Kevin's Death

Static crackled over Kevins com shaking him out of his trance. For all the advancements they had seen with the boom underwater communication still sounded terrible. “Just passing the edge of the rift,” Stephs tinny robotic voice crackled back into silence.

The surface’s garbled response sounded like that old cartoon-Charlie Brown. Wa wa wa wa jabbered over the intercom. He remained silent. Steph was always better at reports anyway. “Click confirm if you read- your gibberish anymore.”

Despite the seriousness of the situation Kevin cracked a grin. His depth gauge read 2049 ft. He whistled inwardly. This was an impossibility before the boom, but over the last 18 years science had accelerated its scope and ability, all due to one vessel floating 2049 ft above where they were now. 18 years of planning and exploration and now he was finally getting some answers, 2054 ft. The coms clicked a series of Morse code. The surface was still receiving their transmissions. The side wall of Atlantis Massif split was almost 500 ft in length, but only about 15 feet wide. Every attempt to probe the inside with unmanned vehicles had spectacularly failed as there was some sort of electronic interference. It was clear from the vessel though that inside the rift was the remnants of some highly advanced civilization, cliché dubbed Atlantis. Steph continued her steady downward flutter kick, and he opted to pull just level with her.

She commed the surface again, “click read for vocal.” The static crackle and tinny robot voice reverberated in the stifling silence. She click commed the surface. They had lost contact, beyond whatever transmission interference. Glancing over at her, he saw her nerves exposed in the flitting back and forth of her eyes. The only light the glow from their suits. 2085 feet and the water rippled below them. Kevin grabbed her wrist and pulled into a stable float. Scanning back and forth. There, to the left, something was moving slowly just below them. Kevin lit up his hand gear, spotlighting the object, the creature? He could hear Stephs sensor click click click- taking every picture and reading. It wasn’t moving, just staring at them with dark holes where he assumed the face was. The damn thing must be 15 ft long and eerily humanoid. Forcing himself to look away, he scanned the now faintly illuminated surroundings and his gut sank. All around, slowly gathering nearer- 5, make that 6 of the figures were starting to circle around them.

“Steph,” he whispered into his com static. He didn’t let the light waver from the first figure. Hoping he was wrong about what he was seeing but not wanting to underestimate these things… “Steph we are being surrounded.”

“They’re human,” Steph’s voice sounded distant. Shock. Shit shit shit. They expected, after finding the vessel, to find the remains of a sunken city. Not fucking people. Actual in the flesh- and what looked like some weird biomechanical suit- people. Their eyes had turned into sunken black orbs after however long they had been down here, but Kevin’s fears were confirmed in the robotic tinny echo in the com. They were human. Not just human, but vastly more technologically advanced which means to probes, transmission blocking, it was all intentional.

Steph was still ridged, clicking her scanner but unmoving. Kevin glanced as the sixth one took its place in the circle and they began to move counterclockwise. His wild 20 yr old self screamed in the back of his mind that this was not to be missed, just stay a little longer. But wisdom of 40 plus diving years had honed his instincts to razors edge. His movement was smooth and steady, cutting through the water. A battle underwater wasn’t like on land, you couldn’t move rapidly, and every action pushed you in a direction. His left hand cut the water across Stephs back and he pulled her accelerated booster pack. They would ascend dangerously fast, but only 30 feet until she was in radio transmission, and they could start managing that situation. His right hand found his short blade- ready to buy a little time before he followed.

“No, Kevin, wait” Stephs panic was audible as she caught up to the plan. But he didn’t have time to answer as the first two figures lunged at her ascending figure. Long blades flashed out of their wrists. He grabbed the first one by the elbow. It slowed considerably with his drag and simultaneously brought him vertical. The second kicked past him and buried his knife through the tail apparatus. He didn’t want to kill them; he didn’t need to start a war, but he didn’t want him and Steph to die on that noble thought either. Tail stab seemed to be effective as it swam backwards away from him, slow-disabled. 2 others rushed to its sides, and they disappeared into the abyss. Kevin didn’t have time to watch them as the first on had launched a counter with its wrist blades, the first slash had gashed Kevin's suit but not penetrated. He could feel the increased pressure surrounding the gash. At this depth even that could compromise the advanced technology and kill him.

Kevin tried to use his elbow grip to stay behind the first. Taking a quick measure of where the last three were. But they seemed to be forming a tight nit circle several feet below them. Thinking a moment as he danced with mr stabby stabby, he guessed it was about time to pull his buoyancy pack. Pulling his feet up, he pushed hard off the back of his dance partner and reached to his hip to pull the pack. Glancing down at the three huddling below he saw a glow, growing in the center of the circle. Just as he started to rise, the screaming started. It sounded like it was coming from the com, the water around him, and his own head. He felt it deep in his bones. His vision blurred and he felt warm fluid drip from his nose across his mouth. The metallic taste of blood.

Only a few seconds long and palpable silence filled the space. He saw 4 figures glance back at him, but they were already swimming away. Then his suit’s lights went out. It seemed the audible shock wave was so intense his arms and legs were no longer willing to respond to his command as he rose in pitch black. How long? Did coms work yet? His eyes fluttered in the dark, what seemed like an eternity feeling returned to his limbs. His nose was still pouring blood into his mask and now he became acutely aware that the gash in his suit was crushing his right side and cold. His suit was compromised. He looked up, seeing a faint glow still rising steadily above him. “Steph,” he coughed blood.

“Kevin! Kevin! Oh God, I heard the screaming, it cracked half my equipment, one ear is bleeding, how are you still alive. Team Gamma is coming for us. Kevin, just hold on. I can’t see you. I’m slowing accent.”

“Good,” he choked on the last word. He wanted to say so much more, but his body just didn’t listen. He could feel the sticky mat of blood in his hair now. The cold spreading in his suit, as it failed to maintain livable conditions. The scream had damaged some crucial functions inside of him, he understood that much, did he need to understand more. He had heard people describe the cold that comes over you when you die. It was always spoken of in some fearful tone, but to him it just felt like being on a wet suit dive of the Olympic coast in early spring. The cold tingle, the dizzy excitement of the next grand adventure, his breath catching. And Steph grabbed his hand. He thought for a moment he heard her cry something more. But then he fell into the black and was gone.