The sub descends deeper into the black void of the Mariana Trench.

"Hey captain; were nearing the location now, shall we prepare the vessel for further descent?"

"Yes Edward, I think were close enough now." I reply.

Edward flicks several switches on the submarines control panel; the hull of the vessel shifting in response to each switch.

Edward:
"Alright, hull should be ready now; just got to quickly re-check our connection to the surface, make sure we don't suffer any technical issues on the way down."

Edward flicks a switch on the control panel; activating an inbuilt radio; he turns several dials as he locks on to the desired frequency; the devices speakers sputtering static and faint mumbles as it crackles to life.

After a moment of adjusting; radio tunes in successfully; "Hello? Can you hear me?" Edward says into a microphone on the console.

A voice from the radio says:
"Yeah; this the captain?

Edward:
"No, its Edward; checking if our radio still works this far down before we go any deeper."

Radio Voice:
"That's probably for the best, don't want to lose you two down there."

Edward:
"Arlene, I doubt that would happen."

Arlene (the radio voice):
"I know, I just worry about you two, like; ♥♥♥♥ knows what you'll find down there."

Edward:
"Listen, Arlene, I said this before we started the mission and I'm not going to say it again after this; if we do find something and it turns out to be a problem, I'm sure we can handle it, we have enough harpoons on board to kill a whole family of whales."

Arlene:
"Alright, since you two are so insistent on being fine; I'll leave you alone, just radio in if you suspect somethings wrong, alright?"

Edward:
"Got it; see you around."

Edward turns off the radio; turns and says to me:
"Alright, lets get this show on the road then, shall we?"

I reply:
"Sure."

I steer the submarine and start driving towards the destination.

Some time later we arrive at the location; an opening hidden deep in the Mariana Trench; a light on the submarine revealing it to be easily 200 feet wide; no visible bottom.

Edward:
"Christ, its... not what I Imagined."

Me:
"You can say that again, looks immensely different to what the sonar team thought it would look like."

Edward:
"So, how should we go about descending?"

Me:
"I'll shine a light down as we descend, that will let us see if there are any snags or rocks that could catch us off guard; you keep an eye on the pressure system and radio in case we experience a pressure spike or something unexpected."

Edward:
"Sounds like a plan."

Me:
"Alright, down we go."

I aim a light under the submarine to face downwards while I pilot the vehicle into the opening and downwards into the pit below; keeping a close eye on my surroundings as we descend.

We descend through a rock tunnel for a while; no protruding rocks or snags; the tunnel being perfectly smooth stone the whole time.

I think to myself:
"Christ; how deep does this go? and why is it so smooth? what is this?"

Curious, I look at the depth gauge only to see we had travelled 1100 meters beyond the bottom of the trench itself.

Surprised; I say to Edward: "Look at this Edward; were 1100 meters below the lowest documented point and yet were still going; what do you think this tunnel could be?"

Edward looks at the depth gauge, says:
"Not sure captain; could be some kind of really strange cave system; but lets keep going and find out."

"Sounds good to me" I reply.

We descend through the smooth rock tunnel for 400 more meters; exiting into a large cavern like space so big we are unable to see anything; just an endless black void.

Not sure where we are, Edward quickly turns on the radio; says:
"Arlene. we found something really weird down here; we went down that hole and found a huge cave of some kind 1500 meters down; can't see anything yet."

Arlene:
"Sounds interesting; keep us updated if you find anything; you'll also probably find some Hydro thermal vents down there so be careful of the smoke they emit."

Edward:
"Thanks for the advice; I'll keep you posted if we find anything; talk to you later."

Edward turns off the radio.

Not sure what kind of environment was around us; I decide to keep going down in hopes of at least finding a floor to this strange place.

We descend for a further 800 meters; only to be caught off guard as the sea floor suddenly becomes visible not too far below us; I immediately put the engines into reverse and slow the submarine; bringing it to a stop just 2 meters away.

We found the floor to the seemingly endless space; but for some reason its perfectly flat stone, no sand or loose rocks as one would expect.

The stone floor looks hauntingly like concrete from the surface; not sure of what we are looking at; I decide to use a sampling drill to take some back for study.

I flick a few switches; spin up the drill and aim it before pushing the drill into the stone; it carves into the rock easily; moments later something red ejects from around where the drill cuts in.

