Personal Log - Grace Robinson - 18th April 2027
I am once again at a loss for words, with a racing brain. Today, that is the fault of Tom. He's one of the divers and he cornered me after lunch, and dragged me into a storage room. I pushed and pulled to try and get away, squirming in his arms as he bundled me inside and slammed the door behind us.
He shoved one of his huge hands over my mouth and began hurriedly whispering.
"They fed Rick and Shannon to that thing, and we'll all be next if you don't help me."
I just stared blankly at him, unsure of what he was saying. It couldn't have been real, right? That thing that Rick saw wasn't real. It couldn't have been. Rick had just had a bad dream after the shock… but the shock of what? Well, that was something I'd never really thought about. I hadn't dared to consider that any of it had been true.
I couldn't believe it, but as I looked around the storage room and saw Rick's scattered belongings and Tom's haunted grimace, I at least had to consider it. As I looked around the room, I saw some of Doctor Shannon's things to, and as much as I didn't want to let my mind wander to horrible possibilities, it did.
Rick really had seen it, and he'd paid a heavy price.
"The meglodon is real, but that isn't even our biggest problem." Tom's hand slipped from my face and he fell back against the door, with a defeated sigh. "It's what that thing is guarding."
He cupped my face softly in his hands, his tired, frightened eyes boring into mine as tears formed and fell.
"They gave us the scraps." My stomach dropped as I tried with everything I had to think of another explanation for what he had just said. It couldn't be true. It simply couldn't be true. The stew. Oh my God. The stew. I could feel my stomach churning and my heart thundering as he spoke. "We're all part of some sick ritual, some sick game, but…" He trailled off, releasing me from his grasp and turning away towards the door. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. She didn't mention the sacrifices."
They had known? They willingly came here, knowing that they'd actually find the bloody thing, and worse, that it was all some kind of crazy, dark magic mystery?
I ran. I couldn't hear anymore. I just ran back to my room and locked the door, desperately trying to convince myself that it couldn't be true.
Nothing could be worth all this, surely?
It made no sense to me.
Tom came to my room later that day, banging on the door like a mad man, and as much as I wanted to be alone, I let him in. He had a bunch of papers that he'd been able to steal from Doctor Judy's office to prove everything to me.
As I went through each page, I felt more and more sick.
It really hadn't been some kind of altruistic mission of scientific discovery. Doctor Judy is absolutely insane. She believes that the megalodon is not only real, but is the beloved pet of some ocean deity called Llyr. She has this theory that pleasing the megalodon, presumably through sacrificing perfectly nice people to it will convince it to lead you to Llyr, who will grant any wish that you desire.
It all comes down to selfishness. She has dragged us all down here, and killed two people, for the sake of her selfish wishes.
Poor Doctor Shannon was right.
My God. She's really dead, isn't she? And I… I mean, I didn't mean to. I didn't even know, but… I… I can't even think about it.
Will I be next? Are any of us safe? I just don't know.
This isn't what I signed up for. It isn't what I want. I just want to go home. They can keep their money. I don't want any part of this.
The trouble is… I can't go home. The megalodon doesn't want us to leave. It has shown its face around the lab. It's just circling us, again and again, round and round, baring its big teeth and waiting for us to follow.
Doctor Judy is eager, but none of the divers will go, probably afraid that she'll sacrifice them too.
Tom says that we have to finish it. The ritual, I mean. He says that if we follow the megalodon, maybe we can make things better and get the rest of the crew home with their lives.
Following the megalodon, just like Rick had said.
I guess that Rick really had seen it, and perhaps it really did have something to tell him, something to show him even. Maybe all those wealthy benefactors were interested in what the megalodon knew, rather than just the sight of it.
Doctor Shannon had tried to tell me, as best as she could, and I had been too late to save her. I don't know how I would have done that, but as I saw the mementos she had kept so close in her bedroom, littering the lonely, echoing storage room, I felt a pang of guilt.
As mad as Tom's plan was, I had no choice but to say yes. He says that if we take the submersible, we can get there before that thing has a chance to kill us. I'm not too sure that he's right, but what choice do I have?
People have died. Lives had been changed, and as much as I didn't want to admit it, if this Llyr is real, perhaps he could call off his pet and let us go home. I know it might seem like a wasted wish, but I'd much rather that than money and fame.
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