As Maria floated in the stray waves, she stared up at the darkening sky while her short, violet hair danced in the water. Her multicolored tail stayed still while she began to count the clouds that rolled by and the stars that came into view. Even as she put a tanned hand on the bite marks on the side of her tail, her sapphire eyes never looked away from the sky.
This isn't the end, she thought. With the pool of crimson enveloping her, she took a deep breath, seeing the large fin stick out of the water. Turning her body, she darted through the water as the fin followed closely behind. She dove under the surface and swam deeper into the depths until the watery world around her began to turn black. She stopped, glancing up to the the silhouette of her attacker circling around before finally going in the opposite direction. As she made her way to the surface, she saw the shark whip its head in her direction and charged towards her. Maria swam as fast as her fins could take her, breaking the water's surface and leaping out toward the rocky outcrop with the shark jumping after her.
She grabbed onto the rocks, clenching her teeth as the rocks scraped against her skin and scales before pulling herself up and rolled into an opening. Her fins began to pull itself apart, turning into two bloodied legs. Moving to her side, she looked out at the sea, the fin still going back and forth as she closed her eyes and sighed. She had beat the odds, once again.