Drown (MXM)

Chapter 5

Sunset cup coral ^^^^ pretty right? :3 not actually indigenous to Hawaii though, so don't expect to see one under normal circumstances if you ever go diving there! Enjoy the chapter. 

-A

I felt the impact of my body on the surface almost immediately after tipping over the edge. Bubbles danced sporadically around me as the air mixed with the water and obscured my vision. My regulator hissed loudly with the fast pace of my breathing, threatening to choke me on my own oxygen reserve. Something wrapped around my bicep and squeezed, causing me to let out a squeal that was thankfully swallowed by the water. When the bubbles finally cleared up I was able to see the floating form of Alec in front of me. He released my arm once he had my attention and made motions with his arms and chest, trying to tell me to slow my breathing. I nodded and closed my eyes to try and block out all of the new stimulus that surrounded me. My heart rate began to slow from a pounding drum, to a soft rhythm as air began to file in and out of my lungs at a smoother pace. Once I was sure I was good, I opened my eyes again, seeing Alec give me a goofy thumbs up.

To be honest, this guy had the patience of a champion because if I had been in his position, I would have sent my ass packing. Alec brought his hands up to fiddle with my BCD and I felt his light tugs on my body before bubbles erupted from it, causing the vest to deflate a bit. I began to sink slowly while he messed with his own vest and joined me in our descent.

We both turned our bodies so that our feet were facing the surface of the water, kicking our legs out to swim down to the vast forest of coral below. Color exploded before me, an entrancing beauty that beckoned me deeper and deeper. All the trees and flowers on the land could hardly hold a candle to this living canvas. All of my previous fear melted away to be replaced with awe. Of course I had seen pictures of coral reefs in textbooks and diagrams during school, but nothing could compare to seeing it right before your eyes. It was alive, and moving, entrancing, and enticing, it was raw life in its most simple and true form. I never wanted to leave, this much I knew.

Alec had long since left my side once he deemed me good to go, and the other three were already set to work. Kara held an expensive looking camera that was encased in some form of flexiglass, skimming over the floor and raising it to capture an image every once in a while. Malcom's form could be seen hazily in the distance, just enough that I could tell it was him, but not enough that I could make out what he was doing. K.G. seemed to be doing something with Alec, neither of them communicating with words, but rather, they were using their hands. Sign language, I told myself. I had never learned, though I had been told many times that it could be useful. I never thought I would regret not taking the course, but in that moment, I had never felt so useless. Everyone here had a job, knowledge, and ability outside of what I felt I was capable of. I would have to work twice as hard to learn and catch up, otherwise I'd be more of a hindrance than an asset.

I made my way over to a large patch of coral, hoping to at least make myself useful in some way. My body moved smoothly and weightlessly in a way I wasn't used to, so I wasn't that surprised when my body practically rammed into the scratchy structure. Fish sped around me in an attempt to get away from the foreign invader that was my body. I watch, almost laughing when a lobster practically dove head first off of an elkhorn coral into a small crevice below.

I ran my hand over the spongy surface, admiring how nice it felt on my skin, almost like when you rub your bare feet through a patch of grass. One particularly beautiful, bright yellow coral was swaying gently in the current. Leptopsammia pruvoti, I reminded myself of the scientific name, also known as sunset cup coral. It looked a lot like a large sunflower, with bright yellow tentacles resembling the petals. It was attached to a large bedrock all by itself, but that wasn't uncharacteristic of this particular species. What was unusual was its location in general. This species of coral was not found in these waters, indiginous mainly to the coasts of England. The fact that it could survive here is an anomaly, so I took a mental note to bring it up to Alec once we resurfaced. I reached into the holster on my hip to grab a pair of shears, ready to cut off a tentacle so that I could figure out just what was allowing the creature to live so far out of its natural habitat.

Suddenly, I became distracted by a flash of light somewhere off in the distance. I lowered the shears, squinting my eyes in an attempt to focus in the direction of the fast moving creature. The foggy void before me didn't reveal anything, much to my frustration. It was probably just a fish, but my curiosity was piqued the moment I saw how quickly it moved. There one minute and gone the next, a literal flash of scales being the only indication of its existence. The muscles in its tale must have been on a whole nother level. I looked back to make sure no one was paying attention to me, satisfied when I saw everyone was busy with their own tasks. I took a deep breath, finding comfort for once in the whispering of my regulator. Hesitantly, I kicked off the floor beneath my feet, sand kicking up in clouds around me and causing more fish to scurry away. I moved towards my general destination, pumping my legs and using my arms to cut through the sand-clouded water. The further I went, the more my nerves began to kick in and threaten to make me abort my mission. I had to concentrate on keeping my breathing even, sparing a glance at my console to see all of my green bars were gone; only the yellow and red remained.

It's okay, just a quick look and then you can return to the boat.

I thought, trying to console myself all while urging my body to keep going. Another flash of light reflected to the right of my floating form. This time the creature was definitely much closer, and though it was still too fast for me to fully catch with my gaze, I was able to get a glimpse of its size before it disappeared. It was huge!

This was getting dangerous and my blood pounded in my ears, my stomach churning and trying to release its contents. I brought a hand up to rub my abdomen through my wetsuit, hoping that the action would settle it down a bit. I bit down a little harder on the plastic piece in my mouth. My fingers twitched and my muscles seized up, freezing me in place. Something that big had to be a creature from the open ocean, not one that lived in the reef. My mind began to rush through the years of knowledge I kept filed away in my head.

Think Dylan, it's too small to be a whale. It's speed could indicate it was a dolphin, desperate for food to the point it would risk swimming in shallow waters.

I shook my head, feeling the water gently caress my cheek, as if to say "don't be afraid".

No, dolphins swim in pods, a lone dolphin could not survive very long without its family. It's not like any kind of fish I've ever seen, its mass and speed not making sense in my brain. There aren't many fish in the ocean that can get that big, aside from...

It was a huge mistake to come out here, there is only one thing my brain could rationalize the creature being. Though it was still faster than any shark I'd ever studied, it was the only logical answer my mind could conjure. And if it was prowling through the reef, that had to mean it was hungry and hunting. The ocean drop off was not too far from my current location, in fact, I could vaguely see where the coral ended and the darkness began. So it was fully within the realm of possibility that an open ocean creature, such as a shark, could make its way here in search of nourishment.

I began to kick my legs violently when I saw another flash of light, this time to my left. My breath began to pick up its pace quickly, my chest heaving painfully. My legs burned as they fought to move through the liquid surrounding them. It felt like I was trapped in one of those dreams where you were being chased, but couldn't move fast enough or scream. My arms thrashed violently, tears plopping on the plastic surface of my face mask. I had traveled so far away from the boat that I couldn't even see the others to try and wave for help. I really messed up. I let out a silent scream when I saw the flash again, this time even closer than before. The creature was closing in on me, but with its speed, I knew it could be on top of me any second. It was toying with me.

I grimaced, my limbs starting to slow from exhaustion. Fast, everything was moving too fast; everything except me. My heart pounded, my lungs hyperventilated, the creature darted all around me. I began to get dizzy, but forced my eyes to focus on the expanse of coral forest in front of me. I couldn't be too much further away from the boat, I just had to ignore my fear and keep moving.

Just when I was beginning to take back control over my panicked mind, my whole world was stained one color.

Red.