Do you like scary stories? How about monsters and things that go bump in the night? If you do, then I have the collection for you. This is an anthology of short scary stories, all of which are original; with more being added as time goes on. If you...
The Andromeda could go down much farther than any submersible before it. Dawson was excited that he had been chosen for this operation. He and only a handful of others were going to see what no one had ever witnessed before. The thought thrilled him as he descended into the submarine.
It was a cramped space for the crew, but they made do. Soon, the submarine dove into the dark waves and they were descending through layer after layer of icy water.
Now the submarine didn't have regular windows. The ocean pressure would have proved too much otherwise and crushed them. Instead, it had computers and the like using specialized cameras to 'project' an image of the world outside for the crew. These screens were likewise scattered around the hull of the Andromeda to act as windows.
Dawson was in awe of this new dark world. The farther down they went, the more barren the land became until they came to a great wreck of a ship. The ship's name was The Meridian. It had come to rest over the lip of a great chasm. Looking down into the jagged, dark ravine, Dawson felt his stomach crawl into his throat. He had to close his eyes and take a breath. There, that was better.
They steered The Andromeda around the wreck, noting the various jagged pieces breaking from the sediment. Dawson wondered what had happened to the ship. Something felt eerie about it. Just as he was about to look away, he saw a body floating in the water. He looked closer.
Yes. It was a figure. They should have been crushed at this depth. Was it a member of the crew? A long line, like an umbilical cord, followed from the body into the darkness of the depths. Was it an airline? He turned to the Captain.
"Captain?" Dawson asked.
"Yes?" The Captain said.
"Do you see--" He began, but then stopped. The body was gone.
"See what?" The Captain asked.
"N-nothing. Just my imagination, sir. Sorry." Dawson said, staring at the space where the body had been.
The Captain left Dawson alone. He had been certain it was a body! But, come to think of it, what would a body be doing down here? It was most likely a creature of some kind. Dawson felt sheepish and went about with his duties.
How The Meridian sank was no mystery. Something seemed to have torn the ship open, scattering its metallic intestines across the silt. It had since been skewered by strange curved rock formations, which held it from falling to the darkness below. The Andromeda pulled up along the fallen vessel's starboard side and threw its spotlights on the hull. Nothing rushed out of its body to greet them. This was a grave. Who knew how long it had been here?
As the crew focused on something inside the ship, Dawson noticed movement. He looked to one of the side screens and saw, once again, the figure floating in the abyss. They were drifting towards the submarine, in fact. Dawson swallowed. The movement seemed to come from the air cord connected to its helmet like it was being whipped forward. The figure stopped inches before the camera.
They were wearing an old diving outfit. The glass on their helmet had been shattered from pressure, but their body seemed to be fine for the most part. Very weird. It was the body of a man, he thought, but the proportions of the face reminded Dawson of a clay figure. The nose had been pressed in and the half-opened eyes looked primitive and dark.
Weirdest of all, the body wasn't rotting. The wreck of The Meridian seemed very old. At least two decades. If this person were from that ship, then at the very least they should have been a skeleton by now.
He leaned closer to the screen.
The dead man's eyes fully opened.
Dawson jumped back in shock. The dead man began to cough out a stream of bubbles as he drowned in front of Dawson's eyes. 'Help me', the man mouthed. Dawson ran to the Captain.
"There's a man drowning outside!" He exclaimed.
"That's impossible." The Captain said. "Are you feeling alright? They would be crushed at these depths. You know that."
"But I saw them!" Dawson pleaded in earnest. He led them back to the screen where he had seen the man drown.
There was nothing there. Had he drifted away?
"He's there! I promise. Throw the lights over there." Dawson said, pointing.
The Captain did so begrudgingly. They illuminated the wreck, but nothing else. Dawson stared at the screen, confused.
"If you pull this stunt again--" The Captain said angrily, "--I will be detaining you for failure to fulfill essential duties. Is that understood?"
"Y-yes, sir." Dawson said.
The Captain and other members of the crew stomped off. There had been no mistaking it this time. Dawson didn't know how to explain it, but he knew that there was someone out there. That there was something out there.
The Andromeda pulled away from the wreckage, throwing its lights over the canyon walls. For the first time, he noticed that walls seemed off; the coloring didn't match the geology of the area.
There was a flash of movement. The crew's exclamations of surprise meant that they had finally seen the thing in the water.
"Follow it!" The Captain ordered.
The Andromeda began to give chase. They dove into the canyon, following the diver. He was being pulled by his air tube head first deeper and deeper into the gloom. The submarine could take it though. No need to fear!
Yet, Dawson was afraid. Not of the black swallowing them whole, but of something far worse and perhaps older still.
You see, he was the only one who thought to look at the camera feed for the top of the submersible, and, as he did, he noticed the strangely colored walls were shifting, pushing closer and closer together. And the rocks that had skewered The Meridian--from this angle, they looked like teeth...
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