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IF - Chapter 10
🕑 Added 2024-12-15 23:12:16 +0000 UTC------------------
A flicker. The space at the center of the rift shimmered, like glass bending under heat. A sharp ripple ran across its surface. Isla saw it before anyone else.
“Something’s coming through!” she barked, her voice snapping every head toward the rift.
The sparkling rays warped space, light bending unnaturally as the shape grew more defined. Isla’s heart climbed into her throat as it took shape—a long, silver body with twin engines mounted on the wings: a commercial airliner.
It surged through the rift with a jarring lurch, like reality hesitated to let it pass. The plane burst free, sunlight gleaming off its metal hull before the rift sealed behind it, cutting off the brilliant rays. Twin contrails of vapor streamed behind it.
“Impossible.” The word slipped from her lips, barely a whisper.
The air around the ship shifted, the pressure dropping fast enough to pop her ears a second time. Isla sucked in a breath, head spinning. Her eyes locked onto the airliner, and Evelyn’s snicker ran through her mind.
If we use anything beyond 500 watts, a calamity will come… That’s definitely using more than 500 watts.
The plane hovered. Mid-air. Suspended. Time seemed to stop. No forward momentum. No engines roaring. No physics. Just stillness. Her gut twisted with the wrongness of it, her body unmoving. Then, it renewed, slow at first, building steam with every passing second.
“Oh, no,” Maeva breathed, backing away from the rail. “No, no, no, that’s not right.”
“Hollow?” Isla’s voice was tight. “Say it.”
“Bermuda Triangle,” Hollow muttered, his eyes wide as he let out a whistle. “Another poor sap pulled from—”
Shadowy tentacles lashed out from the rift, crimson lightning surging toward the airliner. They came fast, too fast. The inky black limbs whipped out of the clouds, curling around the fuselage in a blur. Scarlet light exploded. The entire sea ignited in red as bolts of pure energy split the sky, the sharp clap of thunder hitting like a physical blow. Isla’s eardrums throbbed.
The plane jerked upward, yanked back into the rift as if it lost all forward momentum. The clouds around it shifted like teeth closing over prey. For a moment, Isla saw something behind the fogged glass of the cockpit—a silhouette. It moved. It looked at them—looked at her.
“We’re next!” Maeva shouted, bracing her arm against the railing as an eerie vibe enclosed their minds. “It saw—ugh!”
Out of nowhere, a blast of wind slammed into them like a wrecking ball. Isla hit the deck, elbows smashing into metal as the ship tilted. They slid to the opposite side, the paracord snapping tight and jerking them to a stop.
Water sprayed over the sides, waves crashing in a spiral pattern, foam spraying like wild claws. Brigid gripped the mast, holding firm as she cried. Kael hit the ground with his shoulder, rolling into a crouch. Isla caught Maeva’s wrist, yanking her upright as a gust threw her into a spin.
“Lock in! Get close!” Isla barked, shoving Maeva toward James, who produced more cord, the thought of fighting non-existent against a thing that filled a quarter of the entire heavens. “The ship won’t tip that easily!”
It started to right itself as another wave slammed into them from the opposite side, drenching them. Her mouth became a line as she saw the doors slam shut, responding no doubt to sensors that triggered a failsafe to stop water from surging inside. If they could reach it and use the manual release, then they could get inside.
With where we are, there’s no way we can get to it without cutting the line and dropping into the sea! We need to hold on, but…it looks like we’re about to hit a category-five hurricane!
Her fingers moved on instinct, tying herself to Kael as he slid closer across the slick deck, Hollow tying himself next to Brigid next to the mast that could be raised in case they needed it. Her eyes shot back to the sky. The clouds throbbed like a beating heart, each pulse sending new cracks spidering across the air itself. Fissures in reality. The sky itself was breaking.
Not a few seconds later, the shape moving behind the rift began to retreat, closing the seam. The clouds shuddered, pulling in on themselves. Then, Isla felt it. A ripple. Not from above, but below—deep below. The sea began to bubble and foam, the very waters vibrating as if the ocean itself was growling in protest.
