Galathea Depth

• Lotus Tesler, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2015

The Fleet of narrow, Pod-shaped submarines dropped in synchronization, tearing through the surface into the water. The Blinking lights of our ships were barely visible against the surrounding dark of the ocean, lofty bubbles of oxygen ascended in billowing plumes as we pushed further into the depths
I sat stiffly in the cramped vessel, arms against the controls as I gazed through the small screen, displaying input from one of the three exterior cameras. From here, I could just barely make out the shapes of my three subordinates as they descended. Extra equipment on board for the assignment meant that it would take roughly twenty minutes for us to reach the bottom.
“Approaching seven-hundred meters,” A metallic voice spoke over the transmitter, echoing off the steel walls.
Time passed, the radio rousing again with messages and every few minutes, as gradually the surface was nothing but a distant light far above us. The metal hull groaned against the water’s pressure as it plummeted downwards, ever downwards into the unfamiliar waters.
“Brace for impact, five meters above floor.”
The ships reared back, slowly coming to a halt above their destination, it was then it became evident there was something abnormal about the site
There was an enormous tunnel, gouged into the seabed. Kilometers of dense bedrock, burrowed through like mere dirt, I tried to think of a reasonable explanation for such a strange spectacle, but to no avail.
I snapped back to attention, when my eyes seemed to catch movement inside.
Something began to emerge.
It was alien in appearance, with a long, scale-less body, a pair of humanlike arms, and a long snout, similar to that of an Eel.
The creature moved gracefully, circling us, nudging against our ships.
My three colleagues remained totally still, either overwhelmed with astonishment or, perhaps, perhaps too terrified to move. Both, of course would be understandable reactions.
It idly drifted away from us, seemingly wandering back towards the tunnels, when, once again it turned to us. It paused, facing our direction, its gills opening and closing as it caught hold of our scent.
It began to emit a low hiss, steadily increasing in volume, and in a second, bolted towards us, slamming into the side of one submarine, standing no chance under the sheer weight of the creature, then it struck the others, breaking the steel apart in its jaws as like porcelain, seconds. Only I remained
I was overwhelmed with nausea as I frantically tried to navigate the ship upwards, out of then trench when out of nowhere, it returned, and bit into the side of the ship, it’s jaws left a deep puncture in the side of my only meager protection, and seawater flooded into the control room. There was nothing I could do now.
Maybe it was better this way, the world of Marine biology was not ready for something like this. And perhaps, it never would be.