Not sure what it could be, I take out the core sample only to notice something off about it as a red cloud continues to be pushed out from where I had taken the sample.

Under the stone sample sits a strange red material we could not recognise; one that looks like a fusion of raw meat and wood.

Not sure what I had just found, I take the sample for study as red still continues to be launched from the hole I had drilled.

The ejected red material quickly accumulates as a cloud; blocking the submarines vision; to mitigate it I drive past it, dissipating the cloud from our vision; meanwhile hoping to find something else down here as well.

I drive around for a good while before we hear something odd; a sort of groan; a vibration we could clearly feel hitting us seconds later.

Edward asks;
"What the hell was that?"

I reply; " Probably some volcanic activity, like those vents Arlene mentioned".

Edward:
"Yeah, that makes sense."

We move on; searching for a while longer.

Searching the cavernous space I stop the sub as something catches my eye; a faint yellow light in the distance.

Not sure what it could be; Edward picks up a nearby camera and prepares it; ready to snap a photo of whatever it is.

I drive the sub towards it; trying to get it into vision range; only to be startled as the light darts away rapidly into the darkness; only allowing me to briefly see a dark shape I could not discern.

Seconds later something large smashes into the hull and knocks the sub around; the forces nearly throwing Edward out of his seat as he grips onto it.

The pressure system spiking rapidly as something audibly closes around the submarine.

Not sure what it could be; I take control of an external camera and move it around to get a look.

I see a large creature of some kind, wrapping its human like hands around the submarine; dark red and wooden like in texture.

Not sure what the hell it is; I quickly take control of the on board harpoon gun and fire on the hands; the harpoons lodge themselves into its flesh; causing it to let go and make a sound I will never forget; a deep wailing of agony unlike anything on earth; shaking me to my core.

The thing wails in pain and turns; swimming off back into the void with great speed; for a brief moment I saw part of the creatures form as it departed.

Its body truly disturbing; having unusually long human like arms and hands with 6 fingers; the torso being human like but off in shape; the rest remaining unseen in the void; the only other part being the yellow light I assume to either be its eyes; or perhaps a lure like a female angler fish.

With the creature seemingly gone; Edward says to me, terrified: "We should call off the mission and get the hell out of here."

I reply; scared:
"A wise decision; ♥♥♥♥ this ♥♥♥♥."

With haste; Edward radios the surface again; says to Arlene, scared:
"We just got attacked by something; something huge; ♥♥♥♥ this were coming back up."

Arlene:
"Wise choice; stay connected."

Meanwhile; I turn the submarine around and start driving back towards the tunnel.

I push the engines into full throttle, the sub going as fast as it can.

Shortly after our first encounter with the creature, we feel another crash as it again grips the submarine, harpoons from before still lodged in its hands; in retaliation I aim the harpoon gun; this time not at its hands; but its unseen head and quickly fire several rounds into it.

The creature roars with agony and audible rage as the harpoons hit whatever hides beyond the void; enraged, it pulls back one of its hands and violently punches our submarine with tremendous force; launching us away at great velocity.

The submarine tumbles as I grip my chair trying to avoid being thrown against the walls; the sub quickly colliding with the sea floor, breaking some of the concrete like material; red plumes ejecting from the cracks.

Dazed, I shake myself and look to see Edward, dazed but still alive and in his chair; having held onto the console to stop himself being thrown around.

Snapping out of my daze; I quickly notice the submarine on its side; luckily not leaking.

Arlene, worried:
"What the ♥♥♥♥ is going on?"

Edward, scared:
"Something is attacking us; it punched our submarine and sent us flying."

Arlene, worried:
"What the ♥♥♥♥?"

Quickly; I grip the controls and flip the sub upright.

I try to pilot the sub again; before I can even get it to start moving something large hits us; this time from behind; the hit launching us again; the sub tumbling like before as I grip my seat only to crash again into the stone floor; more red ejecting from the cracks.

Dazed again, I shake myself and attempted to pilot the ship for the third time; only to notice were surrounded by several glowing yellow lights; Edward having been knocked out too; his head having clearly collided with the wall of the submarine as it tumbled; his nose and mouth bleeding; 2 of his teeth being clearly broken.

