The Expedition That Changed Everything
331 Words
The sea was calm the next morning, but tension aboard the Horizon was anything but. Iris couldn’t stop thinking about Marge’s warning or the haunting figure she’d seen in the water.
Determined to get answers, Iris made her way to the captain’s quarters, knocking firmly on the door.
“Come in,” Marge’s gruff voice called.
Iris stepped inside to find Marge sitting at her desk, a stack of old charts and photographs spread before her. A glass of whiskey sat untouched by her elbow.
“We need to talk,” Iris said, shutting the door behind her.
Marge sighed, leaning back in her chair. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“No,” Iris said, folding her arms. “Not when you clearly know more than you’re telling me. What happened to my mother, Marge? The truth this time.”
Marge stared at Iris for a long moment before finally speaking. “Your mother and I were on a research expedition not unlike this one. It was supposed to be routine, studying coral formations in uncharted waters. But then we found... something.”
“What kind of something?” Iris pressed.
Marge picked up a photograph from the desk and handed it to Iris. The black-and-white image showed a strange, glowing artifact embedded in a coral reef, its surface smooth and faintly luminescent.
“This,” Marge said. “We didn’t know what it was still don’t. But it wasn’t natural. It looked like it had been there for centuries, maybe longer.”
Iris frowned. “And you think this artifact has something to do with the melody? And the coral?”
Marge nodded. “Your mother thought it was connected to the myths she was always chasing. Sirens, sea gods, ancient curses you know how she was.”
“I thought they were just stories,” Iris said softly.
“So did I,” Marge admitted. “Until the ocean started fighting back.”
- Writer
