ever since I was a kid I've been fascinated with the ocean my Mom hated it she used to tell me all the time if God intended for us to know about the ocean he wouldn't have put so many obstacles between us and the bottom of it I thought that was a bit reductionist but when I insisted on studying biological oceanography and ocean engineering she was as supportive as she could possibly be College was the best time in my life I loved my studies my mom and I even bonded over it as she let me tell
her all about what I was learning about the ocean even though she didn't love the field I chose she still pitched in for my education and encouraged me to live at home until I was done she was my biggest supporter 2 weeks after I graduated college my dad died and with his death my mom seemed to lose all her will to live she tried to hold on for me but every day I could see the light slipping from her eyes a little more she died the day after my interview for my dream job and to
this day I'm convinced she did that on purpose she knew her time was coming and she waited so I wouldn't miss my interview my friends always tell me that's a little morbid but when I light candles for my mom's spirit I can feel her there with me and I know it's true anyway I got the call with the job offer a few days after her funeral another small blessing that I knew came from her and despite wanting to just lay down and and give up on everything I accepted the job I was still heartbroken about
losing both of my parents within a few months of each other but the job was everything I had dreamed and more after a few years I was given the opportunity to join a team that was researching previously unexplored parts of the ocean I got assigned to the coolest place ever the Bermuda Triangle I know I know we all grew up hearing stories about the Bermuda Triangle and most of them can be explained by science and weather patterns but the stories that can't be explained by science unfortunately I can offer you an explanation for turns out
my mom was right sometimes obstacles are there for a reason the first few weeks of our research Expedition were exciting we had a place we were staying in Cape Hatteras North Carolina but since that's still a good 640 mi from our research site we also had a fairly nice boat we were staying on and the team got funds for a submarine I won't bore you with all the scient specific details of our Expedition but after about 2 months we were granted permission to send four people into the Bermuda Triangle in a submarine our team Le
decided she would select three people to go with her and out of our 11p person team we knew there would be a lot of disappointed people she said she would give us her decision individually to avoid the awkwardness for everyone who wasn't selected I was a bundle of nerves for the whole week it took her to decide but on a Bright Beautiful Sunday morning man found me in my bunk and told me I had been selected to be honest a part of me knew deep down that I was going to be picked there was no
way all of these things would have lined up so perfectly just for me to be left behind while someone else went on the submarine trip as it turns out we would all be better off if someone else had been selected 3 days later we were ready to take the submarine down to the ocean floor the people in our group were myself Mani an older man named Jacob a guy about my age named Evan and the 90 person crew running the submarine we all had our hopes for what we would discover but I think everyone was
just elated to be a part of something so big the first few days in the submarine were mostly spent getting our bearings charting mapping and getting used to being so deep underwater after that we were able to use some pretty high-tech equipment that looked a lot like the suits astronauts wear to actually leave the submarine I still lay awake at night and think about what that was like the ocean was dark it reminded me of fog actually the way you can see up to a certain point before it all blurs into one meaningless color only
instead of fog we were in an Inky Darkness all the time I could see a few feet in front of me at any given moment the wonders of the ocean hidden behind a cold wet dark Veil all there for me and my team to uncover after a couple days of collecting samples and specimens Jacob and I made a huge Discovery caught between a rock and the ocean floor was a scuba suit in a design neither of us had ever seen before our suits topof the line equipment not currently available to the public looked a lot
like space suits this one looked like a toddler had tried to copy what we were wearing but lacked the ability to really do it justice the hands looked like mittens almost exactly the way a small child would think to draw them the helmet was oddly oblong and looked like a large bucket with holes cut out for the eyes and mouth the eye and mouth holes were covered with glass and the top of the helmet was rounded instead of flat like a bucket would be giving it an odd misshape of appearance the body was misshapen as
well with a barrel-like torso and uneven arms and legs while I couldn't tell what the helmet was made from it was clear that the body seemed to be made out of leather the helmet and body almost seemed suctioned or glued together there was no zipper no buttons no way I could see to dismantle it in order to put it on more importantly it was clear the suit was very old but it showed none of the signs of damage that something like that should have after sitting at the bottom of the ocean for so long Jacob
