1 Ocean

As if a switch had been flipped, Jared found himself abruptly lifted from the comfort of his home, where he had been leisurely watching cat videos on YouTube, and suspended high above a vast, monochrome ocean. The sudden, dramatic shift felt like something out of a movie.

For a few moments, Jared could only blink in confusion as he attempted to make sense of his new surroundings. Though he tried to move his head to get a better view, he found himself frozen in place like a statue.

Slowly but surely, the once-monochrome sea began to take on a deep blue hue, and panic set in for Jared. The ocean rushed up to meet him, and he let out a blood-curdling scream, clawing frantically at the air in a desperate attempt to escape.

Hours passed, and Jared groaned in frustration as he felt his skin starting to blister. He couldn't believe that whoever had put him in this situation hadn't bothered to come back and rectify it.

"I'll file a complaint! I will..." he muttered, but his words trailed off into defeat.

As he lay there, resigned to his fate, Jared couldn't help but think that at least his death would be an interesting one. The sun overhead seemed unnaturally large and bright, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he was no longer on Earth.

"Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore..." he muttered to himself, even though he'd never been to Kansas and was allergic to dogs anyway.

He shook his head, realizing how absurd his thoughts were becoming. "Get a grip," he scolded himself.

But then, a morbid thought occurred to him. "Maybe I'm already dead," he mused. "Did those cat videos finally do me in? The comments said you can die from cuteness... Am I now paying for my sins in the seventh layer of hell?"

In a moment of sheer horror, Jared lifted his hand out of the water, feeling the pruned skin on his fingers. He let out a blood-curdling scream. "NOOOOO, MY FINGERS ARE PRUNING! THIS REALLY IS HELL!"

Jared's mind raced as he tried to make sense of his situation. It seemed fitting that the ocean, something he had always been afraid of, would be his personal hell. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that he didn't deserve this. Though he wasn't the most charitable individual, he couldn't think of anything he had done to warrant eternal damnation.

Suddenly, he heard a distant splash, and fear crept into his heart. Straining to see what had caused the noise, he couldn't make out anything from his position. "Oh God, what was that?" he thought, hoping it wasn't a shark. "Sharks aren't allowed in hell, I won't allow it!"

Minutes ticked by, and Jared struggled to ignore the eerie sound and suppress his growing fear. "Whatever," he thought to himself, "if there's something lurking in the water with me, it should just come and devour me now. Anything would be better than this!"

As he lay there, he found solace in the warmth of the ocean, grateful that he wasn't at risk of freezing to death. "But I'm naked" He muttered, "I'm nothing but a piece of naked human driftwood! and the sun is eventually going to burn me to a crisp!"

A darker thought crept into his mind: what if he was meant to slowly dehydrate and bake in the scorching sun while being tormented by whatever creatures lay beneath the gentle ocean waves? "That scoundrel! That snake!" Jared seethed, feeling a newfound anger towards whoever was responsible for this cruel fate.

As he pondered his fate, he heard another splash, this time much closer. His heart raced as he attempted to sit up, but his body remained frozen in place. The ocean suddenly grew turbulent, tossing him around like a rag doll. Jared cried out and searched for something, anything, to hold onto, but to no avail.

All of a sudden, a dark figure emerged from the water, causing Jared's fear to escalate into pure panic. From his side view, it appeared to be some sort of massive sea monster, its jaws gaping wide as it charged straight towards him. Jared screamed once more, certain that this was the end.

To his surprise, the creature slowed down and appeared to hesitate. Then, rather than attacking, it circled around him and quickly dived below.

Jared felt bewildered and relieved all at once. "What in the world was that?" he muttered to himself. He didn't get a good look at the creature, because in his panic all he could think about was escaping.

As the waves calmed down and the ocean returned to its dull, colorless state, Jared began to question his sanity. He had always been a skeptic when it came to the supernatural, but now he wasn't so sure. Perhaps this was truly hell, and maybe there really were undersea monsters that could pause before attacking.

"What was that thing, and why did it seem familiar?" Jared wondered aloud. "Have I watched too many horror movies?"

Jared mentally shook his head, 'Nah, I'm kidding myself. No way can a coward like me handle scary movies. I haven't seen one since I was eight years old because I had nightmares for months. It was already good enough that I managed to stop feeling depressed and having bad dreams every time I saw a dead squirrel on the side of the road... Being an empath sucks....'

For what seemed like hours, Jared lay there, consumed by his worries and fears. But eventually, exhaustion overtook him, and he drifted off into slumber.