Synthetic Heart [ENGLISH]

Episode 07 ♥ Dominance

     The shadowed arms of the water wrapped tightly around my body, the breath-stopping cold spreading through me like lightning striking deep into my organs. Every movement sent a chill, sharp as ice crystals, stabbing up my spine and into my heart. My diving mask allowed me to breathe, releasing bubbles with each breath into this starless expanse. They split into hundreds, reflecting the orange flames raging on the surface. I wanted to activate my thermal vision, but the dense water made it impossible to see.

     I was utterly weakened underwater. My movements limited. I wanted to activate thermal vision, yet the thick water layer was as blind as a grave. Water was my single, greatest weakness, this depth draining every advantage, bringing me down to the level of an ordinary human.

     Kıraç's static-laden voice crackled in my ear through the underwater radio, "Status report, team!"

     One by one, I heard Riley, Sara, Marvin, and Nikolai. Finally, I signaled my presence on the radio, then switching on the flashlight attached to my vest. The beam cut through the darkness like a spear, forming a cone-shaped path.

     I started swimming in the direction Kıraç had indicated, but the seabed was nowhere to be seen. It was desolate. A muffled explosion rumbled from above, shaking my insides. Kıraç's voice was barely audible:

     "They must have... set up an ambush! Once we... we'll evacuate the conflict zone!"

     Riley's frustrated, crackling voice joined, "Sir, it's so hard to understand you!"

     Marvin's voice kept cutting in and out. "Those bastards planned everything, the radios... and... damn it! Can you hear me?"

     "Warmly," Sara replied over the radio.

     "They're trying to jam our communications; there's a signal... jammer... nearby," Marvin's voice faded for a while. I kept swimming with all my strength, desperate to reunite with the rest of the team. Then Marvin's voice burst back through the static:

     "This attack is the work of professionals!"

     Riley suddenly snarled, his voice grating in my ears, "How is this even possible! Weren't all these ships inspected four times? Didn't the Monument itself guarantee our security? And what about the ship radars? Did no one notice a pre-planted bomb or a torpedo targeting us underwater?"

     "This ambush has Hydra written all over it," Kıraç said with grim certainty. "The bombs weren't pre-set; they deployed them as we sailed." His words sent a chill through my blood.

     Kıraç's breath vibrated over the radio, "We're in these sons of bitches waters; stay sharp... Aurora, report."

     "I'm here," I said, glancing around with mounting paranoia.

     "Get to us as soon as..." The communication cut off entirely this time.

     "Sir?" I spoke into the radio. "Kıraç?"

     Nothing. I continued drifting through the endless darkness, now entirely severed from my team's communication. Then my nerves kicked in: emerging from the darkness like demons, clusters of violet, spider-like star points, in groups of eight, just like the ones on the helmet of the figure I'd encountered on deck. One appeared, then another, and soon they began multiplying like fireflies. One of them dropped its invisibility, revealing a soldier figure just as I'd seen on the deck. Then another, and another, until more and more appeared, moving in perfect unison, like they were bound by invisible strings. They glided through the murky depths like ghosts.

     My heart was pounding wildly. My hand instinctively reached for the pistol in its holster, though I knew all too well it wouldn't work underwater. They were all gripping devices called "Underwater Scooters (DPVs)," propelling them at speeds no human could ever reach in water. In the blink of an eye, they had surrounded me. Circling around me like bloodthirsty sharks trapping their helpless prey, they maintained a careful distance. The propellers on their devices whirred with intense power, trailing bubbles in their wake.