I can’t breathe.

…

I really can’t breathe.

…

Up…I need to go up!

…

Let me go! LET ME GO!

…

[Frozen Water of My Soul, Come-

…

My head hurts.

…

What was I thinking?

…

Oh right…magic.

…

Yes…Chill or something?

…

Hey…corpses. Do you think you could let me go?

…

I could say the magic word…

…

*FLASH*

Huh?

My eyes open. There’s something crazy bright in the water. Bright orange, in the muck, I still see it clearly. It grows closer and closer. To my tired eyes, it’s like the sun. A…lantern? The rotting hands holding me, loosen. I blink as the light arrives, the sun in my face. When I open my eyes, there’s this…this face in front of me. It’s honestly almost creepier than the corpses. A living face underwater that is. One shaped like a rat. This…Demi…that’s the word, this Demi-Rat holds something on his neck out. Like a priest brandishing his cross against evil, he’s holding a black chain. Abruptly, the pressure on my body loosens. I’m free. The corpses…they’re letting go?

*Tap*

The Ferry-Rat points upwards.

He’s trying to tell me to get air.

I shake my head, pointing down. How do I make him understand?

Meera! FORGET ME!

GET MEERA!

She’s running out of time!

The Ferry-Rat seems to understand and dives downwards. An insanely bright orange lantern whips by, held by his tail. The bubble of light gets smaller and smaller. I pray that he’s going for Meera. I want to go with him. But my lungs are bursting and red is encroaching the edges of my vision. My heart feels like it’s going to explode. I…I’ll come back! I promise! And then I’m going up. It takes an eternity. The strain of not having enough air, it burns, somehow I’m both freezing cold, and yet seemingly awfully hot. Ice and fire, that’s what drowning is like. It’s awful.

…

…

And then…I break through. The surface bites me with it’s frosty breath.

“H-AAAAAH!” I suck in a mouthful of dirty water along with air. Sputtering, my tired hands flail about. And then something grabs them. “Mmph!”

“Mister!” A familiar voice calls out. I realize the hands on my wrist are too warm to be a corpse’s. It’s Sila. She’s leaning over the side of something. But it doesn’t seem like the ice-raft I made. I use her help to pull myself up. Rough wood passes over my hands. My vision tilts as I make it over the side and collapse on the bottom of the vessel. For several seconds, I gasp for air. An anxious Demi-Raccoon face appears over me. “A-Are you okay? Did you get her? Where’s Jasi?”

Her…you mean Meera?

Wait…Meera!

I sit bolt upright. Whatever we’re sitting on wobbles and I thrust my hands out for balance. Looking around, I see two unconscious Demi-boys curled up on a wooden floor. This is…a boat? Glancing around, I see a long pole and a set of oars. Hurriedly, I don’t question where the boat came from and stand up. The rowboat tilts dangerously-

“M-Mister! Be careful!”

“Shut up, Kid,” I don’t even notice the hurtful words coming out of my mouth. There’s too much dread filling my stomach to think about anything else. As Sila falls silent, I jump off the edge of the boat. And take a breath. If Meera died saving your friends…no no no. She’s fine. The Ferry-Rat’s going after her. I’m just going to help bring her up and-

*Splash*

Back underwater. My eyes adjust quickly this time. I will my pounding heart to calm once more. Try not to think about how hard it’d be to hold your breath for this long. It’s Meera. Totally fine. Absolutely, one-hundred percent fine. She’s better than me. Probably knows some secret Rainstopper technique for breathing water. Down in the depths, I see an orange bubble of light rising. It’s the Ferry-Rat, an intense snarl on his face. He has her in his arms. Meera. Despite how fast he’s swimming, and the intense light of the lantern, all the corpses are gone. Suddenly, I see something rising from below. Multiple human tentacles, the freakish things which dragged Meera down. Eight of them shoot up from the depths like the arms of an undead octopus. Grasping hands and toothless heads fused into a human rope, gnash out! I try to yell a warning…only to realize I’m underwater-

WUURBLEGSGH!

The Ferry-Rat sees my concern and glances over his shoulder. He slows, seeing the incoming evil. Then he stops. Just watching. Don’t stop! I cast a spell to go faster. But I know I won’t make it in time. Do something! MOVE! Why are you stopping?!

