Movement in the Void by: Nicole Baldry, Ink and Foil, 2019

Diver’s Story

A black horizon stretched out indefinitely, held at bay by the light of a swinging torch but nevertheless complete in its obscurity. Then, suddenly, a prick of light in the sea of darkness. A pinpoint that swayed as it descended, deeper and deeper still into the cold depths. An intriguing light, as it could not decide where to go. Made hesitant by the never-ending abyss, it turned to the side, flitted up, tilted down, and turned around. A beautiful yet ridiculous dance, the illuminating jewel was mesmerizing.

Drawing closer, the brilliant jewel of light transformed into something much less magical. An oblong mass, dark and brown in color, was topped by a sphere of reflective scale. Situated at the front of the sphere was a massive eye, weirdly indented, and though it was reflective, no iris could be seen. Sprouting from that same mass was a tentacle, though incredibly long and uniform. Up and up the appendage went, out of the range of the creature’s light and into the great darkness above. Two puffy yet round fins emerged from below its ghastly head, flailing about without creating any meaningful current, and two more that firmly pounded the ocean floor. Stirring up clouds of sand and muck, the creature limped along the seafloor as if the notion of swimming was foreign to it. So slowly it moved that any self-respecting creature could easily surprise it, latch onto it with its teeth, and swallow it whole.

Switching off the torch to edge in closer, the creature seemed completely unaware. Though it showed no recognition it was being watched, its aloof attitude coupled with its alien appearance served to make it all the more dangerous. Still, the beast must have a weakness, and sooner or later it would display it. A perfect opportunity would arise, if given enough time. All that is required is patience, and to wait. And wait. And wait.

At this point, the entity had begun to move. Kicking up a storm of sand, it made its way on the floor with the tentacle trailing at an angle. Finding its way through the hills and divots, sometimes stumbling into a crevasse and at others climbing a steep incline, the beast made quite a racket. Crustaceans were pounded into dust and seafloor-dwelling fish bolted away. However, the thing stayed focused— never erring, never tiring. With its beam trained dead ahead, it continued forward. From monotonous plains where the whitest sand formed an even bottom, to leagues of craggy spires that spewed forth great heat and bubbles, the creature persisted.

Only when presented with the Gorge did the being stop. A jagged gash in the Earth, the Gorge spanned miles across and its depth was equivalent. Even in the darkness prevalent at this level, the Gorge sported an even more tenebrous maw. Though a gentle grade that approached the opening hinted at an easy way down, a sheer drop awaited any foolish enough to try. Starting down the deep grade, the creature quickly lost its traction. Sliding down and frantically clawing around for any way to avert a grisly end, an opportunity presented itself…

Tumbling down the sandy slope, a blur of limbs and flashes of light peaked out from an already growing trail of dust. Unable to right itself, the creature’s fins proved useless as it madly spun towards the encroaching abyss. Whipping out a glinting object from its waist, it jammed the device into the muck. Though stopping the monster’s whirling form, the measure did little to slow its motion. Within an instant, the creature met the lip of the Gorge and soared beyond, straight into its waiting maw.

Plummeting backwards, the torchlight illuminated the waters above as the walls of the crevasse soared up on both sides. Rapidly attempting to reel in the hose, the rock seemed to rise even faster. Clawing, pulling, grappling, straining, tugging, heaving. The hose kept coming and so did the onrushing cliffs. A second, a minute, any sense of time was lost in that one-sided game of tug-of-war. The Stygian abyss sunk its claws into the ill-equipped existence, ushering it towards a briny death; the out-of-place explorer clinging to its last shred of hope as it fell, and fell and fell.

A shriek of metal screamed out as the body of the Diver caught, the harness bending at an obscene angle and threatening to rip free but keeping the form suspended all the same. Turning to glance beneath, the light of the torch was swallowed whole before it could even reach the bottom. Wearily staring up, the beam caught something. Amidst the stone sides of the crevasse, now higher than ever, a shadowy form flitted past. Training the light in its direction, all that could be made out were the dark brown walls.

A rush of water pelted the Diver’s back as something raced past. Whipping around, the source of the sound was no longer there. Hurriedly scanning the surrounding waters, only the occasional patch of wall-sprouting seaweed interrupted the monotonous scenery. Anxiety creeping into the impregnable suit, the Diver carefully reached back, producing a harpoon gun. The gnarled end, sporting multiple barbs to ensnare any creature unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end, glinted a vicious silver and felt heavy in the Diver’s hands. Wrapping the hose around its free hand, it began to sway from side to side, all the while keeping an eye out for its fellow inhabitant.

As if finally noticing a disturbance, the being turned around, spying for the source. Its beam of white light penetrated the darkness, forcing a retreat. Dashing around, darting above and slinking below, the creature eventually lost sight. Upon doing so, its gangly arms removed something from its back. A long, thin object that shined as brightly as the head—a spine, perhaps. As the creature raised the lengthy object, just below its head, the device emanated a terrifying aura. Plunging below and staring above, the monster kept the object pointed away while frantically shining its light all but down. Spiraling up, jaw unhinged, ready to taste blood… the satisfaction never came.

Waving the light around to spy for the pursuer, a new color emerged in the colorless depths—crimson red. Initially a trickle, a river of red blood rushed to engulf the Diver from below. Slowly looking down, a monster the likes of which had never been seen stared out. A mountain of a fish, from tail to head it must have been twenty feet in length and half as round. Baggy layers of diseased gray flesh wrapped the body, drooping down to its unholy jaw. A wicked line of serrated teeth the size of kitchen knives protruded at all angles formed an infinite number of rows, retreating into its maw. The worst, though, were the eyes. Bulbous globes of putrid yellow ooze stared out, rivaling dinner plates in size. Leaking out from those massive eyes and vomiting forth from the beast’s mouth was the blood. Writhing in pain, contorting its vile features into something that was almost pitiful, undoubtedly scared, it was crushed to death.

Slinking back into the darkness below, carrying with it its freshly killed prey was a tentacle of unimaginable proportions. Pearlescent white in color, the appendage was marred with scars revealing its lifelong fight for survival; and long it must have been, for just in the brief moment that the segment constricted the monster fish, the marks were so numerous they resembled the grain of wood. Finally vanishing into the abyss beneath, the Diver was left suspended.

Petrified, the Diver could do little but tremble. The spear gun in their hands no longer had the menacing weight it once did, and its metal had lost all luster. The technological advancements of its species were little more than annoyances to these creatures of the deep, and yet they had conferred such unbridled hubris. An insignificant pest was all the Diver was in the face of such an existence, and the numbing cold of reality sunk in. The gun fell away, down, down into the deep while a quivering hand reached out but grasped nothing. Trying again, the gloved hand fumbled with the switch. Another hand reached up, frenziedly attempting to extinguish the light, to not see it, to not know, to be ignorant.

A seam split the abyss below. A gash in the tenebrous black that burst with a bright yellow light. The slit widened, growing to the size of a sailing vessel and still longer. Stretched to the limit, the tear ripped apart and revealed a terrible, gargantuan eye. The pupil tore across the orb, racing madly in its socket until it centered on the Diver.

And then another eye.

And another.

And ano—

The torch went dark.