Speaker 1: Hullo. I'm welcomed stories all the time. Glad you are here.
Let's get into it. My name is Well. I had
recently graduated with a degree in marine biology and was
looking to start my career. I had always thought the
only underwater research lab had been off the coast of Florida,
the Aquarius Reef Base. But here I was staring at
an application of WHEREK on another sea lab across the world.
I choked my lack of knowledge up to my own
incompetence and applied for the job. It was long before
I got a reply. A sophisticated man with a German
accent spoke with me about my education and all the
other regular things that you would hear on a job interview.
But at the end of the conversation things started to
get a little weird. Are you in any way afraid
of an easy life like sharks? For example? Aspertram the
German interviewer, I'd say I have a healthy fear of
ocean predators, I said, but I don't mind swimming with them.
They mostly uninterested in humans. Good to hear, he said,
I completely agree. The job will include some diving in
some deep way, and this can make some people uneasy.
To my surprise, I was hired. I bordered a plain
and ended up in Rostock, a medium sized Cherman port city.
I made my way over to the port itself, where
I was to meet with the team and start traveling
to my new home under the sea. I had read
the documents they had sent over to familiarize myself with
the underwater environment. I had noticed, however, that there were
no bathrooms, and this seemed a little strange. I assumed
that I probably would just go in the ocean. I
had been peeing in the ocean since I was a kid,
but I had never gone number two. I laughed to
myself as I thought of how silly it was that
I was dwelling on such a triviality. When I arrived
on the dark there was Bertram. I recognized him from
the video conference we did before. He was taller than
I had expected. Then next to him stood another tall,
skinny man. If speak of the devil, Bertram said as
I approached. His accent made me chuckle to myself, but
his grammar and diction were very good. None the less,
Bell I would like you to meet Derrek. Our colleague
Derec also seemed very polite, and his English was excellent.
We have a tea of French, German and English speakers.
We mostly speak English, but you will have to forgive
us if occasionally we start rounding in our native tongues together,
said Bertram. At that Derek mumbled something in German and
they both laughed. We hitched a ride on another vessel
out towards the east. After about an eye, I saw
a little ship, that is the Hoffman, said Bertram, A
humble ship. The ship was small and rusty. It looked
like I had seen better days. Something seemed off. The
facility under water was much too advanced to be paid
with such a beat up looking ship. We geared up
for the dive. As far as depth is concerned, the
Baltic is pretty shallow. Yet I was surprised to hear
that we would be diving down to a depth of
sixty five meters. The deepest I had ever gone was
thirty and going sixty five didn't help my growing anxiety.
Don't worry. It is a one way tripe, so it
isn't very dangerous. You don't have to worry about the bends.
I remembered how cool it was that The underwater facility
used ambient pressure and the moon pool. The entire facility
was pressurized. It was still too deep for humans to
live at that pressure between seven and eight atmospheres. Though
humans can freedom quite deep, they cannot live in such
crushing pressures for extended periods of time. Time three atmospheres
was what the facility was pressured to. Still, the time
saved not having to go back and fall between sea
level and seven atmospheres made this facility useful for studying
this e bit. We have all heard how we know
less about our oceans and outer space. This was what
fascinated me so much about the sea. The beginning of
the descent was uneventful. Things started to become dacca as
less light was able to penetrate the depths. When we
reached forty meters, it was like I was entering another world.
It was surreal. I had never been the steep before,
and I remembered my driving instructor mentioning how dangerous it was.
People were said to fall into a trance. As we
continued to descend into the misty depths, a building appeared.
It was taller than I had expected, spanning at least
three stores upward. Certainly this was not the facility that
I had read about. Soon enough, however, I saw the
moon pool. It was a peculiar thing to emerge from
the ocean into an indoor swimming pool, and we all
treaded water for a minute. Bertram and Derec turned and
smiled at me. I couldn't help but smile back. It
was just so bad ass. I felt like I was
in some kind of sap fi movie. The room we
were in was pressurized higher than the rest of the facility,
and we made our way into a depressurization chamber after
removing our gear. Watch your arm, said Derec, as I
clumsily walked into a loose panel. It graved my skin
a little. Sorry, said Bertram. I should have mentioned the
loose panel. The facility is much larger than I read,
I said, inquiring about the large structure I had seen. Yes,
said Bertram. Sad document is out of date. The facility
has expanded in several areas, so welowly scientists are to
remain in our humble quarters. He and Derreck laughed. I
thought this facility was entirely run by scientists, I said.