and I glanced at each other then rushed toward the strange sight as if we were both thinking the same thing we worked together to move the rock off it then cleared the debris that had gathered around the suit mostly Fishbones and small carcasses we did so in complete silence but despite the lack of words I knew we were both Beyond excited whatever this was we were on the cusp of an incredible Discovery we freed the Strang looking diver's suit and carried it back to the sub Marine an hour later Jacob and I stood with the
rest of the crew everyone hovered around the table we had placed it on we had debated for a while if we thought it would hold up bringing it out of the water and into a strange atmosphere and man logically decided we needed to resurface as quickly as possible so we could get the suit to a temperature and moisture controlled storage facility she told the submarine captain and he said he would prepare us to resurface first thing on the following day in the meantime manty told us to work our asses off to get as much done
as possible before departure she told us that if the submarine went back down she would probably give other people on the team the opportunity to be on the crew that was disappointing but I agreed it was only fair we put the suit in the storage room we had reserved for samples locked the door and went back to work that night was when the first unusual thing occurred around 1:00 in the morning I woke up to piercing shrieks and raced out of my bunk into the hallway one of the crew members Rodriguez I think was kneeling
on the floor clutching his head and screaming the captain knelt next to him trying to talk over the sound of his screams but all we could hear was Rodriguez repeating over and over the eyes it's eyes nobody knew what that meant but his fear was both palpable and contagious the captain assured us that sometimes people struggle with being underwater for very long and Rodriguez would get the best medical and psychiatric care possible once we got back to the surface he insisted we all go back to bed and everyone complied slinking off to our bunks like
a bunch of chastised children the first thing I did in the morning was go back to the captain and ask if Rodriguez was okay the captain smiled in greeting and assured me that Rodriguez was a bit sick but they were sure he would be just fine I thanked him and as I was leaving I heard him call out if God wanted us to explore the ocean we would would have gills it was my mom's favorite joke every time I talked about new advances in Oceanic technology she would say that to me with a smile and
a pat on the arm I turned around and stared at the captain I said what was that he was already facing away from me and glanced back over his shoulder sorry what I knew my face was tight my voice reflecting my nerves what did you say as I was walking away you said something about exploring the I he gave me a concerned look are you okay Doctor Williams I didn't say anything I nodded every muscle in my body feeling like a tense rubber band yeah yes I'm fine thank you I guess I was just lost
in my thoughts as I walked out he muttered can't have another crazy on my ship I made my way back to the sample room which was once again unlocked and joined Mani where she stood next to the area we had reserved just for the diving suit man had sent Evan out after Jacob and I came back to chip some pieces off the rock that had pinned the diving suit to the ocean floor and he had also collected some bits of detritus around the area as well like Fishbones and other carcasses I walked over and said
have you had a chance to crack the suit open man smirked knowing I was messing around and said right because I want to be the ocean version of the guy who destroyed the city of Troy no but there's the crazy I thing I lifted an eyebrow and man went on I don't think there's a body in here I looked over at the diving suit and felt a strange Pang of fear shoot through me how did it get down there then man Shrugged unbothered maybe it dropped off a boat or something we might never get an
answer to that but we can do some testing on it to see when it was made and what it's made from I scooted away from the wet suit the room feeling claustrophobic now have you had a chance to run any tests or are you waiting until we resurface man started to answer when the door opened and a sheepish looking crew member walked in he said doctors I'm sorry to bother you but I have some bad news we aren't going to be able to resurface today after all we're experiencing serious technical issues man and I both
looked at each other mirroring the Panic on each other's faces and in her best Stern voice she said Define serious issues the crew member glanced over his shoulder as if he was waiting for someone to step in and take over for him then he replied I'll let you have that conversation with the captain all he told me to pass along was that we're experiencing some strange weather that's interfering with the radar and he doesn't feel safe resurfacing until it passes he can lower us back to the ocean floor so you can continue your research though
man sighed and passed a hand over her face looking weary yes tell him that would be good and please update us at your earliest convenience she stressed the word earliest with a look on her face that always made lab assistants duck their heads and promise to do whatever she asked the crew member was no different and he turned to flee quickly before he could Escape I said wait what about Rodriguez is he going to be okay the crew member went pale and said we we don't know Captain Cameron says he stopped and squared his shoulders
