My Uncle Thomas was a lighthouse keeper in Oregon for about twenty years. I never got the pleasure of meeting him, as he took his own life in that lighthouse before I was born. My father held affection for the man, though a shadow lingered behind his eyes at any mention of his brother. Something uneasy. You see, before he was a lighthouse keeper, he explored the deep sea with two of his buddies. They videoed their explorations with waterproof body cams. Travelling all over the world in the early 2000s, he kept his journeys private. My grandmother insisted that as children her eldest son was a chatty, joyous boy. As these things usually go, something happened. Something changed him and made him decide to live a life of isolation until the end.
It was around my eighteenth birthday that I finally got what I wanted. A full, uncensored story of the mysterious Uncle Thomas. The man I was supposed to be so similar to. After picking and picking at my father for years, begging for scraps of information about the only person in our family to have left Oregon, let alone the country, he threw me a bone.
“Up in the attic,” He said, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, “there’s a trunk. It’s kind of buried, so you’ll have to dig.” As I made to leave he grabbed my sleeve, “don’t let what you find consume you,” then slipped a key into my hand. I tore through the mess of cobwebs and antiques. Covered in dust and sticky with sweat, I found the trunk in the furthest corner. I shoved the key in the lock, pushing open the heavy lid to reveal a VHS tape. Excitedly, I carried it down the attic stairs and into the den where the player and tv was. “07/21/04 Papua New Guinea”. Without any further thought, I shoved the first one in. The screen went to blue, then static, and finally it revealed my youthful uncle. What I thought would be a bonding opportunity for me and and the uncle I never got to meet turned into…something else. The next few hours would change me in a way I would give anything to undo.
Uncle Thomas was no nonsense, that was obvious even in his personal documents. I had no doubt what I was witnessing was real, and could potentially ruin human life as we know it. I followed in my father’s footsteps, hiding this away upon viewing in hopes it would disappear. The things I witnessed unraveled me. The tapes have long since corroded, but I had taken the time to write them word for word and fill in blanks. For some reason, I held onto these transcripts. I have accepted that this will never disappear. I am weak and I am selfish. I can no longer bear the weight of this knowledge alone. I will admit there are gaps in the narrative. I am asking you to believe something so absurd, so horrifyingly unreal that to believe I am a mad woman would be the sane person’s assumption. I truly hope you write this off as just a story for your sake. I truly hope someone believes me, someone hears me, for mine.
***
The video begins with Thomas sat in the cabin of the boat adjusting the camera. He has shaggy brown hair and a graying beard. His skin is leathery from constant sun, and he is sickly frail. He looks tired yet optimistic. The boat rocks gently with the waves, swaying the hanging lamp behind him.
“Hello. I am Thomas Lawrence, accompanied by my colleagues Richard Peters and Gale Donovan. Our flight landed in country at about 0800 hours, which was much later than we had intended, and we set sail at 1000. This time we’re borrowing a smaller dive boat, old Cecilia, and have rationed for about four days, though this excursion should take about 72 hours. I will admit, we haven’t be exactly honest with our hosts upon departure. They’re under the impression we are headed to the Kimbe Bay.” Thomas holds up a yellowing map of the coast. There’s a red dot marking the spot they’re supposed to be visiting. Using a pen, he circles a small patch of sea that veers further north than the dot. He taps his marking twice. “Right here, I have been informed, may have something undiscovered. I have a friend who runs sonar and he clocked something strange. A clicking noise. He let me listen to it. It sounded miles deeper than it logically should have been give the distance between the surface and sea floor. He warned me this is a dangerous discovery. Apparently a team had been sent to check it out. Only the boat returned. So I figured, why not help a friend and check it out ourselves?”
Voices drift from behind the camera, growing clearer as they enter the shot. A tall young man with a blonde pony tail, and a shorter ginger man with lots of freckles.
“I knew you’d forget something.” Richard, the blonde one, says. “This is the last time you’re borrowing my spare flippers.”
“Well screw me for prioritizing oxygen.”
Thomas rolls his eyes at their bickering. They halt when they see the camera. Immediately, Richard lifts his shirt, flashing his chest. Gale holds his cold water bottle to Richard’s stomach, making him shriek and drop the shirt. Thomas turns back to the camera.
“This will certainly pose a challenge.”