The job application had been from the website of JOMAH,
a prestigious research institution in Germany. It started that way,
but after funding was cut back, it looked like we
were going to have to abandon the facility, said Bertram.
But then they discovered the or deposits down the hall
the hole, I asked, We entered the ha habitat I
had familiarized myself with from the manual. There was a
bunk house, a mess hall, and a couple of other
rooms for science and storage. Is this the new bloke?
Asked a voice from around the corner, and walked a
short man with a smile on his face. He had
instant charisma. Don't let the crowd scare you may things
are peachy down here. He shook my hand with a
vigor that left my arm nudeline. He was a middle
aged man, a little older than the rest of them.
Names dog, I'm from Newcastle. I nodded. This whole croup thing,
said Bertram. I just don't understand why you all think
it's offensive. It just means cabbage. Your people's wilfer too.
Pottowns weren't very good. I couldn't help but chuckle at
their relationship. When suddenly a loud explosion rang out. They
all grabbed for something to brace themselves with it. Everybody
all right, came a shrill, worried voice from deeper into
the facility. Amidst the flickering buttons and endless redoubts. A
Frenchman cautiously came into the room, hugging the wall, and
despite the fear the crash moments ago had instilled, she
smiled politely to me Vilkemmeville is good to see you,
she said, some what nervously ay, I said, smiling back.
She was wearing a cap and bulky croom and coveralls,
yet I could tell that she was really beautiful. Those
bastards are really pushing our lock with those explosions, said Doug.
They are going to get us all killed. Why are
their explosions, I asked. We didn't have a funding to
keep this place running. We were forced to entice some
other parties. I said, it then an essay it now.
It was a short sighted decision, said Doug. Yes, But
what choice did we have, asked Bertram. The rest of
the day was spent familiarizing myself with the facility. Everything
was just like it had said in the manual, except
for an ominous looking door just after the pressurization chamber
that was new. Though the whole place looked like a
futuristic space, this door seemed to be even more so.
It looked strong. At first there was constant traffickin an out,
but after they completed their submarine docking station as all
hasn't passed through the door in months. We occasionally speak
with one of them on the radio, but we have
less and less contact as they need us less. It
is a little strange, but it is better than being
shut down, said Bertram as he noticed me looking at
the door. Who exactly are they? I asked, Well, at
first it was underwater welders and construction workers who work
for a German mining company, all the usual staff. But
after several months the miner's left and apparently ownership of
the facility changed hands again. So I've heard nothing about him.
S Armor has been vague about it all. No doubt
they are up to some kind of exploitive act, probably
attempting to weaponize something beautiful. That is why I get
the feeling that we are no longer welcome in our
own facility. They wouldn't want the secret exposed by us,
persky good intention scientists, said Bertram, laughing. Eventually I had
to go to the little boy's room, and I finally
inquired as to how this was done. They all laughed.
It's a pleasure going number two during the day. Them
fish can get quite frisky, said Doug. Man unrolled her eyes, smiling.
The fish sometimes eat your waist, she said. Don't let
Douglas gay you. They are just fish. There is a
dome several meters out from the moon pool where you
can hang out and do your business, but you won't
catch me going out there in the dark. Hall. Yeah,
I can imagine the fish are much more frightening in
the dark, I said. Actually that as a weir part,
said Bertram. There are no fish at night. Man On
last the shirt she was holding at Bertram's arm punishingly
yet in a soft mindingly. Wait, but I'm just saying
I don't go number two at night either, said Bertramp. Right. Well,
if it's an emergency, I dropped the log right in
the moon pool, and YU shuld too, said duck floaters
be damned. That is disgusting, said Manon. Why do the
fish only come at night? I asked? At first, there
was constant traffic in an out, But after they completed
their submarine docking station, a soul hasn't passed through that
door in months. With At first there was constant traffic
in and out, but after they completed the submarine docking station,
not the soul had passed through the door in months.
