Deep -Down In The Ocean

• Ziyue Cui, Grade 5, Neutral Bay Public School
• Short Story
• 2018

Excellence Award in the 'Horizon of Dreams 2018' competition

Swoosh! The water ripples gently as Phil swims, desperately trying to get to the bottom. He switches on his torch, and suddenly a powerful beam of light flashed across the depths of the ocean penetrating any fish’s skin in the way. A myriad of fish squealed in fear briefly and swam away without another word. A figure swam in the depths of the shadows, its eyes glittering brightly in the darkness. Phil tried to ignore the disturbance.
He shifted his powerful beam of light seldomly. Suddenly, he came across a glowing red object. He switched off his torch and swam quickly forward. Without warning, he stopped abruptly and gasped in horror. An interminable line of red dust trailing, into a deep, murky pit, in a serpentine path. With great anxiety rising in him, he looked suspiciously. Again he gasped in shock. To the left of him, three phlegmatic figures of sharks lay on the ground as if dead. He swam forward to get a better look. Suddenly, they vanished into thin air! Phil was galvanised thoroughly.
His head started spinning. Why was there red dust in the depths of the ocean? What were the Sharks doing? How did they vanish? These questions were swirling in his mid like a tornado. He flipped onto his back and closed his eyelids.
He decided to investigate the colossal hole. Phil swam up from his supine position. Then he kicked down, down, down into the darkness…
His instincts were screaming at him to stop, but his muscles ignored, as if Phil was an uncontrolled automaton trying to sabotage itself. Further down, Phil stopped. The feeling was too overwhelming. Phil looked around. Below him a glimmering gold item lit up the eerie presence. What divine thing! He thought, Phil swam closer and scrunched up his face in disgust. A grotesque figure of a skull, the empty eye sockets staring blankly at him, as if asking for help. Flesh was floating around the place.
As Phil swam closer for a better look, he heard a noise. He swivelled around, to see a Hammerhead Shark swimming towards him, its mouth open to reveal a set of razor sharp teeth. Phil stayed hypnotised with fear. At the last second he ducked down, the Shark’s skin brushing past him. His heart thumping with fear, he picked up a dropped sword. The edge of the sword, written in majuscule letters said “THE ARMAGEDDON OF DEATH.”
He directed it at the Shark, the deleterious tip of the sword glinting in the darkness every second or so. Suddenly another Shark snatched Phil up by the ribs. Bolts of pain seared through his body. The Hammerheads eyes glinted in the darkness, the same one Phil saw before.
As the first Shark turned to leave, the awful sound of rending flesh and splintering bone reverberated throughout the vast superior ocean.