Chapter Text
Grace sat at his desk, spinning lazily, head tilted back to stare at the ceiling. Fading light spilled into the room, a gentle reminder of how late it had gotten. But Grace paid it no mind, favoring to continue his monotonous activity, letting out a pensive sigh. He continued for a while before glancing out the window of his classroom at the golden sun sinking gently like it had all the time in the world.
Well, he guessed it kind of did, and Grace found himself becoming jealous of a ball of fire and gas. Everyday was a dull blur for the teacher, only brightened temporarily when he taught his excitable group of students. His students who were now gone.
They had graduated, he didn’t mean to make it sound like they had all died. Whoops. It had been the last day of school before summer let out, and Grace found himself in his usual slump at this time of year.
He glanced around the room that had been decorated by his students over the course of the year. Drawings hung everywhere, most of them ‘memes,’ most of which Grace did not understand in the slightest. Little models of sea life hung from the ceiling, each one having been hand made by each of his children, a homage to his past life as a marine biologist before he had fudged it up with his smart mouth.
He had gotten into a heated debate with a fellow biologist, whom he had already disliked, shall we say, and after another dig at his thesis he may have said:
“A jellyfish could have used the oxygen you constantly waste better!”
It hadn't been his proudest moment, especially when he was escorted out, kicking and screaming. But he had deserved it, the jerk.
Grace groaned at the memory, rubbing his face harshly, as if to scrub away his shame. He concluded he had sulked for long enough, finally lifting his head, his neck protesting angrily. Wincing, he rubbed his neck to soothe the aching pain, his eye catching on movement. He turned to look at his classroom door.
It now leaned open, a middle aged woman standing in the doorway. She was shorter than Grace but still tall, and she held herself with a level of confidence he could only dream to have. She had mostly straight coppery blond hair that gently grew a bit wavy at the bottom, reaching a little past her shoulders.
She looked at him with a stern gaze, as if studying him. Grace shifted uncomfortably at the look and cleared his throat.
“Can I help you, miss?” He really hoped it wasn’t an angry mother looking for a better grade for their kid.
“Dr. Ryland Grace?” Her voice was gentle with a mild accent. Dutch or German he had to guess. He sucked in a breath at the title. It had been years since anyone had addressed him as “dr.”
“Maybe.”
She raised an unamused eyebrow.
“You are a marine biologist, yes?”
“Was.” He corrected. “I was fired a long time ago. I’m just a middle school teacher now.”
She gave him another studying glance before she reached into a large bag that hung off her right shoulder., and pulled out a folder. She opened it and threw it on the desk in front of him.
Grace hesitated before looking at the offering. As he focused on it, he realized it was a file on him. It told his whole life story; where he went to school, his degrees, his academic achievements, even some of the awards he had won over the years. There was even a section on the conference and his outburst. Okay, what the heck? This totally wasn’t the least bit creepy. Nope. Perfectly normal.
“I am Eva Stratt. I need a marine biologist.” She stated. “A good one. That isn’t afraid to upset people and take risks.”
“...why?” Grace was caught off guard by how direct she had been.
“We’ve made a… discovery. One that needs the best minds to handle it. People who we can trust.”
Grace finally looked up from the file, dumbfounded. He pointed to himself in confusion.
“Me?? Sorry, I'm just a school teacher. I’m nothing special.”
Her gaze hardened for a second before she grabbed the folder back and pushed it in her bag.
“That’s a shame. This discovery could change everything we know.” She paused, as if to let her words sink in. “But I understand it is too much for you.”
Grace stared, stunned, as she turned to leave. His head was swirled with so many thoughts and emotions he felt dizzy. Why him? What could they possibly have found? His chest ached, desperate to work in his field, his passion, even if only once more.
“Wait!”
Eva stopped just short of the door.
“What… What did you find?” He leaned forward over his desk, trying hard to bury his curiosity and excitement.
Eva turned, a sly smirk danced at the corners of her mouth. “That information is only for trusted personnel.”
He hesitated. He wanted to know more, he hated not knowing things, especially when it came to his specialty. But he was also wary. He had very little information to go off of, and he didn’t like the uncertainty. But her words kept dancing in his head, waking up the dormant marine biologist he had so desperately tried to keep down.
His empty classroom seemed to shrink around him, suffocating him. His students were gone, again not dead, just moving forward in their lives. And where was he? Wallowing in regret and pity? Going about his life like a zombie, barely able to differentiate each day from the next? What life was he moving forward in, if at all?
“You’re sure you want me?” Despite his desire to have a bit of excitement in his life, he still needed some reassurance. Just a little push into the murky depths of uncertainty and thrill.
“We need you.”
Grace shut his eyes as he took a shaky breath, before he stood up.
“Then I’m your guy.”
She hummed, smiling. “Come with me, Dr. Ryland Grace.”
His chest bloomed with pride at the title. Despite having thrown it all away in the blink of an eye, he had worked hard for it, and he was eager to dive back in once more.
His body moved on its own, following Eva out of the classroom and into the barren, cold, and empty halls. His confidence and curiosity grew with each step, eventually matching the older woman's pace, walking beside her and rambling nervously about what he was to do.
She led them to a black van. A tall built man, dressed in a suit, looking like security of some kind, stood at attention by the back door. Wordlessly he opened the door, Eva stepped in, and settled in a nice leather seat.
The man kept the door open as he now looked at Grace, expectantly. He tried to swallow his rising anxiety as he pulled himself into the seat next to Stratt, hands shaking as he buckled himself in. The door shut with a loud thud, silence settled for a few moments before security man got into the driver’s seat and started the car.
He fidgeted with his seatbelt as they pulled away from the school. He watched as the building shrank, wondering if he would return before the next school year started.
He brought his attention back to the woman beside him.
“Do I get to know now?”
She tapped her knees, as if debating if she would tell him or not. Grace chewed on the inside of his cheek, silently begging for her to spill everything.
“Do you watch or read the news?” She asked finally.
He blinked in confusion.
“Um. Occasionally. Why?”
“Have you heard about the numerous destroyed boats?”
Grace paused. He had heard of it. A few weeks ago, boats that were in deeper waters , started being sunk for unknown reasons. Many theorized it was a group of kids just messing with them or damage over time finally reaching its limit.
“The ones people think were sunk by a couple of troubled kids?”
She shook her head, eyes narrowing.
“It wasn’t a bunch of kids.” She said simply. “It was attacked by something in the water.”
Grace froze, waiting for her to continue, but she never did.
“What, like a giant sea monster?” He joked, nervous laugh dying in his throat at Eva’s expression. “You’re kidding.”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
Grace found himself regretting all of his life choices that led him here. Maybe he could pull the door handle and jump out. People did it in movies, he could figure it out. Maybe.
He didn’t attempt anything, instead choosing to sink into the crazy comfortable seat, going over his knowledge in his head to calm his nerves.
It didn’t work. He cursed inwardly at his useless brain and body.
“So uh- where are we going?” He tried.
“A navy base, 3 hours from here.”
“Oh.”
He had to sit with his thoughts for 3 hours?! He should have grabbed a crossword puzzle or something. Dang it, why didn’t he think this through at all? He could have been home by now, eating leftover Chinese food as he rewatched golden girls for the seventh time.
Sad? Yes. But it was also familiar and safe, something he was currently lacking at the moment.
He settled on watching the road and fellow cars pass by them out the window as the sun dipped below the skyline, sky darkening from orange, to pink, to indigo. The pit in his stomach only grew with the darkness.
What’s the worst that can happen?