I suppose this story does need some context, doesn’t it. I work for an underwater research company I dont want to name for privacy reasons, but we regularly take submersible vehicles underwater to explore, extract things for research, help wildlife, etc.
I’ve worked here for almost 7 years now, so you could say I’m a trusted person within it. About 2 months ago, the higher ups approached me and asked me about a huge opportunity. They had recently discovered an opening in a remote part of the Indian Ocean they believed led to an extremely deep underwater cave system. They had said, in secret, they had been developing a one man sea craft that could take the intense water pressure, and wanted me to take the expidition down.
Of course, I was hesitant. I had divorced with my wife 3 years back, so I didn’t exactly have anyone wanting me back at home. Maybe my parents would be worried, but the entire expedition wouldn’t take that long. I just… felt like if anything went wrong, I had a decent amount to lose. I told them I’d think on it.
I let about 3 weeks past with the idea in mind. It would be a massive opportunity, but it was just such a terrifying experience to consider. I let another week pass, and finally decided I would do it.
I finally got back to the original offerers, and told them I accepted the proposal. They were beyond ecstatic. No, in fact, that’s probably and understatement. Needless to say, it was going to be a ground breaking journey. I would also later find out it would be much more than that.
Fast forward about a month, and I was landing in Perth on the west coast of Australia. The plan was to take a research vessel with the submarine on board to the area, and get dispatched into the ocean to go all the way down. I dont think I was ever more nervous. I mean, I had been deep underwater before this, but I was going way deeper than usual.
We set off in the early crisp morning, and spent multiple days at sea. I was considering what would happen if I didnt make it back from this voyage. A million thoughts swirled through my shaken head. Before I knew it, they called my name and said it was time.
I walked into the baking sun, and they had the sea craft held over the waves. It was a fairly small thing, but it would do. I stepped in, and they dropped me into the ocean.
“Hello?” I asked into the radio. “We read you.” It worked correctly. That was a relief. Now came the boring part. Drifting down and down into the ever darkening abyss of the ocean. There wasnt much to do. I had my phone on me, and still had a small amount of connection via something in the sub, although it only lasted about 10 minutes. I tried to fall asleep, but couldn’t, which was the first thing that felt off because I normally fell asleep very easily.
Another 15 minutes passed, and I was beginning to feel slightly off, like that feeling you get when someones watching you. The entire descent should be about 2 hours they had told me. At about an hour and a half I should reach a small cavern that would lead into a larger opening, the cave system beneath. An hour had passed, as I was sitting in silence, when the radio suddenly spoke. I nearly fell off the seat in the cockpit when I heard it “You doing alright?” “Y-yeah, yeah I’m fine.” “Ok. You should be reaching the cave opening in about 25 minutes. Then it should be another 30 to 45 minutes till you reach the ground. Good luck.”
I sat in more silence and thought about things. Where even was I going? What could possibly be down here? Would I discover some new species? Would I die? That thought irked me. I sat contemplated it for a while, then I looked out the front window, and noticed for the first time the water was strangely red. Like blood red. Weird, I thought. Probably just some microorganism in the water, or something. “How much longer you think?” I asked the radio. No response. “Hello?” Nothing. Now I started to panic. No response. Which meant I was alone, way down beneath the surface. The pressure would be enough to crush me. To break every bone in my body. “Hello? Someone please answer?”
I waited in nervousness another hour. I never hit ground. Another 20 minutes. Nothing. Maybe they miscalculated the descent time? Suddenly the radio shot out static. A low, eerie, static tone. I looked out the window. The water was deep maroon and incredibly murky. I could barely see the headlights above in the window.
Then something hit the sub. It had me fly out of my seat. It rocked the entire thing. I dont know what it was, but something hit it. A fairly hard hit. I checked the rear cameras on the monitor inside. Nothing absolutely nothing, just more murky water.
Now I seriously began to panic. What the hell was that? The radio still shot out static. I sat back down. And looked at the gauge measuring how deep I was. It was negative. It was a fucking negative number. Slowly counting down. Had to be a glitch, I told myself, had to be a glitch. I sat in more silence, and heard a low muffled groaning from out the sub. Nothing too loud, but it continued. I sat and another hour passed. What the hell was happening?
Then I was hit by something again. It rocked the sub. I didnt know what was hitting, rear view cameras still showed nothing. And then a hit occurred randomly, about every 5 minutes. No idea what was causing it. I sat down, and stared wide eyed into the window. The hits continued, and probably 2 hours passed until I saw something.
The groaning had been getting louder this whole time, and in the murky blood red water, I made out something. A vault door. A massive, stone vault door, with red plant life growing over it. I was stunned, I couldn’t speak. What the hell built this thing? It wasnt human. I grabbed the controls and surprisingly the sub actually moved. I piloted towards it. Huge, and built into a wall. The groaning was coming from behind it. Then the rear view cameras detected motion. I looked in them and saw some figure in the distance moving around. Then it disappeared. Something was watching me. And it was huge.
I stared at the vault in awe until it began to turn. Unexpectedly. It took about 5 minutes but it slowly opened. A low rumble shook the sub and the vault opened to reveal more murky water. Against my better judgement I piloted into it. As soon as I crossed it, my entire sub just lost power. And started to sink, incredibly fast. “Shit, shit shit.” I said. To no one. It was extremely dark inside except for the emergency light on the dashboard. I looked all around, only murky blood red water.
Then a shadow, it moved closer. And closer. Then I began to make part of it out. It was huge. I mean massive. I saw its eye. Huge, and had a red slit for a pupil. The eye looked severely bloodshot. I stepped back. The low groaning, it was coming from this thing. Then the groan turned to a high pitched scream. It got louder and louder. I screamed, it hurt to listen to. Then I passed out.
I came to who knows how long later. And looked out the window. The eye was still there, slightly closer now. The sub’s depth gauge read -9999999999 kilometers. The numbers ran off the screen. The emergency light was red, and barely illuminated the sub. I sat in silence and stared at the eye. It stared back, never blinking.
I pulled out my phone. The time read -99:99. “What…” I silently muttered to myself. Surprisingly, I had a full signal. I don’t know why. But I did. Only reason I’m able to post this.
And that brings me to now. Staring at that eye. Dead silence. The groaning is over now. The only noise is my deep breathing trying to stay calm. I dont know where I am. My phone has a decent charge left, so I will try to respond. I have enough food on board to last me a week, if rationed. Past that I will starve. But still, I don’t know where I am. Or what is watching me. I will update if anything happens.