The scatter in all directions, explained manon all except towards
the hall, said Deryck. What is this hole? I asked.
It is the twenty meter wide hole in the bottom
of the ocean at the moonpoll to the east. It
is hard to miss. We stay away from there, said Deryck.
I made a point to do my business during the
daylight and was alarmed and amused by the amount of
fish it attracted. I swam out to the doorman. Soon
several fish began to investigate me. I looked around in
the area and saw the massive hall to the east.
I could see that the facility must have been built
to study the hole. It was starting to get a
little darker, and I was ready to swim back to
the moon pool when I noticed a small submersible ascending
out of the hole. The submersible propelled itself towards a
large tree story complex attached to our habitat. A hatch
opened and the submersible ascended up into the hatch. My
imagination ran wildst to what this mysterious? So the faction
was up to behind the hatch. As weird as it
all was. After several days, I had fallen into a
rhythm and everything became normal. I would gather samples and
document the wildlife by day in studying my findings, as
well as talked to my colleagues at night. Occasionally there
would be an explosion and like clockwork, a submersible or
two would ascend from the hole at sunset. Sunset became
a time of caution. I noticed the fish would remain
until it was dark, but almost in a flash, they
all knew to disappear as the last sun rays left.
It was part of a fascinating cycle. I had seen
things like this in nature before, like when bats all
fly out of a cave at the same time, or
bows migrating for winter, but this was different. There was
a desperation about it. For the fish. It was more
of a desperate tremble. I quickly understood why wouldn't go
number twur at the door? After duck I found out
that none of them did. Every day I would walk
by the mysterious door leading to the other facility, but
the hallway beyond was always dark and I could never
see that far. It was unnerving. On top of that,
there were no portholes or windows of any kind to
look into it from the outside. Only the submersibles had
summers in a sunset. One day, I joked, maybe one
of us should try to swim up the hatch. One time,
I said. The mood in the room became very tense,
and it wasn't long before Man unburst into tears. I
didn't understand. I'm sorried. I said, It's okay, mate, it
isn't your fault, said Doug, as he went to consolmanon.
I tried to look at Bertram, who usually explained things
to me when I was baffled, but his eyes remained
fixed on his breakfast. I looked at Deryck. It is
time will know about Javier, said Deryck. Nobody said a word.
All that could be heard was man unsolving. Who is Javir?
I asked, Javier? Was the marine biologist you replace, said Deryck,
And he also had the idea to swim up the hatch.
We were informed that he was dead over a week
clayed at the bastards, said Duck. We began searching desperately,
but after a couple of hours we knew that the
air would have run out. We started searching for his body.
Apparently the whole time he was in the other facility.
What I asked, mortified, I. This is that there had
been an accident and they were unable to save him,
said Duck. And they waited to tell you, I asked.
He nodded. I never looked at the hatch the same
way that Javiaben dropped in there and run out of
their Surely there must have been some way he could
have entered the facility, as it is how the submersibles
went in and out. Over the coming days, things went
back to normal, or at least as normal as living
sixty metres in a water could be. I didn'tdare approach
the subject of Javi. I just kept my head down
and did my work. There was plenty of plant live
to catalog, and not to mention all of the different
species of fish and jellyfish. Occasionally part of sea mammals
would pass through as I was performing my nutty bathroom Rachel.
Before the dark set in one night, I noticed the
submersible ascending from the hall as always, only this time
it seemed to be having trouble moving through the water.
It almost seemed to be stuttering. As I looked closer,
I saw what looked like markings on the side of
the vessel, as if it had been in some kind
of accident done there I shaddowed to think what would
have happened if the craft had been damaged. More there,
I tread in the outhouse dome, wondering what I just saw.
