SHRIEKKKKK
The creature's distinct, distorted high-pitched shriek could be heard as it came with lightning-like speed, to Evelyn, its large dark eyes hostile as it showed its teeth, before it was just curious, now enraged.
[Hhhh—Khhhhh—Kshhhhh] Evelyn's voice crackled through the radio, as the Gill Man's powerful body grabbed her on the neck and shoved her over with a powerful push
THUD CRACK
I could hear the loud thud and her helmet cracking in silence, we were too far for the short-ranged radio to connect, I wanted to look for her but I couldn't look back as I swam as fast as I could to the hose's control panel
FWSH FWSH FWSH
"Hhhh—Kshhhhh…Hhhh—Kshhhhh…Hhhh—Kshhhhh…Hhhh—Kshhhhh" My breathing was frantic, the noise was loud, the bubbles were floating yet the creature was nowhere to be seen.
After what felt like an eternity I reached the control panel, my mind still on overdrive, my breathing ragged as I fiddled with the controls and set the hose to 5 minutes
TSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSST
As the hose turned on and water spewed out from its nozzle, I quickly distanced myself from it as the sound of water being cutted in lightning speed could be heard. The Gill Man was here, it didn't even take 10 seconds.
SHRIEKKKKKK
As the creature's screams grew louder, the hose flailing frantically, like another predator trying to assert dominance in its territory, The Gillman shrieked, using its sharp claws tried to cut the hose,
SLASH SLASH
The hose ruptured, with many holes, but it was still flailing, still a Predator, the Gill man distracted, it was my chance, as I swam as fast as I could through the tank trying to find the airlock, my eyes peeled open as I tried to find Evelyn…
"Hhhh—Kshhhhh EVELYN, WHERE Hhhh—Kshhhhh ARE YOU? Hhhh—Kshhhhh " I screamed, hoping that the radio would connect and she could tell me her position
Silence
The only things I could hear was my regulator hissing, my ragged breath, the Gill-man's shriek and the hose still flailing, Evelyn's voice was nowhere to be heard, my thoughts scrambled.
Memories of the past appeared in my head, if I delayed my escape It would mean the gamble we made was for nothing, the survival instincts of a human, adrenaline overwhelming my thoughts
Should I abandon her?
"Hhhh—Kshhhhh .. Hhhh—Kshhhhh .. Hhhh—Kshhhhh .. Hhhh—Kshhhhh"
Logically it would be the safest option, could you blame me though? When escape is on sight every human for themselves.
The airlock was in front of me, I scrambled to quickly open the airlock, my conscience telling me, hey at least you survived, dead man or woman tells no tales after all, it's not like the higher ups would care.
[OPENING AIRLOCK IN T MINUS 30, 29, 28—]
If the both of you died it would be for nothing right? Even if there's the slightest chance of her still alive, she's probably already dead right? I should just leave right?
TSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSST SHRIEKKKKKK
The noise of the hose and the shriek of the creature was still there.
"Hhhh—Kshhhhh . Hhhh—Kshhhhh . Hhhh—Kshhhhh . Hhhh—Kshhhhh" My breathing ragged as the countdown lowered, I'm not a hero, I'm not a protagonist, I would be safe, I would be alive, I would be—
[26, 25, 24, 23—] The sound of the countdown was still there, freedom from this stupid containment cell.
You hear that? Hhhh—Kshhhhh that's the sound of you keeping me alive and me keeping you alive, we're in this together Cael, don't forget it.
"… I am so gonna Hhhh—Kshhhhh fucking regret this."
—
"EVELYNNNN Hhhh—Kshhhhh… EVELYNNN Hhhh—Kshhhhh… EVELYNN… Hhhh—Kshhhhh EVELYNNNN Hhhh—Kshhhhh" I screamed at the top of my lungs, ignoring the burning sensation, the sweat and my fears.
Yet there was no response, no sound, no Hhhh—Kshhhhh from her regulator, no nothing, not even a crackle from the radio, only static could be heard, the sound of the hose and creature was still there in the background muffled.
