Chapter Text
The creature that lumbered towards them could best be described as a deep sea diving suit that had taken up drilling as a hobby, and for once, even Arthur was quieted by its approach.
“Oh, for-“ Carolyn, on the other hand, seemed more annoyed than afraid. “Douglas!”
“Right you are.”
Later, Martin would tell himself that he’d been frozen in fear rather than busy trying to throw Arthur off so that he could dive between the menacing thing that Douglas was squaring off against. Luckily, the thing came to a stop, about a foot from where Douglas was making a last stand. It let out a strange bellow, not unlike whale song, the light from its helmet flickered and then it simply lumbered off in the other direction. The last thing Martin heard before he fainted was Carolyn’s inexplicable comment of: “You never lose the knack for it.”
When Martin woke, the first thing he noticed was that the oppressive silence was gone, the slick sound of flowing water, leaking inside something had been replaced by the sound of seagulls and the comforting lapping of the waves. He was lying in an inflatable life raft, Arthur sitting by his side, Carolyn and Douglas both with their backs to him, staring out across the sea.
“Do you... ever miss it?” Douglas sounded strangely sad.
“Never. ” Carolyn was as decisive as ever.
“Good. That’s good then.”
“Douglas, I-“
“I’m glad.” Douglas continued, as if he hadn’t heard her.
It wasn’t a conversation that made any sense but then nothing had, not since the instruments had malfunctioned in the middle of the Atlantic. Not since the abandoned lighthouse or the cracked tile floors or anything else that Martin could remember.
Nobody mentioned it again so Martin thought it best to keep his mouth shut. He didn’t know what Carolyn and Douglas had been talking about in the raft, he didn’t know what they’d meant back in that underwater city either. Perhaps he might have even dreamt it all. He’d almost convinced himself that that was the only explanation, until one day, at the edge of a pier that stretched out towards the vast Atlantic, he’d heard Douglas sigh wearily.
“Douglas?”
Douglas had smiled at him, sadly.
“Sometimes, I miss the sea.”