Isla’s narrowed eyes lifted skyward. “There!” she pointed.
The airliner dropped from the sky rift. No control. No sound. Just a quiet, serene descent like a paper plane slipping through the air. It hit the sea’s surface, but the splash was wrong. Too soft. Too smooth. It didn’t shatter. It just…settled, then vanished below the foam and waves.
“Island! Island dead ahead!” James’ voice cracked the moment like glass.
Isla’s head jerked toward the horizon. A jagged strip of rock and jungle jutted from the blood-red sea. The water churned with new waves, each one choppier than the last as the sky anomaly faded into oblivion. Isla’s eyes snapped back to where the plane had been—it resurfaced, bobbing like a bottle tossed into a storm.
“Is…it over?” she asked, gut clenched as the red mist began to seep into the water. Slowly, the scarlet hue faded, thinning into the waves until it was gone. The clouds were gone. The rift sealed shut. “Yeah, I vote we don’t use more than 500 watts. Anyone else?”
Stressed laughter followed as they all lay on the soaked deck, even its red hue fading into clarity. Isla tasted salt on her lips, her heart still pounding in her chest. She tilted her head to the side to stare at the plane in its slow drift toward the same island they were heading toward.
What’s left inside of it… If modern horror is anything to go by. Maybe we shouldn’t investigate. But…that’s kind of our job. This is getting a little out of hand, though.
Her gaze lingered on the place where the rift had been.
You’re not gone, are you? Did something in the sea scare you off? Warn you to stay in your realm? What the hell is inside the Endless Sea?
She pushed herself to her feet, water streaming off her jacket, her hands slick against the cold, wet metal of the deck. Her muscles ached from the strain, her legs wobbly from being tossed around, but she locked her stance. Her breath came slow and steady.
“Roll call!” Isla’s voice carried over the steady roar of waves and the hum of wind as things started to settle “Maeva! Kael! Hollow! James! Brigid! Sound off!” Her eyes scanned the deck, heart thudding, mind already cataloging injuries and status checks.
“Here! I’m good!” Maeva shouted, wringing water from her hair, coughing as she fought for balance. Her knees hit the deck, but she quickly rose, one hand gripping the edge of the ship. “Just swallowed half the sea!”
“I’m here,” Kael growled, dragging himself up using the railing as leverage. He wiped salt water from his face with the back of his glove, eyes squinting up at the sky as if it might ripple open again. “No injuries. Pretty sure I pulled something, though.”
“Here, here, here!” Hollow’s voice came fast, his hands still gripping the paracord like it was his lifeline—one Brigid should still be connected to, though she was probably on her back. Hollow’s eyes darted around, jittery and too wide. “We’re alive, right? Can never tell on missions like this. We’re still in our dimension, yeah?” He glanced at Isla, eyes locking on hers. “That looked like a tear to me. I know a tear when I see one, and that—”
“Focus, Hollow,” Isla cut in, her tone sharp but not unkind.
“Aye, aye, Cap,” Hollow muttered, releasing the paracord slowly like it might bite him. “Second time I’ve seen somethin’ like that—only this time it was real and not the drugs.”
“James?” she called, turning toward the port side.
A moment of silence. Then, a clipped, steady voice. “Here.” James was already at the mast, fingers working the release mechanism on Brigid and Hollow’s climbing clips. His scoped rifle hung loosely from his chest, the strap soaked, but he didn’t seem fazed. “No injuries. Gear’s intact.”
“Brigid?” Isla’s voice was tight.
“Don’t…speak…to me,” Brigid wheezed, still sprawled out flat on the deck, it seemed, arms splayed like she’d been thrown from a truck. She dragged in a breath, winced, then spat saltwater onto the deck while getting to her hands and knees to hold up a shaky thumb. “Give me a second, or I’m tossing every single one of you overboard and steering this ship back.”
“If you’ve got the strength to threaten us, you’re fine,” Kael muttered, wringing out his gloves.
“I’m not kidding, Kael,” Brigid grunted, wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand, eyes squeezed shut as Isla moved to get a better view of her from the lower deck. “This goes way beyond anything at Site-E0. I knew they sealed this place up for a reason, but, of course, they needed someone who knew how to use their glyph tech… I’m going to throw up!”