back HEK be fine we'll get back to the surface as soon as we're able and in the meantime he's fine in medbay I let him run out then and turn to Mani who had already turned her own attention back to the samples before I could ask her thoughts on what was happening she started giving me instructions and I ran over to help her with the tests if we had to be stuck underwater we might as as well be productive while the equipment we had on the sub was good it wasn't the equipment we needed to
safely test the material of the suit so we focused on analyzing the other specimens we took from the site instead as we worked I felt like the suit was a third person in the room watching and judging silently as we worked Jacob and Evan joined us at some point and the four of us made plans for how we would use our time until the sub could resurface man was mostly frustrated that we didn't have a timeline she wanted to map out as much time as possible but hesitated to do that if she didn't know how
much time we had Jacob and I encouraged her to schedule our days as if we were going to be staying for the full 5 days we would have had left and promised to do all her top priority items first with that settled we went to the mes hall for dinner when we got there I noticed that there seemed to be fewer people than usual Rodriguez was missing obviously but I also noticed one of the female crew members I had started bonding with was too I grabbed my food and sat down across from someone I had
seen talking with her before I smiled and said hi I'm Mara Williams one of the researchers uh do you know where CLA Mason is the crew member I thought his name was Reynolds gave me a weird look then shook his head stood and left his half-eaten tray of food where it was I watched Reynolds walk away feeling equal parts confused and irritated a few minutes later man walked over and grabbed my arm in a harsh whisper she said you need to come with me I stepped out into the hallway feeling anxiety ringing my stomach like
a dish rag man didn't say anything but we walked down the hall until we reached sik Bay once we got there Captain Cameron stepped out with a concerned look on his face I had last spoken with him that morning and in that time it was as if he had aged 20 years he waited for us to step inside then shut the door and said in a hushed voice thank you both for coming I'm sorry to be treating this so clandestine but I have some concerns I think you'll understand he took a deep breath before continuing
we seem to be having a problem with psychosis on board you both saw what happened with Rodriguez in the last 24 hours we've had two more crew members experience the same thing that may not sound like a lot but when you're on a machine like this one you need every person to be in the best health possible he stepped aside and we saw Rodriguez CLA and another crew member I thought was named Anderson All Laying in their beds they were asleep they seemed peaceful Cameron continued they're sedated every time they wake up they start screaming
again and we want to keep this quiet from as many people as possible I told the crew we believe there's a bout of mono going around and to be cautious and stay out of sick Bay it's not a good solution but it's what we have have right now I need you two to see if you can figure out what's going on Mani lifted an eyebrow and put one hand on her hip we're not equipped for that Captain neither of us have a degree in medicine or psychology don't you have a doctor on board Captain Cameron
gave her a look that I can only describe as pure desperation our medic isn't equipped for this either and we don't have a psychologist for this Expedition because it was supposed to be a short one please just do blood tests something work with our medic and use any of his equipment that you need to figure out what's going on Captain Cameron left and I turned to mani and said this all started the night after we found the diving suit do you think we brought some kind of bacteria into the ship that's making people sick Mani
winced I hope not but maybe we did I'll go take a sample from it to see if there's anything weird you go finish your dinner she started to leave then stopped and Mara do not speak a word of this to anyone we want to keep this quiet I sulked back to the mess hall feeling like my trip of a lifetime was slowly blossoming into a nightmare I finished my food then went back to Sick Bay to check in with Mani she wasn't there and the medic was back but he hadn't seen her either concerned now
I went back to the storage room sitting on the floor in the corner of the room was Mani tears flooding her cheeks her eyes eyes looking Hollow and glassy I ran to her side man man are you okay what's going on she didn't speak didn't move just sat there like a shell of a person I ran from the room to the Sick Bay and told the medic what was going on then went to the control room to look for the captain when I told him what happened to man and what our suspicions were his face
grew hard he said lock the room you've got that thing in and don't let anyone touch it if one more person gets sick I'm making you and your team get rid of it and I'll make you bleach the entire storage room to make sure no one else gets sick I apologized for all the trouble agreed to his conditions and left to update Evan and Jacob I know Mani told me not to but with her out of commission I needed as much support from the rest of our team as possible when I got to the men's
