1 The Calm Before the Storm

A small wave rushes up to the shores, soaking the glistening, golden sand. The sun is high above the serene, blue ocean, giving off a warm feeling to people. A cool breeze passes by the beach, carrying with it the smell of saltwater. On the beach, scenes of children playing in the sand while the adults are watching. Groups of people are seen laughing while enjoying their barbecue food. The fishermen stood by the ocean patiently waiting for their catch to bring back home for dinner.

Away from the ocean stood a long line of people in front of a food stand waiting to order lunch. The food stand had a bright yellow roof with small metal pillars holding it up in place. Beside it were many other stands serving different kinds of food. Behind the food stand, a young man was hurriedly flipping burgers on a grill. Sweat dripped down his face as he's constantly moving around. A sense of urgency can be seen on his face as he rushes to package the cooked food for the customers. There were two other men that were working with him. They both looked exhausted from their labor.

"Ian! Hurry it up, we got two more orders of Nathan's Hot Dogs!" A large, muscular, middle-aged man with a deep voice shouted at him. His name was Ray Mazzi.

His body looked as if it has been through intense training over the years. His eyes were black and frightening as if he could kill someone by looking at them. The man had black hair reaching down to his neck that was combed back, emphasizing his jawline. He was wearing a yellow T-shirt with a logo on it, brown shorts, black sandals, and a white apron. His clothes were the exact same as the other two men with him. He was currently writing down orders and stamping them on the wall as quickly as he can while talking to his customers.

"What does it look like I'm doing, Ray? I can't just tell these burger patties to hurry the hell up!" Ian shouted back.

Frustration was building up as he continued cooking. He let out an exhausted sigh before wiping the sweat off his forehead. Ian Sawyer is twenty years old and has an above average height. He had a nice, tan skin from years of working at the food stand. He had short, messy, brown hair that was covered in a white bandanna. His eyes are dark brown with a sharp gaze to them that could scare people away.

"That's sir to you! Just put the damn dogs in the fryer already, brat!" Ray yelled at him back. Veins were popping out of his forehead as his anger welled up. Ian immediately dropped the hot dogs into the fryer right beside him to not further incur his boss's wrath.

"Conner!" He continued, "Where are the drinks you were supposed to make?" Ray glared at a thin, young man in the corner that was attempting to hide from his gaze. He knew something wasn't right by the way Conner acted.

Conner Mazzi had an average height with a thin build that looked like it could shatter just by touching him. He had dirty blonde hair and an average appearance that could blend in with the crowd. He had a fairly tan skin, but it was lighter compared to the other two men. His eyes were hazel brown and looked as if he hadn't slept in days. He currently stood there looking meekly at Ray.

"Well, uncle…" Conner paused for a moment before shifting his gaze elsewhere, "While I was, uh, blending some fruits, the blender, um, kind of stopped working…" He scratched his head after explaining the situation to Ray.

Ray's eyes began to twitch wildly and shouted, "Damn it, Conner! That's the third time you broke something this month, ya dingus!"

"I swear that I won't do it again." Conner weakly replied.

"I swear that I will beat you to death in your father's place if you say that again after what you did to my shop over the past year." Ray angrily said. Conner's body shook and he lowered his head.

Ian began snickering at the sight of Conner's misfortune. Ray gave him a death glare and Ian immediately shuts up and continued working. Ray massaged his temples before sullenly refunded the previous customers who ordered hand-made drinks.

Time slowly passed for the three of them as they continued working. Within the ocean, a large, black object that darkened the ocean's surface was rapidly moving towards a boat. A scuba diver, unbeknownst that something was heading straight for him, was exploring the area. He was separated from the other divers, moving directly opposite from them.

A long tentacle appeared behind the scuba diver. It was purple in color with sharp spikes across its surface. The tentacle wrapped around the diver's legs as it slowly moved upwards towards his neck. The diver let out a muffled scream as he struggled to break free from its grasp. His oxygen feed snapped from the tentacle's immense grip. He began flailing his arms as he tried to reach the surface before he drowns. However, the tentacle managed to wrap around his whole body and slowly pulled towards the creature who caught him. As he was being dragged closer, his screams became more shrill, and he violently wriggled around. He didn't get to see what it looks like before countless tentacles began tearing his limbs off and ripping his flesh apart. Suddenly, a large mouth with incredibly long teeth appeared before his minced body and consumed him. It slowly swam towards the other divers.

What remained was an empty boat, slowly drifting along the sea.