Author Note: For the few Australian slang terms used, there's an explanation of what they mean at the bottom and I had to look up Australian lingo. Just a reminder: Serena, the ghost who makes an appearance in this chapter, is my OC.
~CWA

Chapter 6- Under The Sea (Ocean)

Ellie/Danielle

My plan worked. Intangibility kept me safe as I walked along the bottom of the ocean, or at least close to the bottom. I wasn't going to venture into any deep gorges that were possibly endless. Besides, I rather liked being half-alive and had no intentions of dying completely. Who knew what undersea creatures lived in the deep? Freaking goblin sharks, that was what. Not to mention stuff like that that light-up fish from Finding Nemo. I shook my head slightly and continued on my way, extremely thankful that intangibility kept me safe from any potential attacking predators of the deeps.

I hummed to myself as I walked and took pictures. According to my compass, I was headed in the right direction. I attached the camera back to hook on my backpack as I looked around at the ocean around me. It was… distant. If I squinted, I could just barely see the surface of the water. The water seemed pretty dark where I was at and everywhere I looked there was underwater caves, caverns or… nothing. Absolutely nothing. Just open water with the occasional fish or barracuda or eel. It was almost eerie. I shivered slightly and looked toward a nearby ocean gorge. But nothing ventured, nothing gained… I headed toward the gorge. I could make a quick stop before I went to Easter Island.

Venturing deep into the ocean, the pressure was barely even felt, I smiled. It was kind of cool. Maybe I was seeing something no one else had ever seen. I used my abilities to walk along the gorges wall, heading straight down. I wondered if I could whistle down there. Would it echo like it would in a cave? I crinkled my brow in thought as I continued walking.

The deeper I got into the gorge, the darker it became and I had to use an ectoblast to at least see. I gulped slightly, feeling a bit like one of those angler fishes… Angler fish! That's what that fish is from Finding Nemo! I knew I knew it! My excitement was short lived when something same by me quickly. I turned quickly only to come face to face with… I wasn't sure what it was…. It seemed to have a strong under bite with teeth poking out in odd angles and it's beady eyes stared straight at me.

I never found out if whistles echoed, but I learned that screams seemed louder under water as I flew straight up the gorge and toward the light. I'm never doing this again, I'm never doing this again, if that's what it looked like alive then I don't even want to think about what it would be like as a ghost!

My experience in the ocean gorge will never be repeated, but at least it will be a reminder that after this trip, I was never going to travel through the water again. I shivered slightly as I continued walking through the sand. I was deep in the water, but there was still enough light coming down that I was able to see. I had started this trip and I was determined to finish it until I got to Easter Island. A blue wisp escaped my mouth.

You've got to be kidding me! A ghost all the way down here? Please don't be a giant sea monster, I pleaded as I started to look around. I didn't have to look far. The ghost was staring at me. I raised my hands as they formed ectoblasts; I wasn't sure if she was a friend or a foe. She looked maybe twenty at the most, but with ghosts you could never really tell. Her skin was light green and her white hair swirled in the water around her. Blue seashells covered her chest, but her lower half was just a light blue ghostly tail which seemed to be almost covered with scales. A ghost mermaid maybe? My eyes lingered on her left arm, particularly the lack of, before I finally looked her in the eyes. Her bright blue eyes were looking at me in concern, but she had a smile on her face.

"Crickey," she laughed, her Australian accent showing, "You're a young one, aren't you? What are you doing here?"

She didn't seem too concerned at my ectoblasts as she moved forward. I lowered my guard slightly. If she wanted to attack or if she worked for Vlad, she would have attacked me already. The ectoblasts died out as I eyed her cautiously.

"Just heading to…somewhere… Do you… uhh… live here?"

My question seemed to amused her as she let out another laugh.

"Bit impossible for a ghost to live anywhere, really. I have a lair all set in the Zone, but I find it's a lot more fun to just explore the waters. Funny, you're headed somewhere and I'm headed away. Name's Serena."

Serena, I repeated in my mind, that's a pretty cool name. I reach my hand out and she shakes it with the hand she did have.

"Ellie," I greeted, "What are you running away from?"

"Running away," she repeated, her tone was a bit harsh, "I'm not running from anything! Just… A temporary relocation. I was up at the reef, back in Australia, ya know? That is where my home is. Real beauty the reefs are, so colorful. It's pretty amazing…"

Amazing, huh, I thought, I'll have to check it out. She got a wistful look on her face before she continued,

"But… A new bloke showed up. A ghost. I never spoke to him, but he… He resembles a shark and built like a brick shit house*. Big shark head, teeth, like someone put a shark head on a more humanoid body that wears suits. Don't like sharks and something about one in a suit that just makes it worse."

A humanoid shark ghost, I thought, that's…. new. Weird, but new. She circled around me, eying me up and down. Her ghostly tail curled around me slightly as she did so, causing me to get a slight chill. I shivered slightly, causing her to stop for a moment. She backed away slightly as if sensing how unnerved I was.

"Apologies…"

She raised her hands in a defensive manor. Gone was her ghostly tail. It changed into a light blue skirt that reached her ankles with two slits on the sides that exposed her legs. I noticed that they were covered in many jagged scars and were slightly crooked as if she didn't have much strength in them. My camera, hanging from a hook on my backpack, was in easy reach so I grabbed it and held it up questioningly. She looked confused for a moment before she shrugged and gave a smile, posing slightly. I snapped a picture, capturing not only her but the beautiful scene of the ocean as well. As soon as I took the picture, I double-checked it and seeing that it came out alright, I gave her a thumbs up, causing her to smile.

"So where are you heading," she asked, "You're not lost are you? The ocean is pretty big…"

"I'm going to Easter Island," I said a bit proudly, "I'm traveling around the world!"

"Around the world," she repeated, the amusement clear in her voice, "Stop by Australia if you can, lots of neat stuff there 'side from the reef… But Easter Island is a bit of a back of bourke.*"

Something about her tone tipped me off that she didn't really believe me about traveling the world. Something told me she was just humoring me. I frowned slightly, causing her to laugh. With her only hand, she placed it on my shoulder with a smile.

"Good luck on the travelin', dag*."

Her legs turned back into a ghostly tail. She was still laughing as she swam off quickly, the water swirling around her. I watched her go with a slight huff,

"I REALLY AM TRAVELING THE WORLD," I shouted after her.

She was a mere dot in the distance, yet I could still hear her reply.

"SURE YOU ARE, YA DILL*! GOOD ONYA!"

*Built like a brick shit house: big strong bloke

*Back of bourke: a very long way away

*Dag: a funny person, goof

*Dill: an idiot