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Speaker 1: Last month, I took a long break and went on vacation.

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I'm a sporny guy who loves adventure, especially scuba diving.

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I booked a trip to a quiet island that seemed

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like the perfect way to start over. I hadn't had

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a real vacation in years. There was only me, the waves,

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and silence. The clouds were low and heavy on the

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morning of the dive, but the weather report said they

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would clear up by noon. I wasn't too worried, as

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it wasn't my first time. When I told the man

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at the dive shop I was going alone, he raised

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an eyebrow, but I didn't care. I thought I knew

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what I was up to. The currents had gotten stronger.

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By the time I got fifteen meters down. The water,

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which had been clear blue, was now cloudy. I hovered

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for a moment, trying to figure out where I was,

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but the pressure changed and the waves above pulled harder

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than usual. My stomach turned and I realized I needed

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to get out of the wall. The world underwent a

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transformation as I broke through the ocean's surface. The sky

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above me was covered in thick, boiling clouds, and the

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wind was howling already. The rain drops hit my face

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like needles. I had no idea that the storm would

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come so quickly. I was experienced enough to know that

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the boat was supposed to pick me up that already

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left had gone back to the marina. Taking a quick

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look around, I figured out I wasn't far from shore,

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but the beach I had come up on was a

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quiet stretch I didn't know. As I swam to shore,

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the waves hit me. I crawled up onto the wet beach,

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sand grinding between my teeth. I was standing in a circle,

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soaking wet. There were no humans in that area, just

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the jungles and jagged cliffs, and at some distance a cave.

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The palm trees and windblown shadows half covered the cave,

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hidden behind a bend in the cliffs. A lightning crack

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cracked behind me, numbing my ears, and I ran to

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the cave. It was cool and dry inside. The storm's

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noise faded into a low ground. As I ran my

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hand through my wet hair, I just stood at the

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entry point, catching my breath and thanking God for this

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unexpected shelter. The storm grew louder, and I probably spent

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half an hour just watching the high tides. The water

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in my dive suit was cold and stuck to my skin.

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It was getting very boring to wait like that. Hence

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I got curious. I turned on the light on my

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helmet and set out to explore the cave. The cave

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extended further than I had anticipated, and the walls were

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covered in moss and weeds. There were strange patterns on

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the stone. I couldn't tell if they were carvings or

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just natural phenomena. As I went deeper, the silence became strange.

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There weren't even sounds of water dripping or birds chirping.

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The only sound I could hear was my breathing. It

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seemed like no one had been here in a long time.

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I was casually looking around when I saw a man

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sitting on a large rock. My flashlight illuminated him well

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enough to get a good look from the distance. There

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was a slight tilt to his head, suggesting that he

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was either sleeping or meditating. Thinking I found some company,

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I yelled, hey, no answer. I got closer, Are you okay?

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I could see his body move. He lifted his head,

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and in that moment I felt weird. His face was

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not right. His lips were cracked and blackened, and his

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skin was pale. His wide eyes were tired and sunken.

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Yet he smiled at me. He raised his arm and

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gave a lazy, casual wave before collapsing onto the stone floor.

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I stopped. There was something very, very wrong. What if

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he's sick? What if he needs help? I took a

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few steps forward, Dude, are you hurt? When I got

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close enough to touch him, his body jerked up like

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a puppet. He looked at me and started coughing. I

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can't even explain how horrific it was to watch him

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like that. He wasn't just coughing air. He was coughing blood.

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His chest heaved with wheezing coughs, sending more blood flying

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across the stone floor. This continued for five to ten seconds.

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Then he stopped and began laughing like a maniac. I

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stumbled back in fear. There was blood all over his face,

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his teeth were red. He kept laughing, as if something

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inside him had broken and made him happy at the

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same time. That was the last straw for me. I

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sprinted at full speed, leaving the guy behind me. I

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turned around one last time, and he was waving at me,

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sitting on the ground like nothing happened. As I emerged

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from the cave, the storm struck me with the force

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of a wall. The rain was pouring down and the

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lightning was crashing, but I didn't care. The outside felt

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safer than the cave. In that moment, I ran all

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the way to the resort, shaking and wet. Since then,

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I haven't gone scuba diving alone. People say that diving

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is like flying underwater. The calm, weightlessness feeling is like magic,

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but no one mentions how quickly peace can turn to fear,

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or how the ocean can decide you're not coming back.