bunk area Evan and Jacob were both there looking tense they motioned me inside and we huddled together on Jacob's bed Jacob leaned in and whispered about 20 minutes after you and mani left we heard more screaming rugan this time he was in the hallway near the storage room clutching his eyes and Jacob hesitated as if he wasn't sure how to explain it he was begging for forgiveness I don't know what about or to whom but he kept saying I didn't mean to I'm sorry over and over Evan took in a shaky breath and said we
tried to help but the person you were sitting with before Mani grabbed you I think his name is Reynolds he pushed us away and told us not to say anything my mind reeled it seemed like something about the suit really was making people sick maybe rugan had gone into the storage room for some reason or maybe an even worse thought the bacteria on the suit that was causing this had migrated from the storage room somehow an image popped into my head of invisible bacteria crawling along the floor lit by a black light showing it moving
in waves towards new victims I looked up at my two teammates and said Cameron mani and I think the diving suit we found might have something to do with all this like maybe there's some kind of bacteria on it causing all this and with man and sik Bay now too I think we may be right we all stared at each other for a long time before Jacob said this is bad Evan and I nodded our agreement then Evan asked well now what do we do we can't get rid of the suit who knows what kind
of discoveries we can make with it and he cast his face down and this discovery could put all of our names on the map you know we could be something Jacob put a fatherly hand on Evan's arm safety is far more important Evan don't sacrifice lives to have your name on a plaque in some Museum he turned back to me and said I think we need to put the diving suit back in the ocean Mara some things weren't meant to be found I looked back and forth between Evan and Jacob feeling the weight of being
the tiebreaker resting on me like an anchor finally I made the worst mistake of my life I said I think we should try to stop whatever this is before we put the diving suit back we came all this way and I think it's what man would want I could tell Jacob wanted to argue with me more but when I mentioned Mani he closed his mouth and lowered his eyes we agreed to meet in the storage room in an hour to try and find a way to keep the suit quarantined so no one else would get
sick the running theory was that some kind of bacteria was causing en sephtis swelling in the brain that was causing hallucinations and Catatonia we didn't have the right tools on board to properly diagnose them but it was a good place to start the three of us split up to look for supplies that might help Evan left to look for cleaning supplies I went to medbay to get masks and gloves and Jacob simply said he had an idea and ran off on his own we had agreed to meet up outside the men's quarters again which were
thankfully on the other side of the building from the storage room a little after 9: I rejoined Jacob in the hallway when he saw me he sighed and said I knew it I have a bad feeling I lifted an eyebrow what do you mean he gestured around us vaguely Evan isn't here I haven't seen him since we parted ways and finding cleaning supplies shouldn't have taken very long I shook my head and handed him the gloves and mask throw these on and let's go check Jacob sighed again I had hoped to stay away from that
area until we can deal with this but all right let's go we walked to the storage room together and when we got there Jacob pulled me gently away from the door so he could enter first when we walked in neither of us were surprised to see Evan laying on the floor hands over his head sobbing Jacob and I walked over and dragged Evan to his feet and carried him to Sick Bay when we got there we found a horrible sight somehow in the last hour 10 more crew members had gotten sick we had started with
a smaller crew around 90 crew members 30 people per shift three shifts if I remembered correctly since we were a smaller sub we didn't need as many people we were now down 15 people including mani and Evan we were quickly turning into a skeleton crew and while I didn't know very much about submarines I had a feeling that was really bad after we dropped Evan off Jacob and I went to find Captain Cameron we opened the sick bay door and before I could process what I was seeing Jacob had pushed me to the floor and
slammed the door shut walking down the hallway was the diving suit it slumped and lurched as though only one part of it at a time was able to hold itself up we watched through the port window in the door as a crew member came around the corner and ran into the diving suit the man smirked as though he thought someone was playing a prank on him and looked into the eyes of the Mask his face fell his eyes widened and he began sobbing I tried I'm sorry I didn't mean to let her drown I was
only a kid he continued to sob curling up into a ball on the floor as the diving suit continued to move Jacob pulled me away from the window and placed his back to the door blocking the port we stared at each other in silence for a long time before he said okay okay this is bad and hard to believe I nodded feeling Panic wrapping its cold clammy hands around my throat what's happening is someone in the suit Jacob took slow steady breaths and I did my best to copy him after a few minutes he said
I don't think so I I don't know I don't think we can explain this he turned and looked out the window again and took a deep breath we need to get back to the men's bunk I grabbed our wet suits and I think we'll need them I was able to manage a small smile Jacob was a good person to have on my team we made our way out of the medbay both of us shielding our eyes with our hands to avoid looking directly at the eyes of the suit as much as I wanted to believe
