80 Days: Under the Waves

by Sharp Spark

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A moment later, I saw a flash of movement in the darkness. I peered forward, to see Minnow swimming towards us, as fast as she possibly could.

More alarmingly, I saw something pale behind her, in close pursuit.

“Open the airlock,” my mistress crisply ordered, and I fumbled with the controls, trying to comply. The external door slid open just in time for Minnow to dart inside, and I slammed a hoof down to close it again. An unearthly screech shook the entire vessel.

When the interior door opened, and Minnow stumbled in, I was already working to disengage us from the docking station. “Monsters,” she croaked out. “Monsters!”

The pale creature swam right in front of the glass and I caught a better sight of it. Even so, my mind didn’t quite know how to process its alien features.

“You gotta save Dr. Crankshaft,” Minnow said, nearly hysterical. “He-- He--”

The line connecting Crankshaft to the vessel suddenly went slack...