FWSH FWSH FWSH
I swam, frantically searching for her, hoping that I'd at least find her, nothing, my light shining to no avail, there was no Evelyn, no nothing, my mind still frantic,
[The airlock has been opened, please enter before 3 minutes or the airlock will be closed and locked until opened manually from the outside] The sound of the doom, the sound of dread, the sound of imminent death.
I wanted to abandon her, I wanted to leave her, I wanted to save myself. It's not my fault, at least one of us survived. I tried, I've tried my best, I should just—Do I want to be like how I was?
Blblblblblblblblblblbl
Bubbles, wet, muffled, gurgling, and not from my own. My thoughts stopped as I looked where it came from, and there she was Evelyn covered in gunk on the tank's bed, Her drysuit unpunctured, but heavily damaged, scraped and stained black
Her LAMA helmet however was in a far worse condition a jagged crack ran across the right side of her visor, splitting light a spiderweb, Tiny streams of bubble leaked continuously from the fracture with a wet Blblblblblbl stealing away more air
One of the side latches had partially snapped off, making the helmet slightly crooked against the suit's neck ring, the in-built light module had been ripped clean off, exposing dangling wires that sparkled faintly before dying again
The radio attached near the jaw was shattered inward, only producing bursts of distorted static, but worse of all was Evelyn herself.
Hh…hk...hhh..khh..
Her eyes barely opened, her chest barely moving inside the suit, her breaths had stopped being proper breaths reduced into shallow reflexive spasms.
Weak. Irregular. Instinctive.
I couldn't hear her breathing, yet I could see it. Every inhale causes another cluster of bubbles to leak from her cracked helmet, the fracture flexing ever slightly ever so slightly every time she breathes.
FWSH FWSH FWSH
"Evelyn Hhhh—Kshhhhh stay with me… stay with me…" I said as I wrapped one of my arms and pulled
Heavy
She felt so unbearably heavy, because she was wearing a lot of equipment? No, because she wasn't moving anymore, her legs barely kicked beneath the water, only twitching weakly like her body was remembering how to swim
Blblblblblblblblblblbl—
More bubbles escaped from the ever growing fracture across her visor, The leak had gotten worse, Much Worse.
"Come on… Hhhh—Kshhhhh Come on…. Hhhh—Kshhhhh" I muttered through ragged breaths as I dragged her through the cloudy water, I didn't care when my legs felt like they would fall off.
SHRIEKKKKk TssstTsttttt…
Behind us the muffled shrieks of the Gill-Man still echoed faintly through the tank, the ruined hose was still flailing in the dark somewhere, it's noise growing ever weaker, buying us precious seconds
Seconds
That was all we had left.
Evelyn's breathing had turned horrifying to listen to, I could somehow hear it even without the radio,
Hkkkk—Tk—Hkkkhhhh It sounded Wet. Uneven. Broken.
Every failed inhale caused the cracks in her helmet to crack slightly before releasing another stream of bubbles.
Blblblblblblblblblblbl—
Her fingers weakly grabbed my arm, not to help, she couldn't even help me if she tried in this situation, Just to stay conscious.
The Airlock finally came into a view, it was open a timer on top showing 60, 59, 58 and so on,
"We're here Hhhh—Kshhhhh We're here Hhhh—Kshhhhh" I gasped practically throwing both of us towards the chamber. The moment we crossed into the airlock , I slammed the emergency seal with all my might
THUD
The outer hatched just closed just as a dark shaped rushed towards the murky water inside
BANG BANG BANG SCRAAAAAAAPE
The sound of banging and claws scraping through the metal door, the entire chamber was trembling, ******I didn't care
[Equalizing pressure]
I pulled Evelyn against the wall as the equalization process began, she was slumped, leaning on the wall as I held her in place, water still filled most of the chamber, only slowly draining beneath us.