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We dropped anchor just off the reef, and the morning

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sun made the water look like glass. I got off

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the boat last, following the group. I preferred being alone,

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even under water. The reef and the slow poll of

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the sea were all I could see. I leveled off

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at eighteen meters down. The gauge was fine, the air

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pressure was good, and my breathing was steady. I floated

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near a jagged coral reef and watched a lionfish move

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through the water like a ghost. But suddenly things changed.

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The change occurred not around me, but within me. The

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next breath I took tasted wrong. It was more like

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sucking on a penny wrapped in cotton candy. The taste

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is akin to that of metal, with a sickening sweetness.

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I blinked, confused and looked at my gauge again. I

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couldn't tell any difference. I tapped the valve on the

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tank and it was still safe. Suddenly I experienced nausea.

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My chest got tight and it was difficult to take

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a full breath. I looked around, but I couldn't find

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my die Boddy anywhere. My vision began to blur, with

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the edges getting darker. There was something awfully wrong. I

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tried to stay calm as I reached for my BCD inflator.

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I remembered the training lesson about how panicking only uses

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up oxygen, but it felt like my hands were not mine.

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They felt heavy and numb. My thoughts were all mixed up,

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slow and sticky. The sea around me warped with colors

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that were too bright and edges that were too sharp.

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Then I realized I was passing out. I kicked upward

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and pulled on my buoyancy control device. My ears screamed

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in protest as I went up too quickly, but I

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didn't care. I needed to breathe. I had to get out.

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The world turned black about six meters below the surface.

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The next thing I knew, someone was yelling my name.

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The dive boat pulled me over its side while I

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coughed and threw up sea water. I felt like someone

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inserted razor blades inside my ears. I couldn't hear anything

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apart from a low, steady ringing. Later, the divemaster told

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me that I must have passed out and floated the

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rest of the way up. The crew didn't understand how

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I managed to avoid drowning. They told me I was lucky,

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but I didn't feel lucky. I felt like I was

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being haunted. The doctors said that both ear drums had burst.

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I would never be able to dive again. It hurt,

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but not as much as not knowing. There was no

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unpleasant air for anyone else. There's no problem with the equipment.

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My tank only has a clean mix of oxygen. Then

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what went wrong? I couldn't sleep that night. I kept

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seeing the lionfish, which looked like it was waiting for something.

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I kept tasting that metallic sugar, and hearing the ocean

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whisper things I couldn't quite make out. That night, I

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had the most horrible dream ever. In the dreams, I

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found myself back at a depth of eighteen meters. The

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wreath was dead and had glossed all of its color.

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Fishes were hanging still, looking at me with bulging eyes.

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Something was moving in the dark, but it was not

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a shark. It was worse than that, something with too

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many arms and mouths. I could feel it watching me,

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waiting for me. I turned around to swim away, but

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met my face staring back at me, floating at a distance.

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The mouth was open and screaming, but no bubbles came up.

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Gasping for air. I woke up, my lungs burning and

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my sweats soaking the sheets. My night terrors got worse,

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and I was sure something came up from down with me.

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Even in the daytime, when the taps were off, I

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could hear water dripping in my apartment. Weeks later, when

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I finally learned to cope with the trauma, I went

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back to the boat for one last look. The captain

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knew who I was, so he recognized me immediately. He

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gave me a tight smile that offered some comfort. You

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were very close to the edge, he said, What do

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you mean? He paused for a second. There are many

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stories about the coral reef. Many divers reported seeing things

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and hearing unusual sounds. People say it's the stress, perhaps

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it's the nitrogen narcosis, but some others He stopped talking,

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others what he finally met my gaze. They say that

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when you go too deep into the sea, it takes

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something from you, and occasionally it gives you something back.

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His words sent a chill down my back. I left

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without saying goodbye. I don't get close to the water anymore,

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but there are times when I close my eyes and

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eighteen meters down again. I'm tired of reliving that memory deliberately.

