Coral blinked in the eerie light, trying to focus through the green haze. It was difficult to see, but she sensed she was not alone. She went to put her feet on the kitchen floor.
‘Ouch!’ Her foot touched something sharp. She heard cruel laughter.
She drew her knees up quickly and reached out to her mother’s kitchen table for balance. Memories of happy family mealtimes flashed through her mind.
‘Owwww!’ Her hand was stung by something spiky this time. There was another ripple of cold sniggering. Who was that? Her heart beat quickly as she tried to work out what had happened to the room her mother had cherished.
As her eyes adjusted to the ethereal green light, Coral could see the wrecked kitchen. Once warm and welcoming, it was now cold and dark. It made her feel hopeless.
What had stung her? She looked and gasped. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands, all covered in black spikes – sea urchins!
Coral remembered being told they had spines to protect themselves, but these sea urchins seemed to enjoy hurting her.
She kicked back, swimming towards the door. This had been a bad, bad idea.
‘Ohhhhhhhh, I don’t think so,’ said a chilling voice from the darkness.
‘Who – who said that?’ she stammered, turning round, her heart hammering in her chest.
‘I must apologise,’ the voice went on smoothly, ‘for my urchin friends. No harm meant, I’m sure.’
Coral heard horrible laughter. Now she could see the urchins were everywhere, covering the floor, her kitchen table, mounting up over the units, piling high towards the ceiling, their spikes jutting out, waiting to strike. Fear lurched in her stomach, but she took a deep breath.
‘I can’t see you. Show yourself.’
The urchins mumbled and shifted. Then, at the end of the kitchen near the back door, Coral saw an enormous dark shape rise from the shadows. Propelled by what looked like giant wings, it moved gracefully but menacingly towards her. Its orange eyes burned on either side of its head.
Coral felt fear clutch at her again. A stingray. For some reason they had always terrified her. She had only seen one in an aquarium before. Closer and closer it came, staring at her with fiery eyes.
‘I’ve been waiting for you to drop by,’ the stingray drawled. ‘I was so terribly sorry to hear about the death of your mother and father.’
Coral flinched. He moved closer still, inches from her face, staring deep into her eyes.
‘What a tragedy. Still so young. And leaving you. Poor Coral,’ he sneered.
Coral’s body sagged. She felt so alone.
Reading her face, he continued. ‘You try so hard to fight the sadness, don’t you? But it’s so hard, when there seems so little hope, with your parents gone forever.’
How did this beast know her darkest thoughts? Coral felt desperation well up in her. His words pierced her heart as sharply as if his poisonous tail were digging into her.
‘Give into your grief. Stay in here with us, where nobody hopes for anything. Squadron Stonefish! Rocky! Edge!’
A troop of stonefish, who had been hiding behind the stingray, emerged from under his wings. They grinned at her, exposing grisly sets of sharp, pointed teeth.
‘Join us, Coral,’ breathed the stingray soothingly. ‘Hide away with us. Why try to do anything? How can you be partying and enjoying yourself?’
Coral was in a trance, transfixed by the stingray. The green haze seemed to be closing in. The stingray’s eyes burned brighter. He was right. She did want to escape from her pain. Why not stay in the dark where nobody hoped for anything or tried to have any fun?