Writers Cramp Entry

Billy was so excited to try out his new diving suit he designed he almost forgot to bring his depth meter and weight belt before sliding off the side of the yacht.  Luckily his partner Mark made sure to grab his arm before he reached the side.  He had been a deep sea diver for 13 years now and this was his third experimental deep sea suit.  He was sure this would surpass all expectations. 

Giving Mark a thumbs up he tipped over backwards into the freezing water.  Although with the new material his suit was made out of he barely felt a difference at all.  His helmet was sealed and he double checked his instruments and started his downward trek.  They had come to this specific place to test in the Atlantic due to the isolation and the depths necessary.  Today he would try the suit out at 300 feet which is supposed to be the bottom in this area per the topography map.  The water was dark but crystal clear as he swam steadily downwards.  He flipped on the HUD and then the portable sonar he designed.  Immediately he picked up all sorts of sea life around him. Swimming straight through a school of salmon he continued past 120 feet then getting startled by a gigantic octopus which took off like lightning leaving a trail of ink its wake.

Billy started to feel a slight chill on his leg creeping so he flipped over to internal sensors and made an adjustment which warmed his leg right back up.  Going back to active sonar he heard the blip of a large mass below him about 50 feet almost at the bottom.  Coming into view he saw what appeared to be the wreckage of a ship.  The outline suggested a yacht about the size of the one Mark was on up above.  Slowing his descent he started looking for any openings in the hull. 
Touching down on the main deck he engaged the hydraulic assist in the suit which made walking on solid ground easier.  Towards the back of the boat he found a large hole that appeared to be where a rock or other large object had struck it.  Cringing at the thought he might find remains of the crew inside he headed for the opening.  Once inside he engaged the suits external lighting which flooded the interior with a light as bright as any sun.  A large eel bolted past him and he heard it sizzle as it released a mild charge in a panic. 

Surveying the interior he found no items to say someone had even lived there much less still remain.  At the stairwell to head into the engine room he found a locked equipment closet.  Activating a small projectile weapon built into the suit he destroyed the lock and slowly opened the door.  He heard himself yell as some sort of unknown sea creature fled the closet, how it got in there would ever remain a mystery.  Turning back cautiously to see what else was in there he was presented with three dead males stacked like so much firewood.  All three were plainly deceased but it was not apparent how they had died.  Sitting near them were three wallets so Billy picked them up and with the suits grappling arms managed to find ID’s of all three.  All three were soldiers as was apparent from their military ID’s.  PFC Jackson Lerch from Fort Bragg New Jersey, also Sgt Jeremy Muellar and Corporal Frank Lundstrom both from Fort Bragg as well.  Billy placed the ID’s in a storage container and seeing nothing else he could do prepared to depart for his ascent to Mark.  He would tell the proper authorities of the boats location for retrieval.  Soldiers deserved better burial than this and they obviously died from unnatural causes. 

Approaching the opening he entered through, a bright light flashed and blinded Billy briefly.  When his vision returned all three men were standing in front of him. Confusion briefly entered his mind then sheer terror started to take control.  Battling with his innate ability to remain calm he slowly realized that three ghosts were standing on front of him.  He tripped over himself backing away from them into the boat.  If not for the suits stabilizers he would have fallen backwards.  All three men simply watched him with very sad eyes.  Billy could see through their transparent forms as small fish swam through them. 

Billy cautiously approached them and stopped. 
“What happened”, was all he could think so say his mind racing.

“We were on vacation doing some fishing near here”, Billy watched them but their mouths did not move.  He was hearing them in his mind.  His calm demeanor still struggling with terror he waited. 
“We found a woman floating face down naked.  We thought she was dead and brought her on bored.  Thinking her deceased we made ready to take her to shore. We were underway and she emerged from below were we had kept her body, snarling like a wild beast. She had large leathery wings and horns.  That is all we can remember.  Please take us home so we can finally rest”

Billy agreed and they slowly faded away.  Stopping for decompression a few places along his ascent he surfaced.  Mark helped him out of the water with the small crane arm Billy had also developed.  Removing the last piece of the suit he sat down to rest on a bench exhausted. 

“Once you are ready we need to get underway Billy”, Mark said the sadness evident in his voice.

“I know buddy but why do you sound like you’re about to cry.”?  I asked confused.

Why you were down there I retrieved a woman from the water.  She was dead so I put her below on ice till we can get her to shore.

A wild howl echoed from below…