***
The next shot is on the deck of the boat, a vast expanse of blue surrounding them. Gale and Richard struggle into wetsuits. Thomas spins the camera to face himself. “We’ve officially arrived. We have reached the coordinates and so far nothing hinky. We’re quite a few hours away from land, definitely further than I had originally anticipated. I estimate we have about two more hours of sunlight. So far so good though.” He turns the camera back to his colleagues as they pile on more equipment.
“God they leave no room to breathe.” Richard says, grabbing at the suit around his crotch.
“Would you have some tact. This could wind up on national geographic.” Gale says, slapping Richard’s hand. Suddenly, the boat rocks roughly, nearly sending them to the floor. “What the hell was that?” The camera once again scans the sea around them. Not a wave in sight. He peeks over the edge with the camera, still nothing.
“A really big fish maybe? Debris?” Thomas speculates. He turns back to Richard and Gale who are also scanning the sides of the boat.
“Something that wants to eat me.” Richard grumbles, stomping his flipper clad feet. “Let’s get this over with. Lookin for a hole, right?”
“Not necessarily. Just something out of the ordinary.” Thomas answers.
“Something out of the ordinary in the largest, most unexplored place on earth. Got it.”
“Quit being a dick.” Gale says, strapping on his goggles.
“It is my name.” As the two finalize their gear, they move to the edge, ready to dive in. Thomas stands before them with authority. Richard and Gale for once seem fully invested.
“I want communication open at all times. We’re in the middle of the ocean and no one knows we’re out here, so already we’re idiots for that. The second you see something strange I want you right back up here and we’ll send down Roger.” ‘Roger’ was an underwater camera they used for sketchy spots. It wasn’t the most reliable, but it was necessary. “Do not go too deep. Don’t get brave on me. In and out.” At this, the two scuba divers salute. Falling backwards, they disappear below the surface.
***
The next clip follows Richard. The camera takes quite a while to adjust, and by the time the vison clears he is already quite a ways down. The footage is choppy, making it difficult to discern shadows, and the water has a rusty reddish hue. Richard continues downwards with confidence still. His voice sounds, though the audio is staticky.
“I know, I’m not goin far. I just can’t see shit from here. I’m only at like 60 feet anyway.” His body turns and in the distance the pixelated black figure of Gale can be seen higher up. “Is it just me or is this water cloudy as hell?” The water is in fact cloudy as hell. Small dark blobs swim by, and one larger blob swims below. Richard doesn’t startle at this, just observes quietly. “I’m goin deeper…quit nagging me we haven’t even hit 100 feet yet….I wouldn’t say cloudy water is out of the ordinary. We’re swimming in pollution and piss, it’s gonna be cloudy.”
The water grows more difficult to see through as he moves down, though not enough to discourage him. The audio picks up a strange noise, a clicking sound, though Richard doesn’t notice. “Awe, look at you.” He says, reaching out towards a large flesh colored fish. The fish turns towards him head on, and while the image is not the best, Richard gasps at the sight. “You’re creepy as fuck, why do your eyes look human?” The clicking occurs again and the fish zips away. Richard pauses, listening to Gale. “I guess this fog is kind of reddish. It’s way too much to be like, blood though, right?” Silence follows. “Any oil rigs nearby? A leak maybe?” More silence. “Earth to Gale. Gaaalllleeee.” Richard looks upwards. The silhouette of Gale is nowhere in sight. “Thomas? Thomas, is Gale’s communication open with you?” Richard waits a moment but is greeted with nothing. “Ok, I’m gonna come on up.” The clicking grows more intense at his words, and this time he catches it.
“What is that damn noise?” Richard begins moving upwards, though the water remains foggy and it seems to thicken now the higher he goes. “Fuck, what the fuck?” He grits, trying to swim through the red, though it thickens the more he moves. “Guys! Gale! Thomas I can’t move!” Richard flails his arms trying to swim. “Guys! Guys I need help! Come in, please!” Richard’s voice grows more frantic the more he kicks. The image is almost completely obscured, but dark spots begin appearing all around him. “What is wrong with these fish, what the fuck, what the fuck?” Richard’s voice has taken on a hysteria, and the audio collapses into a mess of static as his piercing screams blow through the mic. “Some-has-ankle!” Only bits and pieces come through, but one thing becomes obvious. He is being dragged down.
***
The video cuts to Gale’s perspective, beginning at his plunge. Not unlike Richard’s, his image also takes time to adjust. “This water is murky.” Gale observes to himself as he descends. As he glides down, he takes his time spinning in place to capture his surroundings. Other than the murkiness, everything seems still and empty. At about twenty feet, the murkiness begins to grow thicker, a more vibrant red. “Rich, don’t go too far.” Gale says, catching sight of a small Richard shaped figure about thirty feet below him. “It is cloudy. It’s like, red. I’m serious, I don’t think deeper is a good idea in these conditions. In fact, we should go back up.” Gale pauses for a moment, then sighs irately at the response. “Fine but if you get eaten by something I’m thanking the fish.”
