Beetle

Isaac clambered through the tight space and through the main segment of the Beetle, where all the notches, buttons, nozzles and dials were, then he made his way into the "cylinder". The cylinder was the circular space in which the driver would sit. The walls were all thick metal, but, they had a visual technology installed in them almost like a TV, while on the outside it had nano sized cameras covering every part of the of cylinder. This would allow the driver to visually see everything around him in all directions, save for what was behind him. It made one feel like an insect trapped within a small bowl and thrown into the deep, dark waters.

It also gave the sense that you were alone and unprotected in the open sea.

For a split second, as Isaac went along the mid chamber and flipped switches, adjusted various dials, and pressed a few buttons, he began to reconsider his idea of going without a suit. But, in all honesty, why should he. It wasn't as if he cared about his life, so why should he worry about protecting it. And yet… why did his heart race as it did? Why did he feel so… afraid? If he wasn't scared of death, as he thought, then why did these roots of cold, freezing terror grow from his heart, winding through his veins and encroaching on his lungs, making it difficult to breath?

He didn't know the answer to that question. He flicked the last switch and the overhead lights came on with a hum as the faint, LED blue light sent his shadow skittering across the metal plates at his feet. The Beetle itself was quite cramped, the mid chamber only being maybe four feet wide while being maybe five feet high. The cylinder was also small, though, not quite as small. The diameter of the spherical space was between five to six feet.

Isaac was about to head to the cylinder, but then he remembered he had forgotten his coffee back in the facility. He hesitated, considering going back for it. But then he decided against it. He'd drank most of it, and it would be bothersome if he spilt it inside the Beetle.

Sitting down, Isaac reached to the roof and pressed blue button and then flipped two out of five switches. When he did, part of the metal slid open and a handle raised up from the bottom of the space. It was almost like the joystick of a video game, and it was how he'd control where the Beetle went. Isaac then flipped over his wrist and activated his holo-watch, watching as the screen popped up. He clicked on notes and made sure it was open, then he clicked "audio recording". A beep came from the watch and then he began.

"Activating visual feed." He spoke, flipping the fourth switch. The metal plates suddenly all turned black. The faintest images of dirt and grime floating through the water could just barely be seen. "Activating dome lights." He said, pressing in a button with a soft click. Then, four lights placed around the cylinder and the mid chamber flashed on outside the sub, lighting the space around him.

Isaac couldn't help but shudder. He could see everything so clearly. He could see the dirt and rock below the sub, he could see the metal of the facility, he could see the mountainous rocks that rose up out of the abyss like towering gods, keepers of the gates unto hell. And, he could see the rays of the sub's lights as they beamed on, out over the edge of the observatory and down into the abyss. Even the high tech lights of the Beetle couldn't pierce the void.

The unnatural feeling of being defenseless out in the open of that darkness was one of the worst feelings that Isaac had ever experienced. The fact that it was as though the walls were glass made it seem like he had nothing there to separate him from what was outside, and it sent waves of bitter cold through his veins.

"Closing facility hatch." He said, pressing buttons and flipping switches. "Now closing sub hatch."

Isaac moved his hand down to the control handle, his finger resting on a latch. He took a deep breath. "Detaching from dock."

Then came a loud click that rattled the entire sub, making it shudder as it slowly lifted up from the facility dock with a loud groan of metal on rusted metal. Isaac watched with dead eyes as the ground below him fell away as he lifted up. Then he turned his eyes skywards towards the surface. It was too far to go. It would take him roughly three hours to get to the surface.

Originally, scientists had thought the Mariana Trench was the deepest place on earth. They were wrong. Four years ago, a US crew discovered a small opening in the earth out in the middle of the Atlantic. It looked like no more than a small cave, but, when they explored it, it began to open up, getting larger and larger.. as it went deeper and deeper.

The ORDD (Ocean Research and Discovery Devision) became the lead oceanic group during the year 2267. They were not belonging to any country in specific, they were a group of United scientists from different countries that came together to use all their gathered knowledge.

After the discovery of this new system, what they thought was a cave, the ORDD took the lead of its discovery and research. But, they did not have the technology to make king enough trips down into it and back up. So, they went as deep as they could, and began the construction of a facility that had enough power, air and materials to last a whole year. This way, they could make it deeper into this place with a deeper starting point.

This new system, which was far more than just a cave, was still unknown in depth. But, at 9,078 meters, it became a wide and open void of the unknown. There was barely any life down there, but, that didn't mean there was not any at all. The conditions were nearly impossible to live in, but some creatures found ways to live in such impossible conditions with things such as deep sea gigantism and having non-vertebrae based body structures in order to survive under the immense pressure.

The facility, named Point Void, was constructed at 11,230 meters deep. From there, over the time he'd been there, Isaac had explored even deeper, going down to 13,001 before turning around. He didn't wish to go any farther, but he knew he would need to at some point. And even at that depth, the void had no end in sight, the sonar and mapping system showing that, rather than coming to an end, the pathway only seemed to widen and go deeper.

This abyss… was named the Eptiguire.