It made me feel uneasy, but nothing like what I
felt after what I saw next. My gaze fell back,
and the giant sinkhole dead at the very edge, I
saw something that will horrify me for the rest of
my life. I saw my head looking back. The rest
of the body was hidden down the hole, just the head,
as if it was purring at me. Even with the
water cloud in the distance between us, I felt his
stir burn into my soul. Here, sixty meters below, in
the middle of the ocean, was a face completely unencumbered
by gear, no air tanks. What was he breathing? I
must have been hallucinating, but the moment lusted for what
seemed like a lifetime up until then. It was the
longest moment of my life. His as locked on mine,
just his head. As it got dark, I came out
of my confused trance. I made a mad dash for
the moon pole. I didn't dare look back. I leapt
out of the moon poland into the decompression chamber, and
I was terrified. I stared at the moon pole through
the window, half expecting the head to emerge from the water.
How could it man have been in the hole. He
would have to have held his breath for at least
five minutes, as I hadn't seen anyone else as I
swam to the domes. Although we're training, the human being
can hold their breath that long. Something was just off.
I had goosepum soul over my body. I towd of
pressurized their playing tricks on people's minds. Perhaps I nitrogen
the cross. I quickly went in and told the others.
Elevated levels of nitrogen effect all of us in different ways.
Save Man. On a she sum in me, that is
possible that you hallucinated? Yeah, I must have, I said,
if anything like this happens again. Come tell us right away,
she said. I noticed Derek looking at me from across
the habitat. He quickly looked away when I made our contact.
There was something about it that made me feel like
he knew more. I decided to sleep it off, but
had wild dreams about what I saw. I woke in
a cold sweat. I felt even more exhausted than before.
The crew, for the most part, hadn't noticed that I
was a little off. I'll except Derek. He approached me
that night. You must be feeling a little rattled, he said.
I was good friends with Javia. When he died, I
sort of lost it a little bit. I couldn't sleep
or eat. I even saw things too. He became very serious.
This place is dangerous, more so than the others, understand,
said Derek. He brought me over to the laptop and
opened up a folder with images. He then brought up
a picture of the crew, all happily posing barely. All
were Doug Manon, Derek, and Bertram. Then my eyes came
to rest on the fifth person, and when they did,
eletrisity run through my body. All at one's horror weld
up from the depths of my soul into my throat,
though stood the very same face that had stared at
me from the hole, and all at once I knew
who it was, what Derec had seen, and what it meant.
I could barely speak. I just muttered, that was the
man I saw. I said, we have to tell the
others that they are not going to believe it or
like it. He said. We headed into the common room,
where the others were gathered. Derek led bluntly in a
die tone. We both saw Javier alive in the water,
he said. Doug almost drop what he was doing and
turned around to look at us, then looked at Bertram,
who was as beweathered as him. Then they broke into laughter.
Man unloked, very upset, that's not funny, Derek. And well,
I didn't think you were like this, she said. Derek
showed me a picture of Javier and it was, without
a doubt, the same face that looked at me. I said,
I didn't care about impressing man On any more. Something
was horribly wrong. I thought it was my mind playing
tricks on me, because Javia had just died. I heard
you could see people sometimes who have just died, said Derek.
So I didn't think much of it, but one thing
is very clear. We need to leave, he said. It
was empowering to be next to him. I would have
never had the courage to say these things. There was
a moment of silence. Bouquet. I will put in a
call for the ship to come pick up whoever wants
to leave. All right, mate, but this is my life's work.
I can just leave because you think he saw ghost,
you understand, said Doug respectfully. I strongly urge you to reconsider,
said Derek. And we can't wait for the ship to
get us. We need to take the Halfman now. Suddenly
this wasn't sounding like such a good idea. The halfving
had seen better days. But from started to argue with Derek,
and German Mannon and Duck started jumping in, and I
had no idea what was going on. At last, however,
Derek went out with a loud exclamation that silence the rest.
He then turned to me, I know it seems like
the Huffman isn't sea with thee but she is. She
passed the required inspection that was five years ago of
Derek really, said Doug, mate, there's a reason we don't
use her any more. She's a floating platform, just in
case something happens down here. Really, what is another day
to wait for the ship? He said? If you had
seen what we had seen, you would understand, said Derek,
I wasn't sure what to do. On the one hand,
waiting another day for proper ship to take us back
seem reasonable. Yet what if that thing in the water
came into the moon pool to night? What if it
came into the decompression chamber? Very well, I'm going to
make the call to be picked up, said Derrick. He
left and came back moments later. There's a storm coming.
They can't make it here for two days, he said.
