Obligatory Shark Week One Shot
Piper sank back into the plushy cushion of the sofa, hand digging itself into a near empty bowl of half cold popcorn. She was in a deep ocean, surrounded by pure predatory instinct. Pools of blood bubbled up to the surface around her in dark spurts; a fresh kill. All around her seals bellowed out and splashed, warning each other of imminent danger. Her trembling hand made its way to her mouth, shoveling tiny bits of her snack into her mouth which she chewed anxiously. The couch sank under the waves, and a group of seals swam past her, barely avoiding collision in their haste to escape the oncoming danger.
One seal however, smaller and slower than the rest, perhaps the youngest in the group or the runt of the litter, had fallen slightly behind. It seemed to be gasping for breath in a very human manner and it's beady obsidian eyes showed a tint of resolve. Had it already accepted its fate that a very deep, intelligent, English voice was narrating above the waves? She raised her hand as if to touch the animals snout to console it.
"It's okay, baby seal," she whispered, hand just inches from touching the tired creature. "It's just nature." As soon as she had spoken, a dark shadow lunged from below, snapping the seal in it's jaws in one bite. The shark, seal in its mouth, breached the surface and slammed down in an attempt to immobilize the prey, but it had been dead since the first bite.
With a muffled sob, mouth full of unchewed popcorn, Piper snapped out of her delusion and was back in the living room of her apartment. on the television in front of her, the great white shark smugly devoured his meal. She looked around, swallowing the popcorn in her mouth and wincing as it went down. There was no one around. This seemed like one of those moments where Jean would have showed up, laughing hysterically and teasing her about how emotional she was getting over a seal on the television. But no, Jean was not there. No one was. As usual, she was all alone, with nothing but her mirages to keep her company.
She glanced away from the screen of the television, afraid that her reflection would send her back into another episode, and fell onto her side, knocking over the popcorn bowl onto the floor.
Alone.
"It's okay, Piper," she sniffled. "It's only nature."