Were surrounded with no clear way out.

Arlene, worried:
"Hello? Captain? What happened?"

I reply, scared:
"We got punched again; Edwards unconscious and I'm surrounded."

Arlene, worried:
"What are you going to do?"

I reply, scared:
"Simple; I fire harpoons at em and get the-"

Unexpectedly; everything around me shakes as the sea floor splits open; several rope like fleshy tentacles grab the sub and try to drag it down.

Arlene, worried:
"What the ♥♥♥♥ is going on?"

I reply, scared:
"The ground is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ trying to eat the sub; but I have an idea."

Having absolutely none of it; I aim the harpoon gun and fire at the fleshy tentacles; driving upwards to resist their pull.

The harpoons cut the fleshy tentacles easily; partly freeing the submarine from their grip; I hear the split below groan with pain as the tentacles break; the yellow lights of the beasts around me watching as if entertained by my struggle.

I cut 7 of the flesh ropes; causing the last 2 to lose their grip; giving me a way to escape.

Once out of the grip of the tentacles, the lights approach rapidly as if aware of my desire to escape.

Terrified of what was coming; I drive upwards to escape as fast as possible; but the creatures catch up swiftly; one grabbing the submarine while several others clasp at it; seemingly trying to take it from the one that has me in its grip.

The things grab at the sub violently; almost as if fighting over it.

I grab my seat again, terrified; feeling the sub being thrown around as the creatures squabble over it violently; Edwards unconscious body getting tossed around before landing on me; knocking the wind out of me.

Quickly thinking; I grab onto him with one arm before the shaking pulls him away to minimise how badly he was getting tossed around while these things squabbled.

Seconds later; without notice or delay; the sub is thrown away by the creature as several loud collisions echo through the water; the sub spins for a moment before coming to a stop.

Not sure what had happened and not caring, I quickly turn the sub upright again; place Edward on the floor carefully and drive away from the creatures at maximum speed.

I take a brief look back using the camera and witness several of them; clearly fighting one another; using their hands to punch and scratch one another savagely.

Arlene, worried:
"Captain? you there?

Me; scared:
"Yeah, just got away from those creatures and nearly got eaten by the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ floor; finding a way out now; Edwards still unconscious and beat up pretty bad; get an air ambulance ready for when we get back; I think he needs to go to the hospital."

Arlene, worried:
"How bad are his injuries?"

Me; worried:
"Poor guy got thrown around really bad; his teeth are clearly broken and his nose is bleeding; could have broken bones too."

Arlene, worried:
"♥♥♥♥; I'll get an air ambulance ready."

I quickly lose sight of the creatures; driving away as fast as possible, searching for a way out; still able to hear the sounds of them punching one another.

A tense drive; but eventually I manage to find the way out; the same hole we entered through.

Half way up; Edward wakes up; he groans with pain as he attempts to sit up.

Me:
"Don't try to move lad; I think you broke quite a few bones."

Edward, weakly:
"Feels like it; I think my arms broken."

Edward attempts to reach out; only for the middle part of his lower arm to bend in an unnatural way; his hand and part of the lower arm hanging down; the bones clearly broken.

Edward screams in pain and lays on the floor; pushing his broken arm back into position.

Edward, in pain:
"Yeah, that's... most certainly broken... ♥♥♥♥..."

Me, worried:
"Seriously; lay down and don't think about it; once shock sets in you might pass out so just stay calm; alright?"

Edward, through grunts of pain:
"Y... Yeah... got it...

But... how am I not dead?"

Me:
"I don't know I'm not a doctor; but don't worry we'll be top side in half an hour; got it?"

Edward, through grunts of pain:
"Yeah... yeah..."

Half an hour later we reach the surface; I carefully park the sub up to the dock of the research platform and open the hatch on top; allowing an emergency team to enter and retrieve Edward.

They load Edward onto a stretcher and carefully lift it; moving him to the helicopter platform where an air ambulance sat waiting and ready to take Edward to the hospital; the sun setting in the distance.

They climb in; load Edward on and take off.

Once the helicopter leaves; I feel someone tap me on the shoulder; I turn to see the lead of the science team looking right at me.

She says;
"Sorry if its a bad time; but we need that sample you got from the ocean floor; we need it now before it expires."

