Rory’s Secret
401 Words
Determined to find answers, Iris convinced Marge to authorize a second dive, despite the captain’s reservations.
“I don’t like it,” Marge said, her arms crossed as she stood on the bridge. “The waters are too unpredictable right now.”
“We’ll stay within range,” Iris promised. “It’s just a follow-up. If we don’t act now, we could lose valuable data.”
Reluctantly, Marge agreed, though her expression remained grim. “Be careful, Carter. The ocean’s got a mind of its own out here.”
The ROV descended once more, its lights cutting through the murky depths. The glowing coral was brighter than before, almost unnaturally so, and the decay patterns had spread significantly.
“Look at that,” Iris murmured, her voice tinged with both awe and unease. “It’s growing faster than we thought.”
As the ROV maneuvered closer to the crevice where they’d first seen the glowing object, the camera caught another flicker of movement.
“There!” Iris said, pointing at the monitor.
Alex rewound the footage. This time, the shadow was unmistakable: a sleek, humanoid figure with shimmering scales and fins. Its movements were fluid, almost predatory, as it disappeared into the darkness.
“What the hell was that?” Alex asked, his voice tight.
“I don’t know,” Iris admitted. “But it’s not a fish.”
Later that evening, Iris found Rory sitting alone on the deck, sketching in a small notebook. Curious, she approached him.
“What are you working on?” she asked.
Rory jumped, quickly closing the notebook. “Nothing!”
Iris raised an eyebrow. “That didn’t look like nothing.”
After a moment of hesitation, Rory sighed and handed her the notebook. Inside were detailed sketches of strange, humanoid creatures sleek and scaled, with glowing eyes and long, flowing fins.
“You’ve seen them, haven’t you?” Iris asked, her voice low.
Rory nodded reluctantly. “A couple of weeks ago, when I was on night watch. I thought I was imagining things, but... they looked like that.”
Iris stared at the drawings, her pulse quickening. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“Because no one would believe me!” Rory said, his voice defensive. “And besides, Marge would’ve just sent me packing.”
“She might not be as skeptical as you think,” Iris muttered, her mind racing.
- Writer