My stomach started to turn. That rusty old boat was
starting to look more and more enticing. I was starting
to feel better about everything there wittest to be run
and for it to be catalog Manon even helped me,
which put me at ease. During the day, she started
asking me questions. So you are sure that it was
javiad that you saw, she asked, Yes, he must still
be alive. But we watched each other for minutes. I
don't know anyone who could hold the breath that long.
Menon looked at me horrified. He was a good swimmer.
But five minutes I know, I said. After I finally
started to feel normal again, I started to feel tired,
even though it was just the afternoon. Something about the
pressure or being cooped up. That was why I went
to sleep early that night, and going to sleep early
turned out to be a giant mistake. I woke up
in a late evening a round ten. I had to
prooved something fierce. I instinctively went over to the decompression chamber.
When I entered the moon pool for the first time,
I saw pitch black water. I stood there watching it ripple.
Beyond was just the murky black depths. I remembered of
admitting he wouldn't go to the bathroom at night, and
now I understood. I walked up to the edge and
locked down. There was absolutely no way I was going
to swim into the outhouse dome with little options let
I pulled down my trousers and attempted to squat right
over the moonpool. Still squatting there, I couldn't help but
look back every couple of seconds to make sure something
wasn't coming up to grab me. It felt silly, but
it was a very vulnerable position to be, and after
trying for a couple of minutes, I stood back up.
It is amazing what kinds of things the body will
do when it knows that it's not safe. I suddenly
felt no urge to go into the bathroom at all.
I slowly backed away from the edge of the moon pole,
keeping my eyes on its dark rubbling the depths. I
thought I saw something move, and I felt deep fear.
I had to get out of there. I went for
the decompression chamber, and to my horror, I saw out
of my peripheral mass cresting out of the water. I
threw myself into the chamber, and as fast as I
could have tried to throw the door closed, a monstrous, dark,
grayish green tentacle moved with startling speed, and just as
I was shutting the door wrapped around my leg, sinking
several spines into me. I cried with pain as the
creature began to drag me out of the chamber. I
slammed the door on the tentaclet, but it was thick
and strong and continued to drag me. A second tent cult,
just like the first, was starting to crest out of
the moon pole. Just then I looked up. It was
the same sheet metal panel that had grazed me when
I first w I ripped it off the wall with
surprising ease, and with all my might for my life,
I cleaved the tentacle. It didn't sever it, but I
cut it deeper and it released me. Before the second
tentacle could reach the chamber, I saw MMed the door
with all my might. I looked at the tentacles prodding
and probing at the sealed door. It was absolutely horrifying.
I knew they had every intent on dragging me done
into the depths. They were terrifying, like a giant octopus
with spiny thorn's attached to hook its prey, no doubt.
After what seemed like iris the decompression finish, I had
already been screaming, and the others had gathered at the door.
I axed it the chamber and turned to the others.
We have to get the hell out of here now,
I scream. Calm down, said manon that happened. There is
some kind of I stopped. I didn't know what to say. Look,
I know this sounds crazy, but a massive predatory in
vertebrate grabbed me in the mean poll like a Pacific octopus,
to gast curiously. They were not understanding the gravity of
the situation. The tentacles went visible from this angle, and
I dared not open the door to show them. Instead,
I showed them my leg. He was bleeding, though not profusely.
The puncture wounds were still clearly visible. The others began
to inspect his leg. Direc went into another room and
came back with a couple of knives. Were the only
weapons we had available that first light. All of us
should make a break for the halfnaan, said Deryck. But
this about the storm, said Bertramp. I would rather take
my chances with the storm than be done here. At least,
oh we die in natural death, said Deryck. I don't
think the others understood, but I knew exactly what he meant.
The idea of drowning in the open water somehow seemed
like a tolerable alternative. It suddenly made sense, the explosions,
the beating up submersible. This animal was being studded by
the other facility. One thing is certain, said Deryck. The
creature only seems to be around at night, and we
seem to be safe in here. I'm swimming for the
Hoffn in the morning. I strongly urged the rest of
you to come. I nodded. The others looked among themselves,
not knowing what to think. We all went to our
bunks and tried to sleep. After ires of tossing and
turning and staring at the entrance, half expecting a duck
gray tentacle to slither around the corner, I fell asleep.
