The Midnight Hour & Other Scary Stories

Dredged

The crew of SS Miranda had been sent on a mission to recover something very precious to the Director. Years ago, a terrible storm had sunk one of the fleet's greatest ships and now, the magnificent ship rested on the bottom of the sea.

The Miranda sent her best divers down into those icy depths. They were to find the wreck's cargo and see if it was still intact. If so, they would haul it back to the surface and, eventually, to the Director.

It was a simple plan, really.

But the ocean was dark, cold, and unforgiving.

Furthermore, the creatures in this remote part of the sea were reported as being quite different from what you might find in shallower waters.

Despite that, the divers readied themselves and dove into the deep.

They hardly had enough light to see by and the farther down they went, the greater the unease that rose in their stomachs.

Strange white fish would swim in and out of their lights. Their large, bulbous eyes shimmered in the gloom.

One of these odd fish managed to bite the divers with its long, sharp teeth. It drew blood. The divers quickly used their harpoon guns to spear the creature, where it died in the water without a sound.

Instead of going back aboard The Miranda, however, they continued down deeper into the water.

When they located the wreck, the divers quickly set to work exploring its long-dead halls. Much of the vessel had been claimed by time and saltwater. Its cargo, likewise, had been all but destroyed.

There was, however, one bit of cargo that was left largely untouched.

It was a metal case and easy enough to transport. Given that they couldn't salvage anything else, the divers retreated back to The Miranda with their haul in tow.

The diver that was bitten was taken to the infirmary. The others, meanwhile, opened the case to see what was inside.

The interior had been left untouched by seawater. Inside were two objects. One was a broken vial. Its glass was stained a bright blue, despite its age. The other object was a voice recorder.

Curious, the divers clicked play on the recorder.

A new voice filled the room.

"This is Nikolai Borschoref, the communications officer of The Apollo. Though it is not known by my superiors, I have decided to keep a record of our travels. I risk serious consequences for doing so, but this is merely a precautionary measure. If all goes well, then I will destroy this recording so that there will be no record of it. The last thing we need is spies leaking this information. However, if someone other than me is listening to this, then one of two things have happened. Either we were discovered and this tape was forcefully removed from The Apollo; or, more likely, containment protocols have been breached. Let us hope my ears are the only ones to hear this. Now, where was I? Oh yes. The reason for our voyage. Ahem. We are carrying out weapons tests in this region with a new biological agent. The current serum is for project Crimson Tide - batch number 82-C. The goal of this project is relatively simple. The serum is designed to infect local organisms, such as fish, and is meant to be deployed along the coast of enemy territories. If consumed, the fish will spread the serum to the human digestive system, which, in turn, will cause a rapid onset of symptoms, followed by death. The agent in question will then proceed to spread throughout the region at an alarming rate. When our enemies are destabilized due to the agent, we will then swoop in and offer a cure--but only after ensuring we remain in power. This is all theory of course, and we won't know the effectiveness of the virus until testing is complete. "