Speaker 1: Calarogu Shark Media.
Speaker 2: Welcome to the Sirens Call a special Romance Weekly and
Ghost Scary Stories crossover event. This is episode four, Rising Tide.
Speaker 1: The submersible Deep Current rockets through the underwater cave system,
our engines straining against the water's resistance as we flee
from creatures that shouldn't exist behind us. Through the rear
facing cameras, I can see them, figures that move through
the water with impossible grace, their forms shifting between human
and something else entirely as they pursue us. There's another
passenge ahead, Kai says, his hands steady on the controls
despite the terror of our situation. It leads to a
different section of the cave network. We might be able
to lose them in the maze. The singing from our
pursuers grows louder, more insistent, Even filtered through our speakers
and the submersible's hull, It affects me, making my thoughts sluggish,
my will pliable. I find myself wanting to stop running,
to turn around and face whatever's following us. Don't listen,
Kai WARN's noticing my expression, focus on my voice, on
staying grounded in reality. How many of them are there
too many? His jaw tightens as he navigates a narrow
passage between jagged rock formations. Word spreads quickly among my
people when something unusual is discovered. The euphemism isn't lost
on me. I'm the unusual thing. They've discovered, a human
who can hear sigh song but resist it, making me
either a threat or a prize. We emerge from the
narrow passage into a larger cavern, our lights revealing multiple
tunnels branching in different directions. Kai chooses one without hesitation,
guiding us deeper into the labyrinthine cave system. You know
these caves well, I observe, trying to keep my voice
steady despite our circumstances. I've spent a lot of time
here over the years. This place is significant to my people,
sacred in a way, sacred. How Before he can answer,
new movement appears on our sonar more figures approaching from
the tunnels we didn't take. They're coordinating, cutting off our
escape routes with tactical precision. They're herding us, Kai realizes, grimly,
driving us toward them. Main chamber is that bad? His
expression tells me everything I need to know. The main
chamber is where they gather for important discussions, where they
make decisions about threats to our people. We have no
choice but to continue forward as the cave system funnels
us toward whatever awaits in the main chamber. The tunnels
grow wider, more ornate, their walls covered with the same
flowing script we saw on the deep sea structures. The
water here glows with a faint phosphorescence that doesn't come
from any natural source. Finally, we emerge into a vast
underwater cathedral, a cavern so large our lights can't reach
the far walls. Bioluminescent formations cover the ceiling like stars,
and the water itself seems to pulse with living light.
Ancient structures rise from the cavern floor, their surfaces covered
with the flowing script that seems to move in our
peripheral vision. And we're not alone. Dozens of figures float
in the water around us, Sirens in their true forms,
beautiful and terrible and utterly inhuman. They watch us submersible
with eyes that reflect light like a predator's, their forms
shifting subtly as we move among them. Kai A voice
says through our speakers, not heard, but somehow transmitted directly
into our minds. The words carry harmonics that resonate in
my bones. Brother, you've been away from us too long.
A figure glides closer to our viewport, a woman whose
beauty is so perfect it's almost painful to look at.
Her hair floats around her like dark water, and her
eyes hold depths that speak of centuries of knowledge, both
ancient and terrible. Narrida Kai responds, his voice tight with tension.
I didn't expect to find you here when words spread
that humans were investigating our waters, that one of them
showed unusual resistance to our influence. I came to see
for myself. Her gaze shifts to me, and I feel examined, catalogued, judged.
She's quite remarkable, isn't she such strength of will, such potential.
She's under my protection, Kai says firmly. Ne reader's laugh
carries harmonics that make our hull vibrate. Your protection, dear brother,
you've forgotten your place, forgotten what you are. I know
exactly what I am. Do you? Then? Why do you
shelter a human? Why do you work to prevent us
from reclaiming what was always ours? Through our speakers? I
can hear other voices joining the conversation, not words, but tones,
frequencies that create a complex musical dialogue. It's beautiful and terrifying,
like being surrounded by a choir of angels that might
decide to drag you to hell the disappearances, I find
myself saying, my voice cutting through their ethereal conversation. You're
responsible for the missing cruise. Narada's attention focuses on me
with laser intensity. Ah, she speaks, and with such accusation
in her voice. Twenty three people have vanished from ships
in these waters, families aggrieving, searching for answers, and they
have their answer, Narrada replies, moving closer to our viewport
reclaimed what was always its own. Humans venture too far
from shore, too deep into our domain, and face the consequences.