When I awoke, I started my daily routine. I even
got ready to go out and swent to the bathroom.
When I stopped dead in my tracks. I felt a
deep sense of horror, as if I was just remembering
what had happened to me in a moon poll just
iurs before. I suddenly felt no urge to go to
the bathroom at all. I just did the gazing at
the pres rusher chamber. All of the others had risen
and were mulling about. Have either of you Sindhak, said Manon.
I'm waiting for his data, but I haven't seen him.
Maybe he hasn't woken up. I said, he's in his bunk,
said Manon. I'm starting to get worried. He probably just
went out for some samples, said Berfram. You're probably right,
said Manan, and she started busying herself at her work.
I finally worked up the courage to go out to
the bathroom dome. The water was moving faster than usual,
but nothing I couldn't swim against. I could see how
being a pushwoman would be very hazardous and understood why
they insisted on strong swimmers in the afflication. Out at
the dome, I looked around and realized that there wasn't
a fish in site. Usually during this time of dayed
ocean was full of them, but now it was barren.
It was unnerving. I looked around the eerie depths, trying
to make out what I could through the missy sea water.
I noticed something strange. The hatch to the other part
of the facility was open, the same hatch that Javia
had swam up. Upon thinking about Javia, my eyes darted
back to the place where I had seen his eyes
stirring at me from the hole. I shuddered and suddenly
started to feel very vulnerable. I got done with my
business and started back towards the moon pall. When I
entered the habitat, I saw that Manon was coming my
way with Bertham and Derek that year. She said, were
going out to look for dog. You should have been
back by now. The hatch is open, I said. They
all looked at one another. We will have to think
about that later, she said, Everyone suit up and make
sure you're full of oxygen. The water was still moving
fast due to the stormy conditions. It was difficult to
fight against a current. But Doug should have come back
by now, and there was a chance he was stuck
and running low on air. We had to look for him.
We checked down the slope in the opposite direction of
the hole. There was no sign of dog. We finally
came to the hole. We shined our lights down into
the depths, nothing but darkness. After a while, our oxygen
levels were getting lower and we returned to the habitat.
On our way back, we all saw the opened hatch.
No doubt we were all thinking the same thing. Doug
might have gone up the hatch for some reason. When
we had shed our gear in the moon pool. Dereck
was the first to mention this. We need to get
in touch with the other part of the habitat. He said,
I will try to radio them again. As I walked
past the door to connected the two habitats, I peered
down its corridor. Surely we could just override the locks
and walk in there. It seemed like the right thing
to do given the circumstances. I shined my light down
the corridor through the glass. That was strange. Something at
the very end of the corridor seemed to be floating.
I squinted and tried to discern what it was. I
was loft looking at hey, guys, I said, I think
something is moving in there. We all gathered at the
glass of the door and peered into the darkness. There
was something that seemed to be hovering, and it was
drifting closer. I know what it was before my mind
could register what I was seeing. It was a strange feeling.
And the one hand, there was a pen, but on
nail there it was drifting right in the middle of
the air. The pen was floating because the chamber had
filled with water. It won't break through, said Deryck. The
store is designed to withstand pressureus far beyond this. It
was always a possibility that one of the habitats would
be compromised. His words did little to reassure me. I
kept stirring at that pen as it seemed to drift inlessly.
The ricocheted off one of the walls gently. What happened
to all the people, asked Bertram. There was nothing but
silence for a moment. Then Mannon spoke. They have to
go in there, said Manon. That must be where dog is.
Maybe he strapped. Derek and Bertram exchanged glances and started
speaking in German. Manon interrupted them, and they all started
yelling at each other. I stood there, puzzled until they
finally switched back to English. I can't believe you, too,
said Manon. Doug would have done it to save you.
Doug is dead, said Derek. Or worse? What do you mean?
Or worse? Said Manon. He has been out of air
fir while now, and we all know it, said Derrec.
