Very delicious bait Part III

"Are you sure you want to do it this way?"

"Maybe it would be a better idea if we use the U-4 according to plan. You won't have to risk losing anyone's lives," Eric said to me. He put his hand on the door of the submarine when I was about to go in. Our eyes met, and I gave him a mischievous grin. "Can you please not treat this like it is fun? We can't just easily shoo those sharks away, Sol."

"They won't eat me."

"..."

"As long as I'm alive, every single one of you'll be safe. So, follow the plan. If there is any mistake, I'll be back as soon as possible." I gave him a pat on his shoulder. I knew he was worried, but we could not back down at this point. I had already given Jordan hours to steel himself.

If we told him that we would send the U-4 instead, I was afraid he might feel like he had wasted his time.

Eric sighed. He was probably tired of my stubbornness. I pulled him closer by the collar and whispered close to his lips.

"I won't die until I can have sex with you one more time."

"Sol...!"

"I'll claim my reward after my return. When the time comes...don't chicken out." I chuckled, let go of him, and ducked inside the submarine. I took my usual seat and gave Eric a “We can do it!” thumbs-up. Eric could only run his hand through his hair and wearily rub his face. He was undoubtedly stunned.

"I should have taken a picture of that and posted it on Twitter."

"Saying good-bye to being alive, Jordan?"

"Sol!" I smiled when I saw his shocked expression at my retort. "Not funny. Please don't make my sanity go to waste."

"It will not go to waste for sure, Jordan. I'll definitely make this journey fun for you."

"..."

"Get the system ready. We're going in now," I ordered them both. Steve raised his thumb to say that he was ready. I heard a faint, grumpy murmur from Jordan. They had little choice. I turned back and looked at the water in front of me. We were inside the RG4, a submarine that could travel deep under the sea. I checked the air pressure, sound systems, and many others.

When everything was ready, we watched Eric's team occupying the sharks' attention. Two long fins drifted in the sea toward a large piece of meat with the sound of a whale calf as bait. When they were at the designated spot, Nashley dropped us into the sea.

Splash!

The water splashed as the submarine sank, warring with the sound of a large piece of meat being snatched from the giant crane. I used the time when the brothers were eating the dead whale to accelerate the submarine, moving farther forward, and then we dived into the sea. I could not help but peek to see how much they enjoyed their meal and dimmed the guiding headlight a bit, so they would not notice us.

Because if they knew we left the research center...

The big chunks of meat would immediately be us three.

"Check the sensors regularly in case something comes near us."

"Roger that, Commander." Steve saluted like a soldier to acknowledge the order. I chuckled and moved the submarine forward. We needed to move at a slow pace, or else we would attract predators. I monitored both sides, fixated on the newly loaded simulation.

If we got closer to the point that I had marked, we should be able to detect the magnetic waves from the broken U-4.

I licked my lips. We passed through a thick layer of ocean. It did not differ from a black veil of fog. No one had ever entered this area. It was too deep and dangerous. No one could guarantee our return to those on the surface.

But I would save us all.

"Turn on the lights, Jordan, and change the mode to floating."

"Roger that."

"Divert to the right. If you guys see anything, report immediately," I said to the monitor connected to the research center. I could somewhat hear their answers. It was enough to trust that the signal was still there, at least. The light was turned up, shining across the sand below. I gasped lightly. The forbidden area was much more abundant than the coral reefs I had seen.

I flashed the light and sped up slightly as I glanced at the monitor.

Nothing had come closer to us yet.

“The sensors caught something, Sol,” Steve said, and swiped the screen so that it was in front of me. "It looks like a large piece of metal. Perhaps it is the remains of the U-4."

"Then put a pin on it and turn on the camouflage mode. We will go over to inspect it slowly."

"How can we see if it's this dark?"

"We must use our instincts." I smiled at him, turned the headlight off, and turned on the camouflage mode that had been prepared. In this mode, the sound of the engine would be lowered, and unnecessary parts would be shut down except for the propeller that moved the submarine. I inhaled, feeling that breathing was harder, even though we had more than enough air.

Or maybe it was because the lights were off, and we could not tell if there was anything in front of us.