Those were innocent people, innocent Nerida's voice rises, and suddenly
the water around us is filled with harmonies that speak
of rage, of ancient grievances. Your species poisons our waters,
strips our depths of life, treats the ocean as a
dumping ground for your waste. Where is the innocence in that?
I feel Kai's tension ratchet higher, beside me, Nerida enough.
Not all humans are responsible for the actions of their species. No, then,
perhaps we should be more selective in our judgments. Her
gaze returns to me, appraising this one. For instance, she
studies the ocean, seeks to understand it. Perhaps she could
be educated instead of eliminated. The suggestion carries undertones that
make my skin crawl. Whatever education Neareda has in mind,
I suspect it would involve losing everything that makes me human.
She returns to the surface. Chai states firmly tonight unharmed. Oh,
my dear brother Nearieda says, her voice full of false sympathy.
You truly have forgotten your place. You think you can
simply leave, take your little human pet, and disappear. Back
to the surface world around us, the other sirens begin
to move their forms, creating complex patterns in the water.
Their voices join together in harmonies that make our instruments
flicker and are hull grown under pressure that shouldn't exist
at this depth. You've been living among humans too long, continues,
playing at being one of them, forgetting the power that
flows in your blood. It's time you remembered what you
really are. The singing grows stronger, more complex. But this
isn't the compelling melody I heard before. This is something else,
something that speaks of authority and ancient law. I feel
it affecting Kai, see him struggling against whatever influence his
sister is exerting. You belong with us, Kai, Nerida says,
her voice, becoming hypnotic, irresistible. You belong in the depths,
hunting with your people, claiming what is ours by right. No,
Kai gasps, fighting against her influence. I choose my own
path choice, Nerida laughs, and the sound echoes through the
cavern like breaking waves. You think you have choice, You
think any of us do? We are what we are? Brother, predators, hunters,
The ocean's will made manifest. The pressure on our submersible increases,
not water pressure, but something else, something that makes our
metal hull creak and our instruments fail. One by one.
I realize, with growing horror that they're not just talking
to us. They're demonstrating their power, showing us how easily
they could crush our small vessel like an egg. Enough,
I say, surprising myself with the strength in my voice.
If you want to kill me, just do it. But
stop torturing him. The singing pauses. Every siren in the
cavern turns to look at me with expressions of surprise. Fascinating,
Nerida murmurs, she has couraged this little human. Foolish but admirable, Marina, don't.
Kai starts no. I continue, meeting Neroda's alien gaze through
our viewport. I've heard enough. You're angry at humanity for
polluting the oceans. Fine, I understand that anger, But murdering
innocent people isn't justice, It's revenge, and trying to force
Kai to participate in it is cruelty. Nereda's expression shifts,
becoming more interested than hostile. You would lecture us about justice,
about morality. Your species has shown no consideration for ours.
Some humans, yes, but not all of us. Some of
us dedicate our lives to understanding the ocean, to protecting it.
Some of us prove it, Nerida interrupts, What prove that
humans can be worthy of sharing our waters? Prove that
your species deserves the mercy my brother seems to think
you've earned. I look at Kai, seeing fear in his eyes,
not for himself, but for me. Whatever test Narada has
in mind, he knows it's dangerous. What kind of proof,
I ask carefully, Nerida's smile is sharp, predatory. Tonight, the
research vessel Northern Star will pass through our waters, forty
seven souls aboard, returning from a geological survey. We had
planned to greet them in the traditional manner. My blood
runs cold. You're going to call them we are unless
she pauses dramatically, Unless you can convince us they're worthy
of life, that humanity has value beyond what we might
harvest from them. That's not a test, it's blackmail. Call
it what you will. The choice is yours and theirs.
