[color=turquoise][h2][center]~ Kimberly Haynes ~[/center][/h2][/color]
[@The Narrator]

As the haze cleared from Kimberly's mind, one thought came rushing back.

A child's scream carrying on the sea air. Wide, terrified eyes staring out from under wet hair. Arms clinging to a rock. A face, pale with cold and shock, disappearing into the distance. Then, nothing but murky water.

[color=turquoise]"Amy!"[/color] That jolt of horror returned full-force as Kimberly turned her head this way and that, trying to figure out where she was and what had happened - even though, deep down, she knew. [color=turquoise]"My daughter, Amy, where is she? What happened to her?"[/color]

She pulled back, eyes wide, as something slithered in front of her. Something she'd been vaguely aware of for the entire journey, but whose presence she'd only just truly acknowledged. [color=darkcyan]"Shhhh,"[/color] it said, in a voice like the hissing of waves on the shore. The sea serpent raised its head, giving her a blood-red gaze. [color=darkcyan]"Your daughter survived. Thanks to you, the lifeguards reached her in time. Too bad the same can't be said for you."[/color]

Kimberly took another step back, mixed emotions surging through her. Amy was alive... but what was this huge, scaly creature doing here? Why had she let it follow her? Who was this old man? And if it was true, if she was... if she hadn't made it... then why had she come back? Despite having travelled all the way here, she didn't feel cold, or hungry, or tired. Was she a ghost? She looked down. She was completely solid, and could feel the floor under her feet. What was she, then?

[i]I know what I am,[/i] she told herself. She had to be rational about this. [i]I'm a perfectly ordinary, living human having a nightmare. Soon I'll wake up, and everything will be back to normal...[/i] She'd never had a dream this vivid, though. Never.

Turning towards the man, she took a deep breath. She was dead, and yet she was still breathing, still standing... why? [color=turquoise]"Please,"[/color] she said, in as steady and cool a tone as she could. [color=turquoise]"Tell me what's going on here."[/color]