Chapter 2 Seri
Seri
Dying, as it turns out, was aggressively inconvenient.
Not because of the whole bleeding out in the Irish Sea thing—though, yes, that’s definitely up there—but because no one prepares you for this part.
The in-between.
The not-dead-but-definitely-not-okay-either limbo where your body checks out, but your brain lingers like you just went on the best shroom trip of your life.
“Fantastic,” I muttered.
Or thought.
Or… whatever this is.
My voice didn't feel like a voice anymore. It echoes strangely, like it bounced around inside my skull instead of leaving it.
The cold was gone.
Which was wrong.
Suspiciously wrong.
The Irish Sea was not a place that just… stopped being cold. It clings. It bites. It commits. And yet…
Nothing.
No freezing water.
No pain.
No weight.
Just a strange, floating stillness, like I’d been suspended in the pause between breaths.
“Cool,” I added dryly. “Love a good existential void.”
Something flickered in the distance.
At first, I thought it was light, thin and wavering, like sunlight filtering through water. But it moved with intention. Its shadow curved and glided around me in the darkness. Its sillouette highlighted by lights from behind.
A seal.
Of course it’s a seal.
Because apparently my brain is determined to stay on theme.
“Hey,” I say. “If this is my subconscious, I’d like to file a complaint. We could’ve gone with, I don’t know, a warm dive in Bali? Chips and Guac by the sea? Literally anything else?”
The seal didn't react.
She was farther away than before.
Just… watching.
And there was something different about her.
Like she was holding herself together.
“Okay,” I narrow my eyes. “You’re either the world’s most committed hallucination, or I’ve officially lost it.”
Then, she shifted.
Not a normal movement, but a flicker.
Like her body stuttered, stretching too long, too thin before snapping back into place.
I blinked.
“Yeah, no, I hate that.”
It happened again.
This time I saw more.
Not just a seal.
Something underneath.
Skin.
Hair.
Human.
“Oh,” I breathe. “Oh, that’s—nope. That’s worse.”
I rubbed at my eyes, but nothing changed.
If this is what the afterlife is like I’m totally screwed.
The image glitched again, like two realities trying to overlap and failing.
For a heartbeat, she was fully there.
A girl.
No.
A woman.
Dark blonde hair tangled and damp, clung to her shoulders. Freckles scattered across her face, across her collarbones, so many freckles it looks intentional, like someone painted them there. It was the kind of artwork that girls spend hundreds of dollars to tattoo on their own bodies.
But her eyes—
God.
Her eyes were terrified.
And then—
She was gone.
Back to seal.
“Okay,” I say slowly, my tone losing some of its bite. “That’s… deeply concerning.”
The water around her rippled unnaturally.
Not from movement.
From resistance.
Like she was pushing against something I couldn't see.
Her body jerked.
And suddenly—
Images slammed into me.
Not mine.
Not memories.
Something else.
Wood. Rough and splintered.
Rope digging into skin.
The sharp, metallic tang of blood—
A shout.
A man’s voice, angry and close.
The vision shattered.
I sucked in a breath that I’m not sure I actually took, because if I did- I would fill my lungs with saltwater.
“Okay,” I said quickly. “So now I’m hallucinating plot. Come on Seri, Get a grip. Should I swim? What the hell.”
I tried to move, but this was definitely a dream. I was stuck, somewhere suspended between life and death.
The seal thrashed.
And I felt it again—that panic, sharp and invasive, slicing through the strange numb calm I’d been floating in.
It wasn't not mine.
That’s the problem.
It was hers.
“Hey—hey,” I say, trying to move toward her.
My body didn't cooperate.
Everything felt thick. Slowed. Like I was pushing through invisible resistance.
“I don’t know what’s happening,” I added, “but I feel like we’re both having a terrible day, so maybe let’s not make it worse?”
She stilled and looked at me.
And there it was again.
Recognition.
Strong enough this time that it punched straight through the fog.
“Yeah, I’m sorry, that’s not possible,” I said immediately. “I would absolutely be able to tell if this is real life. You’re doing a whole mystical sea-creature-slash-freckled-girl thing. That would definitely have stuck in my brain.”
She flickered again.
Harder, like she was trying to tell me something.
And the woman broke through once more—but only partially, like she was being dragged backward even as she tried to come forward.
Her lips parted.
Like she was trying to speak, but nothing came out.
The space between us warped.
Not distance.
Something else.
A barrier.
I couldn't see it.
But I felt it.
Like pressure in the air. Like standing on opposite sides of glass.
She reached for me, and stopped.
Her hand pressed against nothing.
My chest tightened.
I lifted my own hand.
It felt like lifting it through water that didn't exist.
Slow. Heavy.
Pointless.
I stretched toward her—
And stopped.
Not because I hit something.
Because I couldn't get closer.
Like the space itself refused to close.
“Wow,” I huffed a weak laugh. “Okay. So we’re doing tragic, star-crossed almost-touching. What a bummer of a death sequence. Hey, at least I get to be with one of my favorite creatures on the planet.” I winked at her, trying to ease the worry plastered across her face.
Her expression broke.
Not dramatic.
Not loud.
Just… quiet devastation.
And that—
That hit harder than anything else so far.
Because she wasn't confused.
She knew exactly what was happening.
And she couldn't stop it.
“I saw you,” I said, the memory surfacing through the haze. “On the boat.”
The way the seal had watched me when I screamed at those men.
The way something about it felt… off.
Her eyes widened.
There it was again—that thread pulling tight between us.
Connection.
Real.
Undeniable.
“Are you real? Did you escape?” I whispered.
The world stuttered.
The ocean fractured into pieces again—
Dark water—
Flashing light—
A boat—
Clearer this time.
Wood. Metal. Movement.
Men.
The girl recoiled violently, her form tearing between seal and human as something yanked her backward.
A rope snapped taut.
The sound cracked through everything.
“No—” I started, instinct kicking in, even though I couldn't do anything. “Hey—wait—”
She reached again.
Desperate.
Fingers straining against the invisible barrier.
Her mouth moved—
This time I almost heard it.
Not a word.
A sound, or a broken attempt at one.
And then—
She was ripped away.
Gone.
The ocean slammed back into place around me, heavier now. Darker. The stillness was gone, replaced with something pulling—dragging—
Down.
Fast.