Gale looks downwards but below the murkiness has thickened. A void that Richard has now disappeared into. “Rich? Rich you need to come up.” Silence follows. Gale sighs, and moves down a little further. Fish begin appearing out of the fog, and a faint clicking noise occurs. All the same, Gale takes no notice. “Thomas, we got a problem. I can’t get ahold of Rich.” Gale waits a moment. “Yea the water is crazy down here. Super red and cloudy, we can’t see anything that isn’t two feet in front of us- oh what the hell?” Gale interrupts himself as a fish swims by. Flesh colored with one enlarged eye sticking halfway out of it’s socket. On its side, instead of a fin, two finger like appendages flutter out. “Thomas, I don’t know what I’m looking at. I’m coming up, holy crap.” Gale begins breathing faster as he moves further up. “I still don’t see Richard, we need ‘Roger.”
Gale takes one last glance down as he swims up, but catches sight of a human figure. “Oh thank Jesus, Richard quit dicking around and come up here. This was a bust.” The figure stays in place. Gale swims back down a ways, but the figure seems to move further without moving at all. “Richard I’m serious, get up here.” Gale, hesitantly, goes a few more feet down, now completely submerged in the red. “Great, now I can’t see shit. Rich, where did you go? I’m not playing these games down here, I’m scared shitless.” From below, the human shaped figure begins coming close, though it doesn’t move it’s arms or legs to swim. Gale moves back a bit, but finds the water around him has thickened. His breathing comes out faster. “Rich, hurry the fuck up, lets get out of here please. I’m saying please now.” The figure finally comes into view. Despite the cloudiness, it is apparent, that is not Richard. The clicking occurs, eardrum piercing, screeching at an inhuman frequency. Gale’s screams crackle through the clicks.
***
The video cuts to Richard’s cam for a blink and you’ll miss it moment. It no longer appears red and murky, and he is no longer in water. His scuba gear is off his body but the wetsuit and camera remains. He is on his hands and knees heaving. His hands sink into the ground below like mud but it is not mud. It appears to be gooey, red, and fleshy. His body moves up and down with the floor, as if the floor is breathing.
***
Gale is being dragged downwards, a whirlwind of blackness, clicking, and a chorus of screams surround him. The screen goes to static, then cuts to a similar position as Richard. Though, all of Gale’s equipment has been torn off of him, only scraps of his body suit remain. The camera is no longer on him, but thrown to the side haphazardly, making the image appear sideways. The image shows a clearer view of the room, though drops of red sliding the screen obscure some of the image. Gale seems to be inside of something, something huge, something larger than a whale. The ceiling of flesh cave is too tall to be in the picture, and the walls and floor pulsate. Blue veins litter the walls like vines, pumping. Gale rolls to his side with a groan, showing large lacerations where something tore into his suit. A clicking noise occurs again, and the squishy sound of feet slapping against flesh sounds behind the camera. The camera is lifted up, and turned.
An upside-down flayed humanoid greets the screen. Blood and bodily juices ooze from the creature. It’s face is basically a skeleton with tissue clinging for dear life. It has eyes, but no eyelids, and they are milky white and unseeing. It has no lips to hide its horrible layers of razor sharp teeth. It sets the camera back down, almost purposefully facing it towards gale. It approaches Gale, now exposing the elongated limbs of the frail creature. It’s spidery hands reach past it’s knees and it clicks with every step. Proportionately, it seems to be about 7’5. It looms over Gale as he whimpers, trying to crawl away but slipping on the sinewy floor below.
“Stay away from me! Stay back!” He wails. The creature just tilts its head and puts it’s feet on either side of him. It’s back arches as it leans down, stretching it’s spine instead of bending its knees, and coming face to face with him. “Please, Jesus Christ! Richard! Thomas help me! Help me please!” It reaches a hand towards his face and he tries to swat it away. Without a care in the world, the creature envelopes his forearm with its long, disgusting fingers. Gale thrashes, trying to free himself. He openly sobs, heaving out “no, no, no”. Suddenly, the creature yanks upwards. The skin on Gale’s arm comes off like a glove.
