Dark Below
By: Zachary Seda
Tags: Monsters, Fiction, Short Story, Thoughts, Oceans

Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash

Blue. A vast blue that reached out for miles in all directions. Above was whiter, below was blacker. There was nothing else, like I was the last thing alive, alone, wrapped in blue. Perhaps this was it for me, the last thing I will ever see. Blue, white, and black. The blue didn’t scare me, and neither did the white, in fact it was calming. But the black, its dark unknown sent shivers down my spine.

The darkness below me was only getting darker while the white and blue faded. The farther I descended into the darkness, the greater my fear grew. Every preparation I had made for this journey still left me feeling unprepared. My mind drifted to my life, questioning why I ever accepted this. Yet, none of it mattered. I was the one who threw myself into this water, now I just had to continue to sink. I looked up one last time at the white light fading, its penetration into the water weakening.

Taking another breath from my oxygen tank, I return my gaze back to the darkness below. So little we knew. It was chanting… songs of death. Luring those too adventurous to their end.

Shadows below danced as the darkness grew around me. Some small, others big. But one lurked larger than the rest. It’s movements slow, sizing up the others as it creeped by. Predator hunting prey. However, there was only one other shadow in these waters it took an interest in.

The beast with no name. It may only be a silhouette in the darkness, but as a silhouette it was only slightly more bearable to look at. Seeing the beast in detail only meant the end. A mistake on your part for coming to its waters, daring to enter its territory. It wasn’t legend; it was a reality.

The blurred motion took me by surprise. It shot up at lightning speeds and all I could do was watch. The giant mouth opened, allowing me to see the endless abyss inside. The beast clashed with me, banging off metal bars that kept the outside world out. The bars held, and the beast swam away, plotting another attack.

I felt myself being pulled towards the white light. The feeling of relief washing over me was only temporary though. The shadow of the beast lurking just below me. Looking for the best way to strike, like candy in a piñata.

The beast struck again. I felt myself being thrown around. Whites and blacks mixing to form one. Everything swirled around me, only stopping for a brief moment when I found metal bars with my body. The pain and dizziness clouded my vision and left me in a state of panic. I felt my entire body tense with each repeated hit, flying around aimlessly.

Then there was nothing but darkness and my body loosened. It didn’t last forever, but the concept of time eluded me while in that state. I was not greeted warmly, instead my head smacked against another bar causing the blackness to creep its way back into my eyes. I did everything I could to focus. I noticed one of the bars was halfway off and several others were bent.

I looked up at the white glow, watching it grow as my vision extending farther out. Then I smashed into the bars again, this time with the view of several bars breaking off, floating down into the darkness. Finding their way to rest at the bottom, a place we may never explore.

The beast lurked below, knowing full well it created an opportunity to get its meal. I grabbed the bars still attached to keep myself from floating down towards it. My heart was racing, thoughts were clouded, body tensing up again. Probably sweating.

The beast darted forward. At that point I didn’t have hope. I felt nothing. Even the fear left me, like my body and mind were accepting defeat, accepting their time to rest. My mind was blank and all I could do was observe. I grew tired. The beast swam quick and with purpose, almost gracefully. Fascinating.

The white light wrapped around me, hugging me for security. A slight smile crossed my face when everything went black around me, heat radiating on my face. I felt myself slipping away into the unknown. Finally, I am free.