Around us, the other sirens begin to move again, their
forms creating a slow, hypnotic dance in the glowing water.
Their voices join together in a harmony that speaks of anticipation,
of hunger barely held in check. What exactly are you proposing?
I ask, though I'm not sure I want to hear
the answer. Simple, Nereda says, you come with us, experience
what it means to hunt with sirens, to feel the
power that flows through our songs. If after witnessing our
true nature, you still believe humanity deserves protection, we'll consider
sparing the ship. And if I refuse. Then forty seven
humans die tonight, and we decide your fate. Later, Kai's
hand covers mine, his touch sending warmth through me despite
the cold terror of our situation. Marina, you can't trust her.
Whatever she's planning, I have to try, I say quietly,
those people I can't let them die because I was
too afraid to act. This isn't fear, it's common sense.
She's manipulating you, using your compassion against you. He's right,
I know he is. But the thought of forty seven
innocent people being lured to their deaths while I hide
in the safety of this submersible is unbearable. I'll do it,
I tell ne reader, but I wan't guarantees. If I
come with you, witness your hunt, then you'll listen to
what I have to say about humanity acceptable. Narrador agrees,
though her smile suggests she knows something I don't, but understand,
once you leave the safety of your little metal shell,
you'll be in our domain, subject to our rules. Are influence.
The implications are clear. Outside the submersible, unprotected, I'll be
vulnerable to their mental manipulation in ways I can't imagine.
There has to be another way. Kai pleads Nerda, she's
not like other humans. She can resist our songs, yes,
but that doesn't make her immune to everything we can do.
All the more reason for her to experience our power
first hand. Nerida replies, how else can she make an
informed judgment about humanity's worthiness. The other sirens have moved closer, now,
surrounding our submersible completely. Their voices create a complex web
of harmonies that make my thoughts feel thick, sluggish. I
realize this is what the missing crews experienced in their
final moments, this overwhelming, irresistible compulsion to surrender to forces
beyond human comprehension. The diving suits, I say, suddenly turning
to Kai. The submersible has atmospheric diving suits, environmental protection,
internal air supply, communication systems. I could go out there
but still have some protection. Kai's eyes widen as he
understands what I'm suggesting. It's still incredibly dangerous. The suits
will provide physical protection, but not mental, And if something
goes wrong, then you'll be monitoring from here. If I
get into serious trouble, you can intervene against dozens of sirens. Marina,
even I have limits, but I can see he's considering it,
weighing the risks against the ald tarternatives around us. Neda
and the other sirens wait with the patients of predators
who know their prey has no real escape very well,
Neroda says. Finally, your human ingenuity amuses me. Don the
protective shell if it makes you feel safer, But understand,
when the Northern Star appears on our sonar, the hunt
begins with or without your participation. As if summoned by
her words, new readings appear on our instruments, a surface
vessel large and moving steadily through the waters above us,
the Northern Star arriving right on schedule. Time to choose,
Neroda says, her voice carrying harmonics that speak of anticipation
and barely contained hunger. Will you witness the power of
the depths? Or will you cower in your metal shell
while others pay the price for your cowardice. I look
at Kai one more time, seeing the fear and love
and desperate hope in his sea green eyes. Then I
begin the process of suiting up, knowing I'm about to
leave the relative safety of human technology and enter a
world where ancient powers hold sway above us. The Northern
Star draws closer to waters that have claimed seven ships
and twenty three lives, and somewhere in the depths below,
predators older than human civilization prepare to hunt once more.
The only question is whether I can find a way
to save the innocent people aboard that ship, or if
I'll become just another casualty of the war between land
and sea. As I seal the atmospheric suit's helmet, no
reader's laughter echoes through the water around us. Beautiful and
terrible and full of promises. I pray I'll live to regret.
Speaker 2: A Sirens Call has been a production of Cala Rogus
Shark Media Executive producers Mark Francis and John McDermott AI
assistance may have been used in the series.