diff --git a/tests/checks/return.fish b/tests/checks/return.fish
index 9c2d7a4c5..299051e38 100644
--- a/tests/checks/return.fish
+++ b/tests/checks/return.fish
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ function empty_return
     return $argv[1]
 end
 
-for i in (seq -550 -1)
+for i in (seq -- -550 -1)
     empty_return $i
     if test $status -eq 0
         echo returning $i from a fish script maps to a $status of 0!