*Clank*

Huh?

The Ferry-Rat brandishes his chain necklace. A set of ghastly pale hands snake out of the darkness. They’re just about to catch Meera’s boots…but stop short. All of the tentacles halt. For a single moment, amidst the warm glow of the lantern on his tail, I see the Ferry-Rat floating, one hand on the chain, the other holding Meera, surrounded by eight tendrils of undead horrors. And then…the tentacles recede. Disappearing into the muck and murk. W-What? How? His necklace…what is it?

*Swoosh*

The Ferry-Rat turns around and swims towards me, his paw-like feet acting as paddles. He’s fast. A far better swimmer than me. Within seconds, he brings Meera to the surface, but it still feels way too slow. Because she’s been down there long enough for me to drown twice. Realizing they’re almost here, I surface before them and yell out a spell-

[Stormy Breeze of My Loneliness, Gather Forth-Gust]

My magic works properly above water. Jets of air shoot out of my palms and push me out of the water. For a second, the cold damp undercanal air wafts pungent fumes in my face. Then I land in the little rowboat. Sila yelps in surprise, but I ignore her. Going to the side, I lean over and stare at the dark water, waiting for them to arrive. There! The water takes on an orangish glow-

“Harrrrgh!” The Ferry Rat pops up, shoving a limp figure in a cat-mask out of the water. “T-Take her!” I scramble to grab Meera from him. The boat almost tips, but I don’t care. Hauling my employee over the side, I frantically lay her on the boat floor and straddle her waist. Come on…come on…what do I do? CPR? Frick I should have paid attention in class!

Is she breathing?

“Mister? H-Has she been down there the whole time?!”

“I don’t know! Shut up!” I roar. Putting my head to Meera’s chest, I try to listen for a pulse. But it’s just silence. Her body’s freezing. “Meera? Come on, it’s safe to breathe!”

*Splash*

“Ugh…” The boat rocks as the Ferry-Rat clambers aboard. He lays on the ground beside us, the lantern on his tail falling to the floor. Its orange glow gives Meera’s face a ghastly appearance when I rip off her mask. I toss it on the floor carelessly. Besides me, the Ferry-Rat is talking, but I’m not listening, “Friend, try clearing her lungs.”

“Meera! MEERA! Wake up!” I give her a few slaps. Nothing. Frantically, I shake her head. “Meera, as your superior, I’m ordering you to breathe!”

…

It doesn’t work.

“Mister…? Is she alright?”

“CAN YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP!” I roar. Giving them all a murderous glare, I turn back to the girl on the floor. Meera’s pretty face is turning blue, eyepatch askew. There’s no way I’m going to believe it though. You’re not dying! Not here! And not like this! I’ll be damned if I let you die in a bloody sewer! We’re going to destroy this city together, remember? Key word…together! Who’s going to watch my back if you die? I can’t do this on my own! Suddenly, I remember the Ferry-Rat said something, “Wait, what did you say? You said something!”

“Try clearing her lungs. You know, with your mouth?” the Ferry Rat repeats. On the floor, he rolls over and pushes his furry hands on the floor, like he’s giving CPR. “And push on her chest. That’s what you’re supposed to do with drowning victims.”

Right…right. That’s how you do it!

And there’s a song.

You’re supposed to sing it to make sure you’re pressing fast enough.

“Yea..yea..I’ll try that!” Hurriedly, I rip apart the buttons on Meera’s sodden cloak. The skin in-between her breasts is soft under my intertwined palms. Push hard right? People break ribs doing this…okay, just gotta push-

*Gurgle*

Water spills out of Meera’s mouth as I push down.

One.

…

Two.

…

More water comes out.

…

Three.

The trickle of water stops. I think she’s empty.

I take off my own mask.

Cold air stings my naked face.

Okay…now I give her air right?

Sorry, Meera…there’s no way this is your first kiss but if I’m stealing it, my bad-

I take a deep breath and start to lower my head to her lips…

…

…

Wait.

Hold on a minute.

What the f***?

…

…

…

My eyes widen.

Something moved!

Yep…look at her lips…there!

Definitely moving.

But her heart’s not beating. Is it just a reflex?

Look at how pale her face is.

