[ IP ] A Whale Of A Tale [ X-Post from /r/creepy ]

“ So? What do you think? ” 
 
 Nathan ’ s hearing was drowned out by the roar of the motor behind him, and he raised his eyebrows at his friend. 
 
 “ I said, what do you think!? ” 
 
 “ It ’ s amazing, ” Nathan shouted. “ How much was the deposit? ” 
 
 “ It doesn ’ t matter, as long as you don ’ t beach us, ” Joe answered with a grin as he pulled back on the throttle. “ Wan na give her a spin? ” 
 
 Nathan was still mesmerized by the ocean around him. They had long since left the harbor in the flimsy looking boat, and there wasn ’ t a seafaring craft in sight. 
 
 “ Don ’ t have to worry about scraping land out here though. ” 
 
 “ No, you ’ re right about that, ” Joe said, a momentary frown crossing his face. He knew they had enough gas to get back, but at this point he wasn ’ t entirely sure where “ back ” was. 
 
 But then Nathan was at the wheel and Joe raised his hands off the helm, signaling to Nathan that he was in control. Nathan leaned forward, flexed his hands and grabbed the… 
 
 THUD 
 
 The shabby excuse of a boat was suddenly higher than the water around it. Nathan and Joe were swept off their feet, falling backwards in the stern. The motor whirred violently as it chopped nothing but air. The cooler leapt as if it were possessed by something other than inertia while the boat settled back into the surf. 
 
 “ Jesus fucking Christ. ” 
 
 Nathan pulled himself up, taking hold of the wheel as he looked around the deck. Everything had settled more or less in the same place it was before the impact except his backpack. It rested in the space between the railing and the hull, moving with the boat as it gently swayed with the ocean. With each movement it shifted ever so slightly, resting momentarily between two worlds. Nathan ’ s clothes were in there. His phone. 
 
 “ Nathan. ” 
 
 “ Hold on, ” Nathan said, moving toward the backpack posited precariously on the edge. 
 
 “ No seriously, that wasn ’ t a rock. That wasn ’ t a ship. ” 
 
 “ Stay still, ” Nathan said absentmindedly, tiptoeing across the deck. 
 
 Any wrong move on such a small vessel would put it off balance. And once that backpack dropped, it would drop. The ocean would take anything that fell in here. 
 
 And as Nathan crossed the distance of the ship it happened. Without a warning, without a sound, the backpack simply… slipped. 
 
 “ Nonononono. ” Nathan ’ s light steps became full-fledged panic sprints. He reached the edge and lunged over, seeing his backpack start to fall into the green abyss. 
 
 Nathan didn ’ t think. There was no time for it. His life was lived out of that backpack. 
 
 The water instantly engulfed his head, the saltwater stinging his eyes. Involuntary instincts shut his eyelids, but he forced them open again and looked downward. 
 
 His eyes scanned the murky waters, and he knew with each fraction of a second the pack would sink further. But it was no use. He couldn ’ t see anything but shapes, and the pain from keeping his eyes open underwater was unbearable. 
 
 Nathan shut his eyes and opened them one last time. And he saw. 
 His mind told him he was looking at the sea floor. But then the sea floor moved. 
 
 The gargantuan black blob beneath him danced lazily in Nathan ’ s vision. It didn ’ t seem to react to his presence. 
 
 No, that wasn ’ t right. It was reacting. It circled directly below him, without deviation from his sight. It was… putting on a show. 
 
 Nathan ’ s eyes screamed in agony but he kept them open. He witnessed the creature ’ s performance. With the size of two double-decker buses, it swam with the grace of a stallion galloping across open plains. It navigated the waters deftly, pulling moves that seemed downright acrobatic, like a 747 doing barrel rolls. 
 
 A low hum filled Nathan ’ s ears, an ethereal, powerful cry. His eyes were about to close of their own accord, and he let them, instead focusing on the one-note song that seemed to reverberate around him. It was mournful. It creaked and trembled, and then it rose in pitch. The song became a lullaby, then a desperate plea. It spoke to Nathan, the audience of one. 
 
 When Nathan opened his eyes the blob was gone. He became still in the water and listened but only heard distant bubbling. It was over. 
 
 He rose to the surface and gasped for air, his body stationary as it bobbed up and down with the waves. There was the boat. There was the sun. And there was the horizon, stretching endlessly in all directions. 
 
 Joe was talking as he reached over the side of the boat, but Nathan had no interest in listening to him speak, or in worrying about his sunken belongings. He was replaying the song in his mind, and picturing the monolith dance. 
 

