The ONE Archives

ONE ([0.004]): A-Biggering Fish

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BRYCE

How's that computer of yours?

ARCHIVIST

Fine, Listen, I don't know why that guy was rambling about it not letting him type in the search bar. But for me, it's working fine. Still watching for any weird things.

BRYCE

Okay, I'm still wondering though. Did you download some desktop assistant thing? I saw something called 'Texty' with the cat logo.

ARCHIVIST

What? Oh, that. No, I didn't download that, and I can't seem to delete it.

BRYCE

Huh. Hey, did you turn th–

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ARCHIVIST

Statement of.... Bradley Sliva, regarding an strange experience while on a fishing trip with his son, Bradley Junior.

Original statement given November 23, 2002. Given by Liam Plecak, September 17, 2016.

Statement begins.

ARCHIVIST (STATEMENT)

(sigh) It's a little hard to explain, Well, it happened too fast. I thought it would be a little nice to treat my son to a fishing trip, but... It was supposed to be harmless, a normal and calming moment, you know, To try and get to know my son better. I was wrong. I-I mean, of course! All peaceful moments usually end in disasters like all of your ghost stories here. Let me start this from the very beginning.

I really wanted to have a moment with my son, since I've never really seen him those days. Usually it's just simple chats, with tea, about how he's doing in school and normal stuff. I figured maybe he and I could use a break away from our heavy workload of our worries and just get to know each other better. So off we went. I remember I had browsed Google to find a serene fishing dock and there I found it, the name, Boundless Trawling, The pictures had beautiful insights of the landscape, the nice wooden dock resting easy on a gentle shore and the sparking sun rays on the immense ocean. As I landed eyes on the pictures, a surge of amazement rushed through me, I just knew this was the right place!

So I told my son, Bradley Junior that we were going to Boundless Trawling. Him and I gathered my things: a fishing rod, some bait, some snacks; in case we were hungry, a bucket and a boat with a few oars. The boat was brown and wooden, and pretty much my friend. I mean I had it for maybe... 4 years now? Anyways. We got into my car and navigated the place. As soon as we got there, we looked around the nice and serene surroundings. There were nice trees and green tall grass all across the area and the sun loomed over the horizon. A few moments later, we pushed the boat onto the water and got inside. I began pushing the oars till we were out to sea.

The... the first sessions were nice, I told Bradley Junior if he knew his fish well, I quizzed him like a few times in our little chats and he got a few answers wrong but mostly, I congratulated him. We caught a few basses and salmon as we went along, and taught him about many species of fish. My son, mouth agape, clapped and smiled - he'd been surprised about how much I knew about fish. I told him that I'd been fishing for a long time, since I was 17. His eyes lit up with delirium as he said, "That's so cool!" I smiled at him, his beam clear as day. I-I...

A few moments later, Bradley was sitting in the boat, then asked me if he could try fishing for a change of pace. I wish I didn't say yes, but I did. I lent him the fishing rod and watched him as he dipped the rod into the water, delving deep into the ocean. The quiet water rustled as we sat there and the gentle breeze of the wind rumbled overhead. The clouds moved across the sky pleasantly. I told myself everything would be fine.

But oh, ho. No, Everything collapsed.

My chest skipped a bit as Bradley felt a slight pull on his fishing rod and I waltzed over there to the side where the rod was. At first I thought it was a normal bass. I told him to pull up, and maybe stir it under his control. He did, and I could see the shadow getting bigger and bigger. I began to think otherwise, feeling my chest sink in dread. This isn't any species that I knew of. As I stared at the fish-like figure, I noticed... something odd. It was a blue-ish grey fish with eight, pure white eyes, and its scales sharp like knives. Its fins were grey and its mouth, it was bigger and looked like it could bite back. It... was staring back at me. "Bradley, Let. Go." I spoke firmly, dripping with worry. My son struggled and struggled but to no avail, shook his head. "I c-can't!" He cried, his hands trembling. The fish had a very strong grip.

The rod looked like it was about to snap in half and I felt myself tremble as I stared at the fish then Bradley Junior, biting my lip as I tried desperately to think of a plan but I had no effort. I grabbed the fishing rod, helping my son pull up the fish. We rotated the reel again and again, feeling a wave of uncertainty wash over me. You know how you'd wind up a jack-in-the-box and the surprise comes out? Kinda like that.

All at once, the fish jumped and my son felt his legs losing balance.The boat tipped forward at a dangerous level. The fish's grip on the rod was stronger; and dragged the rod further and further. Bradley quivered and gazed at me like a deer in headlights. He tried pulling it back but lost balance. "Dad! Please, please help me!" He desperately screamed as the fish creature ravaged my son into the lake, never to be seen again.

All that was left was a fishing rod floating in the water, reeling back.

My son's screams echoed in my head as I realised the situation. "BRADLEY?!" I screamed as I searched the water all around the boat... but... there was nothing there. Not even a single speckle. He just completely vanished like a ghost. I felt complete dread and guilt as I sat there.

ARCHIVIST

Statement ends.

Ah, well, I'm stumped. Uh, from what I gathered, the species of fish that Bradley Silva's son was killed by, were unknown in origin and possibly an unnamed species. As for Bradley Junior, I find it hard to believe that his son's body disappeared and then leave behind no traces or evidence of anything. What they did find was a painting of nothing. According to Owen and Bryce, there was supposed to be a bunch of colourful triangles on it. I think I might know where the triangle painting is in one of these files.

There is not much information on Boundless Trawling. And perhaps no other records and media about it in the database... However, it seems to be loosely connected to the titular Apple Creek. Seeing Bradley Junior had disappeared around one day after Oscar Mayworth went missing. Their staff seem to completely cover up Bradley's son's death as an suicide.

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