Bertram and I are going for the Hoffum. We aren't
waiting for the ship. Bertram stood there, looking as guilty
as he was terrified. Finally they were starting to understand
we are to get the hell out of here. I
opened my mouth agree adamantly, but Manon spoke first. I
am going over there, she said defiantly. She looked at
Meat and waited for me to speak. Okay, I said,
I will go with you to look for Doug. This
is crazy, said Deryck. I don't want to be on
the sinking boat in a storm any minute longer than
I have to. We can't wait for you one hour,
said Manon. That's all we need. Derrec and Bertram started
arguing in German again. If I will wait one eyre,
said Bertram. Send. We will head to the surface together,
suiting up when fast, we did our final checks and
dove back into the moon poll. The hatch seemed to
beckon me. I thought of Javior and how I had
seen his head staring at me. Even now. It gave
me the chills, but I put it in the back
of my mind. Soon we could almost see up the shaft.
I thought of how much had happened in my life
since I had taken this job, how much I had
learned and seen. It was hard to remember what my
life used to be like. It seemed like so lonigo
that I'd been sleeping in a nice bird and heating
all the food I wanted. Mostly, I thought about how
much I had taken for granted, you don't realize how
important it is to feel safe until you don't. We
reached the entrance of the shaft and it became dark fast.
Manon turned on her light, and my heart sank. That
the end of the shaft was a metal door, but
it looked as though it had been What could have
done this? Luckily our diver's masks had radio communication built in.
Who could have done this? Said man On. She looked
over at me. She knew what I was thinking already.
There is no creature ever discovered like the one you hallucinated. Well,
I went to retort, but stopped. There was no point
in arguing. I wanted to live, not to be right.
Let's hope not, I said. It took everything I had,
but I managed to start kicking and swam up into
the shaft. Man and soon followed after me. We traced
the dark room without lights, and it seemed to have
been some kind of submersible docking room. What once was
a moon pool had been overtaken by water. All manner
of clout floated about. There was a nerving to be
there in the darkness, sixty meters beneath the surface of
the water, in a breached habitat that had gonsilent. I
swatted a tablet away from my head. As we continued
on the decompression chamber, it was wide open and both
of the large doors stood and sealed. I knew what
had happened to the creature that had tried to grasp me.
That giant Octfor's creature had gotten through the decompression chamber.
I couldn't stop thinking about those tentacles that had grubbed me.
It looked like they were as thick as a tree
trunk as they disappeared into the black water. I will
never forget. The next room was large and quite long.
It was full of all types of computers and lib equipment.
But in the center of the room, and to my horror,
there it was that same dark gray It must have
been fifty feet long. I instinctively swum away. This was
horror movie one hundred one. I had done everything I
could to convince Mannon that my story was true. If
she didn't believe me, now it was on her. To
my relief, I saw a swimming fast behind me. She
now understood that our lives were in imminent danger. As
we rounded the corner in the room with the hatch,
we saw Doug. It seemed like a miracle. There. He
was floating there in his diving gear. We made it
towards the moon poll and started to get out of
our gear. That's when I caught out of the corner
of my eye Doug's oxygen meter had been empty. Still,
I didn't think much about it. As we made our
way to the decompression chain. I wish I had suck.
I have to say, it's good to see your stupid face,
sad Manon. Why didn't you respond to my radio? Doug
gave a slight smile. We looked everywhere for you, I said.
He looked at me. He looked like he had some
kind of debris in his eye, and still he said nothing.
He just stared at me. That's when I realized that
Bertram and Derek were nowhere to be found. Derek, Bertram,
I cried out. You don't think they would have left
without us? To you ask a Manon. Suddenly I heard
a love crash at distance from the habitat. It was
as loud as the explosions, but it was different, I
could tell. Man And thought the same thing. As we
looked at each other in horror, putting it out of
our mind. Manon and I desperately scrambled around the habitat.
When we returned, we noticed Dog standing by the decompression chamber.
He seemed to be examining it. You okay there, Doug,
I asked. He turned to me and gave me that
same hollow stare. I'd seen that stare before somewhere I
couldn't quite put my finger on it. He soon turned
back to the decompression interface and just stared at it.
Any ideas onward, Derek and Bertram are Doug, I asked,
more to make conversation than anything else. We stood there
in silence for a moment. I dared not walk away.
