will you?” And so the dread multiplied as another finger cut through the ropes and took claim of the rafts and its evacuees, gathering a pitiful handful of humans that she stared down upon.
“You’ve made it even easier for me,” Clo chuckled, smug with the lives she held in her palm. She was tickled by the humans scurrying along her skin, but they could not satiate her for long. They were raised closer to her eyes, level with the glare that beamed onto them, but despite rising, there was a sinister sinking feeling among them. “I can’t let you all run loose yet~ It’s not very fun if too many of you get to live.”
Without any further explanation, a tilt in Clo’s palm drove the sailors into the direction of her mouth. Her hand cupped into her lips as they spread apart, revealing a huge maw that approached closer to those falling into it. Horrified screams piped up as the sailors dug into the skin to resist the incline, but even those with the strength to do so were soundly defeated in that next moment, when the serpent-like tongue of the mermaid gushed into her palm and plucked away any stragglers. Nothing remained in her palm, not even the wreckage of lifeboats; everything belonged in her mouth like crumbs, and just as pathetically were they forgotten in favor of the Generosity’s plethora of playthings.
Eliza, as well as the rest of the crew within sight of the terror, awed at the violence they witnessed, but even that was a privilege to be stripped away. As they stared up at Clo and wondered what their odds of survival were, they were attacked from behind when the middle of the vessel collapsed. Steel and wood alike were shredded by the tail’s twist of excitement, and geysers of water blew in from every conceivable crack, furthering the ship’s deterioration. As floods overtook the inside of the Generosity, its bow and stern were propelled skyward into a v-shape. Within seconds, those two halves were broken apart entirely, and they slammed against the wild tides, rupturing the hull with forces it was never meant to handle.
Though she had been bound to fall backwards into the ocean while the bow was pushed up, Eliza was saved when a fellow crewmate grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her onto an inclined wall. A broken window made for an entrance into the sleeping quarters, and those nearby drained into the room desperately. Eliza dragged herself after them, wanting to follow and take shelter, but when the bow rocked forward at breakneck speeds, she was flung forward-- bam! A hard hit with her head, directly into the floor of the lopsided ship.
Water traced her form where she lay, motionless and pale in the freezing waters. Her vision fogged, and the cacophony of her crewmates continued until it was a vague concert blurred in her hearing. Still alive, she lifted a hand forward, but not to seek help -- to reach at Clo, an incredible distance away, in a wish to grab hold of her and make this madness stop.