I must be there as they are dying. It is the only way it works. If I find them already dead, then I have missed my chance.
I am a plasmaqua.
Never heard of me. Most haven’t.
A thousand years ago, a storm raged over the seas. The lightning struck the ocean with such intensity that it electrified the salt ions in the water and created me into a form of plasmid intelligence. I bumbled around for most of my existence, collecting information without much progression. It wasn’t until 1756 that I understood the magnitude of my abilities. My life changed when I came across a drowning sailor.
Splash!
A large mass fell into the water, almost atop me. It had a form I had never seen. I moved toward the bizarre creature as it thrashed around. It didn’t smoothly transverse the water as aquatic life did. I felt its sense of urgency, its pure panic. I floated to him, curious about what he might be. I merged my form into him, and that is when my tactile and emotional senses exploded—a warmth spread over me. Simultaneously, I felt his smooth skin and his impending doom. His shirt floated above his head, a rough material.
What is he?
I wiggled over his body and saw his brown eyes. His mouth opened wide, and he sucked me in.
BOOM!
An electric power exploded! I merged my being with his. My intelligence occupied every inch of the strange creature as I entered his neurons.
“I am going to die. How will Mirabell raise the kids without my support?” His thoughts became mine. Never had I experienced a life with such intelligence. I could feel the cold water seize his muscles, the contracting hurt. These feelings were new to me. Such a blast of perception all at once.
How did I make sense of it?
Splash!
A couple more creatures entered the water and pulled us out onto a strange floating mass.
“Peter, are you alright?” The creatures asked as they surrounded us. The bright sun hurt our eyes. I felt the breeze freeze our skin as his companions removed the clothing on us.
“You almost died there, mate,” one said.
Memories, emotions, and pain overwhelmed me. I was completely aligned with the creature, which I quickly learned was a man.
I and the sailor were one. I lived in him, taking on every feeling and emotion he had. This existence outside of water allowed me freedom never found in the abyss. Moving, talking, thinking, and creating. When Peter died, my form was released. I tried to enter other humans but to no avail. The longer I stayed out of the water, the weaker I became. I eventually returned to the ocean, but I had changed. No longer would floating around mindlessly satisfy me. I needed to live. The only way I could do that was in a human.
Desperately I searched for another human. I hung around beaches where troves of them frolicked. I tried and tried to enter the humans, but nothing. Then one day, as a small child was drowning, she sucked me in! And like that, I had life again.
A lifeguard pulled us out.
I loved being a child. It gave me more time as a human. As I lived in Mary, I learned to take over her. With Peter, he did all the thinking, moving, and living. But with Mary, I was in charge.
But as all humans do, Mary eventually died.
The only way to truly live is to be human.
I am addicted to life on land. Such liberation!
I will no longer be satisfied with life in the water. When I am not in human form, dark loneliness overwhelms me. I would end it all if I could. But I keep existing.
Waiting.
Waiting for another human to drown, so I can commandeer their life. It isn’t fair to them, but I am selfishly obsessed with living, and so I must do what I do best.
Hijack the life of another.
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Hijacking the Drowning
by Stephanie Daich