Me, a bit tired:
"Oh its in the subs sample system; I'll go get it."

I go back into the sub; open a small hatch under the controls and pull out a glass container; inside it being the sample I extracted from the floor.

I climb out and pass it to the lead scientist, she says;
"Thank you Captain; shame this was the only thing you could get down there; but I'm just glad your still alive; your the best submariner we have."

Me, tired:
"Thanks for the complement; but anyway my shifts over and its getting late; I'm off to bed."

Lead scientist:
"Rest well captain."

Tired; I make my way up several flights of metal stairs; reaching the 4th floor of the research platform.

I turn right from the stairs; walks down the platform; turn left at the second hallway walk to the 4th cabin and unlock the door.

I walk into my quarters; closing the door behind me.

Tired; I open my fridge and pull out a bottle of my preferred whisky; a smokey aged blend.

Booze in hand I close the fridge; sit down at my desk and place the bottle next to me;
I look around; finding my work log book; tired, I grab the book and start filling in what I've done, lazily; as required by my boss for insurance reasons.

I spend little time noting what happened; writing in short sentences and explanations.

Done; I close the book; put it back; crack open the whiskey and down the whole bottle; quickly passing out for the night in my office chair.

The next day after work; I sit in my office and try to call the hospital Edward was placed in; the phone rings for a few seconds before being picked up.

Nurse Jackie:
"Hello; nurse Jackie speaking."

Me:
"Hey; is Edward Ryan able to speak right now?
He was taken in just yesterday from our research platform; brought in by air ambulance."

Nurse Jackie:
"No; hes asleep right now and doesn't really have the energy to talk at the moment either; probably best you call back in around 2 days."

Me:
"Oh ♥♥♥♥; how bad is his condition?"

Nurse Jackie:
"Not too bad; could be worse; best you talk to him yourself in 2 days."

Me:
"♥♥♥♥... alright then... bye.."

I hang up the phone and put it back; frustrated; worried about Edward; last thing I want is for my work buddy to die alone in a hospital bed.

But worrying wont get me anywhere; so I sit down; crack open a bottle of rum and take it slow this time.

2 days later after finishing work; I decide to call up Edward and see how hes doing.

I walk into my office, sit down, pick up the phone, punch in his number and wait as the phone rings; moments later the phone picks up.

Edward, weakly: "Hello?..."

Me:
"Edward?"

Edward, weakly:
"H... Hi captain... How you holding up?"

Me:
"Oh, I'm fine; just calling to see how your doing."

Edward, weakly:
"I'm fine; apart from... being stuck in a hospital bed."

Me, worried:
"♥♥♥♥; How bad are your injuries?"

Edward, weakly:
"Well I... I got injured quite bad; I won't have any permanent injuries but...

Quite a few things got broke; slight fracture to my spine; several broken ribs; broken lower right arm... Fractured lower left leg; twisted right foot; left hand is utterly smashed...
Small fracture to the skull; along with a broken nose and a few smashed teeth."

Me, worried:
"Christ; any other injuries?"

Edward, weakly:
"Luckily no; no major organ damage... just a few bruises; doc says I got really lucky."

Me, relieved:
"Good; any idea how long you'll be in hospital for?"

Edward, weakly:
"Probably... a good 4 months."

Me:
"That's quite a while; is it alright if I come up and visit you?"

Edward, weakly:
"Yeah; doc says its fine...

Also; what happened... with that sample?"

Me:
"That's actually something I wanted to mention; The science team are naming it after you."

Edward, weakly:
"Really?"

Me:
"Yeah; also, the lab lads have no idea what it actually is; its like nothing on earth; the closest comparison would be a fungus but its structure is too much like flesh and muscle to be a fungus.

Some of the lad boys theorise it to be a middle ground between animal and fungus or some ♥♥♥♥.

But we still have no idea what it is."

Edward, weakly:
"Damn; that's crazy... *sounds of food being placed on a table* But I need to go now... its time for dinner; see you around?"

Me:
"Yeah; I'll come over Saturday; I got no work then."

Edward, weakly:
"Sounds... good to me... see you then; bye."

Edward hangs up the call; I carefully put the phone down; relieved that Edward was doing fine.

[THE END]