Isla breathed out slowly, relief settling in her chest like a weight she didn’t know she’d been carrying. “Alright. Everyone check your harnesses, unclip, and do a self-check. Full movement. Any pain, any swelling, you report it. Don’t be shy.” She glanced toward Maeva, water dripping from her chin. “Maeva, you’re doing physicals. Start with Brigid.”
“Why me?!”
“You got it, Doc,” Maeva said, already moving toward Brigid, her medical kit slapping at her side, luckily waterproof. “Probably because she wants you to look at the cameras first, crybaby.”
“Oh, shut up, you brute… Fine. I am feeling a little faint…”
“Kael, you check for structural damage. Hollow, James—check for internal damage. Hull integrity, equipment status, water intake. I need a report on it all. If you spot anything that needs patching, call it.” Isla’s words came in short, sharp bursts. No wasted breath.
She tugged at the climbing clip on her belt, fingers working the release with practiced precision, letting it snap free. Her boots stomped firmly on the deck to test her footing. “Brigid, once you’re up, check navigation. I want to know if we drifted and to know if that island is the right island.”
“You’re lucky I like you, Reyes,” Brigid muttered with a pinched, red face, sitting up slowly with Maeva’s help. Her wince was deep, but not debilitating as she coughed. “Wait, what do you mean right island? You don’t think… Oh, fiddlesticks. I better check that before—eep!”
“No! You’re coming with me for a check-up first,” Maeva commanded, guiding her down. “We gotta be sure you don’t have any sea slugs in any undesirable places.”
“S-Sea w-what?! Don’t even kid with me!”
“Lucky is relative,” Isla muttered to herself with a forced grin, scanning the sea. “Well, hot damn. We survived that. Wooh. I feel…alive! What a place.”
Her gaze lingered on the horizon, watching the island grow clearer with each passing wave. The jagged cliffs of rock jutted into the sky like broken teeth, jungle vines hanging down from steep edges. Her eyes narrowed.
Just like the sea. It looks too still… Too calm. We should do a circle of it and check the compass to see if it still works to get us back to X0… She flashed a grin, feeling the adventurous itch vibrating within her. This is turning out to be better than I hoped. I’ve really fallen into some kind of horror fantasy world.
Maeva crouched next to Brigid, checking for swelling on her wrists, joints, and spine near the door to the interior. “No breaks. No fractures. You’ll be fine. Captain, mind joining us?”
“Yeah, well, it still hurts,” Brigid hissed, flexing her fingers as Maeva moved to type in the code to open the sealed door. “Hollow, stop looking at the water like it’s about to sprout teeth. Be a man and make me feel better!”
“Excuse me, princess. Didn’t know we were catering to royalty. And you didn’t see what I saw,” Hollow muttered, shuffling away from the edge. “That wasn’t clouds, Captain. You saw it, right? That was meat. It had weight. I’m not standing near it on deck where it can snatch me.”
“Sounds like a Hollow problem,” Kael shot back, eyes scanning the sea for signs of movement while checking the hull. “You’ve got internal check duty anyway. What, you scared of jellyfish too? You’ll even have James there with—oh, is he already inside? How—dude went through a window?!”
“Yeah, dude’s a badass. We’re not built the same. Also, jellyfish don’t have damn limbs, Kael!” Hollow snapped, his face scrunched in frustration. “If one of those things grabs me, I’m taking you with me. Mark my words, boy.”
“Big talk for a man who wouldn’t unclip himself until Ms. Captain said it was safe,” Kael shot back with a grin, tossing a rag at him in passing.
“Keep it up, Kael,” Hollow growled, catching it with one hand. “See what happens.”
Isla tuned them out, fingers working at her tablet that had somehow got caught against the wall instead of falling into the sea. She followed the other two women into the heart of the vessel, helping Maeva with Brigid. Her breath came shallow now, the cold finally sinking into her bones.
We all need to chill out and get in clean clothes, maybe a shower, before heading to the island. Yeah… We all need a shower after that.
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