***
The audio for Richard is complete static with an occasional click. He has taken off his flippers and is stumbling down fleshy corridors. The walls contract and leak pink substances, and he gags as he slips and grasps a wall for support. He goes to take off again, but his hand is stuck. The camera turns to face where his hand met the wall. He grabs his wrist with his other hand, and begins tugging aggressively. His hand is being buried in the flesh. Absorbed into the sinewy wall. Richard tugs more and leans forward. The image is obscured, but after a few extremely long minutes, Richard falls backwards. His hand, or where his hand once was, comes into view. Blood pours from his wrist as he holds it, staring at the wall where his hand has been absorbed.
He stumbles to his feet and tries to move, but he looks down and his feet are now immobile. The static grows louder, one can assume due to his screams. The skin on his feet dissolve into the flesh of the ground, merging until his toes, his foot, and half his ankles have disappeared. He falls to his butt, trying desperately to pull his legs free with one hand, the other arm still cradled to his chest. The clicking noise breaks through the static.
To the side, though Richard takes no notice, something emerges from the wall. As if a piece of the wall decided to step out. A creature not dissimilar to the last watches Richard struggle. It is shorter than the other one, and one arm drags the floor whilst the other is cut off mid thigh. It takes a couple steps towards him, arm dragging behind it and legs shaking as it moves. It seems weaker than the last. It halts before Richard, who now stills upon seeing it. He is completely stuck to the floor, the space around him trying to make him become part of it. The creature’s eyes are the same milky white, and it’s teeth are razor sharp with no lips or cheeks to hide them. Without preamble, it’s jaw unhinges revealing a void of serrated teeth. It leans in closely to Richard’s face. He leans back, but there is no where for him to go. He holds up his good arm to halt it, but the creature swats it away and grabs Richard by the neck. It stretches upwards, and the blood curdling cries of Richard being eaten alive, face first, erupts through the audio.
***
Gale has completely been flayed alive. He lies motionless in a pool of his own blood, his chest heaving. His skin is in a pile to the side. The creature sits next to it, taking scraps of the flesh, unhinging it’s jaw, and dropping it in. It looks over at Gale, and taking a piece of flesh, crawls towards him on all fours. It’s limbs seem to become double jointed as it moves fluidly towards him. It lies next to him, then lifts it’s fingers to his now lipless and cheek-less mouth. It slips two long fingers between his still human teeth, and gently opens his jaw up. Lifting a piece of his own flesh, it drops it in. Gale’s body spasms as he chokes, though he is too weak to move. The creature closes his jaw, then opens it, then closes it, forcing him to chew.
Then, it moves Gale into a sitting position, supporting all of his weight. He leans against the creatures chest, with the creatures long legs on either side of him. It gingerly takes one of Gale’s hands. It’s long fingers caress it, then pinching his pinky between it’s (one can only assume) thumb and forefinger, it yanks. Gale’s pinky elongates with a disgusting pop, and flops to the side, completely removed from it’s joint. It goes one by one, stretching his fingers out like so. It then takes his forearm once again, and his upper arm in the other hand, and yanks like it’s tightening a knot. His elbow breaks immediately, his arm stretching about a foot further then flopping to the ground. The video continues on like so, until the screen goes black.
***
The image of Thomas appears. The camera is set up in the left corner of the boat’s cabin, and he sits before three black and white screens with a chunky head set on. “Gale! Rich! Anyone! Guys please answer me!” Thomas yells through the mic, slapping the screens before him. All the screens go black. Thomas tears off his headset, throwing it across the room, shattering a lamp. He rushes to get Roger, a small camera attached to a long line.
***
As ‘Roger is thrown into the water, the murkiness has faded. It drifts down, and nothing out of the ordinary seems to have occurred at all. Any traces of the humanoid fish or the flesh creatures have completely vanished. It moves further down, and in the distance the only evidence to show Gale or Richard had been down there is a stray pair of goggles. Thomas pulls ‘Roger back up, throws it to the deck’s floor, and runs into the cabin. A few minutes pass, and he comes barreling back out. Throwing himself against the railing of the boat, he vomits, sobs, and vomits more.
***
My father believed our Uncle Thomas accidentally discovered, well, the center of the earth. After I had watched the tape I sat shell shocked before the television, staring blankly at what I had witnessed. My father was already in the doorway, a solemn look on his face. “I’m sorry you know now.” I remember turning to him, tears streaming down my face.
“What does this mean?”
“It means you forget you ever saw this, and you move on.”
To this day, I wish I had taken his advice.