When I first started college to be a marine biologist, I had that twinkle in my eye. I loved water, and the ocean fascinated me with its vast endlessness and vibrant colors. Everything that involved water had always entranced me in a way I could never explain. I felt inexplicably drawn to water fountains, waterfalls, water parks, aquariums, pools, you name it. I knew I was meant to live and work on the water, and that it was something I needed to survive, no exceptions. Or at least I thought, until my fifth semester.
As I was more than halfway through the course, it was time to start having some more hands-on experiences. So, when my university gave us the opportunity to spend two weeks at sea in the Philippines to help save the coral reefs, I was one of the first to sign up. All I had to do was fill out a sheet with my name, email, and student code, and I was good to go. I should have suspected something was wrong from the beginning. The whole two week trip, staying on a luxury ship with meals included, was extremely cheap. Like, so cheap I could afford it as a broke college student. There had to be a catch, but I didn’t hesitate to sign up. Either way, even if it was too good to be true, I was excited.
Let me go back for a second. For those of you that don’t know, coral reefs are extremely important. More than 100 countries have coral reefs inside their borders, and these reefs are incredibly important ecosystems. They protect the coastlines from storms, erosion, and wave action, and provide a healthy ecosystem for thousands of microorganisms, sustaining marine life and keeping the oceans alive. Besides that, they also create jobs for local communities. Overall, super important right? But due to shitty humans and global warming, the world has already lost 30 to 50% of its reefs. So I was really excited to be able to help restore and maintain something so important. After a tough bout of deep depression, I finally felt like my life meant something again. After all, these reefs were crucial to marine life and I could help. Turns out, my life really did mean something. Just not what I thought.
The trip started out fine. We got on the ship, which was actually really luxurious and nice. We each had our own bedroom, equipped with a queen bed, bedside table and a sink. There were 2 bathrooms that we had to share, but that was fine by me. In total, there were 5 students (including myself) who had signed up to go, which seemed odd to me. People were passing up the opportunity of a lifetime, but hey, I was here so who cares. We were served 3 daily meals in the common area, and then there were plates of fruit and some snacks around during the day. It felt like I was on a fancy vacation, all while getting to do what I loved most. The captain and his co-captain were kind of weird, didn’t talk much, but then again we all probably seemed like annoying, excited tourists. The coolest part of the ship was by far the bottom level. At the very bottom level, there was a huge glass panel on the floor, where you could see straight down into the open ocean. I spent all of my free time down there, observing the different fish and creatures that swam under. At night, you couldn’t see anything, but i’d go down there anyways just to feel closer to the ocean. The gentle rocking along with the deep darkness of the sea was insanely calming to me, but not for everyone. I was never one to get seasickness or anything like that, but some of my classmates were.
The first few days went by without a hitch as we made our way to the reefs. They were absolutely mesmerizing, full of bright colors and beautiful creatures who delicately wove their way in and out of the reefs. It was breathtaking. Our teacher kept pointing out the different species and types of plants as we all quickly took notes. Before the trip, we had to spend months searching for ways to help the coral reefs, different methods and tactics. Here, we were helping with planting nursery-grown reefs onto the old ones. This helped them reproduce, and also made the reefs that were still there grow stronger and more resistant to the effects of global warming. Anyways, this isn’t really important. On the third day at breakfast, Brooke, a friend of mine, began to feel really sick. She said it was just seasickness and it would go away before excusing herself to her room and disappearing through the doorway. None of us thought anything of it, since the waves were a bit stronger and the rocking became slightly nauseating. It wasn’t until the end of the day when we realized she wasn’t in her room anymore. In fact, she was nowhere to be found.
There was no way she had left, considering we were miles away from any land and she had just been in her room. We looked all over the boat, every single place she could have been, but she just wasn’t there anymore. The captain and co-captain quickly told us that it was completely possible she had gone outside for some air, gotten dizzy from the seasickness and fallen overboard. They seemed convinced that was it and wouldn’t let us continue searching for her. They said they’d report it and that was the last they let us talk about Brooke. That evening after dinner, I went downstairs once again to look through the glass floor into the blue darkness. As I lay on the floor, my face in my hands, looking downwards, something caught my eye. In the distance, there was a soft glint. Something was shining at the bottom of the ocean. It began growing closer and closer until it finally became clearer. Bitterness stung at the back of my throat as a shiver ran up my spine. It was the necklace Brooke always wore. It was floating towards me, glowing in the endless darkness, almost as if being pulled towards me. I got up and ran to my room. I tried to come up with an explanation, but couldn’t think of anything. Even if she had fallen in, her necklace was one of a kind. It was always tightly clasped around her neck, and it wasn’t big enough to have slipped off.
