Cryptid Abyss
“Sebastian, how’re we doing on descent?” When I glance over, his red hair just barely peaks out from his beanie and his eyes are locked on to the indicator.
“It’s looking good Viv; another couple hundred feet and we should be at our destination.” He turns and gives me a goofy and excited smile.
I sigh and sink down into my chair, looking out into the darkness that’s been enveloping our submarine. The large glass window is state of the art, and allows for the most incredible views, but that’s not why my heart is pounding today. Today is the day we will finally touch down at 3,500 feet, and it just might be the day we find what we’ve been hunting for.
The crew bustles around me, each person making sure that we are prepared to settle on the ledge we scouted out weeks ago. It’s the perfect spot for our base camp, picked specifically so we can send out rovers and explore in teams using the spheres while having a set place of return. Mike is approaching out of the corner of my eye, and I feel his strong hands settle on my shoulders, “It’s finally here Vivian, everything we’ve worked so hard for, everything we’ve ever dreamed.” A soft squeeze almost makes the tears in my eyes overflow.
I push myself up and turn around, planting a quick kiss on his lips. We stand there for a moment, just gazing into each other’s eyes. We’d fought for this deep dive for so long, trying to convince the committee that this was an exploration worth making. We’d dedicated our lives looking for cryptids on their terms, and now it was finally ours. This deep-sea beast is what drove us to this line of work to begin with, and we were finally on the verge of finding it. I’m still staring into my husband’s eyes, sharing this silent moment, when Sebastian calls out to brace for impact.
Everyone scatters to the chairs lining the walls and Mike and I settle into our chairs looking out as we land. There’s a loud thud as we hit the ground of the ledge and we are swayed only briefly before the stabilizing legs are deployed. They drill into the floor beneath us, helping to make sure this large vessel stays in place. The ledge is just on the side of an abyss no diver has ever reached the bottom of, which is why we think our cryptid is settled here. That, and the cave-like structure with multiple caverns lining its sides. This abyss is the perfect hiding spot for our colossal squid cryptid.
Our landing stirred the floor, and as the dust settles the lights on every side of our vessel illuminate the vastness of our home for the next two weeks. There are fish scattering out of the light, and creatures slithering across the various windows. Everyone is quiet as we take in the beauty of the creatures coming up to explore our submarine, their curiosity drawing them to dart over the glass. Some of them look like aliens, their bones protruding in a defensive fashion, and some with teeth bigger than their mouths can contain. Some of their skin is almost translucent, while others look like they’re glowing. I hate to tear my eyes away.
“Okay everybody,” I turn to address my small crew, “You’ve all done an extraordinary job, and I am so grateful that you are all here so we can embark on this journey together. It’s been a long day, so I think it would be good for everyone to turn in for the night. Tomorrow, we send out the rovers.” I’m met with a round of applause and feel my insides warm at the joy on their faces.
The submarine creaks throughout the night, and while I’m excited to be here, I know I shouldn’t be too comfortable. We know very little about what lurks deeper in this abyss, or how far up they’re willing to come for their prey. This colossal squid we’re hunting isn’t just a really big squid, it’s a true beast. From the stories and various accounts we’ve heard, its tentacles are lined with razor sharp suction cups that have small beaks inside each one. It could tear apart even the largest of sperm whales within seconds. Its body is easily described as over 70 feet in length alone, and one person’s account even included a blurry image they were able to upload from a rover before it was crushed. It’s magnificent.
The next few days are filled with sending out rovers to explore the depths below, traveling deeper and deeper each day. We are able to see an incredible number of caverns through the live feed, and make sure to leave tags along the way to discern where we’ve already been. The life down here only gets more exquisite the deeper we go, and the creatures are seeming to get bigger and bigger. One looked similar to an eel, except it was the size of a bus. We ended up losing that rover after we disturbed the eel. One flip of its large tail in the direction of our rover immediately destroyed it.
At week two, my hopes of finding our colossal squid are starting to ebb. Mike seemed to pick up on my despair and offers to take me out in one of the spheres, “It’ll be fun, just you and me exploring the caverns we’ve marked. Think of all how beautiful the lights reflecting off the wildlife will be in person.” I smile, he knows me so well. We are getting on our suits and gear when Sebastian knocks at the door, peaking his head in, and dressed in full gear, “I heard you guys were taking the spheres out and I was hoping I could join you?” Only twenty-four years old and a biology genius, he was my first pick for our exploration crew. As goofy as he is, he’s passionate and has the same drive we had when we first started. “Sure, but you’ll have to take a single seating sphere.” He nods and runs off to the detachment pods.
Mike takes the driver’s seat of our sphere, and we connect our headsets with Sebastian so we can communicate along the way. While the inside of the spheres are thermoregulated, when I reach my hand out to touch the glass, I can still barely feel the ice-cold chill of the water we are descending into. The lights flicker on, allowing us to see at least 20 feet in front of us, and in a few moments, we are slowing passing down along the sides of the abyss. We stay close to the sides to make sure we aren’t too disoriented, and we make sure to keep the radar visual for any approaching wildlife. After seeing that giant eel, we don’t want to take any chances of stumbling across it again. The spheres are built to withstand way more pressure than our rovers, but still, not fun to tumble around in.
We are exploring cave twenty-three, taking in the eccentric lights of the fish and bioluminescent species, when we hear Sebastian call over the headset, “Guys, you may want to come see this. I’m in cave thirty-five, about fifty feet below you.” His voice sounds shaky so I reassure him that we will be there soon and not to move. Mike sets us at the highest speed we can go, and we’re able to make it to Sebastian’s location relatively quickly. I’m relieved to see a glimpse of his red hair in his sphere, resting at the mouth of the cavern. “Holy mother of…” Mike’s voice trails off, and my relief turns to horror as I look in the direction of his gaze. There, in front of us, is the eel from the other day. It’s been torn to shreds, what’s left of its body stuck against the roof of the cavern.
“Mike,” I’m breathless as I come to a realization, “It’s still bleeding. Those wounds aren’t old.” He’s already coordinating us back to the sub, and I call out over the headset, “Seb, we need to get back to the submarine ASAP. Do not stop until we are back.” He turns his sphere around, following us back out of the cavern and to the submarine at full speed. Whatever took out that eel is out there right now, and if it’s our beast, this is the one time I hope we don’t find it.
My heart sinks when we reach base. All the lights are off, the sub’s turned on its side, and there are deep striations all along the vessel. As if something wrapped around the entire thing. We radio, but only hear static in return. We sit and hover in the dark, terrified and in shock, when we hear a single ping from the radar. Something big is lingering below, and we’re trapped with it.