The flood beneath shadows of the deep

The ship was a sturdy old thing, all polished brass and chipped paint, cutting its way through the endless blue toward the distant mountain. From the very start, it had seemed like an adventure—something out of a storybook, Billy said, grinning like he could already see the treasure waiting at the end. Freddie had rolled his eyes, muttering about how this was just a sightseeing trip. Me? I stared out across the water, feeling the first gnaw of unease deep in my gut.

When the turbulence hit, it didn't come as just a shake or a rumble. It felt alive—something under the ship pushing, pressing. We were all thrown sideways, Freddie's laugh turning sharp as he smacked into the wall. Billy shot up from his seat.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Just rough water," Freddie muttered, but I saw it too—that flicker of doubt in his eyes.

The first of the floodings began not long after. It looked like water, crystal-clear and moving fast, spilling in under the doors. The crew shouted, scrambling as alarms began to wail. At first, I thought we'd hit something. Maybe an iceberg or a hidden reef.

But the thing is—it wasn't just water. I could see them inside it.

Creatures. Shadowy things with twisted limbs and too many eyes, swimming through the flooded corridors like predators waiting for their prey. I froze as one lunged at me, its form shifting in the water, jaws opening to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth. Billy grabbed my arm, yanking me backward.



"You saw it, didn't you?" he said, breathless.

I nodded. "You saw it too?"

"Yeah."

But Freddie, still standing nearby, just frowned. "What are you two talking about? It's just water!"



Then something bit him. I don't know how, but the water itself surged forward and snapped at him, leaving Freddie stumbling back. He didn't see it, though. Didn't scream. Didn't react. That's when I realized not everyone could see the creatures. Whatever they were, they were real—Billy and I knew it.

The ship's crew tried to corral us into a room to wait out the flooding. They told us it was for safety, but I could feel it—this wasn't normal. Billy and I argued, tried to explain, but no one listened. They locked us in.

For a while, all we could hear was water sloshing against the walls. The room slowly began to fill.

"It's rising," Billy whispered, panic creeping into his voice.

I looked at the walls, the way the water climbed higher, cold and unnatural. "We need to get out."

Freddie groaned. "How? It's locked."

Billy pointed up. "There's a hatch."

It wasn't much—a small escape panel in the ceiling, barely visible in the shadows. I climbed up first, pressing my back against the wall and using the riveted seams for grip. My muscles burned as I struggled upward, heart pounding. I slammed my fist into the hatch until it gave, light spilling in.

"Come on!" I yelled.

Billy followed, then Freddie, all of us scrambling out and collapsing onto the sunlit deck, gasping for breath. For a moment, it was beautiful—too beautiful. The sky was clear, the sun warm, and the ship's deck was perfectly dry, like nothing had happened.

"Where did the water go?" Freddie asked.

We didn't have time to answer. There was a sudden thud, the ship shuddering as it hit something hard. I looked up, over the edge of the deck, and saw the rock barrier—jagged, black stones rising out of the water. The flood had returned, smashing into the rocks.

"We have to get back inside!" Billy shouted.

"No!" I grabbed his arm, pointing at the hatch. "We can't go back in there! We'll drown!"

They ignored me, vanishing through the hatch again.

I cursed and followed, peeking my head inside—and the world had changed. It was dark and smoky, the air thick and choking. Shadows moved everywhere, the shapes of the creatures swarming through the gloom. I looked up, seeing small bursts of red scattered across them—weak points.

"Do you see that?" I whispered.

Billy and Freddie were too far ahead to hear me. I turned to the guard nearby, one of the last crew members still fighting.

"Give me your gun!" I said. "I can see them! I know where to shoot!"

He looked at me like I was crazy. "You what?"

"By the corner! In the smoke—shoot there!"

He hesitated, but then fired. The shadow crumpled, vanishing with a wail.

"See?" I said, breathless.

Before he could reply, another one dropped from the ceiling, pouncing on him. The guard's gun clattered to the ground as his body slumped. I looked down just in time to see one of the creatures bite Billy's arm.

"No!" I grabbed the nearest thing—a glass shard from the wreckage—and hurled it at the creature, piercing its face. It screeched and collapsed, disappearing into the mist.

More of them were coming, crawling on tightrope-like metal beams above. One lunged at me, snarling, and I fought it blind, grabbing a nearby box and slamming it into its face over and over until the box splintered apart. My hands burned, but I didn't stop. I grabbed a sharp metal rod and drove it into the creature, pinning it to the beam. It screeched one last time before falling silent.

I climbed down, shaking, to Billy and Freddie. "You okay?" I asked.

Billy cradled his arm, wincing. "Yeah. I think so."

I spotted two pickaxes nearby, grabbed them, and handed one to Billy. "We can't stay here. Come on."

We climbed our way back toward the hatch, fighting for every inch. Below us, I could see more of the creatures dragging people into locked rooms, their screams echoing through the dark. I didn't know what waited for us at the end, but I knew one thing:

We had to escape.

As we pushed forward, climbing through vents and narrow gaps, we finally made it into another locked room—but this one wasn't empty. People were huddled inside, their eyes wide with fear as they stared at us.

"What's happening?" someone asked.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. "Listen to me. There's something in the water. You can't see them, but they're real. And they're coming."

The room fell silent. Outside, the sounds of the flood grew louder, the ship groaning under its weight.

The creatures were coming.