there was some logical answer it seemed like people were having breakdowns only after looking in its eyes we moved slowly taking small careful steps as we walk walked down the hallway we could hear more screams echoing around the ship they seemed to be coming from the other side of the ship which was good but it wouldn't be hard for the creature to catch up with us we finally got to the bunk room and Jacob threw the door open both of us barreling inside quickly and we collapsed to the floor in a relieved Heap Jacob was
breathing heavily his face red and I was worried he might have a heart attack I found a bottle of water and passed it to him then waited for him to recover finally his breathing steadied and he nodded to me gratefully then pointed across the room to where three diving suits sat on his bunk I rushed forward and carried his over first then grabbed my own and put it on once we were both fully suited up I turned to Jacob and asked what now he gave me a stern look and said we have to get that
thing off this ship it's too risky to try and contain it I felt the words like a deep blow and hung my head with shame you're right I'm sorry Jacob put his hand on my shoulder and gave me a tight smile we'll make this right don't worry about it too much we both put our helmets on and stepped into the hallway Jacob carried the body of the third diving suit I carried the helmet and we made our way towards the control room hoping Captain Cameron would be in there the plan was to find Captain Cameron
and get the word out around the ship that the thing could only hurt you if you looked into its eyes we still weren't entirely sure what happened if you looked at it but what we had seen so far was disturbing enough that neither of us wanted to try I followed Jacob through the ship as he led us away from the screams taking a more Securus route to the control room as we avoided the shambling creature when we arrived at the control room Captain Karan beckoned Us in with a relieved look on his face there were
11 crew members crammed into the small control room and once we joined them we were officially at capacity we handed Captain Cameron the diving suit and explained the plan he nodded looking grim and said that's better than risking anyone else's safety how about I lead the creature towards the exit hatch as a distraction you two just get over there safely and wait Novak will watch the cameras in there and release the hatch once you three and the creature are safely inside he gave us a pitying look I wish I didn't have to put you two
in so much danger but I don't see another option Jacob and I both nodded resolutely and I said it was my decision to bring this thing on board I want to do what I can to make it right Jacob put his hand on my shoulder and said I was involved with that decision too and I seconded this one let's fix our mistake Captain Cameron nodded slipped into his diving suit and the three of us stepped into the hallway Jacob pointed to the right and then at Captain Cameron and nodded then pointed to the left and
gestured for for me to follow him we made our way down the hall towards the exit hatch it was a sealed pressure controlled room that we could use to come and go for specimen collections it was also exactly big enough to hold me Jacob and the creature the few crew members we passed we warned about what was happening and told them to hide somewhere safe and Keep Their Heads down I was starting to get nervous about the number of people we had sedated in medbay now I don't know exactly how many people it takes to
run a submarine but with people dropping like flies we had to be down to the wire it wasn't long before we could hear scraping and shuffling coming down the hallway towards us Captain Cameron rounded the corner walking backwards with his head down I glanced at Jacob and realized that if the thing pursued Cameron instead of us we would never be able to get rid of it I stepped away from the doorway and put myself between the creature and Captain Cameron it didn't break stride but when Cameron shuffled off to the side it didn't change course
to pursue him him I took over walking backwards until I made my way into the isolation room it shambled after me but didn't stop when I put my back against the wall it kept moving towards me until it had me pinned against the exit hatch I kept my eyes down but called out in a shrill voice laced with panic Jacob it's got me pinned just as I finished speaking I felt a hard slam and glanced up just enough to see the creature reeling back before slamming its head into my helmet again I watched in Terror
as a small spider web appeared in the glass the creature put its hands on either side of the helmet to hold me in place just as Jacob was able to open the hatch behind us water rushed in and the creature was sucked out into the inky Blackness I had been able to get a good look at its hands before it was sucked out and my stomach sank with Dread I was almost certain the suit was stitched from human skin even with that fresh panic I was thrilled gravity and physics took care of the problem for
us then a leathery hand reached back inside wrapped itself around my ankle and yanked me into the cold dark ocean despite our depth I could tell a storm was raging above us the water would briefly light up with a lightning flash revealing the tide battering everything in its path on the surface I could only see the creature when the lightning would flash but I could tell it was trying to get back to the submarine with me in toe I fought and kicked trying to get away but the grip it had on me was inhuman making