Shivering, I climbed into bed and fell into a restless sleep, dreaming of Brooke and her necklace, imagining every possible scenario. I woke up sweating. The next morning at breakfast, I pulled my other friend Roman aside. I told him what I had seen, but he brushed it off. He said it was possible that she really had fallen in, and her necklace had fallen off. “After all,” he said, “the sea has been pretty rough”. Then he excused himself from the table, said he was feeling a bit nauseous, and went to his room. That day, the corals seemed brighter, more vibrant than they had been the previous day. They seemed stronger and healthier, but we hadn’t done much yet. It was as if they had received a surge of energy. We didn’t see Roman again either. At dinner, the captains said the same thing, and said they’d restrict the outside area the next time someone felt sick. Our teacher looked uneasy, but no one said anything. We finished our food in silence and went to bed. That evening, while I was downstairs again, there was something glinting in the distance again. I waited for it to come closer again, but this time it didn’t. I waited for a while, but nothing happened. So I went to bed.
The next morning, there were only the other 2 remaining students, my teacher and I at breakfast. We ate in silence. My teacher looked extremely tired. Halfway through breakfast, he excused himself and said he was feeling sick and was going to lie down a bit. I quickly decided I had to do something, so I asked if I could go with him. He shrugged and said I could, so along I went. We sat in his room. He read a book about coral keeping out loud, and I took notes as he went. After about an hour, my teacher said he was really tired, and asked if I could leave. I was hesitant, but agreed. As I gathered my notebook and materials, he began to get increasingly drowsy and incoherent, until eventually he fell asleep. On my way out of his room, I noticed the captain was coming towards his room. He looked at me, surprised, before entering my teachers room. “He’s asleep”, I called after him. The captain simply said “I sure hope so”.
We didn’t see my teacher again. The three of us that remained had dinner in silence again, exchanging uncomfortable looks. Now it was down to me, a mousy redhead named Sharon, and a quiet, nerdy kid called Tom. That night, as I was heading downstairs again, I passed the captains quarters, and could hear a whispered conversation inside. The captain was angrily whispering, saying that they had to get rid of him. Him? The co-captain said all in due time, and that his time was coming. All they had to do was wait. The captain angrily replied that the corals didn’t have any more time, and that they needed to be fed immediately. What did that even mean? Corals fed off of plankton, and they had plenty to eat. I pressed my ear to the door. “He saw me today. He needs to be the next one. Besides, our time is almost up”. My stomach sank as I realized that I was the “he” they were talking about. I had to find out what was happening. I crept downstairs to the glass floor once again, looking out into nothingness. But this time, after I left, instead of going to bed, I went up to the deck. I crept up quietly, hearing shuffling overhead. I poked my head around the corner just in time to see both captains holding my teachers body. I watched, frozen in terror as they threw him overboard. His body landed with a splash, and I ran back downstairs as the captains came back downstairs and went into their quarters.
As soon as I was sure they had left, I ran back to the deck and looked into the water. We were right above the corals, and they were glowing. They gleamed in the moonlight, neon colors shining through the dark, murky water. It seemed as though they had been covered in LED lights, impossibly and unnaturally bright. I watched in terror as my teachers lifeless body faded into the corals. They were feeding on him. No, not feeding. Absorbing him. I couldn’t peel my eyes away as the coral grew impossibly bright and his body disappeared completely. His clothes and shoes remained, along with his thick-rimmed glasses. It was almost as if his energy, his very essence had been sucked out of him, while his mundane accessories floated back upwards. I suddenly realized what I had seen the previous nights. It really had been Brooke’s necklace. I realized the captains were behind this. They knew it was a suicide mission, and they were picking us off, one by one, to feed whatever the hell was inside that coral. That’s why the trip was so cheap. They weren’t planning we’d still be alive by the end of the two weeks.
I ran downstairs, past the captains quarters, past Tom and Sharon’s rooms, and straight into mine. I locked the door and sat on my bed, trembling. I took out my notebook and pen, and began writing a note to Tom and Sharon. I explained what I had seen and told them to avoid the captains, and not to eat anything they gave them. I slipped a note under each of their doors, walking as quietly as humanly possible, trying to keep my shaky breathing quiet. I’m almost certain they won’t believe me, but it’s worth a try. I didn’t get any sleep last night. I sat on my bed, going over everything that had happened. The captains saying they needed to get rid of me. My mind wandered back to dinner, where we had eaten grilled fish and vegetables, caught and prepared by our captains. Realization washed over me as the desperation grew in my chest. I watched the sun rise from the tiny window in my room. I’m about to go to breakfast now, but decided I needed to write this all down and post it. If anyone reads this and cares enough, please try to get Tom and Sharon. We’re on ship [redacted], close to Apo reef. You might be able to get to them in time. As for me, I’m feeling very nauseous today. I think I need to lay down.