What am I thinking?

I checked her pulse before and there was nothing.

Actually…now that I think about it…that was through her shirt.

Suspicious, I turn away from Meera’s lips and lower my head back to her exposed chest…listening…

…

…

*Badu-*

It’s soft.

Quiet.

Fleeting.

But I hear it.

She has a heartbeat. I just missed it before.

Looking up at her innocent ‘drowned’ face, I ruefully smile.

Nice try.

Elina’s fake death technique is pretty realistic.

But Meera…word to the wise…

Drowned people don’t pucker their lips!

I think for a moment. Then my smile grows crafty. Now then…I suppose the only question is…how should I punish such a deceitful employee? I pretend to get up so Meera can’t feel my weight on her anymore. The trembling lips, anticipating a kiss, quickly go back to playing dead. Smirking, I call out loudly over my shoulder,

“Hey, Mr. Ferry-Rat. Actually, I don’t know how to do this! Could you show me?”

…

“You want me to do it? I’m still kind of transformed, my snout might get in the way-”

“It’s okay, I think there’s a lot of water in her, it’ll help you get deeper!”

“Okay-”

…

“WHY ARE YOU LETTING THE RAT DO IT?!!”

Ahh there you are.

Not so dead now, are you?

*Blink*

Meera’s good eye snaps open like a zombie coming back to life. My throat is suddenly seized in an assassin’s chokehold. From underneath me, she effortlessly does a no-hands sit up, lifting both of us until she’s in a sitting position. My knees are around her waist, a rather intimate position…if I wasn’t being choked. Slowly, the fingers around my throat tighten, just as one might squeeze the neck of a chicken before it’s plucked and gutted-

“H-Hurrrk…Hey Meera! Feeling better?” I yelp. Meera’s eye narrows. My heart palpates. I’ve never felt such strong killing intent. And I was raised by Romy. Suddenly, a thought occurs to me. I…I…may have miscalculated.

“You were going to let him do it?! He’s a goddamn rat! With a SNOUT!” She shouts. “Y-You…what if I’d really been dead…you’d give him my first AND last kiss!”

Hahaha, who’s joking now?

“Please, Meera. As if anyone’s going to believe that was your first kiss-”

*Krrrrrr*

The vice on my neck squeezes harder.

Abort! ABORT!

“Arrgh! It was just a joke! I knew you were alive!”

Silence for a second. Meera’s expression doesn’t change whatsoever. She just glares at me through her sodden hair. I’m fairly certain bugs on her shoe get a similar look.

“...And…?” She says without blinking. If we could weaponize the killing intent in that stare, Merekeep would be done for. I gulp. No choice, there’s only one move left.

“Errr…I’m sorry?”

…

Why aren’t you letting go?

…

“B-o-s-s…you thought that was r-e-a-l funny, did you?”

…

Crap. Okay, I guess apology wasn’t very effective.

…

“Do you have any idea how hard it was to hold my breath for that long? I almost passed out! Why didn’t you come get me!”

…

“Y-Yea…you know, Meera, I was actually trying…but then I ran out of air…”

“-I’ll show you running out of air!”

*Krrrrr*

I think I’ve created a new kind of predator. It’s a Demi-tiger called Meera. It hunts by latching onto your neck and strangling you to death. Once you’re caught, there’s no escape.

…

*Krrrrrr*

Oh God…please stop tightening your fingers.

…

“Meera, I’m seeing red…I-I’m really going to pass out!”

…

“Good! Maybe after I’m done, the Ferry-Rat can give you CPR!”

…

“M-Meera, ple…ease…hurrk…Le…mme…go!”

…

“Let’s see how you like the taste of R-A-T!”

…

My eyes close. There are stars floating around me, even though we’re underground. The boat sways gently, but Meera’s chokehold on my neck only has two settings. Tight and tighter-

So this is how it ends.

Killed by my own minion.

…

“P-Please…can’t…breathe…”

…

Her fingers loosen.

Thank you! THANK YOU!

“Harrrgh!” I suck in a breath. Opening my eyes, I find Meera smiling at me. She whispers demonically and I instinctively obey-

“Boss, clench your teeth.”

Huh? What’s that supposed to mean-

*SLAAAAAAAP*