Manon had made her way over to us after searching
for Derek. By the look on my face, she could
tell that there was something wrong Doug, she asked. After
a moment of silence. Doug's hand rose and pressed one
of the buttons. He pressed another button. He was starting
to figure it out. I tried to block the panel,
but he squatted me away with a speed that was
uncharacteristic of Doug was trying to open the decompression chamber.
I tried to push him away from the panel, but
he had buttered me hard. I fell to the ground.
I felt woozy. I tried to stand up, but fell
over again. Mannon, I cried out, don't let him open
the chamber. Manon stood there horrified as I finally got
to my feet, but it was too late to DoD
managed to open the decompression chamber. Still, there was a
fail safe mechanism. Both doors couldn't be opened the ponce
unless over ridden in an emergency. I had read about
it in the manual before I came aboard. There was
a way, but if it was done and underwater at depth,
the moonball's integrity would fail and the water would rush
into the habitat. Dick stood that once more, thinking, thinking,
with the horrifying hollow stere My head was still spinning,
but I managed to grab a hold of his arm
and we both went tumbling over. I managed to dodge
some swings at my head and scrambled backward, double focused
his attention back on the panel. Suddenly, a loud alarm sounded.
It was over. The moonpul integrity had been compromised, and
water immediately began to rush in. Manon and I looked
at each other in horror. She rushed over to a cabinet.
The water was already up to our knees and rising fast.
Doug simply stared at his void of emotion. The water
poured forth and the seconds I had taken a deep
breath from the air at the top. I tried to
of something, anything, but before I could, Manu grabbed my hand.
She had found the life raft. We swam for it.
We both started towards the moon pool when all of
a sudden, I felt a strong hand grip my leg.
It was Dug. I thrushed and gift, but no avail.
I tried to fight him with all I had left,
but he was just too strong, and I was running
out of oxygen. Theaters of my eyes were starting to
turn black, and my lungs were crying out. This was it.
Suddenly Manon drove a fixed blade deep in a Dug's stomach.
He momentarily let go and we scrambled out of the
moon pool, with Dug right behind us. To my horror,
I saw him swimming down after us, blood pouring out.
Manon screened and pointed towards the hull. That was Jivia,
Bertam and Derek swimming for us, all with it. Hollow
life was look in their eyes. All we had to
do was clear the building above us, and we could
pull the red cord. We were so close and that
when I saw the Hoffman it was the ship that
was supposed to be above us, but there it was.
I could barely make it out through the murky water,
but it was hard to miss something so big. The
storm or maybe the others had sunk it. That was
what the crushing sound had been. We cleared the structure,
and just as the creatures were closing in on us,
Man unroted the cord. Holding on, we started to scend fast.
I watched as we left the horrible place behind, and
it disappeared into the misty ocean underneath my feet. We
hung there, blind and helpless, all the while thinking to ourselves.
What if the others swam up after us? How long
would it take them to reach us. My joints were hurting,
and I knew why. Decompression sickness was setting in. Still,
we were alive for now. The more I strained to look,
the more asserted to make out several shadows. They were
getting closer. I could start to make out the human bodies.
Now there were no more than several meters way swimming
for us. My joints were in agony, and I felt
so tired. I felt so tired I needed to sleep. Still,
the sight of the surface was so close, its glimmering, majesty,
just a little father. We broke the surface, gasping for air.
The live raft was so close. We scrambled into it
as I felt the fear of having my lost leg
grat But it wasn't. We had made it. We quickly
looked over the sight. A chill ran down my spine
as I saw right beneath the surface the faces of Jaevir, Derrick, Doug,
and Bertram, all of their eyes fixed on us. There
they remained as if unable to break the surface. Doug
was still bleed profusely from his stomach, and a cloud
of red was gathering. We collapsed in the bed of
the life raft, exhausted. We had made it. We could
feel the hands scratching at us through the raft, and
it was unnerving, but the raft seemed to be holding.
The sun was setting and the sky was a beautiful
pink color that brings us all the way up to now.
The last light has gone away. The others are still
scrouching at the bottom of the raft. The Sun is
no longer holding it Bah. The creature will surely come
for us to night and that is the end. Thank
you for listening and I will see you in the
next one.