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I really hope that sharing my story will ease my

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burden and allow me to resume my normal life. Until then,

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I'm not going close to the ocean ever again. Hi.

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I'm Thomas, recently turned fifteen. I just got back from

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a family trip to Hawaii. Sounds wonderful, right, but most

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of it was just my parents relaxing at the resort

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and drinking wine. Like their lives depended on it. We

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had been there for three nights and I was so bored.

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While Mom and Dad worked on their second or third bottle,

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I sat on a lounge chair and poked at a

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plate of pineapple slices. The sky was changing colors with

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the dying sun, and the private beach below looked like

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a picture. The calm waves in the afternoon light made

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me to explore for a little while. I told my

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parents that I was going to go scuba diving, which

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was the main reason I agreed to come on this trip.

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They nodded without thinking, raising their glasses as if that

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was a sign of good luck. I picked up my

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stuff and jogged down the path to the beach. The

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sunlight made the waves look golden. The beach was completely empty.

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I put on my mask, flippers, and oxygen tank and

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waded into the warm water. The world changed below. It

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was quiet and still. Scolls of tiny fish moved past

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me like dancers, and sink and coral reefs reached up

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to the surface like castles in the water. It was

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the first time since I got there that I felt calm,

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like I wasn't just the extra kid on my parents's

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wine tasting trip. After a while, I floated back to

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the top and took off my gear. I wanted to

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relax on the warm sand for a few minutes before

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going back. I lay down on the sand and took

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a deep breath. Just when I had started thinking life

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can be beautiful, I saw someone on the beach. A

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man was walking towards me. He was fat, bald in

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the middle, with stringy gray hairs hanging onto the scalop.

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He wore a bright red Hawaiian shirt unbuttoned at the top,

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revealing his hairy chest. His flip flops gave him a

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little difficulty walking on the sand, but he managed somehow.

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He looked at me and waved, not in the hey

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another beach goer way, more like I see you way.

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I ignored him, but he sat down right next to me,

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giving me a smile, like we were old buddies. You

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enjoy water sports, Huh yeah, I said, quietly, turning a

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little away. I used to swim like that when I

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was your age. His voice was rough and wet, like

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something bubbling up from deep inside his throat. I nodded

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in a polite way. He might leave if I didn't

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say much. I thought he didn't are you here with

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your family? This big hotel must cost a lot of money.

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You're lucky. His smile never reached his eyes. They kept

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looking at me with hidden intentions. Listening to him, I

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realized he isn't staying at the resort, and that beach

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is private as far as I knew. But still I

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would rather not be rude, so I decided to leave.

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I should probably go back. He suddenly took hold of

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my wrist. His sweaty palm made my skin crawl. Oh,

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leave it already. I was just getting to know you. Yeah, well,

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I'm not interested in knowing you, so leave my hand.

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That's when his grip got tighter. Why are you being rude,

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I'm just trying to be your friend. Let go of me,

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I yelled and started pulling my arm. His fingers dug

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in deeper, squeezing like a vice. You kids these days,

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no manners, not respect. He leaned in closer, still smiling,

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and his breath was warm and sour on my cheek.

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Come on, sit with me for a while. I finally

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freaked out. My heart raised. There was no one around.

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The building of the resort seemed far away, and he

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was over powered me in strength, so I did the

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only thing I could think of. I bent down, grabbed

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a handful of sand, and threw it into his face.

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He screamed while rubbing his eyes desperately. His grip loosened

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up just enough for me to get away. I sprinted

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without wasting a single second more. I ran up the stairs,

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through the palm trees, passed the pool, and into the

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resort lobby. When I saw my parents at the bar,

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I broke down crying. I was traumatized. My parents immediately

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called the manager and reported this person. The resort security

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conducted a thorough search on the beach, but the man

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had vanished. Then they checked the guest list, the security cameras,

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and even the public areas nearby, but no sign of

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that creep. No one who fits that description has stayed

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at the resorts or even gone through the gates. No

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one knows how he got in. That night, I didn't

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sleep very well. I saw his smile every time I

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shut my eyes. My parents booked an early flight home

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the next day. I'm just glad I relied on my

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instincts before it was too late. So to the creepy

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over friendly guy, I hope you burn in hell,