all my struggles to get away seem meaningless I was about ready to give up hope when I saw something come down on the creature's hand Jacob had found a large Rock and brought it down on the wrist part of the suit it weakened the thing's grip just enough for me to get away and I crawled backwards in the momentary flashes of light I could see Jacob fighting to get away and I began searching for a rock too I could see the spider web in my helmet growing and I knew it wouldn't be very long before
the pressure would break through and drown me I found a medium-sized Rock and fought against the water pressure to lift it at some point Jacob got free from the creature and helped me lift the Rock and together we carried it to where the creature was pinned by the Rocks Jacob had been able to grab struggling to free itself we dropped the rock on its sternum as the lightning flashed Illuminating the thing's eyes just as I looked at them instantly I was transported somewhere else it was a sunny day in November unusually warm and bright and
I walked down a hospital hallway I was moving slowly even though the nurses had called to tell me to hurry I had been scared I knew my mom was close and I wasn't ready to say goodbye I think part of me had hoped that if I never got to the room I would never have to see her die in a sense I was right I didn't have to watch her die because she had already passed when I got to the room the nurse said if I had only been 1 minute earlier I might have been
able to say goodbye in the memory I sank to my knees in the doorway of my mom's room and began weeping I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around expecting to see a doctor but instead I found myself looking right into the face of the diving suit when we made eye contact I was plunged again into a memory this time I found myself kneeling at my dad's gravide as my mom sobbed beside me it was the moment I had known I would lose my mom as well one of the most painful days of
my life life again I felt a hand on my shoulder but this time I looked down saw the human leather glove and closed my eyes tight I felt the creature turn me around could feel its face inches from mine but I refused to open my eyes I could feel its rage radiating out from it as the hands moved from my shoulders to my sternum and began tearing my chest cavity open the fingers sank into the soft skin and tissue between my breasts biting through the meat of My Flesh and wrapping around my Bon I could
feel my rib cage bending and instinctively opened my eyes as I screamed I was instantly plunged into another memory this one from the time I had dealt with a stalker in college but this time I was ready and as soon as I felt the creature's hand on my shoulder I bolted I ran through the hallways of my old College until it faced into the green and gray of the cemetery my parents were buried in I forced myself not to falter as I ran past my crying mother the creature still shambling after me me the cemetery
faded until it was replaced by the hospital and I continued to run despite the burn in my chest and arms I reminded myself it was a dream a hallucination but the terror remained after what felt like years the hallway faded into black and I woke up when I woke I was in a regular hospital bed Mani was in the bed next to me the curtain between us pulled back her face looked drawn Warn and tired older than I remembered I took a moment to get my bearings then pressed the call button for a nurse a
nurse wearing light purple scrubs walked in and lifted her eyebrows in surprise when she saw me she said oh my God you're awake this is incredible let me call your doctor she rushed over and did something on the computer next to me took my vitals then ran from the room she entered a few minutes later with a doctor in toe they fussed over me for a while and gave gave me a little information but I got the real story from Captain Cameron when he arrived Captain Cameron or Nate as he told me to call him
told me what had happened he said that Jacob and I had just managed to pin the creature when I had fallen to my knees and begun sobbing Jacob carried me back to the submarine and put me in the isolation chamber when they opened it I was there and catatonic but Jacob wasn't they weren't sure exactly what happened to him they think he got grabbed by the creature or maybe it was starting to get free and he ran back to stop it either way Jacob had sacrificed his life to save mine they hadn't been able to
recover him as soon as the creature was securely trapped the storm had calmed and what was left of the crew had taken the submarine back to the surface it was a hard journey apparently the storm had been a rough one and on a skeleton crew it was extra hard apparently by the time we had gotten the creature off the ship a total of 41 crew mates had been affected by it those of us who had been affected by the creature were taken to the hospital and according to Nate only a few of us woke up
I was among the first group to wake up and even now almost 6 years later eight of those people are still catatonic I take responsibility for every single one of them man woke up eventually and even though she said she didn't blame me for what happened I was still removed from her team that's okay I'm not as interested in the ocean as I used to be it turns out the ocean hides some secrets for a reason