I bit my lip, taking the team toward the spot. The monitoring screens showed that we were almost there. We used infrared waves to check if there was anything in the surroundings. Everything was silent—shockingly silent, almost like it was inviting us to go in.

"Did you see anything?" I pressed the wireless communication button to talk to ground control team. "Anything we need to be aware of?"

[We don't see any traces of movement so far, Sol. This might be a good sign.]

I exhaled. Her words were not really reassuring to me. As long as we were under water, I could guarantee there would never be a good sign. Unfortunate events were bound to happen, eventually.

Jordan rested his hand against the glass pane, trying to see through the dark.

"I can't see anything apart from those rocks."

"..."

"Do you think there is anything out there?" He spoke of what I also had in mind. It was impossible that our mission had been this smooth. I touched my wireless communication earpiece to speak with Nashley, who was watching us from another monitor. I asked her about the most dangerous creatures in the sea.

"How are our two boys?"

[I... I'm not sure. Maybe they are having fun diving.]

"What did you just say?"

[The trackers on their bodies say that they are not far from here.]

I heard the typing sound on a keyboard. She was probably keying in some data.

[The coordinates say that they are in front of your bedroom. They seem to be staying still. Maybe they are sleeping.]

"This isn't their bedtime, Nashley. I know them better than anyone."

[Where do you think they are?]

"Maybe at..."

Bam!

"Whoa!" Before I could answer, something hit our submarine out of the blue, and we went off course. The impact was so powerful, just like an elephant ramming into a building. At that moment, I tried to keep the submarine steady. I wanted to turn on the light so badly to see what had hit us, but if we did that, we might encounter what we did not want to see.

We already had our hands full!

[What's going on, Sol, what's happening?!?]

"Something hit us, Eric. Maybe it was a rock...!"

Beep! Beep!

The sensors raised a blaring alarm, warning us that something was nearby. All three of us snapped towards the monitor. The target flashed on the screens as four large arrows facing each other. It was not very far from us, but I turned off the engine because of its speed, even if we were in camouflage mode. We parked the submarine among the lower rocks where there was just enough space for it.

We turned off the lights inside and let the silence swallow us. I heard voices from the wireless communication channel on and off, but I did not reply. I focused on the darkness ahead.

My heart pounded like when the sharks chased me.

"What... What do you think it is?"

"..."

"Is it the mega..."

" Shhh." I held my finger up to my lips to silence Jordan. I did not know how good the senses of the thing outside were. If it could not see us, then we would be fine, but we should not risk speaking loud enough for it to identify our location. I bit my lips and stared at the calm darkness again. My heart was pounding hard. Still, I would never, ever scare my staff.

I pointed at the communication equipment. It was like an iPad, but its structure was different. We had to check where the U-4 we were looking for was.

"Pin a new spot, maybe it..."

Bang!

"Ah!" Something struck our submarine again. This time, it was so violent that I fell out of my seat. Everyone somersaulted around inside the submarine that rolled numerous times. My head hit the controller. I could smell blood wafting all over. "Ouch... this is insane."

"Sol!"

"Oh no, are you okay?" Steve and Jordan rushed over to help me up. I frowned at the pain, trying to balance myself. The submarine had stopped moving. I did not know where we were. The sudden crash had cut off the power system. The wireless communication tool could not be used to contact the people on the surface. "Oh my God, your head is bleeding. We need to find a cloth to stop the bleeding first!"

“Shhh!" I held my finger up to my lips while snapping Jordan's mouth shut. The sound of panic would catch the attention of the predators. "Do not make a sound. We don't know what's out there."

"Ngh.”

"Calm down. I told you we will be safe."

"A... and did you expect this?"

"What?"

"That." My brows furrowed. I did not understand what Steve was saying. He pointed forward. His face was ashen and full of fear. My heart pounded very hard in that second. I did not realize that I was holding my breath. I followed his gaze and saw a creature which was staring right at us.

A glowing light extended from the head, revealing the petrifying teeth ang fangs that indicated very well that it could just swallow us in one bite.

I felt like someone strangled my throat and I could not breathe.

The monster in front of us was just as terrifying as the megalodons.