"Hhhh—Kshhhhh Hhhh—Kshhhhh" My breathing echoed loudly inside my helmet, Evelyn's didn't
hkkkk—tk—hkkkhhhh
Her regulator only produced weak sputtering noise now. The cracks across her visor had spread, tiny fractures branched outward across the glass
CRACK Blblblblblblblblblblbl—
Another crack formed, as even more air escaped immediately
"Hhhh—Kshhhhh No No No No No" my voice shook as I grabbed her helmet hoping to at least seal the growing cracks, the helmet flexing inwardly every time she breathed.
CRACK
Another crack, The water level continued dropping agonizingly slow, Waist, Chest and Knee level, Evelyn's eyes barely opened, she said something but I couldn't hear anything.
CRACKKKK
A large fracture spread near the center of the helmet itself, the glass was warping from the pressure
"COME ONNNN—" I screamed at the draining chamber, hoping that it would go down faster
SCRAPEEEEEEEEEEEE
The creature slammed itself against the outer hatch again, the helmet groaned.
CRACK CRACK CRACKKKKKKK—
Then finally—
HISSSSS
The last of the water drained beneath us.
—
"Hhhh—Kshhhhh—EVELYN" My gloves slipped against the wet surface of her helmet as I scrambled towards the emergency release latch. My fingers were trembling too much
"C'MON C'MON"
CLICK
Nothing
The latch barely moved, Evelyn twitched weakly against the wall
Hkkkk—tk—hkkkhhhh
The sound coming from the cracked helmet no longer sounded like human breathing, it sounded wet, choking, mechanical.
PSSSSTTTT
Another tiny stream of bubbles hissed out from the fracture, The pressure difference was gone, but the helmet had long been compromised before we even entered the airlock. Water had gotten inside.
A horrible realization hit me, The regulator wasn't supplying air anymore.
It was flooding.
"Hhhh—Kshhhhh WORK DAMN IT WORK" I forced the latch harder this time.
Click.
One side released, the helmet shifted slightly crooked, Evelyn suddenly jerked violently
"EVELYNNN"
Her body convulsed as she tried to inhale. Water droplets mixed with saliva splattered everywhere inside the cracked visor
"OPEN DAMN IT"
Click
The seal released, the helmet depressurized with a sharp
PSHHHHHHH—
Water poured from the bottom of her helmet together with strands of soaked hair I nearly ripped it off her head, Evelyn jerked forward as she coughed violently
"KHHHH COUGH KHHK COUGH COUGH GHHHK—"
Her breaths were weak, far too weak, her face pale beneath the flashing emergency lights, limbs trembling as she struggled to pull air into her lungs
"Breathe. Breathe. Breathe." I didn't know what to say anymore
Grab
One of her hands weakly grabbed me
"—..." I couldn't hear a thing, I was still wearing my suit, too focused in releasing her helmet, then
Cough
A wet cough, I could see water coming out from her mouth as she coughed, this wasn't normal. My stomach dropped
"No no Hhhh—Kshhhhh No" I quickly reached for the drysuit seals around her neck, loosening them to reduce the crushing tightness around her chest
HISSSSSS
The suit hissed softly as trapped pressure escaped. Evelyn sucked in a shallow breath
"HaaaH—HaaaH—HaaaH" and another, and another, still uneven, still shaky, but she was breathing. Alive.
BANGGGGG FLINCH
Outside the airlock the creature slammed against the airlock, the both of us flinched violently, but for the first time since everything started.
Evelyn laughed, Weakly, Strained, Painfully
Hkkkk—tk—hkkkhhhh
The broken remnants of her regulator still crackled near her shoulder,
"—" She whispered between breaths, eyes barely opened, but somehow It felt like I could listen to her voice even without the radio
See—Hkkkkh—Told you—Hkkkkh—Panic kills faster.
"HOW CAN Hhhh—Kshhhhh YOU STILL Hhhh—Kshhhhh MAKE A JOKE Hhhh—Kshhhhh LIKE THIS"
I shook her, screaming at the top of my lungs, swinging her back and forth. She couldn't hear me yet she continued laughing.
And in the end… I laughed too, as the both of us sat there laughing for what felt like an eternity.